Manny looked at the letter in his hands with a small smile.
He had read it a couple of times already. He was especially interested in one part.
"As I've stated a couple of times, I really don't want to destroy all of existence. I just want to have agency. So, if you're willing to get a sponsored trip by a party you don't agree with, I'd be happy to have you on board."
"Maybe, I could also get to know you a little better. We've been working together for an eternity now, and somehow, I feel like I never really got to know you as a person. To me, it seems like you were just interested in my ability to resist your illusions."
"To be frank, I'm just good at seeing what's real and what's not because of the Fourth Curse of Karmic Luck. I constantly see things that aren't real, and over time, I got very good at differentiating illusion from reality. That's it. Well, okay, my Complex Mind Law also makes it easier to see through illusions, but I didn't have that back then."
"So, yeah, if you're just interested in learning how I can differentiate illusions from reality, that's it. If learning that was your goal, you've achieved it now. Writing this letter has been quite hard since I don't know your goals or dreams. I have no idea what to say."
"If you have some other reason, you may join us on this expedition. Maybe you would also be willing to share more about yourself at that point. Anyway, I hope you come along."
After looking at the letter for a while, Manny's smile vanished, and a neutral expression appeared on his face.
A moment later, he looked away from the letter with a lost expression.
"My real personality," he muttered to himself.
He remained silent for several minutes.
Finally, he sighed. "I don't even know if I have one anymore. I've been many people. When was the last time I've been myself?"
Manny felt a dull feeling of melancholy and loss.
Then, he closed his eyes.
Seconds later, Manny's eyes opened again, and a smirk appeared on his face as he turned back to the letter.
"It doesn't matter who I truly am."
"There's a reason why I'm Manny and not someone else."
Manny chuckled a bit as he put the letter away.
Meanwhile, in a different Secondary Sector, Fierce Breaker also looked at a letter in his hands.
He read the letter again and again with furrowed brows.
Fierce Breaker hadn't had a lot of contact with Kyle. They had talked from time to time, but rarely about anything personal.
However, Fierce Breaker was in regular contact with Swamp Dragon, Star Genesis, and Manny. After Exploding Karma dissolved, Fierce Breaker decided to follow Swamp Dragon for a while.
Swamp Dragon had managed to kill an extremely talented Advanced Crusher in their fight against Dawnlight. Additionally, Swamp Dragon had seemed so honest, good, and ideologically driven. He seemed like someone who wanted to improve the world, and Swamp Dragon's drive had infected Fierce Breaker.
Fierce Breaker had come to the Secondary Sector with no great goal in mind. He used to be an Inner Disciple from a Lower Primary Organization. He had tried to become a Core Disciple several times, but becoming a Core Disciple in that Organization hinged almost entirely on Battle-Strength.
Sadly, he had always failed during the small tournaments. He had been close several times, but there had always been at least one person with a higher Battle-Strength. Eventually, he ran out of chances.
His old Organization only allowed Core Disciples to stay Disciples in the Compression Realm. Inner Disciples, who became Crushers, needed to become Elders. Alternatively, they could also accept being sold to another Organization.
However, Fierce Breaker didn't want to become an Elder. A Disciple's primary focus was growing stronger, while an Elder's primary focus was making the Organization stronger. Fierce Breaker believed that he could go further, which was why he quit. Sadly, in order to quit, he had to pay back half of what he had received from the Organization over his lifetime.
He lost all of his belongings and promised to repay the remaining debt over time.
With almost no belongings, he went to the Secondary Sector. He just wanted to earn some money while fighting against other people in his Realm.
Everything went as expected. He proved himself to be quite capable, and the Organization he joined was slowly expanding.
Then, they sent a declaration of battle against a small and new Organization called Exploding Karma.
At that point, everything changed.
When Fierce Breaker had been "forced" to kill the two sisters in two individual True Battles, he finally realized why he had failed to become a Core Disciple.
He hadn't committed enough. While he had been training, he hadn't truly pushed himself to his limit. The only reason why he had been quite powerful in his Realm was his talent. Sadly, raw talent could only carry him so far.
When Dawnlight had sent their Seeker Refinement, Fierce Breaker had entertained accepting the duel for just a small moment before immediately rejecting.
Fighting this Advanced Crusher was suicide.
There was no way he could win.
And then, he saw Swamp Dragon accepting, which shocked him to the core.
Swamp Dragon hadn't been any stronger than him. Even if he were stronger, he couldn't have been much stronger.
Fierce Breaker had believed that Swamp Dragon was insane, and then, within one month...
Swamp Dragon's power exploded, eclipsing Fierce Breaker's power, and he had only done one thing.
He had improved his Momentum.
This was the moment in which Fierce Breaker realized what it truly meant to be outstanding, and he swore to himself that he would never back down again.
He viewed Swamp Dragon as his goal, and after that day, Fierce Breaker went hard on his training.
He fought several True Battles and pushed his Law Comprehension to the limit by observing how Swamp Dragon trained.
It was painful, dangerous, horrible, and brutal.
But it worked!
Fierce Breaker managed to condense a Level 4.5 Complex Law and became a Fulfilled Crusher.
He had even outclassed all the Core Disciples of his old Organization.
Additionally, he managed to form an agreement with the Array of Stars and became an Honorary Disciple.
Now, he was in a new Secondary Sector, and he was already in the process of working on his Level Five Complex Law. If he kept going, he would become a Unique Crusher, and with luck and effort, he could even become a Legendary Crusher.
Fierce Breaker looked at the letter with furrowed brows.
He didn't know Kyle very well, but he had heard a lot about him from Swamp Dragon. When Fierce Breaker had heard that Swamp Dragon only became this powerful because he had imitated the way Kyle trained, he became shocked.
'I want to go further,' Fierce Breaker thought with narrowed eyes. 'I swore to myself that I would never back down. No matter what obstacle is in my path, I will break through it and keep growing!'
'Following him is extremely risky. By choosing to follow him, I'm abandoning all the resources and opportunities I've worked so hard for! I would lose my position in the Array of Stars, and I would basically lose all of my Karmic Luck. Going into an Unknown Primary World is also essentially a death sentence.'
'But if it works...'
'If I manage to survive...'
Fierce Breaker put the letter away and looked up with a mix of unwillingness and determination.
'Sorry, Swamp Dragon. I admire your dedication and your ideology. If I had the power, I would love to help you.'
Fierce Breaker's eyes narrowed. 'But I don't have the power. If you want to make a change, you need power.'
'And if this helps me become stronger, I am willing to accept!'
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.