One page after another. One algorithm after another. One possibility after another. Such was the quiet life we'd been leading for a few years. If getting back to the Refuge had been an obstacle course, fortunately, this had not been the case for getting to the theaters. In fact, we now had access to more privileges in the Refuge.

 

Level 2 Authorization gave us access to teleportation to the room entrances and staircase exits. Thanks to this, after struggling down the interminable stairs at the Refuge's entrance, we could teleport immediately to our main room. From there, we teleported again, this time to the Tree of Heaven in the center of the room.

 

In our current state, such a means of significantly reducing our walking distance was an invaluable boon. Even when we devised a spell to enable us to move our limbs properly again, this teleportation system would remain a significant asset in our quest for knowledge.

 

Indeed, we could move quickly from one authorized room to another, regardless of distance. This meant that even rooms previously inaccessible for years, decades, or centuries were now within our reach. Books in these far-flung places were ready to be plundered.

 

The information on the contents of the rooms on the map was more precise but still unusable. But that didn't matter because the most essential addition to the map was quite different: the Kingdoms to which the Refuge's exits led. What is a Kingdom, you ask?

 

Up until now, I'd always used the terms "lower world" and "upper world", but these were imprecise terms that could easily be confused with the World. That's why, now that we've come to the point where I've discovered the actual terms to use, I'm going to use the accurate terminology.

 

So, what is a Kingdom? It's a place where people belonging to certain Classes are gathered. For example, the Classless in the first city I visited belonged to the Kingdom of Slaves, also known as the Twelfth Kingdom of the World. I know it's not a very pleasant name when you put it like that. Nobody would really want to live there or even set foot there.

 

However, that's no longer my concern, as the Kingdoms are now just an artifact of the past, a bad memory. However, did I make the right choice? I don't know yet... And you, dear System, any ideas? Don't you like it when I talk to you like this? All right then, I'll make an effort. But give me a little more time. I still need to be ready to assimilate such Truth.

 

Ah, that's right, you've been listening to our personal conversation. Forget what you've heard then... Or not, since you mustn't understand any of this gibberish anyway. Besides, my successor, you're no stranger to all this. You have a right to know, even if it's still too early for such a revelation. After all, you need to understand the ins and outs of the World and the System.

 

So, let's resume our journey! The town I'd visited next was in the Kingdom of Low-Commoner, or the Eleventh World Kingdom. On the map, I could see Kingdoms with numbers much lower than those we'd visited. Even if I was missing the lowest numbers.

 

The entrance to these Kingdoms had to be in the rooms I still needed access to. The only conclusion that made sense was that the lower the Kingdom's number, the stronger the opponents. I couldn't even imagine the Kingdom with the lowest number. I shuddered at the very thought. Fortunately, I now knew which exit led to which type of Kingdom.

 

Come to think of it, we'd been lucky on our first jaunt. We could have entered a Kingdom filled with formidable people that not even Our Will could have saved us. Indeed, omnipotent as it seemed, it couldn't draw unlimited Void's energy. Since The Book had assimilated the mysterious book, the Void appeared strengthened.

 

Our Will could now tap into a wider pool of Void's energy. Nevertheless, even so, I doubted we'd be able to defeat opponents from Kingdoms higher than the Kingdom of Low-Commoner or even in this Kingdom. After all, we didn't know the strength of the highest-ranking humans there.

 

Above all, the more robust an individual proved to be, the more a barrier invisible to our senses protected them from the interference of Our Will. It was as if an entity wished to prevent us from subverting the World's Will and swallowing up the unfortunate souls who stood in our way. It wasn't hard to guess that it was the System, even if I couldn't say for sure.

 

As for their motives, I was even more uncertain. Was it because Our Will represented a supposed danger to this World from the System's point of view? Or... I turned my head frantically to the unfounded elucidations my mind was coming up with. It would have been better to return to more immediately helpful questions than to continue such unproductive thinking.

