Path to Transcendence

The teleportation felt nothing like Julius had experienced before. His new Concept allowed him a deeper understanding of what was going on more than ever. He could feel how much more organized and structured this teleportation felt compared to his own janky version.

He still wasn't able to experiment with [Void Step] all that much. There just wasn't enough time. However, he learned from the couple of uses that the skill was very similar to [Flash Step]. The main difference was that the movement was almost immediate. It didn't take him too much time to activate as he had feared.

On top of this, there wasn't any terrible dizziness when he was teleported. He would think of a spot and would appear there. He did feel a dangerous film covering his body whenever he teleported, though. It was almost as if the void was clinging onto him like a second skin, and if he lost concentration, it would tear him apart like it had previously. So he reminded himself to pay extra attention when using the skill.

He did find out a few things that he wished to experiment with in more detail, though. First, the skill had some room for variation. He could feel that if he wished to, he would be able to lengthen the distance traveled. It would probably take a longer activation period and would require more mana, but he felt like it was possible.

The downside of the skill was the absurd mana cost. Julius always had a lot of mana. Even when he was a Tier 2, he had more mana than several people combined, and it had only grown since he had gotten to Tier 3.

However, [Void Step] used a stupid amount for each activation. He believed he could only use it about ten or so times before he was out of mana. The travel distance would probably affect this cost. So if he was teleporting only a few feet, he might be able to double or triple the number of times, but still, that wasn't a lot.

He didn't think about it when he chose the skill, but he would likely need to rely on a manual version of [Flash Step] in the meantime. Thankfully, he was pretty well acquainted with the skill and didn't even need the skill anymore to help him, but it was still going to be a pain until he leveled up [Void Step]. Maybe he should try to get a kinetic version of [Flash Step] in the meantime, to help his movement when not teleporting.

He would need to test out his combat effectiveness beforehand though. Luckily, he was going to a place where he would be able to.

Eventually, the spatial ripples settled down, and he found himself standing on a stone platform along with the others. He looked around and noticed that the platform they were on was in the middle of a town square.

The town they were getting transported to was called Peralt. It was a town that bordered the Endless Forest, and while it wasn't one of the main towns near the forest, it was still quite populated.

Unlike Heston, the buildings that surrounded them were much more practical and plain. They weren't adorned with fancy enchantments and were mostly made of the same light gray stone or a dark wood. He could also see massive walls surrounding the town in the distance, even from where he was located. They were just that huge.

He knew that Peralt had to endure monster floods quite frequently, but he was still impressed by the large walls that protected the town. The walls were almost fifty feet tall and looked like they were made of the densest stone. On top of these walls he was able to see a bunch of guards patrolling the battlements.

He was surprised at how many people were around them. They weren't the only ones who were using this teleportation platform. Many other people were coming and going. They didn't even attract any attention from the people around them.

Lord Holten quickly took them and his apprentice away from the platform. They headed toward his residence, the one where the man stayed when he was in Peralt. Julius learned from Derek that Lord Holten was one of the lords that was put in charge of Peralt.

This meant that he helped govern and enforce the laws in the town. This was often a hard task since these towns were less regulated and were more akin to the Wild West than an actual civilized town.

Lord Holten let them settle in for a little bit while he went out and did some things. They used this time to talk about their plans.

"Is there a place where I can register as an adventurer?" He asked Lily.

"There should be a guild hall where you can register in the town, but are you sure you want to do that? Lord Holten told us that he would secure us our very own missions and rifts we can delve," she said to him.

"Remember, I told you I wanted to go off adventuring on my own," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to go off alone all the time. We can delve into the same rifts, and you can do your own thing," Aubrey said to him.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He shrugged. "I kind of want to be completely alone."

"Why?"

"I feel like I can take more risks when I am on my own," he said truthfully.

"You mean risks that could get you killed?" Derek asked, baffled at his answer.

He shrugged again. "I got some skills that help prevent that, but yeah, there is a certain element of danger. However, it is what I like and want to do. I also know that you guys can't take that risk. You have families and responsibilities beyond yourself that you have to keep in mind."

"You make it sound like you don't," Lily said with a frown.

"Look, I am not trying to die or anything. But upon further reflection, I was dying of boredom when I was at Goldencrest. I need something a little more exciting in my life," he said with a heavy sigh.

