On a road in the Silvercrest Empire…
"Are you excited, Brother?" Phiona asked me.
We were sitting across from each other in our family's carriage. Outside, rolling hills of grass passed by with trees dotting the landscape here and there.
I took my eyes off the landscape and onto my sister's beautiful face. "How could I not be? Everything I've heard about Pantheon only talked about how great it was."
Phiona chuckled. "It can be pretty overwhelming at first. But you're right, it is very great. Pantheon represents everything the Mana Realm has to offer."
"You're making me even more excited."
"Just make sure to keep your mouth closed when we reach Pantheon."
I grew confused at her words. "What do you m–"
"Young masters! We've arrived at the gates to Pantheon!"
The carriage driver at the front called out to us before I could ask my sister what she meant.
Phiona got up from her seat and headed for the door. "Let's check it out."
She left and I also got up from my seat. But before I left, I caught a glimpse of something outside the window that nearly made my breath stop. I got off the carriage and looked up. In front of me was a massive stone wall that extended to the horizon on both sides and towered over the land up to the clouds.
"H-How is this possible," I said in awe.
"Your mouth is open brother," Phiona said with a smirk.
I realized my mouth was agape in shock and quickly closed it. Now I realized what she meant. How could a wall this big exist?
"This is the wall that surrounds the entirety of Pantheon," Sister said. "When the city was formed, the dwarven king at the time erected this wall to protect it from any conflict or mana beast that may go near it."
Her words shocked me again. "One person made this wall?" I craned my neck upwards to see the top, but I could only see clouds covering it from view.
"We still have a long way to go, Brother. We are A-rank and strong, but it does not compare to the top. That's why we are going to Pantheon Academy. This wall here is a reminder of the strength you can possess by entering this city."
"Amazing…" was all I could say.
Phiona walked back to the carriage. "Let's go, Brother. We still have some time before we reach the center of Pantheon."
I had to forcefully tear my eyes from the magnetic sight of the walls and climbed into the carriage after my sister.
We moved forward again and I gazed at the enormous wall as we made our way toward it.
The carriage stopped again and I could hear the driver conversing with someone.
"Pantheon welcomes the Raijin family."
After those words, a massive rumbling shook the ground accompanied by a metal creaking.
The carriage moved again and passed the guards at the gates of the wall. They were completely covered in silver metal armor that didn't have any insignias and was spotless. The two guards on my side of the carriage bowed as our gazes met.
Through the gates was a large tunnel without light. I was able to pick out a muffled noise of a crowd from the other side, which built up my anticipation.
Sunlight drowned out my vision as the carriage left the tunnel. My eyes adjusted and what greeted me was even more impressive than the wall.
We rode on a large road filled with carriages and hundreds of people. Around the street were towering stacks of buildings. Some were shops, others were houses and they seemed to stretch on forever in every direction.
Bridges connected the stacks over the roads and I could see people walking along them as well. Other people were standing on some of the balconies of the buildings, peering out at the crowds walking along the streets.
"Welcome to Pantheon, Kaiser," Phiona said with a proud smile.
"Wow… So this is Pantheon..."
"You'll get used to it."
We continued along the road with the river of people and carriages.
…
When the sun began to set a couple of hours later, we arrived at a large hotel. Inside was a large pub with many people drinking and having fun with each other. Our carriage driver left us at the front to go book our rooms.
"We are about halfway through the city now," Phiona said while we got a table for dinner. "The test begins tomorrow afternoon, so we should make it in time."
"We're only halfway through Pantheon?" I asked incredulously. "How big is this city?"
"It's about half the size of Silvercrest."
I whistled. "How many people live here?"
"I would say it's around a couple billion now. They stopped the census a few decades ago because the population kept changing so much."
As we kept talking, a waitress came up to our table with a paper and pen to take our order.
"Is this your first time here?"
The waitress had the features of a normal human, except for her face. She had whiskers that extended from her cheeks and her pupils were sharp like a cat's.
'A Beastkin!'
Phiona cleared her throat and nudged me. "Yes, this is our first time."
I quickly averted my eyes, embarrassed.
The waitress laughed. "That's alright, kid. Must be your first time seeing a Beastkin, huh?"
I nodded.
"Our dinner tonight is beef stew, is that alright with you guys?" She asked.
Phiona nodded and the waitress wrote down the order. "Alright, that'll be out in a few minutes."
Once she left, Phiona looked at me with confusion.
"Sorry, Sister," I apologized. "I guess I was excited to finally see another race."
Ever since I got here and learned of the different races, I couldn't wait to finally meet them! When I was Lucas back on Earth, this was like a dream for me.
Phiona sighed. "I guess it's fine, just try not to stare too much."
I agreed and we waited for our food. Before that, however, our driver came back with three keys in his hand and gave two of them to us.
