Path to Transcendence

Julius was currently holding two condensed orbs of fire and kinetic mana in one hand, while he was also trying to create a third one in his other. During his fight, he realized that he wasn't able to hold multiple compressed constructs at one time. If he was able to control four of his enhanced [Firebolts] he would have been able to take out two instantly, and then have plenty of time to prepare for the other two. He was able to create and control many weaker and non-condensed constructs, but he wasn't able to do the same with condensed ones. It was something that he wanted to change.

Admittedly, it was a little scary at first. He could barely control two condensed orbs at one time, and any mistakes would cause them to blow up in his face. Not to mention, the noise might alert other monsters in the area of his whereabouts. It was stressful but valuable training for Julius. His kinetic control had taken a noticeable dip, but he was already recovering to his previous level at a rapid pace. He also discovered that just as he was able to augment his flames with additional kinetic energy, he was able to weaken them as well. This meant he was able to create dangerous compressed orbs of fire and kinetic mana, and then slowly dissipate them.

Originally, he thought he would need to hold them while practicing and then shoot them across the plains after he was done. So he was glad he didn't have to resort to that. There had been another surprising benefit as well. While dissipating the orbs, he was able to recover some of the mana expended to make them. It allowed him to practice more, as he didn't need to constantly wait and regenerate mana.

It was incredibly taxing though, especially while holding multiple orbs that were practically bombs, but it was the perfect way to challenge himself. And if he was being honest with himself, the danger excited him.

If he was able to create and control multiple powerful constructs he wouldn't be restricted to shooting one or two powerful attacks at a time. Instead, he would be able to unleash a barrage in an instant.

That's my plan, I'm not sure how long it might take to accomplish it though, Julius told himself. However, if he got to that point he would finally need to start worrying about having enough mana to power his attacks. This was funny because he thought that out of everything, he wouldn't be worrying about having enough mana. Now, with his new attack, he wasn't quite sure he would have enough for more than a few constructs.

Several days quickly went by like that. He would train like a madman for every second of the day. He had even given up sleep to practice longer. [Restoration] was able to take some of his mental exhaustion away, and he now only required about an hour of sleep a night. It was a game-changer when it came to training.

He also began practicing using kinetic energy with his improved body for several hours each day. He tried out everything he could think of, though primarily, Julius was practicing his ability to quickly move in a single step. In a fight, the difference in being an inch from where you needed to be could be the difference in life or death. It was crucial to be able to properly gauge his position relative to his opponents, which was easy thanks to [Spatial Perception]. It would allow him to capitalize on small openings or timings that would make or break a fight. But he also needed to be physically capable of precisely positioning himself.

It was much harder than one would expect. The amount of force he created when he released the kinetic load, launched him forward like a missile. It was fast and exactly what he was looking for in this technique, but it was too fast. At first, he was trying to stop himself with pure friction but the speed would be too much for him to stop in time. Instead, he would either trip over his legs or slide for several feet before coming to a stop.

The only way he prevented this, was by going slower. However, that wasn't ideal either. His whole reason for this ability was to move incredibly quickly, efficiently, and precisely. He didn't want to sacrifice one of them for another. It was greedy, but in his opinion, necessary.

So Julius came up with a new idea. Not only would he release kinetic energy to dash forward, but he would also absorb his kinetic energy to stop. Thanks to [Kinetic Reinforcement] his body could take the extreme force of stopping so abruptly. It was the technical aspect of it that made it hard. Much like when he was first learning how to properly unleash a kinetic strike, he was having a hard time with the timing.

Julius placed several rocks as targeting points for his training. He would start at one, then burst as fast as he could to the other, attempting to kill his kinetic energy right in front of the rock, pretending it was a monster. He would continue these drills for hours on end, until he was no longer able to physically, or got bored with it. Honestly, it was usually boredom that ended his training, because [Restoration] took care of physical fatigue. He hadn't even felt hungry yet, which he theorized was also because of his skill.

With that being said, his build was coming together. He evaluated his strengths and weaknesses and decided on a path for himself. He wanted to have strong long-range capabilities, but also be capable in close range as well. He had given up the idea of creating an absolute defensive skill for now. Realizing that with his affinities, it would prove difficult. If he had an earth or metal affinity, then it would be a good idea to create an unbreakable defense skill, but that wasn't the case for Julius.

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He would focus on an elusive defensive style that relied on his speed to avoid attacks and [Restoration] to recover from any hits he took. It should work well, because [Spatial Perception] gave him an unnaturally good sense of his surroundings and incoming attacks.

