Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Matt froze like a rabbit that had just noticed Aster was standing above it.

He also felt the instinctive urge to run that the rabbit must have felt before it was gobbled up.

In the instant their eyes met, Matt settled his instincts and looked at the Emperor, trying to analyze him as any other person.

Without knowing that he was a Tier 50, Matt wouldn't have looked twice at him in a crowd.

He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with just a sprinkling of gray in his hair around the temples. Otherwise, his light brown hair was cut in a short but classic style that had been trendy a few decades ago.

The clean-shaven face was otherwise unnotable, except for the classically wide jaw.

It was his eyes that drew all of the attention on his face.

It looked like someone was mixing molten gold in his luminescent eyes.

Despite having a source of light that should have overwhelmed his ability to see the Emperor's pupils, the light did no such thing. In fact, he thought he could see images playing across the Tier 50s pupils.

Matt tried to peer deeper, as he was sure some questions that he couldn't put into words would be answered if he just looked deep enough.

As he did so, the color in the world around him seemed to sharpen to a painful level.

Matt noticed something was wrong, and with that realization, he was able to settle his racing mind and pull his eyes away from the Emperors.

He was met with a kind smirk, if such a thing was possible.

Well done, Matt. I didnt expect you to pull out so quickly.

Matt turned to see that Liz and Aster were nowhere near him, and had seemingly showered and changed their clothes at some point.

A quick reference to his AI showed that he had been standing in the doorway for the last hour and a half.

Mara and Leon both clapped for him as the storm mage said, Better than most people. Now that you know the feeling, you won't be sucked into the passive effect as easily.

Matt glared at Aster, who was shooting him smug thoughts, as she had broken out of the mesmerization in mere minutes.

Mara laughed and ruffled Aster's fur as she said, Don't compare yourself to Aster. It's only normal that us beasts are better than simple humans.

She threw her head back and laughed theatrically as flames flickered around her.

The Emperor shook his head and nodded slightly to Matt. Shes not wrong about beasts being harder to compel, but the dragon blood that you found is also playing a massive part in her defense. Normally the hypnosis effect of my Talent can hold even a beast for a few hours. Someone who tries to peer deeper is usually caught up for a day or two. It's telling that you delved that deep but pulled yourself out. And prescient to the conversation that I want to have. Go shower and calm yourself down.

He turned away to rejoin the conversation that had been going on before Matt had pulled himself out of the trance, before turning back and saying, I did that because people always question if Im trying to influence them with the future sight. You know the feeling, and even if I tried to use the active version on you later, it would be obvious. Even if you can't resist it, you will be aware of it.

Matt swallowed and nodded silently. It hadnt escaped his notice that man's eyes no longer had the magnetic draw they once did.

He quickly did as suggested and moved into their room to clean up.

As he started scrubbing the dried sweat off his body, he thought over the draw that the Emperor's eyes had and how it no longer drew him in.

No, that wasn't quite right.

Even the memory of the eyes still tried to draw him in, but they held no allure now. It was a mystery prize that he already knew the lackluster contents of.

He might decide to open another box, but there was no desire to dive into the pile and tear them all open.

When he finished his shower, he took a few minutes to stretch and center himself before he walked out to join the others at the table.

Liz winked at him and took his hand before giving him an easy squeeze of reassurance.

As Matt sat down, he realized that all of his etiquette classes hadnt prepared him for meeting the Emperor at his girlfriend's parents kitchen table.

Considering this had been a distinct possibility, he found it to be a serious flaw in his education.

Falling back to his general manners and respectful address, he greeted the Emperor with a deep nod and asked, How may I be of service to your majesty?

The Tier 50 tapped the table as he said, This isn't open court, Matt, no need for the formalities. I get this is a weird position for you, but we need to have this conversation. As both the Emperor of the Empire and your significant other's uncle.

Matt lifted his head to meet those golden eyes, but he was able to ignore the pull without issue, and suddenly he was happy that he had been given the opportunity to delve those hidden secrets before this conversation.

The Emperor smiled at Matt and said, Feel free to call me Emmanuel, Manny, or Uncle Manny. But do whatever makes you more comfortable, even if that is using my title.

