Path to Transcendence

Chapter 764: Arrival

In a weird turn of events, Julius and Leander spent most of the two days it took to travel sitting side by side on the ship's deck, staring out at the horizon as they meditated. It certainly wasn’t what he’d been expecting, but it was a welcome change of pace. Leander had a lot of really good advice, and even meditating in his presence seemed easier.

It was like he was giving off a very soothing aura and helping him think things through. For example, he spent a lot of time meditating on his Skill Combination Crystal. It wasn’t like he was in a rush to use it or anything. His acquisition of four legendary skills had already scratched that itch.

He also realized that gaining more legendary skills before he could adapt to his current ones might hurt him in the long run. But that wasn’t to say he couldn’t think about what skills he’d eventually combine.

He still wanted to combine [Void Step] and [Void Strike] into a single skill, but he didn’t know what third skill he wanted to add to the mix. He probably didn’t necessarily need a third skill, but he had a feeling that a third one would keep it balanced, not to mention he felt like using a Skill Combination Crystal on two skills would be a waste.

At first he thought [Spirit Fortification] was a good choice, but the more he played with the skills together, the more he realized it wasn’t exactly a perfect fit. The issue was that his void skills were one of his only skills that didn’t work that well with aura. The void energy was so overwhelming that it didn’t like to mix with his equally overbearing aura.

[Spirit Fortification] was a skill that helped Julius learn about fusing his mana and aura together. So it didn’t make much sense to combine them, not if he wasn’t able to get the void energy and aura to work together first.

He was actually thinking that the skill would work better with [Field of the Shattered Will] and [Inexorable Aura of Ruin]. One was a skill that was heavily dependent on his kinetic energy and aura, whereas the other was a pure aura skill. So with [Spirit Fortification], the possible combination between the three skills might be perfect.

The new skill would be something that took advantage of both his kinetic energy and aura as much as possible. Furthermore, the two energies worked very well together. He’d been using his aura alongside his kinetic energy for a while now, and the skill might become extremely powerful.

In fact, [Field of the Shattered Will] was one of the skills he believed would be a great option for creating his own domain. Or at least be something he could lean on as he developed a prototype. So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to improve on it beforehand.

He talked with Marcus, and the man thought it would be a good idea too. Domains that specialized in kinetic energy were known to be quite powerful and versatile. It was one of the reasons why Cain was so feared. The man’s domain with kinetic energy was so brutal that he didn’t need anything else. A simple pulse of his domain was enough to end a fight before it even began.

However, Julius wanted to add his other affinities to the mix as well.

There were so many options to choose from, and he didn’t know which one sounded like more fun.

He had also talked to Marcus about contacting Cassandra for him. He'd written a very hasty letter to her and asked Marcus to send it for him. The letter didn't say much; it basically said that he was alive and kicking. He did mention a bit about the Conclave and their dilly-dallying, but nothing too much that might force Cassandra to come looking for him.

That was the last thing he wanted. He was enjoying his time exploring Corvus without a Tier 6 breathing over his shoulder. He also didn't want to explain to her and everyone else the full extent of the other kinds of messes he'd gotten up to. So far, he'd done a good job of keeping them separate.

He shivered when he thought about what might happen if Lily found out everything that he'd done while he was away. But he was quickly brought out of his fearful reverie when the crew piloting the ship began moving around. They had finally arrived at the Dawnfield Estate, and when Julius looked down at the land below, he was quite surprised at what he saw.

He didn’t really have many expectations, but he certainly didn’t think the land where the clan resided would be this beautiful. As they slowly floated toward the center of an enormous courtyard, he saw endless fields of flowers and other plants in the distance.

But in stark contrast, situated around the courtyard they were landing in was a massive multi-building complex. The buildings were made of a gorgeous dark reddish wood and sparkled in the sunlight. Off to the side was another large courtyard, but this one seemed better suited to training. Julius could tell because dozens of people were sparring or training there.

Also, multiple barriers were placed around the buildings and the field. Every single one of them was extremely powerful and exuded a lot of mana.

He wasn’t actually able to see the end of the complex either. It was so large that it was basically the size of a small city. The sheer size of the estate made the estate of Clan Yoshu seem absolutely tiny in comparison.

He knew that Clan Dawnfield was one of the more prestigious clans within Corvus, but seeing the estate was quite telling on its own.

When he exited the airship, he was greeted by a small gathering of people. Based on their clothing and relative strength, he suspected these people were quite important within the clan. He assumed that at least a good number of these people were elders or other important members.

These people bowed deeply when Julius approached, accompanied by Leander and Phoebe.

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“Lord Julius, you honor us by accepting our invitation,” the man standing at the head of the group said with a kind smile.

The man wasn’t elderly, but he was definitely not young either. He had grey streaks running through his long black hair, which was pulled back into a bun. He also had a very faint scar running along his forehead. He did have blue eyes much like Leander and Phoebe, but they were a shade darker.

Julius waved his arm. “I’m not a lord; you don’t need to call me that,” he said to the man and proceeded to look around, examining the courtyard. They weren’t the only airship to have landed; he saw that there were a few others that were unloading some boxes.

“Of course, Lord Julius,” the scared man said with a slight bow and an amused grin.

Julius glanced over at Leander, and he spotted the younger man already shaking his head, as if telling Julius it wasn’t worth it.

