They should be here soon, Arin thought as he looked up at the sky, trying to find something interesting to occupy his attention. Another slow day was beginning, and there was still very little for him to do besides meditate and make sure that nobody approached the Stillwater Lotus. He had already spent enough time guarding the plant to become thoroughly familiar with the surrounding clearing, the lake, and the forest's subtle changes throughout the day. If he had not discovered that meditation offered him an opportunity to learn more about his physique, he would have become incredibly bored long ago. Fortunately, there was still plenty for him to investigate, even if he would have preferred to share the responsibility with the rest of his family.
The main reason Arin remained interested in his physique was that he had no reliable reference against which to measure his discoveries. This was not some ancient cultivation world where generations of cultivators had systematically studied different physiques and established detailed rankings for them. On Earth, the arrival of mana was still relatively recent, and humanity was only beginning to understand the changes it had brought to the human body. Although some people had already developed extraordinary physical characteristics, there was little agreement about how those characteristics should be classified or compared. Arin therefore had to rely on his own observations, gradually learning what his physique could do instead of consulting a book written by an experienced expert.
There had been a few news agencies that attempted to establish rankings of physiques, hoping to satisfy the public's curiosity about the people who possessed these unusual advantages. However, those efforts had been shut down rather forcefully, as most people with physiques were currently working for governments or operating under factions capable of protecting them. The rumours surrounding North Korea had not yet been resolved, and the uncertainty had made people increasingly cautious about revealing information concerning their abilities. Nobody wanted to become the subject of unwanted attention simply because a journalist had decided to publish a ranking that identified them as particularly valuable. As a result, the idea of publicly cataloguing physiques had disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.
This also meant that there was very little reliable information about physiques available online. Most of what could be found came from a handful of individuals who had foolishly revealed their abilities during national broadcasts or interviews. In addition, each country had pushed at least one known physique holder into the public eye, largely so that it could claim to possess someone with such an advantage. Governments understood that admitting they had no publicly known physique holders would invite ridicule from their international rivals, especially when the possession of extraordinary individuals had become another measure of national strength. Consequently, the information available to ordinary people was incomplete, heavily influenced by political considerations, and often too vague to be useful for serious research.
Arin had little interest in becoming part of that spectacle, so he preferred to study his own abilities in private. One of his current experiments involved determining how much information his physique could reveal about a particular plant when combined with his Forest Stewardship skill. He was trying to understand where the information originated, how much detail he could obtain, and whether the amount of information changed according to his familiarity with the plant. Some observations produced useful results, while others merely confirmed things he already knew, making the process rather tedious. Nevertheless, he continued his experiments because he knew that a better understanding of his physique could prove invaluable in the future.
Unfortunately, learning about his abilities did not make sitting beside a lake for hours particularly entertaining. Arin had already explored the immediate surroundings, checked the condition of the lotus repeatedly, and familiarised himself with the forest's current state. There was only so much he could discover about the same plant without introducing new variables or taking risks that he was unwilling to accept. He could not simply abandon his post, since the Stillwater Lotus remained an important treasure whose survival depended on proper protection. Therefore, he continued meditating and studying his physique, hoping that his family would arrive soon and relieve him of his responsibilities.
While Arin was spending his days in relative isolation, the rest of the world had become considerably more turbulent. It had been three weeks since he had set out for the mana stone mine, and the international political landscape had changed dramatically during that short period. Governments were struggling to adapt to the consequences of the new world, while political factions and powerful families were taking advantage of the instability to advance their own interests. Decisions that might once have required months of debate were now being forced through under extraordinary pressure. For those who followed international affairs, the past three weeks had provided more than enough news to keep them occupied from morning until night.
One of the biggest developments had been the selection of the new president of the United States. Although the election had finally settled the immediate question of who would lead the country, the new president had inherited a situation that would challenge even the most capable politician. Elections still needed to be held or reorganised in various places, while numerous civil servants required retraining to cope with the new circumstances. Government institutions had been damaged by corruption, disrupted by the arrival of mana, or simply overwhelmed by the number of unfamiliar problems demanding their attention. The new administration therefore had little time to celebrate its victory, since the work of rebuilding the country's political machinery had only just begun.
Even so, the American election was not the most significant story dominating international news. That distinction belonged to the European Union's anti-corruption campaign, which had been underway for approximately three weeks and was already exposing an extraordinary number of abuses. Investigators had uncovered officials who had profited enormously from the scramble to prepare their countries for the changing world. Some had acquired property and other valuable assets by exploiting ordinary citizens who were desperate to protect themselves and their families. Others had forced people to pay for their own weapons through schemes that allowed the officials responsible to collect money while avoiding the proper costs of supplying their forces. What had initially appeared to be isolated cases of misconduct was gradually revealing a much broader pattern of corruption.
The most egregious cases were now being dragged before the courts, with the majority being handled by military tribunals. The reason was that many of the accused had committed their offences while acting under wartime declarations, using the extraordinary powers granted to them as justification for decisions that would otherwise have been illegal. The government was therefore asking the military courts to impose the death penalty in several of the most serious cases. Although the proceedings were still in their early stages, the first hearings suggested that the courts were leaning towards severe punishments. The extensive documentation presented during those hearings made it increasingly difficult for the accused to dismiss the allegations as political persecution or administrative misunderstandings.