 

In any case, we were still too weak to even conceive of survival within the environments of the Kingdoms above the Eleventh Kingdom. So, wandering around there was out of the question unless an emergency forced us to do so. I chased away the bad feeling that was beginning to form inside me and concentrated on the mystery of the meaning of the Authorization level in the Refuge.

 

The link between the System, the Refuge, and Authorization was still a mystery, but I was no longer so anxious about this unknown. After all, I had other priorities for our immediate future. Although the latest System Notes have intrigued me, Their contents hardly wanted to leave my mind as if they wished to convey a message or challenge me on some crucial information.

 

Nevertheless, so much data with unknown meanings could revolutionize my conception of the World and the System if I ever understood it. I didn't know which part of these System Notes was essential. Mainly as my lack of Authorization absolutely restricted my access to sensitive information.

 

If only... I sighed wearily, contemplating my ignorance. While my curiosity went unsatisfied once again. Strangely enough, if I'd been at peace at the beginning of my daydreams, I was now prey to sadness and melancholy. If only I didn't have to endure such feelings... If only such emotions didn't seep into me so abruptly...

 

A Void's fleeting thought came to mind. Yes... Certainly... The Void is the solution to everything. I was satisfied to have reached such a swift and unmistakable conclusion for once. "The Void is indeed the fulcrum of my existence," I mused cheerfully as tears rolled down my cheek.

 

Unfortunately, I was unable to understand the nagging sadness that lurked deep within my ecstasy before the thought escaped me for good and, with it, the memory of its existence. It would only be much later that this idea would resurface in me, and that I would affix my conclusion to it, my interpretation of its Truth.

 

But for the time being, the only Truth I had to confront was something that had troubled me. Indeed, as a memory of one of my first conversations with my sister resurfaced, back when I had a disgusting physical body that didn't really belong to me, I could only ask myself, "Why?"

 

"My Apostle, you once told me about the conditions for obtaining a Class. Do you remember?"

 

My sister seemed surprised by my sudden question before stopping her reading of the pages and seeming to concentrate on the memory in question. But this only lasted about ten seconds before a smile appeared on her face, quickly replaced by a frown. Unquestionably, she must have come to the same conclusion as me. In any case, I didn't have to wait long to confirm my intuition.

 

"Yes, My Goddess, I remember that conversation very well. With your current level of Authorization, you've gone beyond what was possible in the Kingdom of Slaves. While this fact may seem incompatible with our present situation, please note that at the time, I said "Permission", not "Authorization". So there's nothing to say that my words remain true for Authorization. Either Class Up is impossible with Authorization, or–"

 

"I need to fulfill other conditions. In any case, My Apostle, it seems that Authorization has a more complex operation than Permission. That's probably why it was abandoned in favor of Permission. Although, on the other hand, it seems less stingy regarding information about the System than the latter."

 

I exhaled a brief sigh before plunging back into my thoughts. If I'd been vaguely right about what I said, I'd been totally wrong. Indeed, if Authorization had been replaced by Permission, it wasn't because of its complexity. After all, in my readings, Authorization worked admirably well for humans in ancient times.

 

No, the cause of the change was elsewhere, and in fact, it was not even due to the entity then called "System" at the time. Returning to our hypothesis of the increase in Class, it turned out to be accurate, although certainly not for the reasons I imagined at the time. After all, who said it was natural to fulfill several conditions? You can conclude what you like from this information, so let's get on with it!

 

"Either way, I had to wait and see if I could meet any other conditions. All the more reason for me to come and meet the Academicians", I convinced myself, desperately looking for an excuse to confront them. However, I had to cool my heels, as I hadn't yet found an exit leading to the Academy. I glanced briefly at the map, then sighed with discontent.

 

There were simply too many possible exits, even if I restricted myself to the Eleventh Kingdom. I was lucky it wasn't the Twelfth Kingdom that gave entry to the Academy. In fact, the latter had even more exits. It's more extensive than the Eleventh Kingdom. Were the kingdoms of more powerful individuals also smaller?

