Path to Transcendence

Chapter 102: Venting

Julius was holding onto the card with one hand as he made his way back to campus. The card itself was made entirely on some sort of metal alloy and weighed way more than one would expect it to. It reminded Julius of one of those Amex Black cards that were made of metal. It was oddly satisfying holding it in his hands, he could see why people in his old world loved showing them off.

Before he left Declan and Orus, he made sure to see Rae since he was there. It was always nice to see her and it certainly didn’t hurt that she liked to send Julius off with a basket full of goodies that she made earlier that day. In fact, while he was playing with the card in one hand, he was snacking on a pastry she made for him in the other.

Julius also got some good news from Declan. He was assured by him that whenever he decided to use the Rifts he would have all the privacy he wanted. Nobody who was supervising the Rifts would question him and would allow him right through as long as he showed them the card. The retainers at these sites were magically bound as well, so their loyalty was secure.

He wasn’t going to lie, it was very tempting for him to just head right toward the nearest Rift on the map. He could do with some stretching of his legs.

It was funny. When he had been stuck inside that Tier 3 Rift, he wanted nothing more than to leave. But now, there wasn’t anything he wanted except to head right into another Rift. Was he crazy for that? Perhaps, but he also reminded himself that he wasn’t even close to being strong enough to take revenge and needed to get stronger.

The only thing that was preventing him from going into one of the many Rifts was his promise to Declan. Julius had promised Declan that he would wait to enter a Rift with Declan’s oversight. To be fair, Julius hadn’t mentioned the entire troll Rift incident with Declan. He was certain that Declan had some suspicions already, but he hadn’t told him everything.

That was why Julius had readily agreed to wait for Declan. He also appreciated that Declan took such obvious care of him, he knew that the vice-captain was just looking out for him.

He wouldn’t have to wait long either. In fact, Declan told him that he would have much more time tomorrow to take Julius to the first Rift. Once the princess had made it to Goldencrest tonight, the crowds would disperse swiftly, or so Declan said.

Speaking of crowds, there were even more people than before when he had been walking from campus. It was a madhouse, people were clamoring to see a single glimpse of the royal princess. If that wasn’t bad enough, there were countless merchants and other people who were taking advantage of the crowds, selling their products and services.

Whether they were dolls of the princess, decorative banners, or even food for the people waiting along the roads, it was more lively than Julius had ever seen on a street.

It got so bad that he decided to take a large detour. Luckily, the towers of Goldencrest were so large that orienting himself to campus wasn’t that hard. He had already made his way far away from his normal route and found that once he left the mass of the crowds the rest of the city was surprisingly empty.

Probably because most of the people were lining the streets of the other districts but he wasn’t going to complain. It made traveling seem like a breeze in comparison.

He reached the edge of the city, where the ocean met the walls and cliffs. He followed the path to the school gates, where he saw thousands upon thousands of people shoulder to shoulder with each other waiting around the massive courtyard in front. It was so loud, that the sounds of laughter and talking boomed throughout the courtyard and practically shook the surrounding buildings.

Fortunately, the school ensured that nobody was allowed within a certain distance of the gates so there was enough space for people who were students, staff, or other members of Goldencrest to enter. Numerous guards were placed all around the campus and Julius could sense an immense amount of mana coming from the ridiculous number of enchantments active.

He quickly shoved his way through the crowd and squeezed his way through before walking up to the gates. Several guards stopped him. “Halt.”

Julius stopped where he was standing and took out his student identification, passing it over to the guards without them prompting him to do so. One of them walked forward and took it from Julius before placing it on top of a black cube. He heard a distinctive beep and a blue light shine from the top of the cube. The guard then passed the card back to him and stepped to the side, the other guards following suit.

Once he entered the enchantments of the academy, he was unable to hear any more noise coming from the crowd. It appeared that the campus itself was completely isolated from the sound, much like Lily’s technique.

He got back in time to see the others. He had messaged Edgar when he was on his way back, letting him and the others know that he would be there in a little bit. Julius was supposed to meet them at the training facility. They hadn’t gone out and Julius had experienced the reason why first hand.

When he arrived, the others were already inside of a room so he had to make his way through the facility. He did receive some looks from the upperclassmen, but at this point, they already knew he spent time with the others and they didn’t bother him.

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He knocked on the door and Lily let him in. Edgar and Aubrey were going at it inside. Kyle and Derek were nowhere to be seen. Julius hadn’t seen them at breakfast either, he wondered what they were doing.

Julius watched Edgar and Aubrey spar, the two of them were good matchups for the other. Unlike Julius, Edgar had a much tougher time determining Aubrey’s position, especially after the changes she made to her skill. So while Edgar was faster and stronger than her, Aubrey’s unpredictability was showing its value.

Whenever Edgar had her caged in, she was able to escape using her clones and the few times she was caught out, her [Diamond Skin] held up against Edgar’s attacks. However, she wasn’t able to do any damage to Edgar either.

