Godspawn Ascendant [LitRPG, Epic Progression Fantasy]

I caught Nic up on everything about the caverns, all the way down to the empty treasure room and my quick advancement to Tier 7. Nic stood in his favorite position, arms crossed and dark helmet poised in my direction. I couldn't help but wonder if Nic actually listened to me as I spoke or if he listened to anyone else, for that matter. He could easily get away with pretending to make eye contact with someone, then just nod along as if he were still a great conversationalist.

About five minutes into my speech, Eira ceased projecting her ghostly form and faded back into the flat disc settled safely in the recesses of my satchel that I'd propped against a far wall. I didn't blame her for retreating as I spoke. It could be boring to have to listen to someone drone on about things you'd already lived through.

My mouth suddenly went dry as I concluded my rendition of the recent happenings. I smacked my lips together, my throat growing even more parched as Nic's emotionless helmet face remained directed toward me as he stood silent for at least another 30 seconds.

I moved backward toward my satchel in an effort to retrieve the waterskin I'd brought with me, but that's when Nic decided to finally start talking,

"Well, one of the first things you should do is check on your Soul Strength."

"But won't someone in the academy grow suspicious of my sudden increase in Tiers?"

Nic sighed. "You'd be surprised how little the administration actually pays attention to individual students' Tier status."

I frowned. That didn't make sense. The headmaster and everyone else had been highly involved when I was a mere Tier 2–they'd almost not even allowed me to enroll in the school.

"Once a student is enrolled, the scrutiny about how far the student climbs in the program is not of much consequence to the administration," Nic said as if reading my mind. "All they care about is a healthy number of students and encouraging each one to reach Tier 10 before their five years of enrollment is up. And they care about students following the academy rules. Beyond that, I wouldn't worry about the headmaster or someone else paying much attention to how quickly you reached Tier 7."

"Besides," Nic continued with a nonchalant shrug as he turned to begin pacing the length of the arena, "you have a neural implant in your head. If they wanted to spy on you, they're already doing that."

I mindlessly felt along my right temple where the implant had been inserted. That settled it; I wanted the device out of my head!

Maybe Nic knows how I can remove it, I thought. But will they kick me out of the academy–no, the entire city if I remove it? Where would I even go if they did?

However, if the implant was removed, perhaps that would reactivate Codex. If anything, he could help me find a way off this planet.

I opened my mouth to ask Nic about these things, but it seemed he wasn't done talking. I knew from unfortunate experience that Nic didn't like to be interrupted.

"Now, these caverns…" Nic trailed off and ceased his pacing. "What an interesting find. You say Cinthara discovered their existence?"

"Yes, but she needs my DNA to open them. We discovered that much with our first cavern."

"First cavern? You intend to delve into more?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all. I encourage it. But," Nic raised a finger in front of his helmet, "I am coming with the two of you next time."

I drew my lips into a tight line. "Well, I should ask Cinthara–"

"No. This is not a request. I am coming." Nic folded his arms over his chest, and I could feel his hidden eyes boring into me. "It would be remiss of me, as a teacher, to know that two students are leaving the city without permission to fight dangerous monsters by themselves. Having me with you will only prove helpful. You yourself said that the two of you barely came out alive in that fight against the… dragon, you called it?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. He had some great points, but I didn't know how Cinthara would react to this new addition to our party. She might even berate me for telling Nic about the caverns at all.

"Yeah, it was a dragon."

"Who knows what you'll come across next?" Nic said. "Having me as backup is a good idea. You can also consider my presence as an opportunity for some extra, much-needed training."

I puffed up my chest. "Hey!" I scoffed. "I'm getting better."

"Better but not near what you could be. Even I have leagues of learning and training to endure if I ever wanted to reach the God Tiers."

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What Tier is Nic in? I wondered. I didn't dare voice the question aloud, knowing the helmeted Lord Solomon clone would only stonewall me like he always did when I asked him personal questions.

"Do you and Cinthara have a plan for when you'll take on the next cavern?"

"Tomorrow night at five. She's meeting me at the academy entrance."

Nic nodded. "I'll be there, as well. Tell me, how did the two of you leave the city without alerting anyone?"

"Cinthara showed me this hidden path…"

I scrunched up my nose in frustration. Cinthara had taken me down so many twists and turns and shadowed alleyways in the city before we'd reached the secret passage that led to the surface. I couldn't even begin to give Nic instructions on how to get there.

"I know many hidden paths in the city," Nic said. "I'm not surprised that she found one of them. Cinthara has always been keen on exploration and adventure."

There it was again. The few times Nic and I had had a conversation about Cinthara, he spoke as if he knew her.

"On to the topic of your new Skills," Nic said, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'm sure you're dying to try them out."

My back straightened, and I grinned in response.

"Unfortunately, I can't give you a proper test run with your new Skills."

My shoulders fell. "Why not?"

