Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

In the ominously quiet lobby of the Observatory, the teleportation circle lit up around him as Alphonse refrained from staring while he nervously brushed off some inexistent dust off of his green tunic. The Seer Knights, all four of them, stood still at the four corners of the softly illuminated lobby, faces covered while their blue capes gently swayed in the permanent breeze that permeated the tower. They had forwent the heraldry of their factions and instead, a golden eye adorned the luxurious, iridescent blue threads.

Turning his attention back to the circle under him, he swallowed. It was channeling enough mana to obliterate his soul and turn his body to slag, but somehow, he felt like any of these guardians could channel as much power in just one of their spells, if not more.

No wonder no Sovereign ever tried to force their way in here. Well, not since the accords were signed, he mused as he sensed the various enchantments scan his spirit and body. While a Sovereign could eventually win against these four, they could definitely hold any invader long enough for reinforcements to arrive. After all, this realm was supposed to be a neutral ground.

Soon enough, the different scans finished up their work and confirmed his identity, at which point the magic wrapped itself softly around him for a second, lighting up his spiritual senses and muffling his perception before he was gently shoved into a dark, abyssal world. A moment later, the darkness was washed away, but barely. Instead of the well-lit chamber at the base of the Observatory's lobby, this ante-chamber was a bit less welcoming with its dark, lurid torches and its cold gray stone-walls.

Alphonse grimaced as the higher-tiered mana pushed at his spirit. As he took the first step out of the circle, he had to use his aura to lessen the pressure of the rift's energies.

At least this place doesn't spontaneously summon monsters, he thought with a shudder. Heaven knew the kind of damage a tier-7 monster could wreak.

Not losing any more time, he stepped out of the teleportation room into a well lit and busy lobby filled with rows upon rows of desks where the employees of the Observatory did… whatever the hell they did. He knew the Observatory did a lot of business with guilds and factions, watching for invaders and finding new realms and rifts to explore and exploit, but he didn't really know what the day-to-day looked like to the common agent.

Alphonse didn't envy them. While he'd bet the higher ups lived a comfortable life in the Observatory and could come and go as they pleased, he couldn't say the same for everyone else. They'd have to stay here months—if not years—at a time. Of course, he wasn't subject to such restrictions as he wasn't really an employee of this place. He was more of a representative.

Still, he wondered if anything had changed for them since last week. He doubted they hadn't been affected.

Statuses and floating text…

Alphonse didn't know what to think of these new changes. He loved the new options he had at his disposal, of course. Not having to do everything by feel—even though he was used to it—was so much better. It was convenient. And the fact that he could now create his own spells, attach them, and fuse them without the need of finding an adequate rift or book a room months in advance at the closest Mage Guild? Marvelous.

Though of course, the benefits didn't hide what everyone was worried about. At least everyone in power: What kind of being could cause such a phenomenon across the entire known universe? Was this a threat from beyond the stars? Was it the demons? The Dragons? Was this the working of an unknown rift that had collapsed and let loose its inner-workings in the real world?

The theories were plenty, but so far, no one knew what had triggered this shift and seemingly, the neat interface wasn't the only change that had taken place.

A few minutes and a handful of stairs later, he arrived at the top of the tower and once more, he stole a glance upward, even though he knew he shouldn't. After all, how could he pass on seeing the vista that made this specific rift such a crucial resource?

As soon as he saw what lay above him, his breath caught.

A firework of countless stars and realms seared itself into his eyes and soul. An explosion of colors, visions and mind-bending sights filled his eyes, and whenever his attention would latch on to any point in particular, the rest of the image would warp, showing him sights and knowledge closer to whatever he was seeing, and when felt the first drop of blood reach his lips, Alphonse wrenched his eyes away and took a deep, calming breath, then glanced around at the robed silhouettes standing at the edges of the space, gazing up while their assistants wrote down everything they observed.

I don't know how they do it, he thought, then a voice interrupted him. "Hey grass-tender! We got places to be, so let's get going!"

The voice grated on his nerves, but Alphonse didn't let it show on his face. Glancing at the table that stood in the middle of the rampart, he quickly took note of the handful of faces waiting for him. With a flick of a wrist, he summoned a handkerchief and wiped his nose as he made his way toward the table and found his spot. All the while, he purposefully did not look at the woman who'd spoken up. Still, there was no mistaking the blue-glow that emanated from her iconic armor.

Maleera of the Riftwarden Alliance. The sellswords can't manage to find anyone to commit to the role for more than one meeting or two. Says a lot about them, he thought as he neatly folded the tissue and popped back in his void ring. Still, Alphonse wasn't naive enough to think them weak. For how chaotic and messy their territories were, they were still one of the most powerful factions on the side of humanity. Taking in the rest of the participants, he quickly took note of who was present while the Observatory's Prime Seer spoke a few welcoming words.

Maleera from the Alliance, Lucian from the Thorncourt, and Nordstrum from the Assembly. Regulars, aside from Maleera. As for the guilds… it's the same faces as well.

Merrick was the representative from the Merchant's guild, and he looked like he'd just gotten mugged and beaten by trolls. His eyes were flitting about and somehow, he managed to have dark circles under his eyes, even though he was practically immortal.

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Alphonse suppressed a smile. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a crumb of empathy in his heart for the man. Nor could he find any for the guild he represented.

