“Come again?” Apostolos questioned, unsure he’d heard the cosmic being correctly.

  “Racial evolution.”

  “As in, my race-”

  “Correct.”

  “How? And why?”

  “The how and why is due to the variables involved in your resuscitation. Depleted of nearly all vital life energy and essence, you were moments from death. Ascension can make more of something, but it cannot make more of something. Therefore, the Ossified Blood Gem was needed to interject a spark of essence within your nearly empty vessel.”

  “I’m not sure how that leads to my race evolving?” Apostolos questioned.

  “As the Architect’s apprentice, it would be wise for you to consider your questions before laying them out freely.”

  Apostolos frowned; he hadn’t expected a somewhat belittling remark from E.O.N.

  Not that it’s wrong.

  Apostolos took time to consider the situation as he understood it, considering the facts before forming a hypothesis.

  “If Ascensions can heal you to a degree, but it requires something to build from, and that Ossified Blood Gem restored some amount of essence, the reason my race has changed… Is it because the Ascension was built upon that essence?”

  “Correct.”

  On cue, a display appeared before Apostolos.

  Racial Status Update:

  Race: Human (D2) --> Anzu (D2)

  “What’s an Anzu?’ Apostolos asked after a moment, uncertain of what he was becoming.

  “Unknown.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Unknown. You are the progenitor of a new race. Congratulations.”

  Before Apostolos could speak, a new display appeared.

  Racial Skills obtained:

  -Heightened Eyesight

  -Solar Regeneration

  Racial Bonuses lost:

  -Enhanced Durability

  -Affinity Neutrality

  Apostolos was taken aback, yet the influx of notifications wasn’t done.

  Notice:

  Due to racial change, essence affinity was updated.

  Essence Spark

  Rarity: Uncommon. Skill Level: Low

  Manipulation of essence is tantamount to directing the unseen world of the trades. Essence comes in varying forms.

  Essence Affinities: Neutral

  -->

  Essence Spark

  Rarity: Uncommon. Skill Level: Low

  Manipulation of essence is tantamount to directing the unseen world of the trades. Essence comes in varying forms.

  Essence Affinities: Solar

  That’s a lot to take in.

  …. And still, the flood of notifications wasn’t done.

  Skill modification possible: Heightened Eyesight and Eye of the Scholar

  Two or more synergistic overlapping skills and racial affinities detected. Skill interplay is possible.

  Proceed? Y/N

  “Y-yes?”

  Skill Modification successful:

  Heightened Eyesight and Eye of the Scholar merged. New skill obtained. Higher rarity was maintained.

  Hawk Eye

  Rarity: Rare Skill Level: Low

  Through the fire and flames, the Hawk Eye has survived trial and tribulation. It was not the sword or the spear that carried the Hawk Eye through, but the way of the bow and arrow. Surpassing even the trustworthy bow, the Hawk Eye has proven dedicated to ranged combat, utilizing even the most particular and exotic missile weaponry. Seeing what even the most trained of archers cannot, the Hawk Eye combines a dedication to ranged warfare with a powerful vision. Grants Trajectory Projection and Minor Missile Manipulation. It retains original cognition-boosting effects even in combat.

  “Wow,” Apostolos said as if there was anything else to say. “By the way- oh.”

  Glancing up, Eon had vanished.

  Guess that’s everything covered.

  Still reeling that Eon had met with him, Apostolos took a moment to gather himself before nodding.

  Right. Well, that’s A5 achieved, which means skill selection and attributes.

  Ready to skip straight to skills, Apostolos paused, a new thought inking its way into its head.

  Maybe I should focus on attributes first.

  Switching instead to the attribute slider, Apostolos took a moment to think, something his master had made abundantly clear was one’s best choice ninety percent of the time.

  I nearly died.

  That was the simple reality of his battle with the Golden Shoebill. In fact, he may as well have been dead if not for his master’s genius.

  He managed to salvage a doomed situation and bring me back from the jaws of death with barely anything to fall back on.

  Apostolos was not his master. He admired his master, like the family that Apostolos would never remember, but he wasn’t his master. Had he been in his shoes, he would have been unable to resist the call of panic, floundering until the only person he could rely on in the world was dead and gone.

  I’m not my master.

  He would take every lesson he could from his master and follow in his footsteps much of the way, but they were different people with different strengths.

  I can’t conceive or concoct the sort of things master does. My mind doesn’t jump to the abstract so reflexively like his does.

