Agent047
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682 - The Meeting (02)
🕑 Added 2024-08-08 05:59:43 +0000 UTCSeeing the room still in silence, indicating their curiosity for more details, Aron decided to elaborate.
“I received what you call a blessing a few years before the formation of the empire,” he began. “This gave me the opportunity to delve into the study of mana well before it became widely known. Coupled with my company’s advancements in quantum computing and VR, I had access to time acceleration and advanced simulation capabilities.
These technologies allowed me to effectively spend centuries, alongside my AI assistant, developing and refining the system from the ground up. We went through countless trials and errors, and I personally experienced many failures, including several catastrophic ones, before mastering the basics and discovering how to harness mana for various effects.”
Aron’s explanation was a blend of truth and strategic omission. He carefully avoided mentioning that he had acquired foundational knowledge from the system and that his wife’s and his citizens' awakening was the reason he bought it in the first place, since he couldn’t use magic in that way and could only harness mana through runes that he had already bought previously.
Although Rayyan and the tree folks were surprised by the explanation, it couldn't compare to the shock Ayaka and Lee felt. They had always believed that the foundational knowledge of mana was the result of collective efforts by many knowledgeable individuals who analyzed awakeners and used simulations to discover the basics and teach others.
But now they were learning that all the foundational work had been done by the Emperor alone, over centuries spent by himself. This revelation greatly increased their respect for the Emperor, which was already immense to begin with.
“Does that mean you discovered the means to use mana of all different affinities?” Crabapple asked, his curiosity yet to be satiated.
“Not all of them,” Aron responded. “My experiments focused on finding the basic means of harnessing mana and creating foundational formulas for its use. These foundations allow others to develop more complex formulas as they make new discoveries about mana. Most awakeners manifest with specific affinities and are more efficient in using magic related to those affinities. While they can use magic from other affinities, it comes with significant penalties, such as increased mana consumption and complexity in understanding. This specialization means that they can further research within their specific affinities, and with the number of awakeners, there are more chances for advancements.”
“Then how come we feel no specific mana affinities from both of you despite both of you releasing what can be said to be an aura of awakeners? Although there are some of our children who release an aura similar to yours, yours feel fainter, almost on the verge of disappearing, something we would have missed had we not focused our senses on you two.” Mangrove asked taking over from his fellow tree folk.
“That is because we have no specific affinities,” Rina responded dropping the bombshell.
“Although rare, there are a few who have no affinity to specific mana, which makes it easier for us to learn any specific affinity of mana or maybe even all of them, if you can handle learning all of them.
As for why you almost didn't feel it from us, it is because we are actively suppressing it.” She explained, as this was specifically her field, and what they were answering was either public or mostly only mildly classified information.
‘You can do that?’ Lee thought to himself when he heard the empress talking about them physically suppressing their awakener aura that could only be felt by other awakeners. ‘So that’s why I couldn’t feel that they were awakeners,’ he finally realized, feeling relieved that his long-standing question about why he hadn’t sensed their awakener status was now answered.
“I know you have more questions related to that, but I would suggest we postpone them until after this meeting, as the purpose of this meeting is about your children and not really about our discovery of mana,” Aron said, noticing their continued curiosity despite the lengthy explanation.
“That’s true, sorry for getting distracted by that. It’s one of the things we are most curious about, having spent millennia with access to mana but seeing our discoveries take an entirely different path from yours,” Birch apologized, explaining their obsession with the topic.
“I’m happy to have a lengthy discussion about this after the meeting and the following bureaucracies, as we are also curious about your side of the discoveries. We are here for as long as our tasks require, so you don’t have to worry about us leaving ahead of time,” Aron responded, indicating they could now return to the primary discussions that brought them together today.
"We will take you up on that offer. Now, taking over our children would mean you are also responsible for their protection. On what level are you confident in protecting them?" Birch asked, swiftly returning to the main topic, this time speaking not as a representative, but as the creator of the elves.
“At present, we are in the process of building a formidable military to ensure the safety of our empire. Should your children join us, they will be integrated into this military, especially considering we have a potential visitor on the way. We are confident that within a few years, our military will be powerful enough to ensure both our safety,” Aron replied calmly.
He then pointed to Lee, who now wore a look of surprise from the unexpected shoutout from the emperor. “Also, if we’re talking about the obligation to protect them, aren’t we also considered another parent?” Aron continued with a hint of humor, “After all, the empire aided in their upbringing just as much as he also aided in their creation.”
A few people in the room chuckled at his attempt to lighten the mood, while others remained silent, their expressions serious.
“So it means that you can’t protect them at this moment?” Oak asked, his voice cutting through the lighthearted atmosphere Aron had just created, instantly bringing the discussion back to a more serious tone.
“I don’t think you can take that from my previous answer. Although I mentioned that we are in the process of building our military, it doesn’t mean we are defenseless. The level of threats you’re concerned about is not beyond the capacity of our current defenses, provided we have early detection. Our military will be prepared well before any significant threat arrives,” Aron responded in a tone matching Oak’s seriousness.
“I don’t think so,” someone said, but before anyone could even care who said it,
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
