Chapter 98 - Ascension

Jiran’s eyes snapped open and a reedy gasp of air filled his lungs. He saw green and purple skies above him, the feel of soft grass tickled the exposed skin of his neck and ankles. Unfamiliar, bulbous trees with bright orange boughs framed the clouds.

His aura exploded from the confines of his skin to scour his surroundings, covering a fifteen-meter radius and bringing a wealth of information to his brain. The ground, air, and trees were devoid of life. Even though the space around him looked like a picturesque glade amidst an alien forest, it was anything but. There were no bugs or small animals, just grass and trees with strange fruit that were hollow on the inside as if the life had been sucked out of them.

Just like last time. This is probably another one of those domes. No, not exactly the same. I swear the last one had insects and birds, didn’t it?

Flashing notifications dragged his meandering mind back to reality.

CONGRATULATIONS - Tiering successful

CONGRATULATIONS - Forming skill unlocked

Forming: The tier four skill. That’s going to be fun to play with.

Distributing challenger rewards

Reward for successfully completing tier three challenger series - Affinity System added

A whole new system? I hope it’s as complex and useful as the party system. Affinity, that could mean a lot of different things, too. Awesome!

Reward for completing tier three challenger series in under 24 hours - Hidden attribute Charisma unveiled

What?! Hidden attributes? Does that mean everyone has it and they just don't realize it? I know what charisma means in the sense of a game, but what could it affect in real life? Would gaining points in it make me more handsome, or change my voice to be more alluring?

Reward for first place in tier three challenger series - Augmented Cerebellum

Another change to my brain? Guess I should be glad I wasn’t conscious for any of it this time. The lead-up to Active Dual Minds was freaking painful. Cerebellum, doesn’t that affect balance or something? Well, considering the state of my body, I’ll get a chance to test this one out soon. Alright, Jiran, focus. I can play with my new toys as soon as Niya is safe. Or while I’m flying to her…

Bonus reward for murdering over 50% of combatants in tier three challenger series - Regional dialect upgraded to Adaptive Translator

‘Murder’ my ass! It was do or die in there, though I suppose I did go out of my way to charge Sanctuary. A fourth reward and with such Interesting phrasing… Suspicious. This seems like something made up at the last minute. I was given a language ability right before I ran into Mayalyn. I suppose if I run into a new species soon, I’ll have my answer. If I do, I wonder what they’ll be like.

Tingles of excitement bubbled through his body as he reviewed his notifications. Those feelings turned to an exigent twitching that made him desperate to leap to his feet and explore. Only two things stopped him; his new strength which he had yet to explore, and confirming his upgraded status.

Molding + 1

Shaping + 2

Channeling + 2

Coating + 3

True Origin of Fire + 2

Light Manipulation + 3

NAME:  Jiran of Feylon

RACE: Human

AGE: 15

WEIGHT: 1421 kg > 2971 kg

STATUS: Active Dual Mind / Affinity System / Augmented Cerebellum / Intermediary User Interface / Linked Manabody / Party System

TIMER: N/A

TIER: 4

EXP: 0/200

GROWTH: 0%

MANA: 9 > 18

CONCENTRATION: 9 > 18

STRENGTH: 180

AGILITY: 180

ENDURANCE : 180

DURABILITY: 180

WISDOM: 180

INTELLIGENCE: 180

CHARISMA: 42

SKILLS:

Molding - Mana Expansion lvl 80 > 85

Shaping - Elemental Compression lvl 60 > 62

Channeling lvl 42

Forming lvl 0

Identify lvl 7 > 9

OTHER:

UNIQUE - Foresight

Designation Keynote Prime

Regional Dialect - Jeweled Isles > Adaptive Translator

Interface Map

Sanctuary 100%

What the heck, I weigh over three tons?! Focus, Jiran! I can mess around later. Just get through the changes.

I need double the exp from last tier, no surprise there. Mana and concentration doubled again. Insanity. Tier fours are only supposed to have eight… I have two more points than a regular tier five! My attributes will double to 360, putting me above a tier five’s 320 too. If everyone could grow this strong by tier four, Madra would be a totally different world. That’s probably one of the reasons why the tests are so impossible.

