"Kayala," Vikram called out to her casually as he reached inside the her personal with Brunus by his side. Vikram took an apple and munched on it as he lazily sat on the couch.
She casually nodded, and sat down on her own chair. Because she had said that calling her General and anything else erked her, he had recived the right to call her by her name, made him privilaged in some sort of sense.
"Do you know anything about Enlightenments? How they work, or how they come to person by person. And most importantly, how a person can achieve Enlightenment the fastest way possible?"
Kayala and Burnus frowned at his questions straying from the usual root. Normally, Vikram would have showered them with questions of Cultivation and the like, but this new route of question intrigued them.
Kayala took a wooden axe, and threw a gaint greatsword towards Brunus, and started to lightly spar against each other as she answered the question.
"...Enlightenment can be of different ways and different types. One Enlightenment can make you reach the top of the food chain, like that of Buddha's that had achived supreme Enlightenment, or could be something minor, like those that elevate Cultivation Levels or Techni-"
"I want to know about Enlightenments related to Techniques..." Seeing that his eagerness had startled them both, he forcefully calmed his mind and ate the apple lazily. Kayala was amused by his acting and continued.
"Enlightenments with Techniques are the most common. It can happen in between battles, because of sheer proficincey, or just by a stroke of luck... Why do you ask?"
Vikram remained silent as he eliminated all three options. The level of Enlightenment that he was constantly reciveing, to the point that with mere one week of accumilating, he was already touching the Realm of Perfection in Crimson Pulse Technique, which even Descendants of gods weren't able to acheive...
Vikram knew that he was an heaven shaking genius.
Vikram slowly opened his eyes and asked another question. "Is there no way other than these ways? Is there any other possible way other than these that people can recieve Enlightenment, to acheive mastery in techniques even the strongest might find difficult..."
Seeing that they both were looking at him weirdly, he knew that he had to close his line of questioning here, and he slowly stood up to lightly spar agiant Brun-
"There is."
Vikram paused.
He slowly raised his head towards the voice, and he felt that he was about to recieve a Enlightenment.
"Death," Brunus said with a solemn gaze towards his gaint sword, as though he was remembering something and sighed. "Can be a form of Enlightenment. The moment you die, You have a sure way of getting enlightenment, because that is the rule of the Universe."
Seeing that even Kayala and Vikram was looking at him with wide eyed, he scratched his head and said sheepishly. "I had a friend that had the ability to peer into the Laws of Death. Because he could only peer into the Laws and could not comprehend the Law, everyone had thought that he had recieved an low level Ability."
"...But on the later parts, his growth was as though everyone was terryfied of it. And because he practiced Demonic Techniques. His growth was absurdly fast, but even Demonic Factions were not willing to join hands with him, because his growth rate was too much fast."
"Later, I knew that he used to peer into his own death repeatedly, and by which used a loophole to gain almost Infinite Recurring Enlightenment." By this point, even Kayala's face had gotten solemn. Vikram digested what had said in front of him, and slowly stood up, barely able to supress his emotions.
But the next moment, a chill went down his spine as he heard the next sentence from Brunus.
"He was really formidable guy. Sadly, he died just the same under my blade."
Vikram shivered slightly at the bloodlust eminating inside the room, and slowly exited the room.
After a bit more conversation with Brunus and Kayala, Vikram excused himself. Kayala, with a mischievous grin, had made it clear that if he didn't show up in the training hall regularly, she would personally ensure he got a more "personalized" greeting. The implication was enough to make Vikram uneasy, as her methods were reputed to be particularly intense.
Although it was true that Vikram had a tendency towards laziness, his reluctance to train also stemmed from a deeper issue: he was abilityless. In a world where everyone around him wielded fantastical powers, his lack of abilities made him feel vulnerable and out of place.
The pressure from the gazes of his peers in the far center of the hall was a constant reminder of his inadequacies.
As he walked, Vikram's mind wandered to the other notable figures he had seen in the hall: Vold, Ella, Jay, and the guy who had raised his hand to question Kayala.
From the snippets of conversation he overheard between Alex and Elen, it seemed Kayala was giving the questioning guy special attention, presumably not the kind he would enjoy.
Despite Vikram's efforts to fit in and improve himself, he was surprised to find that the guy who had piercings on his nose was antagonistic towards him. The hostility was palpable, and Vikram found it perplexing. He couldn't pinpoint why this guy had such a grudge against him.
Shrugging off the tension, Vikram reminded himself that he wasn't there to make friends with everyone, especially those who didn't care about him.
His naturally arrogant personality made it easier to dismiss such hostility. However, he couldn't completely ignore it, as the guy seemed determined to stir up trouble.
From what Brunus had mentioned, Vikram knew that this guy was from one of the Socially and Educationally Backward (SEB) classes, a classification rooted in India's history.
These classes had been historically marginalized and disadvantaged, facing systemic discrimination and exclusion in old times.
The government had made numerous efforts to uplift these communities, providing reservations in education and employment to improve their opportunities.
Vikram understood the historical context and the importance of these measures, but it didn't explain why this individual held such animosity towards him.
Vikram was deeply frustrated by his open hostility. He understood the historical suffering of the SEBCs and the disdain they often faced from those of higher social standings, but he couldn't condone the guy's attitude towards him. It wasn't fair, and it certainly wasn't justified.
But there was nothing he could do to solve it at the moment, so he let it be.