Just like the last time Shang had seen her, she had silver hair and wore casual purple robes, which Shang now recognized as the standard uniform for members of the Lightning Manor. Naturally, people of higher ranks didn't need to wear them, but Sparks were often encouraged to.
"Sarah, the Starlight Queen," Queen Primordium said. "She's the youngest member amongst our Mage Kings, but she has already overtaken two others. Although, that isn't very difficult."
"She focuses mostly on Lightning and Space for now, but she is already planning on branching out and comprehending more. I think she has quite a lot of talent, and when Wester and I eventually leave, she will probably become the strongest Mage King amongst us."
"She is very duty-oriented and fulfills her job with a lot of enthusiasm and professionality. I think a certain principle of idealism dictates her actions."
"She's the Mage King responsible for the Reconnaissance Department, but she is also leading the Research Department at the same time."
"How come?" Shang asked.
"I'll explain later," Queen Primordium said. "Sarah is quite busy, but she would probably accept you as her disciple. I would guess that she would probably try to understand everything about your power so she can create the best plan for your training. She's also one of the better candidates."
Shang nodded.
He still remembered the time he had met her.
Back then, Shang had been in this huge black building, and he hadn't known how to leave.
That was when she suddenly appeared in front of him, asking him what he was doing there and telling him that this was the property of the Lightning Manor.
Back then, Shang had no idea what the Lightning Manor was.
"I got a question," Shang said.
"Yes?" Queen Primordium asked.
"In Area 23, I saw an Ancestral Beast attack a huge black building that was built underground. At the same time, I felt the typical Aura of an Abomination come from there."
"The Starlight Queen arrived and dealt with the beast."
"What are these buildings?" Shang asked.
Shang wouldn't have asked such a question if he were just a normal member of the Lightning Manor. After all, it wouldn't be difficult to just silence him if he knew sensitive information.
But now, Shang's status was not simple in the slightest.
"Black Pylons," Queen Primordium answered without any hesitation or suspicion. Apparently, something like that wasn't considered a secret.
"The Research Department is responsible for those. They are huge black structures that we buried in different parts of the world. Every Black Pylon has one High Abomination inside. Back then, only a very limited number of High Abominations could spawn across the entire world, and they also didn't increase over a specific threshold."
"So, to stop more High Abominations from appearing in random locations, we kept all the High Abominations alive and imprisoned them underground."
"Another positive effect was that we could calculate the rough area where the True Abominations would appear ahead of time."
"Sadly, with the Child of Calamity still being out there, the Black Pylons have become useless now. We find Arch Abominations in many places, and we have already seen the odd Ancestral Abomination."
Queen Primordium narrowed her eyes. "I worry about the future. Ancestral Abominations already need a Mage Lord to be safe, and we don't have so many that we could station them in every settlement."
"A considerable part of our losses has come from the odd 50 Ancestral Abominations that have appeared in the last century. Whenever one appears, you can be sure that a new crater forms."
"The last one I have seen had a diameter of over 500 kilometers."
"Can you imagine seeing a deep and dark crater of such a size?"
500 kilometers.
That was more powerful than any nuclear weapon from Earth.
And Shang was solely responsible for that.
If he had just stopped advancing and stopped pushing himself, he would already be dead.
If Shang had simply decided to have a normal life, nothing like this would have happened.
Yet, Shang's mind didn't even waver.
'I've already sacrificed so much for my power. Sacrificing more won't make a difference.'
'As long as I deal with the Abominations when I'm a God, everything will work out.'
"Thanks for answering my question," Shang said.
Queen Primordium nodded, and the body in front of her changed into someone else.
It was an older man with red hair that was slowly turning white.
"Jonathan, the Myriad King," Queen Primordium said. "He's responsible for the Research Department, and he's also probably the weakest Mage King in the entire world."
"How come?" Shang asked.
"He was just as powerful as every other Mage King when he became one, but in comparison to all the others, he stopped focusing on increasing his strength," Queen Primordium explained. "He once focused on Fire and Light, but as soon as he became a Mage King, his focus switched."
"From what he told me, he said that he wasn't interested in increasing his power anymore if it didn't increase his longevity or quality of life. Because of that, he just stopped advancing."
"Instead, he focused on comprehending all Concepts one level at a time."
"All Concepts?" Shang asked.
"All of them," Queen Primordium said. "The level one Pure Concept of every Affinity except for Life and Death. Then, the level two Pure Concepts. After that, the Complex ones. Then, the next level of the Pure ones, and so on."
"He probably knows more Concepts than any other Mage King, but over 95% of his Concepts have nearly zero impact on his actual power since they are so weak."
"However, in terms of contributions, he has probably been in first place until just recently when Kiran started saving so many people."
"He dedicated his entire life to research, and the books he published have revolutionized Magic for everyone below the Ancestral Mage Realm."
"Since he comprehended nearly every level one to level three Concept, he found several new Complex Concepts that we hadn't even known existed since no one had tried to combine certain Concepts with each other. Additionally, he made several compendiums and compilations of Concepts and what they could do."
"You could say he unified and solved the lower levels of power."
"He's also the one that decided to let other Paths in some Development Areas flourish. He had essentially already solved the lower Mage Path, and he knew that he didn't have enough time for the next level."
"So, he decided on also looking at other Paths."
"Without him, the area where you came from probably wouldn't have many warriors."
Shang nodded.
"Sarah has been slowly taking on his duties due to his old age, leaving him with the duties he enjoys and taking on the duties he doesn't like. For all his accomplishments and services, we want to make his last years as nice and relaxing as possible."
"I don't think he can be your teacher," Queen Primordium said. "He's the oldest Mage King in the Lightning Manor. He will die within the next 5,000 years, and he only wants to do what he has always done, look at weak people and learn from them."
"Also, I think his philosophy and yours don't mix well."
Shang nodded again.
Their philosophies definitely didn't mix well.
