The Ascender's Legacy [A CHAOTIC STORM LITRPG]

Aodhán inhaled deeply, forcing his shoulders to relax even as tension coiled in his stomach. Icons were proof of deep personal understanding, and it was hard to accept that Cyrus and Lilith had reached that kind of enlightenment before him. Was that egotistical of him? Aodhán didn't know—or care. All he knew was that those two were entitled, spoiled brats who just wanted to bask in the adoration of everyone around them. What did they really know about themselves to earn an icon? How was it possible they'd achieved such understanding without changing their ways?

These thoughts raced through his mind as he stared at them, but what he failed to realize was that an icon didn't change a person. It didn't elevate their morality or force self-improvement. It was simply an understanding—of what drove someone to pursue strength and power. A revealer of purpose. For Yurin, it was his unwavering desire to advance, to always push forward no matter the cost. And for Aodhán, it was a desire to help... though he hadn't quite perfected it yet.

Still, the timing of it all was suspicious. Icons weren't candy to be handed out like prizes at a festival—they were rare and hard-won, born of something deeper than pride or ambition. And yet, just two days after Yurin gained his icon, Cyrus and Lilith had done the same.

It all felt a bit too convenient to be a coincidence. Almost as if the universe itself couldn't stomach the thought of a commoner getting ahead.

Aodhán tried to convince himself he wasn't jealous, just conflicted. But when Cyrus's smile stretched into a Cheshire grin, he felt the undeniable truth tighten in his gut. A surge of willpower crushed the emotion before it could fester, and he exhaled slowly, releasing the tension in his shoulders.

He had come here for something important. He wouldn't let himself be carried away.

Scanning the cafeteria, he found Andrew, Daruk, and Yurin seated in one corner, their brows furrowed as they watched the noble duo bask in the victory of their advancement. Not bothering to congratulate them, Aodhán weaved his way through the throng of awed students and slid into the seat his friends had saved for him.

Sighing, he hissed. "I'm so pissed I didn't miss this peacock display."

"Imagine how much worse it is for those of us who have had to sit here and watch for the last ten minutes." Andrew chuckled. "Good for them, I guess, but this whole performance is a bit much."

Yurin snorted and dipped a bunch of potato chips into a bowl of spicy sauce, while Daruk simply stared at Cyrus and Lilith, his neutral mask back in place. He looked just as calm and collected as always, but a subtle tension radiated from him.

Leaning toward him, Aodhán asked. "Are you alright?"

His response was clipped. "I am fine. Just… processing stuff."

Aodhán frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Daruk glanced down at his empty plate and sighed. "Sure. We can do that outside."

He stood up, and Aodhán followed suit, signaling to Andrew and Yurin that they would be back soon. They stepped out of the cafeteria a few seconds later, and Daruk's shoulders sagged as he let out a deep exhale. "How's Aldric doing?"

"Better. We spoke at length after you left, and…" Aodhán hesitated, knowing his next words might not sit well with Daruk. He forced the words out, though: "I think we need to empathize with him more."

Surprisingly, Daruk didn't get angry. He simply massaged his temples and let out a deep exhale. "I know that, I just… I was wrong this morning. I shouldn't have attacked him the way I did, but I was just so furious that something like that happened, and he didn't even have the decency to act remorseful. We had to borrow that money and pool our resources together to get him out of jail. You had to jump through several hoops, and he was just so… dismissive."

Aodhán inclined his head but didn't speak, wanting to give Daruk the chance to let his frustrations out. Daruk took it.

"I knew this was going to happen, you know." Daruk continued with a scowl, his voice growing higher as his anger at Aldric began to simmer once more. "I warned Aldric about it countless times, but you and Aldric can be so impulsive and reckless that I find myself having to play the eldest brother rather than the youngest. It's exhausting, and I guess I just snapped."

"Right." Aodhán frowned, not able to dispute Daruk's words, yet hating that it described their dynamic so perfectly. He was impulsive, and Aldric's request earlier had made it obvious that he was just as reckless. Daruk was the only reasonable and calm-headed one among them, which was why his flare-up earlier had been surprising, however justifiable.

He waited silently, wanting to give Daruk a chance to open up to him freely, but after a few seconds of silence passed without any word from Daruk, Aodhán prompted. "There's more bothering you, isn't there?"

