Death... and me

Kimi rummaged through his memories before beginning to talk. "His name is Mitamo Fausec. Just like my subordinates and I, he and his tribe came from the same place, the Kulo Sealed Region. He was the strongest cultivator there and governed his area with an iron fist. Well, everyone was the same, including me. Simply put, he became the King because he was the strongest and had the strongest tribe."

"Iron fist, uh?" Rean narrowed his eyes before saying, "Have you been told that there's a time limit for the humans to live in Wringan Continent without being bothered by the Zasfins or the demon beasts?"

Kimi nodded, saying what he knew. "We heard it from the Zasfins who brought us here. For the next thousand years, we'll be left alone. That's all we heard."

Rean nodded as he said in response, "That's correct. That's the agreement they have to follow after they lost the war. The demon beasts in the two continents on the sides of Wringan will act as protectors as well in case the Zasfins suddenly decide to attack us."

Rean then looked at Kimi before continuing, "We only have so much time, so I hope you won't try to pull each others' legs. From the looks of it, both you and this Fausec King have the ability to reach the Saint Realm one day. After all, the Spiritual Energy in the world is a lot more concentrated now. That being said, if you don't want to become slaves or get locked in a place once again, you better think of increasing humanity's strength. Don't try to hold others down if possible. Of course, do that as long as the others don't try to take advantage of you."

Kimi looked back at Rean with a weird expression, asking, "You definitely didn't come from a Sealed Region, right? If you did, you wouldn't be thinking about anything else other than yourself. At least not during the first few years of freedom."

Rean didn't need to hide that, nodding as he replied, "Indeed. Although I'm saying this, I'm sure that everyone will try to guarantee their own conditions first. However, there will come a moment where humans would have created a foothold in this continent. That's the moment we need to think about increasing our forces to fight back against any possible invasion in the future, especially if people like you can live for way more than a thousand years."

Naturally, Kimi didn't care about such things at the moment. They had just been released, so they were trying to take what they could. "This utopia you're thinking about won't come anytime soon."

"It's not a utopia," Rean said as he arrived at the workshop. After that, he acquired a room for him to work on Kimi's weapon as he continued to talk. "People need challenges to grow. That's also one of the reasons why Wringan Continent still has demon beasts at Stage Six and below. They're here so that everyone can have the chance to battle something else other than ourselves. The struggles between humans themselves are also part of this process. What I want is for humans to not make our race worse than it already is."

Kimi could agree with that, at least. "That's fine, then. I can guarantee that the people from Kulo Sealed Region wouldn't be idiotic enough to destroy themselves from the inside."

"How come?" Rean asked back.

"Because there's one thing we always stand up together against, the Zasfins. I don't know how the people from the other Sealed Regions acted during the time they were there. However, our Sealed Region had fought against them many times. That was one thing that we had in common. Mitamo, obviously, was one of those who fought the fiercest." Kimi couldn't help but sigh at that moment. "Too bad that we knew we were not changing anything. As long as someone surpassed the Nascent Soul Realm, the Zasfins would send a much stronger member to get rid of them. Nevertheless, we fought every time the Zasfins came with the intention of training against our forces."

Rean could only imagine how life in the Sealed Regions was like. Not only did it brew humans for the sacrifices, but they were also used to train Zasfin disciples from various organizations. "So that's how your King is, huh? He didn't stay hidden. Instead, he fought even though he couldn't surpass the Nascent Soul Realm."

Kimi nodded as he said in response, "It wasn't only him. His entire tribe was focused on fighting the Zasfins that came to train. Because of that, many others joined it as well. I, too, participated in a few of those fights. That's why although I didn't like it too much, I didn't complain too much about selecting Mitamo as the King."

Rean couldn't help but ask, "There's one thing I don't understand. Wringan Continent is enormous. You could very well go to some other place and build your own force with your subordinates, maybe your own country. The same could be said for the others who participated in the decision to create this country. Why did you stay under the Fausec Tribe's banner?"

Surprisingly, Kimi answered straight away. "Insurance!"

"Insurance?" Rean was confused.

Kimi then explained, "Insurance. We were set free by the Zasfins, and we have the demon beasts to protect us for a thousand years...or so it was told. However, who can guarantee that? As far as we know, the Zasfins or the demon beasts might decide to get rid of us once for all now that the war is over. That would prevent a lot of trouble in the future."

Rean finally understood. "I see...you will stay together to protect yourselves. If the situation changes, you will band together once more. It's a lot better than being caught one by one in different places of the continent."

Kimi nodded once again. "Yes." Of course, he also knew the other side of this issue. "Of course. If the years pass and nothing happens, I'm sure a lot of us will leave. As for what will happen when that time comes or how many will stay, that I do not know."

Rean sighed after hearing that but didn't say anything else. Rean then spent the next several hours crafting Kimi's weapon. Only after he was done with it did he take his daggers back and pass the saber to Kimi. "Alright, our deal is done. Now, come with me. I want you to see what we're doing in the tower."