Path to Transcendence

Chapter 717: Draught of the Golden Soulspring

Julius was finally able to pull away from Thorik, but not after he’d already swallowed a large amount of the liquid.

“What the hell was that?” Julius asked, wiping the foam from his lips. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was quite delicious. If it wasn’t a matter of pride, he would have asked for a second taste of it.

Thorik didn’t respond; instead, he stared at Julius intensely, as if waiting for something.

“What are you looking for?” Julius asked and began to inspect his body, worried. Not even three seconds later, he felt something explode in his stomach. He collapsed to his knees and felt a surge of power rush through his body, burrowing deep into his soul.

You have consumed [Draught of the Golden Soulspring]. Your soul is undergoing a transformation…

Then came the pain.

He was quite proud of his pain tolerance. He’d experienced so much of it that he wasn’t scared of pain anymore. But pain from the soul was always more agonizing, and this time it was no different.

He gasped breathlessly as he felt a thousand needles stab into his soul and begin injecting something into it. Even more worrisome was the way his soul was being stretched and pulled. He knew his soul better than anyone, and while it was stronger than almost anyone at Tier 4, there were limits to it.

He gathered all his willpower and used it to surround his soul, forming a protective bubble to keep everything contained and preserve its shape. [Calm Before Ruin] was fully activated and was the only thing keeping him ahead of this transformation.

He grunted as another burst of energy rippled throughout his soul. He knew if he wasn’t able to support his soul as it underwent this process, it would end up damaged. And while he was used to soul damage, he didn’t know if this would be something he could completely heal from. It wouldn’t be surface damage, but serious structural damage to his soul.

It was only after half an hour of clawing and writhing on the floor that the pain started to abate. His muscles were sore from being so tense, and his willpower was worn out. He felt Drasil had already helped him by infusing some of his life mana into his soul, but the fatigue wasn’t something life mana alone could fix immediately.

He had a throbbing headache from the intense usage of such a powerful focus skill like [Calm Before Ruin]. Fortunately, that was something [Phoenix Incarnate] was able to heal without much issue. He let out a sigh of relief as the pain slowly faded into the background.

“What the hell was that?” Julius asked with a glare at Thorik.

“It’s a little concoction I made using the Golden Springs below Goldmere,” Thorik said proudly, holding up the mug he’d been drinking from. He didn’t even seem bothered that he literally forced that experience onto Julius. Rather, he seemed pleased with himself.

“I thought that was just ale,” he muttered as he sat on his butt.

“It is! I brewed it myself, and I must say, it came out quite well,” Thorik said with a pleased smile while taking another swig of the ale, and wiping the foam from his beard.

Julius wanted to punch the man, but it was clear that just because Thorik was injured, it didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of dealing with Julius with a flick of his finger. Still, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, that ale was pretty amazing.

He could already feel his soul recovering at a shocking rate. It was also clear that consuming that [Draught of Golden Soulspring] had done a lot for his soul. It wasn’t by too much, but he could feel that his soul had marginally increased in strength. Not only that, but he could feel that its properties had changed as well.

Nothing too dramatic or anything like that. But it was almost like his soul had become more pliable and elastic. If his soul had been like an orb of steel before, it was like there was a softened layer surrounding it now.

“Hmmm, just as I thought, improving your soul is going to require multiple doses,” Thorik said, suddenly close to Julius’s face.

Julius pushed the dwarf away. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, if we are going to push your soul to its third evolution, you are going to need to drink more of it.”

Julius stared at him with a flat expression. “You want to give me more?”

“Yeah, I estimate that as long as you get to your third soul evolution, you will be able to help me without experiencing any long-term side effects.”

“Is that even possible?”

Thorik shrugged. “I’ve never heard of someone within Tier 4 undergoing their third soul evolution; that is something that is typically reserved for Tier 5s. But I have also never met anyone with a soul as strong as yours. You are also pretty close to it. You must have another legendary skill on top of that healing one for it to be that close.”

“Will I survive it?” Julius questioned with a frown.

Thorik stroked his beard. “Probably? I’m not sure, but you should. I have several things that should save your soul and body, actually, if they collapse from the pressure of evolution, but that is sort of a last resort.”

“And why would I agree?”

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“Well, as you might have already guessed, I’m not giving you much of a choice. You are going to do this whether you like it or not,” Thorik said with a resolute nod. “Not that I suspect it will come to that. Now that you have seen how good that draught is, I suspect you will accept it without me having to pressure you into it.”

Julius laughed loudly. “Ha! What makes you think that?”

Thorik looked at him with what almost looked like pity. “Because I’ve seen people like you before. You wonʼt shy away from this because youʼll get stronger, and with the strength, youʼll be able to help whoever you want without regret.”

Julius didn’t like how close to the truth Thorik was.

“Plus, you’re probably looking at ways to get your soul stronger anyway. You need it if you want to get another legendary skill or at least use the ones you have without worry. There’s no doubt you’ve already realized the limitations your soul places on such powerful skills.”

