The same person that had told him to trust no one?
His drawing in the royal archives depicted him as much older, but Kion knew there was no mistaking that this was the very same person. Apparently, Tyril had existed over 5000 years ago, just about the same time that the Great War happened.
"That was arguably our most powerful monarch in the Everglade bloodline." Shaman explained, noticing the slightly confused expression on Kion's face.
"He accomplished great feats when he was alive, and played a key role to the continuity and survival of the royal bloodline even after the war." The old man explained further, making Kion's eyes scrunch even more.
"What was it like?" He finally asked, causing Shaman to raise a brow at his curiousity.
"Oh, the Great War? Well it was just the most brutal war our world had ever seen. Nothing much really." The Shaman teased, laughing at his own words.
"The motives of the war are very unclear, as most details had been lost to time. What I do know, is that so many great bloodlines had gone extinct after the war. The Everglade lineage was one of the few that actually survived, because of him. He was the last Everglade left in his time."
Shaman pointed his index finger at the drawing. Apparently, this Tyril was a hero. Kion had seen him firsthand, so he knew that some little details in the drawing were inaccurate.
A more perfect drawing would've been someone who looked much similar to Kion, except with blue skin, pointed ears and white hair.
But still, It was a little confusing that Tyril would tell him to trust no one. Kion had no idea what he had meant, but he was sure that this wasn't the last time he'd see his heroic ancestor.
"Oh you'll definitely meet him again." Shaman said, as if reading Kion's thoughts.
How did he know?
Kion wondered within himself. He was beginning to find this wizard strangely suspicious.
"Oh don't pee your pants, young master. I did no mind reading if that's what you suspect. I only paid close attention. I already knew that you'd meet an ancestor during your awakening.
That's how it always is. What I didn't know, is who that person was. I was planning to ask you but when I saw your reaction to seeing old Tyril over here, the answer, to me, was quite clear."
Kion still kept silent, not too eager to overshare details.
"It's a rare thing for a newly awakened to encounter Tyril himself in a vision. I can only imagine what you saw. You must be a special breed indeed." Shaman continued, staring pointedly at him as if asking for more details.
But Kion kept silent. From what he'd gathered, no one in this timeline really knew what happened surrounding the Great War. And quite frankly, he didn't trust anyone enough to share hidden secrets. He would just have to unravel the mystery on his own.
He quickly diverted the topic, pointing to another section of the chart that he'd long anticipated: the power scaling system.
This part explained everything in detail, from the souls possessed by warriors to the skills and talents that came with them.
"What's this about?" Kion asked, his finger stationed above a hierarchy of some sort.
"Ah. Those are the cultivation stages for every soul domain. They begin here, starting from the lowest, which is common-grade, to the highest that you have the potential for young master, the celestial-grade."
The chart looked something like this:
Common > Uncommon > Rare > Epic > Mythic > Legendary > Celestial.
Kion took a quick look at the hierarchy.
"And how does one ascend through the stages?" Kion asked with childlike curiousity. Based on his past life, he already had some idea on how this worked, but just wanted to hear a firsthand description of the process, especially in this timeline, that things may be different.
"It's a combination of gruelling training, meditation, enlightenment either through pills or local potions and brews, and overall luck."
"Luck?" Kion asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, young master. Not everyone has the potential for high grades. Your body will only ascend if you genetically have the potential for it. And even when you do have the potential, what might work for others might not necessarily work for you. That's why a lot of options are available to the newly awakened within castle walls. Everyone's different, and if one doesn't get the required space and training to unlock their genetic potential, then they might not ascend at all."
Shaman paused for a brief moment, allowing Kion to soak it all in.
"But you have nothing to worry about, young master. I'm sure you'll ascend in no time. Currently you're at common-grade, and it's not really hard to break through this stage to the uncommon-grade. Give yourself a couple of weeks and you're there already.
After all, I didn't just call you here for a lecture. I have a meditation manual and some scrolls you could use for your personal training. Follow that schematic and you should be at your next stage of enlightenment. You don't even need storm-pills or anything of the sort just yet."
"Thank you." Kion said courteously.
"You're welcome." Shaman replied, "Now if you don't mind, just finish up on the last bit so you can be on your merry way."
The final part of the chart showed the various souls and their domains.
Apparently, Kion's fire soul belonged to an umbrella group of elemental souls: souls that granted warriors control over certain elements of nature.
Just like most elemental souls, fire souls weren't that rare. It's wielders seemingly had basic control over fire, but the more advanced fighters could conduct many feats that were more than just flame.
For instance, Admiral Yatsu Everglade, one of Kion's notable ancestors, was a skilled mythic-grade fire mancer who had a skill that allowed him to change his form to smoke at will.
It was a rare Monarch-level talent called [Smoke Form] and it granted him huge advantages especially in one-on-one duels and assassinations.
The talents themselves, or skills associated with various souls, ranged from [Novice] to [Monarch]. It looked something like this: