Chapter 103: The Three Paths.
Sometime later...
Levi swiftly returned to his dorm room after the class ended. His brother and friends asked him to stay behind and discuss the insanity they heard in the class.
Instructor Seraphis made them sign a Nocturnal contract to keep the truth contained, so they couldn’t speak about this with anyone but themselves. Then, he gave them free time to feed their seeds or do whatever they wanted before the training session arrived.
Levi used the training excuse to reject them, telling them he couldn’t lose daylight and had to cultivate in peace.
In reality, Levi rushed back to listen to what Ash’Kral had to say about the CRS Platform.
Right now, he was sitting on top of his dorm bed in front of the window, absorbing as much daylight as possible.
The dorm room was small and cozy with two separate beds placed at the far sides of the room. A wooden desk was placed between them and had a standard lamp in the middle. The bathroom was at the far corner behind a glass door.
The window was big enough that it allowed the sunlight to reach every possible crevice of the room, making it possible for Daywalkers to cultivate their seeds anywhere they wanted.
Since Daywalkers need to make the best of the sunlight, they were usually given free time during the day for cultivation while leaving the training and such after sunset.
While this would cause a problem for Levi since he cultivated most efficiently at night, fortunately, the training ended at midnight.
He would still have many hours to carry on with his night sessions. The only downside was that his sleep schedule would suffer a bit. But Levi was already used to shitty sleep hours from all the nightmares he had been put through.
’So, what do you wanna know? There is too much to unravel.’ Ash’Kral said.
’Let’s start with Primordial Trees of Life and Death.’ Levi knitted his eyebrows, ’Are they the same as the Ancestral Crimson Tree?’
’Same same, but different.’ Ash’Kral replied, ’Your concerns shouldn’t include those trees. They are way out of your reach, even if I tried to explain them, your mind won’t comprehend it properly.’
’...Fine, but you owe me an explanation once the time comes.’
Knowing Ash’Kral’s personality, Levi could only drop the matter for now, even when his curiosity was burning a hole in his mind. He understood that if he annoyed him, he might not bother to talk about anything else.
Levi still had much more to learn.
’Tell me more about the CRS Platform.’ Levi asked.
’You will find all the details in this informative contract.’
Not planning to waste his breath, Ash’Kral gave him the serial number of a specific contract. Levi murmured the numbers and the Ilthorien letters under his breath.
The moment he finished the last letter, a spiritual Nocturnal Contract manifested, titled as:
– Conquerors, Raiders, Saviors Interdimensional Platform Promotional Contract –
Levi was surprised to find that the contract only had a single sentence, informing him that the contract would transport his consciousness into a promotional spiritual video for the platform once he signed it.
After he checked for no fine print like always, Levi signed the contract.
Immediately after, Levi’s body slumped on the bed; his consciousness was kidnapped like a fruit being plucked... Effortless and resistless.
That’s why Levi always read for fine print, knowing that such a terrifying authority and power shouldn’t be taken lightly.
After Levi’s spiritual vision went blurry, he felt himself falling through a beam of golden light. Before he could react, his feet landed on a smooth stone floor.
Levi swiftly opened his eyes to find himself inside an empty, broken coliseum. At its center, a small figure was walking towards him, a wide, sly grin etched on his face.
He was about half a meter tall, with soft brown fur and a bushy tail that glowed deep orange. He resembled an oversized squirrel in a formal black tuxedo with a white shirt and a top hat.
A gentleman squirrel.
He cleared his throat and said in a clear, rough voice, unmatching his cute appearance,
"Welcome, Levi Larson, to the CRS Platform promotional video. I’m Gamemaster Chestnut, in charge of hosting the Death Games and judging them."
Chestnut removed his hat and placed it near his chest, bowing his head a little respectfully. Then, he added:
"I am part of the Murinori Race... The supervisors of the Boundless Expense, under Sire Nocturn’s authority. We manage the CRS Platform, The Nocturnal Ring, The Territorial Disputes, and any matters related to Sire’s Great Domain."
Levi’s lips parted in fascination as he stared at Gamemaster Chestnut, incapable of believing that such a cute race was managing a whole realm.
