Ascension: Online

Koroth, Nadeshiko, and Ming Yi who was still wearing his mask stepped onto the stage.

"Now then, I shall announce the rewards for the three podium finishers," Elder Ning said, turning to Hina-nee, Furuwa, and I. "Sakura Hina and Chiaki Furuwa, tied for third place, will each receive a Spirit Pill plus 50,000 gold, and as for our grand champion, Igarashi Kaze… you shall receive a Spirit Pill, 100,000 gold, and any one wish that your heart desires. So? What will it be?"

The audience roared in jealousy after hearing this, but I kept a neutral expression.

"My wish… is it possible to hold off on it?" I asked mysteriously as Koroth turned to me in shock.

After all, I had promised him I would use my wish for him. Don't worry, Koroth… you'll get what you want. This is all within my calculations.

"Naturally," Elder Ning replied. "That is, only if you choose to enter our sect."

I laughed. "I have a choice?"

"Of course. We do not force anyone to join our sect — though no one has ever turned down a direct invitation before."

"I see. Well, I see no reason to refuse."

"And the rest of you?" Elder Ning turned to the rest of us on the stage.

Everyone shook their heads, signaling they had no objections to entering the sect.

"Perfect. In that case…" she smiled wryly. "You are all now informal disciples of the Blessing Nature Sect!"

We blinked in surprise.

"Huh? Informal?"

Elder Ning folded her arms. "You haven't even stepped foot inside the sect yet, how can you be called formal disciples?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Tonight, pack all of your belongings, and tomorrow morning, gather here at 8 AM. Prepare yourselves — the Blessing Nature Sect is like no other."

*****

Right after the announcements were finished and we all received our respective rewards, Koroth came seeking me out, just as I had expected.

"…" he patted me on the shoulder wordlessly, like a creep.

I sighed and motioned for him to follow me before retreating to a private alleyway, perfect for short, secretive conversations.

"…A-" Koroth opened his mouth to talk, but I quickly cut him off.

"Yes, yes… I already know what you're going to ask. Don't worry, you'll get the herbs. I have my ways. Firesaffron, Bloodmint, and Hailflower, right? Relax."

"… But you promised to use your wish for getting me them," he gritted his teeth, unsatisfied.

I wagged my finger. "Nuh-uh. I promised to get you them — I never said I would use my wish to do so. Just calm down and do as I say. Once you get into the sect…"

I leaned into his ear and whispered my instructions.

"Got that?" I said once I backed away.

"… I see. I understand now."

"Good. Now, let's get out of here."

*****

After Koroth and I went our separate ways, I regrouped with the girls and decided to head out to do some XP farming. Aisa took this opportunity to make Nadeshiko's real body enter this world as well. Too many power outages so close to each other would be suspicious, so she waited a bit before doing so as Hina-nee's was not long ago.

With this, all three of them now possessed the same passive-stat-leveling powers as me. That would mean they need to do the Vault of Deception as well if they wanted to hide their stats, but I could just tell them what to expect, so it shouldn't be all that hard. In fact, that's where we were heading right now.

In the Quirrel Forest, I set a waypoint on the Vault of Deception. Since I'd already been there once before, the location was saved on my minimap. This made it incredibly easy to reach our destination, taking only around half an hour.

Before leaving the city, we had bought some food to eat on the go while we walked for lunch, and also picked up some quests from the Hunter's Guild. We were planning on doing this all in one trip without having to go back to the city, in order to save time.

Since only one person could go in the Vault of Deception at a time, we decided to have the other four of us complete quests and farm XP while that person went in. Then, we rotate. Maximizing efficiency in the use of our time was always good, especially since we were trying to get stronger as fast as possible.

The first one to go in was Hina-nee, and once she was done, Furuwa would be next. Finally, it would be Nadeshiko's turn. I had some… special plans for her, hence why I made her go last.

Both Hina-nee and Furuwa managed to beat the Vault without any problems, after listening to everything I told them from learning the hard way. With this, it was finally Nadeshiko's turn. Once she jumped down into the hole within the tree, I began my plan.

"Aisa. Don't give her the Claws of Deception."

"… Why?"

"I don't trust her enough to give her such a dangerous and stealthy weapon. She'll definitely try and murder me with it."

Aisa sighed. "Very well, I can see where your concerns are coming from."

"That goes for you two as well," I said, turning to Hina-nee and Furuwa. "Don't tell her about the Claws of Deception."

