Kyon came up with an idea: {So, the Stones hold the 1st rank in the kingdom of 5th rank in the empire of the 6th rank, in one of the three opposing races... Great!}

When he learned everything about the hierarchy of the human race, he found additional literature on organizations of great significance and authority.

Three organizations stand out in particular: the trade guilds, the factories of the dwarves, and the sects.

The trade guilds exist independently of the empires and kingdoms. They play the role of a binder.

The factories of the dwarves are inferior to the trade guilds in authority, but they have their undeniable benefits. The dwarves are the best engineers and blacksmiths in the world. Their mindset in this aspect exceeds anyone else.

The sects are non-privatized inter-imperial training organizations. They have achieved a high status during their centuries-old history. These sects don’t promote faith or ideology. They are called sects because the students become ardent supporters of their “school” and are ready to fight to the death for it.

Anyone can join the sect. Heritage and opportunities can turn a commoner into a respected, powerful warrior. Talent plays the most important role here.

The sects maintain a neutral position. When they establish their institutions in some empire, they pledge to protect it only in case of a non-human attack.

There are many different sects, but three of them distinguish from others. Their long-term legacy elevates them above the rest. Their power is comparable to low-ranking empires.

The Dance sect (1) accepts mostly girls, but they don’t deny talented guys. Their students are frightening with their battle dance skills.

The Virgo sect (2) is composed exclusively of women. The policy of matriarchy is so strong there that they have no tolerance for vile, terrible men. However, they are not above buying male slaves.

And finally, the Fat sect (3) accepts mostly obese or overweight people with potential. Special nutrition allows the students to gain weight in a matter of days. They need it for hereditary techniques of fat burning. It releases tons of energy that makes them stronger.

Kyon once heard about the Fat sect from the scary doctor Bilya, who gave him Evilball.

To sum it up, there exist three inter-imperial sects that are extremely popular but have specific entry requirements.

Kyon gradually moved from the inter-imperial educational institutions to the private ones that belong to the empires / kingdoms. He found out that every kingdom has the best school that brings together the most gifted and talented young people in the region.

For example, Cernos in the Iron Throne (1), and the great order (0) in the capital of the empire, Dantes (0). It is considered the best school in the empire. Every Rosarrian dreams of studying in this prestigious place that will give the students unique power, useful knowledge and provide them with all kinds of opportunities.

However, the admission requires that the applicants must be of a high ranking family, preferably those who live closer to the capital. Talent is also a must.

Schools, especially those within the order, inspire the students to be loyal patriots. The masters instill in their minds the greatness of their native empire. In addition, they have to study military affairs.

The fourth organization is religion. It’s no less important than the previous three.

People believe in a higher being, goddess Danna, the guardian of the human race. She is the embodiment of force and power, grandeur and brilliant glory.

There is a legend that one and a half thousand years ago, a star fell from the sky, marking the appearance of a deity. The great creator’s daughter descended to the planet to fulfill his will and guide humanity to the right path.

A curious fact: both demons and supreme beasts have the same legend.

Kyon was about to laugh at the naive stupidity of local people, but some information got his attention. “The empire of the first rank has a day of the goddess. After a special ceremony, prayer, or sacrifice of valuable resources, she will descend to the mortals and bless those whose faith is pure and whose thoughts are benign.”

Kyon's pupils narrowed. He had never believed in the otherworld and inexplicable things, but Danna seemed to really exist. Demons had similar legends about the descend of goddess Persephone. The beasts had a goddess named Ceres.

{The names sound familiar…}

Religion in this world was justified, after all. Goddesses could benefit their believers, bless them, bestow strength on them. It’s curious, really curious...

But Kyon was more surprised by the fact that local religion did not acquire absolute power and independence. Moreover, it bent under the control of the imperial families. The same story was with demons and beasts. Religion became a state management tool. It yielded certain benefits, such as fundraising (donations), the search for new talents, and, of course, excellent brainwashing, which aimed at rallying the human race against their common enemy - non-humans.

Kyon exhaled deeply. In any world, every successful and prosperous country sets boundaries for the individuals. School and society "mold" a person to achieve their goals. The Order creates a soldier who is willing to give his life for the homeland. The family makes an individual who craves power, authority and respect. Religious temples need the one who will fight against the other races for the good of the people. It happens everywhere.

But... Kyon grew up on books and Synergy. He had been taking more or less objective decisions since he was a child. He had his own worldview with regards to everything.

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Kyon had learned how the world around him worked. He had read everything about races, ranks of empires, kingdoms and families, additional structures like guilds, factories of the dwarves, sects, schools, and religion. All he needed was to put puzzle pieces together. He had to find the component that moved everything. In his world, it was money. In this world, it went to the background. What came first...

A token is a large gold coin dotted with patterns and inlaid with precious stones. The energy of Empress Lanatel herself flows inside it. It has tremendous value by the standards of any family.

Quite recently, while he was hiding in the pillows, Kyon overheard Bai's conversation with Juno about tokens. He found out that it was the imperial currency that allowed any transactions at the legislative level from the purchase of goods and resources to forced marriage and destruction of a weak family. There were no restrictions. The only question was the number of tokens required. It was calculated by complex formulas related to family ranks, value and other factors.

{Geez…} - Kyon scratched his head in amazement. - {Is any human society based on gold coins?}

Any tournament, competition, family disputes involve tokens. They are the main link that creates artificial competition in human society. Competition helps people to grow faster, that is, get stronger. Tokens give endless opportunities. They can’t be forged, each has its own serial number. All expenses happen strictly according to the documents. The only thing that tokens can’t do is getting something from the Empress, influence her power and her relatives. Lanatel is the head of the whole empire, the Grail. She isn’t subject to any rules of the world. The Empress is the most powerful and influential person interested in the prosperity of her empire.