  Apostolos would never be the equal of the Architect. But Apostolos wasn’t the Architect. He didn’t think himself terrible at planning. Still, there was no getting around the insurmountable difference in how their minds worked.

  So why was Apostolos trying to be him? The early tiers were fine; he hadn’t known better and hadn’t had direction other than what his master taught, but it was apparent now that he had talents his master did not, just as his master had talents he lacked.

  I guess I’m saying it’s time I built my own path forward.

  Rather than focus his attention on cognition and growth as his master might, Apostolos let his eyes linger on the sliders for Pneuma and Durability.

  I could lean into my talents with Pneuma.

  In fact, during the battle with the Golden Shoebill, it was a matter of magic that significantly impacted how everything unfolded. The Shoebill’s greatest weapon was its wind blades, and Apostolos’s method to counter had been with a magically held smokescreen.

  It only fits when you think about it.

  Suddenly confident in himself, Apostolos immediately dumped more than half his attribute density for A5 into Pneuma. Instantly, his ranking shot up to near the very top; only one other person in A5 had seemingly put more attributes toward Pneuma. With his remaining points, he split them between durability and flexibility.

  There. That feels right.

  Satisfied, Apostolos finally examined his skill selection. He was surprised at the relative sparsity; only three were listed.

  Siege Weapon Quartermaster: The art of war is not always dependent on the soldiers but on those who coordinate the logistics and usage of heavy weaponry. Grants innate knowledge of siege weaponry.

  “Straightforward,” Apostolos noted aloud. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how he’d been offered the option.

  “Next up…”

  City Logistics Novice Planner: All great cities must start small. Grants innate knowledge of city planning and general city planning logistics. Furthermore, grants access to City Oversight skill.

  City oversight skill? What’s that?

  Apostolos was curious but not curious enough to be tempted. His options had been, in truth, rather shit so far.

  Is that what happens when I spend too much time only following in my master’s footsteps? I have not been offered many skills, given that I haven’t pushed my bounds or tried many new things for the entirety of tier four.

  Praying to Eon that his last skill would be marginally better, Apostolos got far more than he bargained for.

  Phoenix Rebirth: You’ve avoided the clutches of death without an inch to spare and returned to the world of the living. Not just alive, you’ve been reborn anew. Forge a legacy that such an achievement entails. Access the Anima attribute, Spiritual Body, and Radiance Kindling skill.

  Notice: Anima is the conversion of durability and overall vitality at an 80% efficiency rate.

  By Eon, what in the world is this? Apostolos wondered as he took in the third offering. Anima attribute? Spiritual Body? At the very least, Radiance Kindling is just a skill, even if I don’t know what it does yet.

  All of it was strange, but Apostolos found himself drawn toward it. It helped the other two options, frankly speaking, sucked.

  Well. In for a penny, in for a pound…. Whatever that means.

  Rory found himself wanting to pace, impatient with the process. Typically, Ascensions were quick and to the point. The person in question would space out for maybe a minute or so, and then ta-dah, they’d suddenly swell in strength. This was different. For a dozen minutes, the young man convulsed, his body stitching itself back together. When he’d finally relaxed, Rory let out a sigh of relief.

  Only for the young man to melt into a golden puddle of liquid sunlight instantaneously. Rory stared for several seconds in stunned silence.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  I should probably be concerned, but-

  Like gasoline poured and ignited, the puddle of liquid sunlight exploded into flames.

  -nothing I can do about that.

  Rory would be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned at all, yet there was only so much he could do. A hole in the size of a football in his apprentice’s gut? Sure, he could try to save that. Apostolos melting into liquid sunlight before exploding into golden flames?

  Yeah, he could do nothing about that; a band-aid wouldn’t cut it.

  So, Rory did the only thing he could do: wait. The golden flames raged for thirty seconds until, rather than dying out, it was as if the fire began to converge. From the flames, a body began to form, flickering and phantasmal, solidifying into a solid form that fell limply to the ground.

  Hmmm. Well, I take it that something interesting happened.

  It was clearly Apostolos, though changed. His skin had darkened, now the color of rich black coffee. Furthermore, his bone structure seemed to have been adjusted; he was lanky in a way that reminded him of a cat or a bird.

  Rory’s final observation was when Apostolos’s eyes fluttered open a second later, revealing orange irises that reminded him of a falcon.

  “Master?”

  “Welcome back to the world of the living,” Rory said casually, faking an air of confidence.

  “How long was I out?” Apostolos questioned, sitting up gingerly.

  “Around fifteen minutes.”

  “Really?” Apostolos seemed flabbergasted. “That long?”

