"What exactly is this upcoming war? Who are we fighting, and why are we fighting them?" Michael asked.
"I heard some rumors and read some 'news' from semi-professional platforms on the Lord Network, but there hasn't been an official announcement or anything like that."
Michael had heard about the possibility of an upcoming war from his brother, but it had never been confirmed. Not even the information in the forums of the Lord Network said anything specific.
Until now, Michael's life outside the Origin Expanse had been rather relaxed. He might have spent his time working out and studying all day, but he never had to fight a foreign race outside the Origin Expanse. He didn't even kill anyone outside the Origin Expanse yet.
Was all of that about to change?
"Won't extraterrestrial wars mostly be fought with warcraft? In fact, even if the Awakened fight as well, freshmen shouldn't be affected for quite a while, or will we?" Michael added two more questions, while fully prepared to throw more questions at Alice.
Only by advancing to Tier-4 would Awakened be able to survive in space. The vitality of Tier-4 Awakened would evolve, turning the Awakened into a higher life form. However, that was something most people wouldn't attain until they reached the age of 30. In fact, most would not even make it that far, in the first place.
Thus, Michael wouldn't be affected by an upcoming war for quite a while. So why did it sound like the war would reach them soon?
"I understand that you might be a little bit confused, but you should calm down," Alice said, her voice sharper than intended.
She regained her composure and looked at him with a neutral expression, trying to read what was going on inside his mind.
"Your lack of knowledge is understandable. It's necessary that you start studying more about the extraterrestrials. Only then will you realize how much impact the Origin Expanse has on wars in the extraterrestrial? Those are very complicated topics, and it is unfortunate that nobody taught them to you until now," She explained before adding, "It seems like I need to adjust the schedule of our individual teaching. Watching you fight made me forget that you…well, whatever…"
Michael was unsure if it was because of the way Alice spoke to him or something else, but her words made him feel really stupid. it was the first time he felt like that while talking to Alice.
For a moment he wondered if he was an illiterate child, whose knowledge was not even equal to a single droplet of water in the ocean.
"Either way," Alice murmured while regaining Michael's full attention with a simple gesture, "I assessed your strength, determination, and the prowess of your Soultraits just now. I will further adjust our training regime and we'll be able to start for real during the next session."
She cleared her throat and continued speaking,
"For now, I can tell you a few things about humanity. Precisely, I will give you a short explanation about how the Tritan Alliance came into existence, and why we're in preparations for a war."
After the last words escaped Alice's lips, she retrieved two chairs from her War Rune. She gestured to Michael to sit down, meaning that her 'summary' would be anything but short.
Alice prepared herself shortly to prepare throwing a 60 minute long summary at Michael, "Let's start with the extraterrestrial…"
…
Exactly one hour later, Alice finished the summary - if one could call it such, in the first place.
She expected Michael to bombard her with questions, but he was deep in thought, trying to digest every piece of information he had been given. He remained motionless for a few minutes, and only began to move when he finished organizing the newly added information Alice had given him in the last hour.
"So, to keep it really short. Artifacts, certain devices, and other objects from the Origin Expanse influence the battles outside the Origin Expanse. These items can create spaces that can only be entered by beings beneath a certain Tier. That way, Awakened of a lower Tier will be forced into battle...that's weird" Michael mumbled, recalling that he had heard some of that before.
However, it didn't really make sense in his opinion.
"I don't really understand how politics work, or how politics are involved in the increasing importance of Artifacts from the Origin Expanse, but let's put that aside for now…" Michael mumbled before his mind moved to the more important part of Alice's one-hour-long summary.
"Now this is a part I don't really understand… A race called Tekur manifested a Portal on one of the planets in this stellar system a decade ago. The portal anchored on that planet by chance – which led to the first conflicts between the Tekur race and the citizens of the said planet. Both Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs lived there, and given that they're war-loving races, they didn't hesitate to attack – I presume." Michael added, looking over to Alice, who nodded in affirmation.
Michael was just about to continue summarizing what Alice had said within an hour when she intervened.
"You don't have to repeat everything I've said. It's pretty simple. The Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs lost the first few clashes with the Tekur. Then mankind appeared on their radars. We landed on Kelta with the intention to colonize it but encountered a few injured members of the Berserker and Warlock Centaur race. They were on the verge of death after fighting a small cohort of the Tekur race.
