Alex clenched his fists, his mind reeling as he considered Farnes'' words.
He''d known his decision would be controversial — perhaps even prising — but he''d never imagined it would turn him into a pariah.
The memory of the Overseers'' cold, calcting gaze shed through his mind, the way they''d spoken of peace as though it were amodity they could distribute at will, provided he gave up everything he stood for.
"So, what now?"
Alex asked in a rough tone, full of anger and disbelief.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Am I supposed to apologise for wanting to protect my freedom?"
Farnes shook his head.
"No, Alex. Apologies won''t change the public sentiment overnight, and I doubt you''d be able to sway those who feel betrayed. But you need to be careful. The Federation is dealing with internal unrest, and there are factions growing more extreme every day. You can''t expect the same support you once had. It''s a hostile gxy out there for people in your position."
Mira looked at Alex with a fierce expression.
"You made the right call, Alex. Anyone who thinks you should have surrendered to the Overseers doesn''t understand what''s at stake."
Alex managed a small, grateful smile at her, but his mind was heavy with the weight of Farnes'' words.
He''d dedicated his life to fighting for a free gxy, one where people could live without the oppressive rule of entities like the Overseers.
But now, to see the very people he''d fought for turn against him — it stung more deeply than he wanted to admit.
"So… I''m supposed to justy low and watch as people nder my name?"
Alex''s voice was tinged with bitterness.
Farnes leaned forward, his voice quiet but firm.
"Alex, if you still believe in your cause, if you truly want to protect this gxy, then yes — at least for now. This isn''t a battle you can win by confronting your critics directly. Let your actions, not your words, speak for you. Prove to people that you still fight for their freedom, even if they don''t see it now."
A long silence stretched between them.
Alex felt the gravity of the choice before him.
He could ignore the public sentiment and carry on as he always had, fighting for freedom, or he could find a way to shift the narrative, to remind people of why he''d made the decision in the first ce.
But both paths were fraught with difficulty, and he wasn''t sure if he was ready to face the consequences of either.
Finally, he nodded, a defiant look sparking his eyes.
"I''m not going to let them rewrite everything we''ve fought for. If they think I''m the viin, fine. But I''m not giving up on the cause. I''ll prove to them, one way or another, that I made the right choice."
***
''I''m a C+ rank now… I should probably check my requirements to reach B tier!''
Alex thought to himself as he walked out of the meeting room, leaving Principal Farnes behind.
At the moment, Mira was in her own thoughts, and Alex in his own.
There was no doubt they were both thinking about the same thing right now.
How to get even stronger, even quicker.
Naturally, this brought them both to look at their details.
Especially now that they were forcibly pushed forward a rank by Gorath.
While the ''gift'' they had received from Gorath turned out to be some kind of Trojan horse of sorts to take over their minds, it is undeniable that it still had many positives
The main one being the fact that it forced them to rank up, disregarding any requirements the system had set beforehand.
Although in hindsight Alex probably shouldn''t believe a word Gorath said to him, he still inwardly believed what it had told him about the gift, and how only Sentients could give them out, and how there was a limit of 5 people in its entire lifetime.
In fact, Alex even believed that other Sentients could give gifts that weren''tced with insidious and maniptive intentions.
But of course, there were still some doubts in his mind.
If anything, the encounter with Gorath only gave him a bad impression of Sentients.
But it taught him a lesson.
''Stop being so merciful to any random person, or being, you meet Alex!''
Alex reminded himself over and over again in his mind that he had to change his ways.
The moment he saw Gorath was in pain, mistook him for the Red Demons that were the ones who tore its soul apart, he felt pity for it.
And that was the exact reason why he fell for its tricks so easily.
However, Alex disregarded all of that as there was something much more pressing to do, considering the whole Gorath ordeal was already dealt with.
''Time to check my requirements to reach B- rank!''
***
[Details]
Name: [Alex]
Age: [18]
Talents: [Soulforge (Soul+)], [Phoenix mes (S+)], [Spatial teleportation (B+)]
Trait: [Kingyer]
Trait description: [Being a King does not make one immune to death, you have proved that by killing a King recognised by the system. You do not just have King ss potential, your future stands far brighter than that.]
Trait effect: [Damage to King ss beings and below is boosted by 50%]
Soul Core: [C+ - 0%]
Soul ssification: [Variant]
Soul ssification Progress: [Ordinary - 100%, Mutant - 100%, Variant - 100%, King - 21%]
Firstly, Alex checked his details to see if any changes came with reaching C+ rank, and whether reaching it in such an… unordinary fashion woulde with any negative side effects.
But from what he saw at a first nce, there was nothing wrong.
In fact, he only felt pride when looking at his details.
There were probably very few people across the whole known universe who had detailsparable to this!
Now, onto the real juicy information Alex was after.
The requirements!
[Requirements to reach B- rank: Kill 1 King ss B- rank being (0/1); Break free of your mortal bindings plete)]
''...''
''What the fuck are mortal bindings, and how the fuck have I supposedly alreadypleted this requirement!?''