[The host cannot possibly wield essence as efficiently as me, but you can get better than what your crude usage applies...]

Seth didn’t feel offended by this. It was like a human trying to beat a car in a race.

While indeed a human could technically get more fit, and practice more to grow in speed, they could never catch up to a vehicle.

The same rule applied here...

The oracle began lecturing him on how to get better and use essence more efficiently.

Which led to a cacophony of blaring red flashes and warning beeps ringing out, but Seth persisted in learning.

Fortunately, the room had noise cancellation, preventing him from keeping the rest awake all night.

Slowly hours passed, and dawn broke...

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The tone of the doorbell rang through the room speakers, stirring the five awake.

Staring through the window, they all knew... "It’s time." They whispered in sync.

They would be setting out for North Dakota today...

Seth summoned a nice fit from his inventory to wear as a delicate pulse of essence streamed through his skin, cleaning himself instantly.

And surprisingly enough, the watch never blared. Yes, Seth had made so much progress in this aspect in one night.

Not only could he wield his essence with lesser intensity, it automatically regulated his overall strength.

He could restrain more of his weight of existence on the Earth, allowing it to bear less pressure.

And right now, he could even activate his skills to a certain level.

No matter how he saw it, he was glad he chose to give this his effort. Though he couldn’t fully explore the benefit this would have when in full power, for now he’d have to make do with this.

He quickly stepped out, meeting some of the others on the way downstairs to the living room.

Getting down, Uriel had already let their visitors in...

Unsurprisingly, the Blind Prophetess Trisha had been sent along with two army soldiers.

The two were just here for escort. Their only companion on this journey would consist of only Trisha, since she was the only one who could detect and recognize the "pillars" as the president dubbed them.

As for how they would get to their destination, the president never mentioned, only stating that they would find out today.

The blind girl quickly stood stiffly and bowed toward Seth’s direction as though she could feel the moment he stepped into the room.

"Greetings Sun!" Her tender, soothing voice echoed.

Silence filled the atmosphere for a few seconds as Seth froze.

A sound of choking and wheezing rang out behind him, as Brandon’s poor attempts to stifle laughter broke through.

Even the stoic Uriel’s lips twitched, the taciturn Jack feigned a cough disguising a laugh, and Elaine stared amused at the sight.

Seth’s eyes twitched as his face turned beet red from embarrassment. "Miss Trisha, you really don’t have to do this. We are around the same age, I don’t deserve such respect."

But the girl just stubbornly shook her head. "How dare I? Knowing the significance of the Sun to the human race, being in your presence alone is an honor. Across the world, only the Moon could compare to your brilliance."

Seth’s gaze narrowed at the mention of the Moon once more. The first time he ignored it, but now...

’If I want my freedom I need to find this so-called Moon.’ Seth’s eyes flickered.

This Moon would be his bail to freedom. He made a silent note to search for them.

The escort behind her stepped forward. "We set out now. We have no time to waste." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Glancing at his watch, the man added, "We have to be at the Pentagon by 8 sharp."

The five nodded, following them out of the house and into a reinforced limousine parked out front.

Stepping into the vehicle, all three were handed folders holding more details of their mission.

Meanwhile, as they flipped through, a figure in black sitting with them in the passenger area began to relay.

"There are actually many fanatical cults and orders founded by the traitors..." the man began in a professional manner.

"These traitors have myriad branches, all groups submitting to different races. And our target today?" He spoke, passing around a document holding information on them.

"Is the Blood Order. They serve a race we identify as the Bloodbornes."

Brandon’s eyes bulged wide. "Don’t tell me... Vampires are real?"

The man nodded, his face still stoic. "Except for the exaggerated part where they claim to be able to turn others into their race, they are very much real."

"These members of the Order of Blood were deceived into thinking that by being faithful enough they could shed their humanity and become Bloodbornes themselves."

"Meanwhile, from what we can observe, this isn’t possible. They can’t convert others to their race, only kill them and cultivate their corpses into what we call blood slaves."

Suddenly Seth’s voice rang out. "This all doesn’t sound like new info."

He spoke, his eyes still scanning through the files calmly.

The man remained silent for a few seconds before replying. "Indeed, we have known about some of the other races for some time. In fact, we have been active in dealing with them long before the apocalypse."

Everyone was stunned. By default, everyone assumed they were all in the same boat.

But it seems the government indeed did have a lot of secrets.

The man didn’t enunciate more on this matter, reverting back to the original topic.

"Of the Blood Order, we have listed the top evolvers that you should be wary of. We have designated them as Variants."

Uriel raised his head from the file, staring at the man. "Variants?"

The man nodded. "We still don’t know how it works, but Variants is a code title we have designated to a special group of evolvers who have certain... unique abilities."

Uriel’s gaze narrowed, noticing the slight pause before the word unique. So he pressed further, asking, "Unique? In what way?"

The man seemed to ponder for a few seconds, considering whether he should divulge more.

And Trisha spoke up. "It’s okay, speak. They are the ones risking their lives to face these Variants in the first place. It’s only fair they know what they signed up for."

The man then nodded in agreement solemnly toward Trisha.

From this alone, Seth and the others could already deduce that Trisha’s standing in the government or military — maybe even both — was pretty high.

The man started, his tone deeper and more serious. "Our scientists discovered the first Variant in the first week of the apocalypse. And from what we can say, the skills of Variants seem unrelated to genes, and they interact with reality on a deeper level."

Brandon’s brows raised, voicing the curiosity of the rest. "Deeper level? How?"