As usual, everything Braun had done during his meeting with Karsen was just one big ruse. All of those attempts where his memory was erased were just him pretending so that he could extract more information out of Karsen’s mouth, allowing his understanding of Aegis to deepen so that he could make the right choice.
He still had the freedom to say no, just that he’d probably lose all corresponding memories of having superpowers and his abilities extracted out of his body, meaning he had a lot of freedom when it came to his choice back then.
However, he already had plans of joining Aegis since the very start, and now that his understanding of the organization had greatly expanded, this desire only grew.
The gods, Ragnarok, humanity being an interstellar race that had conquered the solar system at its peak; it sounds like a science fiction story, but to think it’s reality. Braun wistfully sighed as he stepped into his room.
Turning on the light in his bedroom and closing the opened bedside window, he sat down on his chair and reassessed all of his memories, both erased and not.
The most striking memory he could think of at the moment was when he pledged his allegiance to Aegis to the artifact known as Heavenly Promise.
He clearly remembered following Karsen to some strange unknown space, where he swore to the heavens about some long-winding promise that would effectively guarantee his loyalty to the organization. If he decided to break that oath, then the mark placed on his soul would guarantee to kill him.
The mark in question was something he could vaguely feel on the surface of his soul, and he could intuitively tell that breaking his promise would trigger the mark into activating, potentially resulting in his death.
Fortunately for Braun, his rapidly developing intellect gave him a few loopholes outside of the incredibly long and precise oath he swore, meaning he could still commit some nefarious acts as long as he was smart enough.
Moreover, there’s a really easy way to nullify this mark entirely. Braun’s eyes shone with a deep shade of green, with green flames covering the entirety of his body. If I just cause my soul to change dramatically, it would appear the mark would lose track of me and disappear. It would treat me like I’m a different person.
While it may sound easy on the surface, it was an incredibly hard thing to do. Besides the fact that you’re practically changing the very essence of yourself as a being, this was basically an impossible thing to do for almost anyone else in the entire world, even those with the capability to alter their souls.
This was a complete change from the inside and out, with his soul taking a different form entirely.
But so what? Braun stopped the green flames from burning, retracting back his zenithral power. I’m still Braun, no matter the soul or the body I inhabit.
Although it was a tiny epiphany, Braun still felt his connection with the Zenithral Force strengthen, causing his eyes to light up with joy.
Next up were the things he learned from Karsen and the short introductory guide he received before they departed for his oath-taking in that strange, unknown space.
First of all, Levels. What do they represent and how strong is each level?
According to the simple guide, there were ten levels in total, with each level researched throughout thousands of years since the organization’s creation.
Level 0 is when an ability is considered a minor one, and some examples are producing sparks from one’s hand or conjuring a tiny ball of water. Overall, it didn’t mean much harm and couldn’t be barely used offensively.
Level 1 is when someone’s ability can be considered to be a little bit supernatural, but not beyond the limits of humanity. It can be something simple like having peak human condition, creating guns and swords, conjuring sharp blades of wind, etc. Although strong in their own right, they weren’t unbeatable to a normal human.
Level 2 is considered when a person has truly stepped into the realm of superhuman. People at this level are incomparable to normal humans and it would be a pipedream for any normal human, no matter how strong or skilled, to rival them. They can lift cars with their raw strength, run at extreme speeds that appear as a blur to the human eye, control the elements, and some other amazing abilities.
My threads are definitely on this level, but unexpectedly, my body is probably around the peak of Level 1 already. He rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look. So even though my threads are far from reaching the peak of Level 2, I managed to fight against those four and dominate them.
Even if they were holding back, I’m still unrivaled in Level 2, because once I combine my threads with my body, I can reach a realm near the peak of Level 2.
Braun smiled and continued to recount the rest of the levels.
Level 3 is when one can be considered a great threat to human life already. They can wipe out entire towns and fight against a large military force on their own. Thousands of humans could be wiped out if they went on a rampage, pushing their threat level way above the likes of Level 2 supers.
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For example, according to Karsen’s casual estimate, he can send out over a thousand cards and massacre an entire city block in a couple of minutes. Even if the entire city sent out its full military force, he wouldn’t have a hard time escaping or even defeating them.
Beyond Level 3 was the realm where one approaches the realm of the gods.
Level 4 is the point where one is considered a Demigod, a being whose power can affect an entire city.
After that comes Level 5, beings close to nature’s disasters. They were practically walking earthquakes, breathing storms, or sentient volcanoes. Their strength ranges across entire regions and can threaten entire countries.
Now, if Level 5 can threaten countries with their personal strength, Level 6 entities can wipe out entire countries on a whim. They were human nukes, with a casual attack capable of flattening entire islands and cities.
In fact, they are considered minor gods already. Braun’s eyes twinkled with awe as he recalled the various myths across human history.
Then Level 7 beings are already considered Major Gods, with examples being the likes of Freya, Hermes, and Athena. Their strength can dominate entire continents, terraforming the planet and conjuring miracles.