When she had fought Julius, she hadn’t used her long-range skill that much. It honestly wasn’t that useful when her opponent knew her position, it took too long to use and left her quite vulnerable. However, against Edgar, she used it to great effect, the rainbow-colored beam scorched the defenses of Edgar.

She didn’t even try to get into a direct conflict with Edgar. She wasn’t Derek, who could go toe to toe with Edgar with his superior speed. This left her always on the run, using hit-and-run tactics, peppering him with damage. Eventually, the main issue made itself known. Her rapidly draining resources.

Compared to Edgar who had barely used any stamina or mana, Aubrey had been using a lot, by running around and switching places with her clones. However, just when Julius thought Aubrey had all but been tapped out, she was able to launch one final attack.

When Edgar had closed in, Aubrey didn’t switch out with one of her clones. Instead, she faced Edgar up close, and to her credit, she did an admirable job against a close combat monster like Edgar. Right when he was about to deliver a punishing blow, Aubrey wrapped herself around Edgar and switched.

However, unlike her usual clones, this one had a trick. It was like a crystal statue, it didn’t look anything like Aubrey and it wasn’t for that purpose anyway. Its purpose was to contain Edgar long enough for Aubrey to unleash her attack. This one wasn’t like the others. Not only was the prism of light much stronger than before, but the clone started to sparkle as well.

Edgar being the decisive fighter he was, quickly got an idea of what Aubrey was attempting to do and immediately put everything he had into breaking through the crystal surrounding him. With a burst of fire, like a volcano erupting, Edgar blew himself out of the crystal’s grasp. He ended up doing more damage to himself than anything, but it also gave him the space to avoid the massive lance of prismatic light torching where he was just standing.

In a flash, he appeared right in front of Aubrey. She had no more stamina and no more mana, so she was unable to get out of the way in time. Edgar put his fist into her chest, cracking her [Diamond Skin] and smashing her against the barrier. Decisively ending the fight.

Julius knew how much Aubrey hated to lose, but she was never a sore loser. She would gripe and moan about losing but she got over it quickly and never held a grudge against the other person. She understood that both of them wanted to win equally as much. It was something that Julius respected about her immensely.

Edgar went over and helped Aubrey get back to her two feet. Julius could hear Aubrey’s cursing from where he was standing with Lily and smiled as he listened to her vent. Edgar was also smiling, he had known Aubrey even longer than Julius so he knew what to expect. He allowed her to get everything out of her system and for them to take a well-deserved break. Julius saw that she and Edgar both took out the small stone that radiated mana which the two of them often used to hasten their recovery of their mana.

It was only after they had recovered to a satisfactory level that he started talking with her about the fight itself.

Honestly, Julius was surprised by how much improvements she had made to her [Prism Stealth] skill and her [Mirage Phantom] skill. He already had his suspicions that her [Mirage Phantom] skill was epic, it was just that good of a skill. But the amount of adaptations and upgrades she made were astounding.

Just a few weeks ago, Julius would have never guessed that she would be able to make her clone into a crystal statue, giving it real substance and shape. While it didn’t look like a human, for occasions like the one she just used, it proved to be a potent new tool she could use. Not to mention how fast and seamless her switches were becoming.

Even with [Spatial Perception], Julius found himself having to push his aura and mana senses to the limit to not lose track of her. Previously, just [Spatial Perception] would have been enough.

She really has improved. Julius thought to himself.

Edgar thought the same as well. He was by her side praising her and her newfound abilities, telling her how much more difficult it was to fight her compared to before.

Aubrey just shook her head depreciating, “It’s all because of Julius.”

Edgar gave her a jostle with his arm and said, “No, it was because of your own efforts and drive.”

She smiled at his words but Julius could see that she didn’t believe them. “You know better than that,” she said softly. “If I didn’t get my ass kicked by a kid three years my junior, I wouldn’t have pushed myself that hard.” Her hands were clenched so tightly that Julius could almost hear her bones cracking. Her face was contorted with frustration and hints of anger.

Edgar dropped his hands from her shoulder and didn’t say anything following that. He knew why she was pushing herself. Hell, they all knew why.

Julius watched as Aubrey went over to a nearby bench and sat down with her elbows on her knees and her head down before talking to nobody in particular. “... You know, I have always been considered a genius. My mother and all of my friends told me so for my entire life. And I believed it. Why wouldn’t I? I have a perfect crystal affinity and my own mother is a Tier 6. I may not be as strong in a direct fight as Edgar or Derek, but I have my own unique skill set. It wasn’t until you showed up that things changed,” she turned to look at Julius. “There are times when I wish I never met you. The ugly envious part of me thinks that if I never met you, I would have never fought you, and I would have never felt so weak and useless,” she said in a whisper.

An awkward silence followed her venting. Nobody quite knew what to say or do after they heard her.