Chapter 47 Balance and Suspicion part 1 – Cassis

  After discussing their professions, Cassis and Arianna decided to test their effectiveness over the week of training the soldiers. Arianna insisted that Cassis participate in her lessons. He was honestly reluctant to voluntarily get her lessons, but he also saw the benefit of them, so he agreed—but only on the condition that she joined his training sessions as well. She seemed to force herself to accept, too.

  With that settled, they agreed to revisit the topic tomorrow to evaluate their progress and how to best level the professions.

  Then, they moved on to their next task: writing down ‘revelations’ from Sapphire. They noted down that there would be a total of seven waves:

  1st wave: Many F-rank and some E-rank monsters

  2nd wave: Adding some D-rank monsters

  3rd wave: Adding some C-rank monsters

  4th wave: Adding some B-rank monsters

  5th wave: Adding some A-rank monsters

  6th wave: Adding some S-rank monsters

  7th wave: Probably a lot of S-rank monsters (though Cassis could only speculate on this, as he hadn’t lived through the final wave).

  Arianna then asked Cassis. “Should we include the details of the 7th wave and the fact that the next wave will be triggered by the rising ambient mana concentration. According to the scientists in the other timeline, the 2nd wave happened because the ambient mana hit a threshold.”

  Cassis thought about it and made his points for not sharing it. “We should only write down what we know for sure. So, let’s exclude the details of the 7th wave. The same goes for the requirements for triggering the next wave. We cannot be 100% sure the theory of the other timeline is correct, though it does make sense. You’ve seen yourself that awakeners and according to the popular theory every creature – monster, mutated animal or mutated plant – that uses mana emit mana once it gains sentience. F-ranks only emit a tiny amount of mana, but E-ranks emit a lot more. And don’t get me started on even higher ranks. The amount emitted seems to vary slightly within the ranks due to mana saturation and class, but it was deemed a negligible difference compared to rank.”

  Cassis then continued. “Revealing this information might discourage people from levelling up and evolving, which could be dangerous in the long run. And anyways, the ambient mana concentration will naturally increase over time causing not only the mutation of our animals and plants but also later on the spawning of new monsters. We need to find some kind of balance between becoming stronger, evolving and triggering a wave. In the other timeline it took almost four years to trigger the second wave as many people were too traumatized by the first wave and only wanted to get on with the life they had known. They didn’t level, only some would go into dungeons or fight against dungeon breaks. It’s why we suffered even more during the second wave: half of the remaining population died. After that everyone started levelling and evolving like crazy which triggered the third wave just a year later. We weren’t prepared for it and even more people died. And so, the cycle of levelling, evolving and triggering a wave started.”

  Recounting it Cassis felt it really was a depressing story. Just how could they change anything? If people levelled and evolved too fast a new wave would be triggered before they were sufficiently prepared. But if they levelled to slowly, they wouldn’t be strong enough for the wave that would eventually come naturally.

  Then, suddenly, Arianna looked at him with widened eyes as if a thought struck her. She even made an “Ah” sound and her expression shifted as she said, "What if we encourage more people to train their skills, spells, and features? Just look at us—we’re far stronger than typical F-ranks, just because we use our abilities well. Of course, our titles help too, but I think my theory still stands. If more people master their abilities early, they’ll have a better chance of surviving when they eventually start levelling up and evolving. This would lead to a more stable overall growth of the population. They would then also get more evolved advanced classes and not be able to evolve too quickly. This would force them to concentrate even more on strengthening their abilities."

  Cassis thought it through and came to the conclusion the idea had merit. If people could first safely learn about their abilities and grow them, and only after that start to fight for their lives the survival rate and overall strength of awakeners would rise without them emitting too much mana into the atmosphere.

  He then pointed out that their new professions might be invaluable for such an approach. Arianna agreed, appearing pleased at the prospect of breaking the cycle of levelling, evolving, and triggering waves in rapid succession. Cassis could only hope it would work.

  Both of them were excited for their new idea but it was also exhausting just thinking of how to do it, how to make everything work out in their favour.

  People in general weren’t stupid. But a person would almost always choose actions that benefited them and/or their loved ones, sometimes their close communities. That’s why people had made governments. It was almost impossible for an individual to make decisions that benefited a whole nation as way too many aspects needed to be thought of, and information needed to be gathered in a volume that one person couldn’t manage.

  That’s why they had such a hard time in the other timeline. The government had been great after the first wave, Cassis had to admit it. But they hadn’t had any information about the waves. They had known that the apocalypse had started with the first wave, implying that at least a second would follow. But they hadn’t known when or why. This had led to inaction which cost them dearly.

  Cassis knew that he was only thinking about how to make others stronger now because he was sure, they wouldn’t be able to survive alone as the monsters would become too strong. He had survived alone only because Arianna had been there as his patron.

