"What I am about to tell you is confidential," the Chief Overseer said. "Do not talk about this with any other members of the Array of Stars. At least, for now."
Kyle nodded. "I understand."
"As you might know, we have a couple of rivaling Organizations, and these rivaling Organizations also have branches."
"These rivaling Organizations also have powerful Disciples, and they are usually the ones our Defenders fight during their battles."
"Most of the time, neither Organization knows which opponents their members will meet during battle. Usually, both Organizations send a team of their members, and they will only arrive shortly before the battle starts. At that point, changing the lineup is no longer allowed."
"The stakes of these battles are mostly Planets and Moons near the edges of the respective territories."
"However, there are also more covert battles."
"When an Organization has an especially outstanding Disciple, they want to make use of them."
"That's when the secret battles happen. These kinds of battles are not broadcast over the world, and there is no audience."
"The stakes in these battles are also much higher."
Kyle could tell where the Chief Overseer was going with this.
"I want you to partake in one of these battles," the Chief Overseer said.
Kyle furrowed his brows.
He would love to just jump forward and say that he needed a True Battle anyway, but he knew that something like this needed deliberation.
"What are the battles like? Is it to the death?" he asked.
"Yes, all secret battles are to the death," the Chief Overseer said. "Opponents are chosen solely based on their Realm."
"Most of the time, the secret battles will be between members, who focus on their Battle-Strength instead of their Realm."
"There are several 0/13 Primals that know a Complex Level 3.5 Law. These people achieve this by immediately focusing on their Laws after becoming Primals, spending several centuries comprehending Laws instead of unlocking a Cluster."
"Naturally, for long-term growth, this is not a smart decision. By spending so much time on their Laws, they are making it extremely hard for themselves to unlock twelve or thirteen Clusters. They simply lack the time."
"But that's a worthwhile tradeoff for them since they are awarded handsomely for succeeding. They might not be able to become 12/13 Primals, but with their newfound resources, they can shoot for the stars in the Compression Realm."
'That's crazy,' Kyle thought. 'I didn't know that there were 0/13 Primals who have a Law as powerful as mine. I thought they all focused on their Realm. At least, for a bit.'
"What about my potential opponent?" Kyle asked.
"Usually," the Chief Overseer said, "these kinds of secret battles happen near the beginning or the end of a Realm. It's either 0/13 Primals or 12/13 Primals fighting."
"We very, very rarely get a battle between 13/13 Primals due to their value and rarity. Exposing the identity of a 13/13 Primal makes them open to sabotage and assassination from other Organizations."
"Now, as for your opponent, they used to be one of the 0/13 Primals who focused on their Laws. They have fought with us three times, and we have lost all three battles."
"What was surprising was that we were challenged a fourth time, but we didn't accept. The reason was that we already sent our most powerful 0/13 Primal."
"When an Organization refuses to accept the challenge, they will lose resources equal to 50% of an average wager in a secret battle, but after that, the refused Seeker can no longer challenge them in their current Realm."
"Can you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" the Chief Overseer asked.
"Let me guess," Kyle said. "You refused the fight, the opponent became a 1/13 Primal, challenged you again, you lost more resources, they became a 2/13 Primal, you refused, and so on."
The Chief Overseer nodded. "During the last challenge, they had been a 9/13 Primal, and that happened about 200 years ago."
Kyle raised a brow. "No challenge since then?"
"Based on their advancement speed, we think that Seeker is not very talented when it comes to the body. They are advancing at an average speed based on our standards."
"Our assumption is that they will finish condensing their tenth Cluster within a couple of decades, and we will receive our next challenge."
"Most of us think that they are going to stop after that since they won't have enough time left to unlock the eleventh Cluster."
The Chief Overseer's eyes narrowed. "But that's not what I think."
"I genuinely believe that the person is not very talented with their body, but I also believe that they won't stop advancing. I believe they want to become a 12/13 Primal."
Kyle combined some clues in his head, and he knew what the Chief Overseer was suspecting.
The potential opponent didn't have enough time to become a 12/13 Primal, unless…
They had never needed to create a Complex Level 3.5 Law as a Primal. "You think they used to be a Legendary Transcendent?" Kyle asked.
The Chief Overseer nodded. "I think so, yes."
Kyle took a deep breath.
Someone like him.
Someone who had done the impossible and had created a Complex Level 3.5 Law as a Transcendent.
Kyle had never fought someone like that.
In fact, he hadn't even fought a Unique Transcendent.
Most of his True Battles had been against beasts.
"If my suspicion is correct," the Chief Overseer said, "they will keep going, and I need someone to stop them."
Kyle leaned back on his chair as he thought about his potential opponent.
This was dangerous.
Really dangerous.
'However…' Kyle thought as he felt his Momentum.
"Is my Momentum powerful enough to become a 12/13 Primal?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"No," the Chief Overseer answered.
Kyle closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Yes, his first True Battle had been brutal, but it was only one True Battle.
If it were that easy to become a 12/13 Primal, there would be far more out there.
"What are my chances?" Kyle asked.
"Difficult to tell," the Chief Overseer said. "If you hadn't comprehended three out of four of the Laws of Aspects, I wouldn't have asked you."
Kyle weighed his options.
He wasn't even really thinking about the rewards.
He was more focused on the danger.
The Momentum increase would already be enough incentive to join the battle.
'Should I?' he thought. 'I'm not sure. I mean, I like me some True Battles, but this sounds an awful lot like suicide.'
Then, Kyle remembered the time he had fought that one chameleon.
Back then, he had been put in front of the same decision.
In the end, it had been worth it.
But it had also been incredibly dangerous.
Without all the fish in the underground lake, he would have probably died.
'Back then, I had an advantage due to the environment. This time, there won't be an advantage.'
Then, Kyle got an idea.
"How long do you have to accept challenges?" Kyle asked.
"A minimum of 50 years, and the maximum is determined based on whether the person is still in the same Realm or not. When issuing a challenge, the challenger is not allowed to advance within 50 years. If they do that, they forfeit the challenge. If they advance after 50 years, they have to tell us, and since we've missed our chance, they will receive the wager," the Chief Overseer explained.
Kyle's eyes widened, and moments later, a smirk appeared on his face. 'It's still a fair fight,' Kyle thought. 'I'm just taking advantage of our circumstances.'
Kyle chuckled deviously.
"You have a plan?" the Chief Overseer asked.
"Yes, but it will only work if your suspicion is correct," Kyle said.
"You know of my past, right?" he asked.
As soon as the Chief Overseer heard Kyle's question, his mind quickly came up with the same idea as Kyle.
"I see," he said as he furrowed his brows, "It's risky, but if my suspicion is proven to be true, you will gain a tremendous advantage."
Kyle just smiled. "How about 500 years from now? If you're wrong, they will be a Crusher by that time, but if you're right…"
"They would be over 400 years into unlocking their eleventh Cluster, and they would be under immense pain. Of course, by then, I will also be under immense pain, but compared to them…"
"I've experienced Sin Flames for a couple of Centuries."
"If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's my resilience to pain."
Kyle smirked some more. "Or, they could waste 400 years of their time and interrupt their advancement."
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.