The Mage Emperor

(AN://Aye mates, here's the next chapter. Sadly, it's starting to be normal that I take longer than expected... so fuck me, really. I'll try to finish 18 sooner so I can post 17 sooner...

This chapter will be about a new character and I'll introduce a part of Leviathan through his eyes. Of course, I didn't make him just for that... anyway, I think that the world is unfolding nicely especially with the stuff that's going to happen in Chapter 17(Patreon, u can ignore this link). I'm looking forward to writing more about this world and despite the long wait, I also hope that you're looking forward to reading more of it!)

 

Finding my place in the world

~ Two years and five months later, Gil’s POV ~

I was born in February 2236, in a city called Panama. It was a huge city with a population of approximately five hundred thousand people but it was also our cage. The oceans and seas which surrounded us were filled with gigantic monsters that preyed upon humankind, turning the waters into a death zone. The lands were also filled with monsters and although many could travel far away and return in one piece, there were also those who fell victim to the monster hordes.

Although I grew up in a caring and loving family, dreaming of becoming a great warrior who could get rid of the monsters and free humans from their cage, I made a huge mistake at the age of seventeen. Because of that mistake, I inherited the commandment of Chaac, the god of rain. At the time I felt really down and heartbroken, but thanks to all the knowledge I inherited and my original dream, I found something to live for. From then on I forgot all about my depression and got into learning magic.

I found it quite ironic that my ancestor made the same mistake as I did but it also explained why was I the one who inherited his legacy. In a few years of time, I became stronger than any of the warriors in Panama, or so I thought, but I soon realized I wasn’t the only god incarnation.

There were nine other god incarnations in our city and there surely existed even more in the world. Although the ten of us always wondered if there were other people who were similar to us, we all agreed that we had more important things to do than to randomly look for people. Instead of leaving the city to its own, we joined hand and wiped out tens of thousands of monsters, covering a huge area around the city.

I was really proud of myself for achieving something like that, especially when about a year later I saw people freely playing in areas which were marked as death zones at the time I was a kid. Thanks to the having a larger territory and better safety, the citizens didn’t have to think twice about having a child and then worry about their lives.

It’d have been great if we could have continued massacring the monsters but once we got far enough from the city, we ran into a creature we had never seen before. It looked like a dragon depicted in legends, made of giant vines and roots. Since it felt much stronger than anything we had ever met, the ten of us grouped up against it but we were still forced to run away. What we found strange was that there was a strange tree behind the creature which it never left.

Knowing that we had to become stronger, we continued training and protecting our territory. I turned twenty-three years old when we thought about attacking that dragon again but our plans were interrupted by a strange event.

A bunch of black scrolls started falling from the sky, all of them having the exact same text on them. They were titled ‘Invitation to Leviathan’, belonging to some kind of organization that supposedly strived to learn about magic, help the remaining human populations, and eliminate evil god incarnations that posed a threat to humankind.

I was honestly concerned by the true goals of this mysterious organization since I didn’t know anything about the outside world. I knew only the nearby areas of Panama. This was our first time hearing about other god incarnations, so the ten of us were both excited and afraid to meet them at the same time. Strangely enough, there were eleven names on each of the scrolls, including the names of the ten of us.

They clearly knew who, or I should say ‘what’ we were, but what I found even stranger was that their invitation seemed to target specific types of people. Based on the text, they were looking for creative, strong, and hard-working people for the most part. They offered power and a place to call their own in turn for their help, so many decided to go, especially those who wanted to see the world or didn’t have a good life in Panama.

The scrolls also stated that a portal would appear in the middle of the city and would stay there for a whole week and that once it closed, they wouldn’t be able to try their luck anymore. It also stated that those who entered would have to go through some sort of test which wasn’t without danger, but anyone could finish it and if they failed, they’d be teleported back to Panama.

Two days have passed since this happened and the portal indeed appeared in the middle of the city. Although some people re-appeared in front of the portal after a few hours, there were also people who didn’t come back. I also considered going through but I decided against it at first. I didn’t want to risk leaving the citizens of Panama to themselves but there was a problem.

Brian, my best friend said that he was curious about it and went through the portal on the first day. He was the incarnation of Cabrakan, the god of mountains, so I wasn’t too worried about him. At least, that was what I wanted to believe but after two days passed without any signs of his return and seeing hundreds of people being sent back, I couldn’t help but feel worried.

He was a rather arrogant and outspoken person, and sometimes he was a bit of an asshole, but he was still a caring person deep inside and he was my friend. Although I questioned a few of the people who were returned about what was on the other side, for some reason they couldn’t answer my question. The reason was also simple. They lost their memories about the time they spent on the other side.

That being the case, I decided to go through that portal today to find out what happened to Brian. I knew that maybe I’d walk into my death if I entered that portal, but I decided to go through with it nonetheless. There was only one thing I wanted to do before staking my life on some unknown organization. It was something I should have done years ago. I visited my big brother.

With my movement skills it took only a few minutes to reach his house but as I stopped in front of his door, I felt my mouth turn dry from my nervousness. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and then breathed out.

“Haah- okay, I’m ready,” I muttered to myself and then knocked on the door. A few seconds later he opened the door, and I could only thank my luck that it wasn’t Flora, his wife. That’d have been terrible…

“Hello,” I greeted him, scratching the back of my head. Only the high-ranking authorities knew about god incarnations and not even my brother knew that I was one of them.

“I thought I told you that I never want to see your face again,” he said with a frown, proceeding to close the door in front of my face.

Placing my hand on the door, I stopped him and said, “Wait. I know that you hate me and I know that what I did can’t be forgiven. It’s fine, I didn’t come for that.”

“Then what do you want?” he furrowed his brows. He had the same brown hair and piercing ocean-blue eyes as me, but I was a few centimeters taller than him. We also had straight noses, though I found it a bit too long. Well, considering that we were twins, it was no wonder that we looked alike.

“I’m going to go through the portal that appeared in the city and this may be the last time we see each other. You probably wouldn’t mind even if I died, but I wanted to tell you that I love you and that I’m really sorry for what I did back then,” I said and then turned around to leave.

As I took a few steps, I heard his voice ringing in my ears before he shut the door - “Hey. You may be a goddamn bastard, but you’re still my brother.”

Stopping in my tracks, I couldn’t stop a small smile from forming on my face. I regretted not doing this sooner, but I was too afraid to contact him. We were both seventeen years old at that time and he was dating his current wife, Flora, for two years. They were really in love. The problem was that I also fell in love with her and one night when she was staying at our place, we drank until we fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night to pee but I bumped into Flora on the toilet. Since she was still dizzy and we were twins, she didn’t notice that I wasn’t Gerard and continued peeing without saying anything. They were probably used to seeing each other but seeing that she didn’t realize that I was Gil, I was consumed by my desires and pretended to be my brother.

At first, I started out with a kiss, thinking that I’d be satisfied with that much, but I wasn’t. The kiss turned into breast fondling, and then touching, ending up in sex. I indulged in her body knowing that she loved my brother and that I was betraying both of them, but my brother caught us in the middle of the act. It was terrible.

Once Flora realised that it wasn’t Gerard, she tore up and pushed me away while apologizing for mixing up the two of us. It really wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t even sober and I looked like Gerard. That night my brother told me that he knew that I had feelings for her but he didn’t think that I’d betray him. He also told me that I should never appear in front of him again.

The only time we ‘talked’ after that was the day I moved out to live by myself and we hadn’t talked ever since. I promised to myself that I’d never do something like that again and that I’d help others instead to atone for my sins. I didn’t know whether it was caused by my thoughts or my change of mind, but a clap of thunder struck me out of nowhere and I inherited Chaac’s knowledge and commandment. It kept raining for three days in a row after that… until I learned how to control my negative emotions.

After visiting my parents as well and telling them that I’d be gone for some time, I left to see what was beyond that mysterious portal. Whether it was death waiting for me or a new beginning, I didn’t know, but I was kind of getting excited about it. I decided in my heart that if it was a good place, I’d stay there.

---

Upon reaching the middle of the city, I could see hundreds of people surrounding the portal, observing it from far away as if it was some kind of tourist monument. This had become the norm in this area ever since the appearance of the portal. Forcing myself through the crowd, I walked closer to the portal while the people kept staring at me. Turning around for a moment, I ran my eyes over all the people who I tried to protect these last few years and this magnificent city I grew up in. I loved this place, but ever since that day, somehow I lost my sense of belonging.

Maybe the community on the other side wouldn’t be my death. I could only hope that it’d give me one more reason to fight for because killing monsters was starting to feel bland and pointless. They didn’t even dare coming near the city at this point since they knew they’d be killed, which made me think about the reason of my existence many times. Taking a deep breath, I turned on my heel and stepped into the portal.

I found myself in the middle of a barren land which was surrounded by a forest, and in front of it was a door with some kind of text on it. “Enter to join Leviathan,” it read.

Seeing that even the text was engraved into the door with pure mana, I felt excited and nervous at the same time, especially because my surroundings were eerily silent. I couldn’t sense even a single monster in an area of fifty kilometers, which I found utterly unbelievable. It took years for us to make the monsters understand that going near Panama would mean their death. I didn’t know who built this place or when but if they could keep the monsters away without being present, then I had a good reason to meet them.

As I opened the door, a long, dark stairway welcomed me which led deep underground. The only source of light was a thread of condensed mana close to the ground, just enough to make the steps visible.

“Why is this base underground? This doesn’t look very promising…” I grumbled in myself as I took a step forward.

My footsteps echoed in the dark tunnel, making me feel more and more nervous after each step I took. The place was really creepy and yet that thread of light was like a ray of hope to me. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing a formation which was formed by the mana threads. If I used up all my mana, I could probably make half a liter of condensed mana, but this formation alone used at least twenty liters.

