"What?" Vahn visibly trembled at the sudden revelation. He had sensed the seriousness in her voice, but this was beyond anything he had expected.
"Yes," Eselie confirmed. "Every world has 50 years to clear the first stage, and your time is running out."
Vahn's mind raced. "It's been 47 years… and the year is ending." His voice grew more tense as he calculated the implications.
"Exactly."
"But first," he said, trying to steady himself, "what is the first stage?"
This was what the scientist was trying to theorize, and though he wasn't far from it, he still never truly understood it.
"Stages are like levels of a world, they determine the power of a world or how important it is. No one knows how it began, and since there's no downside, we just live with it." Eselie explained with a shrug. "And the first stages for every world, its inhabitants must complete it themselves."
The scattered pieces began falling into place. 'So that's why they only helped us and never actually fought for us.' Vahn mused on the story of the mysterious family. He always wondered why they didn't help if they had the power; he was only just understanding.
"Once a world clears its first stage, it moves to the second stage. The difficulty increases, but so do the opportunities. New lands emerge, inhabitants to populate them, and the vast resources around."
Vahn's eyes widened. This was information the Supremes should have been hearing, not him.
"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this, right?" she asked with a smile like she was reading his thoughts.
He nodded.
"Well, think about it. What happens to the person who clears the stage?"
Realization struck him.
"Exactly," Eselie continued. "They receive a reward."
His mind whirled. Imagine the universe itself was granting rewards…
"Once a world reaches the third stage, things change. Then, you have the right to travel between worlds."
Vahn's breath caught. "So…"
Eselie smiled. "Yes. When that time comes, come visit us."
Little by little, a plan began to take shape within him. His purpose had been unclear before, but now…
"Alright, but first, how do we clear this stage?" That was the immediate problem.
"Each stage has two scenarios," she explained. "This world has already gone through one."
"You mean…"
"Yes. The demons were the first scenario."
"Then the second scenario must be… the marked beasts?"
"Is that what you call them? Well, yes, those beasts are the second scenario."
"So, do we defeat some kind of boss monster?" Vahn asked.
"No," she corrected. "You have to find the core that spawns them."
Vahn frowned. "Wait, they're being spawned?"
"Yes. You need to locate the guardian beasts, defeat them, and take the core."
His mind reeled. This knowledge would make things so much easier.
"One last thing," he added. "If we take the core, won't the monsters stop spawning? That's our main energy source right now."
Eselie shook her head. "Just like how people are using demon blood as a resource, the core will integrate into your world. Once you take it, you can replant it to continue producing monsters."
"So, the world really is like a game," Vahn mused.
Eselie grinned. "And don't you just love it?"
A genuine smile crossed his face. "So, we really are family, huh?"
At just 5% power, he had already surpassed C-rankers. With his new space manipulation and erasure abilities, even B-ranks might not pose a challenge. Before he knew it, he would be outmatching the Supremes.
His future had been uncertain, but now it was clear: Earth was just the beginning.
"But I should warn you," Eselie said, smirking. "Our next meeting won't be like this."
He knew what she meant. They were going to fight at their next meeting.
Vahn chuckled. "Looks like elder sister doesn't know what's good for her."
"Oh?" Her right eye briefly shifted to a reptilian slit as she released a fraction of her power.
Kugh…
Vahn's body trembled, bones creaking under the pressure. A part of him was in awe. 'So, this is my family…'
If the day he had awakened had been the best day of his life, then this was a close second.
"See you later, youngest," Eselie said with a final smile.
Darkness overtook his vision.
Meanwhile…
"Can you explain what happened?" a military officer asked, eyeing the crowd behind him.
"A boy…" Battle Axe turned to look for Vahn, but he was gone.
"A boy?" The officer raised a brow.
"Yes, you have to believe me. A boy saved us." His eyes darted around, still searching.
"Alright," the officer sighed and asked the normal question, "Can you describe him?"
"It was dark, so I couldn't see much... but I know he had golden eyes."
"Golden eyes?" The officer's tone sharpened in interest.
"Y-Yes." Battle Axe grew uneasy at the shift in atmosphere.
"Was he alive?"
"Of course! And he was strong too, he..."
The officer pulled out his radio and spoke to it while walking on the rambling Battle axe.
At the Alliance Headquarters,
"Sir!" For the first time in two days, the secretary rushed in with a smile.
The lieutenant general, who had been standing motionless, finally turned. "What is it?"
"Vahn has been found alive! Survivors from a demon cave kidnapping reported seeing him."
"Good… So that's what he's been up to? Demons?" The lieutenant general shook his head in disappointment at the Major-general's betrayal.
"And the battle situation?"
The secretary grinned. "The soldiers are saying these aren't demons, just training dummies."
The lieutenant general chuckled. "Good. Tell them to finish up. After that, we report to the General."
"Yes, sir!"
Jon's eyes fluttered open in an unfamiliar room.
"You're awake?"
A voice called out, and Vahn turned to see a nurse smiling at him.
"Student Vahn Clay, you're fully healed. You can leave now."
"What?" He blinked in confusion and asked, "Where am I?"
"You're in the school clinic of Camp 5."
Vahn exhaled deeply and sank into the pillow after a while.
'I'm back.'