Matt cringed internally. He didn't even feel comfortable to think of the man by name. It just felt wrong.

Seeing him in person, Matt had a feeling that everything in the room was pulled to the man, like a black hole sucking in stars.

It was only the Tier 50's will that kept everything from crumbling to dust.

This man sitting at the table was the true center of the universe.

Seeing that Matt wasn't able to speak, the Emperor continued, You and my niece are expected to be able to complete The Path of Ascension. He then nodded to Aster, You too, Aster, for all that you arent officially on it.

The Emperor gestured, and Matt felt a great futility and weight in that gesture that he couldn't explain.

Normally, that is a reason to rejoice. We as a political entity have grown in the last two generations of rulers, and our changes have resulted in great strides. Weve been finding the best and brightest of the younger generations. The problem is the timing. The Empire is going to come under a time of great duress. We will soon be embroiled in a war with at least three other Great Powers. Probably more.

Matt swallowed hard, like a fishbone was stuck in his throat.

It didnt help.

This is nothing unique. Small-scale wars are commonplace. Or at least, common enough that it's usually not a worry. We will fight, people will die, and eventually, a victor will be decided, and a treaty will be negotiated. In it, territory, goods, or expansion routes will be traded. Honestly, it's all fairly mundane. At least, normally.

Matt didnt know if he could wrap his head around wars spanning Tier 15 to Tier 35 as mundane and routine, but he knew of the upcoming wars. Until now, he thought he had been prepared for the idea of them.

Now, hearing the strongest man in the Empire talk about it, he realized that he had no idea of the scale and magnitude of the situation.

The Emperor watched Matt with a gentle smile as he continued.

This next war will be on another level not seen since the last realm war. The Great Powers are much larger than we were back then, by at least half. I want to reiterate, the scale of this war will be on another level. And thats only considering the fact they are scared of our future growth, and want to take us out at the knees to slow us down. They will strike out early to prevent being fully eclipsed. That doesn't even take into consideration the ramifications of your Talent being revealed.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

The Tier 50 seemed far too calm as he caught Matts eyes with his golden ones. They now seemed to be harder than steel.

Im sure that Luna and your other trainers have explained this before, but let me stress this personally. The other Great Powers are jealous or scared of our growth. Our political landscape has changed rapidly in the last few rulers, and we have paid a great price to get where we are today. The problem is, our gains have been massive in too short of a time. The others see our growth as a threat.

He paused, and even though his tone and expression didnt so much as flicker, Matt felt like the Tier 50 was growling. As they should. Our political structure has always been one of the more centralized ones, which means we can implement changes quickly, adapting as needed and with fewer headaches. Not that our changes have come easily, or all that fast when compared to a mortal's lifespan. But when looked at from an immortal perspective, they are rapid. This comes back to how my grandmother and father were able to enact large-scale societal changes in a mere sixty thousand years, because of the traditions of the Empire as a whole. It goes back to when the Empire was young and still took the name of the ruling family, right after the political unification wars when all the current Great Powers were forming. Our past rulers made sure to set a precedent of holding onto a greater portion of political power relative to the rulers of the other Great Powers. That has continued even today, and has led us to our current problem.

Matt leaned forward, despite feeling like he was putting his head in a dragon's maw.

The Emperor's words were magnetic.

It wasnt his eyes, but something in the way he spoke. There was an honest belief that came through in the way he spoke, and it pulled Matt in.

Societal changes aren't easy or fast. People don't like change, and immortals less so. The other Great Powers need to buy time, in an attempt to catch up in the next few generations of rulers. We are already expanding faster than them, and if nothing else changes, we will be twice the size of the next largest two Great Powers in three or four generations of rulers. At that point, the others would be at our mercy.

The Tier 50 flicked a finger, and in the air, like clouds, eight bubbles of uneven space appeared. Near the center, they all bordered each other, but they were all expanding outward in different directions away from the center. The display gave a visual to support the Emperor's words.

One of the bubbles with purple and gold colors expanded faster, and then swallowed the others once it encompassed its neighbors.