Daruk glanced at him, eyes narrowing in irritation for a moment before exhaling deeply. "There is. For months now, I've been shifting my understanding of ice towards a more paradoxical and conceptual style. LiquidIce, FireIce, and so on. And—"

"—And it's affecting you." Aodhán finished, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

Daruk, though, didn't share his excitement. "It's annoying and frustrating having to deal with all these emotions after freezing them up for almost three months. Do you know our emotions grow stronger alongside us?"

Aodhán nodded, having found that little tidbit of knowledge while browsing for ways to control his emotions alongside Varéc's. The stronger they became, the stronger their emotions grew to maintain a balance and prevent them from becoming unfeeling, cold-hearted monsters.

For Daruk, whose affinity and bloodline had granted him a very cold and unfeeling approach to his emotions, the change in understanding and perspective couldn't be easy. LiquidIce, for instance, was rooted in the element of water—a mercurial affinity unlike any other—and FireIce, well, that was self-explanatory.

Daruk's outburst made a little more sense now, but Aodhán was glad the chokehold Daruk's affinity had on his emotions was slowly diminishing. It wouldn't change much if Daruk quickly adapted to it, but at least his cold mask would make less of an appearance.

Smiling, Aodhán nudged Daruk on the shoulders. "You'll be fine. Having to experience your emotions the way the rest of us lowly humans do might be good for you."

Daruk scoffed. "Aldric said the same thing, but I hope that's not true. I don't want to turn into either of you."

"Ouch." Aodhán feigned offense. "You've hurt my feelings."

Daruk chuckled, a genuine smile stretching across his face as the tension faded from his shoulders. For the first time in weeks, he looked truly relaxed—and Aodhán knew there'd never be a better time to bring up Aldric's request.

Bracing himself for what he suspected Daruk's response would be, he said, "Speaking of reckless, brothers, Aldric requested something of me after we spoke."

Daruk raised a questioning brow, and Aodhán explained the situation. He had already made up his mind to help Aldric. Telling Daruk was honestly just a courtesy to keep him involved. He didn't need Daruk's permission; it would just be a lot better if Daruk were involved.

When he finished, Aodhán braced for rejection. Instead, Daruk just sighed and said, "You know what? Let's do it. If that's what'll get him on the right path, I'm in."

Aodhán blinked. "Really?"

"Really," Daruk said with a shrug. "When are we doing this?"

"Friday," Aodhán replied, still surprised by Daruk's acceptance. Grinning, he added. "I'm really glad you're on board. You know, maybe this emotional flexibility thing isn't such a bad idea."

"Oh, bugger off." Daruk laughed, and together, they returned to the cafeteria to continue their dinner.

That night, after dinner, Aodhán and his friends retired to their usual training hall to discuss the day's events away from prying ears. Aodhán narrated the whole ordeal with the council in detail but left Aldric's request out of it.

Afterward, they trained for hours, trying to replicate Coach Harvey's latest reflex-enhancing exercise. It didn't take long for them to lose themselves in the drill, and Aodhán started seeing things clearly.

He was the most balanced fighter in his friend group, with amazing defense, offense, and support. Yurin leaned more toward offense and speed than anything else. Daruk was more support and offense, but Andrew… Andrew was just a machine of mass destruction.

Aodhán had wide-area skills, but when it came to large-scale attacks, Andrew was next level. He was relentless, ever-growing, and multiplying until he was utterly overwhelming and undefeatable. The only way to defeat him was to take him out within the first minute of a duel. Anything other than that would cost significantly more energy, willpower, and mental energy, but even then, Victory still wasn't certain.

It was amazing to see how far he and his friends had come since they entered the academy. Not just physically, but also spiritually.

Earlier today, Yurin had challenged the tower, and well, it was safe to say he was the fastest student within the first-year bracket. However, astounding speed didn't equal astounding strength, and Yurin had only managed to reach the 27th level of the tower before dropping off.

He had pushed Andrew and Daruk down a level, stealing the 4th spot on the leaderboards and pushing Lillith out of the leaderboards completely. However, with the recent developments of Cyrus's and Lilith's icons, Aodhán suspected the leaderboards would be shuffling again very soon.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A smile of amusement began to tug at his lips, only to be snuffed out by a flare of jealousy as his thoughts returned to Cyrus and Lilith. Despite his outward nonchalance about the whole thing, Aodhán was deeply troubled. In only a few short months, the 5th academy had produced four icons within the first-year bracket, and heaven knows how many more phrases.

