Second Level Beings, Soldiers

When Viorica got up the next day, the first thing she saw was Blaze sitting on the other bed beside the sleeping Leus.

Instantly, a radiant smile appeared on her face

"Blaze! You've returned"

Blaze nodded, trying to remain composed and maintain a neutral tone

"Yes, I came a few hours back"

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I didn't want to disturb your sleep. By the way, why don't you tell me everything that happened while I was away?"

Viorica stretched her body

"I have a lot to tell you!"

Then she started ...

It took Viorica around an hour to update Blaze about everything. She noticed that he asked too many questions about Leus' "Evolutionary Slumber" and everything that happened before and during it, but other than that, everything was normal.

When Amethyst and Merlin got up and saw that Blaze had come they wanted to play with him, but he gently refused and said that he was tired and would play with them later ...

The two reluctantly agreed, but Amethyst insisted on showing him everything she learned while he was away

"Sure, Amy, I'd love to see" He said without moving from Leus' bed.

A couple of hours passed like that, and then Leus awoke ...

When Blaze noticed that Leus had gotten up, he asked Amethyst to go play with Merlin and asked Viorica to leave them alone for some time.

After everyone left the room, he closed the door and sat on the bed opposing Leus', facing him.

For a while, the two just stared at each other ...

Whenever Leus' eyes met Blaze's, he shivered ...

He couldn't lock eyes with him; he felt as if he was sitting in front of a humongous mountain.

'I can't lock eyes with him ...'

'Just remembering yesterday's feeling sends chills down my spine. He's so scary ...'

To Leus, Blaze felt so powerful ...

After a couple of minutes of silence, Leus gulped and mustered all the courage he had to break the silence

"Hey, Dad, it's been a while"

Blaze didn't reply and just looked into Leus' eyes ...

'What should I even say ...'

Eventually, Blaze sighed

"I'm sorry about last night ... I thought you were someone else"

Leus had no idea what actually happened last night or how it happened.

However, one thing was clear from the room's atmosphere

'I'm in trouble'

He tried to make light of it and awkwardly laughed it off

"It's okay, Dad, I'm fine now"

But there was no way Blaze would let it go.

He asked in a serious tone

"Leus, do you understand what happened?"

Leus continued to avoid eye contact and tried to play dumb

"What?"

Seeing Leus' behavior, Blaze got really angry ...

His tone became very stern and a little loud

"BASILEUS, stop feigning ignorance"

Leus wasn't prepared for such a tone, so he got frightened, making Blaze feel bad for him

'I need to control myself ...'

He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down then said

"Sorry ... why don't you just be honest with me, Leus?"

Leus concluded

'Yeah ... there's no getting out of this'

Knowing that things have reached a point of no return, Leus decided to be honest

'To an extent at least ...'

He spoke in a serious tone, unbefitting of his age

"Okay, I'll be honest. What do you want to know, Dad?"

Blaze nodded

"Good. First, let me ask you something ...

Do you know anything about the different levels of power?"

Leus shook his head

"No"

"Alright, then let me explain it to you ..."

Although he was acting better, Blaze was still finding the situation difficult to come to terms with

'I didn't expect that I would be explaining this to my youngest first, even before he's two years old ...'

'Can things get any stranger?!'

Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and then began explaining ...

Blaze raised a finger

"First Realm beings are called Mortals. A Mortal is the basic level of a living being, and in humans, a Mortal is an average person with no powers to speak of. Everybody is born as a Mortal"

He raised another finger

"Second Realm Beings are Soldiers.

Evolving and becoming a Soldier is not particularly difficult; it can be achieved in so many different ways."

Blaze paused for a moment then continued

"Some people become Soldiers as soon as they reach adulthood; their bodies become stronger causing their Life Force to exceed the Mortal's threshold, elevating their being. However, most people become Soldiers by either physically training their bodies or training with magic ..."

Blaze gave Leus a couple of seconds to process everything that was said, and then he continued

"This Realm is named the Soldier Level/Realm because evolving to this Realm allows you to become an actual soldier in the military.

Most of the population are Mortals, while the majority of young guys are Soldiers, but not all of them are actual soldiers in the military, they're just Second-Level beings. Don't mix between the Realm and the job"

Leus nodded, so Blaze looked him in the eye and asked

"Do you have any questions about this?"

Leus understood what Blaze was trying to say ...

'He knows ...'

'He's indirectly telling me that he knows that I have done something to evolve'

After Leus concluded that, he asked

"Yes, I have a question. What happens to the body when a Mortal becomes a Soldier"

Blaze explained

"The changes aren't drastic. The body becomes stronger, faster, and more resilient. The mind evolves as well, becoming able to think faster, have a better reaction time, and focus easier.

The Mana Pool also increases, allowing the usage of Magic."

Blaze suddenly snapped his fingers as if he remembered something

"You know ... your mother is actually a Soldier, albeit a very weak one ..."

He elaborated

" ... She has a small Mana Pool that allows her to use the spell Water a couple of times per day, which is the only spell she knows.

Water Magic is the only Magic she can use because she has an affinity for Water, like your sister. Blue hair and blue eyes indicate a Water Affinity"

Leus pondered over Blaze's answer for a couple of seconds then he concluded

"So your affinity should be fire ... right?"

A faint smile adorned Blaze's face

"You got the hang of it pretty quickly. Yes, my affinity is fire"

Leus became interested

"How many affinities are there?"

Blaze shrugged

"I don't know. Probably countless. Fire Affinity is the most common in this Kingdom though, The Crimson Castle"

Leus nodded

"I see ..."

A couple of seconds of silence passed, then Leus asked

"What comes after Soldiers?"

Blaze smile widened

'Ambitious?'

But before he answered the question, there was a point he wanted to clarify

"Before I tell you that, it's important to know that not only humans can evolve"

Leus became confused, but Blaze quickly elaborated

"Any living being can evolve. We refer to humans who have reached the Second Realm as Soldiers and to Beasts as Soldier Level Beasts or Second Level Beasts"

"What are Beasts?" Leus asked

"Beasts are animals that can use magic. There are other intelligent races as well, like Demons, Humanoids, and other strange creatures ...

However, these races mostly live in the Northern Continent or the Draconic Domain, I haven't heard of any intelligent race here in the Eastern Continent, there are only Beasts."

After saying that, Blaze waved his hand and tried to return to the main point

"Anyway, let's not divert from the main topic. You want to know what comes after Soldiers, right?"