As his grand show slowly faded out of existence and established his prowess as a mysterious being that brought them here, Lukas started to evaluate them.
He looked at the one to the left.
“Septimus Corvus. General of the Undying Legion under the Golden Kingdom. Military genius at a young age and have slowly gained merits throughout your years as a soldier.”
“Your kingdom sure is lucky for you to be here.” His voice boomed, exposing the identity of the proud general.
Septimus who was awed at the spectacle before immediately became pale. His identity was known by this powerful and unknown individual. Were they an enemy?
The two people who stood to his left turned slightly towards him, their faces were blurry. Septimus could see the slight tremors that wracked their bodies.
He was ashamed to acknowledge the fact that this being looking down on them was incredibly intimidating.
Lukas continued and looked to the individual in the middle.
“Thearessa Hart. Hermit of the Northern Sea. Your thirst for knowledge had led you to become a recluse away from the kingdoms of man.”
“You’ll be glad to know I can provide you the means for you to keep looking for your answer.” He chuckled, the information written about her was quite interesting.
Thearessa immediately turned towards the being above them, her eyes wide. How did it know she was searching for something?
She then remembered her dreams from the night before and sweat filled her back.
Lukas finally looked at the last individual, the most composed one of the three.
“Jack Lantier. Scheming leader of the Dark Sun cult. After finding a leftover toy from another age, you gathered a plethora of gullible individuals to do your bidding under a false belief.”
“You’re incredibly clever, I do wonder how far you will go.” He didn’t really like this person, but he was chosen by the system. There must be something good about him.
Jack shivered as the words registered in his mind. He was shaking, not because of fear, but because this was a real deal god!
How else would it know about his history and the artifact he found? There was no other explanation.
Lukas nodded from his balcony, their backgrounds were strong enough to increase the Fate of the world. The system chose well.
Of the many people in the continent, it chose people who seemed to be well-traveled or had a great understanding of the world. By showing them the allure of Source, all their actions from this point forward would move the Fate of the world in a new direction.
Unfortunately for him, he waited a bit too long to choose the Champion candidates.
The current speed of his development was still too slow for the system’s liking it seemed.
Lukas continued his introduction to the three below him.
“The world’s natural energy, Source, has awakened from dormancy. You three show some promising potential to drag this stagnant world into a new era filled with mysticism and magic!”
“Of course… you can always deny this gift and discover it on your own.”
“If you accept, kneel. Otherwise, many others in the world are just as worthy.”
The silence that pervaded the venue below was laced with a sudden psychological pressure that invaded the minds of the three candidates.
To them, it was pure luck and happenstance that they were chosen to be here. This could be considered their fortune if they chose to accept. But what did it mean to kneel?
Bending one’s knees before an individual meant to be subservient to them and lowering your head to their power over you. To others, this specific point wouldn’t have mattered, but to individuals such as them who were respected individuals in their field, it was a slap across their face.
Lukas had deemed that all who enter this Eternal Library must pass his standard of testing. He was shaping the future of the world and didn’t want to introduce a singularity that couldn’t be predicted.
His gaze settled over the three figures in deafening silence.
------
Septimus stood resolutely, contemplating the choice he had been given. Enduring the gaze of the powerful individual that judged him from above.
There were many things to consider due to his status in the kingdom. It was well known in the Golden Kingdom that King Estial was cautious about all the people that served under him.
That was no surprise since the previous king died under an attempted coup by the nobles’ faction.
Septimus himself led the charge to cut them down under the orders of King Estial. However, this didn’t improve the relationship between him and the King. Instead, he was told to serve far away from the castle and lead the Undying Legion to capture and expand the kingdom’s land.
With the great power that was Source aiding him, completing this task would be much easier, but at the same time, it would only widen the gap between him and the King.
After some more thought… he made up his mind. His heart belonged to the kingdom.
------
Thearessa had a much more difficult time deciding whether to submit to the figure above.
She originally became a hermit and faded away from public view due to her disinterest in the politics involved in kingdom life. She wanted to seek answers for the unknown and to find out the history of the world.
