Undercurrents

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"The man is now already Tier 6, plus the new method to quickly reach Tier 7; he's simply unstoppable."

"I just heard from the Dimension Study Institute that the royal family has sent them a Tier 8 Weapon."

"Seriously?"

"There should be no problem with the source of the information."

Everyone at the table became silent. All of them here have ventured into the universe to learn and experience different things. According to the laws of the Empire, as long as any Arcanists have a passport, they can travel amongst the universe.

They just have to sign a contract not to willingly create more enemies for the Empire. However, as citizens, if they encounter any danger, they can contact the Empire which will send troops to save them.

However, this rule only applies to things happening in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Empire greatly discouraged intergalactic travel with their current development.

And during this experience, all 10 of them have some understanding of the current situation of the Milky Way Galaxy. Tier 5 individuals are considered very rare and usually hold a large amount of power.

Tier 6 are considered Gods with high status and countless privileges anywhere that they go. As for Tier 7 and 8, they are considered a legend in the Milky Way because of how rare they are.

Any race or civilization that has this level of individual or weapon is considered to belong at the top of the food chain in this galaxy. So, when they know that the Empire has such a weapon, they are both happy and sad.

Happy because now they know that they can be protected. The universe is a dark and cruel place. In a world where a single individual can dictate the lives of trillions of people, morality is completely worthless.

Every day, countless civilizations are destroyed; and they are powerless to resist or do anything about it. But now, with the Arcane Empire officially becoming a Tier 8 Civilization, they have a certain level of safety.

However, the sadness came from the fact that they will forever live under the oppression of this man. All of them present here are considered geniuses amongst all Arcanists, having Level 5 talents.

This is the reason that they can become Tier 5 so quickly. However, all of them have to agree, that in front of that man, they cannot compare. Every time they meet and have any kind of magical discussion, these people realized the difference between them and him.

They have long suspected that the Emperors' magical talent went beyond Level 5–despite being officially labeled as such. As geniuses, who them is not proud and arrogant; so, they do not want to be suppressed by someone else for the rest of their very long life.

Additionally, there are their ambitions. According to the Empire's Laws, every hundred years, people can challenge the Emperor and the final winner will ascend the throne.

Unfortunately, with this current news, they realized that this law might be useless. Even if they won, would the royal family hand over control of that Tier 8 Weapon?

Absolutely not. So, in the end, they would mostly become a Puppet Emperor even if fate was on their side and luckily won.

After a few seconds of silence, one of the people snorted out loud:

"The only reason he is so powerful is that he hid the method to become a Diamond Grade Tier 5."

All of them here are considered Platinum Grade Tier 5 Arcanists, meaning that they fused with a Greater Philosopher's Stone–or Greater Aether Core based on the new update–with their magic core.

However, they also theorized that there is a Diamond Grade above that. And the reason for that is some members of the Ghost Squad are too powerful.

Even the new General of the Navy that is rumored to be the new Queen of the Empire is too powerful for a Tier 5 by Platinum grade. So, the people knew that the Emperor had a Diamond Grade method reserved only for the royal family and the people who handed their souls to him.

"If that is what you think, why don't you create your own method to becoming Diamond grade?" replied another person with a sneer, making everyone in the room silent.

This may sound like an easy thing to do, but it is not: the requirements are truly harsh. The first requirement is to be an Artificer and not just one that can create some small magical gadgets.

No, an Artificer capable of creating a complex thing like the Aether Core. Having a high magical talent was a rare thing, so having both high magical talent and Artificer talent is even rarer.

The second condition is to know how to create the Aether Core. As the highest source of energy in the Empire, this knowledge is one of the most strictly controlled things.

The requirement to have access to such knowledge is harsh, to say the least. And finally, an arcanist has to be able to upgrade the Aether Core. The thing is that no one has ever seen the core that can make people into Diamond Grade Tier 5, so there is no formula or way to reverse-engineer it.

Many theories as to what the added ingredients are–with life force being one of the main ones. However, nothing has been proven yet. Plus, even if someone knew the main ingredient, they still needed the perfect mixing ratios,

To achieve any result in this kind of research, countless experiments of trials and errors are required. Unfortunately, this is level of resources is not available for any single arcanist, and maybe even a group of them.

"There is no need to bash the name of the Emperor. If not for him, none of us would have the accomplishment we have today."

This person was correct. All of them here have great admiration for the Arcane Empire, and that is because this man is very generous when it comes to sharing knowledge.

This might sound counter argumentative based on the issue with Diamond Grade but it was true. In this large universe, knowledge is literally equal to power, thus making it very valuable.

Because of this, countless civilizations in the universe hold dears to their magical knowledge, only sharing it with a few individuals. This practice is a common method to keep the power in the hands of the "elite".

However, this is not the same in the Empire. A lot of knowledge is free, while at the same time, very valuable knowledge requires a price to exchange. And more often than not, the exchange price is simply other knowledge.

This system created a cycle of constant innovation and progress, allowing the Empire to develop at a rapid pace. Truth be told, many of the people in this room knew that if they were in the Emperor's shoes, they could not be so generous.

Although they understand the benefit of this system, it does not mean that everyone can follow it. It takes certain individuals with strong willpower to not let power get to their heads, to be as selfless as the Emperor.

And unfortunately, no one in this room fits those criteria, and they knew it.

"There is no need to argue. We only created this group to exchange information and to ensure that the Emperor provided us with certain rights and not completely oppressed us.

"And so far, he has done a great job walking a fine line to restrict us and give us the rights we rightfully deserve."

"That's true."

They were not one of these Anti-Monarchy Groups or Anti-Emperor terrorists; they just banded together to ensure their rights and benefits.

"In that case, are we signing the contract to acquire the Divine Potion and the method of Arcana Flame?"

The room was quiet for a moment before someone said: "It would be in our best interests."

"Agreed."

"Second it."

All of them knew that there were no other options. If they did not do so, some of their peers will be more than happy to do it, and this rapidly surpasses them.

And the alternative is to be left behind, or even worse, leave the Empire and wander into the infinite universe. Few people have chosen this path and the majority of them had terrible endings, or are currently suffering greatly.

Soon, this meeting ended and all these people returned to their Demiplanes; they wanted to quickly advance to Tier 6 and not be left behind.

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Next Chapter Title: Mana Heart