Path to Transcendence

Jonas was a generational talent. He didn’t feel ashamed of embracing that. As a member of House Arkwright, he was someone who had been born with talent and luck, as well as the best tutors and the best resources money could buy.
The moment his house knew that he was more talented than his peers, they spared no expense to cultivate his abilities. It was both a blessing and a curse.
It was a blessing because he was able to gain so much strength despite being only eighteen years old. He was proud to say that he was one of the most powerful of his generation, even compared to the rest of the Empire.
There were only a few names that could rival him or surpass him. Most of those people were just as talented, if not more. However, he liked to think he knew who these people were. His family made a point to research any prominent geniuses who appeared in the Empire.
However, this black haired boy was someone he had only recently heard of. He had come out of nowhere and suddenly demonstrated to the entire capital that he was someone to pay close attention to. Now here he was, slaughtering these monsters like they were nothing despite being some of the strongest Tier 3s Jonah had come across.
They weren’t just fast as hell, but they had several skills that made fighting them a nightmare. That little disruption skill they had was extremely powerful, rivalling dangerous species like Null Fiends.
Most of the time, powerful monsters within Tier 3 wouldn’t group up like this either. They would be too busy fighting each other for territory, but these monsters didn’t do that. Their chief was likely to blame for this, and it was an entirely different issue.
The beast was ridiculously strong, Jonas could tell just from its aura. It was a beast that was practically Tier 4. It had already cultivated a Semi-Authority of some sort. The field it emitted was unbelievably strong. That wasn't taking into account its terrifying physical abilities.
It was why he had decided to keep on analysing these monsters before he made a move. These weren’t normal Tier 3 monsters that he was used to tearing through. He had defeated some weak Tier 4s in the past. But these creatures were arguably more dangerous.
However, he took his time investigating and slowly developed a plan that would at least allow him to get past them and retrieve the token or treasures without too many issues.
No matter how strong he was, he wouldn’t be able to deal with all of these monsters. It was impossible; there had to be another way, one that required more meticulous planning. So that was exactly what he did, he hid himself on one of the ravine’s shelves and examined these monsters, trying to figure out a way to get the token or treasure that inevitably was hidden there.
However, all of his plans were ruined when he spotted an idiot running straight at these monsters without any caution or care. He squeezed his eyes tightly as his annoyance flared. Even if he wanted to make his attempt after this, it wouldn’t be effective now that the jig was up.
Jonas didn’t even recognize the black-haired boy until a few minutes into the fight; by then, his opinion of the boy had dropped dramatically.
Jonas stood from his spot at the top of the ravine walls and watched. Waiting for this black haired idiot to get killed, but it never happened.
To Jonas’s immense shock, Julius tore through these tough opponents like they were normal goblins. He danced between their attacks, withstood their disruptive skill, and tore out their throats in a short period. The entire time, the boy was grinning like a lunatic.
Jonas could only stand there looking on with wide eyes at the destruction. Fast, powerful, and crazy. That was how he would describe Julius.
Jonas noted to himself with confusion.
During the first stage, Julius had used long-range constructs to wipe out the monsters in quick order. Yet, all Jonah saw before his eyes was someone who fought like a mindless brute. He was starting to doubt that he had the wrong guy. Granted, the mindless brute strategy was working very well. The monsters were being razed to the ground without much resistance.
Jonah knew he was strong, even when compared to the competition, but he wasn’t at this level. Hell, he only knew of several people who might be on the same level, and they were all fucking monsters.
The only thing that made him feel confident in his assumption was the overwhelmingly powerful blue flame surrounding the boy’s hands. It was identical to the first stage.
He looked back at the fight and watched as the black haired boy clashed against the massive chief in a direct contest of power. Jonah expected the worst; the beast was enormous and had a great deal of mana coursing through its giant body. Anyone smart enough would avoid a direct conflict, but apparently, Julius had other plans.
To Jonah's shock, it wasn't the boy who lost. It was the nine-foot monster with the strength of a Tier 4 that was pushed back instead.
Jonas amended his previous statement. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of skill the guy had to win a direct head-to-head clash with such a large beast. A beast that was most definitely specialized in physical strength.
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Then, before Jonas realized it, the fight was already over. Standing over the dead corpses was the boy. He didn’t even look remotely tired. However, Jonas felt his heart clench when the boy’s eyes suddenly looked up and met his gaze.
Jonas didn’t think his stealth skill would be seen through so easily. His aura control was top-notch, and he was certain that he hadn’t been leaking mana. So it was a mystery how he had spotted Jonah. Still, he remained calm and jumped down from his spot, seeing that there was no further need to hide.
Furthermore, he recalled what Lady Willow had told him and his mother the other night. She had heavily
Jonah to find a way to befriend Julius Snow. Of course, Jonah was smart enough to know that anything that was heavily encouraged was basically a demand.
