Path to Transcendence

Despite not taking that long, his experimentation paid off more than he thought it would.

[Phoenix Renewal lvl 12 -> lvl 13]

[Spatial Crack lvl 6 -> lvl 7]

Unfortunately, his healing skill saw a plateau in how much it could gain using the same method. Still, two whole levels in the skill in just an hour was quite the accomplishment. [Phoenix Renewal] was notoriously difficult to level up in the first place. He went weeks and sometimes even months without leveling it up.

He had been hoping to gain more than one in [Spatial Crack], but admittedly, he hadn't been using it very creatively. It was actually kind of impressive that he gained one level in the first place.

It was a very fruitful morning. He had even learned a very interesting thing after all of his experimentation. It was that each Concept had distinct differences in effectiveness when he used them to protect his finger inside the spatial crack.

His Concept of Will was the first one he had used, but it wasn't the most effective. That achievement had to go to his Phoenix Concept: Ashen Rebirth.

He tried using his Sharpness Concept and Force Concept next, but they weren't as helpful as the others. His Force Concept was still better than his Sharpness Concept, though. He didn't know if it was because the Concept itself had better synergy with the task or if it was because his Sharpness Concept was lacking.

He leaned toward believing in the latter, but that kind of made him sad and reminded him that he really needed to upgrade his Sharpness Concept at some point. On the bright side, he felt like he was getting close.

Just the other night, when he had been meditating, his Sharpness Concept experienced an unusual sensation.

Anyway, back to his experimentations, he had then used his Phoenix Concept and Will Concept alongside each other, something that was still somewhat difficult but now doable. That had made an even larger difference. His finger had managed to withstand the spatial ripples with much more ease than before. The finger had even come out with only a few missing pieces of it afterward. Quite the feat.

He tried to use his Emblem in place of the Concepts since it was a creation made up of his Concepts, but he wasn't able to make it work. Even though the Emblem had properties of all of his Concepts, it wasn't like he could imbue it throughout his body like he could with the original Concepts.

Perhaps, this was what made having an Authority a big distinction between Tier 3 and Tier 4. At the moment, his Emblem only really helped his willpower and protected him from other people's Concept and Emblem's influence.

Still, that was quite important, and he should be grateful for that.

He stretched out widely and let his bones crack in relief. The sun shimmered over the rippling waves in a beautiful golden glow. The rays hit the towers of the school and the city in such a magical way that he just sat there and took it all in.

He took out Drasil and some food from his storage ring before creating a beach chair made of mana to lie on. When Drasil popped out of his soulspace, he snuggled on top of Julius's chest with a tired yawn, but quickly scrunched up his cute little forehead.

Julius tilted his head to ask his friend what was wrong, but when he followed Drasil's accusatory gaze, he winced. He had forgotten that he hadn't healed the rest of his fingers and that he was still missing a couple of fingers.

"It's an honest mistake," he tried to explain to his familiar, who looked supremely disappointed in Julius.

Drasil chimed softly and shook his head. The small blooming vines on his crown shook and stared at Julius with doubt.

"It's true!" Julius tried to convince his familiar, but it didn't seem to do any good. Drasil was already drawing his own conclusions and trotted over to Julius's arm, sending some life mana to his fingers. Drasil's mana seemed to be a catalyst for [Phoenix Renewal], and the skill swiftly regenerated his fingers in a matter of seconds.

When he was done, he stared at Julius in a way that looked like a parent who had given up on their child. This was funny because the spirit was still only the size of Julius's palm. But somehow it only made Drasil's disapproval hurt all the more.

Knowing that he had to take some desperate measures, he created an extra compressed orb of mana in his now fully healed hand. This immediately had Drasil perking up, and he quickly scrambled his way over to his palm.

All thoughts of disapproval were gone, and his only thoughts were on the delicious-looking morsel in front of him.

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Julius quickly handed over the treat to Drasil, who chirped a couple of sounds, letting Julius know he was forgiven. He chuckled and lay down on the chair, with Drasil huddling close to his warmer body.

Then for the next for minutes he and Drasil blissfully enjoyed the early morning, with him munching on some pastries and Drasil happily sucking on an orb of life mana.

***

The top eight. When he first came to Goldencrest, he had never imagined he would be participating in the Tier 3 Tournament. He merely wanted to learn some magic and get stronger quietly.

However, staying quiet was no longer an option. As a first-year who had beaten one of the frontrunners of the tournament, he had proved himself to everyone who had been watching the tournament.

