"The mind is the precursor, the way, and the end." That was the name of the technique he chose. It matched his thoughts perfectly and carried an air of mystery unique to Kayden. This technique was based on using your path as the sole basis for your advancement. Within your mind, you should be able to consolidate your path in an immaterial way.
Their cores would continue to function normally and advance to the fifth realm with increased strength, but they would no longer be the main part of their structure; your mind would be. Everything would revolve around his path. It was perfect for Kayden, but the technique had some ridiculously bad downsides. Any insecurity about his path would eventually kill him, no matter if it was during the advancement or years later.
Any strong mental imbalance that ended up altering his path in any way, even in the slightest, would kill him. This technique was made for people who had no doubts about what they would follow for the next millennia. Fortunately, Kayden was one of those people. Over the next few years, he only cemented the image of his path in his mind. It wasn’t very difficult; he just had to put a black crown on his brain.
It was a crown without many details, just black mana circulating inside his brain all the time, but it was a perfect choice, as its path symbolized the ability to govern his actions and feelings. Practically everything was within his will. This crown took about a century to make. Kayden placed an absolute level of perfection upon her. Any mistakes were erased and redone. It only took him a decade to reach the ideal level, but about eight decades to reach perfection.
His strength underwent another great increase. His mana manipulation became even stronger. At this moment, he was able to sense the spiritual senses around him and accurately break them; In the past, he just messed up the mana in the region. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to level up his skills or learn the technique of incompletely elevating the brain to the next realm as he needed to go on another mission. He’s spent a lot of time in isolation already.
"I thought I’d never leave that room. You’re scary, Kayden," Evelyn commented as soon as she saw the boy appear in front of her. She hadn’t seen many people capable of spending a century in isolation.
"Do you have any special missions?" Kayden asked directly. His aura was more oppressive and cold because of the crown on his brain. This was something he didn’t notice, but Evelyn instantly noticed the change in aura.
He was at the true transition point. At any moment, he could become a demigod. At this moment, few people would be able to face him without being in that state as well.
"Congratulations on your discovery." Kayden looked at the woman in surprise.
"As?"
"You are in a state of transition. Your aura exudes a certain degree of divinity. It’s not something you can notice because of your realm. This aura makes any mage who doesn’t have a bit of divinity feel pressured to kneel." instinctively."
Kayden had never noticed this, but after thinking for just a few seconds, he realized it was true, as every god and demigod he encountered made his instincts scream for him to kneel.
"How do I hide this?" Kayden didn’t like the idea of having something out of his control.
"There’s no way. Only when you’re in the fifth realm will you be able to, but don’t worry. Few people can realize this easily and only those who have known it before." Kayden was a little more relieved and let it go.
"I see. What is my mission?" Kayden came back to the same topic again.
"The organization of this zone has changed a bit in recent years. A wizard named Eros Hol has appeared and brought everyone to their knees at his will. At the moment, all organizations must have a headquarters in the center of the zone, and their main members are in that place at service of Eros." Kayden already knew that a wizard had appeared out of nowhere.
Eros Hol was dangerous and represented an absurd peak of strength. Kayden did not expect that he would destroy the political model that was in force in the past.
"Right now, we have no countries. They are called states of the kingdom of Eros. Our organization also has a headquarters around the center of the zone. Its function will be to represent one of our branches at social events and garner favor for the kingdom of Eros." "
Kayden understood that he was involved in something big this time. It was much more dangerous than his last event, simply because he would be dealing with a side that had all its wishes met without any restrictions. Any mistake on his part, he could be killed. His organization did not offer any protection for him. At the first opportunity, they would get rid of any ties between the two, and he knew it.
"Reward?" Kayden has never turned down a challenge in his life and it wouldn’t be this time.
"100 points per year." Kayden almost dropped his jaw. It was a very high amount. In just a decade, he would score more points than in four of his previous missions.
"Because I? What’s the catch?" Kayden couldn’t believe something so good would go smoothly.
"We know a little about your past, there’s no catch. The mission has a risk of life involved at all times, any mistake on your part and that’s it." Evelyn said exactly what Kayden expected about the mission.
"I accept."
************
The center of the area was immense and, at the same time, empty. There was only a single city at the foot of a volcano, but it was a huge city hundreds of kilometers long. In each area of the city, there was a country with a few organizations dominating. There was little space for many groups, so the environment always seemed ready to explode into fights and occasionally deaths occurred.
The city was made of a soft-colored black and yellow stone. There were few tall buildings; most grew toward the ground, which is why Kayden was in a mansion a mile underground. The guild headquarters was relatively discreet and operated like an ordinary hotel. Logically, the great powers knew what was there, but normal, uninfluenced people had no idea about it.
Kayden was given a room very similar to his previous one. The place had a region with available missions, what was evident was that their level was much higher than that of its old headquarters, and there were practically no small missions. Kayden came along with Evelyn to the center of the zone. He had been here for about two months and at the moment he didn’t have to do anything. Eros was in seclusion and, when he came out, a banquet would be held at the top of the volcano.
Right now, Kayden had free time to do whatever he wanted. What he was doing was trying to improve his mind. It was a practically impossible mission, even using all the techniques and resources he had available. The city was no big deal in Kayden’s view. It didn’t take him long to memorize all the organizations and their specific areas, as well as their strongest members and what he should pay attention to in each of these groups.
Just six months later, Eros woke up from his seclusion and called everyone to climb the volcano. In this case, they were just people with some power and influence. The top of the volcano was closed with glass and left the interior, which was bubbling with magma, visible. In some parts there was earth instead of glass and an exotic garden appeared on all sides. Kayden felt the presence of more than ten thousand people around him, settling into one of the thousands of seats.
Food and drink were served on floating platters. The environment had runes that left the mind calm. Additionally, several men and women offered special services to everyone at no cost. The environment had a very high level of peace for Kayden. Something was wrong; his senses told him that he was entering a tiger’s den and that he should run away from that place immediately.
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At his table, there was only Evelyn as his acquaintance. The rest he had no interest in meeting during these months. Most were there like him, just to gain a greater reputation. The middle level at the top of the volcano was of the fourth realm, with a large amount of mages in the fifth realm. Furthermore, most gave an experienced aura to Kayden. Some in the fourth realm even caused him fear.
The stronger Kayden got, the more he felt like a frog at the bottom of the well. He was on a unique level, but there were still some monsters capable of surpassing him without any big difference.