With the immense boost an Icon provided, it was safe to assume that four of the five tournament spots were already locked in. Only one remained. Trials or not, Aodhán was certain whoever gained the next Icon would claim that final place.

The realization brought with it a rising tension he couldn't easily shake. He tried not to dwell on it. He had already earned his phrase, imperfect though it may be. All that remained was to meditate on it thoroughly to refine it.

However, Aodhán was having trouble focusing on anything at the moment, not with Aldric's request weighing so heavily on his mind.

Later, when they finally left the training hall and Aodhán returned to his room, he settled into a meditative position and let his mind sink deeply into the effects of {Eye of the Storm} in search of clarity.

But after nearly one hour of futile meditation, Aodhán raised his chip to his lips and texted Aldric. "I've thought long and hard about your request, and I've decided I'll do it."

Aldric's response came almost immediately. "Thank you, Aodhán. When are we doing it? I need to know so I can prepare."

Aodhán wasn't sure how Aldric planned to prepare—and honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Friday. After the forge matches," he replied, and then launched into the logistics of it. He explained their current dilemma, which was the issue of location. Surprisingly, Aldric had a solution for it.

"The hospital has containment and private cultivation chambers in its basement. I visited one of the chambers after you left, and they should be able to contain whatever energy explosion results from this."

"And how did you manage to convince the healers to do that?" Aodhán asked but then reconsidered. "You know what, never mind. I like the plan, but it only solves half the problem. Geneva can't get into the academy without the aerial shields or Principal Zatya picking up on it, and honestly, she's the last person I want finding out about this."

There was a short pause before Aldric responded. "Can't Geneva project herself, though? She doesn't need to be in the same room as us to guide us?"

Aodhán grimaced. "We don't need her to guide us, Aldric. It's not a lengthy process. I make the rain, and you absorb it. What we need is for her to save us if things go south." As an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and Daruk will be joining us."

A pause. "How much shit did he give you before 'allowing us' to do this?"

Aodhán smirked. "Surprisingly, none. He was actually eager."

"Well, that's a bad omen," Aldric responded, then added. "I'll try to come up with a solution before Friday. I'll text it to you."

"Fine."

Their conversation ended, and Aodhán returned to focusing on his icon phrase. However, he only managed a few hours of introspective thought before sleep overtook him.

The next day brought another thorough lesson on quick reflexes and speed, as well as an eagerness to dive deeper into rune study—a task he hadn't been able to dedicate as much time to as he would've liked. The class was just as enlightening as always, but aside from that, nothing noteworthy occurred.

He received no messages from Geneva, nor any summons from Principal Zatya. However, towards evening, he did receive a letter from Synové and a text from Unrid, both of which arrived at the same time.

Thankfully, neither Synové nor Unrid seemed to have heard about the arrest, though Aodhán was certain their invisible guards hadn't been kept in the dark. He replied to both messages and even went with Daruk to post a reply letter to Synové.

beeped with the latest tower rankings. Cyrus and Lilith had challenged the tower, and just as he had predicted, they had shaken things up. They weren't alone, though—several others had rechallenged the tower in the past three days, and the changes were significant.

Leaderboards
- Tower of Ascension (1st year)
• Aodhán Brystion, Level 28—1st [02:12]
• Cyrus Valerion, Level 28—2nd [00:53]
• Ayisha Helsarin, Level 27—3rd [13:42]
• Andrew Willowood, Level 27—4th [05:12]
• Yurin Lahey, Level 27—5th [04:53]
• Lilith Bloodmoon, Level 27—6th [03:27]
• Daruk Brystion, Level 27—7th [02:36]
• Cameron Lorde, Level 27—8th [00:47]

• Azul Fetherson, Level 27—9th [00:32]
• Imani Blackwell, Level 27—10th [00:57]

Cyrus had finally met him on the 28th level. And even though he was a tier above Aodhán, Aodhán wasn't exactly thrilled about having to share the top spot with his rival. Especially considering how little the time difference between them was. If Cyrus attempted the tower again, Aodhán wouldn't be surprised if he overtook him.

But that wasn't going to happen, not if Aodhán could help it.

The moment he had free time, he was going back into the tower—and if luck was on his side, he might just break into the 29th level, punching through five whole tiers in the process.

Smiling at the adrenaline rush the thought brought, Aodhán and Daruk walked while discussing the updated leaderboards. Even at a glance, one thing was clear: the time ranking was a mess, but it really did highlight how tightly packed the top contenders were.

