Path to the Apocalypse

Victoria and Jocelyn continued to chat, mostly just confirming a few details. Obviously Victoria still had to join the Hidden Blades. They weren't going to let her join some other sect given what she knew and what she was capable of. They'd rather see her dead. "This is actually an opportunity for you." Jocelyn explained with a smile. "All you lack to be a tri-core is a Qi Rune, which is what we specialize in! Our specialized training will give you the best chance you could ever have-"

"I already have a Qi Rune." Victoria waved her off, not interested in hearing a sales pitch for something she didn't need, before pausing. Wasn't she supposed to be keeping that secret? Eh, Jocelyn already knew enough to want to kill her if she couldn't control her. Knowing she was a tri-core as well wouldn't change that.

Jocelyn froze. "You- do?" She asked, a slight stutter the only sign of her surprise.

Victoria nodded, pulling down her shirt slightly and concentrating on her Craft Rune, causing it to push out from her skin. "See? I've just been hiding it because… well, you know. Apparently the King doesn't take kindly to anyone actually having talent in his kingdom."

"I see." Jocelyn muttered, staring at the Rune with a thoughtful expression. The girl was already a tri-core! And not a weak one either! Not with a Rune as clear as that. Plus this system of hers… so much promise wrapped up in such a small package. Jocelyn was conflicted between the urge to nurture the girl's talent for her own benefit and the urge to snuff it out before it became a threat to her. After a brief struggle, nurture won. She was confident in her ability to manipulate, particularly when the target was so young and naive. "Such a talented~ young lady." Jocelyn purred, reaching out to caress Victoria's thigh again. "I can't wait to see how you turn out. So exciting~"

Victoria's lips twitched slightly at Jocelyn's continued insistence on touching her, wondering how she was supposed to handle it. She didn't want to offend Jocelyn, at least, not yet. Their partnership was just starting out, and if she offended Jocelyn so soon, she might turn and break their deal, and at this point, there was no way her family would survive that. Their options were to work with the Hidden Blades or die. However… Victoria was with Beatrice, and she really wasn't comfortable letting another woman be so forward with her. Particularly not after what she'd gone through with Jessica… oh, shit, did Beatrice get a task- Victoria paused as she checked Beatrice and then Jocelyn's tasks. Jocelyn did have a task to seduce her, but Beatrice didn't have a task to stop it. Did- did that mean Beatrice would be okay with her doing something with Jocelyn? And the fact that Jocelyn still had the task meant it was possible for her to actually do it, right? But… she really liked Beatrice, didn't she? She definitely didn't want to throw it away because some random woman took an interest in her, even if that woman was a powerful sect Elder… who did essentially hold the fate of her family in her hands… Maybe she should think about this a bit more. "Uh… What- what's so important about being a tri-core?" Victoria asked, trying to change the subject and buy herself some time to think.

Jocelyn hesitated. "Well… you are going to learn this once you enter the sect. In order to reach higher realms of cultivation, you need multiple cores. Once you've reached the peak of Core Strengthening, purifying your energy to the highest degree you can, you need to Acquire a Dual Rune. This Dual Rune will teach you how to circulate energy between two cores, growing your energy pool and allowing you to convert between the two energies. Once you've done this for all three energy combinations, filling the circulation system and purifying all the energy, you can Acquire a Tri Rune, which teaches you how to connect all three circulation systems together and allows you to mix them all into a single, pure energy. Without access to all three cores, this step becomes impossible, forever preventing you from reaching the higher realms of cultivation. Dual-cores stop at the end of the Circulatory realm, while single cores can only ever reach the peak of Core Strengthening. That's why tri-cores are so important. They're the only ones who can cultivate without limit."

Victoria frowned. "That's it? You just need three cores and you can cultivate as far as you want?"

Jocelyn blinked at her, before bursting out in laughter. "Just she says! No, no, one doesn't just Acquire all three types of Runes. The amount of work and luck involved… Those born into sects and trained since childhood rarely Acquire all three. The problem is how Runes affect your mind. As you meditate on a Rune, your mind… adjusts to grasp the concepts it teaches you. The more adjusted your mind becomes, the harder it becomes to Acquire a Rune of any other type. However, in order to Acquire new Runes, you need to meditate on your Runes until you can Assimilate them, freeing your Runescape so that it can bear an additional Rune. The more Initial Runes you Acquire, the less likely it is you will Acquire the Rune type you are missing. In general, if you haven't Acquired all three Rune types by your fourth Rune, you'll never be a tri-core. There are exceptions, but they are rare."

