As I flew back home, my mind started to wander as I thought about the distinction between [Holy] and [Divinity]. Obviously, there is some overlap, but if you really think about it, so does every other damage type.

  Hmm, let's blame the "Lightborn" for this association. Thaddeus, a member of the First Party, a zealot believer of the divine, historically uses mainly [Radiant] and [Holy] damage. I believe he is still alive, so I will not verbalize this blame.

  Historically, maybe it was called [Positivity], and [Necrotic] was called [Negativity].

  I'm sure fire gods have [Fire] and [Divinity] so close together... but this makes me wonder if the clerics use actual [Divinity] or it's just called that for one reason or another. The "healer" that "is" on my team to represent humanity is a "divine" healer, but that means they gain power from a god or goddess.

  Why is there a distinction between god and goddess? Do gods procreate like us lesser species, so a gendered difference is needed, or is it similar to how that one god of madness has a monkey tail because all his followers are monkey-like Theriomorphs?

  If a god's believers can alter such a thing, does that mean the believers can allow their gods the ability to procreate if they believe they can? Or does being godly come with innate shapeshifting abilities? Hell, Duchess has some level of [Divinity] in her if her trait isn't lying. Is that the reason she can shapeshift?

  It's human nature to anthropomorphize things, assigning human-like traits to non-human things. ...Do other races also do this? Are the gods of other races depicted as those races because of this trait, or is it the other way around?

  Will the neutral racial gods that humans worship eventually look like humans? Actually, they are, aren't they? I met a goddess... She looked human. The statues are human-like. I wonder what a true form of a god is or what it even looks like.

  I would've absolutely hated it if I were attacked on my way back home from the archipelagos. Not only would it expose my rendezvous outside of the Prime Territory, but I'd assume that a coordinated attack on me would've been planned out, so it would've been difficult to win.

  My belief that I could win a fight against three level 500 A-rank creatures wasn't unfounded, as I did win with little to no long-term negative repercussions... but it was much closer than I thought it would be.

  And all things considered, that was basically a random encounter. The feeling of agoraphobia and paranoia is slowly starting to come back when I think about potential enemies of mine that could be out there plotting something. I mean, some random government captain managed to trap me in an extremely hostile environment for weeks.

  Imagine what an organization could do instead?

  At least the number of enemies I should have is quite low, besides the unknown threats that hate me for existing as either a direct relative of the First Party, a Representative of Humanity, being a Human in general, etc.

  Actually, the enemies I made include a Death Cult that apparently tried to wipe out all life in the capital and only failed thanks to Flash Gordon and my dumb luck, this country's military industrial complex (which is basically entirely run by the Stricklands), the most prominent sword clan founded by a member of the First Party (the Kens), the wealthiest family with their last name literally being a word for money (Greenbacks), maybe one of the three strongest guilds, a literal government agency, and who else I'm momentarily forgetting.

  Hell, I believe my paranoia to be a survival mechanism!

  But even if half those organizations aren't interested in revenge against me for one reason or another, that's still too many enemies.

  I wonder how much my position as a Representative of Humanity is protecting me. Are these threats of mine so patriotic that they are willing to hold back their grudges?

  I am aware that the government and the guilds are at a standstill when attempting to 'touch' me, but how far does this arrangement go?

  Perhaps I am overthinking the level of hostility between me and these entities?

  Or have I grown so quickly that any intelligent group would take some time to observe and reorganize? I'd imagine they would try to take me out before I grow too powerful, or do they realize that such a rate of growth is highly unlikely, so they went for the safer 'wait and see' approach.

  If they find out that I am in a plateau for the foreseeable future, will I be in danger?

  I recall a place that can perfectly meet what I need for Khan's evolution.

  A Zerg fracture, a place where creatures essentially routinely spawn from the floors and walls, can probably supply enough meat for Khan to finish grinding out his [Man Eater] skill.

  Master Wang owns one for some reason. I see the path forward.

  Once Khan evolves and becomes a [Raging Tempest], I'm pretty sure he alone can do so much for me. I mean, he 'soloed' a [Lightning Maiden] "by himself." Imagine what he can do once he reaches level 500 as an A-rank beast.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  There would only be an issue if his Spirit stat exceeds mine, because if he does, he could theoretically 'break free' from being my tamed beast.

  I sent a text to each of the people I informed that I would be gone, saying I am back, but I do not return to my guild. Since I switched to Duchess as my ride once I got near population centers, she is the one who lands me on Master Wang's property.

  No need to march an army into a city, that might make them antsy.

  As soon as I send Duchess back into the manor, so she can continue tending to her bloodline, I rush over to one of the bathrooms. The journey to the sea, then to the archipelago, then back to the capital took a few days. I didn't take the time to rest or clean myself, so I was also going to use Master Wang's bathroom.