  “Well, considering a lot seemed to have happened….”

  “You can tell?” Apostolos questioned.

  “You know what,” Rory laughed. “Why don’t you just give me the rundown of what happened.”

  “Oh, uh, right.” Apostolos nodded as Rory reached down, offering him his hand.

  Taking it, Apostolos was heaved to his feet. In an instant, it was clear that it wasn’t just his bone structure that had changed; the boy was another inch or so taller just like that.

  “Let’s go take a moment and decompress,” Rory said, already walking back toward the camp.

  “Wait, what about the wave? Or the bosses?”

  “I already claimed the rewards from the wave. I’ll look them over in detail later, but I was a bit pressed. Regarding the bosses, I grabbed what I could from the Gator of the Feathered Depths. As for the Golden Shoebill, we can handle that later. For now, relax.”

  Apostolos seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding, following Rory. Leading him back into the camp, Rory sat at their campfire as Apostolos sat opposite.

  “So, spill the beans.”

  “Uhh. So, I had a Racial Evolution.”

  “Huh. You don’t say.” Rory said, rather unphased.

  “You aren’t surprised?”

  “It wasn’t that shocking after you melted into golden goo and burst into flames.”

  “What!?” Apostolos shouted, his eyes widening.

  “Yeah, a little odd, I won’t lie.” Rory nodded nonchalantly.

  “Oh…” Rory watched as Apostolos opened his interface, eyes widening for a moment before he closed it a moment later. “I think I understand why. But I should probably start from the beginning.”

  “Preferably, yes,” Rory said.

  “Well, so, I died, almost.”

  “Yeah, I noticed.”

  “And because you used an Ossified Blood Gem, it supplemented what I’d lost.”

  “Sure.” Rory nodded, following along.

  “Well, when I was healed through the combined efforts of it and my Ascension, it needed to build on something.”

  “Oh,” Rory said, suddenly catching on as his mind whirled on the possibility. “Like mixing two different color paints. A little bit of white and a lot of red softens the red. A ton of white and a little red only shades the white. In your situation, there was more of something ‘else’ than there was you.”

  “Yeah,” Apostolos said with a nod, surprised his master caught on so quickly. “So, my race changed as a result.”

  “Interesting,” Rory mumbled, rubbing at his chin. “I wonder how easily it could be replicated.”

  Rory had been told many years ago that it was possible to change your race, primarily through intentional alterations made over time. Yet, that wasn’t the only way. Eon had also mentioned that there were other such ways, or theoretically at least.

  I guess I learned one way.

  “With my race change, a few things happened. First, I gained a new skill, Heightened Eyesight.”

  Rory nodded. Given the bird-like eyes, he wasn’t shocked to learn that his eyesight had improved.

  “And then it combined with another skill.”

  “Oh?” Rory’s curiosity was heightened.

  Flicking a display over toward Rory, Rory found his eyebrows creeping up.

  “Interesting,” Rory noted. Apostolos had gained Hawk Eye, a skill Rory had once been offered but turned down. It was technically a combat skill, which Scholar’s Retreat should he prevented Apostolos from gaining through Ascension, but it hadn’t technically been gained from Ascension; it was the result of a fusion between a racial skill and a skill Apostolos already had that resonated.

  I’ll keep that in mind for the future.

  “Yeah. So, I got that, plus I gained an affinity for Solar essence.”

  It wasn’t surprising, given the essence of the monsters they’d fought in the last wave, which had seemed solar-themed, so Rory simply nodded.

  “I also lost a racial bonus of enhanced durability.”

  “Humans are hardy,” Rory said, reminded of how, before the Collapse, humanity’s greatest strength had always been their hardiness compared to the rest of the intelligent life out there.

  “Yeah. Finally, I gained one last skill called Solar Regeneration.”

  “Which I assume is pretty straightforward.”

  “Yeah, not exactly a mystery there.” Apostolos snorted, perhaps the least confusing change.

  “So, two new skills, the loss of racial durability, and you’ve got a proper affinity now.”

  “That’s everything regarding the race stuff,” Apostolos confirmed before sighing. “But I’ve got to admit something.”

  “Oh?”

  “I… I’ve decided to take a different path forward.”

  “And by that, you mean…?”

  “I’m not you, master,” Apostolos said, a heavy look on his face. “I won’t ever be you. I’m old enough now to see that, and I’ve come to understand that I simply don’t think and understand and see the world and the problems before me like you do. Not to say I’m abandoning it, but I’ve realized that I can’t perfectly replicate it. So, I’ve decided to focus on my ability to wield Pneuma and magic directly and be a fighter.”

