Path to Transcendence

Kanen POV

He left Lord Violet and his daughter with a sour taste in his mouth. Nothing really had gone his way and there was nothing he could have done to change that either. He was merely in such an awful situation.

Who would have imagined that House Violet would decide to protect the boy so fervently? They always made the best decision for the betterment of their House. Therefore, the emotional response took Kanen by surprise. He knew Lord Violet loved his daughter dearly, but he didn't think the man would go so far.

It didn't help that Elder Delton had been playing around too much. That was the whole reason why Clan Genshen was in this mess. If Delton hadn't been too busy licking the Conclave's feet, Clan Genshen would not be in this situation.

Or that was what Kanen believed. He actually didn't know if Delton created this contract because of the Conclave, but for the past few years, almost all of his decisions had come from their requests. So it wouldn't be a stretch to guess that.

He could understand where Delton was coming from as well. As one of the older elders within the Clan, he had a lot of influence. However, he was still Tier 5, and his only chance was to rely on the Conclave to help him advance. Otherwise, he would die out in a decade or so if things stayed where they were.

It was just sad that he had to go about it this way. Most of the others within the Clan didn't mind Delton's actions. Most of the time, they didn't drastically impact the Clan and its own interests. It wasn't like Clan Genshen was a noble House known for their honor. They were a Clan of killers and mercenaries for the most part.

However, Delton had gotten them in trouble with House Violet, arguably one of the worst Houses they could have offended in terms of how much they could negatively affect Clan Genshen's operations. House Violet mainly operated in the eastern regions of the Empire, but make no mistake, they had a hand in every city in the Empire.

They were one of the main traders when it came to selling materials and various goods in that particular region. They were trusted by every large organization and business, which meant many people liked to do transactions with House Violet as a guarantor.

Hell, even Clan Genshen had often used House Violet to facilitate deals and negotiations. They were just that well established.

This reputation of being honest merchants and businesspeople ensured they were well respected and thus very powerful. Therefore, offending them was paramount as economic suicide. If they were to ban Clan Genshen from doing business with them and their partners, it would cripple Clan Genshen's revenue stream. They would even be limited in where they could organize their missions.

Clan Genshen often advertised certain jobs or services using House Violet's properties or related businesses. It would be problematic if they were no longer allowed to because of Delton's greed and stupidity.

Kanen couldn't even imagine why the older elder wanted to kill a mere boy. Of course, this boy was someone who could defeat a pretty darn good Tier 4, which was alarming in itself. He had only heard of very few people who could manage to do that. And almost all of these people went on to become Tier 5s and above.

When they had arrived, and Kanen saw Colten beaten to a pulp, he couldn't help but wonder how the boy had torn him apart without any sign of injuries. The boy was covered in blood from head to toe and his clothes were obviously cut to shreds. Maybe the Tier 3 had drunk a healing potion before they arrived, but it was still impressive that he managed to beat Colten with all limbs intact.

It was likely due to some powerful item that House Violet gave him, but just because you gave an insect a knife, didn't mean it could kill an adult. What he had accomplished still warranted praise.

Despite all of this, no matter how impressive a boy was, it didn't mean Clan Genshen needed to kill them. This smelled of personal business or perhaps a way to clean up a prior mess. He was going to need to speak to Delton and likely a core elder to get things situated. It would be best to leave it at that and figure it out on their own.

Anything to prevent the Patriarch from getting involved. Nobody would enjoy what would happen if that man were bothered by this issue.

***

Julius POV

"So what was that all about?" He asked Lily.

"What do you mean?"

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"Why were you guys with that elder from Clan Genshen?" He specified.

"We were trying to prevent Clan Genshen from making any more moves against you," she said to him.

She must have seen the confused look on his face and went on to explain what had happened during their meeting with the elder.

After listening to her words, he couldn't help but frown in concern. "So if I am understanding this correctly, you and your father levied House Violet's status to protect me?"

She nodded.

"Why would you do that? Doesn't that put your own family in jeopardy?" He directed this question more toward her father than to Lily. He couldn't understand why she and her father would risk so much just for him. He knew that Clan Genshen wasn't just a small House or Clan. They had power and couldn't just be bullied like an insignificant lord.

