Chapter 126: Aragarian Ranks

The classroom which Seeker was transferred too contained all the foreigners who due to their unique status, was approved by the WGP to remain in Phil-Pangea. Ever since the attack on China, several changes which called forth for the return of foreigners to their home country were allowed. The only groups that were allowed to remain, were students.

Due to the difference in Technological possibilities, most school credits are not accepted on other countries. As such, foreigners who study on different countries usually meant their long-term stay over at their country. In fact, in most cases, they live in the country they study as the trade they learn there may not be available in their own country or due to the difference in technological possibilities, the trade may not be similar in work, operations, and other details.

Because students who have studied in Phil-Pangea for more than two or three years would be forced into a position of wasting their years, the WGP soon relented that only after ensuring a background check to the students and their parents will they be allowed to remain and study. And these students were the few who were allowed to contact their parents.

All over the world, the various teams that Seeker had established an alliance with waited.

After receiving the ping that Harker had sent out, they all prepared the assigned recipients to receive the message.

A man with a cybernetic arm, and whose two legs had several cybernetic attachments noticed the ping.

"Young Master…" Another man by the side also noticed the ping.

"Should I inform Master?" The man asked.

"This information is relevant to us. But it's not something that Master needs to be informed of. Regardless… Prepare the Fangs. We're going hunting."

"Young master? Your body is not yet-"

"As you will, Young Master." Sting gave a respectful bow and suddenly disappeared.

In the deep lush mountain forest of France…

Deep in the man-made mountains was a secret base that housed the most advanced laboratories throughout the world.

"Seeker's ping." Kristine frowned. She wore a golden armor with sophisticated technologies that would have made the WGP wage war with New Great Britain.

Surrounding her were various armed men who were laying on the floor. Some were on the verge of death. Others only suffered a few broken bones.

"Gentlemen. I hope this proves my point. Sadly, we must end this session… it seems that I have business to attend to." A young man wielding two maces sighed.

"You already know what it's about. Why bother?" Kristine laughed.

"I have an idea, what it will be. But nothing specific. Let's go, Kristine. Major… The medics will take care of you. Don't worry. None of you will die. But after we fix you up, we'll have another session." Arthur casually walked away.

The soldier, who was shaking all over, couldn't even point and aim properly. He immediately collapsed and fainted.

Somewhere in the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean, where the light failed to reach, a metallic orb-like object, that was like a small submarine continued to roll across the ocean floor.

An extremely alluring and beautiful woman continued to perform several yoga positions. Her mind, however, remained on that battle.

Ever since her capture, she was tasked to only bewitch one Aragarian and she was kept hidden from the world. But after a few weeks, it was decided that she would be tossed into the depths of the Pacific Ocean and the controls of this small orb which was an application of the Rule Technology, would be given to several individuals who have never met her. Every day. The controls of this orb and its direction would be given over to another person. Some didn't even know what it was they were controlling but would later gift it off to another member.

All of this was to ensure that none of the original people who fought against her would be tempted to seek her out and meet with her again.

BEEP!

A beep was heard as a notification appeared on the console of one of the computers present. She knew what this meant.

Back in Phil-Pangea, Seeker had finally begun his explanation.

"Now, to begin our little meeting, I'll need a quick update on the current progress of your contacts. As for the ones on my end, we've basically taken control of most of the weapon dealers in the Pangean nations. However, due to some… issues, we've failed to kill Premier. His son has been turned into a Programmed Slave so we basically have a spy in their organization." Seeker confirmed.

"Oh? I thought it would be better for him to die and make the Aragarian's make his son the go-to person for their connections here?" Eric wondered.

"Just… Just ignore it." Seeker firmly answered.

Eric had a curious expression but paid no heed to it a fraction of a second later.

"Any other changes in our plans?"

"No. Just that. We will have to make the necessary arrangements with the change of those plans. I need the reports from your parties." Seeker ordered.

"Much obliged, General." Eric smiled.

"Reporting from Charles' team. Our current progression is still the same. Our experiments have generally branched off into three different programs. The main Unlocking Program which we are currently focused on making a safer drug for making Unbecoming Proficient and is on the process of creating a test drug for Surmounting Unbecoming. Of course, you know of Charles' current dilemma. His current focus on this matter is to use the Unlocking to control the cells of the body and limit the attacks of cancer. Charles has been engrossed on the matter of Ricardo after all. Do you have any complaints on this matter?"

"None. I'm sure that he doesn't need to be reminded that perfect control over the cancer cells would be more possible on the higher stages of the Unlocking. How is the health of Ricardo?"

