Now that everyone knew the tier of their soul card, an atmosphere of competition settled over the hall. Some people began to mutter, questioning just how powerful the soul cards above theirs were, while most looked at their neighbors with newfound envy.
The finality of knowing they couldn't change their soul cards in the future, and were instead bound to their current tier, made many initiates wish they had killed something better during their trial of ascension. But alas, it was too late.
Naomi tapped the small device and the screen displaying the cards collapsed into one displaying a single letter 'P' with a line struck through it. Alex assumed by now that this was probably the logo of the Pantheon.
"Since you are now aware of the different tiers, the next important thing you should be aware of are the ranks, or as we prefer to call them, the stages to godhood." Naomi said, gesturing with her hands as she spoke.
Alex leaned forward, paying attention as this was another matter that he was quite curious about.
"I'll have you know that there are nine stages on the path to godhood," Naomi continued. "Now obviously, you already know the first stage, as you were all told this by the Fates, or can see it on your soul card.
As an initiate, you get a boost in your physical strength, intuition, and mental capabilities, which makes you better than a regular mortal, of course. You also gain your first insignia, which grants you the first ability… or abilities of your authority.
But… it doesn't end there. You can also travel to your realm. However, for your safety, you'll probably only have access to your castle at this stage."
'What?' Alex was quite taken aback by the revelation. 'Wait... I can actually travel to the Underworld?'
The other initiates were also stunned, and some even began to murmur in excitement. Without waiting for anyone to ask a question, Naomi added, "As for how you can travel to your realm, ask your guides and they'll tell you how. That's part of why you have them."
'Ah, Steve. Got it. I actually have a lot of questions for that guy.'
Alex was planning on asking him about the energy he had used from his soul card when testing his ability yesterday. Although Alex had no idea what sort of energy that was, he felt extremely low on it right now.
Naomi continued, "Moving on, the second stage is the Magos. It is at this stage that you would gain your second insignia, which would grant you a lot more power than you already possess. I did say that ascending the stages is difficult, so that should tell you that the gap between these ranks is no joke. Comparing an Initiate to a Magos is like comparing a candle to a forest fire."
'The gap is that big?' Alex arched a brow in curiosity. 'Interesting.'
He suddenly remembered that Steve had the icons of two tiny cards embossed on his epaulet. That made him a bit curious.
'Is Steve a Magos?'
That aside, for some reason, Alex now really wanted to see a Magos in action.
Meanwhile, Naomi continued, "The third stage is the Acolyte. This stage is a bit different from the other two because rather than simply gaining more supernatural power, you gain a summoning ability instead. One that lets you summon creatures from your realm."
'Ah, that sounds cool.' Alex thought. 'Makes me wonder just what sort of creatures are in the underworld.'
"The three stages after that, which are the Apostle, Exalted, and Hierophant, are the most critical phases of your ascension because these are the stages where everything completely changes. It is these stages that will decide just how powerful you will be when you eventually become a god."
Naomi paused for a moment to make sure she wasn't overwhelming anyone, then raised three fingers and added, "And then we've got the last three stages, which are the Kyrios, Hagios, and finally Theos, which is god."
She paused and a gray card appeared in her hand. Then it changed into a large red water bottle with a straw.
"Excuse me," she said, taking a long, unhurried sip while the initiates just stared at her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a small sigh. "Talking this much is a pain. Anyway, don't worry about those last three for now. Most people never even smell the Kyrios stage, let alone reach it. Your focus should be on not dying as an Initiate first."
It was then that the gangster spoke up, his voice echoing all the way from the back row where he sat. "How does one ascend the stages then?"
'Good question.' Alex nodded to himself. He was the type to want answers, but never the type to speak up in class.
A few initiates in the front murmured after the gangster spoke, likely making jeering remarks just because it was him who had opened his mouth.
Naomi set her water bottle down on the lectern, looked at him briefly, then smiled and replied, "To ascend the stages, there's two conditions you need to meet." She raised a single finger. "The first is to gather enough divine essence. As for how you actually do that, well, you have two options. You can try the simple, safer route, which is by absorbing it from the air around you. You see, here in the pantheon, the air is rich with divine essence."
She leaned back slightly against the lectern. "Now, the only problem with this method is that it takes forever. To gather enough essence that way, it might take a hundred years, two hundred, or maybe even more depending on your speed. Plus, the higher you climb through the stages, the longer that process takes. It's a snail's pace."
She paused, noticing the questioning faces in the crowd, and as if she had just remembered a small but vital detail, Naomi added, "Oh, yeah. You may not know this yet, but being an ascendant expands your lifespan with every stage you reach. So, while a hundred years sounds like a long time to you now, you'll actually have the time to spend it."
'Oh…' Alex bobbed his head back a bit. At first, when he heard her mention a hundred years, he had wondered how anyone was supposed to survive that long without kicking the bucket. Turns out, they do live longer than mortals. That's good to know.
"Anyway…" Naomi continued, waving a hand dismissively. "A good number of Ascendants prefer the second option, which is by killing monsters called the children of chaos."
'The children of chaos?' Alex echoed in his head while arching a brow.
"Ah, that reminds me," Naomi said, tilting her head back, and clapping her hands softly, as if just remembering something. "Remember when I said there were two simple reasons as to why you are here? Well, this is that second reason. You are here to help get rid of these terrifying existences. Their goal is to destroy the pantheon, the mortal realm, and all your individual realms in order to plunge the entire universe back into its original state of chaos."
The initiates began to once again murmur among themselves about this new threat that had just been revealed.
Alex frowned deeply. 'Is the world punishing me because I said I'd rather fight literal monsters than listen to Sarah talk about her ex-boyfriend, Tyler?'
He wasn't really looking forward to the idea of fighting 'terrifying existences.' But at the same time, the idea of spending a hundred or two hundred years to absorb enough divine essence to ascend was not exactly appealing either.
'Ah… goodness.'
"Now I know how that sounds," Naomi said, raising her hands as if trying to be a bit encouraging. "Many of you may not like this, and some of you are probably now thinking that you'd rather stick to the first safer method. But trust me, there's a reason many ascendants prefer this method. You see, aside from the risk of dying..." she did a little air-quote gesture with her fingers while dragging out the word dying. "There are also benefits, obviously. For one, after killing a child of chaos, you can directly absorb its divine essence. It makes the whole ascension process significantly faster. But more than that, you can also make money this way. And when I say money, I mean lots of money."
She snapped her fingers, trying to recall a specific phrase. "What's that saying? Ah, yes… money makes the world go round. Trust me when I say that here in the pantheon, without money, your life would be a lot tougher than it needs to be."
Alex swallowed. The only words he could hear echoing in his mind were, '…you can also make money this way. And when I say money, I mean lots of money.'
The words kept repeating in his head, and his eyes widened and began to glint excitedly.
'Wait. I can actually get rich while ascending?'
He looked down at his hands and swallowed again, greedily.
If the risk was just "dying," well, he'd been doing that slowly back in the mortal realm anyway. At least here, the overtime pay sounded incredible.
Naomi clapped her hands to silence the room, which had grown noisy, and to draw back the attention of those who had become lost in their thoughts, like Alex.
"That aside, once you gain enough divine essence, you will then be eligible to meet the next condition, which is to partake in another trial of ascension."
'Huh? We have to partake in another trial?'
As soon as Alex had that thought, someone else in the front blurted out almost the exact same words.
"Wait, we have to partake in another trial?"
Naomi nodded. "Yes. There is a trial for every stage of ascension. That's how you get your next insignia from the fates."
The same person asked again, "What happens if we fail?"