Path to Transcendence

Chapter 467: Unwanted Attention

Julius looked over his notifications as he walked down the hallway. There weren’t that many people around him, so it didn’t seem like a bad time.

[Spirit Fortification lvl 1 -> lvl 3]

[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 9 -> lvl 10]

All in all, he had gained quite a lot for such a simple fight. Although [Spirit Fortification] was quite a new skill, he wasn’t shocked to see that it had gained a couple of levels. Neither was he surprised to see that his perception skill had earned another level.

He had been forced to use the skill with more intensity than usual. Since there were so many people and monsters in the area, he had pushed himself quite hard to keep track of everything.

It was nice seeing it reach double digits, though. He could only begin to wonder how long it would take the skill to reach the level 30 threshold. As much as he would like to gain a legendary skill before he advanced to Tier 4, he didn’t think it would be likely. Or at least very, very challenging.

He had planned to advance some time after the tournament concluded, which meant he didn’t have a lot of time to get his other skills to that point. He checked his status to see which skills were closest to the level 30 mark.

Name: Julius Von Hyperius

Tier: 3

Skills:

[Armaments of the Arcane lvl 20] (Epic)[Sage of Savagery lvl 20] (Epic)[Phoenix Renewal lvl 17] (Epic)[Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin lvl 16] (Epic+)[Inexorable Aura of Ruin lvl 16] (Epic)[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 10] (Epic)[Void Step lvl 11] (Epic+)[Void Strike lvl 8] (Epic+)[Spirit Fortification lvl 3] (Epic)[Kinetic Energy Refinement lvl 11] (Rare+)
Current Skill Slots: 10/12

Concepts:

[Concept of Sharpness][Pure Severance][Concept of Will][Inexorable Resolve][Concept of Phoenix][Ashen Rebirth][Concept of Force][Resonating Burst][Concept of Space][Chaotic Space]
Soul Bound Items:

Fledgling Phoenix’s Lunch Box (Growth Type)
He frowned when he saw that he was still some levels away from getting either [Armaments of the Arcane] or [Sage of Savagery] to level 30. They were still sitting at level 20, and he suspected that without some sort of pressure to improve, he would not get many more levels that easily. As it was, their growth had already slowed down drastically.

It was only when he fought or challenged himself sufficiently that he was able to gain some levels.

He was contemplating in his mind about what he might be able to do to hasten his progress when he suddenly felt someone enter his sphere of perception. They were very stealthy, and if he hadn’t already been on high alert from his fight, he might have missed them.

“So you do have some kind of powerful perception skill,” the person called out with a slight amusement in his voice. “I was curious as to how you were able to keep track of your constructs with so much going on.”

Julius pretended to be surprised and bowed respectfully to the person. “Sorry, you surprised me. Do I know you?”

“There is no need to act dumb. I felt your perception brush up against me,” Julius heard the figure say with a chuckle before they revealed themselves. Appearing out of thin air.

Julius examined the man with a scrutinizing stare. He was around average height with a slim build, sporting a young face, and a set of black hair with highlights of crimson red that flickered in the light. However, what caught his eye was the pristine white robes he was wearing.

They were pure white with tasteful red and gold embroidery. Additionally, there was a symbol that looked like a flaring sun on each shoulder of the robes.

Julius then looked back at the face of this man. He didn’t let the youthful appearance trick him; Julius was confident that this person was powerful. Despite his aura showing that he was only around Tier 4, Julius very much doubted that was true.

“What can I do for you?” Julius questioned.

“It’s Julius, correct?” The man asked, but it didn’t sound like a question at all.

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Julius nodded. “It is. Who are you?”

The young man swept his beautiful white robes back with a dramatic flourish.

“My name is Adrian, and I am an elder and representative of the Burning Sun Clan.”

Julius tilted his head. “Burning Sun Clan? I don’t think I have heard of it before,” he said truthfully.

Adrian laughed. “I’m not surprised. We are not based in the Empire. We are actually based in Corvus, and I am here as an envoy sent to watch the tournament. But you managed to catch my eye, and I wanted to meet you before you could talk with anyone else.”

Julius squinted his eyes. Now that he had mentioned it, how was it that this person was able to gain access to this particular part of the arena? From what he understood, it was restricted to participants and other staff. Not even families were allowed in this area.

“How did you get back here?” He asked directly.

Adrian brushed his question aside with another laugh. “I have my ways.”

Julius held himself back from rolling his eyes. “Of course you do.”

“Well, that’s enough small talk, let’s finish this conversation somewhere else. Come on, follow me,” Adrian said with a casual shrug and gestured for Julius to follow him.

