Almond and Lily arrived at the Academy, on the large green plains where various buildings of exotic nature and structures were situated.

Most of them were like exotic castles, with flags above them.

One of them belonged to Almond’s Mad Nuts faction, with two flags above them. One belongs to the House of Regalon and another belongs to Mad Nuts.

“Yo, look who’s here!”

Zek, Karven, and a bunch of other students emerged from the castle as they sensed Almond and Lily’s presence.

“Boss, your people are too powerful! Especially those old folks. They ain’t giving us many missions to complete.”

Almond shrugged, “You just have to work harder.”

“Come on, brother Almond. When are you going to give us your boon?” Zek cheekily said. “I’ve talked with my clan, and I’ve decided.”

“Really?” Almond raised an eyebrow, doubtful. Zek’s clan turned out to be quite powerful. It was a ruling-class force of a cosmos, meaning they had one or more Supreme Emperors in Arcadia Spectrum participating in games, and one or more Supreme Emperors in their cosmos.

Only the forces who had a qualified Supreme Emperor of Arcadia Spectrum and another Supreme Emperor in their cosmos were considered ruling-class forces.

Some cosmoses had more than one ruling class force.

There were also ranks of cosmoses, as more powerhouses birthing in one would make that cosmos larger and more bountiful by Grimworld Tree.

And in those ranks, Zek’s clan was a ruling-class force of a cosmos ranked 78th among 3333 cosmoses.

It was safe to say that his clan had at least ten Supreme Emperors.

“I’ll think about it,” Almond smiled.

“You two haven’t been slacking, right?” Lily narrowed her eyes.

Zek and Karven froze and straightened their backs before they quickly saluted Lily.

“No, Ma’am. We are eager to show our results.”

“Good. We are starting in three seconds,” Lily racked her neck with her slender fingers before a dagger appeared in her hand.

“I am going ahead,” Almond waved his hand. “Meet me at D’s.”

Zek and Karven silently cried tears of blood as they sparred with Lily, getting beaten to a pulp for five minutes straight.

“Good. Keep up with this pace, but I don’t mind if you want to increase it,” Lily said while looking at the castle’s flag. “I also need to increase my pace.”

Zek and Karven twitched on the ground, all bruised and bloody, not even daring to heal themselves.

“She’s gone,” Zek said after a second.

Karven winced, “Fuck me, I thought we could at least hit her once this time.”

“After what happened in their cosmos, and what they did, they are going get even more powerful,” Zek wryly smiled as he sat up.

“I want to become a Regalon,” Karven sighed and lay on the ground, looking at that flag.

His fist clenched and his eyes turned fiery, “That’s my destiny and I’ll get it.”

Zek rolled his eyes.

Karven got up and grinned as he looked at Zek, “So? What did your clan say? By now, all big forces of the cosmos know about them, but you have been working to make them your clan’s ally for long.”

Karven saw Zek’s expression becoming strange and confused. ‘What is he thinking?’

Zek suddenly sighed, “I can’t understand those two. They know about the alliances, and their power is now fully revealed. But I can’t predict their stance. They will go to Arcadia Spectrum and will be forced to choose their stance fast.”

“What?!” Karven was startled. “You mean the Big Ten will force them?”

“They will, once they confirm something,” Zek said, his expression somber.

“Geneline Potential,” Karven muttered. “Damn, you think it is that powerful?”

“The impact of Geneline after ascending to the third layer is too much to be ignored. If Regalon’s potential indicator reaches a certain level, the Big Ten will do everything to make them choose.”

“And they know it too,” Zek frowned.

“Well, you saw it,” Karven grinned. “You saw their true power and they are crazily powerful.”

“And are going to get even more.”

Zek wryly smiled, “Have you ever seen a Big Ten’s Supreme Emperor fighting? Except for some cut-off footage and photos?”

Karven blinked and thought hard before gulping. “Now that you mention it…there’s literally not much information about their Supreme Emperors.”

“It’s just not accessible to the majority of the people here. But know that the Supreme Emperors possessing Genelines of Big Ten are ten times more powerful than average Supreme Emperors.”

“What the fuck?” Karven’s jaw dropped. “Ten times?”

“Yeah. And it’s not just Genelines. Those two have a crazy arsenal of conceptual powers. People who display such potential are also forced to choose their stance by Big Ten. Otherwise, they can’t ascend to the third layer as they will do everything to stop them by killing them.”