"Hehe, don't worry, I know."

"… Whatever you want."

Once they all agreed, we set out to do some more quests, letting Aisa remain here to watch over the Vault.

*****

By the time we were all done, it was already evening. 6 PM, in particular. I leveled up to Level 35 from Level 32, gaining 30 SP and 12 AP. Hina-nee and Furuwa both leveled up to Level 34, gaining the same rewards as me — just a level lower.

Of course, now that their real body was in this world as well, their stats passively leveled up as well quite a bit. Though they were still nowhere near me, they still were now far stronger than other players the same level as them.

Now, as for Nadeshiko…

"Level 50~" she giggled happily as a hologram appeared in front of her right after she made her final kill on a snowolf. "10 SP, 4 AP. Okay~ let's see…"

We all stared at her in anticipation, waiting for the big breakthrough to happen.

Nadeshiko suddenly closed her eyes and sat down, compelled by a mysterious force. She crossed her legs and set her scythe down on the grass beside her, meditating calmly.

I gulped nervously as the other girls did the same. Tension was in the air as an ominous black and pink glow surrounded Nadeshiko. A dawning energy filled the air, dark yet glorious. The strands of energy matched her hair and eyes' color scheme, fitting her perfectly.

The energy surrounding her suddenly began spinning around rapidly, faster and faster with Nadeshiko at the center. Then, they all flew into her body at once, near the center of her abdomen.

Nadeshiko's eyes shot open, pink eyes bright and dazzling. For a moment, I thought they appeared… sharper, clearer than before.

"Hm… this feels nice…" she murmured to herself, a smug grin on her face as she looked down at her own two hands.

She then opened her palm, and our eyes widened in surprise as a black and pink flame lit up in it.

"What is that…" Furuwa gasped.

Aisa closed her eyes as she explained calmly. "That is called Essence. Reaching the Core Foundation realm enables you to use your Essence in physical form."

"Essence, huh…" I murmured to myself. "When I used The Dragon's Shadow on Ling Tian Yu yesterday, he told me it failed because I ran out of Essence. What exactly is it?"

"Think of Essence as a different form of energy to physical stamina. All arts require Essence to cast — so what he said about you running out of Essence was not incorrect."

"Is there any way I can check how much Essence I have left, so that I don't run out in a critical situation like that ever again?" I asked, serious.

"Once you reach the Core Foundation Realm like Nakano Nadeshiko, you will be able to feel how much Essence you have remaining."

"Ah, I see…"

Nadeshiko then grinned and launched her Essence-made fire at a nearby tree, setting it on fire instantly.

"Woah…" her eyes brightened, gazing in awe at the damage she was causing.

The tree was burnt to a crisp in mere seconds. Luckily, it didn't spread, since I quickly stopped it with multiple Hydromancy spells.

"Nadeshiko… you do that again, and I'm kicking you out," I growled, shooting her a look of disdain.

"Mmph…" she pouted, folding her arms and looking away cutely.

"I would advise against using your Essence Arts like that so freely," Aisa interjected. "These use your Essence directly, meaning they require a lot more energy and can drain you instantly. As a mere Core Foundation Realm cultivator, you do not have much Essence at all, and once you are depleted of it, you will fall under a powerless, immobilized state like what happened to him yesterday."

She glanced at me, as if still wondering how I managed to escape certain death there.

"I'm assuming these Essence Arts are more powerful than your average hidden art?" I asked. "I mean, it took me multiple Aquabombs just now to counter."

"Correct. Essence Arts are far stronger than the average hidden art in terms of raw power. In addition, they can also be molded to be whatever the user wishes, allowing for far more creativity and freedom in fights. Essence Arts are commonly used by strong cultivators in fights to surprise their opponents."

"I see…" I murmured, sinking into thought. It seems getting to Level 50 and reaching the Core Foundation Realm would be incredibly useful to me.

"So, how do you replenish Essence?" Hina-nee asked curiously. "Kaze-kun just got it back from sleeping, but is there any other way?"

"Like I said, Essence is like normal stamina. You can naturally get it back through rest. However, there are also certain pills and elixirs that can replenish your Essence instantly… though these are not sold in Qilian City. They are, however, in the Blessing Nature Sect you all will be going to soon."

"Oh yeah…" Hina-nee snapped her finger as she stared at Aisa. "Speaking of that… will you even be able to come with us?"