Path to Transcendence

Chapter 223: Advancement

The advancement potion wasn’t like he had been expecting at all.

Although to be honest, he didn’t have any expectations at all. He hadn’t been planning to use any potions or assistance tools while he advanced.

He had heard many times that some potions that helped with progression often came at the cost of long-term stagnation. For example, skill potions aided with the leveling of one’s skills. However, if one used them frequently, it was common to see a plateau of progression.

This was because it relied on external elements rather than internal comprehension, meaning at some point, one’s skill would be more advanced than the person using it knew how to handle. Effectively halting any more progress of the skill until they understood their skill more thoroughly.

Furthermore, it was a general consensus that those who relied on these types of potions were weaker than their peers. Their foundations were less established than those who didn’t.

There was also the fact that these kinds of potions affected your body and soul. Professor Youma explained to the students that these potions put a tremendous strain, not only on their bodies but also on their souls.

There were some extreme cases when people died from overusing these potions. People got addicted to them and would constantly consume them in the hopes of gaining a single level. Until they died just as how one would die from a drug overdose.

On top of all of that, Julius didn’t like the idea of taking skill potions for a more important reason.

It felt like cheating.

This advancement potion Julius thought was similar. It was only after Reinera’s explanation of the contrary that he decided to use it. Unlike most potions that accelerated one’s advancement speed, such as hastening the process of accumulating one’s mana with their body, which left impurities and foreign mana integrated into one’s body, this potion didn’t have any side effects.

It was apparently a commonly used item for wealthy people to give to their children. It was more like a natural accelerant rather than an artificial one. The zero side effects also meant it was much more expensive.

With that being said, Julius thought it would be a gradual build-up, not the immediate sensation he experienced. It was as if his soul was lighting up like a disco ball.

It was a bit overwhelming at the beginning. It felt like opening his eyes for the first after being stuck in a dark hole for days.

It wasn’t only that, but he felt a soothing blanket of calmness wash over him. He didn’t know if that was because of the potion, the room, or perhaps a combination of both. But he felt like he entered a meditative trance.

However, that same feeling he had been going through these past few weeks slowly came to the forefront.

If the divide between Tier 2 and Tier 3 had been like a fence before, now it felt more like an open door. It was as if all he needed to do was accept the welcome and walk through the threshold.

Additionally, at the same time, he couldn’t help but notice the outright terrifying amount of power he felt emanating from the other side of the door. A primal part of himself knew that the moment he entered through the door, he would have to endure whatever that followed.

There would be no coming back and there would be no re-attempt. At least for a very long time.

Stop being such a coward, he admonished himself. There is no need to be scared, Tier 3 is simply another step on my path.

He made sure that Drasil was all settled within his core, ensuring that he was also prepared for what was to come. Drasil shouldn’t experience any discomfort but he wanted to make sure he dotted all of his letters before beginning.

After he got confirmation from his resident life spirit, Julius smiled and steeled himself before taking that last step. Finally triggering his advancement.

At first, the energy surged at a steady pace throughout his core, body, and soul in equal measure. Each time, it would cycle between the three of them, ensuring that every time it did, the connection between them would strengthen.

He was combining his core, body, and soul into one single state.

It was only now that he was truly understanding what people had meant when they explained the process. Hearing about it and experiencing it were two very different things.

However, Julius quickly approached a very troublesome issue.

He was no longer able to go any further past this point. While he was slowly integrating his entire being into one, there was still were things he needed to do.

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That’s where my insight comes in, he realized.

He had been telling himself that he didn’t know his insight for a while now, but it was only now when his mind was in a complete state of calm he saw his folly.

In typical fashion, he wanted to believe that his insight would be something profound or impressive. He had enough self-awareness that he realized that he liked to surprise others with his power or impressiveness.

However, he knew that was not the case for his insight.

One’s Tier 3 insight was supposed to be something personal in nature. It was meant to be a mixture of who he was and who he wanted to be.

Previously, he had believed that he was missing something. But now that he was in this meditative trance, he realized that it was something he had already known well beforehand.

At least he subconsciously knew it. He just didn’t want to admit it because it didn’t sound particularly impressive or noble.

His path was one of power and strength. He knew that that had never been in question.

However, it was why he wanted it. Freedom was just a lame explanation for getting more powerful. While it certainly played a big part in why he has spent so much effort into his training, that wasn’t the biggest reason.

