Day 323:
Progress has been steady.
I've made it to the 55th Layer.
But something's different.
This layer is bathed in a reddish hue, deeper and denser than anything before.
Is it a reference to what my Aether should look like now?
SK09, the dummy, is here beside me.
I caught up with it back in the 53rd Layer.
Right now, it's doing something strange.
A glow wraps around its body.
No... wait, that's not aura armor. That's Aether Armor.
It's the same dark red as the wall that marks the entrance to the 56th Layer.
Its density even matches the energy pressing against the wall.
Should I try replicating it?
I focused and slowly began pulling my Aether outward,
just like I used to do with Aura Release Form.
My Aether, which had been light orange two weeks ago, now borders on light red.
But the wall is dark red.
Maybe I need to limit the quality of my Aether in order to pass through.
I looked at SK09.
It was doing the same, adjusting its Aether to match the threshold.
Makes sense. Since it mimics me, it would be dealing with the same restriction.
Five minutes later, it seemed to find the right balance.
It walked to the wall, placed a hand on it, and stood still, as if waiting for a response.
A shimmer ran across the wall.
Ripples flowed outward from its hand.
Then the wall swallowed SK09 inside.
From the other side, it turned back.
Its Aether Armor still held, and it locked eyes with me.
That was its way of cheering me on.
Now it was my turn.
I activated my Aether Armor again, this time focusing on lowering its quality instead of amplifying it.
Controlled breathing. Controlled flow.
I held the frequency, even as the spatial sun dipped below the horizon and the stars of this strange realm blinked into view.
Day 330:
A week has passed.
I finally made it through the 56th Layer, maintaining the exact Aether quality the wall required.
It wasn't easy. I failed nine times.
Each time, the moment my Aether quality reverted, I was thrown back into the 55th Layer.
It took me three days just to stabilize the color.
The density was easier.
Now, SK09 and I walk side by side.
The next layer's hue is slightly lighter, just a bit softer in tone.
We glanced at each other.
Both of us relaxed our Aether control slightly, letting it shift toward the next form.
This time, we entered the new layer together.
Unlike last time, where I lagged behind, I kept pace.
Seems like my Aether Release has become stronger than my Retention.
I'll work on that too.
The density here is slightly higher, so I'll rest for now and absorb more mana.
[Status Screen]
Name: Jacob Amor de Vermont
Titles (3):Aether Master (Currently Active)
Rank (Level): A (31)
HP: 10,000 / 10,000
AP: 2368
STR: A+ (55) AGI: A+ (53) INT: A+ (79)
Blessings:
• [???] Rank: [??]
• [Pure Mind] Rank: [??]
• [??? Art of Absorption] Rank: A- / SSS+
Skills [▼] Traits [▼] (New)
Available Points: 3000
Day 352:
I've reached the 60th Layer.
Its hue is the lightest shade of red I've encountered since the 56th.
The wall to the 61st Layer glows in dark pink.
SK09 stands beside me in a strange colorless zone.
There's no hue here, no shift in pressure.
I'll call this place a Rest Area.
I've noticed that these zones appear between every layer starting from the 56th.
Right now, we're standing between Layer 60 and Layer 61.
My Aether is currently slightly denser than necessary.
I'm taking the opportunity to absorb the colorless mana around me to fine-tune it.
Once my Aether matches the required shade of pink, SK09 and I will step into the next layer together.
Day 360:
It's almost been a year.
Still no sign of Lady Lythera.
But today, I made a breakthrough.
My Aether has successfully evolved from light red to mid-pink.
Yes. We did it.
SK09 and I have crossed into the 61st Layer.
Currently, we've reached the 66th Layer.
Progress feels more technical now, but it's also more beautiful than ever before.
[Status Screen]
Name: Jacob Amor de Vermont
Titles (3):Aether Master (Currently Active)
Rank (Level): A+ (32)
HP: 10,000 / 10,000
AP: 2998
STR: A+ (60) AGI: A+ (57) INT: A+ (79)
Blessings:
• [???] Rank: [??]
• [Pure Mind] Rank: [??]
