The prismroot vine was oddly cold to the touch. Almost as if it had been in a refrigerator before this. As soon as its aura washed over me my body came alive. I placed the vine in my mouth and bit into it. Gently at first just in case it turned out heavier than I thought. The outer shell broke and a liquid center. The fluid was a thick sweet gel that reminded me of maple syrup. When I started chewing a jolt of power shot through me. It was like I just bit into a power line.

The energy didn't stop in my mouth or go toward the nub in my head. Instead, it surged through my entire body. Using my nervous system as a kind of super highway. I lost control over my body as I pushed the rest of the vine into my mouth. A second wave of energy more powerful than the first surged as I swallowed. It felt like a star made its way down my throat and into my stomach. I traced the path with my inner eye. I circulated the Ethereal Codex and took control of the vine's energy.

I was barely able to direct the energy where I wanted it let alone actually control it. That was better than nothing. The energy rushed back up my body and toward the spot in the center of my head. When the energy reached its destination utter agony erupted. For a moment nothing existed but the pain. I had no idea where it ended and I began. Intellect Fortress activated in the next moment but it was like putting a bandage on a shotgun wound.

It took me a second to realize that I was screaming. Just as the pain began to abate something else replaced it. It felt like the skin and bones pulsed. As if something was moving underneath the surface. It was so much worse than the pain. I tried to reach up and claw at the spot but my body was frozen. The sensation grew worse as blood dripped down my face. Suddenly the pain ended. The absence of pain was almost as painful as the actual agony. It took me another moment to realize that I could move.

I inched my hand up to my forehead half expecting for the pain to begin a new. That didn't happen but what did was almost as shocking. There was something there. My fingers traced around it as my brain desperately tried to process what it was. The realization hit me like a brick. "I had an eye. A literal third eye."

The realization settled on me like a blanket. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as I wrestled with the change. It took me another minute before I realized I hadn't opened it. I tried will it open and it felt weird. Like trying to use a muscle you never knew you had. When I got it open the world shifted. It was as if my entire life I had been blind and now I could see. I could see. Every color was vibrant, the shadows became sharper, and thin strands of light danced in the air.

The strands were what drew my eye. They were all different colors or rather different shades of indigo. Before I could process what was happening another change began. This one is from deep within me. It felt like my psyche was on fire. Only this time there was no pain. I closed my eyes and searched my channels only to find something else. My vision was pulled deeper inside me. I was pulled into an empty white void. Or rather mostly empty. In the middle of this space was a ball of rough grey stone.

It reminded me of granite and was about the size of my head. Just as I was reeling from whatever this was the stone was consumed by multicolor flames. A primal fear rose from somewhere inside me and I had no idea why. A dozen tendrils of psychic energy formed and reached from the stone but were burned to nothing before they could get within five feet. I stared at the stone in a mix of fear, curiosity, anticipation, and a dozen other emotions.

I braced myself for another wave of pain only it didn't come. Instead, the stone began to change. Black globs fell from it only to be consumed by the flames. A thought sprouted in the back of my mind. One that seemed more and more likely. "This is my soul? This is what a soul looks like?"

I took a moment to reflect on just what that meant as the fire burned. I wasn't sure how long the process took but when the rainbow flames faded away the stone was different. It was still rough and looked like granite but now it looked like high-quality stone. Like the kind of stuff you would build countertops out of. I tried to form a psychic tendril the same way I did with my blades only this time it was different. The tendril practically came into existence before I finished the thought.

It was made of translucent energy as well not the usual indigo. I wasn't sure if that was because of the change or if it was due to this being my soul. I pulled my attention away from it and back to the world around me only to be met with another shock. My cultivation chamber was ruined. The treasures that I was using were just gone. The looked as if a bull had run through it and then ran through it again. Even the cultivation mat was damaged.

The most striking change though was me. Specifically, the fact that I was floated about ten feet off of the ground. I fought off the slight panic and tried to will myself back to the ground. It took me several seconds to figure out it. "Alright, I guess the Divine Fruit lived up to its name." I laughed and stood up only to fall.

