The news that one man singled out the entire rank 1s of the Imperial Guard would've taken the entire capital by storm.
But the Admiral suppressed the news and prevented anyone else from gaining even any rumors of it.
Because he didn't believe a rank 1 could do it. Not just him, no one in the training hall thought so including the rank 3 officers and the soldiers themselves.
Still, everyone was impressed that Varian fought and won using the strength of a rank 1.
"Admiration is admiration, Imperial Guards can't be defeated by a guard." The Admiral said to the soldiers and decided to force Varian to reveal his true rank.
Then, the news would be that 'Just the rank 1 Imperial Guards managed to defeat a rank 3!'.
As a result, for now, not even Akira knew of this event. If she did, she'd have taken measures against Varian who's much more powerful than she originally thought.
The reaction of the Admiral was under Varian's calculations. So, he had no worries. After taking dozens of potions, he meditated to recuperate.
Logically, the Admiral was right. For any rank 1 or even rank 2, such a fight should've been impossible.
Even for a monster like Varian, it's unthinkable.
No matter how advanced and special, no matter how fast he could digest the potions, it made no sense for a single man to best three hundred.
Indeed, right after the one-hour mark, Varian found himself losing the reserves of Qi.
He had two options. Either use other powers and get caught. Or admit defeat, which would defeat the point of the whole thing.
Usually in fights, he could ask Logos to hide others from finding out about his other powers.
For instance, he could use time power and space power on himself to speed his attacks. He could also use his powers of matter and energy to strengthen his body or increase the speed of his physical attacks. He could also knock out every person he hit by using spiritual power at the exact moment when his attack connected.
For others, all these appeared as his natural strength.
But after one hour of that fight, he had run dry of all Qi. In that situation, without any Qi, whatever he did, it'd be clear as day that he's using other powers.
In that critical moment, his body was full of other five powers, but the well of Qi was dry.
As he stupidly tried to draw out Qi when there was none, something astonishing happened.
The powers of slivers mixed into his celestial powers and 'converted' them into Qi.
It made absolutely no sense. But Varian found himself with an abundance of Qi all of a sudden.
And since they were seven different powers plus his own monstrous talent, the recovery was quite fast.
Because he had seven divine paths and because the slivers managed to convert these paths, Varian was able to achieve a feat even he didn't dream of.
And of course, the reward for going so far was satisfying.
'Status'
[Mystic Rank 2: 100/250
Famine Rank 2: 50/250
Spirit Rank 2: 0/250
Matter Rank 2: 10/250
Energy Rank 2: 10/250
Space Rank 2: 5/250
Time Rank 2: 5/250
Remarks: You madman, you've done it. This is the greatest increase in strength you've ever achieved.
But don't lose the forest for a tree.
Mystics advance by understanding the power of Qi and its applications.
If you simply go fighting, you can advance now, but you'll be struck at a bottleneck once you hit rank 3 and have to 'advance' into a Forcender or Adept.
Adepts focus on perfecting their body towards the goal of a Perfect body that can withstand anything and everything.
Forcenders set their sights on using that Qi on the outside and controlling the other life forms, but for starters, they influence their surroundings. The Qi converts into Life Essence in this stage.
As a rank 2, you should start thinking about which path you're going to choose. Pick carefully.
While all paths converge in the end and are equal in the canvas of the cosmos, at given situation, some powers are more equal than others.]
Varian took a deep breath after the commentary by Logos. He could feel the difference clearly.
Logos didn't bother when he was a 'mortal' awakener. But once he reached the Celestial Ranks, it was advising and trying to guide him on a proper path.
'I'm getting closer to the final game, the divine ranks, bit by bit.' Varian closed his eyes and sank his mind into deep meditation.
Now that he thought about it, he might have to take a retreat or two to delve into the nature of his powers.
The powers of Sage Avenue—governors of life, death, and soul—were the most diverse. Perhaps it's the direct reflection of the diversity of life.
While the powers of Creator Avenue—made up of space, time, and gravity—were only three, they were very esoteric and needed a lot of effort to gain any insight into.
The powers of Ruler Avenue—consisting of order and chaos—needed observation of the cosmos to derive any real insights.
Gaining insights into any of these Avenues was extremely difficult. Celestial Rankers had to only gain insight into a section of that Avenue—their specific path.
But even that took decades and even centuries. Most celestial rankers could never pass the stage.
Varian was different from the start.
Due to the slivers, his body, soul, and even origin were fundamentally different from the rest.
Just by talent alone, he'd be the undisputed first in comprehending these mysteries.
The advantage was even more pronounced when it came to the Ruler Avenue. He could just use the slivers to gain insights. There's no better source to study order and chaos than the very slivers that carry the order and chaos of the Universe.
[You're very lucky, Host. Even Rank 9s would kill to have your conditions. Just don't do anything stupid and grow steadily.]
'You bastard should be the last one to speak about that. I landed in the middle of this political storm and something is going to happen sooner or later.'
[You should understand, at least somewhat by now. Other slivers might not be sentient, but none of them are dead things. By simply existing, we affect our surroundings.
I'm bound to you in the deepest sense, even beyond the scope of normal physical and spiritual. So, the order and chaos effects won't be to your body or soul but your very life.]
'You are the slivers of order and chaos. But I never see any order in my life. Only chaos.'
[There is order in that chaos, Host. Whatever you do, your life cannot be orderly—it cannot be stable and normal. There will always be something chaotic—great dangers and correspondingly, great opportunities.
But within these chaotic situations lies the ways of order—a way forward for you to navigate—it's not safe, but it will take you somewhere.]
'…I guess I was harsh on blaming you for all the misery in my life.' Varian admitted.
Thinking back, he did blame everything on the System. But now, he could see it a bit more clearly. It's like blaming fire for giving off heat and ice for being cold.
[Harsh? A bit. But immature? A lot.]
'What do you expect from a 18-year-old?' Varian's lips twitched. 'I was so young and naive back then.'
[For your kind information, you're not even 19 now.]
'No, it's already a yea—'
[But you do know that you aren't really 19, right? Staying in Hortus messed with your time period. You'll be 19 in a few days. Coincidentally, on the day of the marriage.]
'…What the hell are you trying to say, Logos?'
[If your words are taken to be true, you're still an amateur 18-year-old.]
'I take back my apology, bastard.' Varian wondered if this system was masochistic. Else, why did it always provoke him when he tried to be nice?
'Did getting kidnapped for so many years in that tight place twist you in some way or what?'
[…Please do not measure this System by your bedroom plays. It's an insult so harsh that this System feels the urge to knock your head.]
Unlike the other times, this time, Logos' voice was soft and anger was evident in that tone.
Varian didn't know if Logos had any gender. But the voice made him visualize an angry young woman, in her early twenties, glaring at him. But even if she tried her best to keep an indifferent expression, her embarrassment was apparent with her blush.
[Stop imagining whatever you're imagining. The smile on your face says it's something bad. This System is so great but you're using…]
Ignoring the System's rant, Varian laughed hard.
