The Path of Ascension

Chapter 268

Quill would have been happy recuperating with Lila for a few days; the older Ascender was endlessly entertaining, but that just wasnt possible. There were too many calls for help for them to ignore, and they had a job to do. So, with most of their wounds healed, they headed out under the grin of the dragon who hadnt bothered to transform into her human form. He was pretty sure that was a test in and of itself, one he thought they passed, but just getting some healing cooldown wasnt a reason not to slack off. No matter how much they wanted it to be.

Thankfully, they had another two days until the end of the first week, when the clearing of the monsters would end. He was also grateful that the other Great Powers had mostly stopped their incursions into Empire territory.

Quill had no doubt that their Tier 40s had gotten a good eyeful during the fight and sent the order down not to push their side anymore.

Quill clenched his fist at that realization as he had a few of his own.-

Lila might have been smiling at them for returning to the field when it wasnt really needed, being rather proud that they hadnt slacked off. The dragon took enjoyment in the oddest things, so it could be any number of motives that he hadnt thought of

Most importantly, he realized that if his conjecture of the other Great Powers reining their people in after seeing their power was true, they had just performed their first act of deterrence.

That was monumental.

Sharing his speculations with the others earned a thoughtful look from Torch, but Scoop started dancing a little in excitement of all their hard work coming to fruition.

She even had some insight into her Intent after the fight, and she spent some time refining her Anchor, attempting to integrate it with her bloodline.

Quill was genuinely happy for her, but distracted in his own right.

His own Intent was incredibly content with his role in the past few weeks, and he felt that he finally had a good foundation for it all. He wanted, needed really, to be at the center of things. He wasnt going to be a passive observer in his own life, he would be the agent of change which other people needed to adapt for. Be it on the battlefield as a tank, in the backlines providing mana, as an Ascender turning the tide of war, or as a commander leading troops He was the master of his own destiny, and he would accept nothing less.

He was Peerless, Dauntless, Unstoppable, Immovable, Stubborn, Independent, Unchainedhe made strides on his Phrase, but he still didnt have an actually good phrase to use. He couldnt figure out what word fit best, but Luna assured him that it would come in time.

The next two days for them were more of the same, but like he had realized before, the other Great Powers were no longer pushing them, leaving them little to do.

Quill took the opportunity to fly high into the sky and just watch the stars.

It started as a way for him to get into a meditative place, but instead of doing anything productive, he just laid on his sword and watched the stars twinkle, galaxies swirl, nebulae drift, and a thousand other celestial phenomena move through their normal cycles. No one was sure if this world was in its own universe, or somewhere in an already settled universe, and Quill didnt really care. The sky was beautiful, regardless of anything else.

He found it easy to insert his whiteholes into the cosmic tapestry and wondered what kinds of life would flourish near so much energy. Possibly none, which was an interesting thought. A real white hole, if it truly was the opposite of a black hole, would spew out so much cosmic radiation that nothing would be able to survive the earliest stages of life. But his own white hole expelled mana, which was harmless to life. It was, after all, created by all life, even if only in the smallest quantities before one awakened.

His white hole could very well support life, which was an interesting thought. How would a civilization that had access to the limitless energy function? What would their society look like? Would they be wasteful thanks to the excess, or would they evolve beyond that and instead use the energy for the good of those around them? He had pictures of benevolent aliens spread out through the universe and spreading their technology to other races who were behind the technological curve. Before too long, even that image faded into nothingness, and he just enjoyed the view.

He was thinking about how the skies would look in a few million years and how suns without essence would slowly die when he got a ping on his command channel.

It was time to return.

The tournament part of this little excursion was about to start.

Dropping back into the planets atmosphere, Quill flared the mana he was sending to the flying sword, increasing his speed as he arrived at the designated location.

The Tier 40s had chosen the location roughly in the middle of their bases, but Quill had to admit it was a good location in and of itself. Just a few miles from a newer-looking mountain range, its edges not worn smooth from weather and erosion, there was a large lake surrounded by trees. Farther out was a large grassland that stretched out for as far as anyone could see. It was a pretty area that was sure to be pulverized into an unrecognizable mess before the planet's fate was decided.