I honestly considered breaking the ground to drink some of it. After all, if I drank the mana of someone who was powerful enough to make this much condensed mana, I'd have definitely gain a huge amount of power. Either way, I didn’t come here to wreck their base so I restrained myself and stopped in the middle of the room.

The ground was made of some kind of transparent crystal, revealing a few empty pipes under the floor. I could also see the outline of three different doors in the wall, which were glowing in a pale blue light, showing that they were also enhanced. Out of curiosity, I couldn’t help but run up to one of the stone doors and punch it to see if it’d break, but as expected, it didn’t even budge. Rather, it was my fist which started hurting…

Only Brian was stronger than me among the ten of us when it came to physical strength. We could also crush boulders with our bare hands easily, which just proved how tough the door was. “What am I supposed to do?” I mumbled to myself.

Placing my hand on one of the doors, I closed my eyes and tried to push my mana past to sense what was behind but it was reflected instantly. “This is a test, right?” I muttered as I started massaging my temples. Turning around, I decided to take a closer look at the room, only to realise that the exit was sealed by the same kind of door that was blocking my way.

What the actual fuck?

Although my newfound situation was quite unnerving, I knew that panicking wouldn’t get me anywhere so I looked around carefully to find some clues. After a few seconds of looking, I noticed that there were two holes on the two sides of the door in the middle. Feeling a little nervous, I still pushed my finger into one of them.

I had no idea what I did, but I was sure I did something since I could hear strange shifting and splashing noises behind my back. When I turned around to see what was going on, I realised the formation under the floor was reorganised, redirecting the flow of the liquid mana as well.

The first exit was also revealed which meant that I could leave. It was a bright path filled with chandeliers and torches everywhere. Obviously, I didn't come here to take the easiest and quickest route. Since I decided to try my best, I looked for other clues and after a few minutes of searching, I found a similar but much better hidden hole in the room.

Curious to see what would happen, I pushed my finger into that one as well, triggering some kind of mechanism that redirected the mana flow once again. As the mana flowed towards the door in the middle, it magically disappeared, revealing a path so dark that if I stepped into it, I couldn’t see further than my nose, literally.

Should I go? What are they testing with this? I thought to myself as I stepped back from the new path. I could have continued on my way even before revealing this door, but my instincts were telling me that it was a bad idea.

After carefully looking around once again, I found two brand new holes in the room, so I pushed my finger into those as well. Not much to my surprise, it opened up the right path, which had only a few torches every few meters, dimly lighting up the path.

Looking at the three  pathways, I had a sudden feeling which started bugging my mind. What if there was a clue? It'd make sense to pick the last one, but was that really the right choice? Starting to feel annoyed by the place, I turned towards the exit and eyed it carefully.

Oh, you motherfuckers, I've got you now! I cried out in my mind, seeing two new holes next to the exit. The truth was that they were kind of impossible to notice because the walls had protrusions which cast shadows everywhere. And the fucking holes were not only tiny, they were also hid in the shadows. You couldn't see them without looking for them. Only the first one was easy to notice.

When I pushed my fingers into those holes, the floor started rumbling as the pipes were once again reorganised and the condensed mana turned into a text which said,

Well done. There is no right, there is no left, the right path is always the middle. ;)

“Did you seriously draw a smile from condensed mana?” I couldn't help but shake my head, seeing this ‘lavishness’. Raising my head, I stepped towards the dark path in the middle and almost entered when I realised something.

Wait. The right path is the middle. It was opened second, the light is also in-between, and… right is middle.

Not even thinking about it anymore, I turned on my heel and took the right path. After walking for about a minute and taking a few turns, I arrived at a labyrinth which had a table in front of it.

You had arrived at the best path for this is the closest one to the exit. You may find clues during your aimless wandering, but only if you don't forget how you got here.

Note: You should feel lucky, the other paths didn't get a hint!

“How very fucking nice of you,” I laughed, reading the 'extra’ line. I didn't wish to waste my time, so I quickly entered the labyrinth and tapped the rock wall to see if I could use my soul force. Sadly, it was once again repelled so I had no way but to rely on my mortal human instincts.

After about a minute of walking around in circles, I was forced to realise that my instincts were crappy, along with my sense of direction. My only saving grace was that I was looking for clues the whole time.

As I turned another corner, I was met face to face with a white-haired old man. He was a head shorter than me, reaching a height of a hundred and sixty centimeters at most. His crooked wooden staff trembled in his hands as he noticed me and then he suddenly jumped at me and grabbed my shoulder while shouting, “Finally, a human!”

Looking deep into his small, golden coloured eyes, a shiver ran down my spine so I pushed his hand away and asked, “Who are you?”

“Ah, pardon my rudeness. My name is Lug. It's just that I've been wandering around for about a week and I couldn't find a way out so I was really glad to see you!” he shook my hand with enthusiasm. Noticing that I wasn’t a fan of his skinship, he pulled back his hand and looked at me apologetically.

After a moment of silence, he asked, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Gil,” I replied shortly and then asked, “Are you telling me that you've been here for a week? The portal was opened not long ago, how could you be here for so long?” I asked.

“Maybe where you live, yes, but it appeared half a year ago in my city and had been there ever since,” he said.

“Could it be that you're from another part of the world? Where are you from?” I couldn’t help but cry out in my excitement.

“I come from an island called Ireland. Why? Are you from another continent?” he asked with a similarly surprised face.

“I am! I come from a city called Panama and it's not on an island so we're definitely from different parts of the world.”

“I’m surprised to hear that but our origins aside, do you know the way out? I've had enough of wandering around aimlessly and I’m also out of food… I'm starving!” he raised his voice to show how desperate he was.

“Ah, you're right. I'm sorry for holding you back. Also, I don't know the way out,” I shook my head.

“Damn it all!” he shouted as he hit the ground with the tip of his staff.

“Sir, I may not be able to help you out, but I think that I'll be able to find the exit to the next level,” I said.

“Is that so? Do you know something I don't?” he raised his brows.

“Can I ask you which door you came through?” I asked.

“The third one since I found a secret clue. At the start of the path a sign said that I was the closest to the exit so I thought I'd have it easy… but that wasn't the case,” he sighed loudly.

“I came from the same way,” I said with a frown.

This is a test, right? Even if I found the 'best’ path, why would they make the following tests easier for me? If I were them, I’d rather make it harder to see how well the examinees performed.

“And have you found any holes similar to the ones in the first chamber or anything out of the norm while being here?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t,” he shook his head.

“And what if it was a lie to make us think that we'd reach the next level easily?” I asked, raising a brow.

“It’d mean that I was too naive and got fed by their lies,” he said with a frown. “To be honest, the more I think about it the more I feel that I was led around by the nose,” he added.

“For now, I think that it’s for the best if we don’t believe that we’re in a favorable situation,” I said as I walked past him and continued on my way, expecting that he’d follow me.

Fulfilling my expectations, he came after me while muttering, “You’re right.” Although I started out filled with hope, after a few minutes of wandering around, I had to stop because I kept seeing the exact same walls and corners, no matter where I went.

“What’s the problem?” Lug asked, bumping into my back.

Turning around, I almost laughed upon seeing him rubbing his nose, but I restrained myself and replied in a calm tone, “Haven’t you realised that we’ve been walking around in circles? No matter if I turned left or right, after each corner the same corridor followed with the exact same junctions. The route I took a moment ago was the last possibility,” I said and then turned around to go back, only to see the start of the same corridor once again.

…

Turning towards the old man, I raised my brows seeing that he was smiling.

“Indeed. I’m sorry for not telling you but I feared that you wouldn’t have believed me if I told you. Now that you’ve seen it for yourself, I imagine you can understand my situation. It’s simply terrible,” he sighed as he hung down his head.

“Well, I do, though I’m surprised you haven’t gone crazy if you spent a whole week in here,” I said, shaking my head helplessly. I had a few problems with this whole situation, and one of them was this old man. I could feel that he was powerful enough to be a god incarnation and yet he said that he was starving. I wasn’t some magic genius but even I could replenish my hunger with mana.

It was also strange that despite saying that he was starving, his stomach hasn’t growled the whole time. I wasn’t one to judge people but I couldn’t believe that he could behave so normally after being lost in this maze for a whole week. I’d have gone crazy by now.

“Sir Lug, may I ask you something?”

“Why are you so serious all of a sudden, boy?” he asked, patting my shoulder.

“Are you a god incarnation?”

Furrowing his brows, he pulled back his hand and said, “Well, I certainly didn’t expect that question but yes, I am,” he nodded.

“Then how come you can't feed mana to your cells and go on? There's no way for you to starve if you're a god incarnation. I haven't heard your stomach growling either, which I find strange considering that you said you were starving,” I said.

“What are you implying?” he asked with a frown.

“I think that you are lying and that you're still hiding something. It's fine even if you do, but then why did you come with me?” Stopping for a moment, I realised one more important point.

“There is one more thing. I've just realised that this whole underground base seems to be empty, which shouldn't be possible considering that hundreds of people came this way. In fact, a few people came in right before I entered the portal and yet I haven't met any of them. I haven't met anyone ever since I entered this place, so how come I suddenly ran into you? Are you with the people who are examining me or are you trying to do something with me?” I asked, backing away from him in the meantime.

“Well, you clearly don't trust me so I think it's better if we go separate ways, even if we don't have much room,” he said, sounding very offended. Afraid that maybe I was wrong, I wanted to apologise but before I could say anything, he turned the corner and left. Feeling that it’d be better to have him around than to walk around by myself, I wanted to follow him, but when I did, I found an empty corridor instead.

“Fucking labyrinth!” I punched the wall next to me, leaving a dent in the wall. I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in my confusion, surprised that I could leave a mark.