  Without her he wouldn’t even have managed to survive long after the first wave. The double headed snake he had encountered when he had tried to forage food for the first time had almost killed him. Only with Arianna’s help had Cassis survived.

  This time he didn’t just want to survive; he wanted to thrive together with his loved ones. And so, the only option was to make humanity stronger. Only this way they would be able to withstand the waves, mutated creatures and monsters.

  And now he and Arianna had the information that was necessary to take actions towards that goal. They couldn’t tell the larger population as this would cause panic and anarchy. Everybody would try to level and evolve as fast as possible to survive. It had happened in the other timeline after the theory of the cause of the waves had come out. Cassis had done so himself, not realizing that they were dooming themselves by not pacing themselves and helping their ‘weaker’ fellow humans.

  Cassis snorted. Those people had only been weaker because they were more suited to a crafting profession. Many had later taken on professions like blacksmith, leatherworker, fletcher, enchanter etc. They had given up on levelling in order to support the stronger fighters. The class level awarded to them every five profession levels was not enough for them to compete with the pure fighters just to survive for a bit against monsters until the fighters arrived. But the fighters wouldn’t have been nearly as efficient without the gear they got from the crafters. As in so many things they needed balance for fighters and crafters and other support professions.

  Another reason against announcing the theory was that they didn’t know any exact formulas of how much mana is emitted by the different ranks. He had only been interested in what these facts meant for him rather than how the mechanics worked.

  Still, maybe they could get the Bristols to get some regulations for awakeners that would help them keep balance. And they could hopefully use their fame to encourage people to train their abilities first.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Having come this far in their discussion Cassis and Arianna agreed to leave this topic aside for now and continue thinking of other things to include in the ‘revelations’ and the basic knowledge.

  So, Cassis sat in quiet contemplation, his thoughts still involuntarily lingering on the possibility of breaking the cycle of levelling, evolving, and triggering the waves. It was an ambitious goal—one that might just save countless lives. Yet, as he mused over the long-term consequences of the increasing ambient mana, his mind drifted to another, far more immediate concern: shortages.

  It wouldn’t just be food. Every imported good would be affected, and the impact would vary across the seven continents, each nation reliant on different resources. His own country, highly industrialized, had always depended on grain and other essential food supplies from abroad. They were not self-sufficient.

  Once the animals of the sea mutated enough to pose a threat to ships, and the animals of the sky evolved into dangers to aircrafts, supply lines had collapsed. Food shortages had turned into outright famine, and his homeland suffered greatly. With exports cut off, the economy had spiralled downward, leaving millions in desperation.

  In the other timeline, Cassis had quickly adapted. He had learned to forage, to track, to hunt—not just animals, but monsters as well. His skills in these areas became so refined over the 10 years he spent with Arianna as his patron that he had advanced both the Forager and Hunter professions to level 100 – the level cap for professions.

  When the famine had deepened, when the government had resorted to slave collars and the so-called free cities had devolved into lawless zones of crime, he had left civilization behind.

  The wild places—the forests, the mountains—had become his home. There, he hadlearned to build shelters against the elements and the threats lurking in the shadows. His Builder profession, too, had reached level 100 over the years. And then, when all three of his professions had peaked, the system had given him the option to fuse them.

  He had taken it.

  The Survivalist profession had been his salvation, a path that ensured he remained alive when so many others perished. But he did not want that future again. He did not want to see cities fall, people starve, or nations crumble under the weight of their own unpreparedness. This time, they needed to anticipate the shortages before they came.

  "We need to include something else in Sapphire’s revelations," he said, breaking the silence. He turned to Arianna, his expression grave. "The seas, forests, mountains, and skies will all become dangerous. Supply chains will suffer because of it."

  Arianna absorbed his words, nodding slowly. "Clerics with elemental barriers, maybe mages who learn similar spells, could provide protection for ships and planes, maybe even trains and trucks," she mused. "But there won’t be many who can rank up their magic fast enough to make a difference. Not in time."

  Cassis sighed. "Then all we can do is warn them. Let the government handle the logistics. This is something they have experience in and something that people can actively prepare for. Our role is to teach and to prepare as many people as possible. And of course, to become strong enough that our words hold weight. Let’s put the information out there. Maybe some people will start farming. I’ll definitely warn my family and tell them we need to buy crop seeds."

  Arianna agreed. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And right now, even small steps toward a better future mattered.

  She then let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “Imagine us becoming farmers to save people during the apocalypse.” She looked thoughtful. “I think I actually read a novel about that some time ago.”

  Cassis smirked at the thought, but she continued before he could respond. “I don’t know the first thing about farming. Maybe we should get some books on it while we still can. The internet will stop working after the second wave, and by the third, telephones and most other electrical devices will be useless.” She paused, her expression growing more serious. “Actually, we need to include that in the ‘revelations’ too.”

  Cassis nodded. “Good idea. The less people are caught off guard, the better.”