• [??? Art of Absorption] Rank: A+ / SSS+
Skills [▼] Traits [▼] (New)
Available Points: 3000
Day 369:
Current Layer: 70
Next Layer's Color: Dark Purple
My Aether has now refined into the lightest variant of pink, but it's not quite there yet.
The wall ahead glows with a deep, rich purple—a step beyond everything I've experienced.
SK09 stands calmly at the threshold, waiting for me to catch up.
Its presence now feels less like a guide and more like a rival.
No words, no gestures—just a quiet challenge.
This next step will mark my entry into a completely new Aether grade.
It's no longer just about color or density… it's about transformation.
But before that, here's where I stand now:
[Status Screen]
Name: Jacob Amor de Vermont
Titles (3):Aether Master (Currently Active)
Rank (Level): A+ (34)
HP: 10,000 / 10,000
AP: 3305
STR: A+ (65) AGI: A+ (63) INT: A+ (80)
Blessings:
• [???] Rank: [??]
• [Pure Mind] Rank: [??]
• [??? Art of Absorption] Rank: S / SSS+
Skills [▼] Traits [▼] (New)
Available Points: 4000
The system rewarded me with another 1000 points for surpassing 3000 Aether Points.
These milestones feel like checkpoints in a never-ending race.
I'll rest briefly in this buffer zone between layers,
adjust my circulation to refine this pink Aether,
and when it turns purple… I'll step forward into the next layer.
SK09 will not wait forever.
Neither will I.
Tomorrow, I begin crafting the Purple Aether.
Days goes by.
My Routine remains the same.
I enter the next layer, absorb till I am satisfied and then adjust the quality of my aether armor an move onto the next layer.
This continues till we reach the Black Layer, after Purple one.
Day 436:
Today, something incredible happened.
A message appeared just after my latest session of circulation in the rest area between 80th and 81st:
Ding
[Congratulations!]
Your Mana Quality and Aura Quality are now both synchronized: [Black]
From this point onward, any mana absorbed will simultaneously improve your aura's quality and quantity.
Current Aether Points: 4,902
[Rewards Granted:]
5,000 Points New Trait Unlocked: [Aether Body] - Your body has begun transforming into a vessel of pure harmony. Absorption rates for all external energies increased by 52%, and internal energy loss reduced 80%.
Black Aether.
That's what I'm cultivating now.
It's strange. My body doesn't feel heavier. It feels transformed.
Not like a vessel containing Aether, but Aether made flesh.
I am no longer channeling the storm.
I have become the storm, refined, focused, alive.
And now, with Aether Body, the way forward has shifted again.
Not just faster absorption, but purer. Cleaner. Denser.
Today, I'm stepping into the 81st Layer.
SK09 stared at me in silence. Then turned and walked straight into the black-veiled wall of the 81st.
I followed it. No hesitation. No resistance.
The moment my foot crossed the boundary, I felt it.
For the first time in what felt like ages, I felt joy again.
Day 459:
I'm currently at the 90th Layer, absorbing the dense mana.
My stats have evolved again.
After my last system milestones, I received several reward bursts.
First, 1000 points, then 5000, and another 1000 when I crossed 5000+ AP.
I used 3000 points each on my STR, AGI, and INT.
That's a flat increase of +1000 per stat.
Updated status:
[Status Screen]
Name: Jacob Amor de Vermont
Titles (3): Aether Master (Currently Active)
Rank (Level): SS- (37)
HP: 10,000 / 10,000
AP: 5052
STR: SS- (70) AGI: SS- (72) INT: SS- (83)
Blessings:
• [???] Rank: [??]
• [Pure Mind] Rank: [??]
• [??? Art of Absorption] Rank: S+ / SSS+
Skills [▼] Traits [▼] (New)
Available Points: 7000
Right after I distributed those points, I felt an overwhelming lethargy and blacked out.
When I woke up, still in the 90th Layer, the system greeted me with new messages.
[Congratulations for Reaching the Peak of Human]
• Your Vitality Range has increased.
• Your Aether capacity has expanded.