Mustering up all my strength, I punched the wall once again, causing long cracks to appear across the wall from the top to the bottom. Repeating the same movement once again, I managed to bust it open and made the wall crumble into a pile of rocks. Although I felt tempted to leave the corridor and see if this hole would be still here once I returned, I was too afraid that it’d disappear if I left.

The dim light of the labyrinth seeped into the dark room behind the wall, showering a very cruel scene in its light. There was a naked girl whose hands and legs were tied up and her mouth was cuffed. She had long blonde hair and a truly voluptuous body but seeing that she was unconscious, I was more worried for her health than her lack of clothing.

After looking around carefully and using my senses, I concluded that there were no traps and slowly inched closer to the girl. Once I reached her, I squat down in front of her and put my hand on her neck to feel her pulse. Her skin was unblemished and smooth to the touch, and surprisingly hot. When I finally managed to peel my eyes away from her assets, I was startled to see her ocean-blue eyes gazing back at me.

Finding it hard to gulp down all the saliva that suddenly formed in my mouth, I raised my hands and took a step back. “I mean no harm! I came to help,” I said.

Following the direction I looked at not long ago, she realised she was naked and quickly pulled up her legs and threw her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to look! It was just an accident,” I added, hoping that she wouldn’t start hating me because of it.

“It- It’s okay,” she muttered, her voice like an angel’s. It was so pleasant I wouldn’t have minded listening to it all day. Looking downwards, I noticed that she was not only tied up, she also had cuffs on her wrists and her ankles and four thick chains fixed her to the wall. She seemed to be around twenty years old.

Taking off my shirt, I quickly covered her body and then slowly reached towards one of the chains as I said, “I’ll try to break these, okay?”

“Okay,” she said in a low voice, showing me a small smile.

Alright, it seems like she’s starting to trust me.

Much to my dismay, the chains were much stronger than I expected and I couldn’t do anything to them with brute force. Biting my lower lip, I turned towards the woman and said, “Could you turn away for a moment? I’m going to try some magic but it may be dangerous.”

Nodding her head, she shut her eyes and then turned to the side. Most of my attacks covered huge areas, in the form of steam, acid rains, and other similar stuff, but I also had a few spells which were a bit more concentrated. Regardless, first I dripped acidic rain on one of the chains which surprisingly started melting. After a few seconds passed, the chain melted and broke into two halves.

It took about a minute for me to remove all the chains and once I finished, I stepped back from the girl to show her that I was done and that I meant no harm. “Alright, I’ve removed the chains so you should be free to move now.”

“But…” looking up at me with a flushed face, she said, “I’m still tied up.”

“Uh, oh, I’m sorry. I’ll reach under the shirt and cut it, okay?” I asked as I squat down in front of her and slowly reached for her hands. On the way I accidentally touched her thighs as well, which made both of us flinch. Well, I didn’t flinch because it was bad… it was the exact opposite. Even touching her skin felt great. I was honestly starting to feel obsessed with her.

Upon reaching her arm, I slowly moved my hand downwards to reach her hands, only to feel her thighs once again. The fact that I couldn’t see what I was touching under the shirt just made things even worse. Realising where she ‘hid’ them, I bit my lower lip as I looked into her eyes and said ‘calmly’, “If you keep it between your legs, I won’t be able to cut it and free you.”

Looking back at me, she nodded her head and then slowly raised her hands. Once I finally took a hold of the white cloth that restrained her, I tore it into two halves with a simple flick of my fingers and then did the same on her ankles.

“Thank you very much,” she said, slightly bowing in front of me.

“What’s your name?” I asked as I stood up and took a deep breath. For some reason I felt really hot after this ‘operation’.

“My name is Angie, and once again, I thank you for freeing me,” she replied, pulling her right arm out from under my shirt and pressing it against her body. I really didn’t want to look but I failed in not seeing her nipples poking through my shirt. Turning to the side, I pointed towards her chest and said, “Please cover them.”

“Hmm?”

“Just do it,” I muttered. From the corner of my eye, I could see her looking down and then quickly adjusting her arm to cover the pleasing sight.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a red face. Slowly raising her head, she asked, “And who are you?”

Clearing my throat, I said, “Right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gil, but what’s more important, how did you get here? I came to take this test mainly because my friend disappeared, but seeing that you were tied up, I’m starting to question the morality of this organisation. So the point is, could you tell me what happened to you?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t their doing. I met some short old man a few days ago who told me that he’d been here for a whole week. At first things started out well and he also helped me in getting through a large part of the labyrinth. After a few hours of walking both of us got tried so we decided to take some rest and somewhere along the line I also fell asleep. By the time I woke up, I found myself here, in this state,” she grumbled as she stood up.

“What?! Did he have a crooked wooden staff as well?” I asked with a frown.

“Mhm,” she nodded.

“That fucking bastard! I knew that something was wrong about him!” I couldn’t help but raise my voice. I was quite sure that even the labyrinth repeated itself because of him and once I thought about it, I realised that the path wasn’t the same before I met him. It started repeating itself only while he was around.

“Shh, please lower your voice. I don’t want to meet him again,” she soothed me, raising her right hand at the same time, once again revealing her nipples. Considering her beauty and knowing that the only thing hiding her body from my eyes was my own shirt was bad enough. I really didn’t want her to keep flashing her body to me. I wouldn’t jump on her but it still made me feel more and more uncomfortable around her.

Noticing that I was staring again, she quickly covered herself and said, “Could you turn around for a moment? I’d like to wear your shirt but then…”

“Ah, sorry, I’ll go out,” I said and then left through the hole I punched into the wall. I still wasn’t sure if the things she said were true and I wasn’t retarded enough to turn my back on a stranger, even if she was some goddamn god-like beauty.

“I’m done,” a moment later she peered through the hole, wearing my white shirt. Her nipples were still visible but it was better than when she was pressing my shirt against her chest to cover herself. Still, she was a truly erotic sight to behold in her current getup.

“I’m sorry for making you wait,” she added.

“No problem. Anyway, shall we get going?” I asked, going back to the hidden room which had a new path. It was a straight corridor but a simple glance was enough for me to tell that it was different, which made it even more obvious that I was walking in circles because of that old man. It was a bit worrying that I didn’t even notice that he used some kind of magic, but it didn’t necessarily mean that he was strong. If he was, then he’d have had no reason to fool Angie and me, or maybe his goal wasn’t to kill us and stuff like that.

Nodding her head, she stepped closer and started following me closely. “Do you know the way out? I've been here for a week so it'd be great if I could return to my family.”

“I'm sorry but I don't know the way out,” I shook my head and then looked around in the corridors. There was more light than in the previous area, which sort of made moving easier. Although I used magic to enhance my senses, somehow it didn't help much. It probably had to do with this place since it was filled with powerful formations and enough mana to level a continent.

Upon stepping through the gap which led out of the room, I noticed that the wall was littered with holes, forming a number. It’d have been fine if it was just a number, but the holes also kept moving around, continuously forming different numbers. It was a timer, and it was going down which didn’t make me all that happy since I had no idea what would happen if it reached zero.

I had about two hours and a bit over twenty minutes before it reached zero, so I turned towards Angie and grabbed her hand, “I’m sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable, but it’s safer this way.”

Using a bit of my mana, I created a small pool of water under our feet and then used it to move forward. The center of the pool was pushing us upwards with enough force to keep us afloat so I just had to move the water body forward. I created this spell about three years ago and had been using it ever since. Of course, teleportation was quicker but the mana flow was restricted to the corridors everywhere in this base, meaning that I couldn’t teleport.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Angie asked in a concerned voice.

“Well, to be honest, I don't,” I shook my head. “But I’m pretty sure that we’re going to find a way out soon so don’t worry about it!”

“I can’t say that put me at ease, but I’ll believe in you,” she said with a smile.

Although I was filled with hope and positiveness in the beginning, after wandering around aimlessly for an hour and often running into the same path, my mood quickly turned for the worse. Seeing that I cancelled the water spell, Angie looked at me with questioning eyes.

“Is there a problem?” she asked. We’ve talked quite a lot during the last hour and I found out quite a lot of things about her. She was a really nice girl, too nice even, but I couldn’t stop myself from getting interested in her.

“Ah, it’s just that I’m starting to feel frustrated from not being able to find the right path,” I waved my hand dismissively. It was true that I had got somewhat used to her erotic looks, but she was still like a candy for my eyes in her lack of clothes, so I preferred not looking at her.

Turning to the side with her face flushed, she muttered, “I could help you out if it’d help you in finding the way out.”

“Hmm? What do you mea- huh? What did you just say?” I replayed in my mind what she said and realised that she misunderstood my ‘frustration’, though it was true that she made me frustrated in that way as well.

After that incident with my brother the most I did was use my hands, and now this beautiful woman is offering her services to me? Although I didn’t mean that… should I play along? She’d surely feel embarrassed if I pretended that I didn’t understand what she meant.

Biting my lower lip while thinking about what to say next, I looked into her eyes and she also smiled back at me. Taking a step closer, she put her small hands on my chest and started caressing me while keeping eye contact. Raising her left arm, she put her arm around my neck and pressed her voluptuous breasts against me.

Leaning closer to my ear, she whispered into it, “For saving me and being this nice to me, I wouldn’t mind if you used me to relieve your frustration, or am I not good enough?”

“Ah-uh, no, it’s not that,” I stuttered, realising that I was cornered. Feeling my blood rushing towards my lower half, I couldn’t suppress my desires any longer and embraced her body tightly. Taking a deep breath, I took a quick look at her rosy lips before pressing mine against them. Her soft and wet lips felt like heaven to me after all these years of lonesomeness, instantly reviving my slumbering lust.