Flying down, he found Lila standing on the ground, her wings fully extended and lightly moving back and forth. Her scales were glimmering with water, which told him she had decided to take a dip in the lake and wondered if she found anything interesting down there. While she might have just wanted a bath, Quill suspected she found and grabbed something the others had missed.

The flat looks of the other Tier 40s only reinforced that idea, and he had to wonder if Lila had gotten a double or triple dose of the dragon's tendency to hoard things.

Her draconic grin told him she both knew what he was thinking and found it funny.

Landing next to her, he nodded to Torch and Scoop, who had arrived with Lila. Others were flowing in, but it seemed the Tier 40s didnt care enough to bring most of their people, letting them trickle in from the rest of the continent. They, like Lila, did seem to care enough to bring anyone but the elites of their factions though.

Seasadh and her team stood behind the dwarven Tier 40, and Quill nodded to them in recognition, seeing Seasadh was staring at him. Her gaze didnt seem hostile, and he wondered where the fire he had seen in her had gone. Gazing into her eyes, he realized her fire hadnt been snuffed out, it was simply banked, waiting for the proper opportunity to show its heat to the world.

Letting his mask grin, Quill sauntered out into the center area that everyone had been avoiding.

Torch and Scoop quickly caught up with him, but Quill was already looking at the Monster Collectives area and looked at their elites.

While they hadnt met up during the border skirmishes, Quill had read through the reports of them.

Apparently, the Monster Collective had not one but two Chimeras in the right Tier range, same test batch if the rumors were true. Liz had gotten obsessed with the idea of forcibly merging bloodlines some time ago, and hed gotten a crash course in the programs history as she speculated how it worked. It was a genuinely awful history, and had been publicized in the wake of the Monsters Collectives war for independence as a prime example of the awful things the Federation had been doing to beasts.

That just made it all the more surprising when the Monsters Collective revived the program with KarTan, the first chimera, at its head. But it was undeniably an effective way to get powerful and unusual bloodlines, and far faster than attempting to naturally develop hybrid bloodlines.

It was rare, but when two beasts of different breeds had children, there was a fraction of a percentage that instead of the child having just one bloodline, the child got a mix of both bloodlines. Dragon turtles were one of the most famous and successful who had created their own self sustaining bloodline. Most hybrids never established a proper population before their bloodlines faded, which meant they needed to recreate the original breeding to have another specimen.

Girang and Soddus were Tier 20 elites, well-established at their Tier and a fairly notorious duo known for being basically unstoppable and had been sitting at Tier 20 for well over a thousand years.

Girang was some mix of bear and tiger, and from the records Matt had seen, he was absolutely ferocious in battle. Any wounds he took scabbed over into metal plates adapted to defend against whatever had injured him, and he was capable of vanishing into almost thin air despite his bulk though he rarely used that last power for some reason.

He spent most of his time appearing like a normal brown bear not too much taller than Matt and he was in that form currently. He had fairly dark brown fur, and wore a fairly jovial expression as he waved to them with a nimble paw, then meandered over to greet them.

Soddus strode beside him, a white-skinned man with a literal mane of red hair and cloaked in the wings he kept even in human form. Like most unicorns, it was actively difficult to hate him, their bloodlines resistance to poison and curses somehow including targeted anger in its effects. His other half was phoenix, and was touted as one of the greatest successes of the Chimera program thanks to his ability to apply his phoenix rebirth to other people, returning the actively-dying to the pinnacle of health. It had to have some limits, but nobody was quite certain what they were, and despite the Empire's best information gathering efforts, the limit was still hazy. With his presence, a squad of soldiers were transformed into a nigh-unkillable death machine, but when paired with Girang Quill didnt know how to counter that.

He was like a small scale Melinda and Quill knew just how hard it could be to fight any team with her.

Taking out Soddus first would be an absolute necessity, but that was hardly an easy task unto itself. Empire intel thought it likely that the Chimera could only revive people once, which likely indicated that was how many times he could revive himself, but the man was practically immortal, with an upgraded [Regeneration] and more ensuring that he wasnt even limited by normal healing limits. It was possible that the healers revives only worked on other people and not himself, as nobody had ever seen the phoenix reviving himself, but that was far from certain.

Given that the duo had the cultivation advantage at peak Tier 20, and the fact there were two of them, Quill didnt like their odds, especially not after their fight with Seasaidh.

