The Glorious Evolution

Three days before the café meeting... Levi was still in the same area of the Deserted Kingdom’s mountains, sitting silently upon a field of blue grass.

”Damn... I think this is my limit.”

Levi let out a faint exhale, not too content with the final product of his latest technique... He had been working almost day and night on it.

Each time he hit a wall, he took a break to feed the Sun and Void Seeds, helping them slowly crawl toward 5% Resonance Access.1

Although he was using some decent-quality Solar and Vile Totems, the speed was still depressingly slow.

But he wasn’t too bothered by it for now, as his entire focus remained on the technique... and after twelve days of grilling his brain, he had finally created his first Technique with twenty-five major components!

Quite an achievement, and yet... he wasn’t satisfied.

”Boy, don’t be too greedy.” Ash’Kral scolded, ”You have created a near-perfect spiritual espionage device capable of infiltrating a Tier 6 Psychic Specialist without being detected... There is no more leeway to improve it without evolving beyond your current level.”

”He is right...” The Titan nodded, quite surprised by the final result.

The Titan knew Levi would ask for help if he truly hit a dead end... but he hadn’t expected the boy to make it this far without seeking even a single pointer from Ash’Kral.

He had found his way through trial, repetition, and thinking outside the box.

The final product?

A near-microscopic parasitic egg rested in Levi’s palm, its frequency-based shell oscillating at such a peculiar rate that, under magnification, it appeared to flicker in and out of reality.

Levi held several of them in his hand, yet to the naked eye, his palm appeared empty. Even an advanced spiritual detection tool would fail to register their existence.

”Don’t get me wrong... I know it’s good, but it’s not enough to pull off the heist.” Levi shook his head. ”House Targon’s Ward Array will spot it on Simon’s body in less than a second.”

”No shit... It can detect anything up to Tier 8,” Ash’Kral said calmly. ”You never had a chance of bypassing it to begin with.”

Before Levi could reply, Ash’Kral added nonchalantly, ”But you did well... You created a parasite capable of eluding Silas, and that’s enough. Leave the Array problem to me.”

”Oh?” Levi tilted his head, taunting him innocently. ”You think you can handle it? It’s a powerful Array that they spend a lot of money each year maintaining.”

”I said I’ll do it; no need to get on my nerves.”

Annoyed, Ash’Kral waved his hand and started listing the materials needed to help him construct the Array... After he finished, Levi searched for the materials through the Black Slime Syndicate, Public Markets, Private Nobility Auctions, and even the Nocturnal Infinity Shop.

To his surprise, he found every material needed, as they weren’t even that rare... Most were still expensive, but not difficult to obtain.

”Are these really materials for a Grand Array?” Levi wondered. ”I thought they were supposed to be exclusive.”

The Titan chuckled.

”Boy... Ash’Kral doesn’t need such materials for his Arrays.”

Levi understood him immediately... Ash’Kral’s skills were simply too far above the rest of the Array Masters; he could create superior Arrays with cheaper materials.

In simpler terms...

Skill Issue.

...

Three Days Later... The Shadow Dimension... Ash’Kral’s Ruined Castle.

After spending more than one hundred thousand credits, Levi had all the required materials delivered in packages straight to his location... Naturally, he still had to avoid the Ratokki’s assault during the delivery.

Since Ash’Kral needed to be physically present, Levi had to teleport back to Earth in disguise and swiftly enter the Shadow Dimension.

He knew that Earth was no longer the same after their latest victory in the faction event... Many serious backgrounds were seeking to recruit him and Jasmine at all costs.

If they rejected?

Well, it wouldn’t end pleasantly for either of them.

”I really wish you would stop being cheap and teach me one or two things about Arrays.”

Levi complained while crouching next to Ash’Kral, who was using some of the materials to write hundreds of IIthorien inscriptions every second inside a Hexagon.

”And I... really wish you would stop bothering me.” Ash’Kral rejected him without hesitation. ”No means no... You aren’t ready yet.”

