Chapter 66: Absolute Power Limit

Kael stood inside the cave that was illuminated by the glowing magic runes in the wall and ceiling.

He looked at the body of the lioness that was curled up at the end of the cave. The lioness slept soundly and safely, unaware of the humanoid figure watching over her.

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Kael could observe that Nalii’s body was growing, little by little. Her fur was becoming more vibrant and her horns seemed to be in the process of shedding its outer layer.

"How long do you think this would take? Hope it won’t be six months." Kael asked N’bayé who was standing some distance behind him.

She was currently busy drawing a complex rune circle on the wall. Her fingers moved elegantly as if they danced to a piece of soundless music.

Anywhere her finger went, a green trail was left behind. Her claws would sometimes make cracks in the walls at the right moment, adding to the complexity of the rune formation.

"I don’t think so, I think her’s should be less than a month at most," N’bayé responded after some thought.

"I don’t like waiting this long for stuff like this," Kael grumbled with a frown.

N’bayé sighed, "That’s just how things are, unfortunately, the lower the power levels a creature has, the longer it takes to evolve. That’s just my theory."

"Huh?" Kael turned around to look at N’bayé weirdly, he also saw Katari come into the cave and sit close to them, listening to their conversation.

She would also glance occasionally at Nalii’s sleeping figure but there was not much reaction from her.

Kael didn’t pay attention to her for now as he was intrigued by what N’bayé said.

"What?" N’bayé’s heart beat faster as she noticed the intense gaze Kael was giving her. She assumed he wanted to have sex again and was about to lay on the floor to get into her favorite position.

"What do you mean theory?" Kael asked.

"Oh," N’bayé stammered, then got herself into the right state of mind quickly. Her face became stoic as she said, "I have been observing many creatures in my spare time to understand how evolution works.

It was originally just a study in my own effort to understand how I can evolve from a tier 2 lioness to a tier 3 lioness.

And with almost no other tier 3 lioness nearby, I settled for studying other creatures.

What I discovered really puzzled me.

I found out that not every creature shared the same power system. Sure, we all had to awaken our hearts if we wanted access to the mystical powers within us, but there were differences.

For example, rats were one of the easiest creatures I could find and study close enough. I’ve had tracking runes placed on a lot of rats, with awakened hearts or not, so that I can monitor them better.

I used to assume that a tier 2 rat had to be comparable in strength to a tier 2 lioness. I also thought the same for wolves, birds, and even the spiders.

It wasn’t until I compared the information that I found out that this wasn’t the case. A tier 2 rat was not comparable to a tier 2 lion.

Rather, a tier 2 lion was comparable tier 6 or tier 7 rat, depending on how strong the lion is."

Kael tilted his head to the side as he listened to this interesting subject. He had also thought of this before but it was merely a shallow thought and didn’t get past that.

"That is to say…" Kael led on, wanting N’bayé to continue.

"That is, a tier 3 lion would be comparable in strength to a tier 10 or higher rat.

I could only discover this by recording the number of evolutions the rats experienced before fighting or winning some certain creatures.

This discovery led me to understand why the rats experienced such a short evolution period, they had more steps to climb so that was a trade-off.

We on the other hand will become as powerful as a tier 10 rat the moment we become tier 3, it’s somehow unfair on their part. And I think the longer evolution period is some sort of nature’s intervention to balance it out.

This way, the same amount of time it might take a lion to reach tier 3 is the same amount of time it would take a rat to reach tier 10.

However, I may have confirmed that we don’t share the same power system with other creatures, but I can’t say for sure if it is a natural thing. Hence, why I am still studying.

For now, I think it would be unwise to hastily judge the power level of any animal we encounter."

Kael placed his fingers on his chin as he walked around while thinking, "You are really smart, no doubt about that. To have done this experiment on your own, take records, and come to these results, it’s fascinating." Kael’s words were filled with genuine praise.

N’bayé had a sweet smile plaster on her face. It wasn’t every time someone actually complimented her on things like this. Usually, she did these things out of curiosity, not to seek validation from others. This praise really touched the emotional part of her psyche.

"How are the wolves compared to us in terms of power level?" Kael asked.

