Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 741: Rings [Golden Gachapon Bonus - ]

As for William and the rest, they simply ignored Asher and FatelessPen as they began reading through every page. The book was thick, immensely so, as FatelessPen had attempted to explain nearly every little thing in painstaking detail.

"I have a question," Asher spoke again, his eyes shifting toward the reading Finch and William before turning back toward FatelessPen once more.

"Ask away," FatelessPen replied with a smile and shrug. His demeanor was nothing like that of a Crownstar Life Ranker. He truly was just a chill, stress-free man who understood how to enjoy life in the fullest way possible.

"You seem to know so much about the Thalvorn Empire. Have you been here before?" Asher asked. Although he could already guess that FatelessPen most definitely had, he still needed confirmation rather than relying on assumptions.

"You guessed right," FatelessPen replied as he leaned back against his seat as though reminiscing about the past.

"After breaking through to the Crownstar Life Rank a few years ago and reaching the Radiant Sub-Life Rank nearly half a century later, I decided to explore foreign Empires, and my very first visit was the Thalvorn Empire." He paused briefly as though mentally returning to those moments. "I lived within the Thalvorn Empire for an entire year before eventually leaving," he added in finality.

Asher arched an eyebrow before asking, "Weren’t you given some type of special attention?" His eyes remained fixed upon FatelessPen.

FatelessPen laughed softly as he immediately understood what Asher meant by "special attention."

Due to the minor wars, conflicts, and skirmishes various Empires constantly had with one another, it was difficult for a Crownstar Life Ranker to simply pack their belongings and relocate to another Empire casually, or even travel there for leisure.

It was not as though other Empires outright closed their borders to foreigners. Racism and xenophobia were practically nonexistent within Crymora, but that certainly did not mean they would welcome outsiders with open arms and allow them to roam freely without restraint.

They would monitor everything, what you ate, who you spoke to, where you went. Even a mere bartender one interacted with could potentially be a hidden terrorist or an individual planning to betray their own Empire.

The surveillance was absurdly extreme, but despite all of that, the Empire itself would never directly confront the foreigner. And more importantly, this type of surveillance did not merely last for a month or two before ending, no, Empires would monitor such foreigners for a minimum of an entire decade before they even considered slightly reducing the scale of their observation.

After all, spies were capable of waiting an entire century before finally making their move depending on how long-term their mission was.

But regardless of all that, those who traveled to foreign Empires without ulterior motives generally experienced no real issues. After all, they were merely there to live peacefully and enjoy themselves, meaning they had nothing to fear since the surveillance itself remained indirect.

FatelessPen explained all of this calmly to Asher, who merely sighed as though he had expected such a situation from the very start.

"With your Crownstar Life Rank perception, I’m sure you sensed those who were tailing you and observing your movements," Asher stated calmly.

"Not really," FatelessPen replied casually. "As a foreign Crownstar Life Ranker, I would naturally be assigned another Crownstar Life Ranker specialized in surveillance, someone possessing abilities specifically tailored toward evasion and concealment." He explained calmly. "Of course, I still sensed them every now and then, but eventually, I simply lost them by creating a clone and allowing the surveillance team to track that clone throughout the entire year while I killed one of the Thalvorn Empire citizens and took over his identity through my ability." He spoke so calmly that one would think he had merely stolen a loaf of bread rather than someone’s entire life.

At his words, Asher merely nodded and said nothing further regarding the matter.

The idea itself was genuinely ingenious, he did not bother questioning FatelessPen about murdering an innocent citizen and assuming his identity and life.

Asher could already guess that if FatelessPen truly wanted to, he could probably transform into any random individual. However, it seemed the Thalvorn Empire possessed systems capable of accounting for every single citizen, meaning if someone suddenly appeared from nowhere without records or history, suspicion would immediately arise.

Just as Asher was about to continue speaking, the car suddenly began slowing down.

Asher did not even want to imagine the number of kilometers they had already crossed within the ’short’ timeframe they had spent inside the vehicle. It was easily within the thousands, perhaps even exceeding millions entirely.

"Are we there yet?" Ryaen asked as she raised her head after noticing the decrease in speed.

"We aren’t," FatelessPen replied without missing a beat. "This is merely a security checkpoint. We’ve reached the borders of the Outer Rings."

"Outer Rings?" Vaelric repeated with a slight frown as he arched an eyebrow. He had never once read about such a thing within the Imperial Library.

"Unlike our Zarethorne Empire, where nobles possess individual territories and rule over commoners within them, the Thalvorn Empire employs a completely different system based on Rings," FatelessPen explained calmly while keeping an eye on the situation outside.

Before long, the vehicles accelerated once more and shot forward.

"There are three different Rings in total," FatelessPen continued in a calm tone. "Namely; the Outer Rings, which we just left, the Inner Rings, which we have now entered, and finally, the Zero Rings."

"What’s the difference between each Ring?" William asked calmly as he tore his gaze away from the book resting within his hands.

FatelessPen sighed softly, at this point, he genuinely seemed more like a history Instructor than an actual combat powerhouse.

"The Outer Rings are reserved for those who failed their Awakening Ceremony. They are the only people legally allowed to reside there." He paused briefly before continuing. "And yes, before any of you say anything, I know some of you sensed awakeners amongst them earlier. However, those individuals were only there on official business and possessed proper clearance to even enter the Outer Rings. They are also heavily penalized for causing any trouble whatsoever for the unawakened residents there." He paused once more as though giving them time to fully absorb the information.

"The Inner Rings are primarily reserved for individuals at the Kindlestar Life Rank to the Wavestar Life Rank. They are the only people legally permitted to reside within this region, as anyone who reaches the Voidstar Life Rank or above is automatically required by law to relocate toward the Zero Rings." He spoke calmly and without interruption.

"And finally, the Zero Rings," at those words, everyone’s attention sharpened even further.

"Voidstar Life Rankers reside there," FatelessPen explained. "But not just them. Individuals occupying positions of significant authority whose decisions directly affect the Empire also live there, alongside their children and relatives even if those family members have not reached the Voidstar Life Rank themselves."

After all, expecting parents to give birth only to immediately send their children away to the Outer Rings would be utterly ridiculous.

FatelessPen finished his explanation calmly as the vehicles continued speeding deeper into the heart of the Thalvorn Empire.

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