The Emperor's next words were like falling hammers, despite being perfectly mundane. A position they do not wish to be in, I assure you.

As he lowered his hand, the illusion faded, and he added, To that end, this next war will be especially vicious. They can no longer deny our success, and are scrambling to make up for the lost time. But their time is quickly running out if they wish to hold on to their power. The more damage they can do to us in this next war, the longer they have to enact similar changes in their own societies, and the better their odds to stay in the game. While I do believe this war will be far more dangerous than usual - unprecedentedly brutal, as one of my advisors put it - I don't believe we'll have a Tier 35 or higher war stemming from this. If you want to participate in this war, you need to understand how bad this will get.

If the Empire had three Ascender teams, they could have one or two on defense, and safely risk the others on any number of offensive missions.

He started to really understand why the other Great Powers were fearful. The rules of the game had changed and they found themselves flat footed and unprepared.

Wanting to change the conversation to a happier topic, Matt asked a question he had been wondering about since the day he had first met the Emperor.

How did you see when I took the skill shard and hid it in my pad? I know there weren't cameras in those locations but I didn't think of that until later.

Emmanuel laughed as he waved a hand, and an apparition of Matt asking the question appeared. The recursive effect started to loop when the illusion vanished.

Matt, my father had a seeker like Talent. His Tier 50 was the ability to predict the future to an incredibly limited degree. Frankly, it's nearly useless against the other Tier 50s because of their relative power, and the associated cost in trying to predict someone with that much power. But it does let me peer into the past anywhere my spiritual sense covers.

Matt was unable to get his head around the concept of being able to peer through time, like looking through a video recording.

As he was contemplating that, he murmured, I knew there were no cameras there.

That led him to a second question that had bothered him. That also made me wonder, why did you need to get your head healer when you found out about Melindas Talent? Theres no way that you didnt know what Overhealth was.

Emmanuel, who was lounging in an overstuffed armchair, snorted. Matt, youre getting close to forty, but youre still essentially an infant when compared to immortals. You were what? Thirteen at the time?

Matt nodded, but stayed silent.

When you have a few centuries as an immortal, youll probably start to alienate the younger kids for a while. Youll have massively more experience than them, and a near-perfect recall, even discounting your AI. If you want to not seem like an alien, youll learn not to be perfect around non-immortals. That sometimes means asking someone in a perceived position of authority to clarify information you already know. And to be honest, I was pretty baffled. Something like Overhealth has never come up as a Talent, as far as I'm aware. I wanted a second opinion from someone whos first hand experience with healing.

Matt only let out a 'huh' as he thought that over.

So the Emperor had only gotten his head healer because the explanation about a healing ability coming from a healer was easier to swallow, for a bunch of teenagers.

That actually made sense as he thought it over.

Or at least, he could understand the logic behind it. He was pretty sure at the time that if the Emperor had said the sky was purple, and Melinda's Talent would make elephants fly, he would have believed it without question.

It was the Emperor, for ascenders sake. Even knowing him personally, Matt had a hard time doubting anything he said.

Eventually, the rest of Lizs siblings returned to the apartment, and they had what Matt could only call a family dinner.

Matt was kept involved in the conversations, but during one of his trips to the kitchen, he paused and watched how the siblings interacted with Emmanuel.

Alice, Lizs third oldest sister, caught his perusing and stopped to chat about the way each sibling interacted with the Tier 50.

It's all about when we were born. Sam was born and in the army before our parents became nobles, and then made friends with the then crown prince. It's hard for him to separate his work life from personal life and relax around Manny.

Matt nodded. He could see that barrier in their interactions. While Sam wasn't weird or anything, he looked like he was ready to snap to attention anytime Emmanuel looked in his direction.

He just wasn't able to fully relax.

Matt looked at the Tier 37 and asked, What about you?

She winked at him and returned the question. What have you observed?

Matt gestured outward. Leah is younger than Sam, but shes more friendly with him than you. Not sure if that is just individual personality, or something else. If I had to guess, that's because when you two were born, he wasnt the Emperor yet, and had more time to be active in your lives?

He ended the statement with a raised eyebrow, asking if he was right..

