74 Chapter 74

It got Kyon thinking: {So, the Stones hold the 1st rank in the 5th ranking kingdom in the 6th ranking empire of one of the three opposing races... Great!}

When Kyon learned everything about the human race hierarchy, he picked up books on organizations of great significance and authority.

Three organizations stood out in particular: the trade guilds, the dwarfs' factories, and the sects.

The trade guilds existed independently of the kingdoms and the empires, acting as a link between them.

The dwarfs' factories enjoyed less authority than the trade guilds but had their undeniable benefits. The dwarfs were the best engineers and blacksmiths in the world. Their mindset in this aspect exceeded anyone.

The sects were national inter-imperial training organizations that maintained their high status for centuries. The sects didn't promote faith or any ideology. They were called so because their students became ardent supporters of their "school," ready to fight to the death for it.

Anyone could join a sect whose legacy and resources could turn a commoner into a respected, mighty warrior. Talent played a crucial role there.

The sects maintained a neutral position, establishing their institutions in different empires. However, they pledged to protect the area in case of a non-human attack.

There were different sects, but three of them were distinguished from the others with their ancient heritage. Their power was comparable to low-ranking empires.

The Dance sect (1) accepted mostly girls, but they didn't deny talented boys. Their students were frightening with their battle dance skills.

The Virgo sect (2) consisted exclusively of women. Their policy of matriarchy was so strong that they had no tolerance for vile, wretched men. However, they were not above buying male slaves.

And finally, the Fat sect (3) mainly accepted obese or overweight people with potential to gain even more weight. Specific nutrition allowed the students to gain weight in a matter of days. They needed their fat deposits for special fat-burning techniques that released tons of energy and made them stronger.

Kyon once heard about the Fat sect from Bilya, the scary doctor who had given him Evilball.

To sum it up, there existed three prevalent inter-imperial sects that had specific entry requirements.

Kyon gradually turned from the inter-imperial educational institutions to the private ones that belonged to the empires / the kingdoms. He found out that every domain had the best school that brought together the most gifted and talented young people in the area.

For example, Cernos in the Iron Throne (1) and the great Order (0) in the capital city of Dantes (0). It was considered the best school in the whole empire. Every Rosarrian dreamed of studying in that prestigious place that gave their students unique powers, helpful knowledge and provided them with all kinds of opportunities.

However, it admitted only applicants from high-ranking families, preferably those who lived closer to the capital. Talent was also a must.

Schools, and the Order, in particular, inspired their students to be loyal patriots. The masters instilled in their minds ​​the greatness of their native empire. In addition, they had to study military affairs.

The fourth, no less important organization was religion.

People believed in the goddess Danna, a higher being, the guardian of the human race. She was the embodiment of force and power, grandeur and brilliant glory.

There was a legend about a star that fell from the sky one and a half thousand years ago, marking the deity's appearance. The great creator's daughter descended to the planet to fulfill his will and guide humanity to the right path.

A curious fact: both demons and supreme beasts shared the same legend.

Kyon was about to laugh at the naive stupidity of local people when some information got his attention. "The first rank empire has the goddess day. After a special ceremony, a prayer, and sacrifice of valuable resources, she descends to the mortals and blesses those whose faith is pure and whose thoughts are benign."

Kyon's pupils narrowed. He had never believed in the otherworld and inexplicable things, but Danna seemed to really exist. Demons had similar legends about the goddess Persephone. The beasts had a goddess named Ceres.

{Their names sound familiar…}

Religion in this world was justified, after all. Goddesses could benefit their believers, bless them, bestow strength on them. Curious, really curious...

Kyon was surprised to learn that the local religion did not acquire absolute power or independence, bending under the imperial families. The same story was in the demons' and the beasts' lands. Religion became a state management tool. It yielded certain benefits, such as fundraising (donations), searching for new talents, and, of course, excellent brainwashing, which aimed at rallying the human race against their common enemy - non-humans.

Kyon heaved a deep sigh. Every prosperous country created boundaries. School and society "molded" a person to achieve their goals. The Order created soldiers willing to give their life for their homeland. Families raised individuals who craved power, authority and respect. Religious temples needed those who would fight against the other races. It happened everywhere.

But... Kyon had grown on books and Synergy. He had been making more or less objective decisions since he was a child. He had his own worldview with regards to everything.

Now Kyon knew how the world around him worked. He had read everything about the races, the empires, the kingdoms, and the families, the organisations like guilds, dwarf's factories, sects, schools, and religions. Now he needed to put puzzle pieces together. He had to find the component that moved everything. In his world, it was money. In this world, money wasn't important. What came first was...

Tokens, large gold coins dotted with patterns and inlaid with precious stones, had tremendous value. Empress Lanatelle's energy flew inside them.

Kyon had overheard Bai's conversation with Juno about tokens when he was hiding in the pillows in Juno's room. Here, he found out that it was the imperial currency that allowed any transactions at the legislative level, from the purchase of goods and resources to forced marriage and destruction of a weak family. There were no restrictions. It all came down to the required number of tokens calculated by complex formulas related to family ranks, value and other factors.

{Geez…} - Kyon scratched his head. - {Is any human society based on gold coins?}

Any tournament, competition, family disputes involved tokens. They were the main link that created competition in human society and boosted cultivation. Tokens gave endless opportunities. They couldn't be forged as each of them had a serial number, and all transactions were recorded. The only thing that tokens couldn't buy was Lanatelle. No one could had the power to affect her family or the Empress herself. Lanatelle was the head of the whole empire, its Holy Grail. No rules in this world applied to her. The Empress was the most powerful and influential person who strived for the prosperity of her empire.