I closed my third eye and gave myself a second to adjust to everything. It felt a bit like I hadn't eaten in weeks. When I was confident I stood up. This time I was steady. I stepped out of the room and into quarters. Thankfully this area was as I left it. I made a mental note to get the pool filled at some point. That thought was pushed down as I stepped into the bathroom and opened my new eye.

What I saw made the breath catch in my throat. The eye was vertical instead of the normal horizontal. It was equal parts startling and beautiful to look at. The iris was incredibly intricate and was made up of interlocking mandalas. Patterns where each layer glowed and shifted through various shades of gold, white, and silver. The pupil was a radiant point of light that pulsed with barely controlled power. It was the most visually striking thing I had ever seen. As if I didn't have enough things to draw people's attention. I closed the eye again and made my way back into the main room.

I sat on the couch and pulled my status screen. I tried to find something about my soul in the list. I figured that was because the System didn't count what happened as a serious change. Or it didn't track the changes to the soul.

The Traits tab had changed and now had something called "The Eye of Heaven". The strangest part was that it didn't use any energy. Based on how voracious it had been I would have thought it would be expensive. I focused on the Traits tab and nothing happened. I tried three times and then gave up. I guess the more things changed the more they stayed the same. I guessed the more things changed the more—"The Egg!"

I leaped up and dashed into my cultivation chamber. It took me a second to find the egg. When I did I couldn't help but stare. It had changed. It had become denser for lack of a better word. Not in mass but in energy. My third eye opened and it was like the egg had become a sun. Multiple colors danced within its shell most of which I had never seen before. The egg let out rhythmic pulses every few moments which made me think of a heartbeat.

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I wasn't sure how I knew it but the egg would hatch soon. Which meant I needed to get ready. I stowed the egg in my ring and left the room. It was time to explore what my new eye did. I spent the next three hours in the city exploring what my new eye could do. The results were a bit of a mixed bag. The eye's abilities were sight-based though I couldn't tell if the Perception attribute had anything to do with it.

I could see the spiritual energy in the environment. Rather it was within people or monsters I could see it all. It wasn't just the energy though. I could see their channels. It was a bit freaky to watch the energy spread through someone's body but it made it easy to know when I was going to be attacked.

That was just one of the eye's abilities. The second was range. It was hard to measure but if I focused I could see around five miles in any direction. It was a bit like having a HD infrared camera as I could see well beyond the normal range of colors. I could also analyze spells and skills when I saw them. I could see the parts that would show me where the weak points were and what they did.

The effect wasn't absolute though and I needed to understand what I saw. If someone was using a higher-tier ability I probably couldn't comprehend it. In addition to all that I could see through shape-changing abilities. Whether they were illusion-based or actual changes the eye would be able to tell. Desbera warned that it probably wouldn't be as effective against higher-tier enemies but against people of my rank it was amazing.

I wasn't able to practice with it long enough to explore it but skills and spells were wasteful. The amount of energy that went into using an ability often faded into the air. The amount of waste was based on a variety of factors. Factors that included Quality, the affinity of the user, and proficiency. The "Eye of Heaven" helped change that. Or rather I could see the energy I was wasting and reduce it. So far my actual practice with it was mixed.

I had to focus on the energy to stop and reduce the waste which was not the most effective way to fight. I was essentially distracting myself. Furthermore awakening the eye had also awakened my soul. I had access to two new abilities. The first was something Desbera called "Soul Sense". It was similar to what my eye did but not the same. I had to choose what to look at for my eye. My soul sense was more like a field or bubble around me.

I could expand it and "see" everything within a certain range. Unfortunately, the range is about half as far as I could see with the "Eye of Heaven". This flaw was made up for due to ease of use. I could just expand the field and monitor everything inside. Doing so hurt like a bitch though. I would quickly become overwhelmed if I did that too much. I would need to learn how to filter information out.