"Both your upgraded Skill Snare and your new Echo Snare only allow you to make use of spells cast by those Tier 7 or below." Nic craned his head back and stared up at an unseen thing on the ceiling as if reminiscing about something. "As you can probably guess, I am much higher than Tier 7."

"But can't you cast one of your lower-Tiered spells?"

Nic's dark helmet shook back and forth. "It doesn't work that way. Every once in a while, you will receive a brand new Skill, like your new Echo Snare, but a majority of the time, you'll only receive upgrades on Skills you already have as you Tier up."

That was true…. One of my earlier Skills, the Skill Snare, had upgraded itself to level three once I'd advanced to Tier 6.

"But I can still cast old, weaker spells I've duplicated in the past. If what you're saying is true, how am I still able to do that?"

I thought of the Water Manipulation spell I'd stolen from Priest Kane. I still had no issues summoning that spell. Dex had told me my memory banks would hold all the spells I'd stolen forever.

"Even your old, stolen spells will automatically upgrade themselves as you get stronger. For instance, as a Tier 7, spells you stole from, say, a Tier 3 would have their own stat increase. The damage to your spells gets better, the speed of them…"

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"My Codex told me."

I rolled my eyes at the familiar, aching feeling that came when something or someone reminded me that Dex was not in my head. I really needed my AI companion back. If Codex had never disappeared, he might've already told me this information. This extremely interesting information. If even the spells I stole upgraded themselves as I Tiered up, that meant I would be able to cast the spells in ways the people I stole them from never could. Not only could I steal spells, but eventually, I could cast them better and stronger than how they originated.

"Though I can't give you any practice," Nic continued, "I would recommend testing your new Skills out as soon as possible. Maybe when fighting a monster in one of these caverns. Cinthara surely hasn't advanced higher than Tier 7."

"I do have a work shift tonight," I said. "My new Scout team and I are going to the surface to–"

I bit my lip to shut myself up. We'd been warned by Gareth and the other Scout leaders to avoid mentioning the opening rifts and new monsters on the surface. They didn't want rumors to spread that would inevitably cause a panic throughout the city.

Nic sighed. "Ah, so you're a part of their new experiment. Elite Scout Support. The mysterious rift openings have brought on a desire to speed potential fighters through the process of becoming full-on Scouts."

I sighed in relief. He already knew.

Glad that I hadn't accidentally revealed a dire secret, I responded with, "Yeah, I am. Our team is called Elite Group #1."

Nic tapped gloved fingers along his thigh and left me in an uncomfortable, ten-second silence. Then he finally said, "Be careful with that. But yes, that's a good opportunity to test out your new Skills. I'm sure your teammates–if you all truly had been recruited as mere Scout Supports– are not above Tier 7."

"Any advice?" I tried to not allow any hints of fear to leak through as I spoke, but the severity in Nic's tone as he warned me to be careful didn't bode well with my gut.

"Always use essence to your advantage. I have said this many times, but that is our biggest strength as Lord Solomon clones."

His helmeted face turned toward me, and I felt as if I could almost see the intense stare of his blue eyes through the tinted visor. It's possible I imagined it–my brain could easily trick me since I knew his eyes would look exactly like mine but older. But even if I had imagined it, I took the acute gaze seriously.

"And don't take your essence awareness for granted. Recycle what you use in your spells, remain conscious of the presence of essence, and keep a steady course of streams running through your body at all times."

I nodded in response.

"With that said, let's practice recycling the essence you use when casting your spells."

I spent the next hour commanding water hammers and conjuring daggers through the air (two of my easier stolen spells) and immediately pulling essence streams out of them every time, pushing them back through my body in the recycling process Nic had taught me during our first training session.

I yawned after about the hundredth time I pulled all the essence from a floating water hammer and watched it splash to the floor. I quickly snapped my jaw shut as Nic chastised me for it.

"Teach your mind to remain alert–no matter how long you've been fighting or training! The recycling of essence should become so natural that you feel empty without streams not just in your Soul but throughout every inch of your existence."

I dropped my tired arms to my side and allowed myself a much-needed breather. It brought on an annoyed shake of Nic's head, but I ignored that.

"How do I know I've accomplished that?"

"When you feel as drained without the essence as you would if every drop of blood spilled from your veins."

I swallowed. That was intense. However, I believed his words. I remembered the crashing feeling of the essence enhancement of my body wearing off when first learning how to do this. It had felt like the worst hangover in all of existence. Perhaps Nic was trying to teach me how to avoid such a crash altogether. Was there a way I could always keep an essence enhancement in my body? Nic had said doing so temporarily increased all of my statistics–it would be substantial if I could do it on a permanent basis.

I looked to my teacher. He stood motionless and in a perfect state of calm. Was Nic practicing essence enhancement even now? Just standing there?

Nic clapped his hands together. "Do it again."