Leno took off toward his office, flying away while shouting over his shoulder about the work Reoloy had to get to.
The boy tuned him out entirely, instead turning his attention to Meyer and several adult militia members who had stepped in to serve as guides and observers throughout the process.
The militant youths were divided into groups of fifteen, each assigned a single instructor, officially marking the beginning of the bootcamp—though for now, it consisted only of screening and measurements.
Reoloy caught sight of Lavere heading toward a group of her own and remembered the other part of this arrangement.
"Lavere," he called, waving her over.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, glancing between her father and the blue-black-haired boy.
"Your situation is a little more complicated, so I'll handle the proceedings for this first part."
"...Alright," she replied, already getting an idea of what he meant from Gordoi's presence alone.
"First." Reoloy rested his cheek against his hand as he sat cross-legged. "When did you first consciously experience casis?"
He paused before straightening slightly.
"It doesn't have to be a time you controlled it or deliberately summoned it. Just the first time you felt it and knew it was something different."
Lavere's usual composure cracked as she stared at him in blatant confusion. After a moment, she tried to recall the specifics.
"Probably around eight years ago."
Gordoi and Reoloy exchanged a glance, the latter silently conveying a clear "I told you so."
"Do you recall ever having a dream with an unusual amount of branch imagery?" he asked next, leaning forward. "It could've also been pipes—or just branching patterns or structures in general."
Again, Lavere's brow furrowed.
"No..." she muttered before a vague, fuzzy memory surfaced. "Or wait, actually yeah. It was earlier that same year. I think I got really sick and fainted. That was when it happened."
She looked between the two of them, her patience beginning to wear thin. She wanted them to get to the point already.
"I know it's frustrating, but the questions were kind of necessary."
"The way you're asking them is more irritating than the questions themselves," she replied curtly. "You said 'were', so we're done now?"
"With that, yes." Reoloy nodded with a self-satisfied smile before abruptly turning deathly serious. "From the sound of it, you experienced a deviation during Deep Sleep."
"...What?" the father-daughter duo blurted out in unison.
"This is a good opportunity," Reoloy said eagerly, preparing to talk about something that genuinely interested him. "I'll explain the continent's standards while we're at it."
In general, anyone who had awakened to one of the three powers was ranked on a scale of Third-tier, Second-tier, First-tier, Expert, Master, and finally Ascendant.
From Third-tier to Master, each rank was further divided into sub-levels—Third-rate, Second-rate, and First-rate. Third-rate was considered the entry point of a tier, while First-rate marked the threshold to the next.
If Reoloy had to guess his own level, he would probably be around a third-rate Third-tier, or at best a second-rate. His existing win record and current capabilities were heavily padded by his toolkit of relics.
Which brought up the next point.
This ranking system was a universal standard, yet individuals who used three entirely different powers were all measured by it regardless.
For personal growth and self-assessment, that made it far too inefficient.
That was where each power's own dedicated progression system came into play.
Mana had circles, ranging from Zero Circle to Ninth Circle.
Ki had stages, each bearing a unique name, with the highest known stage being Perfect Rebirth.
Casis had levels, descending from Level Twelve to Level One.
Each path had its own unique method of advancement, though all three shared a common thread in experiencing some form of enlightenment.
Cultivating ki required entering a meditative state and deepening one's understanding of both the energy itself and the natural state of the world.
If Reoloy was being honest, he had no idea what that actually meant—and he didn't particularly care. It wasn't his problem.
Circle construction, on the other hand, demanded a thorough understanding of a circle's structure before undergoing the painstaking process of building it with precision.
There were exceptional cases where a circle formed spontaneously in the heat of the moment, but such occurrences were rare enough to remain unexplained despite mana's long and prestigious history.
Then there was casis...
The power demanded the most bizarre and troublesome method of advancement out of the three.
A process known as Deep Sleep.
Apparently, a long time ago, they had called it simulated death or pre-death. Fairly accurate terms, considering that if even the smallest thing went wrong, it was curtains for the practitioner.
"So you're saying that I experienced an issue during this Deep Sleep thing?" Lavere asked, unconvinced. "But I've never even learned how to do that. I was a complete novice when it came to casis, remember?"
Reoloy nodded, humming lightly.
"You were, but casis is more troublesome than the others," he said, growing serious once more. "Depending on how much you possess, it can sneak up on you and catch you off guard unless you get a decent handle on it."
His own casis reserves were still meagre, but compared to him, Lavere's were an entire pool. Casis wasn't nearly as easy to grow as the other two powers, so she had likely been born with roughly the same amount she possessed now.
"My best guess is that you experienced a callback," he continued. "That's what they call it when Deep Sleep initiates involuntarily."
"...So that's a bad thing?" Gordoi chimed in for the first time, his tone reserved. "The way you're describing it, it sounds similar to starting cultivation unexpectedly."
Reoloy glanced at him before letting out a sigh.
"With ki, you can suffer energy deviation if you lose focus or direct your power incorrectly," he explained slowly. "But this is more like a subconscious trial with several simultaneous extra layers attached. Miss even one step or fail part of the trial's progression, and you're already in a very grim situation."
He frowned, reminded that he would need to make preparations for his own first attempt soon.
"The point is, for a young and inexperienced Lavere, it was like throwing her into a raging storm with no instructions whatsoever."
The three of them fell silent.
