8 :10 a.m — [A huge unknown crack suddenly appeared in the sky. What followed after was intense trembling resembling that of an earthquake of magnitude 6.5]
8 :40 a.m — [The trembling persisted for a total of thirty minutes before stopping. At the moment there have been no reports of deaths as there were only reports regarding a couple of injured individuals. Not much is known about the crack in the sky.]
9 :15 a.m — [Reports coming from the Union have stated that everything is under control and that they have increased their guard on the crack in the sky.]
9 :15 a.m — [In a shocking turn of events, scientists have reported the fact that the mana density of the planet has increased by a factor of three. Many individuals who had been stuck at the same rank for years have suddenly found themselves breaking through.]
9 :15 a.m — [Our world has reached a new turning point.]
Click—!
Turning off the holographic projection, Smallsnake solemnly looked toward the others gathered in the room. At the moment, everyone was currently seated on the large wooden desk set up in one of the rooms of the warehouse.
The room was a special room made for emergency situations. The moment the crack in the sky appeared, Hein and Ava panicked and were just about to rush back to their parents and family to make sure that they were alright.
However, before they could go out, they were quickly stopped by Ren who had called in and told everyone to remain in the building. Before Ava and Hein could protest, he also told them that their parents were going to be alright.
Although Hein and Ava wanted to protest, since Ren was the one to speak, and they knew that he was usually not wrong in these types of situations, they obediently followed his orders.
That being said, an air of nervousness and tension permeated throughout the whole room as everyone was still confused about the sudden turn of events.
Out of everyone present, the only one that seemed to be the least bit concerned about the situation was Angelica, who was currently seated by the far end of the table with her eyes closed. Next to her was Ava.
Turning on his laptop and browsing through his information channels, Smallsnake thought for a moment and raised his head.
"Angelica, do you have any idea about what's going on?"
Her calmness made Smallsnake think that she knew something. However, it appeared as though he had assessed wrongly as Angelica quickly shot him down.
"No."
The frown on Smallsnake's face deepened.
Pinching the screen of his laptop, Smallsnake looked through the images of the crack in the sky, however, regardless of how much he tried to look, he couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening.
'I hope Ren gets here sooner. I really am not liking this situation.'
Staring at the different headlines and titles in front of him, Smallsnake shook his head. This situation was worrying him to no end.
Lowering his head and checking his watch, just as Smallsnake was about to call Ren, Smallsnake was suddenly alerted of the presence of someone in the warehouse. Opening the cameras and seeing that it was Ren, Smallsnake finally relaxed and closed his laptop.
'Thank god he's here.'
***
Clank—!
Entering the warehouse, with Nola still in my arms, I quickly headed for the conference room. If they listened to my instructions, everyone should be there at the moment.
And it was exactly as I thought. The moment I entered the room, I found everyone already seated, waiting for me.
Upon my arrival, I felt everyone's eyes directed in my direction, or to be more precise, Nola in my arms. I feigned ignorance to the stares.
Smallsnake was the first to speak. Or at least tried to, however, I quickly cut him off.
"Ren, you—"
"Shut up Smallsnake."
There were more important things that I needed to say.
But just as I was about to speak, Nola's brows furrowed as she looked at me and said.
"Brother, that's not nice."
"Hm?"
Raising her finger, Nola said.
"You can't say shut up. Shut up is a mean word."
"...Er."
My mouth twitched. Before I could say anything else, Nola pointed in Smallsnake's direction.
"Mommy said that you must apologize if you say a bad words."
"..."
Once again, my mouth twitched. Biting my lips and staring at Nola who had a serious look on her face, my shoulders slumped down, and I let out a long sigh.
"Alright, fine."
Turning my head to look at Smallsnake who was looking at Nola with tears in his eyes, my right hand twitched uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath, I mouthed.
"Alright, Smallsnake, I'm sorry for what I said before."
Seemingly taking pleasure at the situation, Smallsnake's chin raised as a benevolent look appeared on his face.
"It's okay. No harm feelings."
My teeth clenched when I saw this. However, realizing that Nola was still in the room, I could only relent and dropped her on a seat beside me.
"Be a good girl and sit over here."
If possible, I didn't want her to be here, however, since everyone was gathered in the room and there was no one outside to supervise her, I could only have her listen to the conversation.
Still, I wasn't just going to let her listen to the conversation. Once she sat down, I gave her my phone.
I'm going to have an important talk right now, so play with my phone."
"Um."
Taking my phone, Nola obediently nodded her head. I smiled when I saw this.
Then, raising my hand, I small transparent barrier formed around her, blocking all the sound coming from the outside.
'This should do.'
Satisfied, I turned to look at the others. Placing my hands on the desk and leaning my body forward, I took a deep breath.
*Puff*
Just as I was about to speak, out of nowhere, smoke diffused in the air.
I didn't even need to look to understand who was responsible for this. Closing my eyes, I slowly said.
"Leopold, for the love of God. Please put the cigarette down."
I had already been told by Smallsnake just how much of an addict Leopold had become ever since coming back from Issanor, and at first, I didn't believe Smallsnake.
No, rather, I didn't want to believe it. However, staring at Leopold in front of me, I could only secretly shake my head.
*Puff*
"...Fine."
Taking another small puff of the cigarette in his hand, Leopold glanced at Nola before flicking the cigarette away.
"Thank you."
