Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

"The value on the card… it shows the real value of our arcaneless body,"

Lyirrs said in a serious tone, her voice low and deliberate, carrying a strange gravity that silenced even the restless murmurs around the table.

Everyone around the table raised their eyebrows at once, glancing at each other.

Lyirrs continued, her gaze fixed on the glowing surface of the card.

"In other words, it's our true, unenhanced strength... the systematic power we actually possess in our bodies, completely stripped of all arcane energy or magic enhancements. It's the raw foundation, untouched by outside forces"

"So… everything we see in the Log, those high numbers, that's all after being amplified by Arcane?" Emberlyn asked, her expression trembled between curiosity and disbelief.

Lyirrs nodded slowly, "Yes, exactly. The Log measures our attributes while under the influence of arcane energy or... perhaps, in the future, Clarion energy as well.

This card, however, exposes the truth beneath all that... our bodies in their natural state, the pure vessel without borrowed power. It shows our untapped potential... the core of what we truly are."

She paused, I call it… RVAL. Real Value of our Arcaneless Body."

Victor's eyes widened before narrowing into a deep frown.

Then another thought struck him... hard and loud. Why?

Why did they need RVAL?

All this time, they had trained under Arcane, consumed by the hunger to rise, to level up, to strengthen... And now, all of a sudden, everything was stripped away?

Every effort, every gain questioned by a single card?

Victor glanced at Drakhairs and asked, his tone slightly agitated, "In order to increase one level, we need to raise every one of our attributes to its max, right? Doesn't that mean our body should've increased its value too? I mean, let's take strength, through hard work, we increase our strength beyond limits, so shouldn't—"

"Wait!" Suddenly, Selene's voice cut through his words. Victor turned sharply toward her as she leaned forward, eyes wide with realisation.

"I just realised something. Even though Raven and I share the same level of agility, her speed is way more than mine. And even more, Thalia's strength was literally lower than mine, yet she could smash rocks I couldn't even crack." Her voice faltered as the thought sank deeper, her face slowly turning pale with shock.

Everyone slightly raised their eyebrows again… a ripple of silence spread across the table.

Yeah, they never thought of it that way.

Now that everyone truly considered it… each of them had unique qualities, abilities that gleamed brighter than others... yet their levels were the same.

Something wasn't aligning with what they were taught.

Nightfire spoke next, her tone filled with quiet curiosity, "But isn't our trait blood what enhances our individuality? Doesn't it decide how far our talents bend attributes themselves?"

Selene said back, "Even so, shouldn't it reflect on our Levels?"

Nightfire turned silent.

Victor hummed softly, lost in thought. What Selene said was something that not even he, for all his analysis, had ever considered. He always assumed that to increase a level, every attribute needed to reach its threshold.

But now, that assumption felt hollow.... Why did it truly matter?

Drakhairs frowned, his voice low and contemplative, "There's a difference between Level 1 Novice and Level 1 Master… maybe that's where the answer lies. The gap that exists not in level, but in essence... Just like Lady Nightfire said."

Everyone nodded at his words… that made sense too. A Level 1 Novice was different from a Level 1 Master… even though both shared the same level, they were clearly not the same.

However,

"Still, what makes a Novice and what makes a Master?" Victor asked… and that question couldn't be answered.

Nyx added softly, "So all this time… what we saw… was fake?"

The entire hall turned deathly silent. Fake?

Was their Log fake?

Then why was it there in the first place?

What was the purpose of creating something false?

Victor shook his head slowly. "Now is not the time to delve too deep into this… if it truly matters, then the truth will reveal itself sooner or later. For now, we need to uncover our truth about these new Origin Cards."

Everyone nodded again, though their eyes carried uncertainty.

Victor turned to Lyirrs and asked, "RVAL is the true level of our body, right?"

Lyirrs nodded, "Well, for now, we could assume it to be."

Victor nodded firmly, "Well then… let's increase that value."

Everyone gasped.

Victor continued with a serious tone, "Since it's a new value and we still don't know what they're capable of, nor whether our cards are still absorbing Arcane crystals... we have many things to uncover. And also… what about the blank cards?"