Her techniques were enough to get her this far uninterrupted, but the limitless nature of Source as described by the being above enticed her.
It also offered her a way to get the answer she had been looking for.
If Source is a means to get more personal power, she would have to reconsider her status as a hermit. With her knowledge of the other two that shared the floor with her, they wouldn’t let her go until she joined their respective organizations.
Septimus had the backing of the Golden Kingdom and commanded a legion, while Jack was secretly the head of the infamous Dark Sun cult who had ears everywhere.
Being on the bad side of either or both would be detrimental to her personal goals, but Source still outweighed these reasons if it was as powerful as she thought.
The real difficulty was due to her visions. Every time she’s had one in the past, it’s always saved her life or warned of a great danger that she would face.
After looking around earlier, she was sure this was the room she saw in her dream and the being above her were the eyes that looked down on her.
The beastly aura was the only thing missing from the current scene.
After some time considering… she made her decision. Thearessa knew that indecisiveness wouldn’t allow her to stand where she was now, she had to remain resolute to her principles.
------
Jack was more or less ready to be a servant to the god before him.
When he first created the Dark Sun cult, it was mainly to retaliate against the churches and their righteous actions. The cult itself didn’t believe in a god that opposed the churches, but was named after an event that they claimed to be of “demonic origin”.
After he found the artifact that he now held, the conflicts between his organization and the churches have only escalated.
But the artifact was just an external tool that had limitations.
What would happen if he got the backing and power from a real god? Personal pride meant nothing if it meant the limits imposed by the tool could be shed.
To kneel was the basic etiquette in serving an all-powerful being.
Jack already did this in front of the artifact in hopes that it would speed up its recovery process after being used, so there would be no opposition if it meant personal power that can be used at any time.
His decision was made.
------
Lukas silently watched on as they contemplated their decisions. He gathered Source around him to help create the paved paths for these to-be Champions.
Before he knew it, three orbs of various colors had solidified in front of him. Each had a shadow of an image inside them.
He knew the images corresponded to each of the Champions' personalities and would ease them on their journey of magic.
While he admired the orbs in front of him, Lukas saw Jack kneel first, followed by Septimus and Thearessa. He silently cheered in his mind.
Fortunately, they made the correct decision and accepted, because the system didn’t explain what would happen to the orbs he made if they chose to not accept magic. Although he wasn't opposed to keeping them, Lukas doubted the system would allow him that kind of shortcut for personal power.
“You’ve all made a wise decision. When you’re ready, touch the orbs in front of you and be welcomed into the new world.”
He waved his hand and the orbs flew in front of their respective owners.
The red and gold orb filled with the image of a storm of swords floated in front of Septimus. He took a step back with wide eyes, the energy emitted by it was filled with just-under-control bloodlust.
A pale blue orb filled with an image of a beast with many eyes hovered towards Thearessa. Sweat started to cover her brows as the dreamed premonition reverberated through her head resonating with the tyrannical roar of the beast in the orb in front of her.
Black and gray intertwined to form the orb in front of Jack, a white humanoid image seemed to stare through his soul from within. He felt a sense of familiarity with the energy it gave off, but there was an unsettling feeling growing in the back of his mind as he continued to stare at it.
Lukas saw their hesitation and shook his head. They already accepted the power, it was up to them now to use and explore it.
On a better thought…
“Your time in the Eternal Library is nearing its end. The orbs will follow you back when you return to your original locations.”
The three seemed to snap out of the attention they beheld the orbs and all tried to say something.
“There is a library in a town at the foot of a mountain. Your questions can be answered there, it was the first place to notice the change after all.” Lukas continued and smiled at them.
Looking at the fledging champions of Source... he waved his hands and sent them back.
With a sigh, he sat on the desk behind him. Being an actor was incredibly exhausting.
Before his eyes, the Eternal Library was slowly devoured by the clouds and he felt the sensation of falling when they eventually converged upon his position.
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Nice. I feel like him having family doesn't add anything to the story. His motivation to become stronger comes from the system anyway. I like literally everything about this novel but the father.