• Reward: 5000 points
• Bonus Title Unlocked: Peak Human
This title grants you +15% respect from all races
All stat growth potential is increased
Immediate 60% stat boost
Updated Status:
[Status Screen]
Name: Jacob Amor de Vermont
Titles (4): Peak Human, Aether Master (Active), +2 Hidden
Rank (Level): SS- (37)
HP: 20,000 / 20,000
AP: 6025
STR: SS- (70) AGI: SS- (72) INT: SS- (83)
Blessings:
• [???] Rank: [??]
• [Pure Mind] Rank: [??]
• [??? Art of Absorption] Rank: S+ / [Potential Rank: ???]
Skills [▼] Traits [▼] (New)
Available Points: 12,000
Now I finally understand. That "???" rank means I haven't met the eligibility criteria to reveal it.
Well, enough of that for now. I need to keep moving.
Time to step beyond the 90th Layer. From light black and dark gray... to the boundary of the unknown.
The 91st Layer. A veil of dark white and ash.
Day 503:
Today, I need to share something important.
The tree I saw back on Layer 1, towering, ancient, infinite, wasn't actually a tree.
It was just a branch, stuck into the ground.
Why did it seem so massive?
Because of the spatial differences between each layer.
As I ascended, the space itself warped, bent, compressed, and reshaped around the concept of growth.
Now I stand in the 101st Layer.
It's colorless. A void. But not in a terrifying way.
Rather, it's the quiet that comes after a thunderstorm.
Layer 100 was blinding. It shone brighter than any other.
But this—this space—is peace.
I've done it.
Today, on the 503rd day, I've achieved what Lady Lythera said would take ten years.
I looked back.
SK09 was there, standing at the edge of the path we climbed together.
It was walking away, back toward the starting point.
"Oii, dummy!" I called out.
It paused. Turned its head.
No expression. No words. Yet... it felt like it was sad.
"Thanks for teaching me mana accumulation," I said, bowing deeply.
I raised my hand and waved.
Then turned toward the spinning white vortex ahead.
My Aether, now pure white.
My rank, Peak Human.
My journey, almost complete.
I stepped forward slowly, taking it all in.
One final glance behind me.
At the tree, the layers, the trials.
And then I stepped through the vortex.
Meanwhile, on planet Mun Yul, at Jacob's secluded mansion:
Loki, now perfectly disguised as Jacob, reclined lazily on the silken bed, licking the last trace of blueberry filling from his fingers.
He had eaten all nine slices of the pie. Only one remained, placed deliberately on the plate for "later."
Beside him lay two empty bottles of ale, rolling across the polished wooden floor.
From beyond the closed door, the muffled snores of Remvar echoed softly. The half-drunk guardian was out cold.
Suddenly, Loki's expression shifted. A divine whisper stirred in his consciousness.
"He has entered the Spiritual Domain of Nyxion."
The voice belonged to Hephaestus—calm, vast, undeniable.
Loki's smirk widened as he responded in their ancient divine tongue.
A language of thought and meaning, not sound.
"So… he truly is a genius," Loki replied mentally, eyes closed in amusement.
"Completing the Trial of Mana in just two years. I suppose 'He' chose well."
His voice in the divine stream carried pride, curiosity… and a glint of mischief.
Somewhere in Lythera's training domain
SK09 stood silently within the first layer, its gaze fixed on the distant sky above. There was no wind here, no sound, just the soft hum of residual Aether.
The empty sky reflected nothing. But SK09 kept watching, unmoving.
A gentle voice echoed through the vastness.
"You have done well, my child. Don't be sad. You will get to meet him again."
It was Lythera. Calm. Warm. Timeless.
SK09 had no eyes, no mouth, no expression. Yet something in its stillness shifted.
It nodded slowly.
As if smiling without a face.
And then, in one fluid motion, the figure changed.
The body of Jacob melted away, replaced by glimmering scales and ancient power. A massive, dragon-like being stretched its wings for the first time in years.
It let out a silent roar, inaudible to the mortal world.
With a single leap, it launched into the air. Spiraling high above the domain, its body shimmered with radiant Aether trails.
This was not just flight. It was joy.
A release.
A promise.
SK09 had done its part.
And now, it soared.