Kyon was a little disappointed when he finished studying Social Studies. He hadn't found out anything about divine punishment. Not a single mention. Reading about goddesses was interesting enough, but he wanted to know something about heavenly punishment.

{I doubt that the goddess had sent that lightning... What should I do? How to escape a more powerful bolt of lightning next time?} - Kyon found a simple answer to this simple question. - {Hmm... When I was the mastermind of the mansion and studied Formacy, I often read about protective formations that require skills, nephrites, money, and keys. Juno is my slave. I can order her to get a couple of hundred protective formations!} - There was no reason to put off acquiring a new element if he was sure that he could survive the electrical discharge. Each additional element could significantly enhance his energy and raise his potential to a new level.

Synergy let Kyon know that it was already morning. He didn't care that protective formations were expensive. It was time to get out of the basement and order his slave girl to get them. He should take full advantage of the girl. Otherwise, what was the point of keeping her?

...

On the morning of the same day, a decrepit old man had arrived at the mansion. His body was withered like a skeleton. He looked like the walking dead with his pale face devoid of any glint of life, dark circles under his eyes. People avoided him like a leper, then apologized when they recognized Flitz, the greatest formacist in the Stone family.

Behind the old man was a healthy boy of about 16 with a formation "Alec" on his forehead. His head was shaved, his pale face was sad. He wasn't afraid of Juno. No, quite the opposite, he believed she would change his life for the better. Alec grieved because he had been given Evilball, and now he was no man. His distress was comparable with the loss of his right hand. He was a new slave, commissioned by Juno for her atrocious training sessions.

The guards respectfully bowed to the old man and let him inside.

«Bring the young lady in. I am not going to look for her around the mansion.» - Flitz growled.

Soon, Juno came to the entrance. She looked impartial and detached but inside, she was full of emotions. Juno had completely forgotten that Flitz had promised to bring her a new slave.

All these days, Juno had been trying to attract attention. Dinah couldn't understand why the young lady was being weird. Anna was too busy. Yegorka was an idiot. Her friend Marina had been ignoring the changes in her, which was rather unusual of her.

Flitz had arrived at last! Her long-awaited salvation! Juno wasn't going to get attention this time. She had been getting ready for this moment for a long time, practicing self-deception. Hopefully, her skills worked!

Kyon wouldn't have believed it. His formation worked flawlessly. It must be something else!

A little bit earlier, Yegorka had been sitting on the bench a few hundred meters from Juno's mansion. He was depressed, his arm in plaster. Yegorka had been restless since the guards beat him up and broke his arm. He was denied access into the mansion. Yegorka explained all this by failing Juno's test. He called her, sent her messages, all to no avail.

Every night, Yegorka had a feeling that someone was walking on his grave. He trembled at the mere thought that he would never be with his dear Juno again. But he didn't lose hope. There was a party soon. His arm would have healed by then. He would show everyone that he was worthy of taking first place in the tournament and becoming the king of the party. Yegorka had a big plan for this occasion, but it was partially ruined by the recent events. It wasn't only about taking first place. He wanted to give Juno a valuable gift, dance with her, and then... And then who knows what could happen. She was bound to fall into his arms. Until then, Yegorka kept lurking around her mansion, watching the entrance. If someone from Juno's family arrived, he would convince them to let him inside. Then he would beg Juno to forgive him and make sure his plan never failed.

As for his precious gift, it was about to be delivered from Boston, the capital of the kingdom. It wasn't an item of clothing, not a weapon or a jewel. It was Soaring Angel, a pill for boosting cultivation.

Yegorka had always been attentive and insightful when it concerned Juno. He knew that she was eager to get stronger, preferably as soon as possible. Therefore his gift was cultivation oriented. He knew Juno well enough to foresee her reaction. His present was going to take an important place in her heart. Yegorka imagined Juno smiling only for him. She would give him a hug or even... a kiss on the cheek.

Soaring Angel accelerated soul evolution by about 20-30% and lasted for a while. Its effectiveness depended on the quality, that is, the purity of the pill. The higher the rank of the alchemist who created it, the higher the final purity (quality). The pill could be used once in a lifetime. There would be no effect with repeated use. After that, alternative medicine was required to speed up the cultivation.

Yegorka had chosen this pill for several reasons. It was little-known, so it was unlikely that grandpa Bai had given it to Juno before. It was quite effective and moderately expensive, by the standards of boost medication. Even for this relatively cheap pill, Yegorka had to sell his deceased father's mansion, some of his resources, his favorite sword, and all his savings for the rainy day. As it wasn't enough, Yegorka had to kneel in front of the seller, begging for a discount.

The merchant softened up, or maybe he saw the benefit in the deal. Anyway, he agreed. Yegorka jumped with joy. He was willing to kiss the merchant's feet for the astronomical discount of 15%! The greatest trade guild in the world would never give him more than a 10% discount, and he had received 15%! Yegorka could be respected for his sincere desire to get Juno a valuable gift, even if he was sorry to sell his father's house… It was full of memories, after all. Anyway, Martin gave his beloved son a separate mansion a year ago. Yegotka had a place to live.

A post bird appeared in the sky, flying right to Yegorka as if it knew exactly his whereabouts.

He rose to his feet and opened his mouth in delight.

«You're here!»