Verz had originally thought that Mors was sulking due to the earlier event with the Duchess however when she turned to look at him she felt an ominous sensation crawl down her spine. She had recruited him into the Pathfinders the day he was summoned and had subsequently spent every day since training him so it was by no means an exaggeration to say that she knew him better than anyone else in the world.

-”With his physical appearance and because he usually he beyond his years I continually forget that he is still a child. Even demon young have some sort of childhood but I have thrown him into a world where the strong rule and the weak suffer” [Verz]

He had just passed his second birthday and didn't even have a fully developed mana core yet she, and everyone else continued to treat him as if he were a young adult pushing pressure and responsibility upon his shoulders.

Deep in her heart, she knew she had been too harsh on him with her training and expectations but she felt that she had no choice.

-”Luckily I was planning on explaining everything to him tonight anyway. Although he looks mentally sound on the surface it's almost as if he is standing on the edge of the abyss.” [Verz]

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bruce and the other adepts with the exception of Clare, glaring at Mors with utter contempt and ridicule plastered across their faces, causing her brow to twitch with annoyance.

-”Fools think that because they are able to beat a two-year-old when they attack in mass they are superior. They wouldn't even dare to make eye contact if they had witnessed the massacre he committed in the troll hive!” [Verz]

As she returned her attention to Mors, even though he wasn't making eye contact she immediately noticed the startling difference in his eyes and quickly began to list the ingredients of his soul weapon to distract the others. She was expecting to have explain his heritage sooner or later but with so many people about and the threat of demon hunters nearby, this wasn't the time.

“Your weapon required an extra 10 pounds of Astorneth, 5 over the standard along with 8 soul shards… It also required two Count rank mana cores.” Verz paused slightly letting Mors absorb the shock before continuing.  

“As expected your first was a Darkness mana core from a shadow lurker while the other was of the Fire type that belonged to a phoenix.” [Verz]

The mouths of the adepts dropped in unison and the clamour of the surrounding working dwarfs noticeably dimmed as they tried to eavesdrop. It was extremely rare for a single soul weapon to have more than one core and even then they were always from monsters in the Copper realm.

Although a soul weapon could contain two mana cores with different affinities only the primary core, which in Mors’s case was darkness, would be utilised as the the second core would be used as an energy store as well as enable the weapon to be vastly more complex in design and function.

Thankfully for the owner and everyone else close to them, just like normal soul weapons, they were completely useless unless wielded by their masters creating almost no demand for them.

“What a load of rubbish, the test must be broke” muttered Bruce angrily. He had been previously boasting to the twins how his weapon required 7 pieces of Astorneth and contained the core of a Knight, however, Mors had utterly surpassed this, wounding his ego.

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“Even if it's by the Captain, that weakling is always getting beaten like a dog. How can he possess such a weapon?” [Bruce]

One could tell what rank they were by viewing their status plate after they had chosen a class. Just like the name and base stats, an individual's rank, as well as class, could not be hidden making it one of the best ways to identify an individual.

There were five ranking realms Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond. Each realm contained named ranks which themselves had a star rating of 1 to 5. This complex system was due to the enormous variety of species as well as the presence of magic making it very difficult to group individuals together without the difference in strength being too vast and the information becoming almost useless.

Copper was the lowest of the realms but was also the fasted to progress, only having five named ranks Common, Squire, Armiger, Vassal and Knight. Depending on species the majority of the non-combatants were almost always ranked towards the lower end of this realm whereas vocations like town guard, blacksmiths etc. were normally around the Vassal rank.

When someone reached the Knight rank they were often snapped up into the army, adventurers guild or other private organisations that valued strength and potential. All of the Adepts excluding Mors had been selected due to their Knight rank.

The second realm, Bronze held the Baron/Baroness, Viscount/Viscountess, Count/Countess and Marquess/Marchioness ranks.

All Pathfinders belonged to the higher ranks of this realm with Verz being the only pinnacle Marchioness at 5 stars. It was estimated that Mors was around the rank of a 1 star Barron however after his fall into the troll hive no one really knew how to rank him. Even Verz would have struggled to survive in such a situation.

The reason why Mors' rank was estimated was due to the fact that he had not gained a class yet. This had done nothing to help his poor image with the other Pathfinders however it did not phase Verz in the slightest. A class was like a calling and he would find it in his own time.

The Silver realm contained those with enough power to change the fate of millions. The ranks were Duke/Duchess, Grand Duke/Grand Duchess, Archduke/Archduchess, ViceRoy/Vicereine.

People in the Silver or later realms were often called by their rank as a sign of respect as well as to warn anyone within earshot not to do something foolish.

There were less than 20 known beings in the entire content that had reached the Gold realm and not a lot was known about them. The ranks were Prince/Princess, Regent,  King/Queen, Emperor and Imperator.

The last ranking was reserved for what some considered mythological beings whose very presence could change the fate of the world. There were only three sub-rankings, Spectral, Divine and God. It was widely accepted that there was no longer anyone alive who had reached this stage.

When people fought it was only considered a fair fight if they belonged to the same realm and were within two to three stars of each other however that was only for duels.

It has to be noted that the rankings do not reflect the survivability of an individual. A human who held a Commoner rank and a human Emperor rank would die just the same if hit in the wrong place by an arrow. The only difference being an emperor would have many more skills and abilities that could avoid the situation or a fatality.

-”Whether a king or a road sweeper, everyone gets a dance with the grim reaper” [Mors]

“Cost a little over 2000 gold” interrupted Rock before he noticed Verz glare and went silent shrugging his shoulders while giving a knowing smile.

A single gold would enable a family of four to live a modest lifestyle for around a year and soul weapons were already considered notoriously expensive at anywhere between 300 gold and 1250.

-”How the hell does she expect me to pay that back,” thought Mors as he looked towards Verz before her reaction caused his brain to fail.

Verz had given him a gentle smile before coughing to attract everyone's attention away from the confused Mors.

“Enough of this… Bruce your weapon should be about ready” [Verz]