He has seen firsthand that power didn’t equate to freedom. He has seen those with no power experience freedom, people he could have beaten in a fight a long time ago.

People like the food stall owners or people like Declan’s children, these people weren’t the strongest in their tier or had immeasurable power, yet they were able to be free in their own way.

No.

The biggest reason why he wanted to get stronger was simply because he hated being weak and he loved the feeling of getting stronger. The simple sensation of progressively getting better through hard work.

Was it slightly disappointing that it wasn’t for any profound reason? Sure, he wished he had some sort of righteous intention, but it wasn’t really who he was. Nor was it someone he really wanted to be. Being virtuous and righteous all the time sounded like a pain in the ass.

While his insight was single-minded and prideful, he also couldn’t bring himself to hate it.

He had fun getting stronger. He had fun gradually learning new skills and Concepts. The idea of pushing his limits to get more powerful, no matter if it was by a single level. It didn’t matter if people thought he was being stupid or unreasonable. He would continue having fun.

If that meant he would occasionally need to burn himself for a little bit or chop off an arm or two, then so be it.

That type of enjoyment was why he wanted to continue progressing down the path to eventual transcendence. That was what he wanted his future self to believe as well.

“It doesn’t have to be noble reason, mine is good enough,” he softly stated.

At that moment he felt the three pieces of himself that were being held apart, finally start to come together.

***

Initially, he believed that his insight was all he needed to advance to Tier 3. Unfortunately, it seemed he was wrong. There was more he needed to do.

The moment he began the fusion of his self, that was where the true struggle began.

The wave of energy that had been held back, was no longer being so easy to control. It was like fighting a bear with rabies that was in the process of trying to rip him apart.

He soon realized that this was simply his core trying to merge with his body.

Whereas Tier 2 was the integration of mana with his body, Tier 3 required his actual core to break down and melt into his body. This seemed to be a challenge considering his absurd amount of mana in his core.

He hated to admit it, but his body was by far his weakest link between the three things. Even compared to other students, his body was nothing spectacular. It was something he was eager to rectify once he advanced to Tier 3.

With that being said, he still needed to keep his body together as his core assimilated with it. He made good use of his Concept of Will though. Inexorable Resolve was helping him fortify his willpower, allowing him to focus and keep the mana from ripping apart his body.

He was certain that most people didn’t have such issues when advancing. Then again, they also didn’t have such large mana pools at Tier 2.

He could distinctly feel his body rapidly going through changes. His core was trying to fuse with his body, doing its best to kill him. He also sensed that he was undergoing significant changes.

His affinities within his core were no longer separate entities, they were synergizing together, creating this powerful medley of life, fire, and kinetic energy. All of this fed his body, strengthening his muscles.

He felt the pain of his bones being ground down and recreated, more powerful than before. [Sage of Savagery] did a wonderful job of allowing him to ignore the pain and concentrate on ensuring the transition was as perfect as possible.

Just as the pain from his bones started to subside, he felt searing heat radiate through his body. It was like thousands of hellfire ants were nibbling his flesh under his skin, only to be dosed with a refreshing wave of life energy, before the process started again.

He had believed that his life affinity would help with this, but unfortunately, it just allowed him to feel bliss before the pain renewed.

It wasn’t for nothing at least. He felt his body create complex circuits of compacted mana, much like veins, replacing his core. His entire body was slowly coalescing into an object that was optimized for mana.

Then finally came his head. His mind was similarly seared like a piece of meat over some charcoals. Mana fortified his mind in a way that he knew was helpful, but it just sucked how much it hurt.

Even [Sage of Savagery] had its limits and Julius could feel him starting to grunt from the pain.

Just when he thought he was finished, he suddenly felt his eyes disintegrate into ash. The sheer force of mana obliterated them into nothing but atomized dust.

However, in their place, new eyes regrew into his sockets. These news ones felt completely different.

They were no longer normal eyes. They were so pumped full of mana that Julius half expected them to pop out of his head by blinking.

He smiled widely though. Because even though that had hurt like a bitch, he felt that the assimilation of his core and body was complete. He had merged them together into a powerful singular entity.

Now, he only had one thing left to do. It was the only part of this that he had been kind of nervous about.

The incorporation of his soul…