House Willow wasn’t someone he was willing to offend. House Arkwright had been working under House Willow for many years, and they had benefited very nicely from the relationship. House Arkwright was now one of the strongest powers in the Empire, only lagging behind the truly powerhouses.
“Can I help you?” The boy called out, his voice almost made it sound as if he were hiding his amusement.
“Very much so. It was a truly awe-inspiring battle,” he said with a laugh and quickly added to that. “I also would like to clarify that I didn’t have any plans to attack you, if you were worried about that.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t sense any malice, but I appreciate it nevertheless,” Julius replied with a lighthearted smile.
“It’s nice to meet you finally, Julius,” Jonas said with as much enthusiasm as possible and plastered on his trademark smile.
His mother always said his face and natural charisma were among his other gifts. Being born handsome had helped him as much as his other talents.
It would be best if he could build a good relationship with Julius. Lady Willow was rarely wrong about anything, and if she thought he was worth knowing, then Jonah was undoubtedly going to listen to her. Plus, she would be mad if she found out he didn’t make an effort.
“You know me?” Julius asked, and there was a little bit of caution in his voice.
“Yes, my family has told me about you,” Jonah admitted, trying to put his mind at ease.
“You seem to know my name. But I don’t know yours,” while it might have sounded like a request, Jonah knew better. It was a demand.
“Jonah Arkwright,” he responded with a bright smile.
“Arkwright, huh?”
“Yes. I was instructed to get close to you, but truth be told, I feel like it would be a good idea to do regardless of what they told me,” Jonah admitted. His gut was telling him that he should be as truthful as he could. Julius seemed like a person who would appreciate honesty and forthrightness rather than empty compliments.
There was a complicated look on the boy’s face. Jonah didn’t know if he liked it or what to make of it. The fact that he wasn’t able to glean any information from the boy’s aura made him uncomfortable.
He was already half prepared to fight Julius. He didn’t know how he would fare after seeing what he had done to these powerful monsters, but he wasn’t about to stand there and do nothing. He would at least give it a good fight.
However, just as he was preparing himself, the boy shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, so what do you want to do now?”
“Pardon me?” Jonah asked, a little surprised at the change of attitude.
“What do you want to do now? I assume that you were attempting to do something before I arrived.”
“I was taking my time to plan how to deal with them,” he admitted with an embarrassed scratch of his head. Of course, it sounded silly now since Julius had quite literally run headfirst into them and came out on top.
“Oh, my bad.”
Jonah laughed awkwardly. “No worries. I didn’t have much of a plan anyway.”
It was true, and if it meant it put Julius at ease, then it was well worth it. He would like it if he and Julius could get along. It didn’t hurt that the other boy was scary strong.
A person who was both skilled in close and long-range combat was always a threat. Most people choose to specialize in one area, learning only the skills needed to cover their weaknesses. Hybrid fighters, on the other hand, almost never had any large weaknesses. It made defeating them much more of a pain. But becoming a hybrid fighter was ridiculously challenging at their age, so it wasn’t that common.
He wished that he had learned more about Julius before he had begun the second stage, especially if he had known he would come across him here. There just hadn’t been enough time to prepare for everything. He was almost entirely in the dark about this youth.
“Well, in that case, I will be going off,” the boy suddenly said, and before Jonah could say another word, he had already turned around and was walking toward the area the monsters had been protecting.
As much as he wanted to chase after the boy and try to befriend him, he knew it was the wrong time. Following behind could be misconstrued as an act of encroachment or make Julius unnecessarily wary of him. While he might not become friends with the other boy immediately, he really wanted to avoid any negative feelings at all costs.
Jonah was smart. He could wait until Julius did what he needed to do; maybe he might be able to strike up another conversation on the way out. Since it was a personal request of Lady Willow, he had no other choice but to oblige.
Plus, his own curiosity was brimming. There were a lot of things happening during the tournament this year. Unknown variables and foreign powers were making aggressive plays. He had already heard several very disturbing pieces of news from his family.
Corvus and the Alliance of the Morning Sun were way more active than in recent years. With the monster floods likely to start in the next year or two, something was bound to happen. He could feel it.
His family thought so too and were already preparing for something drastic to occur. He wasn’t strong enough or old enough to be privy to these plans, but he still wanted to contribute his part to his house. Perhaps, befriending Julius would be the first step in doing that. It was never a bad idea to become friends with a blooming talent. People always said he was too charming for his own good, so he hoped to put that skill to good use.
Who knew, he might also learn some cool tricks from the powerful boy. It wasn’t like his intentions were entirely for his house. He had his own selfish reasons, too.
He looked as the boy continued to make his way into the dark ravine and then back at the destruction he had left behind. He let out a heavy sigh. He might as well check the corpses; maybe he might find something good in them.
If he did, then he could give them to Julius. Hopefully, that would earn him some brownie points.
It just sucked because he really hated rummaging around in dead bodies. It always made him feel dirty afterward.
He sighed again—the things he did for his family.