Path to Transcendence

A few days passed, and the time when he would have to leave Goldencrest was nearing. With some convincing from the others, he finally agreed to come with them to the Endless Forest. The idea of delving into different rifts and fighting strong monsters was just too alluring. Something that Aubrey and Edgar loved to point out to him when they were trying to convince him to come along.

He also didn't have another plan or place to go to during the break. It wasn't like he had a family to go home to. They would likely cut his throat before they welcomed him with open arms. The idea of just adventuring by himself seemed appealing, but he didn't really have a good idea where he should go.

At least this way, he would have a plethora of rifts to delve into and have his friends nearby as well.

He did tell them about his own set of conditions, though. He made sure they knew that he wanted some time to himself, whether that was him going off and delving on his own for an unspecified amount of time or something else.

Julius found himself walking with the others away from the gate of Goldencrest. Looking at the gates that glimmered from the golden sunrise made him feel a bit sad. He had spent a lot of time here and had created many unforgettable memories, but he was also somewhat glad that it had finally come to an end.

Admittedly, toward the end, it had become a little boring and even with the occasional surprise, it wasn't what he was looking to do when he had arrived in this world. He wanted adventure and explored the magical world, not going to the same classes everyday.

He also felt like he had finally gained enough strength that he wouldn't be killed the moment he stepped out in the woods. Tier 4 would have made him feel safer, but his actual strength was higher than his tier might indicate and would help him handle most dangers. At least that was his hope.

He did have one last talk with all of the friends he had made during his time here. He went over to the guardhouse and had a nice, long discussion with Declan, Orus, and Rae. Julius was still very grateful for all of their help when he first arrived.

Without them, he didn't think he would have had it as easy as he did. He might have been roaming around the streets until he finally managed to figure out a way to get into Goldencrest. Declan's recommendation had helped a lot on that end.

They didn't feel that comfortable when they learned he was going to be adventuring in the Endless Forest, but they understood that it was a part of the life he had chosen. If he wanted to become strong, he needed to improve his skills and advance to Tier 4. Something the Endless Forest would provide.

He also said his goodbyes to his other first-year friends. They all already had plans to create a team to adventure with during their break. It wouldn't be in a dangerous place like the Endless Forest, but Joshua and Tia's families were going to procure specific rifts for them to train in.

They knew that they couldn't ask Julius to join. He was Tier 3 already when they were still making their way through Tier 2. It just wouldn't make sense. No matter how much Polux wanted him to join them, they all knew it was impossible.

Speaking of Polux, the wolfkin boy was simultaneously thrilled with Julius and very upset. He was happy because his bet that Julius would earn a top sixteen spot earned him a lot of money. But he was also upset because he had put an extra bet that Julius would win the whole thing.

Since Julius never showed up, Polux lost a good amount of money. With that being said, Polux still came out way ahead, so he couldn't be that mad.

When Julius spoke with Reinera, he offered her to come along with them to the Endless Forest, but she declined firmly. There were things she needed to do for her family this break and it had something to do with what she had already been doing for them.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't explain to him what it was. That led Julius to believe that whatever it was, it was a family secret. Perhaps, it was some kind of Royal Family tradition that would only happen when someone reached Tier 3. Or it could be something totally different. He really had no idea.

She was sad when she explained to him that she couldn't come along. But promised that she would see him before the Inter-School Tournament. She had managed to convince her family to let her go and watch when the time came. Which apparently wasn't that hard since the Royal Family was the one hosting the tournament in the capital.

He also had some time to talk to Gabriel, who gave him some important advice coming from someone who had spent time in the Endless Forest. He had told Julius that it was important to watch out for people as much as he did for monsters.

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There were other people who were trying to make money by hunting monsters and other organizations who used the Endless Forest to train their young. This meant that fights between people were quite commonplace.

There were also few regulatory organizations that held many people accountable. The main authority that people recognized was the Adventurers Guild. It was where most of the people went to exchange their materials, cores, and other various things. It was also where missions were posted about particularly dangerous rifts or groups of monsters roaming around.