Alice sipped at her drink as she agreed. Daniel as well. Emmanuel is a great uncle to the younger siblings, but he had more time to just come visit with us. And when he did, he was just another friend of the family. Or at least, that was how it felt to us as kids. Our parents were only dukes at that point, and we had more normal childhoods. Daniel and I are just more reserved with him, having grown up, than Leah is. As kids, we used to be every bit the immovable burr that Leah remains.

Matt nodded to Erin, the next youngest sister. And Erin was born when your parents were royals?

Alice let out a giant sigh as she agreed. Yes, and she didnt handle that added pressure well as a kid. Not that she shouldve, but her personality is quite a mismatch for such a public position. Our parents learned from their mistakes with her, but she got hurt more than once because of their political newness to the position. She might have a giant harem, but shes an incredibly introverted person.

Matt agreed with the assessment. He often found her sitting on the balcony and watching the city pass under them with a coffee in hand.

She never scorned his presence if he joined her, but she carried an air of solitude like a blanket.

He had misinterpreted it for loneliness, but after interacting with her for a while, he understood the difference. The absence of company didnt bother her, it even seemed to give her peace. He wasn't sure how that led her to developing a harem, but he wasnt going to question her methods of finding love and happiness.

For all she liked her time alone, Matt actually got along with her well, and she had even voluntarily joined him for some silent time while he cooked or crafted talismans in the living room.

They had a companionable silent understanding between the two of them, despite having said less than a thousand words in the last month of living under the same roof.

Matt finished off by hitting Travis and Liz together. Travis and Liz grew up firmly in the my uncle is the Emperor camp, and still hang off of him like a jungle gym. Hes always been larger than life to them, so it never really changed their interactions with him. Matt nodded to Keith, who was the only other non-sibling who came. And Keith is my only bastion of normality in this too damn strong family.

Alice laughed. Well see how you feel after a proper family get-together, with all the extended family. Changing the topic, she hooked an arm through his and pulled Matt to the table. Come on, I want to have a rematch on Battle Bots. That flipper bot was a cheap way to win, and I won't give you such an easy victory this time. I've spent more time as a crafter than youve been alive, and I refuse to let our contest end on a loss from a cheap trick like that.

The rest of the evening was spent in a variety of ad hoc pickup games, and various members of the family telling stories of their past adventures.

It didnt surprise Matt that Mara and Leon always had a wacky story of the two of them doing something stupid or ditzy, then having to clean up massive messes.

After getting comfortable with Emmanuel once everyone had a drink or two in their systems, Matt decided to ask about the Aura rifts and the two rifts he had helped Erwin create. Luna and Kurt hadnt heard anything more than what he had heard from the news about the new skill and [Endurance] rifts so he had been wondering for the last few years about the truth behind each event.

Emmanuel sipped at his beer while giving him such a tired look, Matt almost felt bad.

Do you know how much trouble you dropped on my lap with that? Emmanuel pointed at Matt with his bottle as he added, Never mind, you have no idea. While I've kept it quiet, there are a few people in various guilds and corporations who would love to shake you until you drop all your secrets. Ugh. Anyway, long story short is I showed a few of the samples of the Aura you made to people I trust, and they are salivating to get your mana sample. As we suspected, your mana is acting like glue for the Aura to form when it normally wouldn't. The Aura your mana makes is noticeably different in how it's composed despite working the exact way normal Aura works. They have a million ideas they want to test it with, and when you eventually start your own guild, theyre going to be kicking your door down to partner up with you.

Matt smiled at that. They had suspected his mana acted in that way, but it was nice to get confirmation. It was nicer still that Emmanuel knew of his fledgling plan to start a guild, and tacitly approved of it.

What about the other rifts?