"You got attacked twice by assassins," Lily said blankly.

"What? What do you mean by twice?" Aubrey asked, completely confused when she heard Lily. Julius forgot that he or Lily hadn't told the others about how he had lured out the three assassins, and also had not mentioned the most recent attack. It kind of slipped his mind until now.

"Nothing," Julius said dismissively.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," Edgar said with narrowed eyes.

Julius deflated when he realized he wouldn't be able to get away with hiding the truth and gave Lily an accusing look. To which, she turned away from him guiltily. He then proceeded to tell them about the second attack and how Lily's family had intervened to protect him from any further attacks.

"You should have told us," Derek said with a disappointed glare.

"I had it handled. There wasn't much more that needed to be done. Lily and her father took care of Clan Genshen," Julius pointed out.

"Still, we should know when someone is trying to kill our friend," Aubrey argued. "I could have asked my mom to slap Clan Genshen around. She already dislikes them, so I doubt it would have taken much convincing."

Julius tilted his head and couldn't help but acknowledge how tempting that offer was. But shook his head. "It's okay. We can put a raincheck on that idea for now. I think House Violet has it handled for the time being."

"Okay, but from now on, you tell us when someone tries to kill you, promise?" Aubrey demanded.

Julius sighed but nodded in acceptance. He knew better than to fight her on this. She could be annoyingly stubborn on matters like this. Plus, he reminded himself that he wouldn't like it if someone tried to kill one of them and they didn't tell him. It was only fair that he did the same with them.

***

Once Lord Holten got back, the man took them out to go and meet the people who would be helping them get missions and information on where to go for rifts.

"Who exactly is helping us?" Edgar asked Lord Holten.

"Derek didn't tell you guys?" Lord Holten seemed befuddled at this.

"We didn't ask," Edgar said with a casual shrug. In truth, they all had just trusted Derek that he would make sure that everything was in order. The young man was quite particular about details and wouldn't let them all just walk into something sketchy.

"We are going to meet the Vice Guildmaster of the Stormcallers. They are a Guild based in Heston but uses Peralt to train their new members," Lord Holten explained.

Julius froze and immediately swiveled his head to stare at Derek questioningly. He had heard of the Stormcaller Guild before and he knew that Derek should have as well. He recalled that he had told Derek about his meeting with the Kiera woman as well as the offer she had made to Julius.

Was this a coincidence, or was it perhaps the Stormcaller's way to get closer to Julius?

Derek chuckled when he saw Julius's stare. "I know what you are thinking."

"And?"

"Their Vice Guildmaster is actually pretty good friends with Lord Holten. They might be using this as a way to get closer to you, but they can be trusted. The Stormcaller Guild has quite a solid reputation," Derek assured him.

"I can second that. Ronin is a good man, and his guild has always acted with honor. They are always the first ones to protect others and take the hardest missions, even if they have the lowest reward. So when Ronin came to me and extended the offer, I thought it was a very good one," Lord Holten said to all of them.

Lily looked at Julius questioningly. "Do you think there's an issue? We won't go if you feel uncomfortable with it."

He appreciated her mindfulness of his feelings, but shook his head. "I didn't feel like the woman was a bad person. Plus, like I said, I am going to sign up at the Adventurer's Guild anyway, so it won't matter to me."

Lord Holten looked at him with confusion. "You don't plan to team up with your friends?"

Julius shook his head. "I am sure we can do some rifts together. But I already have plans to do a lot of adventuring on my own."

"I don't mean to pry, but the Endless Forest isn't like other rifts you might have delved at Goldencrest. They aren't carefully monitored or regulated. People die every day, and a team can really help you survive," the lord advised him.

"That's what we have been trying to tell him," Aubrey muttered under her breath.

Julius ignored her and nodded gratefully at the man for his concern. "I understand. But my decision remains the same."

Lord Holten seemed like he wanted to try to argue, but let it be.

"Well, in that case, let's head to the Adventurer's Guild first. It's closer, and it wouldn't be a bad idea for all of you to register there. They don't have any restrictions on people who wish to join. You only need to pay a fee for the examination," Lord Holten said, changing directions to where Julius suspected the guild hall was.

He didn't know why, but for some reason, Julius felt weirdly excited about the prospect of signing up as an adventurer.