Levi clicked his tongue. ”Tsk, I’m just asking for the basics.”

”...Foolish.” Ash’Kral sneered while continuing to write. ”He thinks the basics are easy.”

”How would I know when you refuse to teach me anything?” Levi sighed. ”Well, at least teach me Alchemy as you promised.”

”Nice try... I never made such a promise. All I told you was to read.”

Levi clicked his tongue again, annoyed... He felt like he was holding a trove of knowledge in his hands but was missing the damn key.

”Whatever... I’ll figure it out on my own.”

Levi walked over to the shattered throne and took a seat... then he pulled out one of Alzhukar’s Alchemy books, which he had started reading a few days ago.

He didn’t know whether Ash’Kral was being genuine in his assessments or not, but he was truly interested in those two fields... If Ash’Kral kept refusing to mentor him, then he could only read and figure things out on his own.

Second option... find another teacher just to spite Ash’Kral.

Despite the tempting thought, Levi didn’t want to taint his foundation with the modern understanding of these fields.

Ash’Kral had already proven his skills to be among the best, and Levi wanted to learn only from the best.

Some time later... Ash’Kral finished the Array and called for Levi.

Levi closed the book and walked over to the small Array.

It was gray in color and resembled a condensed Hex filled with unreadable gibberish... but when Levi used his Harmonic Spine to zoom in, he was enthralled by its level of detail and perfection.

’There must be close to three million inscriptions packed into such a tiny space...’

Levi couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship and wished, deep down, that he could someday reach the same level of skill.

”Stop daydreaming and do it.”

Levi created a Wire Egg between two fingers and placed it in the center of the Hex. Then, he dropped into a crouch a few meters away and switched his Harmonic Spine to its finest resolution until the little gray Hex and the egg filled his entire vision.

That’s when Ash’Kral began the incantation, his voice as regal and solemn as that of an ancient king.

The Hex’s outermost ring spun clockwise while every inscription along it folded into the ring beneath, each stroke remaining perfectly intact.

Three million characters... and every single one remained clean.

’He’s compressing it.’

Levi watched in awe as the second ring folded.

Then the third.

The Hex shrank from the width of a dinner plate to the width of a palm, and the inscriptions stacked as it went, layer upon layer, until the gray surface stopped resembling writing and began looking more like condensed fog.

By the eighth fold, Levi lost the ability to separate one character from the next even at full magnification... By the twelfth, the Array had shrunk to the size of a coin, while the individual inscriptions had become impossible for him to distinguish.

”How is it still working?” Levi murmured. ”There’s no room left.”

”Room is a beginner’s problem.” Ash’Kral’s claw traced a spiral above the shrinking Hex, and the fog folded once more. ”An inscription is merely meaning given shape. The shape is only the vessel. Remove it carefully enough, and the meaning remains... still anchored to the place where you left it.”

”...”

Levi was still confused... He somewhat understood the gist of it, but not the actual principle behind it, as he lacked the fundamental understanding of Arrays.

Ash’Kral couldn’t be bothered to explain any further... He kept folding the Hex smaller and smaller until it became even smaller than the egg itself!

Levi focused on the egg’s shell, which was rippling in and out of existence fast enough to make even his Harmonic Vision strain, and suddenly realized what Ash’Kral was planning to do.

’The shell is only there half the time...’

This left a surface that existed only in flickers, appearing for fractions of a heartbeat at a time... To carve anything into it, Ash’Kral had to catch every single instant the shell manifested until the entire Hex was engraved into the frequency-based surface!

’Ash...’

The entire process was beyond Levi’s comprehension, making him feel as though he were witnessing the work of someone whose true skill he had yet to fully appreciate.

Reminder: Levi’s current evolutionary path progress: Pathfinder on all three Origin Seeds: 5% Nine Senses Seed. 2% Void Seed. 2% Sun Seed.