“Fufu~ why are you breathing so hard? We haven’t even done anything and you’re already this excited?” she chuckled, seeing my chest heaving up and down. Smiling at me, her hand slowly slid towards my crotch, stopping only when her hand was over my member. She grasped it strongly through my pants and then pressed her knee between my legs, for some reason making me remember the day I embraced my brother’s wife.

It was so sweet and painful at the same time, I couldn’t help but remember what happened on that day. “Hmm? Where’d your excitement go?” she asked with a confused face.

“I’m sorry, I remembered something I shouldn’t have,” I lowered my head and looked at her apologetically.

Sighing loudly, she shook her head and stepped back from me, “I’m sad to hear that but I hope you get better.”

“I’m really sorry,” I apologised once again, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I completely ruined the moment because I was a goddamn idiot again.

“Don’t fret over it,” she waved her hand as she turned around.

Taking a deep breath, I slapped my face to clear my head and thought things through. Although I knew I’d be a dick if I was wrong, I decided that it was worth the risk even after a mistake like this.

“Could you listen to me for a moment, Angie?” I asked.

“Hmm? What is it?” she turned towards me once again.

“So, after coming in, I ran into that old man who may be one of the examiners or another examinee who likes doing evil things. As soon as I questioned his reasons, I ‘accidentally’ found a clue and a way out of the last block. Right after saving you, we started wandering around and now that I think back, I had seen the same paths quite a lot of time and the more time I spent here, the more often I ran into visited paths,” I explained to her everything thoroughly, hoping that she wouldn’t take it to her heart even if I was wrong.

“Now there are two possibilities. The first is that the old man is still nearby and is making us walk in circles, while the second one is something I don’t with to believe but want to consider. It’s that you’re also like him, a part of the test, making me walk in circles infinitely until I solve the problem,” I said.

“Now this means that the way to the next level is either that old man, or you,” I added.

“Me? How am I the key to the next level?” she shook her head in confusion, which sort of strengthened my newly emerged idea. If I were in her place and someone accused me of being the bad guy, I’d have probably flared up a little.

After thinking back to the last hour we spent together, I also realised that she was calm the whole time and never panicked, cried, or anything of the sort. She wasn’t even worried about our situation despite being abducted and tied up not long ago. I was just too blind to notice it because of her charm. My body and mind were more excited by the idea of fucking her than to think clearly. The more I said the more I believed that the second was the correct answer.

“You… you’re the key to the next level, aren’t you?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

“Woah! That’s an interesting turn! A moment ago we were about to have sex and now I get this?” she raised her hands in exasperation.

“Yes or no?” I asked.

Smiling at me, she waved her hand and suddenly the walls started wobbling and turned into gray smokes, along with the lover half of her body. As her upper body slowly followed, the timer I saw before also appeared and she said, “You finished this one in three hours and eleven minutes, which is one the best times up to date. I wish you good luck during the remaining tests, but they’re going to be more straightforward.”

When she stopped talking, all the smoke shot upwards, leaving me standing in the middle of a circular room. There was a screen in front of me with some text on it which read, “You’ve successfully finished the second stage and now you’ll move on to practical tests instead of the mind-related ones. You’ll have to do only what is asked from you, though feel free to do more if you can. Continue on the path below.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I followed the path under the screen and took the remaining tests. Some tested my offensive power while others my physical strength. They also tested my reflexes by suddenly firing projectiles at me and my defensive spells by firing spells at me which got stronger and stronger after each stage. Just like the text said, the second half was really more practical, thought a few wittier tests were also included.

At the end of the test, I walked back to the first room of the base through a hidden path, but this time the doors were once again closed and there was a portal in the middle of the room. Since I came here and finished the test, it’d have been stupid to leave through the exit so I walked into the portal without any hesitation.

When I came out on the other side, I found myself in the middle of the air but instead of falling down, I continued standing there as if there was something under my feet. Tapping my right foot on the ‘air’ beneath me, I could feel that it was blocked by some invisible force but there was no sound.

Remembering that there was some text in the underground base which said that I shouldn’t be afraid to take a step forward, I couldn’t help but feel that somehow it was connected to this. I still had the option to fly anyway, so I took a step forward, only to have my breath taken away from me.

A whole new world appeared in front of me with tens of thousands of buildings built all over the place. After enhancing my eyes, I spotted a field in the distance where were about a hundred people, many of them fighting each other while some others were just watching.

There was also a river crossing the plain where I saw a few people sunbathing, though a moment later I realised that it wasn’t the sun. It was some kind of magically generated light bulb, but it also radiated heat. The only reason I knew that it wasn’t the sun was because it was too close… and it was filled with mana.

On the right I saw a giant mountain range, covering a huge part of this land and on the left was a large forest. There were all kinds of corns and plantations on the plain and after a quick scan of the area, I sensed that there were even more beyond the city and towards the forest. This land was filled with life and variety, unlike the world outside. It was either endless water or trees… I hadn’t seen an actual plain ever since I was born, so it was a really nice change of place.

In the next moment, the sound of a door being shut brought back my attention, making me notice the small but cozy building a few meters to my right. A beautiful blonde haired woman was standing in front of the door, staring at me for a few seconds before greeting me, “Welcome to Leviathan, Mr. Gil. You may call me Maat. Now that introductions are done, could you please come with me?”

“How did you know my name?” I asked with a frown as I ran my eyes down on her. She was wearing a white blouse and blue hot pants which slightly cut into her meaty thighs. She looked great.

“We’ll get to that once you come in. Or… would you rather talk out here, standing?” she raised her brows.

“Ah, no, I’m sorry,” I shook my head and followed her into the building. It looked like a modern house but it seemed to fulfill the role of an outpost. It was kind of weird.

I followed her straight into a luxurious living room where were two sofas facing each other and a tea table in-between, filled with all kinds of drinks and one bite foods. The room was painted dark blue, which sort of made me calm down.

“Would you like some coffee, or tea, or anything else?” she asked, pointing at some kind of black liquid and then some discoloured water.

“What is that coffee?” I couldn’t help but ask, intrigued by its colour. It didn’t seem healthy but there was a cup of half-drunk ‘coffee’ in front of her so it probably wasn’t venom either.

“Oh, pardon me, I tend to forget that people in many areas don’t know what coffee is. It’s a bitter drink but I really love it, though some also like drinking it with sugar to make it sweeter. You can also put some milk into it,” she explained as she poured some of it into an empty cup and pushed it towards me. “Try it,” she said with a smile.

Initially I was kind of skeptical with this place but this woman was being too nice to be the part of some evil organisation. I realised maybe I was being paranoid. Raising the cup to my lips, I took a sip of the coffee and after savoring it for a few seconds, I gulped it down. Licking my lips a few times, I said, “I think a bit of sugar wouldn’t hurt.”

Nodding her head, she fixed my ‘coffee’ and then leaned back, crossing her leg over the other. She also had a voluptuous body though she was a bit thinner than Angie, but they still looked very similar. Her personality also reminded me of her for some reason.

“So, what exactly are we waiting for?” I asked, seeing that she was just looking at me in silence.

“Normally I deal with the newcomers quickly but since you’re a god incarnation, the god of rain from the Mayan mythology, Chaac, I’m going to take my time to get to know you a bit more,” she said.

“Aren’t you a bit too honest?” I couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing her words.

“Is that a problem?” she asked with a smile.

“Haha, no, no, I prefer honesty,” I waved my hands.

“Good. But jokes aside, that’s not the reason we’re waiting. I’m waiting for someone with a bit more authority to make a decision related to a creature which is living near your home country,” she said.

“Ah, sure,” I muttered, trying to peel my eyes away from her chest area. Why did women have to wear all these revealing clothes? Well, it showed only a bit of her cleavage but still… my memories regarding Angie were still too fresh so I couldn’t help but visualize her naked body.

“Do you feel well? Your face is a little red,” she asked. I wish she hadn’t.

Clearing my throat, I looked into her eyes and said, “Yes, I’m fine, please don’t worry about me.” Realising that this was a good time to ask a few questions, I went ahead and asked, “Miss Maat, right? Have you by any chance met a muscular guy who came here? He has red hair and he is almost two meters tall. He’s also quite arrogant and obstinate. His name is Brian.”

Placing her hand on her chin, she thought about it for a second and then said, “I think I know who you’re talking about. Is he the incarnation of Cabrakan, the god of mountains?”

“Yes, he is… though I find it a little concerning that you seem to know everyone’s commandment, including mine,” I nodded.

“Please, we have someone who’s capable of finding out that kind of information with his commandment. That’s also the reason the owner of this place invited the ten of you by your names. Regarding your friend, he’s doing fine and is on the training ground right now, which you had probably seen the moment you entered,” she replied.

“I did,” I nodded.

“Mhm. You’re free to meet your friend soon enough, though he’s probably still unconscious. You see, he picked a fight with one of the older students and got his ass whooped, but there is no need to worry about him. He’s all healthy,” she started laughing, seemingly recalling something funny.

Shaking my head, I said, “That’s so like him… and I’m not really worried about him now that I’ve seen that you aren’t a bad people. At least, you don’t seem to be one.”

“Although I don’t understand what do I have to do with this place, I’m glad to hear that you trust me,” she said with a smile.

“I meant that you seem to be a nice person and that I can’t imagine that you’d be working for some evil organisation.”

“Oh, you meant that. Well, this place is anything but evil. I moved in about a year ago but it has improved so much since then and quite a lot of people joined. You see, most of the people who decided to take the test didn't feel attached to their homes. Considering the beauty of this place, the good air, the good life quality, and the possibility of becoming stronger, I'm not surprised that everyone stayed,” she said, her eyes shining in her happiness. She clearly loved living in this city or what.

“Is that so? And where are you from?” I asked.

