Floating Island - Triple S Talent

Lein stayed with Nita for a while until she finally stopped crying and could speak clearly.

"How are you feeling? Feeling better?" Lein asked, looking at Nita's face.

Nita smiled and gave a small nod as she wiped away the remaining tears.

"Alright then, go downstairs and start getting ready," Lein said, then stood up from the sofa, intending to take a shower and prepare himself.

"Let all core members know to be ready for the official alliance meeting at 10 a.m.," Lein instructed as he headed toward the bathroom.

"Alright, Brother…" Nita replied without asking any questions. She then stood up and began clearing the plates on the table, stacking a few plates, bowls with bowls, and organizing everything on the tray.

And so, the two siblings went about their morning routines.

***

In a three-story room lined with shelves filled with books on every floor, an old man in white clothing was seen examining a book on one of the shelves.

"Aetheris?" the old man murmured softly, reading a thin book with several circle diagrams on the page he was on.

"Unstable…?"

"A special state where a ruler becomes a king?"

The old man continued reading through the pages of the book until he finally finished. He gazed off toward the far end of the room, lost in thought.

"If I'm not mistaken, young master Lein should have already reached the Master level!" the old man said to himself.

Yes, the old man was Haikal Emanuel.

He used to be an academic and served as a professor at one of Indonesia's top universities. Since he possessed a talent that made him stronger through reading and gaining knowledge, he created this vast library during the racial war event.

"It feels almost impossible to reach the King level," Haikal muttered to himself, imagining how difficult it would be to achieve the King level as described in the book he had just read.

"Even the levels beyond Master are unclear. Very few books discuss the levels beyond Master," Haikal Emanuel said in frustration.

From several books he had read, the Master level was when a ruler could construct their soul and activate it on an altar they had built.

"I wonder what young master Lein's soul altar level is… and that light girl, too!"

Haikal Emanuel walked down the numerous book aisles, having intentionally come to the library early in the morning after waking up.

Yesterday, he had tried to enter one of the portals to attack the foreign invaders, but he couldn't pass through due to a merging with the cosmos. There was also a time limit, which would end at an uncertain time.

The latest information he had received from his subordinates a few minutes ago was that the merging process had reached 42%. This meant it was almost halfway before Aetheris, where they resided, would merge with the cosmos.

"Let's hope none of those creatures exceed the Master level," Haikal Emanuel said with hope. In his view, Lein had already reached the Master level and could defeat invaders of the same level.

As he continued walking through the library shelves toward the exit, he stopped in his tracks as he received an important message from Nita.

- (Cute cat): All core members are expected to attend the official meeting at 11:00 a.m.

"Good… I assume young master will discuss further plans on the cosmos merging and the foreign invasion," he guessed quickly. In his opinion, nothing was more urgent than those two matters.

Haikal Emanuel felt slightly more at ease, then continued on his way. He headed for the exit to prepare himself.

***

Laras Residence, City of Light

A garden filled with various types of beautiful flowers, and a lake full of vibrant fish. A woman stood waiting beside a water faucet as it filled a bucket. Next to her was a middle-aged woman with a slightly plump figure standing by her side.

"Miss Laras, you don't need to do such menial work. Let me handle it," the middle-aged woman said, trying to stop Laras from filling the water bucket.

"It's alright, Auntie. I actually enjoy doing this," Laras replied reassuringly. She then added, "I'm used to doing this every day back on Earth, so there's no need to worry."

The middle-aged woman seemed resigned, unable to do anything more. She had tried everything she could, but Laras was apparently more determined than she'd anticipated.

Before long, the watering bucket was full. Laras closed it, lifted it with her right hand, and headed straight to the flower bed she hadn't watered yet.

"This spot, wasn't it?" Laras murmured, trying to recall the area she had previously watered.

She found the spot and started watering. A fine mist of water sprinkled evenly over the flowers.

Na… na na… na

As she watered, Laras hummed her favorite song. She seemed very skilled; by the time she reached the end of the flower bed, the water in the bucket was empty. She gave it a small shake to make sure there was no water left, then turned back to fill it again.

She opened the watering bucket, turned on the faucet, and waited.

While waiting, Laras recalled their meeting with Nita, Elen, and Hana. She and the others had encouraged Nita to embrace her desire to change, to become more useful, and to support her brother Lein as best she could.

"I hope you succeed," Laras murmured, wishing the best for Nita. They were close; they were best friends.

Now the bucket was full again, so Laras turned off the faucet, closed the bucket. Just as she was about to lift it, the sound of an incoming message notification echoed.

- (Cute cat): All core members are requested to attend the official meeting to be held at 11:00.

Just like Haikal Emanuel, Laras received the same exact message. Or rather, all ten core members had received the invitation to attend the official meeting.

"Official meeting?" Laras repeated, recalling the term they'd used before. After pondering it for a moment, she smiled and said, "Alright."

Laras had suspected there would be a meeting due to the ongoing invasion. Besides that, the disturbances in the portal and the merging of the cosmos were matters that needed serious discussion.

With that, Laras continued her morning routine, watering the flowers and planning to get ready afterward to attend the alliance's core members' official meeting.

The other core members also received the message. They were all going about their morning routines when they received Nita's message. Their responses were similarly enthusiastic and hopeful.

They anticipated finding answers to everything happening at the upcoming meeting, so they were more than ready to attend wholeheartedly.

***

The White House, America Island

William sat behind a large desk, his eyes scanning a stack of reports spread out across the table. Occasionally, he glanced at the tablet in his hand to review more detailed reports.

"So, Sir? Has there been any response from the Russian, Chinese, or other alliances?" an elderly man asked in front of him with hope in his voice.

Hearing the question, William furrowed his brow. He intended to respond, but as he recalled their attitudes, a look of irritation appeared on his face. He had tried to establish good relations with these alliances to share information, but all of them had refused and given unsatisfactory responses.

"No, it seems they no longer trust us," William replied bitterly. He found it hard to accept this reality. When they first arrived, he was at the center of the world's attention; even the Russian and Chinese alliances had shown interest and readiness to cooperate.

However, when the alien invasion happened—when power was the only thing that mattered—those alliances revealed their true colors, behaving very differently from how they had publicly presented themselves.

"Just wait… sooner or later, I'll surpass you all," William said with conviction. He refused to be treated like this. While it wasn't outright betrayal, being ignored by those who used to be weaker than him was a deeply frustrating feeling.

William could only set aside the issue of cooperation with those alliances for the time being. He turned his gaze toward the elderly man in front of him and asked,

"What's the current percentage of the merger?" William asked with deep curiosity.

The elderly man was ready with his answer. "It's reached 42%, Sir. It's expected to be completed by tomorrow," he explained with a slightly fearful tone.

William fell silent for a moment, taking in the report. A sense of worry crept into his heart. Imagining their current strength, it was clear that these alien invaders weren't opponents they could face with ordinary Tier-3 soldiers alone.

His thoughts drifted to the rulers in the Divine Sky Realm. There was only one person he believed could stand tall against this threat—Lein, the leader of the World Market Trade Alliance.

"Any information from Princess Nita?" William asked again.

"Yes, Sir. She advised that we continue to wait for further information," the elderly man across the table from William replied.

Hufft...

Stress clouded William's mind. He felt uncertain about what to do, fully aware that their current strength wasn't enough to stand alone.