Chapter 48 The World
Harry and Verma enjoyed their time for a while, their connection as a family deepening, and their love for each other becoming more established. Then they moved to the bathroom to freshen themselves...
Sitting in the same bathtub with Verma sitting on his lap, both naked, Harry and Verma washed off their tiredness as the warm water touched their skin and soothed their tired souls.
Today had been one hell of a day, both in action and revelations. It had been a mixture of unexpected events and encounters.
Smiling at his exciting life, Harry suddenly thought of a question that had been bugging his mind for a while. So he curiously asked, "Hey Verma, how did you put me in an illusion earlier? I mean, your ability is wood manipulation, right? How can it even create illusions?"
Resting her head on his chest, Verma cuddled with him in the water as she replied, her tone serious. "You underestimate abilities too much, Harry. The uses of each ability are nearly endless; you just have to know how to use it.
For example, the previous illusion I put you in... What I did was manipulate a small seed inside the room to grow fast. It's just a Henkal tree sprout, a normal everyday tree in Mystri.
But what I did was make it sprout from the seed to its small plant size in mere seconds, making a unique gas release out of its unprecedentedly fast growth. Alongside the provocative gesture of me removing my clothes, your mind comes up with the rest on its own. And bam, there is your illusion.
It's actually a very simple trick, weak and useless. I did it just as a test... Don't you dare underestimate me because of that!"
Kissing the top of her head gently, Harry asked, from the bottom of his heart "How can I underestimate the one who saved me from some hell of a situation, where I myself couldn't do better at?"
"Yeah, yeah, you better know that," said Verma with a chuckle.
"So, what was he like, my future self?"
"Mmm... I don't want to tell you that."
Doubtful, with furrowed brows, Harry asked, "And why might that be?"
"They say, in the Awakening stage, if you really succeed, you change as a person. And the more true to yourself you are, the easier it is to pass this stage. But if I tell you about your future self, it can really influence the current you in an unseen fashion. In a single word, it's dangerous."
Nodding, Harry asked, "There is another thing that has been bugging me for a while. The Born-Dragon abilities, do you know if I am missing something about it? It just feels like there is a veil in front of my eyes."
"I was about to tell you that before you interrupted me, you scoundrel!"
"It's not like you hated it, my lady," he replied instantly.
Smiling, Verma said, "Before knowing about Born-Dragon abilities, you have to understand our world, this continent," kissing his chest gently, she continued with a question, "Do you know what the greatest force in this continent is?"
"Hmm, in terms of strength and overall influence, I would say it's us, the Lust Royal Family," replied Harry.
Nodding, Verma asked another question, "Do you think that position is absolute? That we have no rivals? That we are invincible?"
"Yes, of course we are! For one, we own the world's only 3 Great abilities to ourselves. Second, we even control the minds of this world; even the commoners love their king and kingdom. Nobody wants to revolt in the first place. And third, if my guess is correct, there is no one capable of doing anything to the current king. He is the strongest person alive in this whole continent."
Nodding again, Verma continued, "Yes, your thoughts are straight, but you are missing a major part of the whole picture.
What you know are mostly what the royals, that means, we, say to keep the people's loyalty to ourself, and make our reign a seemingly unrivaled one,"
"For one, there are no abilities that are absolutely invincible, Harry. Even your Lustful Absorption has its own... problems, which I will tell you about later on. But for now, listen. The three Great abilities are exactly as you think. They are abilities formerly owned by current Eternals, improving their base potential. At each rank, the current ability user will always be as strong as the Eternal was when he or she was at that stage."
"For example, Lilly's Dreamwalker ability. When she reaches stage 5, she will be as strong as the Eternal of Dreams was at that stage, making her stronger than ordinary people."
"But there is a catch here, do you see it?"
"Hmm, I see. So there are talented people out there in this continent who can use their own abilities at the level where Eternals had reached without anyone's help. Natural geniuses, the elites," replied Harry as his mind started to process the information.
So that means the rule of Royalty was not anywhere near absolute.
All elites had one thing in common, in this world and even on Earth. As someone who had conquered the internet, he knew that better than anyone else!
And that one thing in common was a set amount of greed and desire to conquer.
Nobody likes a ruler above their heads, especially the elites.
"So, what are the forces that stand against us?"
"Your intelligence is still there, huh? I thought your lower body took that too," Verma teased.
Moving his hands to her breasts, he slightly pinched them as he whispered, "Answer my questions, darling."
Nodding like a chicken pecking rice, she continued, breathing heavily as she did so. "Th... The main force that stands against us, or rather restrains us, is the Sanctuary of the Gifted, as the commoners say. The Heavenly Gift Academy."
"That place has a really strong headmaster. The guy is said to be equally as strong as the current king, even without an Eternal ability," Verma explained, her voice laced with awe.
Verma continued, "You even mentioned to me once that if you could avoid making an enemy out of anyone, it should be the headmaster. You even acknowledged once his higher chance of Awakening compared to yours."
"But, in the end, it was you who did though. Even though you said that when you were just stage 5, you were strong enough then to beat the current king's shit out!"
Verma's excitement was evident as she paused briefly before adding, "Alongside the headmaster, the academy also boasts the presence of the most talented non-royalty individuals, some of whom even possess extraordinary talent—enough talent to be called 'Eternal Talents.'" She paused briefly, her excitement evident, before adding, "And there are also some truly special individuals in that academy too, but I'll share more about them later."
Harry's curiosity piqued. "So, how does all of this relate to the Born Dragon abilities?"
Verma smiled, a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. "Patience, my love. Before diving into Born Dragon abilities, you need to comprehend the intricate dynamics of our continent's history."
"Oh! What else am I missing?" asked Harry, his heart skipping a beat. He had a feeling he was about to learn something reeaally important...