“Hmm, I come from a continent called Australia. It was a land filled with giant snakes and all kinds of monsters. But honestly, the snakes were the worst of all… they also took away my family when I was younger,” she said.

“Erm, I'm sorry for asking.”

“It's fine, it happened long ago and thanks to the people who built this place, now there are many safe areas. I lived my life running around in the jungles, trying to survive, but the future generations won't have to live like that because they destroyed many of the monster hordes and nests.”

“That's also one of the reasons I love living here. I know that we're helping many and are making people's lives better all over the world. I mean, it makes you feel good when you see the grateful faces and when you know that you're doing something good, don’t you agree?” she started rambling about the place like some sort of fanatic. I found it a little funny but it also made me feel more comfortable.

“Ah, I'm sorry, I've got caught up in my thoughts and kept talking,” she covered her mouth, realising that she sort of changed the topic.

“Haha, it's fine. I admit you’ve made me even more interested in this place now that I’ve heard you talk about it with so much enthusiasm,” I laughed at it. “Regarding your question, I agree with you.”

“Oh, right, I’ve been wanting to ask this but who were those people in the labyrinth during the test?,” I asked after a short break.

“The first person’s name is Lug and he’s an actual person, though he wasn’t physically present and looks younger. Any person you met during the test was just an image in your head since you were dreaming. When you entered the first chamber, you breathed in a formula which blocked your sense of pain. Following that, when you put your finger into the hole to open a door, you were pricked by a tiny needle which injected Lug’s soul force into your body.”

“Thanks to his ability to create anything and anywhere, he put you into a state of sleepwalking and then you entered the labyrinth where you were tested more thoroughly. You can read about it in-depth once we finish our business with each other,” she said.

“I was kind of confused by the whole point of that test, so I’m glad to hear that I won’t be kept in the dark. Still, could you tell me about the second part of the labyrinth? What was the purpose of that?”

“Aww, I didn’t want to talk about it since you were close to falling in love with your imaginary girlfriend… but if you want to hear the reason, I’m going to tell it to you. In the second part everyone meets a person who’s created based on their preferences. The reason is that the creators of this place wanted to see how would people react.”

“There were people who charged in even without looking around and there were also those who couldn’t control themselves and took advantage of the bound person. Naturally, those people aren’t alive anymore,” she smiled at me in a creepy way, making a cold shiver run down my spine. It was a bit dreadful to think about how I could have died if I made a bad decision there.

Maat was much stronger than me, so much so that I couldn’t even see through her, so even she could destroy me, not to mention the people who built this world. There were still many things I haven’t learned from my inheritance, and some of the stuff was related to space. Seeing that even stuff like this could be created, I couldn’t help but become a bit more interested in learning all of it.

Seeing her still staring at me in silence, I asked, “Is there something on my face?”

“No, I’m just a little intrigued by you because up to date, only two people managed to realise that the second person wasn’t real. One of them was also too strong and saw through the whole test,” she chuckled.

“Does this mean that I performed well?” I raised my brows.

“Well, in the first half you’ve reached the B rank which is definitely good but when it came to knowledge and power… you’ve got a D. Despite being a god incarnation, you don’t even know WORD magic,” she shook her head.

She was being honest with me which hurt a little, but it was better than coating the truth in fancy lies to make me feel better. If anything, I felt ashamed of myself for knowing so little. It really didn’t help that I had a whole library in my mind but I didn’t work hard enough. I started learning about magic after I inherited Chaac’s knowledge, but after learning a few spells, I did nothing but meditate since it was easier.

“It’s a bit of a shame, but you’ve got a pretty powerful soul and your incarnation was a powerful one, so you’ll catch up with the others in no time if you take training seriously,” she added.

“Oh? So am I allowed to leave?” I asked, a little surprised. I thought they’d want to keep me here.

Raising a brow, she said, “We aren’t barbarians. Anyone can come and go and you’ll have quite a lot of freedom even if you join. One of the leaders is running a kingdom in North-America while Lug, the old man you spoke to during the test is the leader of a huge tribe in Africa. There are also many other members who’re the leaders of villages, cities, and some organisations, but regardless of their position, most of them prefer living here and visit their territories only from time to time to see if everything is alright.”

“Although I have no idea what is North-America and Africa, I imagine that they aren’t anywhere near this place based on your tone. So let’s say I joined, would I be allowed to return to Panama and see if the place was still secure and free of monsters? How often would I be allowed to go back?” I asked, becoming even more interested in this place. I thought the people living here were more restricted, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Erm, the places I mentioned are continents and to answer your question, haven’t I told you a moment ago that they can live wherever they want but they decide to stay here? If you feel more comfortable in your home country then you can live there, though I’m pretty sure you’re not going to pick it over this place. I mean… it never happened. It’s just that much more fun. The only things you’ll have to watch out for are your points, and to attend the lectures. You should also follow the orders of the leaders.”

“Most of the time you’ll have to wipe out monster hordes and Sylvanus’ doppelgangers but sometimes there are management related tasks as well. Still, you’re not going to be drowning in work even if you join. I also spend most of my time training and having fun, though it’s also true that my job is to welcome the newcomers like you. Anyway, you can trust me when I say that the leaders won’t make you do ridiculous things.”

“One of the best things about this place is that the leaders are open-minded and are easy to talk to. This is a great community,” she once again started praising this place.

“Aren’t you very busy then?” I laughed, remembering how many people came to join just from Panama.

“No. You see, most of the people grew up in cruel environments where they had to fight for their lives. Although the master of this place was born in a rather safe city, humans threatened to kill each other for fame, money, and women…”

“The same goes for many other communities, so about sixty percent of the incomers fail the test because of their cruelty, while another thirty percent because of their stupidity. On the other hand, there aren’t many who’re willing to take a step out of their comfort zone and start learning. It’s easier to be the king of rats,” she sighed, shaking her head.

“Makes sense and I’ve got the point, I was just curious,” I said.

Right after a I finished talking, I heard the door opening and closing. From the way her footsteps were followed by knocking sounds, I knew it was a woman, but it turned out I wasn’t prepared for this place. A beautiful girl with flowing, long, brown hair stepped into the room, and looked around with interest.

She had a small nose which mixed with her somewhat sharp facial lines, gave her a sense of cuteness and sexiness at the same time. Her green eyes pierced right through my soul when our eyes met, making me freeze in my place. The girl was even younger than me and yet the difference in power was simply way too immense.

She was wearing a one-piece lacy black dress with black high heels, placing a strong emphasis on her sexy legs. Walking into the room, she sat down next to Maat while saying, “I’m sorry for being a little late but I was in the middle of sparring with one of the newcomers and I had to finish without breaking his pride.”

Turning towards me, she nodded her head and said, “Welcome to Leviathan. My name is Lien.”

“Thanks, and my name is Gil,” I also introduced myself. I was really happy that her cleavage was hidden because it was bad enough that Maat’s was visible. It’d have made talking face to face almost impossible to me since I wouldn’t have known where to look.

My happiness was short-lived, though, since a moment later she crossed her legs and her dress slid up a little, just enough to reveal her thighs. I honestly never had problems with women before that thing happened with my brother’s wife and even afterward, I had no trouble keeping eye contact with nice women. It was just that these two felt too much out of my league. I felt like some kind of ant in the room which hurt my male pride.

“I know, we have a member who can provide us with some extra information about every god incarnation, so I know about your commandment as well. But don’t worry, we’re not going to reveal it to anyone even if you decide to leave,” she said.

“By the way, you are late only by two minutes so I don’t think Gil took it to his heart,” Maat remarked.

“Well, I’m still sorry,” she muttered.

“So, Miss Lien, are you one of the leaders of this place?” I mustered up my courage and asked. I honestly didn’t understand what was going on with me because I felt really pressured by Lien for some reason.

“Firstly, drop the honorifics because I don’t need them and secondly, I guess I’m something of the sort,” she said.

“Hahaha, ‘I’m something of the sort’, you say? Don’t listen to her, she’s the wife of the pers-” before Maat could finish, Lien covered her mouth and said, “Shut up! You know all too well that newcomers start feeling uncomfortable after hearing it. Why’d you bring it up?”

“Haha, but it’s fun to see their faces and don’t try to lie to me. We both know that you just don’t want to flaunt your position,” Maat continued fooling around.

Although she didn’t get to finish, I could imagine what she wanted to say. Lien was probably the leader’s wife and that’d also make it reasonable that the other newcomers started feeling uncomfortable around her. It was possible that offending her would incur her husband’s wrath, which was something I didn’t want to deal with.

Seeing them fooling around like that, I understood that she wasn’t some stuck-up woman, and I had a feeling that Maat changed her behaviour intentionally, just to show me that. It was a nice gesture from her side, in case I interpreted her actions in the right way.

Clearing her throat, Lien turned towards me and said, “First of all, I’d like to apologise for all the side-talk and for wasting your time. Secondly, has she told you anything related to this place, our goals, and the reason this place exists?”

“I didn’t mind your side-talk, and to answer your question, she told me a little about the place and that you kill monsters and some kind of doppelgangers,” I said.

“Alright, my second question is directed towards Maat. Why am I needed here? Did something happen during the test by any chance?” she asked with a frown.

“Well, I told you to come here because there is a doppelganger close to his hometown so I wanted to discuss it with you. Should I send someone to lay a Horrific formation on Panama or would you rather leave it alone? Also, while we’re at it, he’s got a B rating in the first half of the test and a D in the second half, so I’m not sure what rank to give him. For now I’m leaning towards the C rank,” Maat replied, mentioning a bunch of things I had no clue about.

Turning towards me, Lien said, “In that case, I’ll broaden your horizons a little before continuing. As you know, there are people who inherited the knowledge of different gods and made it their own. The problem with this is that not everyone is a good person and many are using their power to take advantage of the weak. It’s at a point where they formed exclusive organisations just to make humans fight each other. I’m sure you know that ‘practising’ your commandment grants both your soul and your body power, and in case of gods of war and death, that means killing people.”

