Path to Transcendence

Julius collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Every single piece of his body felt like it was coming apart. He was covered in so many burns that he more closely resembled a piece of barbequed meat than a human being. Speaking of meat, he was starving.
He would take out some food from his storage ring or his lunch box, but at the moment, he wasn’t even able to move his fingers. He was forced to lie on the ground for the time being, desperately trying not to throw up.
He didn’t know for sure that the chimera was dead. But he felt the last core of the monster melt under the wave of flames, so if it was still alive, Julius was more than okay with conceding this battle to it.
He let out a sound that was a mix between a groan and a sigh as his body slowly healed the damage. Part of the issue of healing himself was the ruinous flames he used. While they were really good at interfering with the chimera’s own healing, it was that very same ability that prevented him from healing like normal.
Still, he was thankful he had been able to stymie the monster's regeneration. If he hadn’t been able to do that, he didn’t know if he would have been able to overcome it.
Now he knew what it felt like to be fighting someone. Opponents who could self-heal were a pain in the ass. He didn’t want to deal with another half-immortal monster for a long time.
Speaking of self-healing monsters, he glanced to the side as Isaac stumbled over to him. The other teen had an excited grin on his face, one much too bright for the tired Julius.
“That was crazy. Are you sure you killed it?” Isaac asked, looking over at the crater of melted stone and flesh.
Julius shrugged. “I don’t know. If it’s not dead, then it can kill me. I am too tired to fight anymore.”
Isaac tilted his head and laughed. “Don’t worry. If it is still alive, I will grab you and run away.”
“I didn’t really take you for a person who runs away,” Julius commented as he lay on the ground.
“Eh, my aunt always told me that as long as I tried my best, there is no shame in running and trying again,” Isaac said.
“Hmm. Well, I appreciate the offer. Although I don’t know how retreating will work with the barrier still up,” Julius said with a sigh.
“Oh, it’s coming down now. I think the chimera was an integral part of the barrier. Whoever caused all of this probably used it as a connectional nexus that interlinked the barrier to its own existence. And the condition for it to disappear was probably fulfilled with its death,” Isaac explained.
Julius stared blankly at the musclehead who just said a bunch of words that he barely understood.
“Hmm.” That was all he said, and he looked over at the barrier that was indeed coming down.
His brain was already half melted, so he didn’t think too hard about it and instead pulled out a sandwich from his lunch box, making sure that he dusted off his ashy fingers.
He missed his mouth a couple of times, but eventually managed to jam a corner into his mouth. The relief from the food was magical. The life mana infusing into his body also soothed his weary soul.
Drasil suddenly appeared on his shoulder, and without a word, Julius handed his little helper the payment. Drasil cooed a quick thank you and proceeded to munch on it right beside Julius as he placed his tiny hand on Julius’s face, still healing him.
He was finally feeling a little better. The headache that had been jackhammering his skull was slowly dying down, and he was finally able to wiggle his toes as his legs healed.
However, his relief couldn’t last forever. Because Isaac plopped down next to him, drinking some kind of potion.
“Hey, do you wanna spar?”
Julius slowly looked at Isaac with a flat look and back at the carnage behind them.
“I mean, like after you eat,” Isaac said with a placating gesture.
Julius didn’t have the energy to explain to Isaac that that wasn’t the issue and instead decided to ignore the musclehead teen.
***
Julius felt another headache while Isaac kept on inviting him to spar. The guy wouldn’t stop talking either, and Julius was forced to shove small constructs into his ear to block out the sound.
While he ignored Isaac, he looked at the flood notifications he felt during the battle, as well as at the end.
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He grinned widely at the long list of notifications of level-ups he received. It was insane and by far the most significant increase in levels he had ever received. One would argue that his early days were larger, but with the higher-ranked skills and the larger number of skills, he would say this would take the cake.
Speaking of cake. He deserved some cake, so he pulled out a box from his storage ring. Thanks to its numerous enchantments, it had reappeared on his finger with a simple thought. He rubbed his hands together with happiness. He had been saving this cake for a long time. It was from that same shop he and Reinera loved, and he needed to remind himself to go back to Heston to stock up on some more. He could also visit Declan and Rae. Maybe even see Dante if he was still around.
It seemed like all his skills had leveled up. Some of them more than others. The standout ones were [Armaments of the Arcane], [Phoenix Renewal], [Inexorable Aura of Ruin], and [Spirit Fortification]. They each gained two whole levels, which was ludicrous given how far along Epic ranked them.
