Alex walked out behind Ketovan. The fresh air of the sprawling Church of the Hegemon campus was a relief after a day surrounded by dead insect corpses and rotting leaf skin.
Renald came from behind them. The short figure of the Bishop of the Church of the Hegemon was not enough to shake the sprouting bulk of Alex, but due to his noble rank strength, there was an accompanying pressure.
It was unimaginable, incalculable, immeasurable pressure. Alex felt his soul crushing under a metaphysical mountain. Renald left Alex's shoulders to have a small talk with Ketovan. After some time, both men came toward Alex.
"Anything wrong, guys?" Alex asked.
"Nothing, just thinking of your next step in advancing to Soldier Rank," Renald said. "Ketovan says you got some Aslothium. Really, a thousand?" Renald asked, looking pointedly at Alex's battle-worn clothes and condition.
"Really. If you two say it's that rare, then it's better if we talk about this somewhere safe," Alex suggested.
"I have some work with the Church of the Wizard. You and Renald return to the Mansion," Ketovan said.
"And what about those dead insects you stashed in your storage space?" Alex asked.
Ketovan opened a pale blue portal, and two large, bubble-type structures emerged from the tiny window to nowhere. One was filled with the large and monstrous sized ants, and the other held the gemstone ones.
Renald opened a small, deep crimson portal that was transparent. Inside were artifacts, golems, and a collection of wands, like mountains of wands poured into piles. It was like a warzone inside. All clumsy and uneasy for an organized person like Ketovan or even Alex. But it had its own beauty, too. It looked never-ending, but Alex knew it had an end somewhere.
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The Mansion was less a single building and more a small, self-contained compound within the Church Sector's high walls. Alex and Renald stepped past the main courtyard, where stone angels held silent, solemn watch, and entered a small, richly decorated parlor.
Renald dismissed the two translucent portals containing the dead ants. They shimmered out of existence, presumably relocated to a less conspicuous storage space.
"Sit, Alex," Renald commanded, taking a seat on a plush velvet chair. His posture, despite his short stature, radiated authority. "Ketovan is right to be impressed. Aslothium isn't just rare; it's supposed to be a mythical resource of the ancient divine Ranks. For you to acquire a thousand units… it's unprecedented."
Alex leaned forward, ignoring the persistent ache in his muscles. "So, what is it, exactly? My system just calls it 'Rank Advancement Material.'"
"It is power, condensed," Renald explained, folding his hands. "To advance from a Normal Rank—like a Novice or a basic Soldier—to a Noble Rank—like a Bishop or a Commander—requires an exponential leap in soul energy. Most creatures use common Apex Stones or years of meditation. But Aslothium… it is the distilled essence of a great, dying entity. It bypasses the requirement for slow growth."
Renald fixed Alex with an intense stare. "In simple terms, one unit of Aslothium can completely fill the advancement bar for a Commander or low-level Noble Rank. It allows for an instant, massive evolution. You have enough Aslothium to skip centuries of training, blood and hardships, Alex, perhaps even skipping ranks entirely."
"Skip ranks?" Alex echoed, feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline mixed with dread. The power felt too easy.
"Yes. You are currently Normal Rank, correct? Ketovan wants you at least at Soldier Rank to be an effective partner. But with that much Aslothium, you could potentially attempt to advance directly to Commander Rank right now."
Renald paused, leaning closer. "However, such rapid advancement is incredibly dangerous. Your body and soul may not be strong enough to absorb the energy. Most people who try to skip ranks—even with smaller amounts of Aslothium—die instantly, or their advancement fails and they are crippled forever. It is an immense gamble."
"But the payoff…" Alex mused, looking at the vague blue outline of his status screen projected faintly in his mind's eye.
"The payoff is immediate power, yes," Renald confirmed. "It gives you a choice no one else has. Do you use a small portion to safely reach Soldier Rank, or do you risk it all to jump straight to Commander, hoping your unique biology can handle the strain?"
"What about Divine Rank? How much?" Alex asked.
"Are you mad, Alex? Divine Rank! You haven't even completed two months since you consumed your core. People take millennias to get there, and you're talking about skipping four or five ranks that take centuries to cover each," Renald scolded Alex.
Alex looked at Renald. "You said the slugs and ants were only Commander and Soldier ranks, but they were made of gemstones, right? Sapphires, rubies, emeralds..."
"They are, essentially, magical items that can be consumed for minor experience or energy," Renald confirmed, looking relieved that the Divine Rank idea was scrapped. "They're called 'Energy Beasts' in this sector. They hold condensed energy, but their value is mainly in trade. A Commander-rank gemstone ant is worth a fortune."