“Fuck…”

…

Almond and Lily were walking towards a regal door with a dimly shining golden plate that had letters carved [Big Dean] on it.

It opened automatically as Almond and Lily arrived in front of it, and they entered without pausing their steps.

A carpet of clouds with passing moving lights at a moderate pace stood while fifty meters at the end was a cat.

A fat cat with a stomach the size of a mountain. Its side sitting posture took a total of 12 kilometers of area, and in the same posture, its height reached 8 kilometers.

Big Dean of Starry Horizon. The Biggest Cat. The Whiskers of Death. Meawjesty of Myriad Stars. The one who has cat avatars as many as stars.

A.K.A Big D.

“You’re here? Myahahaha, Quite a show you’ve put on there.”

The loud laughter shook stars and lights while the giant mountain of a cat moved like mist as Almond and Lily saw Big D’s giant cat head fit atop a floor as if beheaded.

“That was the plan,” Almond smiled. “So, how long do we have?”

“Five years,” Big D grinned.

“Five, huh?” Lily rested her chin on her hand before she sat down as a couch automatically appeared at perfect timing.

Almond sat beside her, thoughtful.

Lily and Almond looked at each other before nodding turning to Big D as they spoke in unison.

“Three years.”

“You are underestimating the reach,” Big D rolled his eyes.

“Maybe.”

“Possibly.”

Almond and Lily grinned saying simultaneously, “But that’s what we want.”

“It looks like you two have a plan or something, eh? Not gonna fill me in?” Big D blinked.

“Sorry, but you have to do your job now,” Almond grinned. “Because I assure you, I have something that can help us in the big plan you have.”

“Yeah, we are going into trouble for you, but you better keep the end of your bargain.”

“No worries. I am Big D, myahahaha. I have also decided on the options. You can choose one out of these three.”

In front of Almond and Lily, three flags appeared with a name above each one.

Armen Clan—one of the Big Ten.

Midradas Clan—one of the Big Ten.

Siengol Clan—One of the Big Ten.

“Meh names,” Almond commented.

“Well, they ain’t as edgy as you,” Big Dean rolled his eyes.

“You can’t blame us for having style,” Lily snorted.

“We need styles, Big D,” Almond grinned. “Since we are going to trample anyone in our way, we have to do that with style.”

Big D laughed loudly.

“I can’t deny that. Alright, you brats. You got the names, so I’ll leave the choice to you. When you go to Arcadia Spectrum, you can learn them and when they put you up on the pedestal to force out a choice, you can make one safely.”

“Gotcha.”

Almond and Lily stood up.

“What about our new missions? They better be ready now,” Lily raised her eyes.

“I’ve got them. Go at your leisure, but trouble is going to bite your asses hard this time. I’m sending you straight to the hell of Hollowstar pests.”

“That’s what I wanted,” Almond chuckled. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, Big’s eyes glinted. “It looks like the invitation here.”

*Crack*

Nearby, the space cracked with pale golden rays briefly before a letter shot out of it, floating in front of Almond and Lily.

It opened automatically in front of them before unfolding the paper with golden letters that relayed the intent of words directly in a clear and cut manner.

[King and Queen of the House of Regalon. You are invited to the Arcadia Spectrum. Please come at your leisure.]

The letter then shattered into golden sparks that split into two streams, one going to Almond and another to Lily.

A sigil began forming, asking their permission to be accepted.

They agreed and the sigil settled in.

Activating this sigil was the only way to enter Arcadia Spectrum.

“You want to check it out now or later?” Big Dean asked.

“We are going on a trip,” Lily smiled. “To the 17th-ranked cosmos—Azureprism.”

“Wait, what?” Big D was startled. “Are you saying you are going on a trip to chill and relax? YOU TWO?!”

“We need to relax a bit every now and then, you know?” Almond rolled his eyes.

“You never fucking relaxed before,” Big D snorted.

Narrowing his eyes, he doubtfully asked, “Are you two really going to relax or cause trouble? Look, I know you two are hiding something from me, but if it’s related to making trouble that could affect our plan, tell me.”

“No, it’s not related,” Lily shook her head with a soft chuckle. “We are really just going to relax and chill precisely because we’ve never done it and it’s time we do. It’s necessary at this point for us to go forward faster.”

Big D began tearing up and dropped giant tears. “My kids finally matured and grew up. I’m so glad. Those years you spent in time-dilated space and crazy training didn’t make you insane. I’m so glad.”

Almond and Lily rolled their eyes and turned around, leaving.

“Bye.”