But at the same time, that just made their inevitable fight all the more exciting.

A peer who would threaten them in their masked forms and possibly their real identities.

How wondrous.

Slowing his pace down a little, Quill ensured all three sides arrived at the center together.

Letting his mask grin at Seasadh, he said, Well, fancy seeing you up and about. Last time I saw you, you were looking a little extinguished.

Seasadh snorted and spoke in the Clans language, but followed Quill's lead of sending a translation to his [AI]; it was just polite after all.

That was a dirty trick to try and sneak in. You three went for the kill even when I didnt. Something I noticed you didnt do against the Monster Collective. Do you have some grudge against the Clans?

Quill was internally surprised that Seasadh admitted that outright, but didnt let it show. Well, the team before you, the one we assumed you had sent, was killing. Set the tone and all that.

Before Seasadh could respond, Soddus interjected as he sauntered over to Torch. Its so nice to meet a fellow phoenix! I greet you, mistress of the flames, it is truly a pleasure.

The chimera bowed, spreading his hands and wings in what Quill recognized as an exuberant Collective greeting, and Matt raised an eyebrow. There was nothing indicating Torch was a phoenix, not even through innate bloodline sensing. That had been a very deliberate part of their masks, as confirming Torch was a phoenix was practically admitting that she was Liz, and as a result his partner had specifically avoided incorporating the normal tells phoenixes tended to include in their fire magic.

The healer was fishing for a reaction, or just taking a random guess as there was no way he pierced her mask, but Quill didnt know which.

Or maybe just hoping? Given how Girang was blankly staring off into the distance, it could have just been a common refrain.

Torch, of course, didnt return the same greeting, instead providing a small nod without a word.

Instead of taking the rejection harshly, Soddus chuckled as he stood back up. Well, it seems rumors are true, and you don't talk much. He paused for a moment as if giving Torch an opportunity to interject, but continued on when it was clear she wouldn't. Still, most wonderful to meet a cousin. Not many of us left in my neck of the woods after the Fuddies ground us up for healing potions, after all.

But enough about that! That was quite the show there, fending off those assassins. You three did good! Id have almost fallen for it myself if not for Girang here spotting it, he patted the bear with a wing.

Girang spoke up, his voice growly but still fully understandable, Interesting hand youve got there. Iron fist? Spiritual Gauntlet? Stygian Gossamer?

Considering it had been a public purchase, Quill didnt bother hiding the truth, looking at the back of his hand as he flexed it. The latter. Fantastic item, its been handy many times. Any experience with something similar?

Girang returned a toothy smile, each fang the size of a finger. Youll just have to find out in our fight.

There was a lack of hostility in the comment, so Quill just laughed back. What a speedy proposition. But first, we need to fight our way through the rest of the fodder before we encounter each other. Who knows, there might be a full team with Intents hidden among the people here.

Instead of agreement like he suspected to receive, Seasadh simply looked at the other two like he had missed something obvious.

Thankfully, the dwarf was feeling in a sharing mood and explained, We might encounter them depending on the setup of this battle, but do they really matter?

Quill let his mask form raise an eyebrow, to which she elaborated, Even a team who formed their Intent at Tier 22 means little to the Great Powers. Us, on the other hand, elites in our own rights who can fight up several Tiers, are the real competition. Nodding at the three of them, she gestured to Lila behind them where the others from the Empire gathered. From what Viralira said, the Empire was going to back out if the three of you hadnt just reached Tier 20 in time. Elites are the only thing that matters in the grand scheme of things. The rest are just spell fodder. Who takes this planet will end up being determined out of our three groups. Quill wanted to disagree, but knew there was a kernel of truth in the statement. As was evident by the ongoing war, just having more general troops wasnt enough to deter another Great Power from attacking. More Ascenders might not be the solution, but it was an answer. With another set or two of Ascenders, no one would dare confront the Empire.

Nodding, Quill didnt agree with Seasadh. Thank you for the lesson.

A shadow passed over them, and Quill felt Lila materialize behind them, along with the other two Tier 40s standing behind their representatives.

Lila was the one who spoke up, though. Shes not wrong, but she's also not entirely correct. Elites and Ascenders, in their many flavors, cant do everything themselves. There is information to be gathered by testing each other's average people. Tests of morale.