Victoria frowned. That… made sense? The more accustomed you became to thinking one way, the harder it'd be to start thinking another, right? She'd have to make sure Beatrice didn't fall into that tra- Victoria's eyes suddenly widened as she processed what Jocelyn had said about Assimilating a Rune to make room for another. Capacity! She'd completely forgotten about Capacity! If Beatrice advanced her Rune without increasing her Capacity… Victoria shuddered. No wonder more people didn't know about Rune advancement! If you did it before you had the Capacity to handle the Advanced Rune, you'd just die! If she hadn't had the system… Victoria shuddered. That would not have been pretty.

"But you don't need to worry about that." Jocelyn continued with a light smile as her hand inched up Victoria's thigh. "You've already done what so many fail to do, with a fraction of the resources they receive. The sheer talent you've shown~"

Victoria shifted uncomfortably. "It- it's not really talent… the system helps a lot, you know? Especially the skill page… if I hadn't been able to spend points on skills, I probably wouldn't be a tri-core."

"There's no need to be humble~" Jocelyn purred, before suddenly freezing as she processed what Victoria had said. "Wait, what do you mean when you say you can spend points on skills?" She asked in a serious tone that demanded a response.

Victoria blinked. "That? You can spend points on skills to help you get better at them." She paused. "It's sort of like how you learn from Runes, but reversed, if that makes any sense. The Runes show you new ways to think, while the points take what's already there and expand on it, like- like they add experience or something."

"Okay, but when you say skills, what do you mean?" Jocelyn prodded.

"Anything you can do? Like, you can spend points to get better at pooping if you want." Victoria replied with a shrug.

"How interesting." Jocelyn muttered, looking Victoria over with a calculating, almost hungry look. "The things people would do for such a tool… for themselves or their children…" Jocelyn paused, her eyes narrowing before a slow grin spread across her face. "If you like, I wouldn't mind helping you reach out to certain… interested parties who would be willing to pay hefty prices for something like this."

Victoria hesitated. "Maybe… but not yet. My cultivation is still low, and I'm not even sure what I need, let alone what I want."

Jocelyn nodded with a small smile. "Of course, I completely understand. I'll be here whenever you're ready." There was no need to rush. Once Victoria entered the sect, she'd have all the time she'd need to bring her under her thumb.

*

Victoria and Jocelyn rejoined the rest of the group, who were finishing planning what they needed to do to make sure the invasion went as smoothly as possible. Albert glanced at them as they walked in, looking between the two with a nervous, wary look. The Hidden Blades seemed to be dealing with them in good faith, but he still wasn't comfortable leaving Victoria to them. Even before he knew their plans, they had a reputation for being a sneaky, backstabbing, shifty lot. And now… they were willing to throw the entire region into chaos for power, ruining innumerable lives! How could he feel at ease leaving his daughter to people so obsessed with power? But… What choice did he have? It was either this, or death. For all of them. He simply had to trust Victoria and hope she stayed safe.

Jocelyn turned to Reginald, placing a hand on his shoulder and transferring the system to him. "You'll be in charge of spreading this to the troops. Start with a single battalion, to test. If everything goes well, spread it to the rest."

"Yes, Elder." Reginald nodded, taking the sudden appearance of the system screen in stride.

Jocelyn then turned to the rest, smiling. "Well, I must say, this seems to be a promising start to a wonderful partnership! I look forward to a long and profitable relationship for all of us!"

Albert nodded hesitantly. "A hope we all share, Elder."

Jocelyn nodded back, her smile widening. "In the spirit of that, I must make one, small request: that Tiffany and a small group of Hidden Blade disciples be given positions as servants in the castle."

Albert blinked. "Excuse me? I don't- you want them to be servants?"

"I'm afraid that with the knowledge you have gained, and the presence of Lord Inspector Semloh, you could easily betray us." Jocelyn explained with a nod. "Doing so would doom yourselves, but we all know how people can get strange ideas in their heads, thinking they have to sacrifice themselves for the 'greater good'." Jocelyn scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "It's purely a precautionary measure, a way for all of us to feel more comfortable with this arrangement."

"But- they'll all be Cultivators, won't they?" Albert asked hesitantly, glancing towards Tiffany who he knew was a Cultivator. "Won't Semloh become suspicious when a large group of Cultivators suddenly appear, let alone when they act as servants."

Jocelyn smirked. "Not to worry. The Hidden Blades cultivate a secret technique which allows us to mask our cultivation, hiding the fact that we are Awakened at all. I can't imagine the Lord Inspector would become suspicious over a new batch of servants, particularly when you've recently acquired a batch of long-term guests in the form of his retinue."

"I- I suppose… but you're- you're actually willing to pretend to be servants?!?" Albert asked incredulously, finding it hard to comprehend the idea of mighty Cultivators willingly taking up such humble positions.

