The only creature in the universe capable of hypocrisy

Logically, you would think our next direction to take is to meet the king and confirm who or what he is. In fact, that's what Devon suggested as well. And the princess even chimed in, saying, "I can arrange a meeting with father if you'd like."

However, here's the thing. The whole argument for meeting with the king is based on curiosity. We meet him, I analyze him and find out he's another biological robot or just naturally overpowered. But presently, there is no use for that information. We already know that he is against the red mages just like we are, and that's all that matters until the red mages are gone.

"But isn't that more reason to meet father?" Princess Loeya asked. "To form an alliance with him against the common enemy?"

"No, that's the reason not to." I patiently explained to her how getting the king to trust us would be a pain in the ass I'm not willing to go through. But then again, I wasn't against the idea of forming an alliance with the king. I can see a lot of benefits arising from that partnership. "If we were to circumstantially cross paths with the king in the future, that would be a good opportunity to form the said partnership. Because, that circumstance is likely going to be yet another battle against the red mages. Then our actions would be enough proof to gain the king's trust."

Now coming to the big question that I never got to answer. "So, master, what do we do now?" asked Edith.

Let's see. The red mages have 4 immortals on their side, there's a very good chance that they are already aware of our identities, whereabouts, and business in Eden, while we have no clue about theirs. The odds seem stacked against us. But there's at least one reason not to worry so much. I was about to bring this up earlier when we were talking about how our AL enchantment scam was going to be exposed.

'You cannot be the Avatar, we would have known,' were Heath's last words to me before I planted the electrifying golden apple tree near him. The assumption is that unlike Edith and Devon who are able to identify my presence, Heath and the other 3 immortal red mages may be the Omnipotent's castaways because of their design flaw. The design flaw being, their inability to detect or identify my presence. I don't know why the Omnipotent didn't just get rid of them if that was the case, but there are plenty of theories, most of which suggests him being a humanly lazy God.

Anyway, my point is this. There is a chance that Heath and the other immortals are currently arguing whether or not I'm the so called 'Avatar'. Whether they completely believe it or not is irrelevant, because as long as they are in doubt about it, they will be hesitant to piss me off. "So, we do nothing," I responded to Edith. I mean, we should still be careful while going through our activities, but we don't have to set up elaborate counter measures for all potential threats is what I'm saying. "Let's just focus on building our power within Eden. If they interfere, we'll deal with them promptly." Everyone unanimously agreed with that decision. "Now, before I get to the next topic of discussion, Devon, how are things going with the election?"

"Nothing to be concerned about, master Zenith." The election for the city's next governor was going to be held in a week, and Devon assured me that a suitable candidate among my followers was signed up for it. His name is Kalvin Kerny, apparently a loyal and outstanding spokesman. He started campaigning a few days ago and it's been going well.

"Alright, see to it that he is protected during his campaigns," I advised.

"I have already taken measures, master," Devon responded, probably meaning he had Kalvin equipped with good enchantments.

A quick side note, for all of you who realized. Yes, Eden's system of government is a constitutional monarchy; a system where governing positions are both inherited and elected for. But don't assume that this limits the king's authority, because it absolutely doesn't. The democracy in Eden is almost just a façade, because the king can overrule any decisions made by the elected officials.

Anyway, "On to the next big thing I wanted to discuss," I stood up from the pile of wood I was sitting on, and took a big breath of fresh air. Honestly, this was a long time coming. "It will be called, 'Project: Level Up'. Every follower of mine now and now on, we will train to be exceptional human beings. The idea is fairly straightforward — conduct an aptitude test to figure out their areas of talent and hellishly train them until the expectation is met."

This would be our biggest move yet to establish power in Eden. No matter how flawed they are, there is one thing about human beings that is undeniable amazing. Thanks to their complex brain structure, the ability to verbally communicate, and opposable thumbs, there are a huge variety of things they can be trained to do. Additionally, based on their genes, there would be one or more areas in which they could be trained more effectively than others.

"Will that include the taboo courses of study as well?" the princess questioned. And my response was a positive nod. Let me tell you about those so called 'taboo' areas of expertise, although I should warn you that the whole concept is incredibly dumb.

A week ago, when Edith was working out and training her martial arts at the back of the inn, the innkeeper saw her and mentioned that practicing martial arts is not widely welcomed in Eden. It was only after that, I learned about this. It was mentioned in one history book among the hundreds I scoured through in the library. You see, before Eden was formed, there was a man named Genghis who conquered this entire continent. Under his rule, people trained in all kinds of skills like martial arts, magic, blacksmithing, and whatnot.

