Path to Transcendence

Julius loomed over the crater he had just created, and the young man was coughing as he lay there.

It was because of this man's intervention that the assassin got away, and then he had the gall to start reprimanding Julius as if he were in the right?

Julius shook his head angrily and used his kinetic energy to blast the man even deeper into the hole, reaching out his aura to do the same thing he was just doing to the woman before this idiot had interrupted.

"Maybe next time you should assess the situation before you fuck everything up," Julius said as he leaned down and hissed in the young man's reddening face. "Now, because of you, I won't know who attacked me."

The man in the hole let out another cough. "What?"

Julius clenched his fists. "Yeah, that is kind of the whole problem," he said bitterly.

He was about to punch the man just to make himself feel better when he was alerted to something appearing right behind him.

With the recent attack still fresh on his mind, he reacted instantly to the person who was reaching out to grab him. He threw an elbow behind him, but was surprised when it was easily grabbed out of the air.

All of his momentum was stopped, and he felt something wrap around him. He knew right away that a Domain had just been deployed, and before he could think better of it, he sent a rippling explosion from his soul. The same technique he used when he fought Tier 5.

And just like how it had been back then, the Domain lost its grip over him, and he was able to move once more, stepping back and creating a salvo of constructs over his shoulder.

He didn't throw them quite yet, because for one, he was still quite aware that he was in a populated area. He didn't wish to hurt anyone accidentally. At least not more than he might have already done.

Secondly, the man who had appeared behind him and deployed his Domain wasn't attacking. He was simply looking at Julius with a pair of curious eyes.

Being met by someone stronger quickly calmed him down, and he examined the person more closely.

He noticed right away that this man was wearing practically the same clothing as the man who interrupted Julius and let the assassin get away.

The only difference was that this man's clothing was slightly nicer, and he had a very fancy-looking badge on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Julius asked.

The man didn't respond to his question and instead asked one of his own to the man Julius had in the dirt. "What is happening here, Franklin?"

"Master, I was stopping the boy from attacking a young lady in the middle of the street," the young redhead said defensively.

"And yet I see you are the one who is lying in a hole…"

The young redhead didn't seem to have a response to that statement. He merely looked away in embarrassment.

"What did I say about meddling in things that don't concern you, boy?" The man said with a sigh, clearly disappointed.

"But he was attacking an innocent girl! You can't expect me not to do something when it's right in front of me!"

"Do you even know if that was the case? What if the girl was the person attacking him?" The Tier 5 sighed.

"Thank you," Julius muttered, grateful that at least one person seemed to have some sense.

"I heard her screaming-"

"Screaming is not a signifier of innocence. If you insist on breaking my instructions, you should at the very least observe the situation before you act."

The young man was about to argue, but the Tier 5's brief flash of aura quickly dissuaded him from that.

"Enough, I will deal with you later," The redhead's apparent Master said with a wave of his hand. "Clean yourself up while I talk to this young boy."

The Tier 5 bowed slightly toward Julius. "I apologize for my apprentice's actions. It would seem that he has done you a disservice."

"You don't believe I attacked that woman?" Julius asked, a little confused at the man's apparent confidence that he was the wronged party. While he was grateful, he expected something a little closer to his apprentice's reaction.

"I don't know what happened, but the poison coursing through your body is quite the indicator that you were attacked with malice."

"Poison?" Julius heard the redhead exclaim in surprise.

Julius was impressed. The man's Domain had only encapsulated him for a moment, but apparently that was enough for the man to see that Julius was poisoned.

The man removed a bottle of something from his storage ring. "Here, this is a general antidote that should help take care of the poison. You seem to be doing well enough, but it won't hurt to be safe."

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Julius didn't make any moves to accept the potion. He wasn't just going to drink something that this man handed over. He knew better than to accept candy from strangers.

The Tier 5 smiled knowingly. "Fair enough."

The man then turned to his apprentice. "How did you find yourself buried in that hole over there, Franklin?"

Franklin quickly brushed the dirt from his clothes. Then he turned his head downward and blushed. "I was taken by surprise, master."

The Tier 5 examined Julius again. "Yes, it would seem that you did."

As this happened, Julius suddenly sensed a large barrier surrounding the area. Right afterward, he spotted several guards show up. However, the man didn't react at all and calmly watched as the guards approached.

"Ah, Lord Holten! It is an honor to see you again. It would appear that we are too late and you have already settled this matter," one of the leaders of the guards said with grateful smile.

"Yes, I have some questions I still need to ask, but your presence isn't required. You and your men may leave Rene. I am sure there are many more issues with the tournament going on."

The man bowed deeply, not even blinking an eye at the swift dismissal. "Understanding, as always, Lord Holten. Please just let us know if there is anything we can assist you with," he said before promptly turning away and leaving. The barrier still remained despite their departure.