Previously, people tried to make excuses about his results. Many liked to talk about luck, but now his place couldn't be questioned so easily. After beating Liam, his slow climb in notoriety was now fully on display.

He wasn't just known for being the person who disappeared with the princess and who was friends with her anymore. He was a person some believed could win the entire thing, which was amusing to him because in his mind, that had never been in doubt.

He never thought for a moment that he could lose. But it wasn't like other people were supposed to know that. Especially the spectators who had seen his previous fights. He never dominated those fights, and on for his own reasons as well. He purposefully prolonged them and, from their perspective, had struggled.

So as they were walking toward the stadium, he wasn't that surprised when someone noticed him. They quickly called out his name, and the news flooded throughout the rest of the crowd. People started to push each other out of the way to get a look at the mysterious first-year who had made such a large splash in a tournament filled with strong fourth-years.

It was only thanks to Edgar's large body and the chaos of the crowd that he managed to get through somewhat undisturbed. When he got inside through the gates, the guards managing the stadium prevented any others from following him.

"This might be the perfect time for you to get a girlfriend," Aubrey mentioned with a teasing grin.

"Really? That's the first thing that popped into your head?" Julius asked with a sigh.

She shrugged and grinned. "You know what they say, strike while the iron is hot," she said to him while nodding toward the group of students lingering around and who were watching him. Some of them were really attractive girls, giving him some flirtatious looks.

He frowned at her. "Shouldn't you be focusing on your fight? Isn't yours right before mine?"

"Would you rather I worry about it? I fight better when I am not stressed," she said.

"And teasing me helps your stress?"

"Of course! It's one of my favorite activities to do!" She said enthusiastically while grabbing his shoulders excitedly.

He shoved her away with an exasperated grin. "Are you confident you are going to win?"

"Ehh. Pretty much, Quinn is good, but I have beaten her multiple times in the past. While she has improved, so have I," she proudly stated while flexing her bicep.

Aubrey was going to be fighting the girl Julius saw from the earlier round. If he could recall correctly, she used a sophisticated style of barrier magic. She had used her barriers like slabs of steel to smash her opponent. She was quite good, though he agreed with Aubrey's sentiment. Quinn wouldn't be beating Aubrey unless she had a crazy skill hidden away.

"Don't get cocky," Edgar reminded her.

"Should someone who lost their first match in the finals be giving advice?" Aubrey asked with a shit eating grin.

Edgar rolled his eyes before choosing to ignore her. Julius recognized this was a smart decision, one he should learn to use more often when dealing with the shameless woman.

"Ow!" Aubrey suddenly exclaimed and turned toward Lily, who was wagging her finger at Aubrey.

"Don't be rude just because you beat him. Have some class," she reminded her friend.

"Class? Do you know who you're speaking to?" Julius grumbled.

"Hey! I would like to point out that I am a very classy woman," Aubrey argued.

He gave her a skeptical look. "I saw you pick your nose and then use that same hand to eat-mmph," he tried to point out before Aubrey reached over to him and muffled his mouth.

"Well, I gotta get going. I don't want to miss my match. I'll meet you guys after I finish up, don't forget to save me a seat," she said hurriedly and rushed away before anyone could stop her.

They all watched the young brunette run away.

"Did you really see her pick her nose and use it to eat something?" Lily asked.

He grinned, "Yeah, she thought nobody was looking, but you know my skill. I don't exactly need to look at her directly," he said proudly. He had been ecstatic when he caught her doing that. He needed as much ammunition as possible when it came to things he could tease her about. It was only fair after all the teasing she liked to do. It was all in the name of self-defense.

***

He and the others left to go find a seat in the student section, waiting for Aubrey's match to begin. When it finally did, Aubrey came out of the gates swinging for the fences. She blitzed at her opponent like she was going to be late for dinner.

To her credit, Quinn handled herself pretty well considering the surprise. However, Aubrey was relentless and didn't let her get a chance to retaliate a single time. It wasn't long until her opponent found herself unable to keep up and her barriers, no matter how strong they were, just weren't enough to cover everything.

Eventually, Aubrey snuck a few strikes through the cracks and punished Quinn. Once that happened, it was all over. Aubrey's clones smothered her opponent with a viciousness that made him wince in sympathy for the other girl.

They slammed their hardened crystal bodies onto the now defenseless girl's flesh. A blast of mana and a massive barrier appeared to protect the girl, but it was apparent it was a last-ditch effort. It used way too much mana and focus to sustain for a long period. Then, before she could figure out how to recover, Aubrey ripped a prismatic beam of light into her chest, ending the fight.