For good reason, too, they were probably the four skills that were the reason for his victory. Without them, he would not have survived. That was how strong the chimera had been. It was undoubtedly the strongest Tier 4 he had ever faced.
[Spirit Fortification] even managed to gain four levels. A very welcome improvement. He could already feel the impact the extra skill levels had made at the end of the battle.
He also finally got the final level of [Kinetic Energy Refinement]. It was a little surprising that it took this long, but then again, he had only just gotten it, and Cain was still working with him on the skill.
He wouldn’t be allowed to evolve the skill until Cain said he was ready. It was sad, but he would reluctantly trust the man for the time being. It wasn’t like Cain was one of the best kinetic users on the continent or anything.
These weren’t the only notifications, either. He had another one waiting for him to look at.
Julius frowned when he read the notification. He wasn’t expecting that kind of skill to be offered. He thought that if anything, he would be offered a skill for that last attack. However, the skill sounded a little different from what he had done.
Blight was different from ruin, at least in his mind. So he was confused why such a skill was being offered. He chewed on his lip while he thought to himself for a few minutes.
He only stopped when Drasil gave him a stiff poke in the face, pointing out that the cake was still uneaten.
Julius gave his familiar a grateful nod and opened the box that held the holy treasure. The cake looked as fantastic as the last time he ate it.
He was about to cut himself a nice big slice when he felt the world around him warp. He didn’t even think and simply reacted. It was like instinct as he frantically grabbed the cake and held it close, shielding it with five different barriers.
Then, before he could curse at his shit luck, he was teleported away.
***
He landed on the hard ground and hurriedly made sure that his cake was alright. Once he did, he let out a sigh of relief. With that being said, he found himself standing in the middle of a very white room with all of the other competitors, who must have been safe once they exited the barrier.
However, that wasn’t what worried him. No, he was more concerned about the dozens of armed individuals surrounding them. The only thing that put him somewhat at ease was that these people appeared to be wearing uniforms that identified them as part of the Empire.
They were all Tier 4 at the very least. A few of them were clearly stronger than that. He saw a group of six of them standing at the front of the room. A young man was at the helm of this group. He looked very familiar and had some of the most beautiful white hair he had seen.
Julius did a double-take because a somewhat older man was standing behind this young man, wearing plain clothes. He did a double-take because his spatial skills had almost completely overlooked this man.
Julius had only looked for the briefest of moments, but the man must have sensed something, and his head snapped to Julius’s. There was a sharp, inquisitive glare for a little bit, but then Julius saw a flash of realization dance across his face, and the older man relaxed before ignoring Julius once again.
“What is going on?” A young man who Julius recognized from the realm asked loudly.
“Yeah, what is going on here? What in the nine hells had happened in there? I thought it was supposed to be a safe and secure realm?” Another girl shouted out in protest.
More voices started to pop up. However, Julius drowned out these voices and did his best to find his friends. Luckily, the room wasn’t that large, and he found them quickly. He maneuvered his way to them and was relieved when he saw that they were okay.
They spotted him, and he could see similar relief in their eyes as they closed the distance to him. Aubrey was the first to give him a hug, followed by Edgar and Derek.
He was about to ask Derek questions about what had happened after they had crossed the barrier when the young man with white hair spoke out, his voice booming loudly throughout the room. His powerful Tier 5 aura flooded the area as well. It wasn’t oppressive, but it was authoritative and quickly silenced everyone.
“I know you all have a lot of questions. I assure you that they will be answered in due time. However, before we do that, we need to get some answers of our own and make sure that there are no more threats to you all. To do that, we need your cooperation. We will be having some of our best healers go around to heal those of you who are injured and to make sure there are no hidden injuries. Please bear with it for now. I promise you that we will get everything situated.”
Julius bumped Derek lightly with his shoulder. “Who is that?”
Derek, who had a slight frown on his face, looked over at Julius.
“That’s Jaxson Luminous, the Crown Prince of the Luminous Empire,” Derek informed him.
“Ah,” Julius said and nodded slowly.
So this was Reinera’s brother. It was no wonder he looked familiar; he should have connected the similar hair colors himself.
Julius was curious about the reason why the Crown Prince was here. He was also much more interested in knowing why they had been transported here instead of the arena from which they had entered the realm.
What had happened inside the realm? And how big a deal was it?
Julius sighed to himself—so many questions and not enough answers.
On the bright side, he could finally have some time to enjoy his cake.