"Hmm, I would say roughly the same but with some disadvantages on the wolves’ side.

At our strongest, we could probably take on two or three wolves of the same tier, killing them is a lot harder though.

I think there are some natural traits we have that the wolves will have to make up for with a few more evolutions in the future.

This is just my conjecture, as I don’t know how many tiers are required to reach the absolute limit of power." N’bayé replied.

Kael couldn’t help but compare her to scientists on Earth. The way she talked, her mannerisms, her logical outlook on everything, and the understanding that she could be wrong. That was how a lot of scientists behaved on Earth.

"So technically I should be able to beat Bibi in a fight?" Kael wondered out loud.

"I’m not sure, Bibi hasn’t really shown much that I can judge with.

You have to know that in a situation where brute force can’t win, techniques and skill would make up for the difference.

Bibi might not be as strong as you are when it comes to direct force, but if he is more skilled and has better techniques, you might not be able to defeat him, there’s even a possibility that he could defeat you."

"Hmm," Kael paused his steps, contemplating and readjusting his plans according to his knowledge.

"Katari," Kael called to Katari who had been listening to their open conversation all this while.

"Yes," Katari answered blandly.

"Are you offended that I did not give you the snake heart?" Kael asked.

Katari shook her head, "No,"

"Do you feel that you should be taking offense, considering how close you and I are?" Kael asked again.

Katari didn’t answer at first, ’Considering how close you and I are’ what did that mean? She wondered.

Before she could answer, Kael interrupted her, "I want you to understand that I need your skill at this moment, I can’t afford to not have you by my side for now.

Plus, Nalii’s ability would be very useful for my plans when she becomes tier 3."

Katari didn’t say anything.

"There are things that are better to be acted out than said. For now, let’s focus on our current objective."

With that, Kael walked away, heading to the entrance of the cave, leaving just N’bayé and Katari by themselves.

N’bayé turned her head to focus on the runes she was inscribing on the walls.

Katari just stared at her back, it was a really bad idea for anyone, including N’bayé, to turn their backs on Katari. But knowing N’bayé, she was never truly defenseless.

"Do you love him?" N’bayé was stunned by the question that suddenly entered her mind.

She turned around to see Katari having an expression of emotion once again as her eyes had reverted to the normal colors from the inky-like black it was.

She looked at N’bayé, expecting an answer.

N’bayé sighed, then answered with a question of hers, "Why do you ask such a thing?"

Katari looked at Nalii’s sleeping figure, "Kael is the only one who gives me the purpose I desire. Without him, without his words, without his presence, I feel empty.

Perhaps, I don’t understand what I feel for him, but I know that I feel something. Unlike you, I’m not sure you even feel anything."

N’bayé smiled, "I do actually, I have feelings too. However, having feelings and acting on those feelings isn’t the same thing.

Just because I feel happy doesn’t mean I would smile, just because I feel sad doesn’t mean I would sulk. Should I cry when I feel pain? Do I have to scream when I’m scared?

I may seem logical and indifferent to most things most times, and I really am. That doesn’t make me out of place when it comes to having emotions.

You can say, I’m just built differently." N’bayé said with a sly smile

Katari scoffed, "Kael is all I have, if he says stay, I will stay, and if he says kill, I will kill. He is the one holding me in place and giving me purpose.

I cannot, and I must emphasize on this, I cannot… tolerate any possible threats to his life or his goals."

N’bayé raised her hands playfully, not taking Katari’s words seriously, "I’m not a threat to Kael, you should know better Katari. If I was, he would be dead a long time ago.

Besides, his goals are more fulfilling than any of mine."

"Then why did you ignore my question?" Kateri sneered.

"What question?" N’bayé asked.

"Do you love him?" Katari asked, raising her telepathic voice a bit.

"What does that have to do with his goals?" N’bayé wondered.

"DO. YOU. LOVE. HIM?" Katari got up from the ground, seemingly ready to attack N’bayé if she didn’t give a satisfactory answer.

Space began to ripple around her and N’bayé could finally sense the seriousness with which Katari took this matter.

"Love is a strong word, Katari!" N’bayé finally responds, to which the crazy Katari receives with shocking hostility.