Chapter 5:  World of Essentarii

Conrad's eyes widened. Corner of his mouth twitched a little. A familiar word caught his attention immediately. 

Brahman.

Finally something that could be helpful to me. So my luck is not completely terrible at least. 

Basic guide to Brahman. Conrad read the name in his mind. 

Wait, published by UG ? Isn't that the Unified Government that consists of 15 most powerful nations? 

While each nation maintained its sovereignty, most followed UG's standardized systems. Take currency, for instance. Here, they used Sili, minted in silver coins and printed on paper. Silver Sili came in denominations of 1, 2, and 4, while paper Sili existed in 10, 50, 100, and 1000 values. However, Sili's circulation was limited to a couple of countries within the Freya continent.

Globally, people use Atana-Kata. The UG issued copper Atana coins and Kata paper notes, the latter bearing the portrait of UG's founder from the sixth epoch year 7046 L.C. (Linear Calendar). Atana denominations were 1, 2, and 5, while Kata came in 5, 10, 20, 100, 500, and 1000 values.

The exchange rate was fixed: 1 Atana equaled 2 Sili, and 20 Sili converted to 10 Atana or 1 Kata.

There is no currency which is higher than its value. Conrad was searching for information regarding UG from the depth of his memories. 

“So UG does know about the supernatural, i mean it may be hidden from common people but of course the entity which is essentially the most powerful in this world should know about this. The problem is why don't common people know about this and why UG has published such a book? What is the thing they want to achieve?” 

Conrad again fell into deep thoughts. The epoch before the modern era is a mystery as this was the epoch before us but in universities there aren't many scholars studying this period of time. Usually it's the fifth epoch that has been discussed more and more over the course of our semesters. 

"Anira, what do you make of this space?" Conrad turned to his companion, who stood beside him studying the book with preternatural calm.

“My Lord, this space is not ordinary. The person who created this space is not any weaker than me.They may possibly be at Tier 7 of the Space and Time Domain - capable of minor space-time manipulation. But it can be from another domain as well. This is just based on my speculation.” 

Again, why do you always explain things in a way that is impossible for me to understand? What are those strings of words you put together? 

Conrad frowned, feeling a little frustrated, the corner of his mouth twitched twice. He focused on the book again.

As powerful as Anira - that was no small claim. But why would such a formidable being place a book here in the Valor family's possession?

"Could it be that Oddity?" he ventured.

“No my lord, Oddities are corrupted beings, they don't have such sophistication  in controlling their Brahman in such a way. They can make unnatural phenomena occur but they are usually driven by instinct.” 

Anira answered with crystalline clarity.

“Anira you can deal with that Oddity, right ?” 

“Yes my lord but..” Anira hesitated.

“Whatever it is, speak freely” Conrad said with a deep voice trying to sound like he is some great master. 

"My Lord, engaging with anything Brahman-related carries extreme risk, regardless of its apparent strength. The possibilities are boundless and unpredictable. Brahman remains an enigma - mortals attempt to classify and systematize it through symmetrical patterns and hypotheses, but our understanding remains nebulous. New theories emerge daily."

Conrad was listening very carefully. As an engineer he knew what Anira meant. It's like mathematics and physics. Even though humanity had explored and made many theories explaining stuff. We still fell short on a grand scale where the creations operate. Things like consciousness, life, end of universe are things that may very well be never known to us. 

Conrad nodded slightly, “what’s your suggestion?”

Anira thought for a moment before giving her answer. “Master, this book holds great value for you. You are already an Essentia tier 0 (Brahman inheritor). Tomorrow after midnight we can explore the Oddity to deal with it”

“It's not safe, Anira. You know, I am not worried about myself. But I can't put my sisters in danger” 

"My Lord, whoever created this distorted space is protecting this house. They likely use it as a treasure vault and won't allow disturbances until they discover a missing item. I detect no automatic alarm system. We're currently safe."

"Still..." Conrad began, but found no counter-argument. His knowledge gaps left him unable to properly debate.

"My Lord, on your command, I can erect a mist barrier to repel any Oddity - a new ability I gained from you," Anira offered, her soothing voice complementing her deep crimson eyes as they awaited his order. Her singular purpose was his protection; his sisters meant nothing to her. Deep in her heart a feeling unknown to her started to take form. She was unaware of this feeling. 

“You can do that ?” Conrad asked. 

“Yes my lord. However, as I exist in your shadow, distance affects the barrier's strength. Its thickness correlates to our proximity, with us at its center."

A circle with limited range, essentially.

Satisfied with this solution and having no classes tomorrow, Conrad planned to spend the day studying the book and strategizing about the Oddity.

"Anira, let's patrol outside. Just to verify everything's secure."

"Yes, my Lord."