However, Julius didn’t move an inch. He wasn’t going anywhere with this unknown man. He had no idea what this person’s intent was, nor did he know what he wanted from Julius. There had been no mention of anything.

“I’m sorry, but my friends are waiting for me. Perhaps another time,” Julius said with a polite smile.

The smile that had been on Adrian’s face the entire time slipped away and was replaced by a much more serious one. The sudden change was eerie.

“Let’s go. We won’t be long.” This time it was much more demanding, not like the open-ended request from before.

Despite the change, Julius stood his ground. “What do you want? You haven’t told me anything except for your name and the name of your sect. You can’t seriously expect me to just come along with you because you said so.”

“That is exactly what I expect.”

“And if I don’t?” Julius asked.

“You will.”

Julius simply nodded to himself and began to discreetly feed some power into his skills, preparing for the worst. However, this only made the man laugh. He looked at Julius with an arrogant smirk.

“You know that won’t do you much good,” he said with supreme confidence.

Julius grinned at him challengingly, his heart racing with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. “Maybe, but I am not going to let you kidnap me without a fight.”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” Adrian stated with a taunting smile, and Julius sensed some of the shroud hiding the man’s aura peeling away, revealing the aura of a Tier 5.

Then, before Julius could react, this aura collapsed on him, causing him to grunt in exertion as the powerful aura felt like a physical weight on his shoulders. Thankfully, if there was one thing that Julius believed was his strongest aspect, it would be his willpower.

So as this Tier 5 pressed his aura on Julius, he took hold of his Will Concept and used his ruinous aura to fend off this attack. The weight was alleviated, and Julius managed to gain a little bit of leverage to hold back the overwhelmingly strong aura of this man.

The aura was surprisingly similar to Julius’s in certain ways. It was mainly fire-based, but this taste of destruction clashed against his own aura.

The man was clearly surprised at Julius’s resistance, not expecting such persistence in the face of a more powerful force. However, this surprise swiftly turned into intrigue, and Julius felt the man’s aura increase in potency.

Julius stifled the groan that came to his lips and increased his own efforts. He had never had an aura battle quite like this one. This opposing aura was relentless in its attack. The fire aspect of it continued to burn his aura and, to some extent, his soul. He didn’t feel a reason to explain why, but it was fair to say that it was very painful.

“Is that all you got? You might as well give up if that is all you can handle,” the man taunted as he leaned forward to stare Julius in the eyes.

However, Julius didn’t back down. He met the man’s gaze, letting his stubbornness fuel his aura, and he kept up the resistance. He might not be able to overpower this man’s aura, but he would damn well hold it back from intruding into his own soul. He finally let out an audible groan as the destruction aspect started to tear into him.

He knew that the man wasn’t targeting his body on purpose, but there was so much aura being used that some of it leaked into his body. That started to wreak havoc, and he could feel his skin blistering from the sheer amount of heat despite his natural resistance to fire.

Julius let out a maniacal chuckle as his body broke down piece by piece, but throughout all of this, he didn’t give an inch to the other man’s aura. He held his position and let his body roast alive.

“If you give up and come with me, I will stop,” Adrian offered with a softer tone.

He knew the man could end it whenever he wanted, but Julius wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of giving up first.

Why? Because fuck this guy.

Julius stopped his defenses that were helping his body withstand the heat and, for the first time, went on the offensive. He used every ounce of control and willpower to rip open a hole in the opposing aura.

Julius’s ruinous aura showed its true nature and started to attack the opposing aura mercilessly. He smiled victoriously when he saw the man flinch from his sudden attack. While it didn’t last long since the man quickly wiped out his aura and regained control, Julius felt a wave of satisfaction and gave a brief smirk toward the man.

That satisfaction was well worth the retaliation he received from the man who was suddenly a lot more pisssed off. He probably didnʼt appreciate Juliusʼs counterattack. A much more intense wave of aura slammed into Julius, and he felt his consciousness fade in and out from the sheer weight of the aura.

Still, he didn’t give up, and his willpower held on, if just barely.

He had no idea how much time had passed like that, but suddenly the pressure completely vanished, and he fell to his knees so hard that it cracked the stone below.

“Fine, have it your way. I can’t push any harder without actually crippling or killing you. I’ll leave you be as a show of my respect for holding out that long. Be grateful,” Adrian said with a dismissive wave of his hand, frustration evident in his voice as he walked away.

Julius wanted to respond, but he was too busy puking up a pint of blood, all of it running over his blistered and scorched lips, flooding onto the cracked stone floor at his knees.