The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

15 March, Year 2503. The Human Empire. Verrant City, Western region.

The sun rose high above, illuminating the sprawling city with the sweltering heat of the upcoming summer. People were bustling around the streets, moving on their own designated paths. Children were running after each other on the sidewalks, playing happily, while several old figures waited for the traffic stop signal so they could pass through the wide road filled with fast, passing vehicles.

Far removed from the bustling outside world, isolated inside a quiet hotel room, a boy sat cross-legged on the bed, deep in meditation. Crimson Essence was constantly leaking from his body. Floating in a steady circle in the air right before him was a long spear, emitting the exact same dense Crimson Essence as his own aura.

He was busy in meditation not just for hours, but for days. It had been almost four constant days since he started cultivating the essence. He didn’t even wake up for breakfast, dinner, or anything else. He was entirely busy with his training. Though he didn’t feel physically tired; in contrast, there was a new kind of blazing spirit burning in his mind as he genuinely enjoyed the grind of his training.

Just as it seemed he was going to go for another full day of training, his body stirred suddenly, as if trying to wake up and return to the real world.

The Crimson Essence surrounding him coiled tightly around the weapon, as if it manifested physically to grasp the spear, pulling it back safely inside his body.

He finally opened his eyes, staring around the dim hotel room, as all the natural light had been blocked out by the closed curtains.

He stood up immediately, walked toward the window, and pulled open the curtains. The bright rays of sunlight fell on him, illuminating his figure. He raised his hand to shield his eyes in order to adjust his vision to the sudden outside light. After a few seconds, he was finally able to open his eyes to clearly see the outside world. Tall buildings stretched out into the distance, and several holographic advertisements were floating high above the skyscrapers. He couldn’t help but realize once again that he was not in his past world, but rather in a new world which was even better, or perhaps worse, than the fantasies he had read about.

”Sigh... It seems two months have passed rapidly since my training began. I should have attempted at least one trial by now, but alas, I thought I could have some rest first, since this next stage is going to have only two trials...”

Unlike Stage 1 or Stage 2, Stage 3 only contained two trials. But underestimating the stage just because of the low number of trials was a fool’s job.

For the past month, he had focused entirely on increasing his bond with Godless. During the last stage, due to his massive power upgrade, the bond between Godless and him had forcibly increased. He had been just a few steps away from unlocking its third form, so he invested all of his time and effort solely into deepening the bond between them.

Then why didn’t he just go to another trial and pass the stage in order to automatically deepen the bond faster?

It was simple logic. If he had chosen to increase his mastery over Godless through completing the stage, then he would have only gotten a few mastery points to push his progression until the third form unlocked. But if he worked hard and unlocked the third form with his own efforts now, and then passed the stage later, his mastery would quickly climb near the fourth form. Even getting close to it would have sufficed.

That was the reason he had been aggressively searching for the methods to increase his bond. And during that time, of course, his notorious weapon bond had finally spilled the beans about how to actually increase its mastery. She didn’t tell him so that he could become stronger; she told him because she thought she would also become stronger and the restrictions placed on her would finally loosen. But alas, she was unaware that if Alen wanted to, he could still make her dance around his finger even if she became more powerful. But of course, he wouldn’t do that unless she tried something fishy.

The method of increasing the mastery was not so difficult. You have to focus on the weapon not just physically, but spiritually through deep cultivation. It was simple to hear, but not simple to actually execute. He had to cultivate normally, just like how he cultivated mana, but instead of focusing on his own mana core, he had to focus on the weapon’s core. He had to pushed and pulled the Crimson Essence through different methods, sensing which trick made him wield the weapon more smoothly and effortlessly. He also had to visualize in his mind the different ways to wield the weapon without physically swinging it. He had played around, trying several spear arts and dagger arts in his brain, and attained mastery over them by several margins through sheer visualization.

It was a unique method, but it was unnervingly useful. It didn’t just increase his mastery over Godless; it also pushed past his mastery over his normal skills of weapons.

’Let’s see how much I progressed then...’

[Ding!]

[Status Window]

[Name: Alen]

[Age: 17]

[Titles: The Outlier, The Elemental Master, Illusion Walker]

[Talent: Unknown]

[Rank: A- (PathSeeker)]

[Elements: Sound, Water, Wind, Darkness, Fire, Earth]

[Physique: Celestial Body (★★)]

[Bond: Godless (Second Form) → 28.1%]

[Supreme Ability: Omnipresence, Levitation]

[ATTRIBUTES]

[STR: 565/1000] [AGI: 613/1000]

[DEF: 569/1000] [INT: 640/1000]

[HP: 30000/30000]

[MP: 30400/30400]

[ABILITIES]

[1. ???? (?)]

[2. Nexus Elemental Art (S-)]

[3. Night Vision (A+)]

[4. Weapon Master (35%)]

[5. Charm (★★)]

[SKILLS]

[1. Body Strengthening (Lv. 10)]

[2. Mana Concentration (Lv. 12)]

[3. Phantom Step (A+)]

[4. True One’s Gaze (A+)]

[SHADOW INVENTORY]

> Divine Talisman (S)

> Chaos Shard

> Grimoire of Darkness (A+)

> Spatial rings

...

