Path to Transcendence

Chapter 770: Graveyard of the Falling Mountain

Upon entering the rift, he was greeted by a notification.

You have entered the Graveyard of the Falling Mountain.

He waited for more information, but alas, he got nothing. All he got was the name of the rift, which he had already known beforehand.

He did take this time to examine his surroundings. To his astonishment, it wasn’t as desolate as he expected. When he heard that this rift was filled to the brim with undead, he expected some dark and dreary little labyrinth.

And while it was certainly dark, this wasn’t a labyrinth. Well, at least not like the one he had delved into before. It was quite an open cavern, and he spotted dark gray stone walls blocking him in from all sides. Furthermore, there was a large amount of mangled remains of what looked like signs of civilization. The architecture was in a destitute condition, but he could see signs of what it might have looked like when it was glorious.

Crumbled remains of white pillars, stained black, lay scattered everywhere. These pillars also looked like they had intricate engravings, worn down by time. Half-broken buildings were scattered across the floor for as long as the eye could see. The number of broken bones was alarming too. It was quite literally a graveyard.

However, by far the most notable thing he had observed was the dense waves of death mana oozing from everywhere. It was like he was stuck inside the mouth of an undead goblin. The death mana was such a powerful stench that his mana senses were overwhelmed.

It took a few moments to get used to it, but after a few minutes he eventually adapted to the increased death mana density.

He also took note of the infrequent thumping of what felt like kinetic energy from deep within what he assumed was a mountain.

Once he got everything settled and rolled his shoulders, grinning as he looked around him. It had been a while, but it was nice to explore. He also had a lot of things he wanted to test with his kinetic energy and void skills.

And if there was anything he learned, it was that experimenting against real opponents was always more productive. He rubbed his hands together eagerly as he walked deeper into the rift.

***

The first monster didn’t take long to show up. His mana senses immediately picked up a strong death mana presence before his spatial skill detected anything. He wasn’t exactly surprised when he saw a Tier 3 monster stalking around the ruins of the broken city.

He also wasn’t surprised when the monster didn’t sense him. He had taken care to remove any traces of his mana and aura. Since the monster was a Tier 3, it wasn’t really a fair competition.

Still, it was something he wanted to work on, though. His stealth skills had never been his forte, and his ruinous aura could only help so much. He was able to destroy his presence quite thoroughly thanks to it, but there was always this slight tinge of destruction left behind afterward. His aura was just so potent, and anything with decent senses would probably notice him if he wasn’t too careful.

This was especially true after he had evolved his soul again. His aura was a little too strong.

During his last rift expedition with undead creatures, he had been impressed by their overall senses and mana detection. If these undead were the same, he hoped they would prove to be good training partners.

However, before he could take on this creature, he needed to do a few things. He let [Field of the Shattered Will] flow over his skin, the kinetic energy infusing deep within his bones. Then, instead of enhancing his body, he redirected the flow to restrict it.

He let out a soft grunt as the kinetic energy took hold. He also didn’t send any mana into his [Lord of the Dying Sun] skill. The legendary skill was already so powerful, and he didn’t need any more power at the moment. The kinetic restriction was in place simply so he could limit the skill’s passive effects.

This little restriction reminded him a lot of his days at Goldencrest, when he attended his Physical Fitness class. His control over kinetic energy had improved by leaps and bounds since then, but the idea was still the same.

He wanted to force himself to fight without relying on his superior physical abilities. He also wanted to use this chance to train his kinetic energy. Restriction was one of his fortes when it came to kinetic energy. Most people who used kinetic energy focused on enhancing their own bodies and attacks. Julius hadn’t met many force users who focused on restrictions the way he did.

Sure, Cain was able to do it well, but that was Cain. Julius doubted there was much the man couldn’t do when it came to kinetic energy.

He looked over at the Tier 3 beast who still hadn’t noticed him yet. His frame had never felt heavier than it did now. His legs and arms felt like they were lead pillars, and each movement required his utmost concentration.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It wasn’t even that he was restricted to a fraction of his body’s normal physical attributes, but the additional focus to keep his own body restricted wore on him. It also didn’t help that his body was so strong that he had to put a lot of effort into this restriction technique.

However, he slowly dragged himself over to the undead creature. The monster was a simple skeleton, with a chestplate of dark grey bones, covered with a ragged cloak. Once he was close enough, the monster finally took note of him.

It snapped its head toward him. Its piercing blue eyes locked onto his, and in a sudden flash of light, it was already dashing for him. He let out a concerned murmur when he saw how fast the creature was moving. All of the other undead he’d faced were somewhat slow and clumsy.