The dwarf Tier 40 added. Mettle.

The Tier 40 bear finished up. Courage.

Lila nodded as she kept speaking. So while you are correct little dwarf, don't overlook those you believe who are weaker than you. It's a good way to die.

Seasadh opened her mouth to rebut Lila, but her Tier 40 put a hand on the Tier 19's shoulder. Do you really think you can fight through all the contestants here? All of them? All at once? Thousands of Tier 22s?

Seasadh grit her teeth and tried to defend her position. I could if I burn hot enough. Giving up before the fight even starts isn't an answer either.

Lila laughed as she turned away and talked over her shoulder. Let's go with a war configuration. Our kids will act as generals and elites. Let the girl put her mace where her mouth is.

Quill expected that to be the end of the conversation, but the other two overseers snorted in unison and glared at him.

Aplald, the Monster Collective Tier 40, spoke first. Not a chance we let our people fight en masse. We all saw what the kid could pull out of his ass with talismans in the fight with the Morning Star. We arent going to allow all of our people to get fried before they can get close. No, I propose single combat to death or surrender.

Viralira shook her head as well. No, let us have teams fight. No more than seven, but no outside interference.

Lila froze as the other two rebutted her suggestion and turned back around her draconic footsteps, causing the ground to shake. I say we fight like it's real. Siege down forts and let the kids use tactics like a real fight. Show leadership and command over disparate peoples.

Viralira rebutted Lila, but spoke so fast Quill couldnt hear more than a mosquito's squeak.

He watched on as the three argued, but they only seemed to settle into their argument, with Lila and Aplald both sitting down while Viralira used her hammer like a cane and pointer.

Seeing this was going to last a while, Quill pulled out a chair and sat down before pulling out a beer. Lila had told the three of them they should try and create good relations if possible, and few people would pass up the opportunity for free beer and gossip.

Soddus immediately walked over, even as Torch and Scoop were sitting down, so Quill tossed him a beer as well.

That seemed to signal something to Girang, who joined them, his massive paws making easy work with the twist top by virtue of slicing right through the glass.

Seasadh hesitated, but eventually flopped down next to Scoop, closing the circle.

Sipping the beer as if he might have tampered with it, she gave a pleasantly surprised expression as she took a deeper swig. This is surprisingly good. I didnt know the Empire had anything to drink but wine.

Quill shrugged. Next round is on you, though. I will have to say that our wine is good. Theres a reason it's exported in such high volumes.

Girang chuffed. Ha, if you think this is good, you need to try a proper beasts beer. Next to his paw, an oversized case of beer appeared. Root Beer is the best off-the-shelf stuff you can get your claws on.

Soddus snorted. I prefer the lighter drinks. That shit is so dark, it might as well be used as a stain for woodworking. He pointed the bottle Quill had given him at the trio of Tier 40s. How long do you think they will argue?

Torch snorted but Scoop answered, Probably when the last person arrives. Then, they will be forced to come to a decision. I bet Lila will win out.

Torch nodded. Strong.

Quill kicked his feet up on a bit of stone he grew out of the ground. Damn right, she is. And a full-on war will be fun. I definitely don't have anything prepared for that.

Contrary to what the others might have thought, he wasnt lying. He really didnt have any purpose-built anti-army talisman arrays. He had things that would do in a pinch, but nothing built around the idea of taking out armies.

Girang and Seasadh both snorted before looking at each other and laughing.

In the end, Scoops suggestion about a resolution coming with the last arrival proved correct. But contrary to what she expected, the Clans ended up getting their way with team-based fighting, though not in the method they wanted.

Instead of brackets, Lila had fought for and gotten the general fights to act more like king of the hill.

Anyone could enter the metaphorical ring; everywhere on the continent was the ring, and anyone could challenge them. When no one was willing to challenge the final person in the ring, their side would be deemed to be the winner, and their side would be given the first chance to send in another team.

Quill was sure it would end up between the three of them and any teams who had Intents, but thankfully, they got to watch the fights until the end, and he abused his [AI] and mana generation to track everyone and the spells they used, creating models to train against.

The Empire did well. Surprisingly well, if he said so himself.

