Path to Transcendence

Chapter 456: Fledgling Phoenix

A few seconds after he had chosen the unique item as his reward, he felt a slight glow in his newly evolved soul. It was so minor that he almost ignored it. Then, suddenly, something appeared right in front of him out of thin air. He caught the item before it could hit the floor. He doubted his new soul-bound item would break from something like that, but one couldn’t be too careful.

He turned the item over with his hands, and as much as he tried not to, he frowned at it. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but he had been hoping for something like a staff or even something like the training tool that Freya had gotten.

Nonetheless, it would appear the Words of the World must have decided that he needed a lunch box.

Yep, a metal lunch box that one might have found from his old world. The same one, with a clinking handle jutting from its side and a loose metal latch. What was even more depressing was that the lunchbox didn’t even look new.

In fact, it looked like it had been through both World Wars and dragged through the beaches of Normandy. He didn’t even sense any mana coming off the lunch box. He was half convinced that it was really just a regular old piece of metal and that the Words of the World were playing a mean little trick on him for enjoying his food so much.

Not even the paint was new; it was so faded that he couldn’t completely discern the artwork on the item. But from what he could make out, it almost looked like a… rusty ass chicken. This only made his shoulders drop even lower than they already were.

To be fair, while the reward said the item would be unique, it didn’t say anything about being useful. Freya had mentioned something similar before he chose that particular reward.

Julius sighed and grumbled to himself. At least he still got his extra skill slot. That was all he was really hoping for from his soul evolution. The fact that he was able to choose two rewards was a pleasant surprise. However, it would have been nicer if the reward were an actual usable tool.

“Well, you can’t win them all,” he said aloud and swung the lunch box by its handle like he did when he was a young child.

Freya walked up next to him. “What is it? You don’t look like you are happy about what you got,” she said to him.

He merely held it up for her to see for herself. “I think I have been pranked,” he said sadly.

She placed her hand on the bottom of her chin as she examined it. However, unlike what he had been expecting, she actually looked somewhat impressed and took it from his hands to inspect it more closely.

“You don’t like it? I’m surprised, it looks like it is the perfect item for you,” she said with a light laugh as she handed it back to him.

“Haha,” he said dryly. “I don’t think I will need a lunch box when I have a storage ring,” he said as he lifted up his new storage ring in the air.

“Well, you are more than welcome to use it that way, but I think the other functions are much more impressive. I don’t think I have seen anything quite like it, but that is what you would expect from a unique soul-bound item created by the Words of the World,” she said with a shrug.

He paused. It didn’t sound like she was teasing him; she looked like she was actually impressed by what she saw from the lunch box. That was why he began to doubt his initial assumption about the item.

“What do you mean? What else does it do?” He eventually asked her.

She looked at him like he had a screw loose. “What? Shouldn’t you already know? I’m pretty sure you get a brief description upon acquiring your new, uniquely created item, especially if itʼs from the Words of the World,” she said to him, as if it were the most obvious thing.

He frowned and held the lunch box in the air as he examined it once again. He didn’t receive a notification. But this time, he focused a little more deeply and tried to see if there was anything he might have missed. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the lunch box felt a little warmer than he had expected. But nothing else really. Still, he kept on looking, and he wasn’t expecting much, but he froze when he suddenly received a notification.

Congratulations, you have received a specially made item that was created by scanning your soul. This item is also Soul Bound. This means no matter where you are or how far away, this item will always find its way back to you. It is connected to you on an intrinsic level and, as such, has the potential to grow alongside you.

—

Unique Soul Bound Item: Fledgling Phoenix’s Lunch Box (Growth Type)

This enchanted lunch box emanates the gentle warmth of a rising sun. Crafted from embersteel and inlaid with phoenix feather essence, it is said to have been a nurturing gift given to young phoenixes to support their first flights into the world. The interior magically generates meals based on how much mana is fed into it—always balanced, always rejuvenating, and tailored to the eater’s needs.

Each meal consumed from the lunch box feeds not only the body but the soul and mind. As the user continues to eat from it, the lunch box ”grows,” unlocking its true potential.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

This item is the culmination of Julius Von Hyperius’s soul and has been bound to it.

Before he did anything else, he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply as he apologized profusely to the Words of the World. He was wrong and pleaded with them not to take away his new amazing item.

***

It wasn’t a surprise that the first thing he did was gather Freya and Cain around to show off his remarkable lunch box. Freya might have already seen it, but Cain had yet to.

Julius proudly held out the item with both hands as he displayed it to Cain. “Behold, my mighty Unique Item!” He said with a gleeful grin.

Cain frowned as he stared at Julius and back at the lunch box. “Huh? This pile of junk? Are you sure this is a unique soul-bound item? For godʼs sake, itʼs dented already.”