When Kyon finished studying Social Studies, he was a little disappointed. He didn’t find out anything about damnation from heaven. Not a single mentioning. Deity is good, but he wanted to know something more about punishment.

{I doubt that it was a goddess who sent that lightning... What should I do? How to escape from a more powerful bolt of lightning?} - Kyon came up with a simple answer to this simple question. - {Hmm... When I was the mastermind of the mansion and studied Formacy, I often heard about defensive formations that require skills, nephrites, money, and keys. I have Juno. Why not order her to get a couple of hundred pieces of protective formations?} - If he made sure that he could survive the electrical discharge with the help of protective formations, why postpone it? Each additional element could significantly improve the quality of his energy and raise his potential to a new level.

Synergy gave Kyon a hint it was morning. He didn’t care that protective formations were expensive. It was time to get out of the basement and order his slave girl to get them. He should take full advantage of the girl. Otherwise, what was the point of keeping her?

...

On the morning of the same day, a decrepit old man arrived at the mansion. His body was withered like a skeleton. He looked like walking dead with his pale face devoid of any glint of life, dark circles under his eyes. People avoided him like a leper, then apologized when they recognized in him Flitz, the greatest formacist in the Stone family.

Behind the old man was a healthy boy of about 16. There was a formation with the name “Sashka” on his forehead. His hair was shaved, his face pale. There was grief in his eyes. He wasn’t afraid of Juno (quite the opposite, he believed she would change his life for the better.) He grieved because they had given him Evilball and now he was not a male at all. His distress was comparable with the loss of his right hand. He was a new slave, commissioned by Juno for her atrocious acts.

The guards respectfully bowed to the old man and let him inside.

«Bring the lady here. I do not want to look for her.» - Flitz growled.

Soon, Juno came to the entrance at the request of the guard. Her face was impartial and detached but the girl was full of emotions. She had completely forgotten that Flitz promised to bring her a new slave.

Juno had been trying to attract attention. Dinah couldn’t understand why the young lady was being weird. Anna was too busy. Yegorka was an idiot. Her friend Marina had been ignoring her emotionless for some reason… It was so strange.

Finally, Flitz had arrived! Her long-awaited hope of salvation! Juno wasn’t going to rely on getting the attention this time. On the contrary, she had been preparing for a long time, practicing self-deception. Fortunately, her skills worked!

If Kyon heard about that, he wouldn’t believe it. His formation worked flawlessly. It was something else.

Before that, Yegorka had been sitting on the bench a few hundred meters from Juno’s mansion, around the lane. He was depressed, his arm in plaster. He had been restless since the guards beat him up and broke his arm. They kept driving him away as soon as he approached the mansion. He explained it by failing Juno’s test. That’s why she refused to let him inside. He called her, sent messages, all to no avail.

Every night, he had a feeling that someone was walking on his grave. He believed he would never be happy with his darling girl. But there still was a glint of hope. There was a party soon. His arm would have healed by that time. He would show everyone that he was worthy of taking the first place in the tournament and becoming the king of the party. He had a big plan for this occasion that was badly tarnished by recent events. It wasn’t only about taking the first place in the tournament. He wanted give his girl a valuable gift, to have a dance and... And then who knows what could happen. She was bound to fall into his arms. Until that happened, he regularly came to her mansion and watched the entrance. If someone of Juno’s relatives arrived, he would convince them to let him inside. Then he would beg Juno to forgive him and make sure his plan wouldn’t fail.

As for his precious gift, it was about to be delivered right into his hands from Boston, the capital of the kingdom. It wasn’t an item of clothing, not a weapon or a jewel. It was a pill for boosting development, Soaring Angel.

Yegorka had always been attentive and insightful towards Juno. He had long understood that she was eager to get stronger, preferably as soon as possible. Therefore his gift was development-oriented. He knew Juno well and had already foreseen her reaction. It was going to take an important place in her heart. Yegorka often dreamed of her happy smile only for him. She would give him a hug or even... a kiss on the cheek.

Soaring Angel accelerates the soul development by about 20-30%. It lasts for a certain period of time. Its effectiveness depends on the quality, that is, the purity of the pill. The higher the rank of the alchemist who creates it, the higher the final purity (quality). The pill can be used once in a lifetime. It will give no effect with repeated use. After that, alternative medicine is required to speed up the development.

Yegorka had chosen this pill for several reasons. It is little-known, so it is unlikely that grandpa Bai has given it to Juno before. It is quite effective. It is moderately expensive, by the standards of medicine to accelerate development. And even if it’s considered relatively cheap, he had to sell the luxurious mansion of his deceased father Martin, as well as some of his resources for training, his favorite sword, and all his savings for a rainy day. Even then, he didn't have enough. He had to kneel in front of the seller and beg for a discount.

Either the man softened up or saw the benefit in the deal. Anyway, he agreed. Yegorka jumped with joy. He was willing to kiss the salesman’s feet for giving him an astronomical discount of the whole 15%! They say it’s impossible to get discounts more than 10% from the greatest trade guild in the world, and he did! In a way, Yegorka could be respected for his endless desire to get a valuable gift to Juno. Even if he was sorry to sell his father’s house… It was a memory of him, after all. However, Martin gave to his beloved son a separate mansion a year ago. He had a place to live.

A post bird appeared in the sky, flying right to Yegorka as if it knew exactly his whereabouts.

He rose to his feet and opened his mouth in delight.

«You’ve come!»