"Here are the keys to your bedrooms, young masters," He said. "Your room number is on the keys. I will be heading out to store the carriage nearby. Have a nice dinner."
"Thank you, Gerald," Phiona said. "Goodnight. We'll see you in the morning."
Gerald bowed and left us.
Soon after, our food arrived. The beef stew came out steaming and the aroma hit my nose like a battering ram. I quickly wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth before anyone could notice.
After the waitress left, I picked up the spoon beside the bowl and shoveled the stew into my mouth.
'Heaven…'
The perception upgrade still worked wonders for me.
…
Many floors above the noisy pub, I found my room. Phiona's was several floors below, so we said our goodnights and separated. Inside my room was a neatly decorated, small room with only a bed and a bathroom. Opposite the entry was a window with the curtains drawn that lead out to the bustling nightlife of the city.
First, I headed into the bathroom and bathed, then prepared for bed. My suitcase was still in the carriage, so I just laid out my clothes from today to wear again tomorrow.
*Sigh*
I collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was the day I had been waiting for all this time. I knew I didn't need to be nervous as I was already strong enough to pass the test, but that wasn't what worried me. With the Pantheon Tournament coming up, I knew anything could happen this year at the academy.
[Master.]
"What's up, Emy?"
[The system would like to provide you with a choice.]
"The system?" I asked, confused. "I thought you were the system?"
[That is incorrect, sir. The system created me to guide you. I am not the system.]
"Oh…"
[The system has deemed you ready to advance past the first stage. This leaves you with two options, master.]
"First stage? First stage of what?"
[The system has multiple stages of power that can be accessed by the user. The first stage, which you have completely grasped how to use, is about paths for gaining skills. This stage is the most essential and is the core of what the system is, but is not its full potential.]
"Interesting…"
[So this leaves you with two choices. There are two different paths you can take on how you want to upgrade the system. When you decide, the other path will become forever locked and you will not be able to access it again, so choose wisely, master.]
"Another skill tree? But with the system upgrade this time?"
[Yes.]
"What are my choices, Emy?"
A screen popped up above me and showed two options with a description for each.
…
System Stage 2 → Path of Peace
[You wish to live a life of peace and rest. Gives quests and rewards for the path leading to peace.]
System Stage 2 → Path of Power
[You wish to live a life of power and battle. Gives quests and rewards for the path leading to power.]
…
Peace or power. Those were my options. Do I want to lay back and chill for the rest of my life or do I want to gain more power and fight?
"This is unexpected."
[Peace can be bliss for some, but hell for others. That path will restrict your choices and only give you the option that leads to peace. It is very powerful in terms of its effect but limits what the user can do. Power, on the other hand, gives more freedom to the user. Its effect is only as great as the user allows it to be.]
"I don't like the idea of losing my freedom, even if it helps my life be peaceful. And I already consider myself on the path to power."
[Are you sure, Kaiser?]
"Back on Earth, the only reason there was peace between the strongest countries is because they had too much power. They were scared to fight each other and risk everything. Power attains peace. Start the upgrade."
[Commencing upgrade of -System- to stage 2 on the Path of Power.]
The screen of my two options vanished as well as Emy's silhouette.
I felt my body grow weaker and weaker. All of my senses decreased in potency as well. I could feel the mana inside me that I had grown to become comfortable with dissipate and disappear. Panic set into my mind. All of my strength was gone!
A familiar feeling began to tug at my body. Gravity seemed to pull me downwards and everything around me began to rise higher.
'No! The Mana Realm is kicking me out!'
I reached out to the bed sheets above me but my hands just phased through them. My body had already left the plane of existence called the Mana Realm.
'This must be because of the system upgrade! It shut down to move on to the next stage!'
As the black abyss began to surround me as I sank back to the Mortal Realm, a sudden ring permeated through the darkness.
*Ding!*
[Congratulations, master! The system has finished its upgrade to stage 2!]
My body's strength instantly returned to me. It felt like drinking a thousand energy drinks all at once. My eyes shot open at the sudden return of all of my senses. I felt mana enter my body and collect near my heart and brain.
The black abyss around me stopped and the hotel room that was high above me began to fall back down. I once again sat back on the bed with a dazed expression. The normal sounds of the pub at the bottom of the building and the surrounding people in the hotel rooms entered my ears. The smell of beef stew and freshly washed bed sheets wafted into my nose and calmed me down. I didn't realize it before with my perception upgraded. Silence was terrifying.
[Master? Are you okay?]
Emy's words knocked me out of my daze. "Yeah, I'm fine, Emy. That was quite disorienting."
[Sorry, I didn't know that upgrading the system would completely dispel your powers. Since I am also a part of the system, no time seemed to pass from my perspective.]
"That's fine. I was just surprised."
I exhaled and held my hand to my racing heart. It quickly slowed down and returned to a normal pace.
"Now… Let's check out my new system."