The blonde in question stared blankly at the dirt beneath her feet, while her father seemed to sink into quiet self-loathing over his inability to prevent the incident from happening in the first place.
Reoloy studied them for a moment before closing his eyes and extending an arm, his hand clenched into a fist.
A flash of light leaked through the gaps between his fingers.
He then scooted over to Lavere, took her hand, and placed a stone into it.
"You think you can muster about half your casis and squeeze this rock?"
Lavere blinked. "With my hand?"
"Yes." He nodded. "You can apply telekinesis while doing it, but it's not necessary."
The teen did as instructed, a rush of black and yellow erupting around her before compressing around her right hand.
She closed her fist around the small, uneven stone and exhaled slowly.
Then, in a single motion, she crushed it completely.
"What now?" she asked.
"Let the remains fall to the ground."
As she did, Reoloy watched the dust carefully, even activating his system-enhanced eyes to catch finer details.
"Not bad," he muttered, letting out a low whistle of appreciation.
"What does it mean?"
"It's a really old method of judging someone's level," Reoloy responded. "We can use it to get an estimate by today's standards."
He pointed at the sparkling blue dust.
"It broke down into fine particles, but not perfectly. There are still a few larger chunks mixed in. That puts you at roughly third-rate Second-tier."
Reoloy pinched some of the dust between his fingers and sprinkled it into the air. The three watched as it drifted downward at an unnaturally slow pace.
"Then there's the colour... If it were a slightly darker blue, there would be an argument for you being somewhere between Level Twelve and Level Ten, but with this and the excruciatingly slow descent, you're a Level Twelve."
"So?" Gordoi asked, staring at him expectantly.
"She hasn't been suffering severe effects thus far because she's been draining her casis reserves regularly, especially recently." Reoloy sighed. "To slow the consequences of the deviation further—until we can treat it—she'll need to achieve Level Nine, at least."
"But as long as she keeps using her powers, she'll be fine for now?"
"Correct."
Gordoi quietly celebrated the news, shutting his eyes to keep his tears from spilling out.
He wanted to express his gratitude, but before he could, Frusen walked over and dropped a stack of papers into Reoloy's lap.
"Here's everyone's assessments," the man said flatly.
"You know," Reoloy started. "This treatment doesn't really scream reverence towards your king."
"Shut up."
"I'll remember that."
"Whatever."
The exchange was interrupted by a light laugh from Lavere, drawing all of their attention.
She stood and brushed the dirt from her clothes.
"Things are moving along, right?" she muttered. "You shouldn't keep everyone waiting..."
Then she gave a small mock bow.
"...my lord."
The three stared at her before Reoloy roughly nudged Frusen.
"See? That's more like it," he said. "It's actually 'Your Highness,' but she's headed in the right direction."
They all shook their heads at him as he got up and led them back to the area where everyone had gathered once more.
The kids were buzzing again, sharing their results and boasting as they compared their ratings.
'That's right... these guys are still children,' Reoloy mused, a deep frown forming. 'It's partly my responsibility to keep them safe.'
His heart was beating out of his chest.
'Can I do that?'
He was suddenly bumped and stumbled unceremoniously to the ground. Turning to look up at whoever had caused it only brought him face-to-face with a semi-concerned Lohan.
"You okay?" she asked, straightening and extending a hand in assistance.
Reoloy stared at it, not missing the snickers from the crowd, before taking it with a smile.
"Yeah, thanks."
He clapped his hands to gather their attention, and almost instantly, the instructors moved in tandem, lining up behind him.
"So... now you know where you stand," he said, his gaze sweeping across their faces. "That's a good start. Next is the hard work. My desire... is for all of you to make it to at least first-rate Second-tier."
Most of the youths shrugged it off as easy enough.
"Just so you know, it takes most people at least ten years to go from the top of Third-tier to just third-rate Second-tier."
The reversal in their reactions was immediate.
Words caught in throats, escaping only as awkward squeaks, while some lowered their heads in dejection.
"But," Reoloy continued. "With my guidance, and the support of our helpers, whom I've already given instructions to..."
He made a sweeping gesture to the people behind him.
"You too can quickly become useful to our nation."
Their spirits began to rise, and Reoloy smiled as he took it all in. He gave a light laugh, his smile warping into the sweet expression he wore whenever sinister impulses were brewing.
"You can relax and work at ease. Just do your best." He stepped back, falling in line with Gordoi and Meyer. "Now... ten thousand full-speed laps around the entire forest perimeter."
Silence.
"...Huh?"
If it was even possible, the smile got even more unsettling.
"Did you not hear me?" he asked, tilting his head.
Beasts appeared in several flashes of light, roaring and calling in whatever ways were natural to them.
"Get running."
The youths instantly took off, with the monsters soon giving chase.
Meyer watched them leave and glanced at the young monarch.
"That seemed particularly personal."
"...Quite a few of them laughed earlier," Reoloy replied, the smile ever present. "This is a group experience, so they all have to collectively face my wra—"
He cleared his throat.
"I mean, learn discipline."
Meyer's expression remained plain, but internally, he worried for their future.
Reoloy then started in the opposite direction, heading for the abnormally reflective basin.
"Where are you going?"
"I said I would loosely participate," Reoloy replied. "I'm going to start."
Meyer wanted to retort, but Gordoi stopped him, shaking his head, his face conveying futility.
They both exhaled, watching him stroll away playfully before turning to follow the other kids.
The countdown to their arrival in Degradio was now at slightly over two months.