Kassorith nodded. '"Demigod" and "ancestor" are unofficial terms. Once a mage reaches the Clear grade, their mana becomes pure enough that it's almost transparent to a mortal's Mana Sense. Only gods and demigods have senses sharp enough to spot it with ease. It's also dense like a liquid even in its unmanifested state and can be stored for an extended period of time outside one's body.'

Percy couldn't help but crease his brow. This sounded an awful lot like divine mana – the thick fluid he had absorbed during his evaluation in Phoebe's temple or the substance he received from the Vault every time he repaired the Moirais' Decree for one of his hosts.

'Does it become even denser after a demigod ascends to godhood?' he asked.

His host shook his head. 'Demigods wield the same grade of mana as gods – that's actually why they're called demigods in the first place. One of the primary goals during the entirety of the Colour realm is to gradually improve the grade of one's core all the way from Red to Clear, one step at a time – all in preparation for attaining divinity.'

'Colour realm? That's the official term for mortals, I take it?'

'Indeed. Once you become a god, you cross over to the Concept realm. Your power is no longer determined by the colour of your core, but by the number of concepts you have mastered. Ah, but don't let the fact that gods possess the same grade of mana as demigods fool you into thinking that the difference between the two realms is small – that couldn't be farther from the truth. A god's internal world contains dozens – if not hundreds – of times more mana than a mortal's core, and the way they wield it is fundamentally different. The gulf separating the two realms is generally considered as vast as that between three mortal grades.'

Percy swallowed hard. Leaving aside the other valuable information his host had shared, this was his first time hearing the gap between mortals and deities so clearly quantified. He'd always known that gods were far stronger, but the difference was even greater than he had imagined.

Three grades!

On Remior, the most talented mages struggled to fight a single grade above their own. Even on a greater spring like Thess'kala, that was the most one could hope to achieve. All who managed it were granted a distinct status and venerated as the pride of their world, participating in grand tournaments for all to watch and showered with priceless treasures year after year. Had somebody told them that Percy regularly fought and defeated multiple Blues as a mere Yellow, they would have lost their minds. Yet, even he didn't think he was ready to challenge Violets.

'No wonder the ancestors don't get a trim. No matter what they do, they'll never compete against actual gods,' he thought, recalling Kassorith's earlier words.

It wasn't that strange they spent most of their time in seclusion, trying to attain divinity, either. Percy could absolutely understand the temptation. After all, demigods were just a step away from their goal. It was a promotion that didn't depend on centuries or millennia of guzzling down elixirs, but merely a realization – a singular obstacle standing between their, admittedly long, but still finite lives and true immortality. Becoming gods would grant them the greatest boost in power a living being could ever experience.

'Yeah… I think I'd lose myself in training too if I was in their shoes…'

Alas, Percy was still a long way from having to worry about such things. Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he realized his host had already moved past the bone javelin, examining other pieces of equipment of similar quality.

The enchanted weapons weren't bad. Most of them could exhibit Violet-level strength if used the right way, while having been crafted out of merely Blue materials. Strictly speaking, this was a similar dynamic to what Percy did – he had forged everything out of Yellow mana but enchanted his weapons and armour to be on par with a Green's constructs. The only reason he was able to use them to fight Blues was due to how easily he could duplicate and control them from afar, as well as the creative ways in which he wielded them.

'The difference is that I do everything myself,' he reminded himself. 'These people need a demigod to elevate Blue materials to Violet-quality equipment.'

Even so, the right tools could still make a difference if Kassorith used them against elite disciples. They would be even more impactful for Percy who only fought regular Blues on Remior – assuming he found an artifact compatible with his affinity.

Sadly, Kassorith wasn't allowed to use any of these things in the tournament – they were rewards he was expected to keep afterwards. Percy didn't like depending on external items either. A powerful weapon might be able to help him right now, but it would turn into a useless lump of metal as soon as he advanced. He would much rather claim rewards that permanently increased his strength, even if their immediate impact was lower.

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That said, the two still took their sweet time browsing through the shelves, examining anything that caught their eye. For Percy, it was a valuable opportunity to study the methods of actual demigods from a greater spring, giving him new ideas on how to improve his craft, or on what types of runes to purchase the next time he visited the Vault.

Even Kassorith seemed to enjoy this. This was obviously his first time participating in the tournament, so he'd likely never even seen so much quality equipment gathered in a single place.