“So from what young Leander told us, you wish to enter the Graveyard of the Falling Mountain.”

Julius shrugged. “I’m not sure what it is called, but if you mean the rift which has a treasure that can help me improve my kinetic affinity, then yes.”

“Has Leander explained to you that this particular rift is very dangerous?”

“He hasn’t told me much. He said he was restricted by what you can tell me.”

The older man nodded softly and tapped his chin. “Yes, that sounds like him. But since you are planning to enter it, I might as well tell you what you are accepting upon entering the rift.”

A woman wearing robes similar to the man's suddenly stepped forward. “Gin, let’s not get ahead of ourselves first. Let the boy rest from the trip and eat some food. We can explain the rift to him later.”

Gin looked over at the woman with a sigh. “We both know that he isn’t here to socialize and play the politicking games. If he’s anything like his master, then you know how that will go. He’s here for the rift and that alone,” he said and turned back around to Julius.

“Apologies, Elder Yuna and the others are not as familiar with your history. They simply know that you are apprenticed to Lord Cain. Do not think ill of them; they simply want to get to know you and understand your nature.”

He brushed the man’s concerns away. “I’m not worried about it. Truth be told, I am a little hungry, so food and rest wouldn’t be unwelcome. But perhaps you can tell me more about this so-called Graveyard of the Falling Mountains while I eat something. The name is quite particular."

Gin laughed lightly. “Of course. We can have something made for you right away.”

Julius shook his head. “No worries, I have food of my own. I simply wish for a nice area to sit. If you don’t mind, I would love to visit those fields I saw while I was coming in.”

A bright smile graced Gin’s face. “Ohh, you’ve already seen them, huh? Quite amazing, aren’t they? We are getting pretty close to another harvest, so maybe you’ll get to see it before you leave. But if you wish to see them, then by all means, follow me. I have a favorite little plot I like to visit from time to time. Trust me, you’ll love it. And while we walk, I can explain the general overview of the rift. Leander might not have been able to tell you, but as a high-ranking elder, I have permission to share such information.”

Julius found himself smiling in response to Gin, taken aback by how warm the elder was coming across. The man's aura may not have been as genuine as Leander's or Phoebe's, but it was still quite sincere. He'd been expecting something worse upon his arrival, but he was glad to see that he was wrong.

However, he now wanted to hear what the man had to say about this so-called Graveyard of the Falling Mountain.

***

He watched as Gin walked away, touching the stems of the flowers as he went. The man had given Julius a lot to think about. He wasn’t shy about sharing information about the rift either. He was very open and very welcoming to Julius. He didn’t get the feeling that everyone within Clan Dawnfield felt similarly.

Regardless, it turned out the Graveyard of the Falling Mountains was quite a unique little rift. It was actually a rift where all of the monsters were undead and used kinetic energy. It also acted sort of like a labyrinth, constantly changing over time.

The only thing that remained constant was the number of floors within the rift. There were five floors in total, each one more dangerous than the last.

While the rift was technically a Tier 4 rift, it wasn’t so simple. The first floor was pretty easy, simple monsters and a little dangerous, but a well-trained Tier 3 could survive and complete the floor. It was the floor where the clan sent their young for trials.

The second floor was a bit more treacherous. Injuries were common, and people often had to leave the floor before completing it. However, the treasure that supposedly helped raise one’s affinity to kinetic energy began to appear on this level.

The treasure turned out to be a piece of fruit. This was somewhat amazing because it was a rift that held undead. One wouldn’t typically associate a consumable treasure like a fruit with an undead rift.

But there was one interesting little detail. Not every fruit found was equal. Depending on which floor you found a fruit, you could potentially gain more out of it or less.

For example, the fruits on the second floor were decent, but not perfect. It wasn’t uncommon for people to enter multiple times in order to consume another fruit if it didn’t elevate their affinity. Sadly, each consecutive consumption would drastically reduce the fruit’s effectiveness. So even if you were to consume a second-floor fruit at first and then eat a third-floor fruit, the effectiveness of the third-floor fruit would be a fraction of what it normally would be.

Hence, it was recommended you go after the best possible fruit the first time around.

There was another unfortunate little detail. The fruit's effectiveness scales with one’s tier. For example, a Tier 3 would receive greater benefits from the same fruit than a Tier 4 would. Which meant if he wanted anything good out of it, he’d need to at least get one from the third level.

The issue with that was that the third floor was truly dangerous. It was only meant for their elites and often required large groups to enter. But Julius didn’t want that, and so he’d have to tackle this alone.

Elder Gin tried to convince him otherwise, but Julius was quite adamant. As much as he trusted Leander, that didn’t extend to the whole clan. He knew better than that. He also wanted to have the freedom to fight without hiding his skills. And a group would likely force him to do that.

The problem was that many of the elders wouldn’t approve of it. They didn’t want him to enter the rift unsupervised. So they’d need someone like Leander’s father or the patriarch’s decision to override the elders. Which would take a little bit of extra time.

Julius wasn’t in too much of a rush, though.

That was because of the astonishingly large amount of life mana he felt coming from this field of flowers. It was so potent that he could feel Drasil greedily sucking up the life mana through Julius’s own skin. The gluttonous little spirit was so happy that Julius didn’t mind taking his time and allowing the cute guy to enjoy himself.