After spending some more time in the chairman's room, Brand went out.

"Brand? How did it go?" Chairman Effroy saw him leave the room and walked right up to him.

"Uh, yes. I received a B-Class Power Badge, sir." Brand just made up a lie.

"Really? This is very good!" the chairman nodded contentedly.

"Sir, now if you'll excuse me…"

The chairman interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

"So what kind of power did you get?"

Brand did not respond for a short while.

"Uh… I can't say I've figured it out yet. I guess I'll need some time."

Chairman Effroy waved his hand. "Certainly! You must be very tired mentally, go and get some rest."

"Thank you, sir." Brand smiled and headed toward his room.

As he was about to approach the door of the dormitory, he heard an angry cough.

"Mrs. Adler?" When Brand looked in the direction of the sound, he saw the head worker of the orphanage scowl at him.

"I thought you'd come talk to me before you took the Test, brat!" Mrs. Adler kept her cold gaze on him.

Seeing that the boy across from her was looking at her with a confused expression, she rushed forward and punched him in the head.

"Ouch…"

Brand looked at her in surprise as he held his head.

"Stupid brat! You promised me, remember? Before taking the Test, you were going to talk to me and ask me to wish you luck, we were going to make a kind of totem with you!"

Mrs. Adler sighed reproachfully.

Brand's bewildered expression slowly began to turn into an emotional one. This woman was the one who took care of him and other children from infancy.

Seeing her again after such a long time warmed his heart. He took a step toward her and hugged her.

"I am sorry. I was so excited that I forgot to visit you. Here, I guess this hug will solve the problems between us, right?"

Mrs. Adler suddenly burst into laughter after giving him a strange look.

"You know how to win people over, you brat!"

Brand smiled.

Mrs. Adler stared at him for a while.

"Your face looks pale, and your eyes show that you are tired. Go and rest well! We'll talk about the details later."

"Alright!" After saying goodbye to her, Brand went straight to his room.

He couldn't even describe how he felt when he lay down on his bed tiredly.

He felt very tired mentally. He didn't want to think or do anything. However, he also had a unique excitement in his heart. If he could use the power he had acquired well, it would be very easy for him to reach his dreams in the future.

After staring at the ceiling for a while, he closed his eyes.

Soon, however, the last moments of the Test flashed before his eyes, and he opened his eyes uneasily. His expression became increasingly gloomy, as if he had aged in a matter of seconds.

"Everything will be different this time..."

****

When Ather entered the room, he found him by the window watching outside.

He rushed to him excitedly and asked. "How was it?"

"It's a B-Class." Brand shrugged.

Ather stared at him for a moment with a straight expression. Then his brows furrowed a little.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Ather threw one of his blackberries at his head, "What's wrong with you? How can you say that without excitement?"

"There is nothing to exaggerate." Brand shrugged.

"What the hell are you talking about!? People with B-Class power can easily become members of great clans." Ather did not understand how his friend could remain so calm.

Brand didn't say anything else.

"B-Class… So, you must have got two Arts." Ather sat on his bed.

Brand nodded.

"Tell me! What are these two Arts like?" Ather asked, clearly looking more excited than he was.

"I haven't figured it out yet. It's a bit confusing; it looks like I'll have to spend some time on it until I figure it out." Brand told him the same lie.

"And what type of power is yours?" Ather asked.

Brand paused a moment before answering. He didn't know what to say.

"Space."

"Space?" Ather tilted his head to the side. "What is that?"

Brand recalled that 14-year-old boys usually didn't know anything about space.

"I don't know either. Listen to me well, don't tell anyone about my power and its type, okay?"

Ather stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

Brand lay on his bed.

"Hey. How do you think Tuillisant can endow people with power?" Ather asked after a short silence.

"Haven't we talked about this many times before?" Brand rolled his eyes.

"Maybe. But we couldn't find an answer." Ather shrugged.

"Look, Ather. You've probably heard it before, but Tuillisant knows all about you. Believe me, this is true because, during the Test, it was fully aware of my fears and ambitions.