It wasn't just weapons they found in the room. There was also a lot of protective gear, and even tools of convenience – like an enchanted flask that could produce drinking water while being fuelled by almost any common affinity – except fire. Its efficiency was terrible, but that didn't make it any less useful for a powerful mage who frequently travelled alone. They even saw a map of Thess'kala that could pinpoint and mark its own location in real time in the form of a blinking dot.

Percy found everything fascinating, but there were very few items that he was genuinely tempted to pick. Most notable was a pendant enchanted by an ancestor with a time affinity. Its effect was subtle and rather niche, yet it held a unique appeal for Percy. It could only be fuelled by certain mana types, but pure mana was luckily among them. While active, its enchantments slowed down the passage of time for its wearer by a modest ten percent, essentially giving it the opposite function to the Thirsty Valley or the Wiseman's Chamber.

That might not sound all that impressive – the effect was downright detrimental in many cases, since it would slow down the person's advancement speed and their ability to react to dangers in their surroundings. However, Percy knew it could be very useful for him, due to the way his clones worked. If he slowed his main body down for the rest of his life, his clones would effectively get a few extra centuries of travelling, allowing them to find more opportunities and treasures to bring back to Remior. It wasn't a lot, but those extra adventures could end up making the difference between Percy attaining godhood or dying of old age as a mortal.

'Sadly, I can't really use it right now…'

Percy was currently on the run – hunted by some of the most powerful noble Houses on Remior. He had to keep increasing his strength as quickly as possible, which was precisely why he'd chosen to sacrifice over a decade of opportunities to train inside Kronos's Decree. Besides, the pendant wouldn't even last very long. According to its description, it was only expected to remain functional for five to ten years, and Percy wouldn't have any way to repair or replace it without the correct materials or time mana.

With a heavy heart, he watched his host move to the next room. As interesting as the enchanted items were, it wasn't what they'd come here for. The second chamber was labelled "Property". Percy thought the category sounded a little odd, having no idea what to expect. Nevertheless, Kassorith entered the room enthusiastically – much more so than the last one. Not wasting any time, the Thess'kalan placed his palm on one of the enchantments, examining the first item on the shelf.

___

Gissari Town

Location:

Rathhalan Archipelago, Fermani Sea, North Hemisphere

Population:

407

Distribution:

48 Yellow-borns, 115 Orange-borns, 244 Red-borns

Military strength:

3 Blues, 15 Greens

Notable features:

Elastic Body Bloodline (34 Males, 41 Females), Iron Fang Bloodline (7 Males, 3 Females), Space Affinity (2 Males, 1 Female), Gravity Affinity (1 Female), No Overlap

Neighbouring Organizations:

Iron Fang Sect, Burning Glory Sect

___

'You can claim ownership of a whole town?! Just like that?!' Percy asked, dumbfounded.

'Of course. The people who enter this room are all elite disciples or grand elders. The whole planet essentially belongs to people like us. This is one of the best ways to find suitable servants or mating partners to build our dynasties with,' Kassorith replied with a shrug, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

'What about the people living there? Don't they get a say?' Percy asked again, his host's silence giving him his answer.

Seeing the Blue's nonchalance, Percy suddenly felt a lot better about the possibility of robbing this place clean. It appeared that Kassorith was far from the only scumbag on Thess'kala.

Sure, the way noble Houses on Remior governed over their provinces and towns wasn't all that different, but at least the commoners typically spent centuries under the same family's control – they weren't passed around from individual to individual on a whim, like commodities. When nobles invited Yellow-born commoners to their families, the latter were usually allowed to decline. It was an alluring offer for sure, but peasants were rarely forced into unwanted marriages. Evidently, Kassorith's people weren't as accommodating toward their weaker brethren.

'Why would anyone even claim this crap from the treasury? Leaving the morality of it aside, wouldn't they rather increase their own strength than waste their rewards on towns and servants?' Percy asked again, the whole thing leaving a bad taste in his borrowed mouth.

'Are you kidding? These are some of the most popular rewards,' Kassorith replied with a chuckle. 'Don't forget that the tournaments take place every year. The participants don't change nearly as frequently, so most of the elite disciples have many opportunities to pick what they want from the prize pool.'

As much as Percy hated to admit it, this made a lot of sense. Most of the other prizes were one-offs. Each Blue only needed a couple of rewards at most to permanently upgrade their affinities, and only a few pieces of equipment per decade. Even if most of them only won a single round every couple of years, they'd quickly amass all of those things. Other than limited-time opportunities – like the Ancestral Lineage Sect's ritual that was being offered this year – there wasn't much else for the most successful participants to spend their rewards on.

Even so, Percy didn't approve. 'Whatever… this is making my stomach churn. Just grab what you want from the last room and go.'

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