Emmanuel looked off to the side for an instant before he said, The [Endurace] rift was nice, and is well under control. We have a standard operating procedure in place for it, and we let everything play out without interference. Thankfully, the guild who found it reported it up as they should have. So, they got rewarded, and now everyone is delving the rift as fast as the instance can cycle. The [Bandage] rift was more interesting. We kept our eyes on it, but didnt move it at all. At first, the skill was well received by the local guilds and nobles, but they didnt think the skill was all that good until a few teams actually started using it. Eventually, the practical uses were noticed by the local hospital. Now, the skills are being sold for a Tier 20 skill to any healer who can get in line. Harvest Moon pointed one of his subordinates to go check out the new skill and test it, now those healers with it are using the skill to stop people from dying when they need healing beyond their healing limits. With enough mana to throw at the skill and constant reapplication, they can keep people alive who would have otherwise died. We are already acquiring all we can for our combat healers in the army. It's a useful skill despite its Tier 8 rank. It's a wonder how it never appeared before.

He tipped his bottle to Matt and said, Thank you for that. When we go public with your contributions, you will be rewarded for what you have done. Or, when you fall off The Path. It makes me eager for when you can fuel a team of people like Erwin to push past Tier 8 rifts.

The Tier 50 smiled. Can you imagine the other skills and items we havent been able to find? Though if I'm being honest, what Im really looking forward to seeing is what items, skills, and rewards a true Tier 50 rift drops.

Emmanuel had a look in his eye Matt resonated with. One of adventure and exploration of the unknown.

A wicked grin spread across Matts face as he asked, Is there any chance you would be willing to throw a couple thousand upgrade orbs at us when we do? Id love to make a rift that constantly drops them so I can really see what happens to skills when theyre upgraded. The whole different upgrade thing for the same skill has been bothering me, and I want to test it more before I push [Cracked Phantom Armor] up again. Maybe theres a way to control it? But if I want to do any serious testing I need to have a steady source of them and making a rift that drops them should be possible even if it's like skill rifts and counter intuitive and hard. Eventually we could figure it out.

Emmanuel laughed hard enough that he snorted slightly. Now that's ambitious, and the Empire supports anyone trying to learn if possible. To be honest, the items at that Tier aren't that hard to find, it's the mana to run the experiments thats the issue. I have a thousand interest groups who are all sucking my mana budget dry. If youre providing the mana yourself, whos to say what you can spend it on? No one, that's who. That's why I love the idea of you making a guild around Aperology.

As his laughter died down, he winked at Matt as he added, Though, after Tier 30, youll have to start dealing with the guilds, and get them to break open their treasuries. Itll be the only way to get enough seed items to test at that high of a Tier. Good luck with that. He snorted out, Youll need it. Stingy bastards.

Their conversation was interrupted as Liz pulled Emmanuel into a card game as Leah had given up after losing three times in a row and they needed a fourth. She was taking everyone for their shirts as they lost round after round of every game they played.

Matt was moved to help Leah and Keith stack bottles around the passed out Aster when Emmanuel started to make his goodbyes. He was heading off to deal with official details for the start of the Tier 10 tournament.

They also found out that he wouldn't be attending the actual tournament.

Dicomaty, the leader of the Republic, is going to ascend, and that celebration takes a few years normally. Then, Hastor is going to ascend directly after him. So Ill be gone for the next decade or so.

Liz pursed her lips and sighed. I was hoping you would be able to see our victory.

Despite sometimes acting like a kid around her older siblings for humor, she seemed actually disappointed at the revelation.

Emmanuel ruffled her hair, to Lizs annoyance, and dodged the [Fireball] she launched at him. All the Tier 50s are expected to be there to watch the Ascension, to ensure no shenanigans happen, and watch their heir reach Tier 50. We can all feel when a Tier 48 becomes a Tier 49, and becoming a Tier 50 is an even bigger shock. There have been people who tried to time their own breakthroughs in conjunction with the raising of a new Tier 50, to hide their advancement. But with all the current Tier 50s located together, they can't hide so easily. And honestly, we like to make sure that one of the rulers doesn't try to do anything, like remain behind and start playing shadow games.

He shook his head. Youll understand when you advance in Tier. For now, dont worry about that. Just do your best in the fights and have some fun. I know I enjoyed all the twists and turns in my Tier 10 tourney. And I'll be sure to see you before I leave.

And just like that, Matt's second meeting with the Emperor ended as suddenly as it started.

With his official arrival on the planet, the starting ceremonies for the Tier 10 Pathers tournament began.