Path to Transcendence

Chapter 742: Success...?

He successfully created a hundred constructs. Something he was pretty proud of, and other than that one mishap, he didn’t have any issues. However, he wanted to work on his final requirement as soon as possible. So once he had recovered his mana, he isolated himself once again in the chamber, but suddenly realized the possible dangers of doing this inside a relatively small place.

The chamber wasn’t small by normal standards, but compared to how many constructs he was going to create, it might be a bit undersized. Realizing the complications involved and what he'd done in the garden recently, he groaned.

The responsible thing would be to find a large and isolated area in the wilderness, but he didn’t want to have to go out right now.

He scrunched up his nose as he thought about the downsides and the damage it could cause if he lost control inside the chamber. He eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth it and stopped himself before he could do anything else.

With an annoyed grunt, he stood up and walked up the stairs. He spotted Marcus and Lily working on something at the dining table.

“Done already?” Lily asked curiously.

He shook his head. “No, I need to go somewhere larger and where I can’t hurt anyone or anything if something goes wrong.”

Lily frowned. “Where would that be?”

“I was thinking about going out of Goldmere for a little bit. Find a barren spot of land and do it there,” he explained.

“Not alone, you’re not,” Lily said firmly.

“You don’t have to come with me. I will be fine.”

“No, I agree. You shouldn’t be alone while you complete this task. I will accompany and watch over you while you do it. If you’re going out in the wilderness at this time of night, you might come across a few monsters, and I’ll take care of them for you. This way you will have some peace of mind,” Marcus interjected, already standing up.

Julius clicked his tongue. He had been hoping to be alone, if only to avoid someone seeing any of his embarrassing mistakes.

“Fine,” he said, with a defeated sigh.

Lily smiled. “Good, let’s get going then.”

***

It didn’t take much time for them to make it outside the gates and make their way deep into the woods. With it being dark out and the moon barely light enough to illuminate the ground, they were able to fly quite deep into the woods.

Marcus carried Lily while Julius flew on his own. Soon enough, they found a large patch of land that looked devoid of life. It was mostly rocks and a few wild shrubs. He didn’t sense any auras or people nearby, and neither did Marcus or Lily.

He didn’t waste any time either. He sat down and began gathering mana, letting it suffuse his channels and warm his body. He let his mind narrow and focus on his task. Only once he felt properly prepared did he start the process.

Fortunately, the hundred constructs he needed to control didn’t have to be as special or unique as his previous requirement. As long as they had a sufficient amount of mana, he would be okay. He already decided on a shape too.

He let his instincts and experience guide him. A blue spike shimmering as a little gem flared into existence over his shoulder. The gentle pulsations of the fire mana comforted him on the chilly night. But he didn’t stop at one. He continued to make spikes one by one.

He took his time and made sure each spike was properly layered so he wouldn’t have to worry about destabilization or other problems. He didn’t want to worry about more things than he needed to.

Soon enough, he had around fifty spikes hovering around him in a large circle. Each one was full of mana and held together with pure willpower and skill. However, he could already feel his control shaking slightly. There was a lot of mana inside these constructs, and it was hard to keep all of them behaving. It was like corralling fifty unruly children together.

His construct skill was powerful, but it was a double-edged sword. With power comes risk. And the risk was that these spikes would collapse and explode. That wouldn’t be ideal. Not with people watching anyway.

He doubled down with his focus skill. [Calm Before Ruin] was really a wonderful skill; it allowed him to enhance his mind far beyond its normal capabilities. The slight brain hemorrhaging from the skill was really quite minor in comparison to its benefits. The damage was quickly healed as fast as it occurred.

He did notice that Marcus had taken care of a couple of curious monsters who must have sensed the large amount of mana. It was a good idea to bring them after all.

Once he got to seventy-five constructs, it started to get dicey. It was important to remember that controlling and creating were two very different things. The test required that he controlled the constructs. This meant he had to have absolute command over them. They couldn’t just float there.

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His will was stretched thin already, and he could feel the blood flowing out of his nose and down his shirt. It took everything within him to keep things together, but he kept on going. He wasn’t about to stop, and he pressed forward with determination.

Unfortunately, that was when he hit a slight roadblock. He messed up and was careless in constructing the most recent spike. The construct shook as it threatened to unravel, and he was forced to put effort into stabilizing it.

However, this also took his focus away from his other constructs, and several of them started to fall apart. And once this process started, it was almost impossible to stop. He grunted as he threw the entire of his willpower into the constructs, tiring out his already flagging will.

Even that wasn’t enough, and he had to make a split decision. He hated to waste the mana, but the constructs were too far gone to recover, not without sacrificing the other ones. So he allowed them to collapse and explode. Over ten spikes, full of mana and aura, detonated. The resulting blast tore large gouges in the hard dirt, staggered him off his feet, and he fell straight onto his face. He didn’t bother to move out of the dirt either, continuing to lie there ass up and face down in the dirt.

