"How do you feel?"

  "Much the same I think. I know that my limits have increased. The energy in here won't be enough to get me another level."

  I nodded and glanced at the room. Or what still remained of it. The glass windows that made up the far wall were basically gone. A few lingering pieces sat within their frames but that was it. The metal had been dented in many places. I quickly spread my soul sense throughout the upper floors and sighed. "We are going to need to fix things"

  "We should have had better materials to begin with. We could move into the castle?"

  I shook my head. "Nah, I like the whole big tower thing. It's pretty cool though the castle would make a great place to retreat to. A safe haven on the off chance someone attacked Earth. Or that people could hide in for some other reason. Hell, it might be a good place to send people to train. Assuming that we can deal with the spirits. For now, though we need to have people start on the repairs here. I don't think the arrays can handle the damage."

  "Are we going to go and hunt? I want to test out these changes and find something strong to fight."

  I shook my head and started back toward the door. "I need to use my prize. You are welcome to go and hunt on your own and with some of the soldiers. I think Trey and Aaliyah are going to be busy for a while longer." Before I could get out of the room a message came in from Christopher.

  "Romulus is here and he wants to speak with you."

  I raised an eyebrow though I knew he couldn't see me or it. "It appears Romulus is here. You want to come and see what he wants?"

  "Sounds good to me." Xerxes replied as I opened a portal. We stepped through together and a moment later we were outside. I glanced up at the building and grimaced. It was as bad as I thought. Before I could dwell on it two people entered the range of my soul sense. The first was Christopher who had gotten a bit stronger. The second was Romulus whose golden armor was dented in several places. The gold wasn't as resplendent as I remembered. It was still a mix of white gold though the design had changed a bit. It now featured a prominent gold and white sun on the middle of the breastplate.

  Despite its appearance, it wasn't lesser than the old armor. If anything it was of higher quality. It took me a moment to piece it together but when I did I couldn't help but laugh. His armor was either a relic now or he had somehow gotten a relic set. Something that was further supported as it the dents slowly repaired themselves. Part of me wanted to ask him where he got it and if I could get a set.

  "Amari, It seems you have become even stronger than last time." There was a slight smile on his face. A smile that grew strained as he looked at Xerxes. "The same goes for your beast companion. It looks like the opportunities have been boundless for both of you."

  I grinned and nodded. "I guess you could say that. I am still focusing on the journey to level 50. I missed you at the battle and the resulting things afterward?"

  "Yes, I apologize. They tried to convince me to join the battle against you but I decided against it. After that, we had our own battle. I was forced to teleport away with a trial I had access to. I got back not too long ago."

  I searched his face for any signs of deceit or anything else but there was nothing. After several seconds I shrugged and decided to move on. I wanted to believe in and trust him so there was no point in getting too worried. If there was something I needed to deal with I would. "I see so what are you planning to do next?"

  "I was hoping you would allow me to use your underground training area? I am looking for stronger beasts and outside of the second continent I am struggling."

  "Sure, I have an alternative option for you though. Soon I plan on exploring the ocean floor. I don't know if those creatures will be stronger than what we got up here but probably more so. You are welcome to join us."

  He glanced over at Christopher and then back at me. "To make sure I understand this is your expedition? How would we handle disagreements?"

  "Finders keepers if on the off chance you encounter something at the same time as someone else a price can be offered for the item or items. If their no agreement I will take the item and provide both parties something in exchange. If we enter battle together items will be divided based on contribution. I am not sure how 'fair' that system is but it's the best I got."

  Romulus furrowed his brow in thought for a few minutes before he nodded. "I suppose that's the cost of doing business. Might I ask what's to happen with my city? We originally entered as allies but I don't believe there is a system like that under the System."

  I shrugged. "I imagine the System will view me as the king when the year ends. If you are okay with that we won't have any issues. If you aren't well you have until then to do something about it. I like you and the Roman theme you have going on so I would like to keep you. Maybe put you in charge of something important. Like the army and let Christopher take the more mundane police force but your call. If you come for me I will defend myself."

  A tense silence settled on our shoulders as I waited to see what he would do next. "I can accept that. When should I return to go on your trip?"