  They continued throwing around ideas, debating what to include and what to leave out. In the end, they both agreed that the ‘revelations’ needed to be short and precise. If even a single piece of false information was spread under Sapphire’s name, it could cost them their credibility. And trust, once lost, would be nearly impossible to regain.

  Next, they shifted their focus to the basic knowledge section.

  “We need to include the four basic classes people can choose at level five, as well as the party system,” Cassis said, tapping his fingers against his knee in thought. “Then there’s the fact that people can get an advanced class at level ten. But we’re not telling them any specifics about the requirements.”

  Arianna nodded in agreement. “That would count as advanced knowledge—something for paying members. Besides, we just decided that we don’t want people evolving too quickly. The more high-rank awakeners, the faster the ambient mana will rise.”

  “Exactly.” Cassis leaned back against his chair. “We need people to advance their features, skills, and spells first. One, to ensure they qualify for better advanced classes, and two, to make them stronger without forcing an early evolution.”

  That was the goal now—to guide people toward strength in a way that wouldn’t accelerate the coming disasters.

  Arianna tapped her pen against her notebook. “Mrs. Ranislav also suggested we include that, from level five onwards, people will reverse age until they reach their early thirties at level twenty. And illnesses should be completely healed by level ten.”

  Cassis nodded. That was an important piece of information. The changes in the body were bound to cause panic otherwise and for some those changes would be life saving. He took a quick glance at Arianna to see if she was ok with the topic. He thought back about her talking to the Ranislavs about her father’s illness. She had gone through her own personal apocalypse back then and she had done so alone. She hadn’t shared her burden with him.

  But Arianna seemed fine, and he didn’t want to remind her of the topic if she was trying to stay strong.

  They continued compiling notes, refining what should go into the basic knowledge section.

  Then, suddenly, Arianna’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Oh, I just got a text from Elena.” She quickly skimmed the message before looking up at Cassis. “The social media profiles are doing well. And she still wants us to meet with the journalists.”

  Cassis groaned, running a hand through his hair. “We’ll talk to Brice about it tomorrow. I really don’t want to talk with him, but you shouldn’t be alone with him.”

  Arianna glared. “I know that he is dangerous but right now I’m pretty strong and I do know how to handle myself.”

  He chuckled. “Really? Because Miss ‘I can handle myself’, you totally broke character.”

  Arianna looked at him questioningly, even asking. “Huh?”

  He laughed a little. “Don’t you remember how Helen and I had you use the Intimidation Blessing and then told you to just smile during our first meeting with Brice and his people? We wanted to paint you as the mastermind to see how Brice would react. And it worked beautifully. They were really disturbed by you.”

  Arianna was still looking at him, confused.

  He explained. “Alright, now think of it from Brice’s perspective: The intimidating smiling but silent woman from his first meeting is suddenly a charming young woman who seems harmless and is very sociable. That would throw anyone into confusion and suspicion.”

  Arianna finally looked like she understood. “Oh.” She put her hands over her face. “Why didn’t you remind me how to act?”

  Cassis continued while occasionally laughing. “For exactly that reason. We have to keep him on his toes. It would be normal for me to be the intimidating one. But you? The kind of personality you have shown here suits your image better. But Brice doesn’t know who the real you is, so he will be very careful around you.”

  Then he groaned. “That is probably why a young civilian woman who seems to be a social butterfly was suddenly assigned to Brice.”

  Something in his tone must have caught Arianna’s attention because she gave him a serious but questioning look. Before she could ask, he voiced his thoughts. “Faith could be a spy sent by Brice or the government to infiltrate our circle and gain our trust. You need to be careful when dealing with her. Her interest in you is suspicious.”

  Arianna thought about it before answering. “Ok, I didn’t think of that. I only thought that maybe by getting close to Faith I could keep tabs on Brice. She’s his assistant, after all. It seemed like a permanent position. And they looked close judging by her behaviour around him and the way she talked about him.”

  Cassis was surprised she had come up with something like that on her own. Then he scolded himself. Arianna wasn’t some innocent little girl. Though she was overly optimistic and positive she wasn’t someone who didn’t take reality seriously. “It could work but it might be dangerous. You have to be very careful, and I don’t want you to meet her alone anywhere not public.”

  Arianna looked annoyed and started speaking but he interrupted her. “I know you don’t like it when I tell you to do things. But please Ari, listen to me. I’m not trying to forbid you from doing anything. I just want you to be careful and to talk to me about your plans.”

  Arianna looked at him and smiled so damn sweetly his heart ached. “Alright,” she said in a gentle tone. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  With that conversation ending they went to sleep. Cassis had a single bed in his room, narrow but manageable. Arianna had her own room, but she made no move to leave. There was no discussion about it—just quiet acceptance as they adjusted, shifting slightly to make space for each other. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but neither of them minded.