The second was my favorite. I had fucking psychokinesis. Unfortunately, I couldn't lift myself anymore. I wasn't sure if that was a one-time thing or if it was just added strength from the treasure. Either way that was a no-go. At the moment fifty pounds give or take was the max I could lift. Which as far as I was concerned was worth it.

The training session had been intense and I was forced to close the eye toward the end. The eye caused mental exhaustion. It didn't drain psychic energy or anything like that. This was more like using your muscles for too long. All in all, today was a massive success. I lay down in my bed and closed my eyes. I still had a lot to do but this would make the whole process much easier.

The next day I called everyone together to discuss the next steps. When everyone gathered around the table I smiled and opened my third eye. Their shocked and confused faces made me smile but it wasn't until I was sure everyone here was fine that I relaxed. "This what the Divine Fruit gave me." I started. "I won't go into too many details since I don't fully understand it myself. It lets me see energy flows as well as far away."

"Young Master have you decided what to do with the—" I shot a glare at Azariah. An action that was much more impressive now that I had three eyes. "It's not important right now. I've called you all together to discuss what I should do next."

"The subterranean world is still a major option. Including the founding of a subterranean city. The insect queen I faced was strong enough to kill me. That being said I doubt the rest of the denizens are that strong. The queen was at the threshold of her breakthrough and was consuming anything she could get her hands on. It would make a good area for our warriors to train. The ones who want to be elite."

"That would be more lethal than most expected," Keshaun added. "I don't think the mortal amongst our number would survive. Their death rate is already three times higher."

"I know but there is little that can be done. If I protect everyone with my power the world will be screwed once I leave. Hell even if I were to go and conquer everything the beasts would be the next problem. I just don't know what to do for the mortals."

"It sounds like your goal is to create a second military. One that is filled with the people who want more than just survival." Christopher replied.

I nodded. "That's correct. I think that we need a civilian force. Something akin to the police and then something akin to an army. People who are willing to take on the strongest monsters."

"It isn't a bad idea. Honestly, I had considered suggesting the same thing." Aaliyah began. "There are people who feel that they are too old to go out and wander the wilderness for opportunities. They want a job where they could retire."

"They would still be expected to work. I don't want lawlessness to spread through everything nor do I want to have to show up and kill everyone. The former insect hive could make for a prison. With a bit of work. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy anything down there. I have a theory that if we build something manually first the System will consider the area mine. After that, we can make proper purchases."

"None of those options would require you though. So what is it that you plan to do?" Christopher asked and brought the conversation back to what I intended.

I pulled out the teleportation token and placed it on the table. "This is a reward I got a while back. The way I see it I have two options. I could stay here and fight exclusively underground. I would be taking food out of our people's mouths but they would be safer. The second option would be using the token. From what I understand it will send me to a random 1st-Realm trial. It would likely give me the best challenge in the short term."

"Ah, young Master if I may make a suggestion. You do have a third option." Desbera began. "The academy is still an option. With your talents, I would suggest you take the introductory lesson Arrays and Formations."

I mulled over the information and had to admit it made sense. It was more of a short-term goal but still useful. I looked around at each member of the council and when no one protested I agreed. "Alright, then my next target will be the academy. Is there anything I need to know before I begin?"

She shook her head. "I will reserve a spot in the Introduction to arrays course. We are slowly filling up the available slots. You can come by anytime you want."

"In that case, I will stop by in an hour. Aaliyah I want you to start gaging interest in the division. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to begin the separation. Make it clear that both sides will receive merit but the army will offer more."

I turned to Keshaun and Christopher. "I am not sure how we are doing payment to people but at a minimum I want minimum merit to be awarded like a salary. Once our economic situation stabilizes we will transition to credits."

"That is another reason for my suggestion Young Master. Arrays and Formations can lead to a rather lucrative. There are always people who want to buy arrays or array breakers."

"What about Alchemy?"

"Alchemy is more or less the same. It has fewer requirements for energy control although only slightly. Fire cultivators tend to make the best alchemists. You are welcome to take both courses."

I nodded and went over a few last-minute details. An hour later I ended the meeting and followed Desbera to the academy.