"You don't believe we shouldn't have?" Lord Violet interrupted before Lily could say anything.

"I mean, it just sounds like a lot of trouble just for someone like me," he said softly.

Lord Violet stared at him for quite a while, not saying a word. Eventually, he gave Julius a slight grin.

"Good friends are hard to come by. It is important that you fight to keep the ones you do find. So, a little trouble to help my daughter's friend is not a big deal. Let us worry about Clan Genshen, and you can worry about living your life."

Julius looked down and smiled.

"Plus, you seem to have a bright future. It wouldn't hurt House Violet if we had another Marcus supporting us."

Lily swatted her father harshly.

***

It was only once he had returned to campus that he was able to review the notifications he got from the fight.

[Armaments of the Arcane lvl 14 -> lvl 15]

[Sage of Savagery lvl 15 -> lvl 16]

[Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin lvl 8 -> lvl 9]

[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 1 -> lvl 2]

[Inexorable Aura of Ruin lvl 10 -> lvl 11]

He was happy to see that he had gained a large increase in levels from this experience. It was a welcome sight and once again reminded him that fighting someone at a higher tier was the best way for him to get stronger.

He might need to start delving into Tier 4 rifts at this point. He still had the pass from Lord Lagos, but didn't have the urgency to use it. Tier 3 rifts didn't have that same level of danger they used to.

This was doubly so since the pass didn't allow him to delve into the more dangerous Tier 3 rifts. It was something that was given to him when he was Tier 2, which made it kind of obsolete.

During the fight with the assassin, he had learned that he had been relying too much on his superior physical abilities as of late. When confronted with someone faster and stronger than him, he couldn't find any openings.

The man had completely shut down any attempts he made to fight back. His lack of reach was particularly frustrating when fighting someone of superior physical abilities and technical skill.

The only thing that saved him from having to use [Phoenix Renewal] earlier was the improvements he made with his constructs, which he covered his forearms with. Just like how he created his spikes, he carved channels into the gauntlets, allowing himself to reinforce them with more mana than normal.

This let him block and parry the sharp slashes without worrying about them being unable to hold up. He was also lucky that he had such a powerful body enhancement skill in [Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin]. While the skill didn't grant him the power to contend head-to-head, it still let him be just fast enough to fight back.

The fight would have gone very differently if he hadn't acquired the skill. Thus, seeing it gain a level wasn't that surprising.

He was also happy to see that his aura skill had gained a level as well. He was beginning to truly appreciate the skill for what it was. At first glance, it was a skill that helped him control his aura better. However, after fighting another Tier 4, he was figuring out that the skill had a unique ability to withstand his opponent's powerful willpower as well as holding its own against the Authorities of Tier 4s.

He doubted his skills and mana would maintain their integrity if he still had his previous aura skill. He made sure to send a grateful prayer to his soul space, where the skill was peacefully residing.

While it was a pain in the butt to control sometimes, it was at these times that it showed why it was worth the hassle.

After showing his appreciation for all of his skills, he finally looked at the one notification he was most excited about.

[Flash Step lvl 19 -> lvl 20]

[Flash Step] has advanced to level 20. Would you like to evolve the skill?

He accepted the notification without hesitation.

Appraising requirements…

Congratulations. Skills requirement met.

Congratulations. Concept requirement met.

Congratulations. Soul requirement met.

Skill [Flash Step] is evolving… possible advancements: [Instantaneous Step], [Flame Blitz], [Stride of Unyielding Force], [Devastating Burst], [Close Range Teleport], [Spatial Shift], and [Void Step]

Julius was pleasantly surprised to see all of the options. Seven options were a lot for a skill. But he also wasn't that surprised. It was well known that [Flash Step] was one of the more common skills that was both powerful and highly adaptable to people with different styles of combat.

Still, seven was a lot to go over and filter through. It was going to take him a lot of time to go over everything and figure out which skill was the one he wanted.

It was at times like these that he wished the system had a way for him to experiment with the skills before he chose one of them. It would have made his life so much easier.