The old man was in his usual place as we descended into the training room, his gaze never faltering, an extra zeal was in it today, as usual, he knew more about our training then we did.

We quickly moved before him, Iirin going low into the bow, while I inclined my head.

"So, you guys finally faced true competition, who you can't claim won due to age. A whole team superior to you, each individual better in every way. Are you ready to face up to what that means."

I wasn't sure what he meant, I had been working with the fact that everyone in the cohort was stronger than I was in their own various ways, only recently improving enough that I could be considered a minorly influential member on the team.

Iirin I always assumed knew about the talent of other peers in the Hordes, he had always seemed open with the fact that he wasn't as talented as his older siblings.

"That is just one team in the Heti rankings that you have faced, out of one camp. That does not count for any of the major cities of the Hordes, or the private clans. Every individual there is far stronger than you would believe, some even many years younger than you, who had gone through a natural early awakening."

That was counting the horde. I had to wonder what the top talent in the empire would look like. The ancients training program promised you would be able to face several enemies that were Tiers higher than you. I had no idea how that was possible. Judging from anything I had seen, battling between ranks had been an impossibility to me, even with the greatest of matchups. Every attempt I had made resulted in great losses to me no matter what I tried.

"There are various different methods to reach greater power within your own tiers. Some being far more useful to offensive specialists than summoners. Luckily I have been permitted by the patriarch to give both of you suitable methods for true actualization of your powers, something you weren't ready mentally for before."

What had we done wrong before in our training that there was a method to increase our strength in such an amount, what had our mental strength got to do with power in such low Tiers, dealing with abilities in the seventh tier and above required a huge amount of mental strength and resistance?

Power so far below our potential, I wasn't sure what would go wrong mentally with training methods that helped people.

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"You will have to reach further and deeper into your inner world strictly forbidden for ordinary people without strong willpower. Performing these techniques can forever cripple your psyche and your power base."

That did seem very fatalistic. Surely there was a middle ground between gaining greater power and not ruining all your potential forever, dooming you to a life of poverty and disgrace.

That was not my plan. I had to become as powerful as possible as quickly as I possibly could. If Unusu believed we were ready for this now, then I had to assume I wouldn't destroy my entire power base for no reason.

"So what are those methods? How can we reach the same level of power as those we faced within a month."

"The best-kept secret in all the lands is how."

That brought our thinking to a stop for quite a few seconds. What secret could it be, that would allow us to gain such huge increases in such a short time—a change in energy patterns, and meditation method that greatly increased your strength. My mind was rushing through all the possibilities.

"A simple herb, growing off the edge of the Behrn peninsula, turning a small fishing village that was there into the greatest powerhouse of the continent. They discovered it's use by accident, used it for many years before we managed to understand their massive growth in power."

That was a new origin story for the Empire. We had been told the story of the first emperor Hiroto. He had been a simple fisherman until he discovered his true power as a mage, quickly uniting all the surrounding powers under his banner, ruled for nearly five hundred years before his death. The Empire had never experienced the growth and prowess they had under his rule; his sons were mostly ineffective rulers. Still, the foundation Hirot had built was strong enough to last the past thousand years.

He brought a small purple plant out of his pockets.

"This Herb named after the first taker Hirot, it is now much more widely used, In a far weaker does than Hirot originally ingested, through testing we have found the optimum level that maximizes power and minimizes risks. That's the one you will be taking, Iirin, Micael you will not be so lucky, however."

What was he saying, was he going to take away my chance of taking the reason behind the empires rise to dominance, the only chance I had of gaining enough power in the short term.

"See, the perfect Herb is very expensive, reducing the potency to the right level is a very troublesome process, one we can't afford to take for every piece of the Herb that comes out of our gardens."

In his other hand, he took a dirtier plant with a far darker hue of purple. The roots were still clear to the eye.

"You will have the choice between taking an adult plant of full potency and all the risks that come with it, or immediately be removed as the partner of Iirin and forced into a Heri Team, where you will be replaced with a more promising recruit."

I wasn't given much of a choice, either risk all my potential and power now, for what would be a great growth or be forced into a different path of life, into an even more forgiving role in an enemy army.

It wasn't much of a choice at all. I took the plant from Unusu's grasp and quickly swallowed it.

It seemed to melt into my core, with it my soul.