Jocelyn cocked her head. "Why would we not? Servants are largely ignored, can go pretty much anywhere, and listen in on sensitive conversations without arousing undue suspicion. If you want to spy on someone, there's no better position."

Albert blinked at that. She wasn't wrong… servants were everywhere, to the point that Albert largely ignored them. If any of them were spies… his head began to ache as he rubbed his temple. He did not want to think about that. Matters of espionage left him confused and paranoid. He had no desire to deal with any of it. "If- if that is what you wish, I have no objections."

Maurice stepped forward with a slight cough. "May I ask, what sort of positions would be best? I would not wish to offend anyone by giving them a position they deem… inconvenient."

"I shall be Po- Ursa's personal maid." Tiffany declared confidently, glaring at Ursa as if she was daring him to object.

Jocelyn glanced at her with a slight frown, before turning back to Maurice. "Any positions will be fine. Preferably they'll be able to move freely about the castle, but if not, they're more than capable of doing what needs to be done in their free time." Maurice hesitated before nodding in understanding and stepping back, getting a distant look in his eye as he began to figure out where he could place a group of extra servants. Jocelyn's smile returned as she took a look around the room. "Good, then I believe that is all! I look forward to our continued cooperation!"

*

Victoria fell into her bed with a weary groan. The meeting had been a lot more stressful than she'd expected. She hadn't quite processed how precarious their position was. Yes, the system was valuable, but if the Hidden Blades ever decided it wasn't worth the hassle, Victoria and her family were screwed! If they started to demand more access to the system in exchange for her family's safety… Victoria shuddered. She had not thought this through. She'd been focusing on the benefits of the system, while ignoring the fact that in the end, the Hidden Blades didn't need it. Their plan was already in motion. With or without the system, they were going Empire. Thankfully, Jocelyn seemed to be more focused on her at the moment, which… well that was a different issue. One she hopefully wouldn't need to deal with any time soon. Not until she got to the sect.

Right now she needed to focus on getting stronger. She wasn't even in the Core Strengthening realm yet! Her points helped but she couldn't just rely on points. Points were raw power, but she needed Runes to figure out how to use that power. Which meant she needed to meditate. She stared at the ceiling, unmoving. *Come on, just do it!* Victoria urged herself, but still, her body refused to do it. She just felt… tired. She'd already spent the points to deal with her exhaustion, but it didn't help. Her exhaustion came from somewhere deeper. She was just- she couldn't handle the thought of losing everything again, and it just seemed like there was nothing she could actually do about it. They had one path to safety, and it all hinged on the Hidden Blades being willing to play along. Thankfully, it seemed like things were working, but… Victoria let out a weary sigh. She just hated that she was at someone else's mercy. That they could simply decide to ruin her life, and there would be little to no consequences. That she was so- so insignificant!

Victoria groaned in frustration. She needed power! She was sick of all these people who thought that simply because they were strong, that meant they could do whatever they wanted, no matter how it affected anyone else! Was it really so hard to just be a little considerate? To spare a moment of thought for how what you're doing will affect another person? Especially when you already have power! You have the leeway to not, to go without, to take your time, because you already have so much available to you and you don't need more. How can you justify taking from those who do?

Victoria continued to stare at the ceiling for a few more minutes, lost in thought, before eventually letting out a final, defeated sigh and sitting up, getting in position to meditate. She had to do something. She wasn't exactly sure what yet, or how, but she knew building her cultivation was a start. She needed to focus on doing what she could do, not give up because of what she couldn't do. It was the only way to move forward.

*

"We're still using this system? Even after knowing what she can do with it?" Tiffany asked Jocelyn, sounding slightly concerned. She'd been on board with using Victoria's system, but after hearing what she'd done to the Duke… she had reservations.

Jocelyn snorted dismissively. "It's a simple mental construct. Anyone with a modicum of training could dissolve it at any time. I don't know how she made it, or how it does what it does, but it's a simple matter to free yourself of its influence. There is no need to worry about her using it against us. The only people who need to worry are the weak willed and untrained."

Tiffany frowned. "A simple mental construct? That's all? To do all she claims?"

Jocelyn nodded. "I was surprised myself. Yet, I've tested it, and it works. A few simple tasks, a few points, and my exhaustion is gone! Like I've consumed a stamina potion with no side effects! And it's instant. The construct itself may be simple, but its effect is not. If I could study the more advanced functions…" A frustrated tone creeped into her voice, before she stopped herself, shaking her head. "No, it is important we take this slow. Haste makes waste, after all. To ruin such a ripe opportunity would be the gravest of sins." She refocused on Tiffany with a deathly serious look. "Keep a close eye on the girl. I want nothing to go wrong. Am I clear?"

Tiffany gulped nervously, nodding. "Yes, Elder."