  "Come back in about three days. I plan on placing the boat in the water and setting out probably be the middle afternoon."

  We discussed the details for a few more minutes before we split up. I had Xerxes escort him while I headed back to the tower. I short sprint and I was seated inside my cultivation chamber. I meditated for a few minutes before I got to work. The Boundless Dewdrops were both similar and different from the Primordial Beast Drops. The bottle was less intricate. It was about half as big as the beast drops and was transparent. The liquid inside was clear like water though it had the same viscosity as sugar. There were sparkles golden sparkles spread throughout that made me think of stars.

  I steadied my breath and calmed my racing heart. I still wasn't sure why I was so excited. Nor did I know what the dewdrops would do for me but I could tell it would be great. That it would strengthen me somehow. I took another deep breath and I got to work. I popped the array and inhaled the aroma. The dewdrops felt like a calm gentle ocean in comparison to the beast drops. That didn't mean that it was weaker just less volatile. The aroma made my body come alive. It was like every cell in my body was charged. Charged and starved for energy. I placed the vial to my lips and tossed it back.

  The drops felt like the most refreshing glass of water I had ever had. It poured into my stomach like a fresh tide. I closed my eyes and started circulating the Ethereal Codex. I had gone through two cycles before something changed. It felt like a veil had been pulled back and my mind and body were finally in sync. In the next moment pour welled in my stomach like a surging tide. Only the energy had a mind of its own. I raced to gather it when a familiar caress of my mind. It encouraged me to let it go.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I barely had a moment to make a decision when the energy escaped my control. Instead of tearing through my channels, it shot straight to the spot on my forehead. The location of the Eye of Heaven. I lost control over the eye almost immediately. A sensation that made me feel both vulnerable and blind. Although my actual vision wasn't impacted. A moment later I lost sight of the tendrils of energy in the environment. I had to fight the urge to pull up my status screen. My soul sense snapped back like a rubber band until I lost connection to it as well.

  Panic rose from the pit of my stomach but I refused to let it overwhelm me. Next came a calming chill spread out from the eye. It was like someone had pressed an ice cube against my forehead. I clenched my fist as the strange sensation spread through my body. An invisible wave of energy washed out from my forehead and out into the building. The wave spread out until there was nowhere else for it to go. Next, I felt a snap back like a rubber band. Only to be reabsorbed by the eye. The process repeated over and over until I lost count.

  My heart slowed until it beat in unison with the pulses. A calm acceptance washed over me as the eye opened. The world exploded into color. Each one was deeper and richer than ever before. My awareness felt deeper, stronger than it was before as if I had been trying to see through a veil my entire life. The sensation faded until everything calmed down. The energy in the room had normalized. I wasn't sure how long I decided to sit there but when I was ready I stood up.

  I pulled up my status screen just to confirm what I already knew. The Eye of Heaven had evolved. It was now second realm which wasn't as cool as Xerxes evolution but I wasn't complaining. I closed the menu and stretched my muscles. I briefly considered reaching out to Xerxes but I decided against it. He was probably fine and I wanted to experiment with the new changes. I activated Apportation and stepped through the portal. I stepped out five miles away in the middle of the forest. From what I could recall there shouldn't be any soldiers or guards in this direction.

  Which meant I should be able to have some fun. I suppressed my aura and started walking. I wasn't left waiting for very long before a monkey-like creature attacked. It reminded me of a howler monkey only much larger and dark green. This one was maybe three times as big as the normal version. The monkey looked at me for a moment before it opened its mouth and shouted. Only the sound was tangible. It slammed into me a hammer and caused me to take a half step back.

  I was going to take the time to enjoy the fight but that went out the window immediately. I formed a trio of spatial slashes and shot them at the monkey. Its howled died a second later as its trisected body slammed to the ground. "Not to self-hunt down the really loud monkeys." I decided to collect the corpse just in case its meat turned out to be special or something. I sent a bit of energy into the Eye of Heaven and gasped. My vision zoomed in to an almost impossible degree.

  I could see all the way to Amara from here. Not only could I see it I could see it clearly. I could see all the way into the living room with near crystal clear quality. I cut off the flow of energy to the eye and had to blink several times to get my vision back to normal. I decided to experiment a bit more before I went out and found something else to fight. What I found was enough to blow me away.