As he checked the screen carefully, his overall status was mostly the same, except his attributes had increased slightly. He hadn’t expected them to increase, as he hadn’t put any physical effort into his training for the past month.

’It seems whatever I train, it will result in my stats increasing, as my body naturally adjusts to balance my strength with my other stats. I didn’t know that my body is continuously trying to balance out my power...’

He checked the main thing he had opened the screen for. As he looked at it, a small, satisfied smile curled up on his lips. He was just a few decimal points away from unlocking the next form.

He also realized from the past unlocks that his weapon, Godless, had a total of seven forms. In order to unlock the next form, he required a mastery of nearly 14.28%. After roughly calculating it, if he wanted to unlock the third form, he needed to complete his mastery up to 28.57%. He was just a few points away from achieving it.

’Sigh... I feel like I am not even enjoying my life right now. I am just training, eating, sleeping, attempting trials, and again training, eating, and sleeping. It has now become my daily routine. There is no other enjoyment in my life besides that, except listening to this babbling kid.’

{Hey! Who are you calling a kid?! You boring, dense f*ck ass!}

’Wait, who the f*ck are you to call me dense?! I am not dense, I am smart, you sleeping puppy!’

{Huh... What shit did you just spit?! I am not your puppy! I am the Mythical, no, Primordial, no, Immortal Weapon Godless...}

’Oh, come on, are you trying to make up your own titles? You yourself are confused and oblivious to what you actually are, so don’t give me that shit about being a god-level entity. You are just a kid, so know your place.’

{You damn bastard! Just wait until I get my full power back. I will make sure to kick your a*s and show you what I am really capable of!}

’Hehe... Challenge accepted. Now stop spitting shit and go to sleep, unless you want to watch me take a bath.’

{Ughh! I would prefer going on a walk rather than staying with you.}

Immediately after her disgusted words echoed in his head, Crimson Essence started to leak from his body. It floated right out of the open window as Ravena left to go stroll around the city.

{By the way, I just stole a few gold coins from your inventory, so don’t blame me when you notice.}

’Wait—What?! When the f*ck did you learn to steal!’

{Hehe... After staying alongside you.}

’Sigh... At least learn from my good habits rather than my bad habits...’

{If there are any...}

’...’

Her voice was cut short as Alen firmly placed a mental barrier between them to dismiss her banter. He stepped toward the washroom, shed his sweaty shirt and pants, and showered in the cool water for fifteen minutes.

Stepping out of the bathroom wearing a plain white T-shirt and black pants, he walked toward the mirror while drying his silver hair with a towel.

He looked at his reflection, observing his own handsome face. He couldn’t help but think about how much more handsome he had become. His striking azure eyes caught the light, as his figure Illuminated by the light, making his face look more charming. From his past world’s perspective, he was way above any supermodel or celebrity. If he returned to his past world with this face, he would easily become the most handsome celebrity in the world.

This world was not much different, if he separated the, power dynamics of society. If non-Awakeners and any normal Ascender of a lower rank than his own saw his face, especially females, they would instantly get a crush on him. It doesn’t work on everyone, of course, but a vast majority would definitely get flushed faces just by looking at him.

’Sigh. Let’s find a good mask to hide my face first, or it will be a pain in the a*s to roam around these crowded cities.’

With a casual flick of his finger, he summoned a stylish black jacket from his Shadow Inventory and wore it over his T-shirt. Before checking into the hotel, he had gone to buy a few pairs of clothes, as he was tired of wearing the same dress every day. He looked at his reflection again; he looked incredibly cool and stylish wearing the casual outfit, and a small smirk curled on his lips.

”Hehe... I really am a handsome person. I think if this world was not magical, I would have preferred becoming a famous celebrity or some handsome, rich businessman.”

There wasn’t even the slightest bit of hesitation in his voice while speaking. If people called him a narcissist for that, he didn’t care. From his perspective, there was nothing wrong with appreciating himself. He was not being arrogant; he was just giving self-importance to himself because he was constantly self-improving. No one had the right to judge what he did with himself. Besides, there was no person in his life who would appreciate him like this anyway. He was all alone, living his life in solitude while trying to make himself better.

’Hmmm... While thinking about looks, I remember the second trial in the war zone. While looking at the different figures frozen in time, they were wearing heavy armor and gauntlets. Even in the real world, I can see various Ascenders using heavy gear before attempting a trial or any battle... How are they able to fight properly while wearing such heavy things?’

’Even with my high strength, I would not prefer wearing such bulky armor, which might restricts my movements... It would be good if I could find a specialized battle suit which would not restrict my movements, but would also help protect my body from minor scratches...’

’Now that I think of it, I remember my hand passing right through Lyris’s body. She has some kind of special, intangible body similar to mine, which lets her avoid normal physical and magical attacks without being affected in the slightest... Does that mean my Celestial Body also has some kind of similar ability like hers? Then why didn’t it show up if I really have it?... Whatever, let’s skip that thought for now...’

He immediately summoned a dark cloak and wore it, pulling the hood up to securely hide his face. He circulated his mana around his body to maintain his internal temperature against the hot weather outside, and stepped out of the hotel room, eager to search for a new place to have some fun.