 

If so, there must have been far fewer people. I could only wonder at the severity of the selection. If people had more personal space each time they ascended to a new Kingdom, the choice appeared even more drastic, which strangely didn't comfort me.

 

After all, who could be confident that each Kingdom would have massively more talented humans in every aspect? The most problematic is intellect. The type of overpowered enemy in this field seemed far too dangerous to me. Much to my chagrin, my intuition told me this type of adversary would become more commonplace as I progressed through the Kingdoms.

 

This obvious fact only strengthened my resolve to equip myself with Skills to guard against this kind of adversary. Before embarking on this Skill, I considered arming myself with essential support and analysis Skills. Starting with the basics now seemed like a good idea for the day when we moved up a Class and faced more educated enemies.

 

Indeed, I didn't know the role of the Academy, but a part of me, a remnant of my memories from yesteryear, urged me to conceive that those accepted there would have access to more knowledge. In particular, I want knowledge of strategy and how to fight. Plus, of course, an apprenticeship in the art of magic.

 

What's more, these Skills would still be helpful even for our battles before that date. Especially if we were moving into an unfamiliar and probably the most perilous place since my awakening. I also considered converting some spells into Skills. However, the number of skills I could create was limited, primarily because of my recent discovery.

 

By dissecting the Skills mechanism, I realized there was a link between the number of Skills and the level of Authorization. Unfortunately, I could only cope with this annoying limitation. I hoped one day to find a way to overcome this restriction, even if I wondered about its meaning and the intention behind its introduction.

 

I certainly had to find the answer before that day so as not to end up in a rash action with dramatic consequences. I jotted down this resolution in my mind, hoping not to forget it before the fateful day, before returning to my earlier reflections. During my research, Level 1 Authorization allowed me to obtain two or three skills at most.

 

In fact, as one of my skills was unanalyzable, I was curious to know if it was counted correctly. After all, my Status, thanks to Safe Mode, could function despite the many variables unanalyzable by the System. Even if it did cause bugs and unexpected behavior, in addition to the excessively minimalist, ugly Status window that lacked the extra functions offered by Normal Mode.

 

As for Level 2 Authorization, my estimates were four to five skills. Although I was less sure of my deduction than for level 1, due to the evolution towards complexity that the algorithms underwent with each additional level of Authorization, the difference, in any case, was two skills.

 

So, my ordeal had only just begun. Indeed, the most challenging stage was yet to come. I had to sort through all the skills I wanted to possess. Since I doubted I could remove any skill by means internal to the System, I had to think long and hard about which skills would be suitable for inclusion in my arsenal.

 

I could only sigh with exhaustion at the long brainstorming sessions ahead. But, to my immediate benefit, that wasn't my concern just yet. For the moment, I had a question about an intriguing thought to ask. I waited patiently for the answer, as it had the potential to severely alter the way I would approach Systalia's growth.

 

Therefore, in a tone betraying all my impatience, I simply asked: "Tell me, My Apostle, in your opinion, will you ride Class with me?"

 

Her expression of incomprehension appeared, only to be replaced a little longer by surprise and shock. In the end, her face sketched a mysterious smile briefly before returning to a neutral expression.

 

"First, I'd like to apologize to you, My Goddess. On the day you gained Level 2 Authorization, I should have asked you about the evolution of my Status. In fact, on that day, my Permission increased by one level. As we were in a pickle following the use of your power, I had forgotten this information. Especially since, with the shock of the events we'd been through, I had other thoughts. After that, I was entirely focused on runes and algorithms. So much so that I didn't think of discussing it afterward. At least, not until you reminded me now."

 

My sister was preoccupied with other thoughts, eh. Unfortunately, I knew the source of this distraction: it was me. My action, which had deeply upset her when she hadn't expected me to react in the end, had plunged her into thought. I can't blame her because I was also astonished by my actions. I was content to remain silent, letting her continue her speech.

 

"In any case, to answer your initial question, I think so. Our Statuses are correlated in their evolution, even if I don't understand why. My only certainty is that it has something to do with our link since my resurrection. You probably have more information on this subject than I do, My Goddess."