"It's actually quite intriguing. Charles has actually asked for assistance from Lennox. The radiation surrounding the child is quite deadly. This also caused a mutation on the infant's body leading to cancer. Yet… for some strange reason… the child is alive."

"That child was originally the case that aided Charles greatly in discovering the Unlocking. That child is perhaps, the hope of our race. At such a young age, he already has shown signs of breaking through the Unbecoming stage. This may have been caused by the radiation, the sickness, or perhaps both. As such, his study of that child should be his priority. Tell him that he can ask for aid from any of our groups. Lennox and Meng should aid him as much as they can." Seeker then glanced at two particular students who were designated to be the messenger between Seeker and these two groups.

"I trust that all of you haven't been acting conservatively with regards to your experiments?"

"Oh not at all, General."  

"Any casualties?"

"None so far. Meng's soldiers were resolved and we're the ones asking us to try the riskier procedures."

"I meant the guinea pigs."

"Oh! Right. Of the twenty-eight Aragarian's we've captured in China, nine have died so far. Seven from Charles experiment."

"I see. Go crazy with the risk. The gap created by Meng's presumed death will undoubtedly cause many skirmishes in the Underworld and even in the military of China. Such chaos caused by the disturbance of Meng should be within the Aragarian's expectations so they wouldn't bother with several Planteds disappearing."

"Great! As for the remaining experiments, it's both on the initial phase. Basically it's a study of merging Paths. One program, led by the sisters, Sonia and Saunia, focuses on Lynd's cells and how it reacts to the various Overcomer cells we have. If we solve the merging process, we can probably create a drug that could make other Unlocked develop Skills. The other experiment is led by yours truly, and it is focused on experimenting with your cells and how it may be used to pass on the various traits you already have."

"I see. Keep me posted with the updates of your studies and experiments. Alright. China your up."

A young Chinese student stood up and nodded.

"Due to the interference of Lowengren and Alean, together with some members of the Dragon's Fang, Amir Mann has been spotted in China and India. Lowengren and Alean managed to enter Africa and completed their mission. They just need to make a big commotion but Meng has his doubts that another gang massacre would get Amir Mann's attention."

"Tell him not to worry. Lowengren's deception isn't that easy to escape. Not to mention that this is the plan of Arthur. They're in the clear to re-establish their base in China." Seeker nodded.

"Then Meng will continue on his plans. But they want to visit the Empress again."

"Ugh. Just because we defeated her doesn't mean that he can fight and win her. Unless he can confirm Rosa's ascent to the Overcomer level, I will not allow it. She has to beat me alone in combat. But the way things are going, Rosa's at Ranked Hero level in potential at best. Since she cannot believe in me then Meng has to find ways to-"

"General, Meng believes that that problem would be fixed only if they face the Tyrant Empress. It has to do with Rosa's faith. He said you would understand."

Seeker was silent for a while but finally relented.

"So its beauty? Strange. Why didn't she manifest it on my timeline?" Seeker mumbled.

"Fine. I agree. But this has to be done after I fight the Realm King. If I survive, then we can talk." Seeker turned his attention to another student.

"Korea?"

"We have successfully established a base in the city. The Mikado's are currently trying to regain the trust of their superiors but it looks like they've come across some conflict. Ever since the secret mission on China, Colonel Meryl's parents are under strict guard and are highly monitored. If it wasn't for the new Slaves there, they wouldn't be able to do anything. And so they can't kill their way up the ladder because this particular boss of theirs is highly connected."

"Any Aragarian's found?"

"No such luck. We have no idea where to start." The student answered.

"Tell the Mikado's to focus their efforts in investigating the Diamons," Seeker ordered.

"These are the possibilities regarding the Diamons true identity. One, they were Aragarian's even on my time… but they died and fought against the Aragarian's secret forces. This is the reason why I concluded they weren't even on this timeline. Although they could have used their deaths to hide the facts that they were, it was useless then. The battle already happened and all pretenses and disguises were already being thrown off. The more likely possibility is that the Aragarian's are using their technology to somehow replace or implant themselves on our planet's society…" Seeker frowned.

"Since I'm already discussing it, I'll just go ahead and tell you all to know. Give a Tier S priority report to your correspondents. It is unlikely the Aragarian's can fake the medical records as it would still leave a digital trail especially for those countries with the Blockchain network. We are to all act in the assumption that the Aragarian's have a way to physically replace the top families of Earth. This would only be possible if a High-Leveled Presider came or worse, a Principal has been sent."