  “Scholar’s Retreat is going to make that quite a hassle.” Rory snorted.

  “You aren’t mad?”

  “Why would I be?” Rory said. “You said it yourself. You’re not me. Do what you feel is best for you.”

  “Oh.” Apostolos seemed to deflate. “I don’t know why I expected something more… tense?”

  “You overthink,” Rory answered. “And that’s part of why you can’t do what I do and part of why I can’t do what you can do.”

  Apostolos was silent for a moment before relaxing. “Oh, and one last thing. My skill selection.”

  “Wait, none of those were from your skill selection?”

  “No?” Apostolos seemed confused before wincing. “Oh, right, I can see why it would seem that way. No, those were all based on my racial evolution. My skill selection was pretty lackluster until the final option. Phoenix Rebirth.”

  “Sounds fancy.”

  In response, Apostolos sent another screen over to Rory.

  Phoenix Rebirth: You’ve avoided the clutches of death without an inch to spare and returned to the world of the living. Not just alive, you’ve been reborn anew. Forge a legacy that such an achievement entails. Access the Anima attribute, Spiritual Body, and Radiance Kindling skill.

  Notice: Anima is the conversion of durability and overall vitality at an 80% efficiency rate.

  “Yeah, that’s something alright,” Rory said, whistling. “Skill rarity?”

  “Extreme. Sort of.” Apostolos said. “I didn’t actually gain the skill ‘Phoenix Rebirth’; the skill I gained was Radiance Kindling, rated as extreme.”

  “What does it do?”

  Another screen appeared before Rory.

  Radiance Kindling

  Rarity: Extreme. Skill Level: Low.

  Burn away a portion of your Spiritual Body to form a Radiance Ember. When fatal damage is received, a Radiance Ember is automatically expended to resurrect you at the Ember location. Total Radiance Embers possible is equal to your base skill level +1.

  “Hot damn.” Rory whistled once more. “A get out of jail free card. Skill Level+1 means you can have two currently, correct?”

  “Basically,” Apostolos confirmed. “I can directly view max Embers I can create, and it’s showing two right now.”

  “Dang,” Rory said. “What about the rest of what Phoenix Rebirth said? What’s this Spiritual Body?”

  “It’s… weird. It’s not technically a skill so much as a change to my body. Did you see how it said I gained a new attribute, a conversion of durability and life force? Well, anima is used to ‘form’ my spiritual body and fuel it. My body is still ‘physically’ here for all intents and purposes. It’s just that I no longer receive bodily harm from physical attacks.”

  “You’re immune to damage!?” Rory was taken aback. It seemed entirely too powerful for a mere tier five to be capable of, something that seemed unlike something Eon would allow for.

  “No, not quite. For example, if you stabbed me, I’d receive no stab wound. Instead, I’d receive damage to my ‘Spiritual Body,’ which wouldn’t be physically visible, nor would it slow me down. I can keep going until I reach a point of Critical Spiritual Damage, in which case a Radiance Ember would be expended. Also, if I have no Radiance Embers, I die, and there is no chance for revival.”

  Rory was silent, considering the implications. It was perhaps the strongest skill or effect Rory had heard about, save possibly Reinterpretation, which itself wasn’t even a skill. Rather than fixate on the nature of what Reinterpretation was considered, Rory instead asked a different question on his mind.

  “The description said the conversion is only 80% efficient. How does that relate to how much damage you can take? It sounds like you’d be more vulnerable if you can only take 80% of the punishment you could before.”

  “It’s actually a little worse than that,” Apostolos confirmed. “I lost some durability when I stopped being human. I can even feel it in my bones; I feel lighter and more fragile.”

  “Bird bones were typically hollow,” Rory said absentmindedly, remembering the random trivia from Earth.

  “In truth, if I were to take the same wound from that Shoebill as I am now, I’d instantly die, even if I didn’t have any physical wound,” Apostolos said, half frowning.

  “So, we’d better get you started on developing some Radiance Embers. What exactly is needed for that?”

  “I’m not fully certain yet,” Apostolos admitted. “A lot of the stuff I know feels like it’s been suddenly downloaded into my brain, right? For Radiance Embers, it’s more like I know the first step, and the rest will only be revealed along the way.”

  “And the first step?” Rory questioned.

  “Lots of time in the sunlight. My body was physically restored before being converted into a Spiritual body, but I wasn’t fully ‘healed’; I was just’ healed ‘enough’ if I had to take a guess. For that reason, I need to regain my strength, which is where Solar Regeneration comes into play.”

