"Yes, Hieronymus is even more powerful," Theodor said.
"How and why?" Kyle asked.
In the past, he had just accepted that King Skysand was even more powerful, but since he now knew how Transcendents gained their powers, he wanted to know how King Skysand could be more powerful.
"I can't be entirely sure since Hieronymus keeps his personal power mostly secret," Theodor said. "I can only theorize based on past events and what others have seen him do."
"What I can be sure about is that he became a Transcendent by using the Law of Sand."
"Law of Sand?" Kyle asked with raised brows. "How can that compare to knowing all the metals in the world?"
"Because the Metal Material Law is just about metallic materials," Theodor answered. "It does not tell you how metal cuts, how metal mitigates force, how metal is hard, and so on."
"Silvester just focused on the composition of metals while Hieronymus included everything related to sand."
"Movement, sandstorms, grinding, piling, and so on."
"Regarding composition, there's not much to understand about sand. After all, there are not many kinds of sand. Understanding all the metals is much more difficult."
"However, if we compare all the aspects of sand with the composition of all metals, we would have similar levels of complexity."
"Okay," Kyle said, "but how is King Skysand more powerful? You explained how he could be as powerful as the Champion of Skysand, but not why he is stronger."
"For one," Theodor said, "Hieronymus didn't always have control over Skysand. That came later."
"Huh?" Kyle said with furrowed brows. "I thought Skysand was a kind of sand. Why would the King not know about this kind of sand?"
"That's why we can't be completely sure, but I have a relatively good guess," Theodor said.
"For example, Rank S Materials. Silvester can make new materials that are technically on the level of Rank S Materials, but they are not really Rank S Materials."
"As a comparison, you can view the synthetic Rank S Materials as steel, while an actual Rank S Material would be titanium. Both of them are very useful for weapons, but one of them is made of two other materials."
"Iron and carbon are good, but titanium is generally better as a weapon. However, if you combine carbon and iron, you can make steel, and that can compare to titanium."
"However, just because you can make steel doesn't mean that you know how to work with titanium."
"Silvester can create new materials, "Yes, Hieronymus is even more powerful," Theodor said.
"How and why?" Kyle asked.
In the past, he had just accepted that King Skysand was even more powerful, but since he now knew how Transcendents gained their powers, he wanted to know how King Skysand could be more powerful.
"I can't be entirely sure since Hieronymus keeps his personal power mostly secret," Theodor said. "I can only theorize based on past events and what others have seen him do."
"What I can be sure about is that he became a Transcendent by using the Law of Sand."
"Law of Sand?" Kyle asked with raised brows. "How can that compare to knowing all the metals in the world?"
"Because the Metal Material Law is just about metallic materials," Theodor answered. "It does not tell you how metal cuts, how metal mitigates force, how metal is hard, and so on."
"Silvester just focused on the composition of metals while Hieronymus included everything related to sand."
"Movement, sandstorms, grinding, piling, and so on."
"Regarding composition, there's not much to understand about sand. After all, there are not many kinds of sand. Understanding all the metals is much more difficult."
"However, if we compare all the aspects of sand with the composition of all metals, we would have similar levels of complexity."
"Okay," Kyle said, "but how is King Skysand more powerful? You explained how he could be as powerful as the Champion of Skysand, but not why he is stronger."
"For one," Theodor said, "Hieronymus didn't always have control over Skysand. That came later."
"Huh?" Kyle said with furrowed brows. "I thought Skysand was a kind of sand. Why would the King not know about this kind of sand?"
"That's why we can't be completely sure, but I have a relatively good guess," Theodor said.
"For example, Rank S Materials. Silvester can make new materials that are technically on the level of Rank S Materials, but they are not really Rank S Materials."
"As a comparison, you can view the synthetic Rank S Materials as steel, while an actual Rank S Material would be titanium. Both of them are very useful for weapons, but one of them is made of two other materials."
"Iron and carbon are good, but titanium is generally better as a weapon. However, if you combine carbon and iron, you can make steel, and that can compare to titanium."
"However, just because you can make steel doesn't mean that you know how to work with titanium."
"Silvester can create new materials, but they are technically not Rank S Materials."
"Yet, what if Silvester also understands everything about Rank S Materials? In that case, wouldn't he be able to create something that doesn't exist? A Rank SS Material, if you want. And with his Core Spark, he could elevate it to something like a Rank SSS Material."
"Because of that, I assume that Skysand isn't part of the normal Law about sand."
"It seems to be some kind of special or higher-level kind of sand."
"I suspect that Hieronymus managed to comprehend some kind of Advanced Spark or second Law dealing with the composition of Skysand. Because of that, he can create Skysand and strengthen it with his normal Law of Sand."
"That works?" Kyle asked.
"Probably," Theodor said. "As I've said, Hieronymus keeps the details of his power secret. I suspect that Laws are a complete base and Fragments are modules."
"Wait, I heard that word before," Kyle said. "What exactly is a module?"
"A detachable, attachable, and independent unit of something. Imagine a long stick. You can use it as a crutch or hit people with it. Even on its own, the stick is useful. However, you can also attach it to a sharp blade, creating a spear, and you can also detach it to make the stick again."
"I believe Fragments can be useful on their own, but they can also be metaphorically slotted into Laws. It's possible that Hieronymus simply took out the normal sand composition module and replaced it with a Skysand composition module. It's similar to replacing the common wooden shaft of a spear with one of higher quality."
Kyle blinked a couple of times in surprise.
"That's… something," he said. "Modular Laws."
"In a way, yes," Theodor answered. "As I've said, these are just suspicions and theories."
"So," Kyle said. "If I want to reach that level of power, I should comprehend all the Metal Material Fragments, including the Rank S Material Fragment, right?"
"No," Theodor said. "I don't think there is a realistic way to comprehend the Rank S Material Fragment. You need to be able to see, touch, and analyze them, and we can't be sure how many there are. The Nature Gods have some of them, but I doubt they have all of them."
"My plan for you is different. I would advise you to understand the same Law as Silvester. Then, after that, you should focus on an entirely different Law."
Kyle looked a bit uncomfortable. "As far as I know, understanding one Law is already hard enough. I mean, the Transcendents don't even know a second one, right?"
"I never said it's easy, but it's your best shot," Theodor said. "After all, your goal is not to be as powerful as Hieronymus but more powerful."
"Hieronymus knows one Law and a powerful Fragment. Knowing two Laws should be stronger."
"Additionally, we don't know what happens if you become a Transcendent with two Laws."
"Will they fuse?"
"Will you gain two Core Sparks?"
"Will you have to choose one?"
"We don't know, but there is a chance that it will make you stronger than him."
Kyle took a deep breath. "That sounds like a lot of work."
Theodor didn't answer.
"But fine," Kyle added. "That's nothing new to me."
Then, he looked at the bunch of materials in front of him.
"Better get started right now."
After that, Kyle walked over to the first pile of materials.
It was copper.
"So, how do I go about understanding this thing?"
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