The Strange Structure of Keystone

As Silas was doing his analysis on Arthur, he was doing the same. Arthur found Silas interesting; in fact, this coincidental meeting was not coincidental at all. He wanted to meet Silas again.

The reason for Arthur's curiosity was Silas's internal thoughts. As an Adept stage mage, Arthur could easily read Silas's mind. Earlier, when he was showing Silas around Keystone, he had already searched through his memories. 

Unfortunately, with his current expertise, it wasn't possible to scan through Silas's entire mind. But it was completely possible to get a general idea of his life. 

Arthur knew enough bits and pieces of Silas's life to make up a complete picture, and he couldn't believe what the man in front of him had gone through. The only word Arthur could use to describe Silas was—madman.

He had seen Silas jump into burning buildings, dive into frozen waters, jump from buildings and mountains hundreds of meters high, all just to adjust his state of mind. What else could one call such a man?

Arthur, as one of the seven most promising mages of Keystone, was well aware of the commitment one needs to get stronger. Yet, the man in front of him had done things beyond his wildest dreams for a single percentage point increase in power.

Arthur was thoroughly impressed with the man's obsession with knowledge. 

Arthur assumed that the memories he saw of Silas crossing over to this world were just Silas breaking through a dimension. If he knew that Silas had actually broken out of a universe, he would've been even more impressed. But it was not his fault; his knowledge pool was still too shallow.

As such, Arthur was very interested in befriending the man in front of him. He understood Silas's personality, from the memories, that's how he knew how to impress him.

Silas already suspected that Arthur had read his mind. But he didn't know that the expertise of a top-class Adept mage went beyond simply reading the mind, and included reading all past memories too.

"Follow me, I'll give you a proper tour of this place, " said Arthur before turning around and walking away.

Silas followed him; he could always visit the library later, it was more important to learn more about this place first.

Silas and Arthur walked silently on the main road, a road connecting the chambers, the library, and the training grounds, among other secret facilities. The main road was 50 a 50-meter-wide stone path, decorated with flowers and monuments. It was the main artery of the outer sanctum, flanked by parks and the like on either side. 

By now, Silas had gotten an idea of the general structure of Keystone. The training grounds were both the largest and the second most important facility of Keystone. The library was the most important one and contained all the knowledge compiled here. And the chambers contained rooms, the personal sanctuary assigned to every member of the outer sanctum of Keystone.

The outer sanctum was assigned to Observer, Disciple, and Adept stage mages and contained most of the members. The other two sanctums were named the Inner Sanctum and the Core Sanctum. Silas learned this information from the Keystone information booklet.

After walking for about five minutes, Arthur finally stopped at a park bench at the side of the road and said, "Come sit. "

Without missing a beat, he continued, "So tell me what happened?"

Silas replied coldly, "I accidentally found the market while I was exploring the Training Grounds. I was curious about the place, so I decided to ask a stall owner named James some questions. He promised to give me a tour if I would promise to do him a favor sometime in the future. 

Looking back, the promise to do him a favor in the future is way too vague; he can potentially ask for anything he wants. This must have been the mistake. "

Arthur responded with a mocking tone, "Hahaha- You're right. Promises are the currency of the outer sanctum, and you just gave James the biggest bill you had. Don't worry, every initiate gets duped at the start. Did you only make one contract? "

"Yes. Why promises? Why not just create a proper currency or use Terra's? " asked Silas.

Arthur replied, "I don't know. But I heard that it is related to the Architect stage. " 

"I see. How many members does Keystone have? And what are achievements? " asked Silas. He wanted to get as much information about this place as he could.

In response, Arthur clapped, and a small booklet appeared in Silas's hand. He said, "This booklet contains all the information you need to know about Keystone. "

"What do I owe you? " asked Arthur while most of his focus had already shifted to the book.

"Nothing, consider it an apology for selling your information, " said Arthur before getting up from the bench.

"Thank you, " replied Silas. He wasn't going to insist on paying Arthur because Arthur did owe Silas for selling his information.

Silas remained sitting on the bench after Arthur left. The bench was far from the main road, and there were no other members around. It was quite a peaceful place, so Silas decided to read the book here.

The book was divided into three sections: general information, organization structure, and Outer Sanctum.

The general information section detailed general information about Keystone that was not available in the welcome package he received. Silas finally learned many new facts about Keystone. 

He learned that there were only about five hundred people in the Outer Sanctum. The book also contained a lot of unverified rumors that were mostly believed by the members. For example, it was believed that there were only about 2000 members in Keystone and that Keystone was the strongest organization on Terra and its surrounding Star system.

This puzzled Silas; he couldn't understand why there were only so few members. If the organization was so strong, why were there so few members in the organization?