Thanking Leopold, and making sure that there was nothing else I needed to pay attention to, I started to speak.
"Many of you are probably wondering about what's currently happening to the world, and what the big crack in the sky is, well, I have some good and bad news for all of you."
Pausing, I smacked my lips together.
"The good news is that the situation is not as dire as you all think. For the next year or so, there won't be that many changes to the world apart from the fact that the mana density is slowly increasing. In fact, you could say that this is a good thing."
With the mana density increasing, not only would it become easier for people to break through to the next rank, but so would the speed at which they broke through increase.
Lifting my head, my eyes paused on Smallsnake and Ryan.
"Do you guys know how a talent limit is measured?"
"I know the answer to this!"
Ryan enthusiastically answered as he lowered the gaming console in his hand.
"Oh, go on."
Placing the gaming console on the table, Ryan sat up straight and started explaining.
"Jomnuk told me this back when I was in Issanor. There are several factors that can measure the talent limit of someone, however, the most important factor is their mana absorption rate."
"Yes, that's correct."
Listening to Ryan's words, I nodded my head.
There were many factors that determined the talent limit of someone, however, the primary factor was their mana absorption rate. Typically, the higher their mana absorption rate, the higher their talent.
In the midst of my thoughts, Ryan continued.
"Correlating the mana density in the air with the mana absorption rate of the user, we can determine the talent limit of someone. Mana absorption rate is typically linked to the genetic spectrum of the user, thus it can't be changed through internal factors. There can only be so much mana that they can absorb at once, and therefore, comparing the data with the mana density in the air an estimate of someone's potential can be measured."
"That point aside, there is a general positive correlation between mana density and absorption, meaning that the higher the mana density, the higher the absorption."
A satisfied smile appeared on Ryan's face as he finished his sentence. However, before he could fully rejoice, Smallsnake shook his head.
"Ryan, you're forgetting something."
"huh?"
Turning his head to face Smallsnake, Ryan tilted his head in confusion. Raising his brow, Smallsnake looked at him with a face that said 'Aren't you forgetting something important?'
"Ah right, I almost forgot!"
Smacking his fist on the palm of his hand, Ryan's eyes lit up.
"When measuring the talent limit of someone, the biological structure of the user is also taken into account. For those with low mana absorption rates, once the mana inside of their body reaches a certain threshold, the rate at which they grow also stunts."
'How impressive.'
Listening to their conversation, I was left pleasantly surprised. It looked like they had not spent their days in Henlour in vain.
What they said was true. With the crack in the sky increasing the mana density in the air, the talent assessment of individuals would now need to be reassessed as the limit was now pushed upwardly.
Of course, that primarily applied to the lower-ranked individuals. For the higher-ranked individuals, although they would also experience a change, it wouldn't be as drastic as the lower-ranked individuals.
However, even if they did experience a change, it wouldn't go as far as breaking the talent cap. Only I could do that as I had consumed the seed of limit.
Without it, no one could realistically break through the limit.
Secretly smiling, I nodded my head at Ryan.
"That's correct Ryan."
Massaging the bottom of my chin, I asked.
"Now, hypothetically speaking, what do you think will happen if the mana density in the human domain continuously rises throughout the years?"
Before Ryan could answer, Smallsnake interjected from the side as he answered.
"Well, that's simple. Everyone will rank up faster and the people who previously thought they were limited to their talent will find themselves breaking past their talent limit."
Mid-sentence, Smallsnake's eyes opened widely.
"Wait, are you saying that that is what is happening right now?"
"Correct."
Glad that Smallsnake caught on, I continued to explain.
"What is currently happening, is the very early prelude of the third cataclysm, and the very last cataclysm before the demon king will finally enter this world..."
Once my words faded, the room instantly became tense. However, before anyone could panic, I quickly reassured them.
"Don't worry though, the third cataclysm is still quite far away from now. I would say that it will happen in five years' time."
According to my memories, this event signified the demon king's awakening, and from what I remembered, it took about five years for him to ascend to earth once the crack in the sky appeared.
Even though I knew that I couldn't blindly trust the memories in my head, I didn't think that these memories were wrong. Since the other entity's goal was to defeat the demon king, I didn't think that the information was wrong.
"That being said, with the mana density in the world thickening up, in about a year's time, the peace that we are currently experiencing will crumble apart as more dungeons will appear, and dungeon overloads, which were previously thought as nothing dangerous, will now become a major threat to the world."
Closing my eyes, I sat down on the chair behind me. Leaning back on my chair, I gazed at everyone present.
"Don't think too much about the future. Your job is simple, and that is to improve as much as you can. You guys, including me, are still too weak to think about the future."
I hated to say this, but this was the sad reality.
At the moment everyone was still too weak to worry about the demon king and the impeding third cataclysm.
Hein and Ava were still around <C+> rank, Leopold was <B-> rank, and Smallsnake and Ryan were both unranked. There was also Angelica who was <A> ranked, but her situation was still unknown as the contract was going to expire in a little less than two years.
Hopefully, she would decide to prolong the contract, however, the possibility of her not doing so was still there, so I couldn't get my hopes up.
Angelica aside, it was a fairly strong group, however, it was a far cry from where I wanted them to be.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tapping on the table with my finger, I opened my eyes.
"I won't say much more. However, this crack is an opportunity. An opportunity for everyone to become stronger, it would truly be a waste to let go of such an opportunity."