At first, the fights were only the weakest of Tier 22 cultivators, who were robotic and stiff in their moments, clearly only used to fighting monsters in rifts with no issues. Some even openly relied on their [AI] predictions, which turned the fights deadly, as they didnt always realize how dangerous of a position they were in and died before they could surrender.

Surrender that wasnt being enforced by the Tier 40s.

In one of the first matches, Aplald watched as the final member of a wolf squad was torn to pieces by a team of human Clan members. The humans had stated some grudge with the wolves, but no one had expected them to so ruthlessly kill or that they wouldnt be stopped.

Despite the Tier 40s saying they wouldn't interfere, and to only step up if one was confident, it was only after someone died that people really cut loose.

It was there that Quill understood what Lila had said about morale and the lower-Tier cultivators having their own place. Many times Quill was sure someone was going to lose when they pulled out some new skill, Talent, Domain, or item out of their ass to win the fight. And with the rewards the Tier 40s were giving to those who kept the spot and forced a reset, everyone was willing to throw themselves into the fray.

When most everyone had fought, and there was a peak Tier 22 Monster Collective team standing firm after defending their position, the first person with an Intent came out.

A Clan human came out to match the lone human from the Monster Collective, and Quill raised his eyes as he pondered the oddity before him. Two Great Powers with Dwarves, Beasts, and those with bloodlines as the ruling class having a majority population made up of humans was strange. The humans seemed like full members of society, and while that was true in the Monster Collective, who specifically made and enforced laws so that there was no difference between the two, the Clans were different. Human clans were unable to join the ruling clans until there was an opening.

He thought that might breed distrust, but the humans they had brought werent treated badly or discriminated against in any way; they were celebrated when they did well and commiserated with when they failed. Still, Quill couldnt help but wonder whether that was simply the nature of who they had chosen to bring along, or some lingering effect Hastor had left within his nation. The Sword Saint wasnt the first human Tier 50, but there hadnt been that many either.

The Clan representative snorted as he took his place. Hiding your Intent to beat the others isnt honorable or something to be proud of. If you hadnt tried something so sneaky, I would have let you claim the position before taking the stage myself, but I can't stand to see your smug face standing here anymore.

The fact they were both humans didnt make the fight between the two any less fierce.

The two sides clashed and even burned down a large portion of the grasslands, but in the end, the Clan human won. Still, he was in turn taken down by an Empire team whose melee fighter had an Intent of his own. They didnt last long though, with a team of three dwarves defeating them despite the fact none of them had a full Intent of their own, only pieces of one. But that had been enough for them to resist the fighters Domain and keep him from controlling the entire arena.

The battle was still quite intense, with the trio slowly taking out the fighters team one by one, and only ganging up on the axe-wielder once all of his support was gone.

They did allow him to leave when it was clear he had lost, which earned them a nod from the other team. It even allowed them to keep their lives when the next fight resulted in their getting smacked down by a team of five from the Clans, all of them with at least partial Intents and one with a full, combat-oriented one.

Lila mock whispered so that everyone could hear that it was impressive their Grand Praetorians were given leave to attend this little event in civilian clothes.

The Clans didnt seem bothered by it, and Viralira spoke just as loud, High command didnt approve of us sending active-duty troops for this mission, but they had enough leave saved up so they could take the trip. If anyone wants to question that fact, they are welcome to.

The way she gestured indicated that any questions would be answered by her hammer, so Quill wasnt surprised when no one did. It might even be the truth. The Clans hadnt hidden the fact they had brought along an army unit; its soldiers had been average at best, with no one exceptional, so there didnt really seem to be a reason to think they were hiding anything.

In the end, it came down to a Monster Collective team facing an unusually human-heavy Clan team. It consisted of a human man armed with a black sword and four women supporting him which made them an odd sight. A dwarf archer, a lioness-blooded human brawler, a violet-haired human healer, and a rather disturbingly young-looking human blaster made for an off group. He knew that being short was fashionable in the Clans, but Quill still found it quite disturbing that anyone would choose to utilize their bodily control to look specifically like a twelve year old. Questionable personal choices aside, the team was undeniably effective, having put up quite a good show against their more monstrous opponents.