Brand straightened up and looked into his eyes.

"It knows everything and can give you power. What else do you think it could be?"

Ather shook his head.

"If it knew everything, how could it not have prevented the massive attack on it?"

Brand couldn't answer. His brows began to furrow a little more with each passing second.

Tuillisant had been attacked by an unknown organization in the past. As a result of this attack, the Holy Land was badly damaged.

During that attack, thousands of Holy Knights, whose primary purpose was to protect Tuillisant, lost their lives. After this attack, a substantial audience began to believe that Tuillisant had nothing to do with holiness. This attack was later called the Bloodsea Incident.

Brand didn't have a definitive answer to that. If Tuillisant was absolutely omniscient, why hadn't it thwarted that attack and protected the thousands of Holy Knights defending it and its reputation?

"There is someone filling your head with these questions, right?" Brand asked with a dark expression on his face.

Ather prepared to find an excuse, but when he saw his gaze, he realized he couldn't fool him.

"I have been listening to some speeches from an elder I have known for a while. He is actually someone who has made things similar to my dreams come true for himself. All his life, he has done research and sought answers to questions that have no answers."

"Who's that?" Brand asked.

"Forget this! I won't tell you, who knows if you won't go to him and argue that Tuillisant is a god?"

Brand sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Anyway. I'll be leaving here tomorrow."

"What!?" Ather suddenly turned. "So soon? I mean, where are you going?"

"I'm going to be a crazy geezer's apprentice." Brand replied with a strange smile on his face.

"Crazy geezer? Who is that?" Ather was looking at him confusedly.

Brand chuckled. "I met him a while ago. I'll introduce you to him someday; I'm sure you'll like him."

"Where does he live?" Ather asked.

"In Zenith Town." Brand replied.

He spent the rest of that day just lying down and trying not to think about anything, although it was unlikely.

The next day, he informed Mrs. Adler and Chairman Effroy that he was leaving the orphanage. Although they both opposed this idea and tried to persuade him to stay for a while, they were unsuccessful.

Brand thought he needed to go to Crazy Geezer Benson as soon as possible. In his past life, he had been found badly injured in the forest. Afterwards, he was healed by that geezer, and he remained with him as an apprentice for a while.

In the past, he had always regretted not having met him before. Although he learned a lot from him, he had to leave him before he could learn enough.

He spent a few more days there before leaving the orphanage. As in his previous life, Miss Adler and the others had organized a small party to bid him farewell. On his last night at the orphanage, delicious meals were prepared, and fun dances and games were arranged.

Although Brand actually had the consciousness and soul of an adult, he couldn't help but be amused and emotional that night. He knew very well that it is very difficult to find pure happiness and peace in life.

The next day, as he was about to leave the orphanage, Mrs. Adler and Ather were with him.

"Are you sure you will be safe?"

Mrs. Adler asked worriedly.

"Certainly." Brand smiled. "My destination is not far from here."

"And when will you come to visit us in the future?" Ather asked.

"I can't give an exact timeframe, but I'll come as soon as I can. Do not worry."

After spending some more time with them, Brand said goodbye and began his journey. He took with him nothing but a few silver coins Adler had given him, some dried meat, and a few pieces of clothing.

His expression became thoughtful as he reached into his pocket and picked up one of the silver coins.

Coins were the lowest rung of the trading system that dominated the markets. He recalled those times in the past, when he was still a child, when at first he could not understand how the system worked.

People in the world were basically divided into two different classes: Elites and Incompetents.

Some people would not receive Tuillisant's Blessing and would like to lead an ordinary life. Others would not be able to make the necessary progress after receiving the blessing and would fail to Level up. These people were called "Incompetents".

Either way, they would have to submit to and serve those who are stronger than them.

Trade among the Incompetents was usually done through barter and coins.

Those who fulfilled the quests given by Tuillisant and constantly sought a way to become stronger were called "Elite". Trade between them was based on the Kyril Crystals. These crystals were essential for all people who wanted to become stronger. Coins meant nothing to them.