Watching Jedd and Willow, Keynes came to a certain realisation. Some people weren’t cut out for this. Both men struggled with essence cultivation despite Kora’s detailed instructions thanks to her [Essence Sight].

  It was a good thing that she was a patient woman because Keynes was already wrestling with his decision to get them to the Medium stage before they reached Level 5, but he’d committed and wouldn’t back out of it. Regardless of what he thought right now—mostly because he was irritated—gaining spiritual stages was as important as Levelling. Benefits from the former weren’t as clear as the latter but they were equally substantial. Keynes himself was yet to push beyond the Superior stage, which felt unpassable right now but he knew it was necessary to gain another stage before he reached Level 10.

  Unlike Levelling, essence cultivation wasn’t straightforward. In some sense, it was—at the higher stages—a real test of progress as essence cultivation became intimate and personal endeavour after the Medium stage. Help was possible but only in general capacity. That was why Keynes wanted this to be mandatory to everyone in his organisation to reach the Medium stage before Level 5. But his earlier discussion with Kora and Natalia had cast a bit of shadow on this idea. Levelling could be measured and planned as numbers were well known and universal. And because of that, essence cultivation disrupted these meticulously prepared plans. It was one of those things, which he’d delegated to others hoping his involvement wouldn’t be necessary. But the truth was, his knowledge about the System was far superior to other people and he understood limits far better.

  Then, on top of that, there was his vision. He wanted his organisation to be strong without exemptions. Although, he’d spent in Untainted Paradise a relatively short time, he could see how convoluted and complex it had become in less than a year. Untainted Paradise was better from the World Government but not as much as Keynes wished. It mostly was due to politics on Earth that made anything related to rifts hotly contested but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. This had been his organisation as well.

  This time things are going to be different, but I have to be smart about it. There was no way Keynes would be involved in day-to-day operations. He didn’t have time for that. Him helping Willow and Jedd was a personal favour and nothing else.

  Speaking of Jedd, they’d made a detour to Level him up first. The issue Keynes had first encountered in Jamaica didn’t go anywhere. Because of the Weakest stage, most ascenders struggled with handling essence. If Jedd entered a Level 2 rift as a Level 1 ascender, he’d likely get overwhelmed quickly and fall unconscious.

  It wasn’t as much of a problem as Keynes feared. Most Levelling was done by Natalia, while in this case Kora was able to help. Meanwhile Keynes and Willow went through the list of discovered mods.

  ***

  In the end, Jedd and Willow achieved the Medium stage in three days. Almost entirely due to Kora’s assistance. Once she was finished with both of them, she told Keynes that she didn’t have patience to do this on a normal basis. The problem was who would be a good candidate for this job?

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  Alice suggested that it’d be ideal to gather candidates and see how well they cultivated essence. Kora added that these candidates would have to be willing and understand what essence cultivation was about.

  So while Keynes and Kora accompanied Jedd and Willow in Level 2 and 3 rifts for their Levelling, an announcement was made to the spaceship and the surface base. Anyone who would like to learn and teach others how to cultivate essence, which was the foundation of spiritual aura, was going to take a test in a couple of days.

  “I can’t understand how you can enjoy this,” Jedd said when one of Kora’s conjured swords impaled a Level 4 boss and killed it instantly.

  “It isn’t something to be enjoyed. Killing rift monsters is necessary. You can’t exactly talk this over with them, can you?”

  “But you do enjoy this,” Jedd said, not as much a question as a statement.

  Kora smiled at him. The stronger she got the less shy was. Sometimes, it was weird to think that this small woman was a powerhouse among these people. Only Persephone and Keynes were stronger than her.

  “I do. That’s why I joined Natalia in her carry team, although my role was more of a planner and support at the beginning, I found fighting monsters sort of my calling.”

  “I can’t explain this.” Jedd nodded. “But I can see that. There is something fundamentally different about people like you, Keynes or even Natalia from others.”

  He’s onto something, Alice said to Keynes. Now that he said it, I feel like there is indeed something in it.

  Is it important? Keynes asked.

  To a degree, yes. It seems like there is compatibility of sorts, she mused further.

  Compatibility? Keynes asked, trying to decipher Alice’s intuition.

  No, wait. That’s not the best word. Classification? I think that works better. Yes, classification. Some ascenders are excellent fighters because they are born into that classification—class? Or something like that—while others are not. Some will find themselves to gravitate toward different professions subconsciously despite their Talents, spells or experience. At the end, Alice seemed to almost recite the words.

  So people were classified into different roles but on what basis? Did the System decide it or was there something else? Alternatively, were they able to change it? What if Keynes didn’t fit into a fighter role?

  He felt his hair stand on end. Something like that would be a disaster.

  No, Alice said. It doesn’t work like that. This classification doesn’t work against you. It is something you more than want, you feel it because it is who you are.

  It is who am I? I’m not sure I like it, he confessed.

  It’s like ascenders are born to be something greater than they imagine if they are true to themselves and follow their true path, Alice said. And before you argue about destiny or set path, I will reiterate it, it does NOT work against you. So, if you feel resistant against an idea of becoming this or that, then it means it is not who you are.

  And then it occurred to Keynes, he’d made a wrong assumption about the people Lem Solaris had chosen. He believed they’d been picked based on their Talents and professions but maybe Lem Solaris had seen further into the future than he thought.

  I have to speak to her visage when I’m done here.