  “Nifty,” Rory said. “Anything else to report on then?”

  “Not really. I expected a change in my Vocation after I decided to take a different path from yours. However, it’s still listed as ‘Apprentice Architect’ even though I’m not planning to be solely dedicated to crafting anymore.”

  Rory stood up, approaching Apostolos, until he was directly in front of the young man. Then, he gave him a single quick knock on his forehead with his knuckles.

  “I’m not purely focused on being a ‘crafter,’ either. It’s just what works best for me now,” Rory said with a shake of his head. “You’ve still got a lot to learn if you think your entire life is set in stone by a mere few years.”

  Rory understood this well, partially because only a few years ago, he worked a tedious lab job on Earth, running basic trials on things like muscle movement in chicken legs and occasionally working as a Physical Trainer at a nearby high school. Now, he was in an alien world, trying his best to build something.

  Build up what exactly? He wasn’t sure. Civilization, himself, the future? Who knew? Rory simply adapted to the situation and interests that aligned with his situation.

  Nearly eight years. Man, it won’t be long until I’ve spent more of my life on Aelia than Earth.

  The thought somehow felt melancholic, so Rory decided to sit back down as Apostolos took a turn to speak.

  “Now that I’m not dying, I’ve got a question.”

  “Yeah?” Rory said.

  “We cleared the waves and integrated the energy grid. What does that mean in the short term?”

  “Well, after the modifications we made to the forge, it no longer requires direct fuel to be worked with, which should cut down considerably on time spent gathering fuel to burn. We still need raw materials to make alloy catalysts, but at the very least, we don’t need wood to burn to keep the flame hot. That aside, the walls will now be permanently wired, so we won’t have to worry about rationing the magical protections powering the walls anymore if we should face assaulters or attempt another wave, though not for quite some time.”

  Apostolos shivered at the mention of attempting waves again; the experience of nearly dying had likely inflicted some mental damage that would take at least some time for him to recover from fully.

  Still just a kid, Rory. It’s wise not to push the boy.

  Continuing with his speech after a moment’s pause to remind himself of Apostolos’s overall youth, Rory held his hand out like he was listing things off.

  “Outside the walls and the forge, we’ve got nothing else linked in for the time. I want to link in the growing array, but I need to re-think some of their design. As they are right now, they’d drain the grid dry without a way to properly shut off the ritual. We still need to give the grid time to build energy; tethering in the growing array will prevent that. I’d also like to add automatic defense systems should any monsters come too close, but that will take time to blueprint, design, and build.”

  “So, really, we did this just for the Ascension?”

  “And the foundation it laid,” Rory said with a shake of his head. “With this, we have an underlying grid that can be easily added to, whereas otherwise, everything else would require their own isolated and independent Pneuma storage. Powering one or two things with latent Pneuma sinks works, but imagine we had a massive city here. There wouldn’t be enough to go around if they all operated separately from one another.”

  Apostolos nodded even if he couldn’t appreciate what a ‘massive city’ meant, having only the memories of their small camp.

  “In the future, I want to develop pneuma generators and not rely solely on the pneuma crushers we’ve set up. Again, it’s a problem for the future. For now, our grid is more than enough to handle our current energy usage; at least once it’s had time to settle in. Regarding pneuma generators, I’m unsure if such a thing is even possible, frankly. Still, I’d like to explore the idea in the future. Oh, also, can’t forget that the grid itself will likely receive improvements over time. The easiest method is pumping if full of Ascension energy, but that can’t be easily gathered without tackling waves, and probably quite a few at that. So, we’ll have to keep developing our Pneuma technologies and information to account for such things. Oh, and also, we can’t forget…”

  Apostolos could only watch as his master began to trail off in an endless flow of half-rambling trains of thoughts, ideas, and thoughts being thrown out before just as quickly being retracted. Sighing, Apostolos coughed loudly, regaining Rory’s attention.

  “Something the matter?” Rory asked after a moment.

  “You’re doing the thing.”

  “What thing?”

  “The thing. You know, when you lose the trees for the forest, getting caught up on big picture plans while losing track of why you started something in the first place.”

  “Lose track of what I started with?” Rory frowned, trying to remember what he was forgetting.

  “The grid has been integrated,” Rory said after a moment, testing that option.

  “Yes.” Apostolos nodded, prompting Rory onward.

  “Uhm, you’re alive and A5 now.”

  “Yes,” Apostolos said, confirming the obvious.

