Chapter 1041: ne Hierarchy 101


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    "...And that''s more or less all you have to know about the Mystic ne, as well as concept nes in general."


    Not knowing how much time had passed since the two in front of him started talking about the history of the Mystic ne, Valyr felt like he''d been pulled out of the water the moment one of them said that their exnation was over.


    Savoring the few deep breaths he took after the exnation, the young man immediately had a pensive expression on his face, reminding himself that the two did not waste their time exining all of that for nothing.


    With that, Valyr forced the gears in his mind to turn as much as possible, slowly but surely processing all of the information he''d just learned into a brief yet concise summary.


    "Correct me at any time if there are parts where I''ve gotten some things wrong," said Valyr to start his retelling of their exnation, prompting both Mystia and Marcus to nod as they began to listen to what he had to say.


    "So, first off, concept nes have three varying sizes: small, middle, and upper... which is a confusing ssification if you''d ask me."


    "Anyways, these concept nes have a hierarchy system in ce that acts as its main source of strength, which is the reason why those nes are those sizes in the first ce."


    "That''s correct." The two nodded in agreement.


    "In the Mystic ne''s case, it''s considered a small ne, but thanks to me bing the ne''s Guardian, it''s now really close to barely being considered a middle ne... is that correct?"


    "That''s correct." The two nodded once more.


    "The reason why that''s the case is all because of the hierarchy system I''ve mentioned earlier, with the Overseer standing at the pinnacle of this hierarchy system."


    Briefly pointing at Marcus, he continued, "It could be said that the Overseer is the ne itself, while also acting a separate entity from the ne at the same time."


    "This is due to the fact that the Overseer is born from the ne itself, unlike the other parts making up the hierarchy," continued the young man. "That''s also the reason why the Overseer grows stronger whenever the ne grows stronger thanks to the hierarchy."


    Seeing Marcus nod in agreement with his words, Valyr felt confident enough to continue his retelling of their exnation. "Under the Overseer would be the level of directors, which is limited to only five people for a small ne like the Mystic ne."


    "Both Mystia and I are considered as director-level beings, with both of our abilities having greatly contributed to the improvement of the Mystic ne''s strength."


    "Then, below the director-level beings would be the high-level beings, which could be interpreted as the officials in a city if you consider the director-level beings as high-ranking officials."


    "More or less." Mystia nodded in agreement. "Those considered to be high-level contribute less to the overall strength of the ne, however it''s not rare for those at the high-level to contribute more strengthpared to those at the director-level."


    "After all, the limit on how many high-level beings a small ne could have is the square of the maximum number of director-level beings, which in this case would be 25."


    Feeling that Mystia was done talking, Valyr continued where she''d left off in her exnation. "Below the high-level beings would be the middle-level beings, and then below those would be the low-level beings, which could be interpreted as the guards of the city and the citizens living in the city respectively."


    "Just like the difference between director-level and high-level beings, middle-level and low-level beings contribute an even smaller portion of strength to the ne, though they make up for it through sheer quantity."


    "As for the maximum number of beings for those levels... uh... how much was it again for a small ne?" Scratching the back of his head as he attempted to jog his memory, Valyr briefly nced at Marcus.


    "The same rule applies." Noticing the young man''s gaze, Marcus took it upon himself to respond. "The maximum number of middle-level beings is the square of the maximum number of high-level beings, so it''s 625."


    "Then, the maximum number of low-level beings is the square of the maximum number of middle-level beings... which is roughly ten thousand short of 400,000."


    "I don''t know about the maximum number of beings for those in middle and upper nes, but you''ve more or less remembered everything there is to the hierarchy system of a small ne," said Marcus with a faint smile, ncing at Valyr with a look of gratitude.


    In response, Valyr smiled back, prompting the man to extend his hand out for a handshake. "I suppose I haven''t properly introduced myself to you yet."


    "The name''s Marcus."


    "Valyr," replied the young man as he returned the handshake. "Valyr Zeihardt."


    "d to have you on board as the ne''s Guardian, Valyr," said Marcus in response, finishing the handshake not long after. "Even more so with the amount of strength you''ve contributed to the ne."


    "Speaking of which, do you have an idea as to why you joining the Mystic ne''s hierarchy caused all of these changes to happen?" Marcus looked at the young man with a slightly


    curious expression.


    "Don''t get me wrong, your strength is absurd for a peak Rank 4 ss holder to have, but it won''t really cause the Mystic ne to expand by this much."


    "Well..." Rubbing his chin as he pondered over the question, it did not take long for an answer to appear in Valyr''s mind, releasing a wisp of the energy he''d personally created. "I guess this has something to do with it."


    Whoosh!


    At the very moment both Mystia and Marcusid their eyes upon energy, the two of them immediately felt the vast potential the energy contained, as well as the inherent power that was slumbering within it.


    "It''s quite the destructive energy," said Mystia after some time, noticing that the atmosphere surrounding the wisp of dark blue energy was gradually being broken down by the energy itself.


    "Well, that''s a given," replied Valyr, retracting the energy as he manipted the energy around for a bit, smiling in response. "After all, it''s abination of mana, Shadow Energy,


    and Intent."


    "I see." Hearing those words, Mystia nodded in response, now understanding why Valyr bing the Guardian caused a lot of change to the Mystic ne.


    On the other hand, Marcus began to look at Valyr with a grim expression the moment the


    latter mentioned the phrase Shadow Energy.


    "Did I hear you say that correctly, Valyr?"


    "Did you... did you really just say Shadow Energy?"