The Seed of Mangala turned out to be some sort of enhancer plant with ability to increase fertility and imbue plants in its vicinity with extra properties.

  Sufficient to say, gardening wasn’t Willow's cup of tea and so he didn’t go into details or was particularly excited about it. He was aware how big of a deal it was to Natalia and the surface base but his attention was completely absorbed by Keynes’s exotic ability. And of course, the fact that they were going to bring more rifts here.

  However, this came with a concession that Willow had to make. Willow would have argued over this with Natalia but Keynes made it non-negotiable.

  From now on, Willow’s rift assessments had to be in line with a set of requirements supplied by Natalia and Rell. They wanted to use rifts to improve and expand their operations here and on the orbit.

  So with that in mind, he joined their expedition to other rifts, mostly Level 2 and 3 to mark those they should delve and bring back to their base in the future.

  On the bright side, he spent some time with Keynes, forming the list of positive and negative mods. Among other things, they were hoping to find a pattern.

  One of the best positive mods Willow saw so far was: all rewards from treasure chest converted to rift orbs. If they could find a way to replicate this mod, it'd be fantastic. But of course, the sample was extremely small, involving about sixty attempts with a mix of Level 1, 2 and 3 rifts and different biomes, which further diluted the sample. Nonetheless, Willow’s Talent hinted at a deeper mechanism. But the reality of being under Level 5 finally came to bite him. It wasn’t that he had anything against Levelling up. I mean, he hadn’t liked it before the rifts when Levelling was a gruesome business involving criminals being executed to provide essence to the spectators. He still had nightmares about that and perhaps it’d played a role in developing an unconscious dislike of Levelling.

  But things were different now.

  Also, despite his “second youth” his age was catching up with him. Even though he looked 50 years old, Willow was 70. He knew that many of the older than him ascenders had been able to return to 20-something bodies thanks to High Levels. It really sounded like he was doing himself a disservice by remaining at Level 4.

  When they arrived at the first Level 2 rift, Willow broke the news with Natalia.

  “You sure about this?” she asked him. “You’ve refused all previous offers.”

  “Of course, I’m sure. It’s time to make myself useful to the surface base.” Willow wasn’t perfectly honest with Natalia because he wanted this as much for himself as for the surface base.

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  “Good. I will speak to Keynes and see if we can skip the queue on this one. And while we’re at it, I will see if I can drag Jedd from the spaceship to accompany us. That sneaky little man needs to Level up as well.”

  ***

  Willow didn’t make much of it, expecting a refusal from Keynes. Willow was aware how busy their leader was so he was surprised when Keynes agreed to take Willow and Jedd and Level them up. In fact, they not only agreed to do it but they were going to do it while Willow went over his assessment. Hit by the reality of the situation, he almost backed off, but then he saw a grinning Kora dragging Jedd to the semi-soul space. Seeing that relaxed Willow, at least he wouldn’t be the only one to endure this misery.

  “Thanks for that, Keynes,” Natalia said when Kora and Jedd arrived. “I take Levelling very seriously. A single Level can be a difference between death and life. These two were avoiding it for long enough.”

  Jedd gave Willow a pleading look. Willow actually didn’t know why Jedd hadn’t Levelled up by now. He’d worked for Untainted Paradise as Keynes’s personal assistant so he shouldn’t have had any issues with getting on the Levelling list or whatever they had there. But Willow wasn’t interested in Jedd’s personal matters and so didn’t dwell on it.

  “What’s the point of Levelling up?” Jedd asked, his voice lost the usual business-like manner and professionalism. “I’m not a fighter. I don’t have spells. The essence would be wasted on me.”

  Although Natalia looked like she was about to answer, it was Keynes who replied instead.

  “Jedd, we have known each other for a while so I’d rather not beat around the bush. The truth is… unsavory, and it is grim but it cannot be changed. Levels matter not simply as means to fight the rift monsters and climb the power ranking but they are an essential part of the natural process. When I spoke to Lem Solaris for the last time, she said that a Level 50 ascender would be able to annihilate our planet with a thought. A terrifying concept. However, she also explained that a Level 50 ascender on a Level 50 planet would have the same impact as a Level 1 ascender on a Level 1 planet. Do you understand where I am going with it?”

  “I understand. This process has already started on Earth with an immense influx of Higher Level raw materials from rifts.”

  “Rifts are only part of this. I’m very sure there are other ways for the planet’s Level to rise. Similar things would happen here. Especially, at the surface base where we’re going to start using Level 10 materials to build walls, tools, cultivate food and breathe air. Level 6 air already has an impact on Lower Level ascenders. So, I’m sorry, Jedd, but I can’t allow anyone to not Level up because I can’t guarantee your safety.”

  “Not to mention other benefits like extended lifespan, greater vitality, stronger resilience, increased productivity,” Natalia added, emphasizing the last word.

  Jedd nodded. No one questioned his motives because as Keynes said, Levelling wasn’t luxury anymore, it was a necessity. In hindsight, it was obvious. Higher Level materials were harder, heavier, studier. And these differences appeared in just a few Levels. How much different would be a Level 10 or 20 stone from a Level 0? Willow's smile didn’t last long though.

  “Speaking of benefits,” Keynes said. “One of the most important benefits is to reach at least the Medium spiritual stage before Level 5 so your Minor Upgrade would be better than it otherwise would’ve been. So, essence cultivation first.”