Our healers tended to their wounds, got to know more about the situation, and one of the strongest powerhouses of mankind decided to take a look at the Portal. The Tekur returned to their planet at that point, thought we are not yet certain why. The Soultrait of the human powerhouse was related to spatial manipulation, which was why he could temporarily seal the portal, preventing the Tekur from entering the Lumina Stellar System.
The help we provided initiated the first steps to the creation of the Tritan Alliance."
Michael heard her saying the same words the second time, but it felt much clearer now, "And because it was only temporarily sealed, the seal continues to grow weaker, right?"
Alice nodded once again, "Last year, the Tekur changed something about the portal from their side. They altered the portal, turning it into a Lesser Dimension Gate, which allows Awakened below the 3rd Tier to enter it. The Tekur race then challenged the Tritan Alliance, saying that they had three years to destroy the Lesser Dimension by shattering the six Dimensional Pillars in the Lesser Dimension before they would initiate a full-blown attack on the Lumina Stellar System.
The words and challenge of the Tekur were proven to be correct as the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs conquered a part of the Lesser Dimension, destroying one of the Dimensional Pillars. The Lesser Dimension Gates on both sides grew weaker, allowing lesser Tekur and members of the Tritan Alliance to enter it at a time. Once all Dimensional Pillars are destroyed, the Gate would disperse on its own."
Alice was very frustrated when talking about the Tekur. It was intriguing to look at since Alice was known for being cold and void of emotions.
Michael never really felt that she was void of emotions, but he heard rumors about the genius of the Zenovia family often enough to know that many feared her.
However, Michael could understand her agitation to a certain extent. To ensure that the Tekur would never be able to reach the Lumina stellar system the Lesser Dimension had to be destroyed. It was the only Gateway connecting the Lumina Stellar System with the Tekur, after all.
Fighting the Tekur head-on was not feasible either. They were an older race – even older than the three races of the Tritan Alliance combined. One of their Divine Lifeforms was enough to conquer the entire Tritan Alliance. That was why Alice was so worried and angry; the Lesser Dimension Gate had to be destroyed, but none of mankind's powerhouses had been able to achieve that so far. They couldn't even help destroying it.
All they could do was to support the younger generations to grow stronger as quickly as possible. The strongest Awakened beneath Tier-3 had to be nourished to grow strong enough to fight against the Tekur – a superior race with stronger techniques, better Artifacts, and Unique Racial Abilities.
Michael could clearly sense the way Alice's mood worsened while having this discussion. It was not fun to look at.
"But do you think that I will have a chance to participate in the battle against the Tekur? If in the next two years the remaining five Dimensional Pillars must be destroyed, I would have to reach the Peak of the 2nd Tier before that, while ensuring that my combat prowess is high enough to face the Tekur – whose combat prowess is bound to be extraordinary," Michael wondered aloud.
Alice just smiled when she realized what Michael was thinking about.
"Let's just hope that you won't have to enter the Lesser Dimension. One way or another, you should grow stronger to ensure your territory's safety. You never know what will happen in the future!" Alice lectured.
Michael was interested in older races, and he would have loved to talk with the Tekur race. Unfortunately, it looked like they were enemies. It was unlikely that he would gain the opportunity to talk to them about the Origin Tongues, or other topics he would have loved to discuss.
It was a shame, but there was nothing Michael could do about it.
Maybe, the situation revolving around the Lesser Dimension Gate wouldn't affect him. But even if it wouldn't affect him, Michael thought that it was good to know what was going on in outer space around mankind's territory.
After Michael finished organizing his thoughts, Alice told him about a few more things before she called it a day. Michael's mind was already flooded with information. Continuing their training now was no short of torture.
The evening after their first training session, Michael received a list of questions from Alice.
The questions were pretty simple but about topics that were considered rude to ask under normal circumstances. Alice asked him what techniques he was using, and details about his Soultrait.
However, Michael answered the list of questions without any qualms.
He knew that Alice needed as much information as possible to create the most efficient training course for him.
Nonetheless, some questions were confusing. The questions caused Michael to think a lot, and he quickly found himself losing focus of the list of questions.
His mind went astray.
"How is it even possible for big families to ensure that their children will be compatible with their Inheritance techniques?"