He couldn't worry about any of that. He was much too concentrated on keeping the other constructs together.

He lay there on his face as he reinforced all of the other spikes. It required a little more mana than he desired, but it also added a level of support and structure to them that made it easier to handle. With some of the pressure alleviated from his soul and will, he slowly began the process once again.

He glanced over to the side and was glad to see that Marcus had already taken precautions and protected Lily with his own body. Several layers of powerful psychic barriers were placed all around Marcus.

Julius was slightly proud that he was forcing Marcus to be a little serious. It was an indirect compliment of his own progress and power.

Another spike appeared over his shoulder. Just like the other one, he added several other structures within the spike to help with the load. His mana was draining fast, but he dragged himself back over to where the blanket was and sighed with relief when he felt the magical regeneration the item provided.

It was also notable to add that his crown had made an appearance. Julius hadn’t summoned it, but it must have decided to help him out. The Ruinous Crown was taking bits of his ruinous aura and flames, keeping a tight leash over it for Julius. It also cleaned up any small frayed bits that remained on the spikes, keeping them spotless.

The crown, much like his lunchbox, had also experienced a small improvement. It wasn’t quite as noticeable as the lunchbox, but it had regained some luster and no longer looked as rugged. There were some flakes of silver glimmering beneath the pitted metal. The flames coming from its surface were also hotter than ever. However, it didn’t feel out of control either.

He had been nervous that the crown would become more unruly as it inevitably grew, but, surprisingly, it was very compliant. Julius got the feeling that the crown approved of him. It seemed to approve of his destructive tendencies and realized that as long as it stayed with him, it wouldn't have to worry about regaining its strength.

He gave the crown a little nudge of gratitude before he lost himself again, focusing on his task. Each step was done with care and firmness. He didn’t allow a single speck of mana to go out of his control and even used his Authority to help with it. This small application of his Authority actually helped quite a bit. His mana started to behave a little less… unruly.

This gave him just enough room to create even more spikes. He added another couple dozen and soon enough he was almost at a hundred. The sheer force of the mana surrounding him and within the control of his willpower was astounding. He had never handled this much mana at one time. He couldn’t even imagine how much destruction a sudden loss of control would cause.

He removed that thought from his mind before it could infect his intent. He wouldn’t allow such a glaring weakness and doubt to wiggle its way into his constructs. Not when he was so close.

Instead, he kept on creating more spikes. His head was pounding from the strain he was placing on it. He could feel blood rushing down from his nose, his eyes, and ears. Even a blood vessel on his forehead burst open and obscured his vision with the blood.

His willpower was under even more pressure. His soul, which had become quite sturdy and powerful after his latest soul evolution, was shaking like a leaf. It was stretched too thin, and, understanding that time was not on his side, he began to move with even greater urgency.

He was still very careful, but he was on a timer and didn’t want to find out what would happen when it expired.

He didn’t even realize that he had completed the hundredth construct until the notification flashed in his eyes.

Congratulations, you have successfully controlled over a hundred constructs at one time.

He almost collapsed in relief when he read the notification. However, he couldn’t. He was still in control of the hundred constructs, and any slip would collapse everything. He grunted as he continued to hold onto the constructs.

He tried to slowly unravel them on his own without destabilizing the rest, but it was instantly evident that wasn’t a good option. There were simply too many of them and too much mana connected to him. He looked over a particularly empty area and licked his lips, subconsciously noting the copper tang of his own blood.

“You guys should move away,” he warned Marcus.

The man didn’t need to be told twice; he quickly grabbed Lily, retreated even further, and erected several more barriers.

Julius then, with the last dregs of his willpower, managed to throw himself up into the sky. There was no finesse or anything; he simply chucked himself as high as he could. Once he was high enough and found a suitable target, he let everything go.

The spikes that had been suspended all around him detonated their mana and shot towards the ground at blistering speeds. He tried to target all of them at the smallest possible target, but it was easier said than done.

The resulting explosion of a hundred spikes full of his mana illuminated the night sky as if the sun had risen over the horizon. Honestly, it was quite beautiful to look at. For it was silent and dazzled with hints of his blue fire mana. However, that only lasted until the shockwave reached him.

He took the accumulated charge of the simultaneously exploding spikes straight to the chest. It shattered several of his ribs and almost knocked him unconscious. The damage to the surrounding land was even more severe.

When the fire and dust finally settled enough to see the carnage below, he was stunned. All that was left of the area was a football-field-sized crater. Smoking ash and specks of flame were still floating high up in the sky.

The entire air was filled with destruction and ruin. He looked down at Lily and Marcus to make sure they were safe.

He spotted them quickly and while the area covered with Marcus’s barrier was safe, the rest of the area around them was incinerated.

He saw the two of them looking up at him with expressions of shock and slight reproach.