Not this one, though. It moved like it didn't care about its own body. The acceleration was rough and jagged, but it was extremely swift, especially for a Tier 3. He quickly activated [Calm Before Ruin] and let his thoughts fall away until it was silent and unmoving like a tranquil lake.

He groaned as he forced his body to dodge to the side, but he was a little too slow and got clipped by the undead’s punch on his shoulder. The kinetic load that detonated on his flesh was quite powerful. He frowned and thought about releasing some of the restrictions, but thought better of it.

This was honestly better for him anyway. He wanted to train, and getting punched was obviously a part of training. So he kept the level of restriction the same and instead focused on the undead’s use of kinetic energy.

It wasn’t as refined as other kinetic users, but he hadn’t expected it to be. They were still undead creatures, and this one didn’t seem very intelligent. It seemed to be fighting off pure instinct and violence.

The amount of kinetic energy it was using was quite admirable, though. Even at Tier 3, he had trouble using that much kinetic energy constantly. It also probably helped that his skeleton had no flesh or nerves to worry about, so it was just discharging as much as it could.

He could read and predict where the monster would attack by inspecting how its kinetic energy flowed through it. He stepped to the side of a wild overhand strike and swiped his right leg at the undead’s lead leg, knocking it unbalanced.

However, to his amusement, the undead didn’t try to recover its balance. Rather, it fully committed to its attack and jumped at Julius with all of its accumulated kinetic energy. Julius managed to grab the monster’s arm before it was able to tackle him, and he slung it into a nearby pillar.

He watched as it got up with no apparent injuries or cracks in its bones. He hadn’t thrown it as hard as he could have, but it was still something that most Tier 3s would struggle to survive.

He started a mental checklist of the monster and began to understand why Leander insisted this was a dangerous rift. Speed- and brute-strength-wise, this undead was on par with some of the better Tier 3s he’d come across, but that wasn’t exactly surprising. They used kinetic energy after all.

But its durability and tenacity, combined with these attributes, made it all the more dangerous. The only thing that he could classify as a weakness was its lower intelligence. He didn’t get the sense that there was any reasoning behind its actions.

He let the monster get back up and let it attack him again. This time around, he barely moved. Instead, he focused his void energy. He tried to recapture that feeling he had when he was experimenting back at the Dawnfield estate, but it was hard to do that when he was also concentrating on his kinetic technique.

Once again, he was tempted to let go of the restriction technique, but he wanted to push himself. And so he strained his mind as it struggled to recreate his void technique.

The void energy layered over his skin like a membrane; he took special care to make it as perfect as possible. He ignored the fist crashing into his face and how it affected his void energy. He quickly fixed the disrupted layer of void energy and did his best to avoid the undead’s assault.

It was extremely challenging, and he loved every second of it. He kept pushing himself as he built layer upon layer of void energy. He was actually doing quite well considering the circumstances. He had almost finished what he was trying to do and was partially successful in avoiding the undead’s blows.

Unfortunately, that success didn’t last long. He was so focused on the two tasks that he failed to notice the second presence closing in. It was another undead, and just as he was about to turn around and deal with it, he felt a sudden explosion rip from its throat.

Julius frowned when a concentrated blast of kinetic energy and death mana hit him square in the face. He gave up protecting himself and was forced to keep the void technique intact. However, it let the monsters wail on him. And despite being only Tier 3s, they were quite powerful.

Powerful enough that they managed to crack the void energy around his body after a few solid hits. He cursed when he felt this and desperately tried to keep everything together. He poured his willpower into it and slammed it around the void energy like a containment barrier. But that only went so far.

The void energy didn’t like being contained. It rippled outward, and a few sparks of purple were the only warning he got before everything imploded.

He tried to redirect most of the energy through his arm, but he was only half successful. The entirety of his right arm was obliterated in a violent surge of void energy, tearing it apart viciously, and exploding in a bright burst of dark purple light.

Julius blinked the stars out of his eyes when the dust cleared. His body was already healing as if nothing had happened.

But when he looked around him, he let out a sharp curse.

The undead, which he had been using as his helpers, were nowhere to be seen. The explosion had been too much for them to handle, and they were absolutely vaporized. The only thing remaining of them were two sets of feet.

However, when he saw the notifications appear in front of his eyes, he softly pumped his fist as his lips widened into a grin.

[Void Strike lvl 23 -> lvl 24]

Normally, a single level didn’t mean much to him, but considering he wasn’t even using the skill properly, he felt like it was the Words of the World telling him that he was on the right track.

He had that same grin on his face when he felt the approach of several more undead converging on his location. While his previous helpers were no longer available, it seemed their friends were willing to take their place.

He wasn’t raised to be an ungrateful person, though, and so he made sure to remind himself to properly thank these undead when he was done with them.