  First, the eye didn't unlock any new powers. It was more of a modification of the things it could do before. Which at first was a bummer but it really wasn't. My energy control shot through the roof. Not only was it easy to shape my psychic energy into weapons but I could do other things with it. I could still create a field around me where things would be 'invisible' but that was just the start. I could carve arrays into the ground and trees with ease. It might as well have written the arrays themselves.

  My vision was also much better which was proven when a snake the size of my arm tried to sneak up on me. The serpent had some chameleon-like ability that let it hide by blending in only it might as well not have tried. Lastly, my psychokinetic control improved by leaps and bounds. Before it felt like trying to control things with a video game controller. It was a bit awkward and required me to concentrate to use it. Now though it might as well be a third arm. I still couldn't lift more than a hundred pounds or so but it was much better. I made a note to figure out how to incorporate it into my fighting style.

  There was still a slight delay between forming my mental attacks and then using psychokinesis. It wasn't based on my control but rather on my thoughts. Either way, it was one more thing to work on. I sat out to hunt for another hour collecting several snakes and three more of the monkeys before I decided to head back. I pulled out my cloud and was glad to see my control over it increased. As long as I didn't need to do any fancy flying controlling the cloud was easy.

  I arrived in Amara a short while later and made my way to the Tower. I head inside and back to my cultivation chamber. It was still too early for me to try any new advancements. Not without trying to bankrupt myself through stones but something was sitting nestled in my soul. I closed my eyes and passed my gaze over Korum's sigil. It took me several minutes to figure out just what it was. In truth, I still couldn't say I understood it but he had somehow crystallized his knowledge. Or at least some of it. The information was divided into three categories, one for each realm. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't access anything beyond the first realm.

  I wasn't sure if that was some kind of safety feature to stop me from frying my brain or if it was designed to stop me from learning too fast. Either way, I didn't care. The information already presented was incredible. It built on what I learned at the academy on the nature of arrays but then branched off in multiple directions. Broadly it described two types of arrays. You had arrays that could be used by people called war arrays and then spell-like arrays. The former was basically boosts. The arrays could be worn or activated by an army to do things like make their general stronger or make the unit more powerful. I wasn't sure how the UWG had gotten their hands on one like this but based on this information there was around low or middle quality. The strength it gave the target was impressive but according to Korum's notes, I likely would have lost in the multiverse.

  There were war arrays that could have boosted a target into the middle of the next realm. Something that would have killed me probably several times over. Despite the usefulness of it, I didn't want that kind of thing. As shown in my battle they had a massive flaw, the army. I would get stuck defending the people who were boosting me which would make me weaker overall. Of course, I was a ranged fighter so it wasn't as bad as a warrior so I kept the idea in my back pocket. If the choice was using this kind of array or dying then the array would have to come.

  I didn't like the implications for the wider multiverse though. I had been hoping that wars would be more like one-on-one fights that would spare lives but this seemed to be the opposite. A small portion of Korum's info focused on tactics that could be used to maximize arrays while limiting the danger to the actual army. Despite the interesting parts of these arrays, it was the second kind I liked. The spell arrays were general-purpose things. You could make arrays do almost anything. Korum mentioned a handful of possibilities like buildings that worked like storage rings, illusion arrays, killing arrays and even sealing arrays.

  Further, I didn't necessarily have to engrave the arrays onto discs. As he showed with my energy. It was theoretically possible to seal something inside of another person. Or make arrays of weapons that would launch beams of energy. My dreams of magical cannons and robots like the weapons on the ship were quickly dashed. Like Alchemy this profession might as well lit your money on fire. It wasn't just getting the money according to Korum it was spending it. Low-level arrays which included most of the common stuff in the first realm were easy enough. What about when you entered Foundation Establishment or Core Formation? I might bankrupt myself just trying to build one thing.

  There was something else that drew my attention and as I read it my resolve firmed. The Tao you focused on would influence the kind of arrays you could make. For example, the storage rings needed someone with insight into the Tao space to make. What would the Tao of Time do? Or what about the mental Taos? How much could I sell for? Korum didn't elaborate too much on things like that but the implications were there. Time and Space were definitely the paths for me.