And just so you know, this 'entire continent' is about 23 million square kilometers. Such a big territory is bound to be temporary, and it was. After Genghis' passing, the territory was split in 4 due to separate interests of the people who held power. Eden was one those 4 parts, whose interest was purely in the development of magic. Similarly, there are 3 kingdoms out there in this continent who focus on other areas of expertise. And like Eden, they too don't welcome their citizens training in different fields, albeit they don't strictly forbid it either.

The reason why they don't forbid it is also the reason why I find this incredibly stupid. You see, there is no restriction of foreign trade within Eden. As a matter of fact, it's not restricted in the other 3 kingdoms either. So, merchants from those other kingdoms are welcome to sell their products in Eden. That's why Eden's market sells mana potions, which are products of alchemy, and armor, which are products of blacksmithing. And people consume them as naturally as they breathe, because they got used to its benefits over the decades.

Think about this information while picturing citizens here frowning upon Edith training in martial arts. If you ask the Omnipotent, he would probably say something like, 'Oh look at my proud creation, the only creatures in the universe capable of hypocrisy.' Apparently, even with their complex brain, ability to communicate, and thumbs, a human being's flaws are simply impossible to overlook.

"Devon and Edith, I would ask you to prioritize this aptitude test over the construction of our estate," I added. "And Loeya, I expect you to take the test as well." The three of them positively responded in unison.

It was 9 AM, and we had a lot of time in our hands before the rescued captives showed up as per my orders. Edith left the estate to grab some food, as we decided to have a picnic in the meantime. After she left, the laborers started walking in. They were paid for and worked under Devon in the construction of the estate. Avoiding their sights, princess Loeya and myself went further into the land by the river bank, while the construction work resumed.

I sat down on the grass, facing the flowing river. Abruptly, the princess called me and said, "Zenith, at this time, we usually have our daily practice session in the academy. We practice our magic skills for an hour. It's to both find ways to improve our skills as well as not lose touch with it. Do you mind if I practice here?"

"Sure, go ahead." I too wanted to test out my new and improved magic skills, but unfortunately did not have an apple in possession. So, I just observed her.

Inhaling a big breath of fresh air, she began concentrating her mana. Her lips were muttering something silently, which I knew exactly what. And then, she shoved her arms forward with open hands, aimed at a tree on the other side of the river. A gust of wind flew at the tree, striking it on one of its branches. The branch broke and flew away a couple meters, carried by the active gust of wind.

She then saw me observing her and said, "I am actually the second best in my class when it comes to wind magic. If I use a lot of mana, I can unroot that tree." Setting aside her boastfulness, she actually seemed self-satisfied with her place as the second best wind magic user in her class.

"So, you're aiming to beat whoever is the best in your class?" I asked rhetorically, expecting her answer to be a firm 'yes'. But there was hesitance.

"The best is my class is my cousin. And his performance with wind magic is comparable to professor Feiling… I don't think I'll be able to surpass him."

Maybe I was having an inexplicable mood swing, but that was an absolutely terrible response and I didn't like it. For someone with a 'boastful' character trait, you would expect them to have a little more self-confidence. Moreover, she is also supposed to be my ally. I, the most powerful entity in existence having an ally that doesn't even think she's better than someone in her own grade? "Loeya, sit down," I eyed the grassy ground beside me.

A little confused, she sat down on her knees beside me. "Yes?"

"You have one week. I want you to become better than your cousin at performing wind magic. If you fail, you get demoted from being my ally to my follower." My stern tone shocked her somewhat. "However, I'm not unreasonable. I will teach you the way to achieve that."

> Skillset: Royal Blood (Complexity - S) ; Wind Magic (Complexity - B)

Upon observation, I found her technique extremely lacking. The way her wind magic skill worked is by using mana to literally push air molecules in a desired direction. So, I explained a different and much efficient approach. "Instead of pushing air in a direction, compress the air with your mana. Imagine your mana forming a ball around the air. Now imagine that ball getting smaller, squeezing the air inside. What this will do is increase the density of the air, creating high pressure within the ball.

"Now, this high pressure air that is within the ball of mana will naturally try to escape and balance itself with the low pressure air outside. If the pressure is high enough, the air will explosively escape the confinement. With that said, imagine that ball of mana squeezed to the limit with all the air inside, and put a hole on it in the direction of your target. This will cause the air to explode in that direction. You can also cut a slit on the ball instead of a hole, which will push the air out in the form of a slash. If you're close enough, it would cleanly cut through a tree or even your cousin."