However, the Adventurer's Guild was very hands-off. They only stepped in during rare cases or when it was a dispute concerning guild business. If it was personal, they usually let the people figure it out for themselves.

It didn't take that long for Julius and the others to arrive at Lord Holten's property. There were a pair of guards standing in front of the gates, each of them looking very disciplined.

When Derek walked up to them, they appeared that they already knew who he was and preemptively opened the gates.

"Lord Holten is expecting you all, Lord Zenith," one of the guards said.

Derek nodded and gestured for the rest of them to follow him inside, where they were approached by a servant who took them throughout the home and into the backyard, where they spotted two people.

Julius recognized both of them. One of them was Lord Holten, and the other was the young man he had met in the city. From the looks of it, Lord Holten was in the middle of sparring with his apprentice.

Franklin was using a real sword and doing his best to fend off Lord Holten, who was using a dulled sparring blade covered in a layer of the man's mana. It was quite impressive to watch. Both parties were clearly skilled, each movement was sharp, and he would think the entire spar was choreographed if he didn't know better.

However, upon closer inspection, Julius noticed some discrepancies between the two men. Lord Holten had a slightly different style from Franklin. He was likely limiting his speed for the weaker man's sake, but Julius didn't think that would have made a difference. Lord Holten never seemed like he was in a rush.

Each swing was calm and somewhat easy to track, but it almost felt like each strike was inevitable, as if there was no doubt that his sword would land where he wanted. Franklin relied more on his speed and power, but that didn't help him in front of Lord Holten.

The lord casually batted each swing to the side and eventually managed to break Franklin's guard, thrusting the tip of his sparring sword into Franklin's chest.

Franklin grunted in pain and backed off, breathing heavily as his master gave him some pointers.

After Lord Holten was done, he gave his attention to the five of them. He must have already sensed them when they arrived. Franklin, on the other hand, seemed a little shocked to see them all standing nearby. His eyes trailed toward Julius for longer than he had with the others, but Julius didn't pay him much attention.

Although he was still annoyed by the redhead, he wasn't about to start causing trouble in Lord Holten's home. For the time being, he would just ignore the brash young man. It would probably be for the better.

"I see you guys are early," the lord commented.

Derek shrugged. "Better early than late."

"True enough. Are you all prepared? Or do you guys need some time to gather more things?"

"I think we have everything we need for now. If we need anything else, we can always grab it when we get there," Derek said.

"I would recommend getting it here while you can. Except for certain items, the prices in the Endless Forest are incredibly inflated. If you guys are going to use this trip to gain experience as 'normal' graduates, it would be smart to start building healthy habits, especially when it comes to preparing equipment and resources. Not everyone has the money and connections you guys have," Lord Holten said to Derek kindly but also firmly.

Julius had to agree with the man. The others had told Julius that they wanted to use this adventure to gain experience without relying on their Houses or families too much. This was a tradition some Houses chose to follow with their young. It helped build character and forced their young to rely on themselves.

However, if they wanted to do it properly, they would have to start thinking about money with a little more care. They couldn't be throwing money around like they were used to.

Derek didn't take Lord Holten's words as an insult. He nodded agreeingly. "Lily has procured us many potions that should last us a while. We also have special items that should help deter monsters if we ever camp out in the forest. But I assume we won't even know what we need until we experience it for ourselves, which is why I said we would get what we need later."

Lord Holten grinned. "Well, in that case, let's head on over. It's early, but it shouldn't be a problem."

Lord Holten took all of them to a teleportation circle set up in the man's estate. Julius could sense an extraordinarily large amount of mana already filling the enchantments. He could also sense the ripples of space that the teleportation array was putting out with his Space Concept.

After Alice explained to him the differences between what space people typically used for space magic and the one he used, he was able to see a few small differences. These spatial ripples felt much more... predictable. They weren't like the waves he experienced in the void. These ones were like a soft symphony of sounds, whereas the void was just chaotic waves crashing into him.

He didn't really pay any attention to what Lord Holten was telling them, since he was so focused on examining the array. But he followed right beside the others as Lord Holten had them all stand on the platform and activate the array. Teleporting them away from Heston and off to the Endless Forest for a new adventure.