Victor blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as the silence settled again. Everything Caelum had said was still spinning in his head—Tier 1, Awakened Ones. It was all fascinating.
And he wanted to know more.
Without missing a beat, he turned to Caelum, eyes lit with curiosity. "So... what kind of powers do you have? How did you get them exactly? Are there tiers above Tier 1? Is there some grand system like cultivation manuals or specific techniques tied to different stages? Like, what does training even look like here?"
Caelum's expression changed immediately. Cold. Shut off.
"No."
Victor froze. He'd gotten used to people opening up to him with just a little charm and curiosity. But Caelum had cut him off without hesitation.
And Victor knew instantly—he had made a mistake.
'I assumed he was like people back on Earth,' he thought.
Back home, he always found it easy to get information from others. It was like people wanted to spill their guts around him. Whether it was his aura or some emotional influence, he could tap into people's trust almost effortlessly.
Which wasn't entirely wrong.
He'd spent years refining the skill—starting from high school all the way through to his last job. Reading people. Shaping his tone. Reflecting what they wanted to see. Earning trust, quickly and quietly.
But here?
'Humans here are more... resilient.'
Or maybe it was because Caelum was already awakened. A Tier 1.
Stronger. Mentally fortified.
Victor leaned back slightly, filing that thought away.
Still, even if it didn't work outright, he hadn't been completely ineffective. He realized now—he'd already been gently nudging Caelum the whole time. Subtly. Skillfully. Using advanced psychology tricks—emotional cues, mirroring responses, asking the right kinds of questions.
He hadn't even noticed he was doing it. It was second nature.
'This world keeps getting more exciting,' he thought with a grin.
These people weren't boring. They weren't blank slates. They had depth, resistance, secrets. It was refreshing.
And a challenge he welcomed.
So, Victor adjusted. He didn't push again. He waited.
He let the silence sit.
And eventually, it worked.
Caelum sighed. His shoulders dropped slightly.
"You really don't know anything about this world, do you?"
Victor stayed quiet.
"Fine," Caelum muttered. "But don't expect this every time. I'm only telling you what I know—and that's not a lot."
Victor nodded, eager but respectful.
"There are six known Tiers," Caelum said. "Divided into two realms—the Lower Realms and the Upper Realms. Only the first three Tiers make up the Lower Realms. After that... things get hazy. Most people never get there."
Victor leaned forward.
"Tier 1 is called the Mana Initiate stage. You reach it by unlocking your body's mana channels—what some call meridians. You have to find each one and guide your internal energy through them until they're open. All of them. Once that happens, your Mana Core—the energy well in your lower abdomen—forms naturally."
"That's how you unlock energy control?" Victor asked.
"Yeah. At that point, you gain enhanced physical traits, basic control of mana, and your body starts purging internal impurities. You're stronger, faster, more aware."
Victor's eyes shone with
interest.
Caelum continued, "To reach Tier 2, the Mana Wielder stage, you have to do more than just cycle energy. You need to revolve it through your entire system—consistently—until you stimulate your Mana Heart."
"Which is in the chest, right?"
"Yeah," Caelum nodded. "Some call it the middle dantian. When that activates, your mana capacity increases, your control improves, and you start generating a Heart Pulse—kind of like a mana rhythm that helps regenerate energy."
Victor whistled low. "And you've done that?"
"No."
Victor blinked.
"I'm only an Early-Stage Tier 1," Caelum admitted. "I haven't even fully unlocked the Mana Core yet. Just three of my mana channels—which is the basic requirement for the early stage of Tier 1, by the way—but that's it. I'm stronger than a peak mortal, sure—but that just makes me a bit faster, stronger and a bit tougher. My trainers told me that's all I needed to know for now. Said I wasn't ready to know more until I was stronger."
Victor could respect that.
"How did you unlock Tier 1?" he asked.
Caelum's jaw clenched, then relaxed. "Training. Real, brutal physical training. I pushed my body to its absolute limit. Every day. No breaks. Once I hit the edge, they had me start meditating. Focusing. Learning to feel the energy inside me. It wasn't easy. It took months."
Victor leaned back, digesting it all.
So it wasn't just about magic or talent. It was training. Grit. Awareness.
"That's incredible," he murmured. "Seriously. I can't wait to reach that level."
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
This world had structure. It had layers. Power came through effort and understanding.
He liked that.
"Six Tiers, huh?" he said under his breath. "Guess I've got a long way to go."
Caelum chuckled. "You think?"
Victor just smiled.
Then he asked, "What tiers are the guards, Jeffery, the Baron?".
He couldn't help himself, he had to know. The Baron just felt unfathomable to him.
"The ones guarding our cells are just peak humans, with a single Tier 1. The trainers and the two other guards that led us here from the previous chamber are also Tier 1s, though a lot more powerful, probably mid to late stage Tier 1s. For Jeffery, I'm not really sure, but I'd bet he's somewhere between peak Tier 1 and early Tier 2. As for the Baron, I can say with certainty that he's at the peak of the lower realms".
"A peak Tier 3…" Victor mused. Then he directed a gaze at Caelum and asked, "How are you so sure".
"I just know". Caelum sent him a look that told him not to pry any further.
Victor nodded silently and decided to stop there. He leaned back, letting it all settle in. Then took a slow breath to organize his thoughts. When suddenly…
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Heavy footsteps echoes down the corridor.
The guards were here