However, while strong, they still cannot compare to figures in the godly realm of Level 8. They were considered True Gods, entities whose strength can affect the entire world. They were beings like Odin, Zeus, Buddha, Sun Wukong, and Hades. They were the rulers of their respective pantheons, strength unrivaled beneath their realm.
They were figures whose shadows continued to influence the rest of humanity across history and time, no matter how many years had passed since their death. They remained worshipped and praised by countless humans in reverence to their almighty authority—
But, one being remained above the rest, a figure whose influence remained unmatched in all periods of time.
Their name represented the status of divinity. They were considered the creator of humanity, the strongest guardian of humanity, and its greatest god.
That was God, the one single Level 9 existence to have ever risen from humanity.
Their power was incomprehensible. Their strength was unrivaled.
Braun sighed as he envisioned the visage of God, the one closest to the realm of the almighty.
For a moment, he remained silent as he processed just how far he still was from the divine realms. Even if he was unmatched in the realms of Level 2, in the face of a Level 3, he could easily be defeated without much effort.
A single strike from Karsen tore through his strongest defense, and that was him using only a fraction of his true power. If he wanted to, Karsen could have sent out over a hundred cards in an instant, each capable of cutting through diamonds and flying at subsonic speeds.
Braun inwardly sighed and stared out of the window in his room, where stars twinkled brightly and a moon hung high in the middle of the sky.
Threads stretched out of his fingertips, allowing cold wind to blow in, causing the curtains to flutter. His hair rustled as cold gusts of wind rushed to his face.
He took in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the night.
“Give or take, I should be guaranteed to reach Level 8 in a century,” mumbled Braun.
He wasn’t exaggerating when he said that because if he wasn’t forced to grow rapidly and catch up with Christopher’s explosive advancement in strength, he could just stay in an underground cave hundreds of meters down the ground, augment a random stick until it can crush mountains and part oceans, and dominate the entire world that way.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. If he did that, Christopher might have well reached God’s status and could kill him with a simple glance, so he needed to take the fastest route to godhood, which was superpowers.
As long as I don’t mess up, it shouldn’t take too long for me to become a demigod, assessed Braun.
Then, as he shifted his mind, he once again reviewed his gathered knowledge.
“Besides the level of supers themselves, there are also two other subjects worth taking note of—monsters and artifacts,” said Braun.
While Supers are what you call humans that have superpowers, monsters and artifacts are what you call animalistic beasts and objects possessing supernatural characteristics respectively.
Super force crystals, more commonly referred to as super crystals, are the fundamental foundation of any and all supernatural characteristics.
Monsters are just like Supers, either being born with super crystals or coming into contact with one to transcend their limitations as normal animals.
On the other hand, artifacts are objects that are fused with super crystals through a myriad of methods. Some were said to be naturally produced by the world, some were said to originate from the deaths of supers. It was an unclear matter when it came to the specifics of the creation of artifacts.
Hmm, so when I evolve objects, it’s akin to creating my own artifact. Any random object I augment can probably reach the same level as a Level 1 Artifact.
That’s quite an amazing ability. Maybe one day, I’d be wielding a whole set of Level 6 artifacts, and create one with the flick of a finger.
Braun was once again amazed by the applications of zenithral power, and couldn’t help but praise it in his mind.
Besides those three major things, Braun also learned some various stuff about how Aegis operated, its ground rules, etc, more of which he’ll learn once he officially becomes part of the organization tomorrow.
For now, Karsen was still busy handling all the paperwork, giving Braun some time to process his gains and create plans for the soon-to-be-approaching future.
Yawning softly, Braun stood up from his chair and plopped himself onto his bed headfirst. The soft embrace of his bed washed him with comfort and made him a little drowsy.
Peak Level 1 body, Level 2 superpower, Peak Level 2 combat prowess. That’s some great progress for a guy who only began a month ago. Braun remarked with a smile.
He turned around and stared at the ceiling, eyes dazed, his mind wandering.
For now, I have three main objectives: Reach Level 3, deepen my knowledge of the world, and exploit Aegis’ resources as much as possible.
I’ll use them to propel myself towards greater heights. If it’s possible, I wouldn’t even mind taking over the organization and becoming its leader. Heh, maybe I’d be the next God and drive humanity to become a Tier II civilization, just like when this species was at its peak…
As his consciousness trailed off, he slowly blinked his eyes and fell asleep.
After such an exhausting day where he had to face four Level 2 supers, one Level 3 super, and schemed his way into joining a worldwide organization, he deserved a bit of rest and relax a little bit.
Especially when things would become a lot more interesting starting tomorrow because now, he won’t just be a clueless bystander anymore, instead, he’ll begin to partake in the world of supers fully as one of Aegis’ agents,
With his thoughts drifting away, he mumbled with a tired tone, “Joining the good guys… how ironic.”