n

n

n

nKhan didn't expect an immediate answer, and Professor Parver didn't give one. The issue wasn't only about an experimental medical procedure. The eventual success would also transform the Professor into something suitable for his foreign mana, which would, in all likelihood, be inhumane.

nMoreover, the delay was unavoidable. The Professor had yet to undergo multiple tests, and Garret had to study the necessary material to devise a viable procedure. Khan still couldn't solve Professor Parver's problem, so his answer could wait.

nThe wait featured more than battles in the arena and parties in the quadrant. Another crucial event had knocked on Khan's door, surprising him. He knew that moment would have arrived, but things had happened earlier than he had predicted.

nA few weeks before Monica's birthday, Khan, Princess Rebecca, and Prince Thomas left Baoway, heading into a secret structure that had recently approached the planet's orbit. The tournament was still ongoing, so the trip couldn't last too long, but Khan knew those short hours were crucial to his career and overall life.

nThe secret structure was nothing more than a rectangular metal building hovering in the darkness of space. Those locations were common for secret meetings and similar events since they were hard to track and turn into traps. What Khan studied from the ship's scanners was no different, but the scene didn't quell his worry.

nThe structure didn't have landing areas. It only featured docks in the shape of rectangular corridors meant to connect the inbound ships. From the scanners, Khan could see that many vehicles had already arrived, and counting them told him all the guests were waiting for him.

nKhan's ship landed, and the corridor connected to its doors opened, allowing the trio inside. A vast hall soon unfolded in their view, but the furniture barely attracted their attention. Many pairs of eyes immediately fell on them, forcing them to reply in a similar manner.

nPrince Thomas and Princess Rebecca earned their fair share of attention, but Khan remained the inspection's main focus. Everyone in the hall sized him, trying to find any connection to the rumors around his figure.

nMeanwhile, Khan diverted his attention from the audience. He wanted to study them, but something more powerful was tingling his senses. Yet, strangely enough, he failed to pinpoint that strange presence's location.

nKhan ended up going over the furniture. The hall had a big circular table with a vast gap at its center. Menus shone on the floor there, hinting at the possibility of summoning holograms.

nSeven chairs also surrounded the table, and six were already occupied. Each guest had two advisors, making the audience eighteen people strong. Still, the furniture ended there, and Khan had yet to find the source of the strange presence.

n'What can even hinder my senses now?' Khan wondered, and the answer quickly arrived.

n

"I thought we agreed on no evolved soldiers,

" Khan announced, closing his eyes and sending waves of invisible mana everywhere.

nThe symphony changed color, shaking under Khan's violent energy. Yet, one corner near the ceiling remained unaffected by his mana, highlighting a faint white sphere that hovered mid- air.

nPrincess Rebecca and Prince Thomas couldn't see what Khan saw but trusted his words. The former snorted and promptly berated the guests.

"Our family seems to lack honor.

"

nAs Princess Rebecca had hinted, the hall featured the Nognes family's faction leaders. The six of them and their advisors represented the biggest and most influential parties behind that lofty name, who, strangely enough, had set up that meeting before the tournament could provide factual results.

n

"You'll excuse our precautions,

" One of the representatives, a brown-haired old man, said.

"Your leader isn't exactly known for his manners. Prince Jack's head proves that.

"

n

"He even forced our Ethan to bring back his head,

" Another representative, a black-haired old woman, added.

"His gall has hardly earned him any mandatory respect.

"

n

"If your word has no value,

" Prince Thomas argued,

"I don't see the point in wasting breath on this meeting.

"

n

"Thomas, this is only a precaution,

" A third representative, a black-haired middle-aged man, pointed out.

"It won't interfere with the meeting.

"

n

"You requested this meeting and went back on our agreements,

" Prince Thomas stated.

"This irregularity is ground for immediate departure.

"

n

"We all traveled a long way and made sacrifices to match the timeline you imposed,

" The second representative, the old woman, reminded.

"Will you waste our efforts over a necessary and reasonable technicality?

"

n

"If we can't converse as equals,

" Prince Thomas declared,

"There's no reason to converse at all.