“These people are usually fine killing anyone, even children, so I assume you understand what’s the problem with them. On the other hand, there is a creature living somewhere on this planet, who’s also a god incarnation and its name is Sylvanus. It has millions of doppelgangers around the world, all of them strong enough to use WORD magic, and to make things even better, it wants humans dead. Its main body is still in a deep slumber for some reason, so we’re trying to find it.”

“In short, Leviathan is a moving base filled with people who’re moving around the world to create safe areas where people can raise their children in safety. We’re also doing our best to find Sylvanus and exterminate it along with the earlier mentioned evil organisations. After hearing all this, are you willing to put effort into learning new things about magic and join our ranks, or would you rather go back to Panama?” she asked.

“Eh? Uh, hearing all that is kind of shocking but if that’s really what you’re doing then I’d be glad to help you and work hard,” I replied. I’ve long ago decided to help humanity and I’d probably have more fun living here than in Panama.

“I can’t help but notice that you keep saying that ‘if you really’ which is implying that you don’t believe me,” she said with a frown.

“Well, from my point of view, I have a bit of trouble understanding your reasons. Your husband is strong enough to create a space like this, so what’s stopping you from leaving the planet and living somewhere else along with this community? Does it even matter to you whether Sylvanus destroys the planet or leaves it alone?” I asked honestly.

“So… are you questioning our credibility and our reasons because we could leave the planet to die if we wanted to?” she raised her brows. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s true that this place is mobile, but we don’t have enough knowledge about mana yet to generate it through nature. In other words, we’d die without the planet since Leviathan would lose its source of mana. Well, it’s true that we’re getting closer and closer to generating mana but we haven’t got that far yet.”

“On the other hand, you’re wrong if you think that we need some kind of reward for doing something. We don’t plan to leave the planet to its fate even if we find the way to produce mana and the last thing we need is material rights in return for our deeds. I mean, we can produce everything for ourselves and we don’t use money in Leviathan, so tell me, why the hell would we care about any of that? This is more about doing something meaningful in your life than being rewarded.”

“I mean, yeah, we could just sit back and focus on researching and then leave as soon as we found out how to generate mana, but that’d be just running away from the problem. There are so many beautiful places on this planet, why would we let it be destroyed?,” she said calmly.

“Indeed, I’m a living example of that gratefulness you spoke of. We were really happy when you took out that stupid snake. It was chasing us for three days and we were about to give up when you two appeared and destroyed it. You were like heroes in my eyes back then,” Maat said with a bright smile on her face. “I soon found out that you were just a perverted couple, though,” she muttered.

“...Fuck you…” Lien said after a moment of silence.

If I had a beautiful wife like her then I’d also become perverted, but I think I shouldn’t say that aloud. Well, both of you are fucking hot.

Clearing my throat, I tried to catch their attention, “I think I understand your reasons now. If it’s fine with you then I’m willing to join your ranks and work hard to be of use to you. I did something very regretful in the past and I’ve been trying to atone for it. This may be the best way to do that.”

Forcing a smile on her face, Maat said, “Well, since you’re going to join it’s better if I tell you in advance. You’d find out about it soon enough anyway. I took on the name of the god whose knowledge I inherited, and my commandment is a very unique one. You see, I can hear everything people think so I also heard what you thought of a moment ago, but don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you for that. In fact, I grew up hearing much weirder things and you’re surprisingly pure.”

“Why? What did he think of?” Lien asked.

“Not telling,” she stuck out her tongue.

“Oh, come on! Why are you doing this every time? Whatever, it’s not like it has anything to do with me,” Lien started grumbling.

“Well, actually it had to do with both of us but I’m still not going to tell you.”

“Can you see this? She’s always teasing people whenever she ‘hears’ something and then keeps it for herself,” she said as she looked at me, pointing fingers at Maat.

“E-Eh… I’m- I was just thinking that I’d also become a pervert if I had a wife like you two,” I blurted out in my embarrassment and then quickly covered my mouth, realising that I shouldn’t have said that. As I remembered all the stuff I thought of while looking at them and talking with them, I honestly considered running out of the house to dig a hole for myself.

Raising a brow, she kept staring at me for a few seconds in silence and then said, “I’ll take that as a compliment, though I didn’t mean to force you to tell me your thoughts. Remember that this is her commandment and she never reveals your secrets or thoughts to anyone, so you can rest assured. Trust me, we know each other and yet she’s never told me anyone’s secret or thoughts, even though she knows many things about many people,” she said.

“Well, I believe what’s unsaid should stay unsaid. I’m not using my commandment to spy on people but I’m definitely going to tell on you if you plan to do something that goes against our laws. As long as you follow our laws, or more like guidelines, you won’t get in trouble no matter what ideas you play with in your mind while being in my presence.”

“Wait. Do you also know what I did to my brother’s…” seeing her nodding, I lowered my head in my shame.

“I can hear only what you think about and since you thought about it during the test, which I’m the observer of, I know what happened. But like I said, you can rest assured because I’ve never told anyone’s secret to other people. As the goddess of justice, I’m using my commandment solely for the purpose of upholding law and keeping this place safe. Note that if you have any bad ideas, I’m going to take action against you, like I mentioned a moment ago,” she said.

It was really weird and uncomfortable when I thought about how she could hear all my thoughts, even more so when I realised that my mind was filled with lewd ideas when I saw her. But on the other side of the coin, I felt a little sorry for her. Sometimes it was hard enough to carry your own secret and she had to do the same but for thousands of people. You needed a lot of willpower to do that without going crazy, so she had my respect.

“My, look at him. He’s one of the few people who didn’t feel envious of my commandment and felt sorry for me instead,” she said as she smiled at me and then looked at Lien.

“That just means that he isn’t psychologically retarded,” Lien simply laughed at it.

“Oh, right. I think you should know this about me since we’re going to meet regularly from now on,” Maat said. “I’m not going to reveal your secrets or thoughts to anyone and most of the time I’m not going to respond to them, but the latter is something I can’t guarantee. You see, your thoughts are the same as if you said them aloud to me so unless I can see that your mouth isn’t moving, I won’t know whether you said it or thought about it.”

“I’ve got my commandment quite early on in my life so I can’t say that I’ve got a good common sense when it comes to what should and shouldn’t be said. I sort of ignore anything that’s sex-related since I’ve learned over the years that those kinds of things are usually only thought by the person.”

“Still, I often have trouble deciding if I can’t see your face, so if I’m showing you my back and you tell me something and I don’t respond, it won’t be because I want to ignore you and got offended or something of the sort. I also grew up with a bunch of men and women so I’ve heard many lewd and weird ideas. I’m going to ignore everything related to that topic unless you come up to me and say it in my face.”

Biting my lower lip, I said in a low voice, “I think I’ll need some time to get used to your ability, but I appreciate that you told me all this in advance.”

“No problem,” she said with a smile.

AAAAAA! But still! She heard all of that! I cried out in my mind.

“I still do, and please stop shouting,” she muttered, placing her hand over her ears.

“You two are funny,” Lien started laughing at us.

“Ah, I’m sorry. By the way, what was that ‘Horrific’ formation you mentioned earlier?” I asked, remembering that they wanted to lay down one in Panama.

“It puts a strong pressure on the soul of every living creature that’s outside the area of the formation, and isn’t further away from the border than ten kilometers. Thanks to that pressure, monsters will feel afraid of going towards the formation, which means the direction of the city in this case. Although the effect is applied to humans as well, it is only if they leave the city. They'd feel uneasy only until they got into the area of the formation,” Lien replied as she leaned forward.

“Wouldn't it scare people away from returning to the city?” I asked

“If you knew why you felt that way would you turn around?” she asked with a knowing smile.

“Well… I guess it’d be great to have that formation in that case, though I’m surprised you didn’t use it as a bargaining chip. It’d have been enough to make me join even if I didn’t want to,” I replied.

“What’d be the point of forcing others to live here? It’d have been a shame if you turned around and left but that would have been your decision. There are plenty of people who’re willing to join anyway,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’m asking this purely out of my own curiosity, but what percentage of the people coming here join?” I asked.

Standing up from the sofa, she threw her hair over her shoulders while saying, “All of them.” Baffled by her answer, I opened my mouth wide. I expected a high percentage or a large number, but I didn’t expect that everyone joined.

Deciding that it was better to take some fresh air after hearing all these things, I stood up from the sofa and stretched my arms.

“Are you going somewhere?” Lien asked.

“I want to take a look around and I also want to find my friend, who’s supposedly here,” I nodded. “Why, is there anything else I should hear?”

“No. Once you join, you get a free week to get used to the place and the people, and obviously, to see how things work here. By the way, our scouts visited Panama and reported that your technology is average, so you’re likely to find many new things here. Feel free to ask anyone if you don’t know something. Most of the people went through the same things you’re going to, so they’re not going to laugh at you even if you ask something weird.”

“That’s good to hear,” I smiled at her.

“Wait, where are you going Lien? I thought you’d stay a bit longer after finally visiting me!” Maat cried out, seeing that she also stood up.

“Eh? But I have work to-”

“Bullshit, you just want to f-” before she could finish her sentence, Lien’s hand simply ‘appeared’ over her mouth. She moved so quickly that I couldn’t even perceive it.

“Mmm- lhmm ghh-” Maat tapped on her hand, trying to peel her fingers off of her face. I was a little curious about what she wanted to say, but I was more amazed by her speed and her power in action.

Lowering her hand, she shook her head as she kept staring at Maat with a frown while the latter just laughed at her, “Why are you giving me that look? I was just kidding.” Rolling her eyes, Lien turned around and walked past me without saying anything.