"Exactly," Alex said. "If Aslothium is for breaking barriers, I need these Energy Beasts to fill the experience bar and safely reach Soldier Rank first."
"That is the safer, standard approach," Renald agreed, nodding slowly. "But wasting valuable gemstone corpses just for advancement when you have Aslothium is unheard of. The gemstone ants are loot, Alex—wealth you can trade for weapons or information!"
"I need strength before wealth," Alex countered. He focused on the memory of the two massive, translucent bubbles Ketovan had conjured, filled with the dead gemstone ants. "How many of the Commander-rank Energy Beasts—the sapphire and emerald ones—would it take to push me from Normal Rank to Soldier Rank?"
"Try half way. Normal Rank Level 50 maybe? Enough to unlock all 175 skills, and you need to save some rare ones, too. They can fetch a good price. Not that you need money now." Renald suggested.
"Why do you say that?" Alex asked about the money.
"Because you are fucking richer than nations, Alex. Literal governing bodies!" Renald exclaimed.
Alex stared at the blue outline of his status screen. Jumping to Divine Rank was madness, and even rushing to Commander Rank felt premature. He had the Aslothium, but that was a resource for a future crisis, not a simple level-up. He needed to build a stable foundation first.
"I won't attempt a rank jump yet," Alex told Renald. "I need to use these Energy Beasts to reach my maximum potential at Normal Rank and stabilize my core. How many of the Commander-rank gemstone ants would it take to get me to Normal Rank Level 50?"
Renald let out a sigh of profound relief. "That is the decision of a wise warrior, Alex. To reach Level 50 from your current low level within Normal Rank, consuming the energy of the Commander-rank ants is highly effective, though still wasteful of trade value."
He quickly calculated the necessary energy conversion. "You would need to fully consume about three of the Commander-rank ants—the sapphire, the emerald, and the ruby—to safely reach Level 50 and anchor yourself at the peak of the Normal Rank."
Alex immediately opened his internal loot menu. He focused on the three specified Commander-rank ants Ketovan had killed. He bypassed the monetary value and selected the option to Absorb Energy.
"I'm doing it," Alex announced.
A heavy, grinding sound echoed as the three massive gemstone ants began to crumble in Ketovan's storage space. A torrent of cold, crystalline energy—sapphire blue, emerald green, and ruby red—violently rushed into Alex's core. It felt shocking, like having his veins injected with pure, super-cooled power, but the pain was manageable, designed for absorption rather than a rank-breaking leap.
Alex gritted his teeth, pushing through the intense discomfort as the energy reformed his internal structure. He felt his existing power capacity swell and harden, stabilizing and expanding his connection to his own unique inner power.
The faint blue glow of his status screen flared brightly, and the level bar quickly filled, signaling completion.
NAME:, ALEX
RANK:, NORMAL RANK LV 50
AFFINITY:, HEGEMONY
POWERS:, 175/175
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Alex slowly opened his eyes. He felt a deep, grounded power settling in his chest. He was still a Normal Rank, but a Normal Rank operating at peak capacity. He had successfully taken the first, necessary step without risking his life.
"Excellent," Renald said, his expression pleased. "You have updated your power."
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Ketovan stood before the imposing entrance to the Church of the Wizard campus. The air here was unlike the austere quiet of the Hegemon's sector; it was charged with a subtle, humming magical energy that seemed to vibrate in the ancient stones. He had a dual appointment: first, a private audience with the being himself, The Wizard, and then a necessary, highly fraught meeting with the local bishop, Katherine Kinley. Ketovan recalled the incident with cold precision. Kinley had recently nearly killed Alex just for speaking vulgarities in the Church Sector. If not for Renald's intervention, Alex would have been dead, Ketovan gravely injured, and the Core of Hegemony—Alex's unique core—lost forever. He had not forgotten the threat she posed.
The entrance door itself was massive, dominated by a vibrant, colorful mural depicting the Wizard's famous epic myth, 'The Maiden's Stone Heart.' The figures in the mural shimmered with faint, illusionary light, a testament to the campus's powerful wards. Ketovan pushed the heavy door inward and stepped through the threshold. The rich, complex smell of ozone, aged parchment, and rare incense washed over him. A slender figure in deep blue robes stood waiting in the antechamber, holding a staff capped with a glowing crystal.
"Ketovan," the figure greeted him, their voice echoing slightly in the high-ceilinged space. "The Wizard is expecting you. I trust you haven't brought any further... disruptions to the sector."
Ketovan remained outwardly calm, but his internal aura was tightly controlled, ready to flare into rage at the slightest provocation. "I am here on business for the Hegemon, not for disruption," he replied, his eyes assessing the power of the mage before him. "Lead the way."
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