  “Then wha- oh!” Rory suddenly realized just what he’d forgotten. “My Ascension!”

  Struck by the obvious, Rory instantly opened his interface. The energy grid integration was a years-long project meant to be the big climatic push to A6, his magnum opus of A5.

  Ascensions. The lifeblood of our universe. It’s been too many years since my last Ascension.

  A shock of excitement passed through him as he caught sight of his progress bar maxed out.

  There we go!

  Beyond satisfied, the smile on Rory’s face suddenly faded, replaced with obvious perplexation.

  “Is something wrong, master?” Apostolos questioned, noticing his expression. “Was it not actually enough to reach A6?”

  “No, that’s not it,” Rory said with a mutter, voice trailing off as if lost in thought.

  “Then what happened?”

  Rather than say anything, Rory flicked an interface toward Apostolos, letting him see what Rory saw.

  Ascension Challenge Available:

  Due to successfully clearing the introductory tiers with a high degree of excellence, the opportunity for an Ascension Challenge has been made available.

  Ascension Challenge Reward: +1 Ascension Skill obtainable upon reaching A6

  “Wow!” Apostolos jumped up, his widening. “That’s amazing!”

  “I’ve told you before, always read the fine print and don’t celebrate prematurely.”

  Frowning, Apostolos looked back down, realizing he’d missed a line.

  Ascension Challenge Available:

  Due to successfully clearing the introductory tiers with a high degree of excellence, the opportunity for an Ascension Challenge has been made available.

  Ascension Challenge Reward: +1 Ascension Skill obtainable upon reaching A6

  Ascension Challenge: Independently slay a T6+ monster

  Immediately, Apostolos sat back down, his face blanching.

  “You’re… you’re not going to take the challenge, right?” Apostolos questioned, his voice quiet. After his recent near-death experience at the hands -beak- of what was only a mid-tier-five monster, Apostolos suddenly had a much better grasp on the dangers of higher-tier monsters. Sure, it had been an Alpha Variant, but that didn’t change that a level fifty-five was considerably weaker than even a level fifty-six or fifty-seven, not to say anything of a level fifty-nine.

  The challenge his master was presented wasn’t even besting a peak tier five. It was, straight up, defeat a tier six.

  “I’m not sure,” Rory answered honestly.

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “Hah, lost your bravado now that you’ve seen what it’s like when you don’t have someone holding your hand and preventing the worst from occurring?”

  Apostolos wanted to argue for a moment before he simply nodded. Since he’d become able to gain tiers, his master had always been there, ensuring his life was never in danger, even if things got hairy.

  This had been the first time where death had been a genuine danger, something Apostolos had taken for granted. Something his master had always had to face without someone to look out for his well-being.

  Apostolos couldn’t even offer to help. Now that he’d reached tier-five, he would have been significantly more helpful in a fight. Still, that option had been stripped away before it could ever be considered, given the ‘Independently’ clause attached to the challenge.

  “Here is the reality. It will be decades; I’m not sure how many, but I can promise there will be more than one until I have another opportunity for an Ascension. Skills gained through Ascension are often magnitudes more useful or powerful than skills you’d pick up ordinarily. Without someone to teach me those skills -like I’ve been able to teach some of them to you- it’s damn near impossible to stumble upon them accidentally. So, yes, I’m genuinely considering tackling the challenge.”

  “No offense, master, but… can you? Sure, I was tier-four when I fought that Shoebill, but it so easily ‘killed’ me once it could fight me fairly that I doubt it would have been an easy fight one-on-one, even as I am now. And, well, I’m a better fighter than you when you don’t have the attribute advantage.”

  Rory wasn’t bothered by the observation. Everything the young man said was true. Apostolos was better with a spear, better in hand-to-hand combat, and better at freely using Pneuma. Only his outright attribute and race tier advantage had made Rory better suited for fighting. Now that Apostolos was tier-five, and his race level had hit D2 -ignoring the change in his race- Apostolos would likely kick his ass if Rory wasn’t utilizing his blood weave for its temporary attribute boost.

  And yet, Rory didn’t back down, even if everything Apostolos had said was true.

  “Let me put it like this,” Rory said, finally speaking after several moments of silence. “You may be a better fighter than me. And blood weave won’t be enough to bridge the gap between me and a tier-six monster. But that’s only if I go into it as I am now.”

  “You’ve got an idea?” Apostolos asked, eyebrows raising.

  Half-smiling, Rory nodded.

  “I’ve got more than an idea; I’ve got a plan.”