Naturally, the European Union ensured that the most thoroughly documented cases were widely reported beyond its own borders. The intention was not merely to demonstrate that the campaign was producing results, but also to expose the methods through which officials had enriched themselves at the public's expense. The revelations quickly encouraged accusations to resurface in other countries, where citizens began demanding explanations for similar abuses. Several national leaders were delighted to seize the opportunity, since they could now pursue individuals they had previously lacked the public support to challenge. With the European cases providing examples of how such investigations could be conducted, governments elsewhere found it easier to justify opening their own inquiries.
However, the campaign was not limited to corruption within Europe. Just three days earlier, the European Union had issued a bombshell statement demanding that several individuals be handed over for trial after being implicated in the smuggling of mana stones to Africa. The EU considered the matter unacceptable and insisted that those responsible should face justice. The announcement immediately created a difficult situation for the African countries involved, particularly because many of the accused belonged to influential social circles or worked for national intelligence agencies. Handing them over would mean sacrificing people who possessed considerable political connections, while refusing the demand risked provoking powerful European interests.
The African governments therefore found themselves caught between two unattractive choices. On one hand, surrendering the accused could damage their reputations at home by making it appear that they were allowing foreign powers to dictate their judicial affairs. On the other hand, refusing to cooperate meant confronting the Great Houses of Europe, whose influence had become increasingly difficult to ignore. It was widely understood that the European statement was not simply the result of routine diplomatic negotiations, but had been pushed forward by the Great Houses themselves. Consequently, the dispute had become a battle over prestige and political face, with neither side particularly eager to appear weak in front of the international community.
The presence of the strange assassins associated with the Great Houses made the situation even more complicated. Many people still had no clear idea where these individuals came from, although their activities appeared to have some connection to Europe. The earlier crisis in the United States had also involved European interests, and the details surrounding that affair had yet to become fully understood by the wider world. Until the African governments knew more about the transactions and relationships involved, they were reluctant to challenge the Great Houses too openly. Nobody wanted to provoke a confrontation with an organisation whose capabilities remained largely unknown, particularly when its influence seemed to extend far beyond ordinary political and economic power.
As a result, the prevailing opinion among many observers was that the African countries should simply hand over the accused and bring the dispute to an end. From a purely practical perspective, that seemed to be the safest course of action, since it would avoid a prolonged confrontation with powerful European interests. Unfortunately, the decision was not nearly as simple as it appeared. The accused included people whose positions were closely tied to the credibility and authority of their respective governments, and surrendering them could undermine public confidence in the state. Even leaders who privately considered cooperation the sensible option had to weigh the potential consequences of appearing to bow to foreign pressure.
The irony was that the Great Houses were deliberately allowing the entire diplomatic drama to unfold rather than resolving the issue through more direct means. Their primary concern was keeping their own activities involving mana stones secret, and they wanted to avoid attracting even more attention to the transactions that had already begun to raise suspicions. If secrecy had not been important, the African countries involved might already have faced considerably harsher consequences. Instead, the Great Houses were attempting to achieve their objectives while limiting the number of people who realised what was happening behind the scenes. Their patience did not mean that they were unconcerned about resistance; rather, it meant that they preferred to settle the matter without exposing more of their own operations.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, a few individuals had already begun noticing irregularities that were difficult to explain away. The price of mana stones had tripled over the course of just three weeks, a dramatic increase that attracted the attention of traders and observers who understood how markets normally behaved. Such a sudden rise suggested that powerful buyers were competing to acquire the stones, potentially because they expected future demand to increase or because they knew something the wider market did not. The situation became particularly troublesome when it emerged that some of the competing bids had been placed by the very groups seeking to control the market. In effect, the buyers had been driving prices against one another, creating an artificial escalation that threatened to expose their activities.
The rising prices were eventually brought under control only after a meeting between the Trade Families and the Great Houses. These powerful groups recognised that continuing to bid against one another would merely increase the cost of acquiring the mana stones without providing any meaningful advantage. Their agreement helped stabilise the market, at least temporarily, but it did not erase the suspicions that had already begun spreading among more observant individuals. Those who had noticed the sudden price increase were unlikely to forget it, particularly if further irregularities emerged. For the moment, however, the people responsible could hope that controlling the prices would also control the questions surrounding them.
Back in the forest, Arin remained largely unaware of the full extent of the political turmoil unfolding beyond his immediate surroundings. He was still sitting among the trees, studying his physique and guarding the Stillwater Lotus while waiting for his relatives to arrive. The contrast between his quiet days beside the lake and the rapidly changing international situation could hardly have been greater. While governments argued over corruption, mana stones, and the influence of powerful families, Arin was trying to determine how much information his physique could extract from a single plant. He could only hope that his family would arrive soon, because even the most interesting discoveries eventually became tedious when there was nobody around to share the work.