"Does that mean that I can only look for other ways to get my hands on other kinds of powers?"

"It's not the only way, I know of some other ways to change this kind of class but.. it's not easy and you will have to endure. But that is a talk for another time, since it could only be done at rank 5 or higher. For now just focus on what's in front of you."

Esdras nodded, its not even a sure thing. He wouldn't know for certain until he tried. In any case he had his hands full with two classes already.

"Say.. you're sure you saw rank 10 beings in the future of this world?" The pharaoh asked, his tone slightly shaky.

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"Obviously," the pharaoh snorted, "I why wouldn't I be afraid? It's not every day that rank 10 beings's interest is drawn to something."

Esdras didn't expect him to be so honest and that made him apprehensive. This guy was so arrogant normally and yet he couldn't even pretend to be unfazed for the sake of his pride.

"Does rank 10 mean that being is a god?"

"Yes, but not necessarily. There are a few types of rank 10 beings, gods are just one of them. There are also Titans, Demons, Primordials and Fiends. There are even more unique ones that can't be categorized."

"How powerful are they generally? Could they destroy a continent with a punch?"

"It depends on what size the continent is, but generally yes, very easily too. But you're thinking about it wrong, rank 10, isn't about pure destructive power alone, it's more than that. Rank 10 beings can also create new races of intelligent beings, they can kill any mortal with a thought."

"Obviously they can kill any mortal with that kind of power, that's not impressive." Esdras rolled his eyes.

"No, you don't understand. I mean literally kill with a thought. Do you understand what I am talking about? Just wanting someone to die is enough."

Esdras felt a chill in his entire body, his hair stood at end. He did see that winged serpent devour a sun but this is a different kind of horror, a creature that simply existed on a higher level, so high that it was beyond the comprehension of mortals.

"When you say mortal, you mean someone lower that rank 5?"

"Yes," the pharaoh laughed, "at that level at least you won't die with a thought."

Fuck.

"What are thinking so hard about? Don't waste your time, even if the future you saw is real it's very far away. By that time we would be gone from this world."

Of course. Naturally Esdras was the only one who knew he was forced to confront them at the peak of the apocalypse because of the last divine shard.

****

Esdras learned the negative energy gathering technique from the pharaoh and started using it. However it was very difficult, it took him two days to start using it.

In the meantime, the crown prince and Esdras got much closer in this trip after he retrieved the royal relic. He even gave him permission to brows the royal library which had many details of the age of myth and the elves that he was looking for.

"Those seers in the royal observatory kept many books and records of that time, now that they are gone you can take your time and look through them if you like."

"I would be grateful, your highness. Stories of that age prickle my curiosity and imagination."

Esdras at this time remembered, the prince told him that some of the seers escaped the execution order of the king.

"I wonder what the seers did to anger the king so much, after all he was said to like them a bit." Esdras probed.

"What did they say? It's difficult.." the prince scratched his head and hesitated.

"If it's too hard then your highness doesn't need to tell me."

"No, no, it's just that, they said many things, too many absurd things that I can't tell which one of their 'prophesies' was the one that did the trick. But I think it's probably some bullshit about Seroie being destroyed, something like that."

Seroie was the name of the capital of Elbrim which they were now heading to. If that was the case Esdras could understand why the king was angered.

"It's not just that, they also rambled about horrific monsters ravaging the world and the wrath of gods beyond the stars and so on and so forth. They weren't like that before but it seems like they grew arrogant thinking that the king's mercy was endless. I say they got what they deserved."

"Aye"

Esdras couldn't help but frown. It could just be random nonsense but.. it could be something else too.

The crown Prince seemed dead set on dealing with the mess in Yellomane as soon as possible and he even sent a letter to one of the royal barracks to prepare for a raid on the town. He was determined to reveal everything.

"We are the kings of dragons, how can we ignore these poisonous cowards that harm the commoners and exploit the war for personal benefit? This is no different than treason!"

Esdras could only hope the Redthorn had already escaped far away by now. He also didn't forget to warn the prince about Ilundar.

Although he didn't give any clear reason as to why he was wary of that stranger the prince still took his words seriously.

After all, now that he was a True mage things were different, not to mention that he took a leading role in bringing the item back.

But Esdras was also aware that Ilundar probably already made his escape. He must've already noticed that something was wrong.

As for the organization he was part of? Esdras wasn't very interested but he decided to keep an eye on them. Their motives and goals were a mystery to him, it was best to not lower his guard.

His most important goals now were to obtain as many spells as possible and then move on to a quite place to research a way of world travel.

Oh, he also had to take the Rite of passage in a month's time. That almost completely slipped his mind.

It was just not a task he payed attention to anymore, he was already a True mage! Would he face any trouble for a test made for apprentices?

He just needed to find a good backing in the tower, if he could become a direct apprentice of a Master mage then most of his problems could be solved.

It's just that he didn't even know how to do that exactly.

His original plan was to impress everyone in the Rite of passage but would anyone be impressed that a True mage crushed a kid's exam?

Of course, there's also that the fact that he now had a new identity, a 'dual elemental' mage. This was a very rare talent, it should work well enough to attract a councilman at least.

After that he could deal with the plot against his life by his uncle.

Despite being busy with many other things he still had to take care of that problem, especially knowing how suspicious it was.

That's right, his uncle was a prime suspect but he had several clues that pointed to the fact that it wasn't so simple.

First, if his uncle wanted him dead he actually didn't need to scheme with Robert. He neither needed to nor did he have the ability to.

Because he already did and from his perspective he didn't need to lift a finger anymore. After, sending him to the magic tower he no longer had anything to worry about.

Because the original Esdras would have died in the Rite of passage. His uncle would then be the true heir to the title and territory without having anyone suspect him of any wrongdoing.

However, Robert killed Esdras three months before the Rite of passage, which didn't make any sense. Why would his uncle risk such a move right when his plan was about to succeed without a hitch?

It was strange.

It's not like he knew Esdras would suddenly awaken his talent and soar through the sky.

Let's say for the sake of argument that he was tired of waiting and simply wanted it to be done with swiftly. How would he have conspired with Robert?historical

Robert was a level 4 apprentice mage who was favored in the tower, why would he work with a no name viscount and risk breaking the rules of the tower to kill Esdras?

His uncle didn't have the influence or resources to work with Robert on something like that.

House Varthos, may be a viscount house but it was a failing noble house that lost it's old power and was barely hanging on by a thread. In the past they were and Earl household!

All of these factors made it difficult for Esdras to know what exactly was going on. Clearly, he was missing a key piece of the puzzle, as long as he was in the dark he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully at night.

Robert was out of the picture but his eyes underlings weren't, Sam and Tara were still going to take the Rite of passage. He didn't have much hope but he had to at lead to try them first.

In the meantime, Redthorn was going to investigate the Varthos estate and slowly but surely he will find out who was after him and why.

Two months ago, Esdras was a person who didn't stand out at all, how could he have such enemies after him?