am-books Chapter 80: Exclusive Rewards
Chapter 80: Exclusive Rewards
Arcuturs nodded, hearing his master say that having an Imperial ID issued to him in the Starfort at the edges of the Imperial Territories wasn't an ideal situation. He was aware of this shortcoming as it could lead to an unclear identity, but it seems that this was solved right now.
While Arcturus wasn't that keen on attending the school once again because he already had some of his own education behind him, he also understood the added value of attending the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy.
Part of him was also rather eager because he would be able to obtain the most comprehensive education of the Eternal Empire of the Asurya, and he would be able to obtain new connections to the most prominent figures within the Imperium.
Arcturus was aware that the occupation of his choice, nearly being the Star Mercenary and Bounty Hunter, didn't really have the best reputation within the Imperial Space, and most, if not all, Asurani looked down on the Bounty Hunters and Star Mercenaries.
For many, it was an occupation for those of the lowest social standing, so it was rather rare to see Asuryani doing this kind of job.
"Another thing that I wanted to say is that after the confrontation with the Elder Brain, I managed to obtain its Psion Nuclei, which means that I can finally start my recuperation procedure and recover from the injuries I sustained a long time ago."
When Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir stated this in a very satisfied voice, Arcturus knew that the injuries of his master weighed heavily on the man, not only on him but also on the whole Eternal Empire of the Asurya, because the number of the Beyonders within the Imperium was small.
Arcturus was aware that if the other factions learned that the biggest backer of the Empire was crippled and his strength was reduced to the Euclid-Class, he was sure that many of the vultures wouldn't hesitate to strike.
Kill it while it's weak...
That would be the fate of the Imperium, for sure.
Forutenly, Andromeda Galaxy's factions and nation were rather young because just around twenty thousand years earlier, the entire Galaxy was almost devoid of life because it was surrounded by galaxy-wide Cosmis Storm that isolated the entire place from the wider Cosmos.
It also killed most, if not all, of the native species that managed to develop space-faring civilization within the Andromeda Galaxy, so from all 180 billion Star Systems, only a small fraction was inhabited, and even smaller part of the galaxy had its resources consumed.
If this was any other Galaxy, far more developed with more High-Level Civilizations and Factions, then the situation would be vastly different. For example, even the galaxy that was closest to the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, was in a much worse state than the Andromeda Galaxy in this regard.
There were far more High-Level Civilizations and factions within the Milky Way Galaxy, and the competition was much fiercer for resources and sometimes even for living space.
"Congratulations, master. How long would you be in seclusion?"
Arcturus asked as he was genuinely happy for the elderly man. In fact, he had certain familiar feelings for the old Asuryani Highbrone because he was the only person with whom he had regular contact since he appeared in this crazy new world.
At the same time, the old man took him as his disciple and also provided him with roof above his head, not like he particularly needed it, but it was very nice gesture. Not to mention, they were getting along really well.
Even for the Grandmaster Byrmellir, it was nice to have someone else beside him. The elderly Highborne Asuryani didn't have family or descendants at all, so his disciples were like a family to him.
The loneliness could be torturous even for the most powerful individuals in the Cosmos.
"Depends, it could be years or months. Though, at longest, it should be ten years, nobody knows how fast my injuries would heal. I was rather lucky to obtain the Psion Nuclei from the Keter-Class Elder Brain; their race is known to have the most potent Psion Nuclei from all Psionically Gifted Species in the Cosmos."
If the Grandmaster Byrmellir healed himself and restored his strength to its previous heights, it would also be very good news for Arcutrus particularly, as his background would be even higher.
He was sure that if someone like his master actually offered to teach someone some of his least powerful Psionic Abilities that were developed by him, he would be able to earn many billions of Universal Credits with ease.
Less being said about the Grandmaster's personal sword style that he developed, that was something that Arcuturs wanted to learn at any cost. He knew very well from the Imperial NetSpehere that his Godslaying Sword Style was one of the most powerful in the entire part of the Cosmos.
Whether this was really true or just part of the Imperial propaganda, it was indeed undeniable that its power was the real deal. Arcturus was able to see it with his own eyes when the Grandmaster Byrmellir used his sword style to sever the tentacle of the Elder Brain of the Mind Fleet Leviathan during the invasion.
During that moment, he really looked like the true God of the Sword.
"When shall we be starting?"
Arcturus asked with a very high amount of enthusiasm, as he would be able to obtain some increase to his growing skill repertoire. During their time at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, he would have enough time to perfect those skills and increase proficiency within them.
"Tomorrow, though, there is one more reward for your efforts this time. While the rest of your rewards from the Imperial Military would be given to you when you arrive at the Throne World, the Bashar-General asked the HighCom for permission to grant you a vial of this."
He then produced a vial of azure blue liquid from his Dimensional Storage as Arcturus looked at the potion bottle with wonder, as he had never seen something like this. However, he could feel some kind of power from the liquid inside, like an instinctive feeling inside his person that was constantly whispering to him to drink the liquid.
"What it is, master? It's like all of my senses are going mad..."
The Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir just chuckled, seeing the reaction of his young disciple.
"This is something called Divine Water. It is a very rare Cosmic Treasure that could be found only on planets with a ridiculous density of Psionic Energy or areas where only those who are Beyonders dare to enter, or else their bodies would be torn apart by the Psionic Energy.
Most importantly, the Divine Water is made from the effects of the Primordial Psionic Energy and can be drank only by Psionicically Attuned Species or individuals that have Superior Psionic Attunement. Fortunately, you have both of them..."
Just from talking to his master, Arcturus was able to realize that this thing was probably extremely precious and certainly not to be meant to be used by someone as weak as him.
Yet the fate sometimes was rather cruel.
It indeed ended in the hands of a rather unassuming Epsilon-Grade Psyker.
"And what are the effects of such a miraculous thing?"
For sure, there should be some really good effects from drinking the Divine Water, even though the amount of it seemed to be rather a small amount, for sure, it should have some miraculous effects.
"When you drink the Divine Water, depending on the quality and quantity of the Divine Water you drink, you will enter a state of absolute enlightenment in which you would be able to understand almost everything. This is the best way to learn practically everything under the effects of the Divine Water. Just one drop could transform ordinary farmer into fearsome warrior..."
Now that he had heard about the abilities of the Divine Water, Arcturus could understand the value of the Divine Water and its potential because this was basically boosting someone's learning capabilities and comprehension by an almost ridiculous degree.
It was like a cheat in a liquid form.
He was rather eager the more he thought about it because this would allow him to advance leaps and bounds in everything, especially if the Divine Water that he got as a reward was of very high quality and something was telling him that it was.