Lord Holten merely nodded but didn't look at the guard. The entire time, he had been staring at Julius with a focused intensity.

Julius, on the other hand, frowned as the city guards left just as quickly as they arrived.

What was that? One word from this man and they just leave? He thought to himself, not quite understanding what was going on anymore.

When it was just the three of them once again, the man spoke to Julius.

"What is your name, boy?"

Julius sighed and looked around. Once the guards had deployed the barrier, the rest of the people who had risked staying behind to watch had run away. He wondered if the others were trying to find him. He had been gone for a while, and it was likely they were walking around trying to find him.

Furthermore, he was trying to focus on healing the poison that was still stubbornly trying to kill him.

It was quite the persistent poison. [Phoenix Renewal] could hold it back, but it couldn't cleanse it thoroughly. Or at least not right away. There was some progress, but it was still slow work.

His nonresponse to Lord Holten didn't go unnoticed, and he felt the man's Domain activate once again. This time, it wasn't as aggressive, but it was more of a warning than anything else—a promise that the man could be much less courteous.

However, this still somewhat affected his mana control, which in turn affected his healing skill. This meant that the poison had an easier time fighting back.

Seeing that his work was slowly unraveling, he clenched his fists, and that familiar feeling of annoyance resurged. The recent attack on him and the subsequent loss of the attacker already left him with a sour taste in his mouth, and this wasn't helping.

Therefore, just like he had a moment ago when the man used his Domain for the first time, he released a pulse from his soul, disrupting the effects the Domain had on his mana.

He ignored the surprised look of the lord and gave a sharp warning look toward the man before closing his eyes to concentrate on the more critical issue.

***

Demetrius Holten POV

He was intrigued.

The boy in front of him appeared to be a Tier 3 by all appearances, but a few things directly contradicted this.

For one, the boy was somehow able to smash poor little Franklin into the ground like it was nothing. He had seen some amazing talents that could leap tiers. He was even one of them. He had beaten a fair share of Tier 4s when he was a Tier 3.

However, those situations were very specific and usually against a monster he had a huge advantage over. He had also been on the very cusp of Tier 4 during that period, with him already having a pseudo Authority.

Secondly, his Domain had been rendered relatively ineffective by the boy's weird technique. While he hadn't been using it as firmly as he could have, there was no question that a person normally couldn't function when in the presence of a Domain.

It was the big reason why Tier 5 was such a significant jump in power. Domains were just that powerful.

Yet, this boy in front of him had removed its influence somehow.

The same boy who was ignoring him at the moment. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It wasn't very often that people so blatantly ignored him. He was a powerful Tier 5, not some peasant you might find shoveling a field.

However, he could excuse this rude behavior because the boy was rightfully upset at the situation.

"What did you mean by poison, master?" His apprentice asked him as they both stared at the odd boy in front of them.

"Yes, the woman seemed to have inflicted our mysterious boy here with a kind of deadly poison," he said with an admonishing glare at his apprentice.

Franklin only then seemed to understand the depth of his mistake and what he had done, looking down at his feet, guilt rolling off of him in waves.

He sighed and reminded himself that this was why he was training Franklin. The brash boy needed to learn how to temper his actions and exercise self-control. He too often shoved himself into situations he had no business interfering with.

Perhaps this little incident would provide a good learning moment for his apprentice. Demetrius could tell that Franklin was disturbed at how easily the lower-tiered boy got the better of him. Franklin was too used to being stronger than his peers, something Demetrius believed was a reason why he was so brash at times.

He then turned to examine the boy, who had quite a powerful feeling of mana surging through his body.

Demetrius wasn't surprised when the boy didn't reach out to take the antidote from him. He wouldn't trust a stranger's potion either. Plus, he didn't believe the boy needed any help whatsoever. His skill seemed to be holding back the potent poison well enough on its own.

And while it hadn't completely taken care of the substance, it was only about time before it did.

While they waited, he made sure to examine this resistance or healing skill. Whatever it was, it was obvious it was very powerful and was backed by an equally powerful Concept. There was no other way for it to overcome the potent Death Concept he felt emanating from the poison.

The boy was becoming more of a mystery the more Demetrius observed. How was a Tier 3 able to have the strength and speed to slam Franklin into the ground, have a powerful poison resistance skill, the ability to break through a Domain, as well as somehow have a high enough perception that he was able to detect Demetrius when he teleported behind him?

It didn't make any sense, and he wanted to find out some answers. So even if he had to wait another whole day, he would sit right where he was and wait patiently. But he also noticed that the entire time, the boy didn't seem the slightest bit threatened by their presence.

Not something he normally experienced when he was in the proximity of anyone below Tier 5. He had been annoyed about being pulled away from his duties, but now he was somewhat glad. It was always nice to see something interesting.