Atlas needed to visit the Awakener Association Center. It was the place that provided general information for awakeners, including details on Dungeons, Marketplace listings, Auctions, and available mercenary awakeners. Conveniently, it was also near the Guild Center, it was a central hub for organized Awakener Guilds.
He had plans to hold one-on-one conversations with each of his subordinates and decided to start with Karian. So he invited Karian to follow him.
Just as he and Karian were about to head out, someone called his name. Atlas turned to see Lyrassa approaching, her usual warm smile lighting up her face.
"My Lord… may I join you both?" Lyrassa asked politely.
"Yes… of course. Come along," he replied, then raised an eyebrow. "But you can walk faster, can't you?"
"Uh…" Lyrassa nodded quickly. "Yes, My Lord. I can."
Atlas stepped out, with Karian walking at his left side. Lyrassa joined on his right, and, surprisingly, she kept up with an impressive speed he hadn't expected.
Something felt off, though. Atlas paused, prompting Karian and Lyrassa to stop as well. Lyrassa looked at him, a bit puzzled.
He glanced down and realized she wasn't walking at all, she was hovering a few inches above the ground, which made her appear slightly taller.
"Can you manage that speed while actually walking?"
She smiled, nodding. "Yes, My Lord, I can."
They continued on their way, with Atlas adjusting his pace to a more relaxed speed.
"Tell me, Lyrassa, would you mind if I asked about your past… I mean, before you were summoned by me?"
"No, I don't mind," she replied in her gentle voice.
"I want to get to know you both better," Atlas continued. "I know you've faced similar challenges to what I'm up against now. This is all new to me, and I believe there's a lot I can learn from your experiences."
Lyrassa nodded thoughtfully. "I once had a floating island, much like ours... and I protected it for... 500 years."
Atlas was taken aback, casting her a surprised glance as they stepped into the elevator. Five hundred years?
"I was a Rank 7 - Champion, before tragedy befell my island, my Lord."
"Champion?!"
Atlas recalled Edrik's speculation that Morganna might have been at least an Overlord, Rank 8, in her previous world. If the System classified Morganna as an Exclusive Rank-S Character and Lyrassa as a Standard Rank-S, then Edrik's theory held weight.
"Protecting a floating island and surviving countless battles for 500 years." Atlas repeated, still trying to wrap his mind around everything this Nature Spirit had endured.
"The people I was meant to protect… they perished…" Lyrassa's voice grew softer.
"Did you lose to another Lord, Lyrassa?"
Lyrassa shook her head. "I won my battles by defending my island. I grew my island from the rewards the system granted me," she explained. "But one day, an Arcane-grade Beast attacked my island."
"Arcane-grade?!" Karian interjected.
Lyrassa nodded slowly.
"Wait, an Arcane-grade beast?" Atlas echoed in surprise. "So far, we've only encountered up to Legendary-grade beasts here: Common, Rare, Elite, Epic, Unique, and Legendary." He paused, putting the pieces together. "Legendary is the highest we've seen so far. There's one grade above that, Mythic. But it's just a rank on paper; no one's actually encountered one here."
He added. "But Arcane-grade beast?"
Karian spoke up, "Arcane-grade is actually above Mythic-grade, Atlas."
Atlas paused, letting that sink in. "An Arcane-grade Beast attacked your island, and that's how you lost it?"
"Yes, My Lord," Lyrassa replied.
Atlas tried to imagine just how powerful an Arcane-grade Beast would have to be.
Karian added, "The highest-ranked beast I ever faced was Mythic-grade. Even then, nearly half my army was wiped out."
"Did you win in the end?"
"With all the sacrifices… it was both a victory and a loss."
Atlas nodded thoughtfully. "And what rank were you before being summoned here?"
"I was a Rank 6 - Marshal. Just one rank below Lyrassa."
"And Edrik?"
"Edrik held Rank 5 - Guardian," Karian said. "And Mira was Rank 3 - Pathfinder."
Morganna: at least Rank 8 - Overlord.
Lyrassa: Rank 7 - Champion.
Karian: Rank 6 - Marshal.
Edrik: Rank 5 - Guardian.
Mira: Rank 3 - Pathfinder.
Atlas nodded slowly, piecing together everything he'd learned. It seemed that Standard Rank-S characters likely held ranks around Champion. Rank-A characters, then, probably fell somewhere between Rank 3 and Rank 6. As for Exclusive Rank-S characters like Morganna, they might be at least Overlord, or possibly even higher.
He still didn't fully grasp the power scaling between each rank, but one thing was clear: on New Earth, Lords only went up to Rank 6 - Marshal, which had been Karian's rank before his summoning.
So right now, Karian's experience placed him on par with the highest possible rank on New Earth. Meanwhile, Lyrassa and Morganna existed at levels beyond anything even attainable here.
Atlas sighed, a sense of awe settling over him as he realized just how vast this world truly was, and beyond it, who knew how many other worlds lay out there.
They had the knowledge, the experience. They'd only lost a portion of their original strength. He could hardly imagine just how desperate their situations must have been. Defeated, stripped of their full power, and then summoned to serve another Lord, a new awakened Lord!
Still, maybe this was also a second chance for them.
"If someday we could visit your original worlds," Atlas asked, "would it be possible to meet anyone you once knew there? Or even… avenge your losses?"
Karian considered this. "This world is still far from reaching that level. But anything is possible, so… yes."
"The Arcane-grade beast that destroyed my people…" Lyrassa murmured. "It will surely bring ruin not just to my original world, but perhaps to every world it encounters."
Atlas's expression grew serious. "Those high-grade beasts would destroy this world too, if they arrived before the Lords were ready, wouldn't they?"
"That's exactly what happened to my world, My Lord," Lyrassa said.
Atlas nodded thoughtfully. "And have you ever known someone at Overlord rank before? Just how powerful are they?"
Karian's expression grew serious. "Someone at Overlord rank is a being who has managed to claim their entire world, in every sense."
"The whole world? The entire planet?"
"Yes," Karian confirmed. "Their battles unfold between worlds, leaving great destruction and massive devastation in their wake."
"So, you're saying Morganna could actually be that powerful?" Atlas asked. "Is that why Edrik said she was likely on the level of a god?"
Karian nodded. "Exactly. For someone at that level, power is nearly limitless, and the cost of wielding it is just as high."
Atlas then delved deeper into the nature of the Lord Battles, eagerly absorbing the insights Karian and Lyrassa shared.
Through their stories, he learned that, despite her youthful appearance, Lyrassa was actually several centuries old. Karian, by contrast, had been around 150 years old at the time of his final defeat. Their extended lifespans alone spoke volumes about the vast experiences they had endured.
Hearing all this, Edrik's remark about New Earth still being in its infancy made even more sense; other worlds had already advanced through tens of thousands of years of progress and battles.
Finally, they arrived at the Awakener Association Center.
"All right," Atlas thought. "Let's settle everything here first, then back to building my island!"