 

Indeed, I understood the reason a little better than my sister. Or at least, I had better hypotheses, although I had no concrete proof. So I agreed with her. In fact, I was a little anxious for her to admit to me that the answer was no, as I had no solution in this case. Of course, we could both be wrong about our intuitions.

 

However, the only way to be absolutely sure of an answer was to wait for the day of our Class increase and the change of our assigned Kingdom. Suddenly, I felt the urge to read seeping into me as if to chase away the anguish of waiting for that day, which could put a definitive end to our ascent if we had misjudged it.

 

"Always putting off problems" I thought wryly. No words were strong enough to express my self-loathing at this unsavory part of myself. Worst of all, I wasn't even changing this facet of my personality, no matter how much I realized it would be detrimental to me one day. To my horror, I wasn't wrong in this prediction.

 

Before resuming our reading of the Grimoires, I still had a speech to make. Indeed, I could tell by the look on my sister's face that this failure to report crucial information was worrying her a little. But she had nothing to worry about. I wouldn't hold it against her. I didn't dare finish that thought, fearing what I might discover.

 

So I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice as soft as possible:

 

"My Apostle, you're not the only one at fault here. I know exactly what you're thinking, so I'm partly to blame. Before you reply, please know that this is how I see things. I won't accept any other truth than this one. Besides, it doesn't matter if the omission is true and not invented as an excuse. As far as I'm concerned, as long as it's not an oversight that could lead to our death, I consider the fault to be slight. If it even exists in the first place."

 

Systalia remained silent, despite the end of my words, as if they had had no impact on her concerns. Yet I could now detect a slight smile on her face as her shoulders seemed to relax. In any case, it was time to dive back into these fascinating books to discover all the mysteries of magic... and the System.

 

Indeed, while the Grimoires didn't teach us spells directly, they did teach us the basics of magic and how to write algorithms, which seemed more desirable in the long term. It's true that I had a hard time creating spells and that they were simple enough. Nevertheless, I understood them perfectly.

 

I knew the meaning of every piece of information and how all the data was interwoven. On the other hand, I wondered whether the Academicians learned magic in such detail. Indeed, given their lifespan, I couldn't imagine them being able to perform any spells fabulous enough to increase their Class. I wondered about the nature of their studies at the Academy.

 

Of course, I knew little about the power requirements to survive in combat with opponents of a higher Class level. Nevertheless, understanding spells would take a lot of work to arrive at satisfactory spells. That's why I concentrated on spells that made the most of their environment since the algorithms were simpler to implement.

 

Especially as we had a limited amount of mana. A mana reserve all the more encroached upon by the body control spell we were working tirelessly to create. The only research I allowed myself in parallel was handling the revolver. Indeed, my Authority level was now sufficient to use its power.

 

As soon as the movement control spell was ready to be used, we could explore the Refuge's various exits. Although this mission aimed to get us into the Academy, we'd use the opportunity to use our spells and gather a little energy for the Skills.

 

After all, I needed a lot of energy to create and upgrade existing ones. On top of that, we also needed to increase our mana reserves. Indeed, on several occasions, our reserves had increased thanks to the repeated use of spells. Here was our busy schedule for the next twelve years.

 

And so I thought about the future, not without a touch of apprehension. Of course, in reality, I was mostly confident. Indeed, my runic magic apprenticeship was progressing, and I was achieving success after success in my preparations. The situation had been so favorable to me that I unconsciously let my guard down by underestimating the real dangers of the Academy, as well as overestimating my preparations.

 

Unfortunately, this imprudence would be my undoing and saddle my fate. After all, the day's excursion into the Academy would remain in my memory forever, as it was the first time I understood what it meant to fight someone superior in every way... or almost.

 

Yet, despite the trauma that day had caused me, it was also the first to free me from a fear I'd been carrying since I woke up... and to give me a glimpse of my past.

 

That's why I'll forever and ever thank this day for taking place.