’Brat, you better show respect to any member of the Murinori. They are split into four clans, and each one benefits from absolute authority in a specific sector.’ Ash’Kral warned sternly, ’But all of them possess the highest form of authority in the Boundless Expense, below only Nocturn himself. It doesn’t matter if you are the strongest in your world; the moment you disrespect them inside the Boundless Expense, they can erase your presence with a thought.’
Levi felt chills course down his spine, his picture of Chestnut changed from a cute squirrel to a deity. In a sense, they were deities in the Boundless Expense, a realm where imagination becomes reality.
Gamemaster Chestnut smiled in Levi’s direction and said, "Everything here is prerecorded, so if you have any questions, I hope our promotional video will answer them all."
"For now, choose your path." Gamemaster Chestnut snapped his finger, and three massive terms appeared before him, shining in different colors.
Conquerors in blood red.
Raiders in storm-gray.
Saviors in gentle gold.
Levi decided to start with the Conquerors since they were the ones starting the system on each planet... Without Conquerors, there would be no need for either Raiders or Saviors.
The moment he chose it, the word expanded to an entire screen of details.
// The Conquerors (Path of Dominion):
Philosophy: "Expand or be erased... and corrupt or be consumed."
Conquest without corruption is hollow... a barren trophy. Only by defiling land, life, and light can the Conquerors truly prove their supremacy and serve the Tree of Death’s insatiable hunger.
Rank Structure:
Invader → Warmonger → Warlord → World breaker → Oblivion King/Queen
Promotion Criteria:
Territories corrupted... Armies crushed... Duration of rule.
Rewards per Victory (against Raiders or Saviors)
Evolutionary Materials
Evolutionary Recipes
Artifacts
Natural Dimensional Treasures
Minor Territory Grants (in the Boundless Expense)
Yearly Stability Rewards (for each full year without losing any territory)
High-Grade Artifacts, Dimensional Treasures, Evolutionary Materials
Unique Evolutionary Recipes
Nocrix Credit
Major Territory Grants (in the Boundless Expense)//
Levi read the details with an open mind, and yet, his skin still crawled in dread.
A systemized corrupting machine.
This was the Path of Dominion, a path where Nightcrawlers and such races were rewarded for invading planets, spreading corruption, chaos, death, and just turning normal life for commoners into hell.
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All for the sake of climbing this ranking ladder and winning unimaginable rewards and prizes!
"No wonder Nightcrawler nests compete with everyone for territories." Levi murmured, "The more territories they had by the end of the year, the bigger their reward pool will be."
"Before you give Nightcrawlers a hard time, check the other paths." Ash’Kral shared casually.
Hearing this, Levi switched his focus to the Saviors.
The Saviors (Path of Guardianship):
Philosophy: "The shield is mightier than the blade." A creed of steadfast protection... true strength lies in preserving life and land, even at the cost of one’s own.
Rank Structure:
Sentinel → Bulwark → Lightbringer → Paragon → Celestial Warden
Promotion Criteria:
Territories defended... Lifeforms rescued... Sacrifices made (Lives traded for victories).
Rewards per Victory (against Raiders and Conquerors):
Evolutionary Materials, Evolutionary Recipes...Etc
Yearly Stability Rewards (for each full year without losing any territory)
High-Grade Artifacts, Dimensional Treasures... etc//
"Huh? This makes no sense..."
Levi was confused by how similar both paths were... the only difference was the chosen side. He never expected a system that rewarded heroism as heavily as conquest.
In his eyes, if such a system existed, why weren’t the Radians putting in more effort to reclaim their territories?
Weren’t the rewards similar? Weren’t the incentives the same?
Then why the hell were Nightcrawlers going mad on their planet while the Saviors were content guarding holy cities, instead of helping them save the entire planet?
No...worse...they even had the nerve to ask for a yearly tax while already being paid heavily by the platform.
"The answer is simple." Ash’Kral clarified calmly. "There are more Conquerors than Saviors registered on the platform. This forces the Saviors to choose carefully which planet earns the most attention."
"In your planet’s case, it was the bare minimum."
"Bare minimum..." Levi murmured.
"Yep, one thousand cities, ten thousand Guardians, give or take," Ash’Kral said. "Of course, the number of Holy Regions has dwindled a bit in the past century due to some guardian defeats, and it doesn’t look like the Radians plan to invest more."
"This means..."
"Our planet is running on a burrowed time..." Levi continued, feeling his stomach sink like a stone.