Law And Level

After Rhea's words, Darian remembered Niara and how he had thought the same thing when he saw her fight so joyfully, loving the thrill of spilling blood. Only then did he realize that, in a way, he was the same. 

But he didn't care in the slightest.

After a few lighthearted laughs at the bar, Darian spoke seriously:

"I'll be honest."

Everyone focused on him.

"Sorry if I caused any trouble. I'll try not to do anything excessive until the mission is over and I can distance myself from the clan. But I won't rest until Raon dies in the worst way possible..."

Seeing Rhea's honesty and that of the others, Darian chose to speak directly. So, he started telling them what had happened to his mother three years ago.

He was certain that Raon was responsible. There was no proof, but no one would doubt he was capable of it. Besides, it wouldn't be hard to find out that Raon had been living in the same city as Darian for the past three years.

Everyone fell silent.

"I see... if that's the case, you don't need to leave the clan because of it," Damon was the first to speak. "You're not the only one among the High Humans who hates him, trust me."

Rhea sighed heavily. "It's forbidden to kill one of our own. If you do it directly, you'll be condemning yourself and your brothers. You're aware of that, right?"

Darian nodded.

Rhea scoffed, then locked eyes with him and added:

"Good. That said, if you find an opportunity during a mission and do it cleanly, without anything linking you to the case... when his father flies into a rage looking for someone to blame, many High Humans will trade favors with people in the empire to cover it up."

"They'll do it out of gratitude to whoever pulls it off. Raon's actions didn't just harm ordinary humans; everyone wants a chance to get revenge. If you make it flashy enough for everyone to feel satisfied, it'll be even better."

Darian was left speechless, completely caught off guard.

Then, he looked at Rhea and saw a slight smile on her face.

"What? You think there are any saints among the High Humans? Everyone in our clan relies only on our own strength—and on our team's. We've been through a lot."

Darian nodded slightly, feeling deeply satisfied. These people didn't run from problems. They just handled them smartly, minimizing the damage whenever possible. After all, they were a clan and valued each other. They had to protect one another.

"Alright, enough serious talk! Let's celebrate the victory!" Harper cheered loudly.

Zeal got excited too, and both of them ran off to grab drinks at the bar.

They used the moment to get to know each other better. Everyone wanted to share a little about themselves. After hearing about Darian's mother, Veyle felt obliged to speak up without hesitation.

She had awakened at 13—the same age as Darian's twin siblings. Three years later, she obtained her first ring, earning her the status of a genius. Thanks to Rhea, she was recruited into the Azure Haven Clan for her first training mission. That's when Raon discovered her blessing and started harassing her.

Veyle was a distant descendant of a High Human, and in the present day, the only one in her family to awaken, which put her in great danger. That's why she chose to join the clan, where she felt safer. It had been two years since then, making her the youngest in the group.

Harper, on the other hand, was the oldest at 32. The daughter of an Imperial military officer, she was rigorously trained from a young age in hopes of awakening. In the end, she was the only one among many family members—who had sacrificed their childhoods to train—to succeed.

Thanks to Rhea, she realized how much damage her past had done to her. She had become cold and methodical, incapable of feeling empathy for others. So, she decided to take control of her own life, cut all ties with her family, and joined the clan. Of course, that was over five years ago, and she had changed a lot since then.

Matteo's story was more similar to Darian's. He grew up in a city in the far south of the continent, near the border with another empire, where the underworld was a constant presence in the lives of ordinary humans, causing countless problems.

Orphaned from a young age, he was lucky to be raised by other family members who loved him. Later in life, during a time of crisis when his family was starving, he awakened.

The last member of the group was Leander. He didn't have much to say about himself, maybe because there wasn't much to tell. He had awakened five years ago and spent four of them forming his first ring.

Unlike the others, he was born into the Azure Haven Clan, founded by his parents in the past. When he mentioned his father, Darian noticed a subtle pain in his gaze.

Rhea's husband had been the clan's former leader. Now, her eldest son held that position, but no one liked to talk about him. It was clear that something bad had happened. Life was harsh for everyone—even Rhea, someone admired by all, hadn't been spared from suffering.

After that, the mood became much lighter. In the midst of the drinking, everyone got curious about Darian's blessing.

"What law and what level did you get in the test?" Veyle asked. She and Darian were the only ones not drinking. Though a bit shy, her curiosity was the strongest in the group.

Darian remembered reading about this in the library when he first arrived in the other universe. There was a test that could identify the type and level of a law, something that helped in choosing a blessing. However, he just didn't see the point in it and ignored the test.

Now, thinking back... he felt a bit stupid for that. Knowing was always better than not knowing. But at the time, he was absorbing a lot of new information and chose to focus on what he thought was more important.

"I'm not sure… the test was 90% accurate, right? I think in my case, it got it wrong," Darian replied awkwardly.

"Oh! Then let's do it again! We have a high-level crystal here! It wasn't bought for this, but it can still identify it easily. Way better than the one at Celestia Academy." Harper exclaimed, clearly drunk.

Rhea smiled and left to get the crystal from another building.

When she returned, everyone gathered around Darian. The object was a fist-sized jade crystal. They simply handed it to him and explained that all he had to do was use his law without adding the power of his ring.

Darian hesitated… his law… he had two distinct powers and imagined many possibilities. Then, he decided to use the white power.

…

The jade crystal pulsed.

The entire room was flooded with an intense white light, as if a sun had suddenly ignited in their midst.

The brightness lasted ten seconds before slowly fading away.

Wide-eyed, Rhea took the crystal from his hand and closed her eyes, concentrating. After two seconds, she murmured:

"Yang Law… Calamity level…"

Silence fell over the group.

Darian remembered what he had read before. The levels, from weakest to strongest, were: Mortal, Divine, Immortal, and Calamity.

The Calamity level was something that only existed in theories, without many concrete details, since it had never actually been found among High Humans. After all, how could a powerless spirit with no abilities, in an entry test, come across something of this level to absorb?

Just reaching the Divine level was already considered an incredible stroke of luck.

Everyone was in shock. But Darian was definitely the most shocked of all.

When he discovered the two marks on his soul, he had associated them with the power of the protagonist's tattoos in that book he had read. They specialized in Yin and Yang, possessing unparalleled capabilities.

And now, he had only used the white power…

'The black power… Could it be that I have two laws, Yin and Yang, both at the Calamity level? Is that even possible?'