As it seemed the Monster Collective would stand victorious, Quill, Scoop, and Torch met the gazes of Seasadh and her team and Girang and Soddus. The three of them sized each other up to see who would take down the final remaining team of Tier 22s.

They were good, but Quill was fairly confident that he and Torch could take them out alone, so the addition of Scoop made him sure of victory. That, and the fact the team had just barely won their last fight, accruing many injuries along the way.

Seasadh and her team flew down and together made quick work of the other team. They put up a good effort, but the fresh Tier 19s, relying on their incredibly strong gear and Seasadh as the core of the team, crushed them in minutes.

Quill was getting ready to go down for a round two with Seasadh, but before he and his team could move, Girang jumped down from where he floated by Aplald and Soddus, who stood there as if he didnt intend to join the fight at all.

Girang crashed into the ground, sending up a plume of dust as he changed from his bear form into his malleable form. Unlike most beasts, hed dedicated it not for daily life, where prehensile and dexterous hands were quite advantageous, but for the simple task of combat.

Both of his bloodlines were clearly on display, but twisted and mutated into something that just barely couldnt be called an abomination. His well-kept fur had lightened and become coarser, almost metallic, ropey strands standing in sharp contrast to the pure black tiger stripes gilding his body. Along his spine, dark, brassy metal spurs burst forth from beneath his hide, and even the lengthy tiger tail he wore ended with a blade not dissimilar to that of a glaive, swishing back and forth menacingly. Wickedly curved claws bit into the ground, each the size of a chefs knife and just as sharp, if not sharper, than anything Quill had in his kitchen. His mouth was literally full of knife-like teeth, looking more like what might be seen on a shark than on a bear or tiger, and it opened far wider than it normally should.

Girang pushed himself up onto all fours, rising to a full fifteen feet tall at his shoulder, then onto his hind legs and roared.

A ping hit Quills AI, notifying him that surrendering while fighting Girang would, per the Chimeras request, result in an immediate evacuation from a Tier 40. There was also a small list of healers who had offered their services for his victims, and Quill noticed with a start that Soddus was included.

The Clan team looked at Girang with no fear in their eyes, even as they readied their weapons forming up around Seasadh.

Quill didnt know how this fight would end up, but he did know that it would be an epic battle, and he intended to watch every moment. Both so he could be better prepared to beat the winner, and also in case he could gleam something for his Intent out of the fight.

Girang started the fight, rushing them with a quick cast of [Flash Step] and with his paws and maw glowing with mana. His left paw swiped out and sent seven arcs of mana from a skill reminiscent of [Mana Slash], and his right paw landed on the team's defensive fighter manifestation shield.

The shield manifestation shattered into motes of light under the blow, and while the arm it was attached to fell to the ground in five pieces, the rest of the man was sent flying backwards. That allowed him to survive the stomp that Girang followed up with, as the ground around him shattered into shards of stone that exploded outward, but cost the bear part of his paw as the shield vibrated before exploding right underneath him.

Seasadh rushed in and hit the bear with a massive blow that reset the flow of combat and gave her healer the time to heal the shield bearers missing limb before both of them rejoined the fight.

It took a few minutes, an eternity at the speeds they were fighting, but eventually, the teams axe fighter made a positioning mistake getting too far away from the shield bearer. Girang had slammed the ground again and kicked a boulder right at her head, and she vanished right before a chunk of stone would have decapitated her. The rest of the team wasnt so lucky, as they were rushed down by an angry Girang who bit through the axe fighters armor and tore her in half when he shook his head back and forth like a dog who had caught a rabbit.

A barely-audible surrender saved her life, but not before her body was torn to pieces and most of the shreds exploded. She vanished, and Matt noticed that the body, barely recognizable as human, was already off to the side being tended to by Soddus and a Clans healer Matt didnt know.

The healer fared little better, a contemptuous swipe of Girangs elongated tail cutting through the [Fire Bolt] she had fired, then the shield, and the woman herself.

Her head and left shoulder quickly found themselves under Soddus care.

That left Seasadh to stand alone against the peak Tier 20 but despite her best efforts ten minutes later she too was pulled out of the battlefield.

When Girang saw there was no one else to fight, he stood on his hind legs and roared out a challenge, looking right towards them.

A challenge Quill, Torch, and Scoop were happy to meet.

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