Lyirrs nodded with an eager expression, "Ah, I almost forgot that. Blank cards have the same traits, except they don't have any stars."

Victor hummed with a slight frown, nodding his head slowly. "So from here on, there's no difference between the cards… blank, gold, rainbow, silver, copper?"

"Actually," Lyirrs corrected, tapping the surface of the console, "everyone's cards turned to a rainbow-colored outline, sir." She activated the hologram on the table, and the edges of every card shimmered faintly with rainbow light.

Raven frowned, her tone quiet yet uneasy, "Does that mean… everyone is a chosen one?" she asked.

Before Lyirrs could answer with an uncertain guess, Victor replied calmly, "In the ancient times, everyone was an Origin, dear… so yes, in those days, everyone possessed these cards.

The monsters too held only rainbow-colored crystals, which means everyone was equal back then."

Raven turned silent, her thoughts heavy. She nodded slowly before asking again, "The reason the chosen ones can handle both Arcane and Clarion energy is because of our unique cards blessed by Arcane, right? Does that mean now everyone will be able to handle it too?"

Victor shook his head slightly. "No. You all remain unique, blessed personally by the Goddess herself. It might have something to do with that divine link… still—" he frowned deeply before glancing at Drakhairs.

Drakhairs, without needing to hear a word, said, "I understand. I'll test this on the prisoners to see if there's any difference."

Victor nodded and glanced at Lyirrs, who spoke with formality, "That's all we've found so far, Your Majesty."

"Good… deliver these reports to the other Empires officially as well, in the name of Aether."

Lyirrs blinked in mild surprise before nodding her head and bowing. She then left the room quietly.

As his daughter exited, Drakhairs looked at Victor and asked curiously, "Your Majesty… do we really need to hide your actual identity from her too? I believe she's earned your respect and trust enough."

Victor smiled faintly. "I'm not doubting her, Drakhairs… but the fewer who know, the better it is."

Drakhairs hummed with slight disappointment. He understood where Victor was coming from… but still, a part of him disagreed.

Then Victor added, "Also, it's amusing to see her annoyed while dealing with Aether… ahaha, look at her, almost pissed just talking to a human… ahaha." His amused grin widened as he remembered Lyirrs' irritated face.

"I almost laughed watching her attitude. Damn, she was so different from usual—the pissed look, the annoyed tone… she really wanted to punch me that time… haha."

It was refreshing to see that side of her. Usually, she acted stubborn yet obedient before Victor, almost too perfect.

If she ever discovered Victor was actually Aether, she would probably never show that unguarded side again... and that would be boring to him.

Drakhairs blinked when he heard that, staring at his emperor laughing so freely before a small smile crossed his face. He nodded and said softly, "Well, if that's what makes you happy, then so be it… but don't tease her too much. She might actually cry."

Victor chuckled even more. "Haha… now I kind of want to see her crying expression…"

Drakhairs shook his head slowly. His emperor always joked about everything... though he couldn't tell whether Victor truly meant it or not.

Anyway, Drakhairs slightly straightened, glancing once more at Victor before nodding. "I suppose this will be good for her too," he said, standing up and bowing his head respectfully before leaving the room.

Victor took a deep breath as he turned… only to find the remaining women staring at him—especially Raven and Nyx.

"What?" he asked blankly.

"…"

They didn't even need to speak; their eyes said it all.

Victor groaned. "Come on, girls, I'm not going after her! She's my freaking subordinate!"

"Oh yeah?" Selene said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I believe him," Thalia added with a faint frown.

"Yeah, believe him," Emberlyn muttered, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah," Raven said blankly, still staring at her husband with a cold gaze.

"Subordinate, right?" Nyx frowned, eyeing Nightfire for some reason.

"Maybe suck-bing on the date?" Nightfire giggled with an amused smirk.

Victor groaned louder, running a hand down his face. He couldn't believe these people just wouldn't believe him!

He was only teasing Lyirrs… he just wanted to have some fun with her, that's all!

There was no hidden agenda!!

Please, believe him!!!