Path to Transcendence

It wasn't that shocking that this particular orb was the most worrying out of the three epic skills. There was a reason why he had been wanting to save this one for last.

However, he wasn't going to hesitate this time around. He knew what he was going for. He wanted to reach Tier 3 with three Concepts and three epic skills. There wasn't anything that was going to stop him. He would do it or die trying.

He cranked up [Sage of Savagery] to its absolute max. It was so intense that he almost felt like he blacked out, but after reining himself in, he was prepared.

There was only the orb and himself present at the moment. With a resolved reach of his arm, he touched the orb with his fingers.

He didn't have a fighting chance.

Nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of power that was unleashed. It completely overwhelmed him and he felt his soul begin to burn.

Nothing he could do would stop it. It wasn't like this was his actual body, this was just a metaphysical representation of it. Therefore, there was nothing for [Phoenix Renewal] to heal.

His soul was literally being burned to ash.

He could only desperately fight with everything he had as he watched his soul burn one inch at a time.

Still, no matter how bleak it looked, he made sure to keep fighting. It didn't matter how dire the circumstances were, he wouldn't give up.

With that being said, the power of the Phoenix Concept ran over any of his efforts like it was nothing. Inexorable Will wasn't able to hold it off.

He had known that this had been a possibility, but he had been expecting that he would have been able to handle it as long as he tried his hardest.

The frustrating reality was that his body and soul weren't able to handle the assimilation. They weren't properly prepared to handle such stress.

Despite his best efforts, he could only watch in bitterness as he felt his grip on his soul start to slip away.

***

Reinera POV

She let out a rasping breath. Those final steps had been the most difficult, much more difficult than she had expected. Not even Amelia's or her family's warnings had been enough to prepare her for her advancement to Tier 3. Assimilating her Concept took all of her will.

However, in the end, she managed to overcome her trial. She was now officially a Tier 3 and had even managed to advance with a Concept to boot. Something that not many people could say they have done.

She couldn't help but feel proud of her accomplishment. It was a testament to the hard work she had put in these past several years.

She hoped her mother and father would be proud of her as well.

Although, she winced at that thought. Perhaps that was a bit of a stretch and wishful thinking on her end.

In all honesty, they would probably be furious that she had advanced without their say-so or their supervision. They likely had an entire chamber built just for her to breakthrough to Tier 3. Still, she has talked with Amelia about how prepared she was. That was why she had been assured about taking the next step.

She did feel bad about not letting Amelia be here for this moment though. If there was one person who deserved to be by her side, it was Amelia.

Shaking her head, she took a long deep breath. Although, that was a huge mistake. She instantly choked on the stench that invaded her nose, gagging as she was assaulted by the odor. She simultaneously smelled rotten fish and sweet fruit for some reason.

The combination was unusually deadly.

Then she looked down and realized that she was coated in a very thin spotted layer of dark gunk.

I guess there were more impurities in me than I thought, she thought with a frown.

Initially, she believed that she had done a good job purging any impurities and cleansing herself before she advanced, but it seemed like she was wrong. She had consumed a Crystal Spirit Lotus every month for the last year in preparation for her eventual advancement. It had been with the hopes that it would hasten and ease the process.

They were expensive too. Each lotus was worth around a Tier 5 core on its own.

That said, they did work at least. The amount she released was way less than people would normally exude. She could only imagine how many impurities she would have had if she hadn't taken the Crystal Spirit Lotuses.

It wasn't like it was necessary to do so, but it would help immensely with the coalescing of one's core and soul with their body. The fewer impurities there were beforehand, the less work it would take to remove them during one's advancement.

She immediately went over to the hidden washing area in the corner of the room to turn on the shower and give herself a good scrub, making sure that she held her breath until all of the gunk was nowhere to be seen again.

It was only after she was clean that she changed into a clean pair of clothes and removed a piece of cake from her storage ring. It was the same one that Julius had introduced her to all that time ago. She had been saving a piece for this very moment.

When the taste of rich chocolate and bitter espresso hit her tongue, she moaned in delight. It was just as good as the first time she tried it. She was glad that she had decided to keep a piece stored away for such occasions.

It was just another thing that she needed to thank Julius for.

Speaking of Julius, she wondered how he was doing.

With a quick thought, she removed her timepiece from her ring and looked at the date and time.

She stopped chewing for a moment and frowned. According to the device, it said that it had been over three days since she went inside the room. That was more than what she had been expecting.