Stopping in front of the door, she turned around and asked, “What are you two waiting for? I thought you’d come with me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know I could,” I apologised as I caught up with her while Maat simply appeared next to her.

Glancing at me and then at Maat, Lien said, “Put him into the C rank because he can also adapt easily. That’s a good thing.”

“What are these ranks even?” I asked as we left the building and made our way towards the training ground in the distance.

“Most of the time it’s based on your power but your mentality is also included into your ranking. For example, if you’re as powerful as A ranked people but you’re lazy, you may get a B instead. It’s the other way around in your case because you’re at the level of D rankers when it comes to power, but you’ve proven that you aren’t retarded during the test so you’ve got a higher rank. You’ll have to work hard to keep it, of course,” she replied.

“I think you should tell him the ranks at first,” Maat chimed in and then proceeded to do as advised. “The ranks go from A to F, the latter being the weakest. There are also three special ranks which are S, X, and Z, the first being the weaker and the last being the strongest. They’re all above the A rank,” Maat added, finally telling me what ranks were there.

Mustering up my courage, I asked, “May I ask what rank you two are at?”

“You may ask anything, I don’t think anyone cares about stuff like that here. If they don’t want to answer, they’re going to tell you so,” Lien said and then answered my question, “Anyway, I’ve become X ranked not long ago and she’s S ranked but on the stronger side. Your rank is purely based on the strength of your mana and soul from the S rank onwards, plus a few spells, but she could probably beat a few X ranked people because she’d hear their thoughts.”

“You see, you’re considered S ranked when you can use WORD magic and you’re considered X ranked when your soul and mana pool reaches a specific ‘size’. We have our own metrics for that but you’re going to learn about them soon enough anyway.”

“I suppose your husband is Z ranked then,” I said.

“Well… I’m not sure if we should call him that at this point,” Maat started laughing. “I’m honestly not surprised that people with his commandment are locked up and killed all over the world.”

“Yeah, but too bad for them, Seth’s grown too strong to be killed. Even those old geezers can’t do anything about him,” Lien also laughed at it. They didn’t answer my question, but I understood that he was probably beyond this ranking system, which wasn’t surprising considering that he built a place like this.

Note to self. Don’t offend Lien and people who are called Seth.

“That’s a good idea,” Maat laughed as she turned around, only to realise that I didn’t say it aloud. “Oh, I’m sorry, don’t mind me,” she waved her hand and then turned back ahead. Seeing them walking in front of me, both of them looking forward, I unintentionally looked at their asses. Lien’s wasn’t visible because her dress wasn’t flattened against her body, but Maat was wearing hot pants so she was a different tale.

Realising that she’d hear my thoughts, I quickly looked away and started staring at the grass instead. There was grass on both sides of the road and it equally reached up to my knee everywhere. For some reason I really wanted to jump into it and roll around like some kind of kid, but I restrained myself from doing something so shameful in front of these women.

Maybe I’ll come back later when nobody’s around.

Seeing that Maat covered her mouth, I realised that she was doing her best to hold back her laughter and that I was retarded enough to think about something stupid once again. It made sense that she ignored our thoughts and that we ignored that she could hear them. There was no helping it. I still had the option to avoid her, but I took a liking to her even if it was a bit scary that she could hear my thoughts.

“Aww, that’s a really nice way of looking at it. I appreciate it. Most of the people prefer to avoid me instead, which I can understand and accept, but those who decide to stick around get to know me as deeply as I do them,” she replied to my thoughts once again, but this time intentionally. I was actually happy to hear her opinion about it.

“Can you see this, Lien? With you and Gil included, now the number of people who have accepted my commandment has grown to seven! I may have more friends than you,” Maat said as she elbowed Lien in the side.

“So what?” she shook her head and then added, “You should be careful with this woman because on top of reading your mind, she also likes answering them. She was lying when she said that she’s trying to ignore them.”

“What? No, I wasn’t. Don’t believe her!” Maat cried out as she looked at me, waiting for my thoughts.

“I can’t make an opinion this soon,” I waved my hands defensively. Pursing her lips, she looked at me with dissatisfaction.

Eh? But I can’t side with you when I’ve just barely got to know you, I thought to myself.

Turning around, Lien rolled her eyes, “Aaah, I’ve had enough of walking!” she said, and then grabbed our arms. I was about to ask what did she plan to do but by the time I opened my mouth, she let go of my arm and turned around. Looking to the side, I realised that we were in front of the training ground.

“That’s much quicker than walking, isn’t it?” Lien chuckled, seeing my dumbfounded face, though she misunderstood me. I knew how to teleport and although she was quicker than me, I wasn’t surprised by that. I was surprised by the sight of my friend, who was lying on the ground only a few meters away from me. Walking up to his body, I knelt down next to him and poked his face to see if he was awake. I could feel that he was alive and well so I wasn’t worried about his health.

“Oh, so he was the friend you mentioned. He was the guy I knocked out before going to visit you. In fact, I was being late because of him,” Lien remarked, her voice reflecting her disinterest.

“Eh? What did he do?” I asked, raising my brows as I turned towards her.

“He kept bothering some of the women who weren’t enjoying his continuous flirting so I knocked him out before they wrecked him. He was also being arrogant during the spar and said that he’d happily go out with me if I could beat him in a battle of strength,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Uhm, please don’t take his stupidity to heart. He’s a good pers-”

“Stop being such a worry-wart. As long as it’s only me, I don’t care even if he tries to make a move on me. I hope that you don’t mind that I taught him a lesson,” she said.

“No… I hope that you can beat some sense into his stupid head in the near future,” I shook my head, easily imaging what happened. Well, after a closer look I couldn’t help but notice that most of the women were beautiful here as well, which really made me question if this was done intentionally.

This place feels like the gathering place for beautiful and clever people. But then we have Brian here… I thought as my eyes wandered back to my unconscious friend.

“Hahaha, that was a good one,” Maat laughed at it.

“How did he even pass the test?” I shook my head.

“Well, he failed the second part but he did realise that Lug was lying, so he isn’t all that stupid. I think that he’s good at guessing people’s personalities and knew that he wouldn’t get in too much trouble even if he picked on Lien,” she said.

Nodding my head, I raised my hands helplessly as I said, “What can I say? I’m surprised you’ve guessed it right, but I guess it just proves that your commandment is incredible, in a way. Over the years I’ve had the chance to see his tantrums and let me tell you that he’s never misjudged anyone up to date.”

“I remember that one day he also mentioned some kind of vibration which was different in everyone and that it helped him in judging people’s characters. But then again, it just proves that he's a brick head. He could get along with much more people if he restrained himself a little,” I shook my head.

“Well, he hit on me as well when he arrived but once he found out that I could hear his thoughts, he quickly ran away from me. He's a very shy person, in fact,” Maat laughed, most likely replaying the scene in her mind. It took me years to find out about that while it took her only a single day. Her commandment was really incredible, but it definitely had its own disadvantages as well.

“I'm not surprised he hit on you,” I accidentally slipped up once again and said it aloud.

Raising a brow, she started smiling as she said, “I'll take that as a compliment.”

Well, it was but I didn't intend to say it aloud.

“My, most people avoid her so she's rarely complimented. Be careful or she might fall for you,” Lien remarked, seeing the two us staring at each other in silence. I had a lot of trouble looking at Maat since her hot pants cut quite a bit into her light caramel coloured skin and her cleavage was also like a vacuum cleaner which kept drawing in my eyes.

Although I didn't want to think about it, the words 'I wouldn't mind’ still played in my mind, and seeing that Maat turned around, I knew she heard it. It was kind of scary when I thought about how she could hear all my weird thoughts and ideas but I somehow I didn't mind it. It was just that I kept embarrassing myself…

“What's with that look, Maat? Don't tell me you already fell?” Lien started laughing. It was a shame I couldn't see her face.

“No, it's because of what he thought about,” she said.

“You two are clearly warning up to each other and my presence isn't needed anymore, so I'll take my leave. I still have other things to do anyway, so could you show him around and tell him about the details?” Lien asked.

“Of course, that's my job,” Maat nodded.

“Well, I'll be going in that case but before that” - she turned towards me - “I formally welcome you to Leviathan and I hope that you're going to have a good time here.”

“Thanks,” I nodded my head and in the next moment she disappeared. Strangely enough, the moment she did, some of the people who were watching the others came over and asked for my name.

“Yo there, new guy. What's your name?” a guy with a nose as straight as a pole asked. Brushing his fingers through his jet-black hair, he then held out his hand and said, “I go by the name Shiba, though my actual name is Xbalanque but people just can't remember it…”

“How can you expect us to remember a strange name like that? It’s like a tongue twister,” another beauty replied. A gust of wind gently blew her shoulder-length black hair towards me, filling my nose with the fragrance of her shampoo.

“My name is Awilix, nice to meet you,” she said, also holding out her hand.

“Oh, I thank you for welcoming me. My name is Gil,” I replied, shaking their hands.

“Are you guys avoiding Lien for some reason?” I couldn't help but ask.

“Nah, she may be our boss and she can be a real devil but it's easy to get along with her. You've just got to be careful not to take perverted jokes too far because her husband will be like - 'ya badmouthing my woman? Smash!’ and you're down,” he kept flailing his arms as he played the image in his mind.

“Is that so?”

“Well, it really depends on how you present it, but I'd rather not make perverted jokes about Lien. Seth tends to be a little overprotective, but then again, Lien would also smack you if you badmouthed Seth,” Maat remarked while Awilix just kept nodding approvingly.

“From what I hear, neither of them minds if they are the targets of jokes or badmouthing, but they'll jump at your throat if you hurt their loved ones, right?” I asked.

“Ya, yer tots right,” Shiba replied, patting my back.