After he finished his physical training, he would start on his mana control exercises. At the moment, he was trying to increase how many condensed constructs he could manage at a time. He was able to comfortably hold three now, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

There were other exercises he tried as well. One of them was weaving fire and kinetic mana together like how he did with life mana. He had mixed results. With fire mana, he was able to create small spikes of woven fire mana. By utilizing the weaving property, he had been able to create a hardened mana construct. Typically, fire mana was hard to create solid and tangible constructs but weaving mana seemed to change that. They were also stronger than his normal [Firebolt] but not quite as strong as his condensed [Firebolt]. However, it costs a lot less mana. They also took a lot more time to create compared to a regular [Firebolts] but that was to be expected considering he didn't have a skill for it.

Kinetic, on the other hand, was difficult. Kinetic mana didn't behave like normal mana. Therefore, when he tried to weave strands of it together it didn't work. They just slipped away, much like trying to balance several spheres on top of each other.

He felt like it should be possible, but if it was, Julius hadn't found a way to do it yet.

It was hard to tell how long it had been since Julius started his secluded training. He thought it was around a week, but it was difficult to tell when he was in a dim ravine for almost the entirety of it. That being said, Julius made some nice improvements to his skills in that time.

[Firebolt lvl 9 -> lvl 11]

[Thermal Compression lvl 7 -> lvl 10]

[Restoration lvl 6 -> lvl 7]

[Kinetic Reinforcement lvl 5 -> lvl 7]

Julius was very happy with his progress. [Thermal Compression] reached level 10 and was two-thirds of the way until its next advancement. Also, his control of kinetic energy was finally back to where it was before. It took less time than he originally thought. Although, it was worth it to mention that [Kinetic Release] only helped with the release function, and all his control over absorption was left untouched.

He also made some huge strides when it came to how proficient he was able to burst step. It was starting to feel instinctive, he was using the technique so much that he caught himself utilizing it accidentally when he was walking normally. Once he started to get a handle on the timing, everything came together like pieces of a puzzle.

It was also a wonderfully mana-efficient technique. Now that he was absorbing his kinetic energy to stop himself and kill his momentum, the excess would be stored and reused for later purposes. Previously, it was a mana-hungry technique that had him throwing kinetic mana by the barrels to move him a few paces. Now it felt like he was almost gaining a net positive when he used it.

It was about time to leave the ravine. He felt like he had consolidated his gains properly and was ready to delve deeper into this rift. For the entire time he had been in the ravine, he hadn't come across any more trolls or monsters of any kind. It had been a fortunate place to find, especially in a dangerous place like a rift.

However, all good things must eventually end. Julius didn't have anything on him except for the pair of grimy pants and the six cores he accumulated so far in his pocket. Thus, he didn't have much to pack. He did regret not taking a chance to look at the troll's weapons when he had the chance. He hadn't even thought to use the axe or clubs, because they were obviously heavy and he wasn't well-versed in fighting with weapons other than his fists anyways. But having something might be better than having nothing.

Eh, doesn't matter. I prefer to use my fists anyway. There is a distinct satisfaction you get from punching something in the face. I can see why Edwin did it to me so often, Julius reminisced with a somber smile.

The deeper Julius went, the more cavern-like it became. Now the sun was no longer visible, it was just darkness. If it wasn't for [Spatial Perception], he would have needed to create several lights with his fire constructs, but that might have drawn attention to him. There were a few monsters he spotted along the way. However, they seemed to be around Tier 1 or 2 at most. There was a big group of Tier 1 bats that were hanging out in the ceiling above. Julius was sure to be quiet and made sure not to disturb them, but the several who did notice him didn't attack and seemed docile for the most part.

On another note, there were some reptilian species that had some really good camouflage. Most were around Tier 1 but Julius noticed a couple of them hovering around Tier 2. But as long as he maintained his distance, they didn't bother him.

Whenever he didn't sense any monsters, he would continue practicing. Along with his training to control multiple condensed constructs, Julius had been creating dozens of woven fire orbs that floated around in patterns and various manners that trained his ability to manipulate constructs independently from each other. It had done wonders for his mana control.

After walking for a long time, Julius approached a large tunnel with sunlight coming at its end. It was the first sign of light in a while.

He slowly walked up to it, the contrast in lighting made it very difficult to see past the light and to see beyond the end of the tunnel. However, once he walked through the exit his eyes adjusted quickly.

What he saw blew his mind away. He had been prepared for a lot of things, but not this. What stood before him was an enormous lush valley. Large swaths of trees littered the entire landscape with patches of brilliantly colored flora decorating it. There was also a massive waterfall crashing down from a towering cliff in the center of the valley. The water was collected at the bottom to form a crystal blue lake that spanned beyond his sight and could be seen wrapping around the forest and hills. It was late afternoon by the looks of it and the sun overhead was shining brightly, shimmering against the water and the mist of the waterfall like little sapphires. It was absolutely breathtaking.