While Vanadir was savoring the feeling of finally transitioning into a Rank 3 Cla.s.s, allowing him to have more power in fighting for the position of the throne, an Inanimate being was currently listening to an explanation regarding a position quite similar one would get as they are throned.
Within the Area 52 Inheritance.
"With the key you are holding, you shall be opened to another path towards great power, the path of becoming a Ruler!" a majestic voice resounded throughout the room where Aurus was.
"Of course, you don"t become a Ruler in an instant, the key is only one step forward to becoming a Ruler, allowing you to be recognized by the inheritance and regard you as a Ruler candidate."
"But the keys have different levels as well, pertaining to the rank of candidacy you have before fully starting the path of a Ruler. A white key gives you the t.i.tle of a Lesser Ruler candidate, while a gold key givss you the t.i.tle of a 1st Cla.s.s Ruler candidate!"
"Trust me on this inheritor, once you become a Ruler, you won"t regret the choice!"
After the majestic voice was finished with its monologue, Aurus fell into silence, absorbing all of the information given by the voice, as well as organizing them in a way where he could understand what obtaining the gold key entailed in a clearer manner.
"So this key I"m holding with my energy tendril is a key that would allow me to access a path towards ultimate power called a Ruler," Aurus said to himself as he continued to process the information.
"Ruler...measuring stick?" As he became fixated around the word "Ruler", he could not help but think becoming a Ruler is just becoming a measuring stick. He had the idea that becoming a longer ruler would elicit greater power or something.
Eventually, he thought of the word as other than a measuring stick, coming to the question, "What is a Ruler, to be exact?"
"I"m glad you asked, Inheritor," the majestic voice surprisingly responded to Aurus" question.
"Holy f.u.c.k, the inheritance answered." Aurus was visibly startled...if standing still in place was the act of being startled.
"There"s nothing wrong with asking questions about this, Inheritor," the majestic voice continued to talk as it noticed that Aurus did not expect for it to talk back. "Unlike this inheritance, us Rulers are still alive and well, allowing us to dynamically answer each and every question you might ask."
"Anyways, to answer your question, a Ruler is a being that stands above other beings in their own field. In other words, they rule above everyone else in the same field, which gives them the t.i.tle of Rulers."
"There are Rulers of a craft, Rulers of a weapon, Rulers of an element, and so on, and so forth," the majestic voice explained to Aurus. "Speaking of which, I"m the Inheritance Ruler, and this isn"t the only inheritance in this plane that gives inheritors a chance to become a Ruler."
"Hmm..." Aurus processed the given information for a few seconds before replying with a question. "Can an inheritor choose not to become a Ruler?"
"Oh?" The majestic voice could not help but chuckle. "You"re the first one to ask such a question, but yes. If the inheritor does not really want to become a Ruler, perhaps for reasons such as finding a better t.i.tle of power like a Dominator or Overseer, then one can reject."
"But they do not know that becoming a Ruler first would allow them to become a Dominator or Overseer far faster than not accepting the t.i.tle." As the Inheritance Ruler answered Aurus" question, a hint of killing intent could be felt coming from the voice, making Aurus feel pressured.
Nonetheless, with a Soul Power of 188, Aurus was able to endure such pressure, asking another question. "Does having a higher ranked key mean anything? I have a golden key right here and I have a feeling that it won"t really do much if it only gives you a chance to become a Ruler."
"A golden key, eh?" The Inheritance Ruler chuckled, replying with, "For key holders of a lower rank, say iron and bronze key holders, they must go through a trial first before becoming a bona fide Ruler. Not only that, they"ll have to go through multiple steps first called the Rise of n.o.bility to truly become a Ruler."
"As for you, inheritor, you can skip all of these and choose a Ruler of your liking, not needing you to go a trial and the Rise of n.o.bility. Any ruler will accept you with open arms, but they"ll still guide you along the way as there are ranks among Rulers."
"Ranks? What kind of ranks?" Aurus could not help but ask after the Inheritance Ruler mentioned the word.
"There are four Ruler ranks: Earthbound, Skybound, Heavenbound, and Voidbound Rulers," the Inheritance Ruler started to explain.
"Earthbound Rulers are those that excel in an extremely specific field, may it be a craft, element, or whatever. A great example of an Earthbound Ruler would be the Ruler of Seed Planting."
"Skybound Rulers are a step above Earthbound Rulers as they encompa.s.s a greater field than them. Using the Ruler of Seed Planting as the previous example, the Ruler of Harvest would be the example for this level."