Millenia of exploiting, overcharging, and forcing predatory deals on desperate kingdoms and empires, and now, a block of crystal can do their jobs without at a fraction of the cost.

With the new pylons, the experts back home estimated the Merchant's Guild would be the most severely hit among all organizations. But it wouldn't be the only victim, he thought as his eyes swiveled to the second guild representative. In her case, Isolde, the Mages' Guild's representative, looked a lot better considering a good portion of their hoarded knowledge and services had also just been made public.

The Mages' Guild will take a hit as well, though not as bad as the Merchants', he thought as he glanced toward the last representative of the greater guilds. Leona from the Riftwrights. She looks fine and if we believe the chatter, they might be completely unaffected by the change. It might even allow them a faster turnout, considering the weakened Merchants and Mages guilds.

Silas went quiet for a moment, while one of his assistants went around the table, putting down scrolls in front of each of the representatives. Alphonse reached toward his own and was about to unroll it when the Prime Seer raised a hand, making them all pause. "With that said, the Observatory called this meeting today to present our findings. In the spirit of neutrality, this knowledge had not been allowed to leak until all of you had gotten here and once you read the content of these reports, please refrain from any… rule-breaking. You will all be allowed to exit and go on about your business at the same time, so there is no need for haste. Once you report back to your leaders, you are welcome to reach out to us if you find yourself in need of a neutral party to witness any future arrangements or negotiations," the guildmaster said. Once his words were fully received, he gestured. "You may read it."

With a swift, nearly frantic movement, Alphonse—and everybody else—unrolled the scrolls and began reading. Even before he could see the first word, he couldn't help the bubbling excitement that spread in his chest.

This was bound to be an incredible opportunity. That was the only reason the Observatory would have resorted to the Veil Clause, and within moments, his theory was confirmed.

Inhabitable planets… five of them?!

Alphonse looked up, eyes wide, and he quickly realized he wasn't the only one shocked at the noises he was hearing. Merrick's hands were trembling at the revelation. Even just one planet could save the Merchants' Guild from ruin, considering the number of wild rifts it could anchor. Maleera clapped as she laughed boisterously, while every other representative began planning and scheming about how they were going to get their hands on such a windfall.

This is… unbelievable. Even we only have four planets under our control… and we're the damn Verdant Concord!

His mind reeled. These planets could create new great powers. Looking down at the simple piece of paper in his hand, Alphonse's thought staggered at how destabilizing this knowledge could be. One thing was for sure, the status quo was in for a rough few years.

Though now that the shock was wearing out, something began bothering him, niggling at the back of his mind, and it was Lucian, the representative of the Thorncourt who pointed it out first. "How does one just find five planets that support life? Did the Observatory extend its detection range recently without us knowing? Are these planets in enemy territory?"

All heads turned to the Prime Seer, some frowning as they read between the lines, waiting for an answer. But the guildmaster wasn't bothered. Silas peered at the starry sky above as he responded. "You aren't off the mark by much, Lord Blacktorch. One of the planets has been found because, yes, with the… new capabilities we have received along with everyone else, we have managed to pierce further into the Starry Veil. As for the other four, it is not that we have missed them or had been hiding them. It was just that they had been considered… Null planets. Dead planets."

"…What?" asked Isolde, mouth agape. A rare display for the mage.

"Yes. We were as shocked as you are. We don't really know how their status changed, and the only explanation we could think of is that it was one of the many changes that took place all at once. A week ago."

The table went quiet. A few kept staring at the guildmaster, while a couple looked back down at the scroll. Seeing the report once more, Alphonse pointed out another issue. "And where are they?"

Silas took a deep breath and leaned back against his chair. "That is another issue we will need to talk about," he said, unbothered by the raised brows his response got. "We know the approximate area, but whenever we try to narrow it down to anything usable, we get blocked."

A shiver of anxiety trailed down Alphonse's back. Who could block the sight of the Observatory?

"By whom?" asked Merrick.

Silas smiled and shrugged. "Well… by this new, mysterious System. When we cast our spells to locate the exact coordinates of these planets, we fail. We receive a message directly in the interface, saying 'Integration in progress, do not disturb', and no matter how hard we try, we cannot get through."

Maleera chuckled, while both Lucian and Merrick gave her dark looks, which made her laugh harder before she sneered down at them. "What got you two worked up? The shiny new System said to wait. I'm sure you two can wait a year or ten before you try to enslave a new population, can you not?"

"The Thorncourt does not enslave," hissed Lucian between his teeth, while Merrick held his tongue, unwilling to offend a Great Faction, especially with the future of his guild in jeopardy.

"Hah. I'm sure you don't," she said, getting up. "Well, this has been nice. They're gonna love this back home. Anything else, Silas?"

"Only one thing. Before I get to it, I wish to promise that as soon as these new planets are located, you all will be invited back here and we'll share everything we've learned. Veil Clause, of course. As for what I wished to say, four out of the five planets are in the Graveyard."

The table went silent once more, but only for a second, before Maleera burst out laughing again and when the other representative glared at her, she only laughed harder. "I can't believe I almost bailed on this. This might be one of the best days of the decade. Easy," she said, wiping away a joyous tear from her cheek.

Alphonse couldn't help but smile as he watched the legendary warrior make her way toward the stairs, and he could only agree.

It seemed like they were in for some exciting times.