Headquarters 14 was surprisingly small. It was only a couple of kilometers across, and there were not that many buildings. The Forts and Forward Bases were significantly bigger than the Headquarters.
There were barely any strong materials present, and there were also barely any Formation Arrays. It might seem strange at a glance, but it actually made sense. Humanity didn't need to defend its Headquarters. They were nowhere close to the frontlines, and all of the Headquarters had at least one person in the later levels of the Domain Realm.
As soon as Kyle arrived, Manny appeared in front of him. As always, Manny took on the guise of a strong and powerful warrior with a large weapon. Kyle wasn't even sure if this was just how Manny looked now or if this was just a disguise.
When the two of them saw each other, they could also sense things that they couldn't sense by talking to each other remotely.
Manny's aura felt strong and powerful. Kyle could tell that Manny's Battle-Strength was quite extraordinary. Sadly, he wasn't sure how powerful the average Lieutenant General was, which made it difficult to judge Manny's power on an overall scale. The only person Kyle could compare Manny to was himself.
And, well...
"You're even stronger than I expected," Manny transmitted with surprise. "I'm pretty sure that I can't beat you, even if I give it my all."
"You're also pretty strong," Kyle answered. "Although I'm not sure how strong the average Lieutenant General is."
"My Battle-Strength is quite average compared to others of my rank," Manny answered before a small smile appeared on his face, "but I still have plenty of years to increase my power."
"So, Manny's about as strong as the average Lieutenant General," Kyle thought as he did some math. "I can probably take on three of them at the same time. If it's four, it might count as a True Battle."
If anyone could hear Kyle's thoughts, they would feel a mix of disbelief and disgust.
The Lieutenant Generals were the most powerful Sages in all of Ayuvar. Every single one of them was a one-in-a-billion genius amongst Sages. Their powers were also more or less equal since all of them had reached the peak of what was possible.
There might be some Lieutenant Generals who could defeat two others, but three? No way! This Kyle guy was an arrogant lunatic!
Kyle and Manny talked for a bit.
"By the way, what about this surprise?" Kyle asked.
"Later," Manny answered. "First, we should meet the General."
"Sure," Kyle answered.
Manny led Kyle into one of the buildings. The building was basically just a big office with many small Formation Arrays. If one ignored all the specialized Formation Arrays, the office looked pretty empty and spartan. There was a big table in its center, but there were no chairs around it.
As soon as Kyle entered, he saw a person standing behind the table. It was a smaller woman with red hair, carrying a long spear on her back. She wore the red of Humanity and looked at Kyle with narrowed eyes.
"General," Manny greeted with a salute.
"General," Kyle echoed, also saluting.
The General looked at Kyle for a while in silence.
"I know of your mission and your background," she transmitted to the two of them, but she was primarily speaking to Kyle. "Humanity is willing to support you, but we need assurances. If I just let anyone enter an important Law Well, there will be questions. Not many people know of your secret mission. I've been told that you can hide your Karmic Luck. If that's true, I can grant you access to some Law Wells in exchange for Merits."
"I understand," Kyle transmitted. "I can demonstrate my insights into the Laws of Karmic Luck."
"Proceed," the General answered.
The next moment, Kyle emulated the mindset of a Mortal, and the True Sin Aura and Sin Flames vanished.
When the General saw Kyle's changing aura, her eyes narrowed.
"If I weren't specifically looking for it, I wouldn't notice your negative Karmic Luck," she transmitted. "Your insights into the Laws of Karmic Luck are deeper than I had anticipated."
"How deep, if I may ask?" Kyle asked. "I'm not sure how good my disguise is."
"I'm a Fulfilled Spirit Lord," the General answered. "I can barely perceive your negative Karmic Luck as long as I focus on it. Most Advanced Spirit Lords won't notice, even if they try their best. I believe your insights into the Laws of Karmic Luck are only rivaled by a select few Ascendants."
"Interesting. So, there are Ascendants that know more about Karmic Luck than I do," Kyle thought.
"Thank you for the clarification, General," Kyle transmitted respectfully.
"You may visit the Level Three Law Wells," the General transmitted. "If it were up to me, I would let you come and go as you please. Your group is Humanity's biggest hope. Sadly, we can't share your status and importance with everyone, which is why I have to put a steep price on your visits."
"One Merit for one year."
That was four times as expensive as purchasing spare time, and spare time was already very expensive. Most Sages needed to fight for 20,000 years to purchase 20,000 years of spare time, assuming they managed to survive on the frontlines for so long.
"I can pay that," Kyle answered. "I don't think I need more than 2,000, max 3,000 years."
The General furrowed her brows, but she didn't comment.
"The majority of the Level Three Law Wells are subject to the Sects. I've added permissions to your Emblem. You may now visit Sect Branches as long as you have a reason. You do not have permission to visit their research facilities or headquarters. The Law Wells you're searching for are within their Branches. Every Branch has one set of Level Three Law Wells. Do you understand?"
"I do, thank you, General," Kyle answered.
"Then, you may leave," the General transmitted.
"Thank you, General," Kyle transmitted before turning away.
"A piece of personal advice," the General added. "There's no reason to fake Battle-Strength with your insights into Karmic Luck. Appearing too outstanding will make you seem weaker."
Kyle blinked in surprise. "Thank you... I guess?"
The General just shook her head before motioning for Kyle to leave. Manny also said his goodbyes, and the two of them left the building.
"That was a good move," Manny transmitted via the relay, even though he was right next to Kyle.
"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.
"She is the one spying on our conversations, which means she knows that you didn't fake your Battle-Strength. However, I haven't told her everything while talking to her. She deliberately acted ignorant, essentially humiliating herself in our eyes, just so that we might not suspect that she can read our messages," Manny explained.
The General's comment felt a bit different to Kyle now with Manny's added context.
"That's pretty dedicated," Kyle answered. "No wonder she's a General."
The two of them reached the outside of the headquarters, and Manny gave Kyle the coordinates to the nearest Branch of the Sects.
They talked for a bit more before Kyle prepared to set off.
"Don't you want to see your surprise?" Manny asked with a smile.
"Oh, right! I forgot about that!" Kyle answered. "What is it?"
Manny smirked before taking something out.
Initially, when Kyle saw it, he felt shocked, but then, he felt a mix of emotions.
This was...
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000 per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.
/user?u=27791050