From her perspective, it had only felt like a few hours at most. The fact that it was days since she began her advancement was a bit of a jarring realization. However, she calmed down once she began chewing again. The delicious flavor flooding her mouth distracted her wonderfully.

As she was enjoying her treat, she also looked down and gave her empty fist a hard clench. Her body felt amazing. Every muscle felt so strong, dense, and full of hidden power. She could no longer sense her core and instead felt all of her mana running through her flesh in a complex weave of threads.

Every breath she took absorbed the ambient mana and her body processed it automatically. She no longer needed to use her core to do it.

She reached out with her [Radiant Light Arts] skill and created an orb of light floating in the palm of her hand.

The difference was outstanding. All the mana flowed so much more smoothly and more importantly, faster.

The amount of mana one could produce in a single moment was one of the most limiting aspects of being in Tier 2. Since there was still a core, it took time to channel mana from it to one's body or for external manipulations.

However, that was going to be less of an issue from now on. She had always felt like mana listened to her, more so than most people. Despite that, it has never felt more responsive than it did at this very moment.

She just laughed and giggled as she spent a lot of time just playing around with her mana, grateful that she had made it to Tier 3. Not even noticing the notification that had appeared.

***

Julius POV

After he had blacked out, the things that followed were like a blur. He didn't remember anything, all he could recall were vague memories and sensations.

It was like waking up from a dream but not knowing what you were dreaming about.

The only thing he did know was that he survived. Or at least he thought he did. He couldn't see anything or even open his eyes as of yet.

His mind and body didn't seem to be on the same page. It was like he was back in his body, but not really.

Things were still a bit hazy and he needed to gather himself. Thus, he tried to evaluate his situation.

First, he was no longer inside his soul space, that much was clear. It was a sensation that was very different from when he was in his soul space.

However, what was more worrying than not being able to open his eyes, was that he wasn't able to use any of his skills at all. It was like some sort of connection between him and them was cut off. That meant that he wasn't able to use [Spatial Perception] to get a feel of what was around him.

That left him completely blind for the first time in what seemed like forever. He had gotten so used to being able to see everything around him that once it was gone, it was like he was trapped in a void of darkness. Not knowing what was going to happen or what was around.

It honestly made him feel a little bit helpless. But instead of panicking, he reminded himself to stay calm and give it some time.

He assumed that he was still in the cultivation chamber, but he wouldn't know until he could confirm it.

He just laid where he was for a while, not moving a muscle and just patiently waiting to see if anything in his condition changed. However, once a good amount of time passed and he didn't feel anything getting better he decided he wanted to try something.

While he might not feel the connection to his skills, he still vaguely felt the connection to his mana. Although it was hard to reach out to it. Leading him to really focus and try to grasp whatever he was able to.

Unfortunately, no matter what method he tried and no matter how determined he was, it seemed like the mana kept slipping through his fingers. It was frustrating to an absurd degree, but he continued to persist.

His stubbornness was way stronger than whatever was preventing him from connecting with his mana. There was no way anything was going to take that away from him.

Eventually, after what felt like days, he was able to wrestle control of a single crumb of mana. It took so much effort that he wanted to scream in excitement, but he maintained his poise so that he didn't lose control of it.

However, it seemed like that was all he needed.

Mere moments after he took control of the small bit of mana, he felt everything snap back into place. A large pulse of something exploded out of him like a bomb.

It was only then that he was able to open his eyes and move his body around. Even the connection to his skills was reestablished. His mind was back to operating like normal.

However, there was a massive difference.

He no longer was able to sense his core. Instead, all he felt were intricate circuits of mana weaving through his body. It was like all of the mana that had been in his core beforehand, plus more was now constantly surging through his body.

Speaking of his body, he distinctly felt the difference in the raw power in his muscles and his bones. He revealed an elated grin. He couldn't wait to test it out later.

It would seem he had advanced to Tier 3. Although he couldn't recall the final moments, the evidence would suggest that he had been successful.

He made sure to double-check his body and his soul, and from what he was able to sense, nothing was wrong. Matter of fact, he had never felt so great.

The only thing that was unusual was that his eyes were a bit sore for some reason. It was like they had been dilated and were extra sensitive. Other than that, he felt amazing.

However, it was only after his excitement slowly calmed down that he looked around the room. Finally taking the time to observe the chamber and his mouth opened wide in astonishment.

For some inexplicable reason… the entire room was covered in ash.