"

n

"We will depart,

" Princess Rebecca added,

"If that's the will of our leader.

"

nEvery eye in the hall fell on Khan, but he ignored that political bickering and focused on the white sphere. Even when he looked at it, his senses couldn't pierce it, and his curiosity inevitably increased by the second.

n

"Either he comes down,

" Khan muttered, still inspecting the hall's corner,

"Or I blow this place up.

"

nGrim expressions unfolded around the table. Khan wasn't only ignoring those lofty guests. He was also launching threats, basically forcing them to fulfill his wishes.

nThe first representative, the brown-haired old man, performed a beckoning gesture with his hand, and the symphony immediately changed. A white color only Khan could see invaded the hall, filling it with a warm and cozy sensation. The feeling was almost invigorating, but his mind mainly reacted to its overwhelming power.

nThe white sphere fused with the bright symphony that shared its color. Its surface fused with the environment, revealing a figure inside. The evolved soldier ended up being a she, who slowly descended to the floor to land on the opposite side of the hall.

nKhan's eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the symphony's brightness but eventually became able to inspect the evolved soldier. The woman barely looked to be in her thirties. Her facial features were soft, and long white hair fell from her head, reaching her ankles.

nThe woman's skin shared her hair's color, and the same went for her irises. She attempted to look blind and dead, but the vitality radiated by her figure prevented those impressions.

"Pure

" was the best word Khan could find to describe her, but his mind didn't stop there.

nKhan ignored the woman's seemingly paler military uniform, the big star on both shoulders, and her bare feet to focus on her presence. She wasn't expanding her aura on purpose. Her mana stretched past her physical figure, becoming one with the hall. Her body merely represented her identity, but her reach spread far farther.

nThe pressure that fell on Khan updated him on a sad truth. His imposing and intense aura couldn't do anything against that white presence. He couldn't affect the environment as long as the woman remained in the hall, effectively locking him out of many of his alien arts. The pressure intensified when the woman focused on Khan. He could sense her seemingly blind eyes piercing his flesh, studying the true nature of his being. His mana raged, doing its best to oppose the inspection, but the tinge of displeasure that appeared on the woman's peaceful face told him it had failed.

n

"What exactly are you?

" The woman asked, her words echoing through the symphony, turning it into a blissful melody.

"Prince Khan?

"

nKhan felt the urge to reach for his knife but suppressed it. His whole life experience and the full depths of his instincts came together to deliver a simple answer. He was completely outmatched there. He had no chance of surviving a clash against that evolved warrior. Nevertheless, Khan's mind never stopped working. The evolved soldier's infectious vitality reminded him of a past conversation with Major General Arngan, and his hunches connected

nthem.

n

"Life element,

" Khan said.

"You must have gone through the aided metamorphosis. Did our family purchase that unique mineral?

"

nShowing ignorance toward the family businesses could be a mistake in those political environments. However, the guests' reactions never came close to ridicule. Everyone felt shocked he nailed the issue with a simple look at the evolved soldier.

n

"I have indeed used the Life Mineral to achieve evolution,

" The woman replied.

"However, the stone is still in the Global Army's possession. It simply loaned it for my procedure.

" Khan was the de facto leader of his faction, making him the evolved soldier's superior. Her task was to prevent bloodshed, but her status forced her to answer Khan's questions.

"Incredible,

" Khan praised.

"Though I suspect you are on the weaker end of evolved soldiers. You wouldn't have resorted to the mineral otherwise.

"

n

"What do you even know about evolved soldiers, Prince Khan?

" The second representative,

nthe black-haired old woman, snorted.

n

"I've seen stronger,

" Khan revealed.

"I just didn't realize it until now.

"

nThe revelation fueled some general confusion, which even Princess Rebecca and Prince

nThomas couldn't dodge. Khan had basically stated that he had seen stronger evolved soldiers,

nbut nothing in his history suggested that.

n

"May I ask my question again, Prince Khan?

" The evolved soldier wondered, her probing eyes returning to the core of Khan's being.

"What exactly are you?

"

n

n