  I'm sure with that mana organ I have somewhere that generates water, and perhaps a few of Flash Gordon's water stones, I could have indoor plumbing in my manor. But I'd need an engineer to actually do the work. Rain is most likely capable of doing this, so I'll bring it up to her.

  The water pressure and temperature in his bathrooms are absolutely crazy. I wanted to see what would happen, so I took a wooden chair from another room, and the water from the shower head destroyed the chair. The water can get hot enough that it comes out of the faucet boiling.

  It was the most relaxing shower I had since I gained my resistance stats. I feel bad for the wooden splinters and dried blood flakes Master Wang might find in the drain, but I assume it's fine.

  I have not seen a single maid or cleaning service work at his estate since I've known Master Wang. I've never seen Master Wang clean either, except for blood on the exercise equipment. Or blood on the floor. Even then, he makes me do most of the work. There must be some magic or enchantment at work.

  My presence here isn't breaking in as I'm an invited guest, but if I don't want to break into Master Wang's fracture without his permission. For that reason, I'll wait for him to wake up.

  I slept to recharge myself and met with Master Wang in the morning, asking him for permission to enter his zerg fracture for training.

  "Master Wang. Before you ask about how much my martial skills have grown, I'd like to train in the fracture you own. The zerg fracture that has all those hyena people."

  "Hmm, something seems different about you, disciple. Something cleaner."

  I wonder if he somehow notices the effects of my newest title. Perhaps he can sense the effects that lightning had on my body. It was technically a "cleansing" effect, if the description could be trusted.

  "I fought against multiple level 500 A-ranked lightning elementals recently and was baptized in there-"

  "No. You just used one of my showers without asking, didn't you?"

  "Umm… a few hours ago I did. I slept between now and then... Can you still tell? When was this a problem?"

  "You can use my fracture. It's in the back where it usually is. Come and go as you wish."

  "...actually, I have some questions about this fracture. Why do you even own it?"

  Master Wang looks me in the eyes and says, "Masters are incentivized to deal with duties they can handle. The title of Master is also political as well as a mark of excellence."

  "...should I want to become a Master if it's a political position?"

  The distaste I have for government positions is something I need to overcome if I want to eventually become king of this nation.

  "The government can not force me to do things against my will. As a sign of good faith, there are individual agreements between us. Handling this fracture was the easiest, least time-consuming option I picked."

  "Oh, I see."

  "Speaking of, you might be strong enough to do my duties for me. This was something I'd make you do once your martial skills became A-ranked, but I assume your tamed beasts can pick up the slack."

  I want to ask what duties he'd make me do, but I feel like I wouldn't like the answer. Rather than asking a general question, I ask one that's a bit more relevant to me. "What do you do to manage the fracture if owning it is one of your duties?"

  '...This zerg fracture is special," he says after looking at something in the distance dramatically. I turn to look and see nothing over there.

  He continues, saying, "The boss of the fracture will grow stronger and stronger at a consistent rate after killing something or if one of its kin or species kills or dies. Theoretically, it can get strong enough to break out of the fracture, power through the suppression it will face from entering our planet, and go on a killing spree."

  "...at that point, couldn't a few Masters just gang up on it after it breaks out then?"

  "Perhaps, but that's not the best-case scenario. Me killing it before it can do anything is ideal if it gets that strong. If it gets strong enough to evade me, it could kill low-level civilians and still maintain its growth to where all the masters in the capital couldn't kill it. The nature of a zerg doesn't let me simply kill the boss. As long as the fracture exists, it will eventually... the nomenclature is 'respawn', I believe."

  Thoughts swirl in my head as I recall what I know about fractures. "...and destroying the fracture isn't a possible solution as there is a high chance that it will simply dump everything inside it, out onto the planet... meaning an army of [Gnoll]s will appear. And those [Gnoll]s will make their boss stronger with every kill and death. Perhaps if the boss was at its weakest state and was killed before any of the others... but the sudden rupture of the fracture would kill a lot of [Gnoll]s, meaning the boss would get stronger."

  "I don't believe this is common knowledge, but I assume you are aware that there is also the possibility that even the cursed land inside a zerg fracture will impose itself and continuously generate these beasts, with only the total destruction of the afflicted land stopping the phenomenon."

  "...I thought that a fracture rupture doesn't do anything besides kick out the creatures inside?"

  "Disciple. A rupturing fracture comes from inner instability, causing an implosion that will kill most inside and excrete the survivors. Many powerful people are tasked with ensuring these dimensional rifts do not fall into instability. But they would rather purposefully implode these rifts in space rather than letting one have the chance to explode. An implosion has the chance to free these creatures. An explosion will free the land within."