"I don't want to cut my cousin," she responded very defensively.

"That's not the point. Loeya, you're my ally. As long as you are, you are allowed to be as arrogant as you want in front of others. However, you're not allowed to admit someone is better than you even if they are. That obviously includes your cousin, so surpass him. If you have any troubles or questions, I'll help you out."

Although a bit doubtful, she said, "I will try my best."

I didn't want to misplace my faith, so I just fixed my expectation at 60% favoring her success. She began practicing right away. "And another important thing," I interrupted. "Stop with the whole praying ritual before performing a skill. It's just a waste of time."

…

It was 1 PM, and we were finished with our little picnic. Devon sent the workers for their lunch break, as it was about time the rescued captives showed up as per my orders. I activated my pigmentation skill and got ready. Expectedly, they arrived soon after. They looked around the massive land, searching for me or Edith. And they halted upon spotting me, walking towards them with Edith, Devon, and princess Loyea trailing behind.

"Good afternoon," I greeted. "I trust your journey here was without hindrances."

There was a few seconds of nervous silence before one of them, a bald man, responded, "Y—yes, my lord."

Judging by their delayed response, I figured if I keep up with the small talk, they're going to end up wasting a lot of my time. "Very well, I'll get straight to the point," I said.

I had a few things in mind when I decided to have them assemble before me at the estate. Firstly, I wanted to know about what happened to the 180 meter tree that I planted and how people are reacting to it. Secondly, as I have already mentioned, I wanted to add them to my growing list of followers. And finally, I wanted to brief them on their experiences while they were held captives, and their intentions going forward.

"Can one of you explain what happened after we left you?" I posed the question. "Surely, a 180 meter tall tree suddenly appearing won't have been a simple matter."

The same bald man answered, "They questioned us about it, my lord. And we answered them just like you told us to. We were held in their custody until early this morning, after which they took us to the academy and checked our mana capacity. Then they just let us go... Tha—that's all, my lord."

Mob mentality, a familiar concept. If one person voluntarily takes the lead to speak, the herd automatically and voicelessly assigns that person as the spokesperson. It is one of the weirder human traits I don't have a clear opinion on yet.

Anyway, the information I received was satisfactory; it was within my expectations. But I was also hoping to receive some news on how the public perceived that tree. Apparently, those standing before me were taken in by the city guards too soon to notice the people's reaction. If I were to guess, they probably will or are already perceiving it as a symbol of God.

If there's something that can't be explained, pin it on religion until someone finds an answer for it. And then deny that answer until the majority decides who to side with. That's just how humanity has functioned throughout history.

While I was in the middle of this, I saw princess Loeya to my right walking up towards someone among the group. It was that boy who had his childhood friend killed by that sicko in the warehouse. That made me wonder, what happened to that sicko? I tried recollecting the events from my memory. I was able to vividly picture the scene where he was acting arrogantly in front of me.

I was about to experiment my seed modification skill on him and kill him slowly, but then Heath interrupted that; damn that bastard. After that, he saw me performing my growth spurt skill and started stuttering in fear. And then, that's it. I don't see him anywhere in my memory after that point in time. Imagine being so insignificant, the person you acted arrogantly towards just forgets your whole existence. I sighed at that thought.

"Greg, I trust you're holding up well?" princess Loeya respectfully asked him.

Gregory returned a nod. "I buried her. I'm not over it and I'm not finished mourning, but I'm here." He then turned to me, immediately bending his knee and neck. "My lord, I want to kill the man who killed my friend. I put forth the rest of my life for the sake of revenge, if that's the price I have to pay. Please give me strength."

It's always a pleasure to see someone else's goals align with my intentions. "Stand," I said to him, and nothing more. I turned to Devon and gave him the green signal to proceed with the briefing and accept them as my followers.

I had no intention of being present while he conducted the briefing. Besides, there was some place I wanted to go. I didn't just want to leave abruptly, so I told him, "Devon, I'm heading out for some time. I trust you'll take care of what's in our agenda."

"Of course, master. Edith would be accompanying you still, right?"

"No, it's not necessary," I replied and made him more concerned. "Relax, I'm not going anywhere to provoke a fight. I'll be back."

His worries didn't exactly shift, but that's the best condition I could leave him in. So where am I going? It's not really about the destination, it's about what I was planning to do when I get there. I was pretty excited for it too. You must be curious, so I'll tell you — I am going to dream. More specifically, I'm going to try to lucid dream.