Charisma is forty-two. Wait, Charisma is only forty-two?! I guess that confirms that it’s not like the other attributes. Do I feel more attractive? My skin only feels stronger. Maybe there is a little tingle of energy radiating from it but it’s hard to tell. I need a mirror. Whatever, I’ll ignore it for now, I’m sure Mayalyn will tell me if something is different.

Forming, adaptive translator, and sanctuary are the only other big changes and there’s nothing to consider with any of them until I find Niya and have the spare mana to play around with them. Might as well check the description though.

Forming - Transmute—Create—Empower

Great, glad we cleared that up.

The burning desire to move his body had Jiran shifting his weight restlessly. Active Dual Minds spun into overdrive to help him adjust to his massively increased attribute modifier. Meanwhile, he formed an emotional bridge and connected to his manapool which now spread into a tiny pond larger than his body. He was so stunned by the discovery, he momentarily stopped fidgeting.

How is it bigger than me?! That makes no sense. It’s in my chest, just like always, but it's freaking huge! Is it folding space to fit? Should I start calling it a manapond now instead of a manapool? No, that’s stupid. It is what it is.

It wasn’t just larger, his mana was far more potent than before. Heavy, like mercury. When he dipped his emotions in for a test, the energy blasted through his body at the speed of thought. With his newly enhanced mental alacrity, that speed was enough that his jaw dropped in disbelief. Despite the thick nature of the liquid, it moved smoothly, leaving his flesh feeling refreshed and empowered wherever it flowed. A full-body Coating formed a fraction of a second later, the layer of protective energy was far thicker and more durable than ever before.

Jiran played with his mana, moving it through his body with Molding and quickly discovered his custom channels were gone. He growled in frustration, despite knowing before ascending that he would likely lose them since his body had to completely remake itself.

Now that I know how to do it and how much more effective it is to consolidate the papules into a single element, I’ll make the channels much better this time.

A minute later, he felt confident enough to sit up without throwing himself across the glade. He rose to his feet, marveling at how quickly he was adapting. The combination of his multiplied Intelligence attribute and cerebellum upgrade were doing wonders to bring his muscle memory into line with the new power coursing through his muscles.

I feel like my body weighs as much as a feather. But I can tell I’m, well, denser. Like a mountain squished into a small body. I’m anything but small though. I definitely gained more muscles and height. Geez, do the number of abs double every tier too? That might as well be a sixteen-pack! I finally look like Micah. Ahh, my first childhood dream, finally complete. Is this really only forty-two charisma? Cause I look amazing!

I wonder how Micah’s doing. I don’t think Daughter ever mentioned him specifically. I’ll have to remember to ask her how he’s doing.

Jiran began hopping up and down, the movements taking no effort at all. He felt like he could run for a season without stopping, or bunny-hop up the side of a mountain to a shrine full of monks. There he would trounce them all in an epic kung-fu battle royale. A few more minutes of fantastical daydreams found Jiran stretching and feeling relaxed in his new skin.

Okay, First priority is getting to Niya. I have no idea where she is but Daughter does. I can’t call her though or I’ll be out of mana and unable to activate the teleportation grid. I need to get back to the empire, find food, then use revelation for directions.

Jiran lightly slapped his cheeks and then with a single, powerful hop, flew toward the distant teleportation platform. Air whistled in his ears as his hair blew wildly. A huge grin split his face at the new power under his control.

He placed his hand on the control gem the moment his feet touched the hard, ancient stone. As he pushed a flicker of mana into the gem, only two options lit up. When he realized neither was the empire, a spike of frustration began to form in the back of his mind.

[Valley of Melodies / Sanctuary]

Quest complete!

[You know his name] Complete the tier three challenger series and expand the teleportation grid

Rewards: Sanctuary Modification Authority

No way there being a teleportation location called Sanctuary is a coincidence. So it’s a place, not an ability.

Jiran couldn’t resist his burning curiosity and selected Sanctuary, hoping it would be the option that would also bring him closest to the empire. He assumed one of the two destinations would bring him close enough that the Finlest Empire appeared as a new option.