"General, if they had that tech before, why act now?"

"I have no choice but to leak this information here. Double the encryption when relating it back to your assigned posts. To explain that reason, I'll need to first expound on the world and culture the Aragarians have.

The Aragarian's have several levels or tiers which defines their status. Imagine that each rank symbolizes a technological power. In their dystopian society, you have to amass contributions either by serving those with higher rankings or perform notable contributions to society. The more contribution you have, the more discoveries, and whatever contributions the higher ones in society give away, the higher you get to climb in this system."

Seeker then went to the board and drew several layers.

"Those at the bottom are what we call as Planted. These are slaves who have very little or no technological advancements. They could be treated as common humans and wouldn't be a threat to us in any way. Basically, these are foot soldiers, slaves, and laborers. Higher than this group is the group that has infiltrated Earth long ago. The Pioneer."

Seeker started listing out several names on the board.

"As you know, these are the Pioneer's we've confirmed."

A Russian student raised her hand.

"General. Are we to assume that any Aragarian businessman, with a reasonable amount of power, are Pioneers?"

"Not necessarily. In Pangea, only Feltrick Ung-glaive was a Pioneer. His wives and children would be considered the Planted level. Some Planted directly serve under a Pioneer and are at times allowed to rise in the ladder of success in this world. So any powerful Organization, be it political, commercial or military, these groups would generally have one Pioneer. The rest would be Planted."

The Russian student nodded and sat back down.

Seeker recalled something as the beautiful student sat down.

"Oh. Eva. Did Colonel Cliff make a move on you?" Seeker asked.

Eva had a curious look.

"No, Sir. But please tell him I'm free anytime." She smiled excitedly.

"Sorry. I think that ship has passed. You know who he's hanging out with these days." Seeker shook his head.

"I don't mind. As a Slave, I'm required to be a bit more open-minded." Eva smiled once more.

Ted gave a jealous look at Eva and then turned to Seeker.

"What's with the stare, Teddy?" Seeker frowned.

"Uh… Nothing General." Ted panicked.

"Moving on. The Pioneers hold some power. The best analogy is that they are the freemen of medieval society. Or in more common terms, they would have the same power and authority that the middle-class has."

"Just the middle class?" A dark-tanned student asked as she raised her arm.

"Yes. Just the middle class. There are Pioneers, however, who has chosen to subordinate themselves under the next level. Those who aren't subservient to any Aragarian's of the next level are called Rogue Pioneers. There are a lot of these people on Earth. The dystopian society of the Aragarian's is quite treacherous that living on Earth before they harvest it is like a long vacation. Of course, Rogue Pioneers who joined Earth usually try to amass contributions by providing resources to other Pioneers or the ones above the Pioneer level."

"Is Feltrick Ung-Glaive a Rouge?" Ted asked to make Seeker forget his momentary jealous look.

"We don't know. But it's possible. Those who came here on Earth are mostly Rogues. Although several Pioneers have been sent to Earth by their superiors on orders, it was said that there was an incident that occurred during the Third World War that made the Aragarian's warry of us. Hence only a few Pioneers who are serving the next tier were sent. And don't ask. We did our best, but we were unable to dig out the events regarding that matter."

"Will Pioneers who have served under the more prominent Aragarian's stronger?"

"It is possible. But there was none in my timeline. They may have more authority and could even command a Rogue Pioneer to assist them on certain tasks, but generally, they are just a regular Pioneer. However, because of the anomaly of the Diamons, it is best that we work under the assumption that they have. On this timeline, It's certain that the more of the next tier is actively involved with the things of this Earth.

We have captured one Presider but because of their special status, we dared not kill them. Otherwise, chaos would ensue. These Presiders could be likened to kings or world-leaders of our world. They have technologies that would theoretically equal or surpass the Technological Possibility of a nation. Depending on the chosen tech route of these Presider's they may have techs that could allow them to rival an Inhuman. In fact, there are few that could even kill a Ranked Hero. Fighting several of them, or several of their armies could kill a World Champion. Basically a Presider is like a General of an army. They have up to twenty Pioneer's serving directly under them. If they were to arm their army of Planted, a single Presider could easily eliminate a country."

The room was quiet.

"In my timeline, we fought and verified eight Presiders. But in this timeline, we do not know how many we will face. The Aragarian's have now been bolder in their infiltration to our planet which means that either a Presider with a unique technological possibility made a move and joined the war… or worse. A Principal has arrived."