Julius scoffed and looked away. Thorik was right again. He had been looking for ways to improve his soul. He’d been putting off a lot of his progression because of the limitations of his soul. But there weren’t many options to improve his soul. The only ones without any nasty side effects he’d come up with were special rift rewards. That was why he planned to travel around Corvus. He wanted to go into rifts and see if he could get something like a Soul Enhancement reward.

He gritted his teeth and thought about the offer. To be honest, he wasn’t mad about the offer. He felt confident in his healing skills and his willpower to handle such a procedure.

Truthfully, the thing that was holding him back was the fact that Thorik didn’t seem to be giving him an option. He didn’t like that. He hated being forced into it, whether he wanted to or not.

Stupid Tier 6s always doing what they want, he cursed internally. Once again, he was proven that power was what mattered in this world.

“Fine,” he said with a scowl.

“Oh, don’t be such a grouch. This is going to be great for both of us,” Thorik said, patting Julius encouragingly on the back.

“You’re not the one who has to deal with the agony of getting your soul ripped apart,” he pointed out.

“Fair, but my soul has already been ripped apart, which is why I need you to do this for me,” Thorik responded, his lips downturned.

Julius grumbled a bit, but eventually nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

***

Analia POV

She didn’t know what happened, but one moment she was inside the trial with her sectmates, trying to hunt down one more Obsidian Horror, but then they were suddenly yanked through some kind of spatial gate and landed in the chamber that resembled the first few floors.

There was a weird fatigue, though. It was almost like she had her aura forcibly drawn from her body. She wasn’t the only one, either. Kyler and Miles were sitting on the ground beside her, holding their heads.

“Did we fail?” Kyler asked with a wince.

She cradled her head and was quickly greeted by a notification.

Time has elapsed… You have not qualified for the next floor’s trial. You will be removed from the Obsidian Vault in one hour once you have been given time to recover. Rewards have been generated based on your performance and contribution.

She fell back to the ground, her head lying against the cold stone. They had indeed failed to go on to the next portion of the trial. She cursed to herself and started to evaluate what they could have done better, specifically, what she could have done better.

However, when she did that, she also recalled the young teen she had come across earlier. She was almost certain that he had passed the trial. She didn’t know how he did it. How was he able to take down a monster that required the combined efforts of the three of them so easily?

She wanted to ask him some questions. But alas, he eluded her and was probably moving on to the next portion.

“Might as well look at what I got,” she mumbled to herself.

Congratulations, you have received…

Aura Enhancement PotionSkill Refinement Pill (Lightning Affinity)Stormbreaker’s Robe (Soul Bound)
She sat there in silent shock at what she managed to get from the trial. A sparkling bottle of a blue and viscous liquid appeared in her left hand. In her right, there was a small rice-sized pill that flickered occasionally with lightning mana. Then, folded on her lap was a black-and-white robe with fine threads of gold interwoven into it.

She looked at the sparkling potion first. It was something that perfectly fit her needs. A lot of her abilities relied on her aura control. Hence, receiving an Aura Enhancement Potion was a godsend and would strengthen her abilities all across the board.

The pill was something else, though. Normally, she would never even consider or look at a treasure that improved one’s skill. While people often took them as a way to gain levels quickly and get stronger. She knew it was a cheap and shortsighted strategy. She wasn’t about to possibly sacrifice her long-term potential for a few quick levels. That was for people already stuck at a bottleneck for years.

However, this pill was different. The fact that it said “refinement” was an indicator as much. It wasn’t a simple Skill Improvement Pill; it was a treasure that would refine her skill rather than a straight-up improvement. It was an infinitely more valuable reward. One that many people in the Thundering Heavens Sect would pay a lot for, especially the older elders who’ve stalled out their advancement.

She was planning to use it for herself, though. It would be great to use if she ever needed to break through a bottleneck or wanted to develop an improved version of a skill later on. She already had a few ideas for which skills she would use it for.

The last item she received was the most mysterious but also the most promising. A soul-bound item was always something people hoped to get. They were pretty rare, and a good one as versatile as this one seemed like it would be even more desirable.

She didn’t waste any time, quickly binding it to her soul. The robe vanished the second she did this, and with a simple thought, she was able to don the robe over her shoulders. The second she put it on, it was like a bolt of lightning flowed through her. Her connection to lightning mana had never felt as easy and clear. It was like she was able to feel every speck of it within a hundred feet.

Not only that, but she could already feel that her control over it had increased as well. It was a greater increase than from her specialized sect robe. It was hard to know in what ways, and she would need to do some more investigation, but even if all there was to it was the robe, it would be extremely valuable.

She glanced over at Kyler and Miles, who had similarly received rewards of their own. They still seemed distracted by them, and while they sorted it all out, her mind started to drift. She couldn’t help but think about her interaction with that other boy again. She hadn’t told the others about her interaction with him yet. She kept that secret for now.

Though she wondered if she would be able to find him when they all exited the realm. If so, she needed to ask him a few things and maybe see if he was already part of any sect. He didnʼt have any lightning affinity from what she could tell, but she doubted the elders would deny someone as powerful as him from entering just because of that.