His interface lit up with a message the second he began charging the pedestal with mana. The message showed him the exact amount of mana required to travel to Sanctuary and it was a little over eighty percent of his new total.

80%?! That’s ridiculous! With my new manapool, that’s like four times more mana than I used to have total. Okay, let's try the Valley. I really hope it’s not as expensive. It's also more likely to have some food. How bad would it be if I spent so much mana going to this Sanctuary place and there was nothing to eat?

Thankfully, it would only cost twelve percent to arrive at the Valley of Melodies. With the thought of finding delicious beast meat on the other side, Jiran pushed in the required mana and watched as a portal opened.

He could see the platform on the other side was submerged in a small pond. A narrow stream of crystal clear, blue water fed into the pond. The water lapped gently against raised banks of flat stone and dirt that formed well-worn pathways. The picturesque scene was amplified to profound beauty by the colorful, sharp vines hanging from nearby trees. Trees that glowed from within with pulsing purple and blue light.

Niya of Feylon

Niya kicked back in the rickety old chair that dominated a third of the tiny room she resided in. Her feet rested on the edge of a barely functional bed, the only other piece of furniture in the dilapidated wooden room.

A single terror-filled scream suddenly tore through the cavern which housed their abandoned complex. She bolted upright, her feet thudding to the floor. For a single second, she hesitated, waiting for confirmation that it wasn’t a false alarm. When a second, then third scream echoed through the settlement, her body moved on instinct.

She jumped straight through the rickety wall, sending a shower of splinters flying. Before her boots hit the ground, she saw a group of new trainees fleeing from a side passage, fear dominating their expressions. Not a second later, a dozen shadowy figures flooded into the cavern behind them. A woman Niya knew as Malita was too slow and the pursuer jumped directly into her body, vanishing completely.

Niya gasped as she realized they were actual shadows come to life. Malita's body began to swell at a visible pace, and the moment Niya landed, the girl exploded into a shower of gore that drenched the walls and the man who had turned to aid her. A moment later, he exploded as well.

Pandemonium erupted as terrified people sped in every direction, screaming and tripping over their own feet. They fled with madness in their eyes and desperation in their hearts. Heedless of those they pushed out of their way, only survival mattered to them now.

One of the shadows coalesced before her. It took the form of a young woman wearing a too-wide smile. The shadowy girl laughed like she was having the time of her life as she reached for Niya. All she found waiting for her was a fist, burning with the fires of a tier five warrior’s fury.

“Blazing Star!” Niya’s voice shook the cavern as her flames annihilated the shadow. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched another person explode in the distance.

“To me, now! If you desire to see another day!” Her voice was packed with mana and intent that instantly broke the spell of terror that suffused the air. They raced to her from every direction and cowered behind her as she charged the shadows with two flaming fists.

Coating wrapped around her body, protecting her skin from her own heat. Those who stood too close, did not fare so well. She burst a cackling shadow with each punch, her body moving at speeds far beyond what the others around her could achieve. All save for Dommell. She heard him somewhere behind, herding the people as quickly as he could into their escape tunnel.

As the last shadow died before her, he was there. His eyes were wide and frantically searching every nook and cranny of the cavern. A panic she did not recognize caused his breaths to come ragged and quick.

“We need to go, now!” He was already running before he finished speaking. She raced to catch him, easily keeping pace with the freshly ascended tier five.

“What do you know?” Niya demanded.

“Only Mark the Hiss has evolved splitting to this extent. H-he’s not someone we can fight. Not even close.”

A popping sound caused Niya to look over her shoulder. Equal parts fear and fury gripped her guts as she watched a man who was too slow be turned into nothing more than a cloud of red mist. Around him, filling their cavern completely, were thousands of shadowy women. Their laughter echoed up the tunnel behind her.

They quickly caught up with the stragglers and Niya tossed one over her shoulder before slamming her fist into the wall. The tunnel leading to the mining complex collapsed, filling their space with dust and dirt which she pushed out of the air with her aura. They continued to run, even as shadows sprang to life behind them and eerie laughter chased their every step.