"Heavenbound Rulers are of course even better than Skybound Rulers, encompa.s.sing an extremely vast field that could even encroach over multiple Skybound fields. Not only that, becoming a Heavenbound Ruler is equivalent to becoming a Junior Dominator, which makes it easier for one to transition. Following the agricultural examples, the Ruler of Agriculture is the example for this one."
"And lastly, Voidbound Rulers. This is the strongest position one can achieve as a Ruler, being equivalent to a Dominator and an Underworld Overseer in terms of rank. These Rulers encompa.s.s over multiple Heavenbound fields at once, which means they excel in many things. In this case, the Ruler of Botany would be our example."
"Does that make everything clearer to you? Also, I"m a Skybound Ruler, just so you know." After explaining the ranks, the Inheritance Ruler asked Aurus to see if he understood.
"Mm, it makes a whole lot of sense," Aurus responded. "Since you told me that any Ruler would be willing to accept me with open arms, does that mean that I can choose to be accepted by Heavenbound and Voidbound Rulers?"
Although Aurus wanted it to be the case, he would be alright with having a Skybound Ruler at the very least to guide him in becoming a Ruler. But surprisingly, the Inheritance Ruler said yes to the question.
"Yes, that"s the benefit of becoming a 1st Cla.s.s Ruler candidate. Any kind of Ruler would accept you with open arms, no matter what."
"If that"s the case..." Aurus" mind then started turning gears, thinking about the best Ruler to learn under. While he was thinking about what Ruler to choose, the thought of the Genesis Seed System surfaced in his mind.
"Speaking of which, I haven"t decided on a type yet," Aurus thought to himself. "Would a Ruler guiding me be able to speed up the growth process of the seed?"
And with that, Aurus asked one more time, "Just to make sure, I can choose any Ruler I want, right?"
"Yes," the Inheritance Ruler replied.
"Even if the Ruler I choose to be doesn"t really suit my current self?"
"Mhm."
"Well then, that makes things easier." Aurus chuckled as he followed up with another question.
"What Ruler rank does the Ruler of s.p.a.ce have?"
"Uh... let"s see..." The Inheritance Ruler took a few seconds to ponder over its answer, responding not long after with, "Heavenbound."
"Then what Ruler is higher than the Ruler of s.p.a.ce?" Surprised that the Ruler of s.p.a.ce wasn"t the highest rank, Aurus asked.
"Ruler of the Void," The Inheritance Ruler succinctly answered.
"Then I choose to learn under the guidance of the Ruler of the Void," Aurus replied afterwards.
Rather than refuting Aurus" decision, the Inheritance Ruler just accepted it. "Alright then, it"ll take a few seconds for your position as a Subst.i.tute Ruler of the Void to be official, so please wait."
And with that, the Inheritance Ruler did not talk afterwards. Aurus did not worry about something bad happening to the Inheritance Ruler, hence he waited.
It took a minute for some action to happen, with a voice resounding throughout the room once more. This time though, it was a voice filled with the chilling aura of the void.
"Inheritor, do you truly wish to excel in the path of the Void and become its Ruler?" the chilling voice asked.
Without hesitation, Aurus answered, "Yeah, got any problem with that?"
"No, not really." Rather than being surprised by Aurus" answer, the chilling voice just brushed it off.
"With the power vested in me, you, the inheritor, shall now be deemed as a Subst.i.tute Ruler of the Void. In order to raise your standing in becoming a Ruler of the Void, you must first comprehend and expound to at least Peak Mortal level the skills I"m abiut to give you."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Hearing the multiple notification sounds resounding, Aurus opened his notification screen.
"You have received the t.i.tle [Subst.i.tute Ruler of the Void]. This t.i.tle shall be applied on the user permanently until it is replaced by a greater t.i.tle or if the user wishes to not apply the t.i.tle."
"You have received the pa.s.sive Ruler skill, [Void"s Grace]."
"You have received the hybrid Ruler skill, [Movement of the Void]."
"You have received the hybrid Ruler skill, [Wrath of the Void]."
"You have received the hybrid Ruler skill, [Protection of the Void]."
"You have received the hybrid Ruler skill, [Formless Void]."
"Very nice." Aurus looked at the skills that were given to him and from the names alone, they seemed to be pretty strong. While Aurus was still looking at the skills, the chilling voice then said, "I wish you good luck in enhancing your understanding of all of these skills. For now, this is farewell."
Whoos.h.!.+
And without even being able to say goodbye or thank you to the Ruler of the Void, Aurus was transported out of the Area 52 Inheritance at the very instant the Ruler of the Void was finished talking.
"Ain"t that rude," Aurus could not help but say as he travelled through the void.
"I wanted to say thank you, but with what you did..."
"You deserve more of a f.u.c.k you."