He likes cutting words, doesn’t he?

“He does,” Maat use her soul force to answer.

“Well, I think that's normal. Nobody likes when something they like is being bad mouthed, but then why did you greet me only after she left?”

“Yo were doin’ business. It's only natural that I wouldn't interrupt,” Shiba replied as he punched my shoulder playfully.

“I swear if you don’t stop probing him, I’m going to chase you until you start crying. Why’d you want to play that game with a newcomer?” Maat said out of nowhere.

“Eh? What did he do?” I asked, confused by her words.

“Tsk, fine… I’ll be going then,” he grumbled as he turned around and went back to watching the others.

“Did he do something bad?” I repeated my question.

Shaking her head, she finally told me the reason, “No. It’s just that you aren’t ready to take part in what he wanted. You see, he’s the best hunter and he also has the ‘tracker’ trait. People tend to be competitive here since many of them are the 'geniuses’ from their own area. When Shiba arrived, he told me that he wouldn’t serve a leader who was weaker than him, so he thought of a game. He said if Seth could survive his assassination attempts for a whole day, he’d join.”

“And what happened?”

“Well, Seth told him that he’d get a whole week instead, which pissed off Shiba but he still agreed. The problem is that Seth isn’t your usual god incarnation so every time Shiba got within a kilometer, Seth appeared in front of him and greeted him. Once I also happened to be nearby and I couldn’t even sense him. Anyway, it was kind of hilarious and after the second day he was so outraged and pissed at his failures that he gave up and joined.”

“I can imagine his face,” I couldn’t help but laugh. “But how does this relate to me?” I raised my brows.

“A few people said that he was being overconfident by thinking that he could assassinate anyone so he started a game. Every week he selects five people who he tries to assassinate. Of course, he doesn’t actually hurt people but you still know that you lost when he puts his blade against your neck. He has yet to lose against someone since then and he won most of his games in a single day, even though his targets knew that they were targeted,” Awilix said.

“Are you telling me that he hasn’t lost to anyone but Seth? That’s really amazing.”

Smiling at me, she waved her finger and said, “Well, let me correct myself. He lost to two other people and both of them are standing in front of you right now. Although Maat can’t sense people like him, she can hear his thoughts when he is nearby so he failed. Her commandment makes it impossible for people like him to catch her by surprise, isn’t that right, Maat?”

“Haha, well, you’re right. You’d have to be brain dead to sneak up on me but then you couldn’t use spells to hide your presence. It just doesn’t add up, no matter how you look at it,” she replied as she started laughing at it.

“I’ve got it, but what about you?” I asked, looking at Awilix.

Placing her finger over her lips, she said, “That’s a secret.”

“Erm, okay. Anyway, do I get some kind of room or am I supposed to build it myself? If so then where am I allowed to build?” I asked, changing the topic to something more important. Although the weather was good enough to camp outside, I didn’t wish to sleep on the streets. Well, maybe I’d have been fine with sleeping in the grass on the plain.

“Haha, no, no, you don’t have to build anything. Since we have a lot of space and few people compared to the size of Leviathan, everyone gets a private house. We don’t wish to build flats and then force people to live in little holes. Of course, you’re free to get a tiny house if that’s your desire,” Maat replied.

“That’s great! Could you tell me where to go or show me the way?” I asked.

“Of course, that was my intention to begin with,” she nodded.

“It seems like you still have some things to do so I’ll go back to the others. Lug is going to arrive soon anyway,” Awilix said as she waved her hand and then turned around to leave.

“Bye,” I waved back and then followed Maat into the city.

On the way I noticed that some of the houses were built using bricks while others were made of wood. Some were also tiny in comparison to the size normal houses while others were larger. It was a bit strange that there was no uniformity but it also made the place feel much livelier. On the way she told me that based on our ranks, we could attend different classes where we’d learn stronger and stronger magic. What was different in this school was that even students could teach lower ranked students.

As a C ranked member, I could teach D ranked people and below, including Brian who also got a D. Of course, even if I held a class and made lectures, it wasn’t guaranteed that other students would attend my classes. Maat said that there were people who wanted to pass on their knowledge only to one person, and there were also those who taught everyone. Based on her words, there were students who taught others which was kind of surprising for me.

“By the way, what happens to the people who are even weaker than me? How come you accept them?” I asked, noticing on the way that some people were like the people in my city.

“Those who fail the test are sent back to their cities through a portal while those who succeed will be allowed in. Most of the time the successful ones are also hard-working people, but not everyone is talented. If you left your home and came here, even though you knew nothing about this place, you probably didn’t want to continue living in your home country anymore. The same goes for everyone else who’s here, only our reasons are different.”

“Well, I came because I was worried for my friend but it’s true that I’m not really tied to my country,” I nodded, and then added, “I just want the people in Panama to be safe.”

“Yeah, so these people may be weak and talentless in combat but it doesn’t mean that they can’t do anything. After finding out what they were good at, we put their skills to good use and if they didn’t know what were they good at, we gave them something to do. That’s how it works,” she replied, ignoring my statement.

“That’s a nice way of doing things,” I smile at her.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she replied, smiling back at me. Noticing that she stopped walking and turned to the right, I followed her eyes and saw a cozy wooden house. The house was made of some kind of dark brown coloured wood, which was quite a bit to my liking. It also had a small flower garden in the front and on the left side of the pathway which connected the small gate to the yard and the front door. There were also a few strange trees on the left side of the building, which had needle-shaped leaves.

“What are those?” I pointed at them.

“Pine trees, but why don’t you go in and take a closer look at them? This is going to be your temporary house until you build one for yourself or buy one from your points or order the local company to build one for you. The company is also led by someone who is ‘weak’ in comparison to the people here, but he had been building houses all his life. We’ve got a lot of free space and since everyone gets a private house, they’ve got a lot of work,” she said with a smile and then opened the gate to let me in.

Upon entering the yard, the fragrance of the fresh flowers started bombarding my nose, much to my pleasure. After taking a quick look around and finding a vegetable garden behind the house, I finally made my way in and looked around in the house. There was a bedroom with a large bed inside, and a smaller one with a smaller bed. Both of the bedrooms were on the left side, and facing the last bedroom was a large bathroom and a toilet.

I found that quite unusual since the toilets were always in the bathrooms in the flats of Panama, but she answered my thoughts in the next moment, “In the design of these houses, the toilets are never put in the bathroom. Imagine that you’re living with someone else and then they go in right after you took a dump. There are also air conditioners in the toilet to keep everything… devoid of smells.”

“Fair enough,” I nodded. After the toilet there was a living room with a few devices I didn’t recognise and the first room on the right side of the corridor was the kitchen. There was a thin book on the table which was titled ‘LAWS OF LEVIATHAN’. Picking it up, I turned towards Maat and raised my brows.

“You read that,” she pointed at the book in my hand.

“Erm, okay. Anything else?”

“Everything you need to know is explained in that book but if you're against reading, we have another method to teach you,” she said, taking out a ring from somewhere.

“No, I'm fine with reading,” I waved my hand.

“Alright then. I think it's time for me to go. If you have any questions, you can find me next to the entrance,” she said, lowering her hand.

“Do you live there?”

“No, I live in the middle of the city. Actually, I’m almost neighbours with Lien and Seth,” she said. Considering that she seemed to be a high-ranking personnel, I wasn't surprised to hear that. With the help of my mana, I scanned the book and finished reading it in just a few seconds.

“I’m done with the book,” I said.

“Haha, that’s good then, but you’re going to forget everything related to the test after one hour. That way we can make sure that nobody is going to spill its secrets. By the way, even if you decided to leave, you’d have had to wait for one hour before leaving,” she said.

“Mhm, I thought that much,” I nodded.

“Well then, I’ll be going now and as I said, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Two more people came while I was dealing with you so I should hurry up,” she said as she waved her hand and once I said my goodbyes, she disappeared.

Thanks to the book I found out what made people work for this place. Even after seeing this little of Leviathan, I could state with confidence that it was a beautiful place to live in. Anyone would be happy to live in a country like this but not anyone was allowed to. It made sense. It was their creation, their home and they were the ones to decide who they let in. Their selection had nothing to do with talent. Rather, they were accepting people only with specific mindsets.

As it turned out, there was a great importance on the first task during the test since it also reflected the curiosity and maximalism of each individual. After thinking about it with a clear mind, I couldn’t help but agree with them. Those who were satisfied with opening only a single door and passed through right after were definitely simple minded people. They didn’t care about finding out what other possibilities existed. They were the type that was easy to control.

They were like the common people in Panama who were easily controlled by the government. They generally listened only to one or two sources of news at most and believed everything they heard. They never bothered to look for different points of views and answers for their problems. The first solution was the best for most people and although it worked out well sometimes, it way too often didn’t.

Although I paid no heed to the tests that followed after the labyrinth, they were still an important part of it and I felt bad for not taking them seriously enough. It just showed that I still had a long way to go. It was also retarded that I went into the whole thing without any preparations. Most likely that was the main reason Maat rated me with a B for my mentality instead of an A. It was a bit upsetting, but these ratings actually helped me in finding out what were my weaknesses. It was already worth coming here.

But I had to be careful if I wanted to stay here because I had to be productive. Everyone had to gather at least a hundred points a month and it wasn’t that simple to earn points either. We had to kill monster hordes, Sylvanus’ doppelgangers, and stuff like that. Of course, for different ‘professions’, points were also counted differently but the point was that slackers weren’t allowed to live here. It was the gathering place for busy, creative, and workaholic people. I was sure I’d meet a few crazy ones in the near future.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to take a nice hot bath and then pick up Brian. I was quite interested in hearing the details of his battle. He had been here for two days, after all, so he definitely knew more than me. I was looking forward to starting my new life!