Julius recoiled as if he had been burnt. “Rude. If that’s how you feel, then you can have the misfortune of not experiencing this ‘pile of junk, ’” Julius said with a scoff, but had also noticed that the lunch box had somehow come pre-dented, but he had been enlightened and came to realize that it was a functional dent.

“Umm, you thought it was a piece of junk at first glance, too,” Freya muttered quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

Julius dutifully ignored her. He didn’t know what she was talking about. He had always recognized the greatness of his new treasure. She must have been mistaking it for something else.

Luckily, he had to focus on more important things, like how in the hell he was supposed to work this thing. While it had come with a description, it didn’t come with an instruction manual. The only thing it said that hinted at how it worked was that the lunch box was fueled by the amount of mana he used.

That is precisely what he did. He held the item in his hands, letting its warmth seep into his fingers, and slowly began to feed it mana.

To his intrigue, the lunch box must have been starving for mana because the moment he connected it with his mana, it ripped a massive chunk of mana out of his pool and consumed it in a matter of seconds. It left him gasping from the sudden and intense sensation.

However, this caused the lunch box in his hands to start getting warmer and to emit a soft reddish glow. He could feel a weird amount of life mana accumulating, but watched with curiosity as it did its thing.

Not long after, he felt a sudden weight in the box. With an excited glint in his eyes, he eagerly went to open it. He couldn’t wait to see what was awaiting him.

There was a faint golden glow as he lifted the lid. He opened it the rest of the way and flinched backward.

First, the interior of the box was significantly larger than it appeared on the outside. It must have been spatially enhanced. However, unlike the mountain of treats he was expecting from it, he was welcomed by a glass of milk.

That was it. Nothing else.

He felt his eye twitch as he looked at the sight before him and could vaguely hear Cain’s laughter in the background.

As much as he wanted to be upset, he had learned his lesson about jumping to conclusions. The outward appearance of the lunch box had shown him that he needed to keep an open mind. So with a soft sigh filled with hope and promise, he picked up the glass of milk.

He was immediately interested in the glass itself. It wasn’t made of glass. He could tell when he held it in his hands that it wasn’t just a regular glass. It was made out of pure mana. Yet, it had the same texture of glass and even had the same shimmer as light hit its surface.

If he was gauging the item purely based on the construct, then he was already impressed. The glass was an absolutely incredible example of a well-made mana construct. His constructs were already strong, but this demonstrated a level of elegance he lacked.

He had dabbled in creating various furniture items in the past, but this was on another level. He might have to resume that part of his training while using his new item as a comparison.

He shook his head; he was getting sidetracked again. He focused on the actual contents of the glass and came to two conclusions. First, it was very cold, like the perfect temperature he wanted from a glass of cold milk.

Secondly, the milk exuded a dense amount of life mana. At this point, he didn’t even know if what was inside the glass was actually milk or just life mana that had been transformed to look like milk.

Without fooling around for much longer, he closed his eyes and took a sip.

The moment the liquid hit his tongue, he felt his senses get assaulted by a strong richness, and his entire palate was covered in a sweet creaminess. He couldn’t help but let out a satisfied moan as he drank the best milk he had ever had in his life.

“What the fuck…” he muttered with bewilderment as he licked his lips.

“Whoa, why don’t you let me try some?” he heard Cain shout from behind.

Julius ignored him. The man had made his thoughts about Julius’s lunch box well known. He had no plans on sharing until Cain offered a sincere apology.

Instead, he passed it over to Freya wordlessly. She must have been curious about the look on his face because she didn’t hesitate to take a sip of her own.

“Shit!” She exclaimed with bright eyes and looked at Julius. “Do you know how amazing this is?”

He nodded; he knew full well that the taste wasn’t the only thing that was amazing about the milk. There was an abundance of life mana as well as other advanced aspects that he couldn’t even discern.

She chuckled. “It almost reminds me of the milk of a Velmareon, a Tier 5 beast. It is a valuable treasure that people will use to help fortify their bones and overall body strength. Of course, the power is slightly diluted so you can safely consume it, but still…”

“Wait, seriously?” Cain asked with shock. “Let me try some,” he said while reaching over to grab it from Freya.

She moved out of the way and gave it back to Julius. “Drink all of it, don’t waste a drop. I already feel bad for taking a sip. I assume the item was given to you for a particular reason. It might even help you prepare for your Tier 4 advancement.”

When Cain heard that, the man instantly stopped his attempt to steal it from Julius.

With that being said, Cain had already moved so fast that the gruff man was already standing beside him without his notice.

Julius didn’t waste any more time and quickly took another sip of the milk, letting out a delirious sigh as he felt another warm wave of life mana rush through his body. He didn’t know how much of an impact this milk would have on his body, but he was already very glad that he had chosen the item instead of the other options.

He had a feeling that he would be getting a lot of use out of it.