Ranks three through ten were all sitting on the 27th level, with only a few minutes separating them. That difference narrowed even further near the bottom, with Cameron, Azul, and Imani only lagging behind one another by seconds.

Still, it was worth noting that not everyone was still at tier 23 like Aodhán. In fact, aside from him, Daruk, and Cameron, the rest had already broken into tier 24. Many of them had fulfilled the requirements for their class evolution and were now at the cusp of an evolution, remaining evolved awakenings by their will alone.

At this point in advancement, even a single-tier gap meant a significant difference in power. So the fact that Aodhán was still at the top of the board was more than just impressive.
It was remarkable.

Cameron's case, however, wasn't just remarkable—it was downright baffling. He was the only person within the top ten without a bloodline.
And it wasn't because he was overwhelmingly powerful. It was because his affinity—intangibility—was nearly impossible to counter. It made him immune to almost every physical attack and even some abstract ones. But Aodhán suspected his run was about to end.

Cameron was currently stuck on the level of the Medusozoa and had been eliminated in under a minute. Given the affinity of the Medusozoa, Aodhán was surprised he had even lasted that long.

Altogether, the leaderboard made one thing painfully obvious to Aodhán—no one was taking it easy. The competition was brutal, and if he so much as blinked, he could find himself tumbling down the ranks just as quickly as he'd climbed them.

Resolved not to let that happen, he returned to his room and settled into meditation, focusing on his icon phrase. Thoughts of Meredith intruded, uninvited, and he pushed them away with a scowl. He didn't have the time or the interest in anything sexual right now. There was too much to do.

Seconds blurred into minutes. Minutes into hours. And before he realized it, dawn had broken.

Sighing, Aodhán stood from his meditative posture and headed for the shower. He still hadn't perfected his icon phrase—and even though the situation was pressing, he knew better than to rush the process. This wasn't a matter of brute force. It was a matter of understanding, and until that understanding clicked into place, there was nothing he could do to rush things.

The day began with a lecture from Gwendolyn Blackwood on awakened plants, but Aodhán barely registered the words with his mind so occupied with Aldric's request. They still hadn't found a way to hide Geneva's presence from Principal Zatya, but Geneva had texted earlier that she'd come up with an idea.

It was strange—amusing, even—to see this rebellious, borderline-childish side of Geneva, considering she had to be at least forty by now. Still, if her idea worked, Aodhán would make sure the entire process went as smoothly as possible.

The last time he'd used the rain skill, he'd activated it with the quintessence of an entire seal, along with a massive outpouring of willpower, energy, and chaos. Fusing all of those energies together had been the hardest part. He remembered the heat that had flooded his system, the wave of pain and pleasure as chaos surged into his spirit, and the fire in his pathways as he'd finally channeled that volatile fusion through {Choose Target} into {Eye of the Storm}.

This time, he wouldn't need {Choose Target}—but he suspected the experience would be even harder. It wasn't the smartest choice, but Aodhán wanted to give Aldric everything he had.
Which meant two seals instead of one, with an even larger infusion of chaos, willpower, and energy.

He needed to prepare himself to handle all that power and funnel it into a single drop of rain without wasting it. His control had grown since the whole Steppin' Plains saga, but his plans for Aldric pushed even his new limits. After a while, Aodhán had to admit that there was no way he could do this without wasting energy. His control wasn't that advanced yet.

Still, Aodhán had never let a limitation stop him before. He might not be able to pack all that energy into a single drop of rain without wasting it, but he could sure as hell try.

For the rest of the lecture, Aodhán practiced his control, mentally going through the motions to avoid any mistakes. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes. If anything happened to Aldric...
He'd never forgive himself.

Eventually, class ended. Like a machine on autopilot, Aodhán joined Daruk, Andrew, and Yurin on their way to the arena for the forge matches. It was the first forge match of the semester—an event that should have been hugely celebrated, yet for some reason, the arena was half empty when they arrived.

The fourth- and third-years were gone, and only a handful of second-years had shown up. The staff's booth was still filled up, although the raucous laughter that usually emanated from them was conspicuously absent.

"I guess we finally killed those brain cells," Yurin muttered, scanning the empty seats, "and now they've all forgotten to show up."

"Such a sad sight." Andrew concurred and shook his head. "It's more likely that they have an event of their own, though, and couldn't make it to ours." He grinned and then added,. "Have you guys ever seen a forge match between third-years? I bet it would be awesome."

Aodhán picked a place to sit while his friends oohed and aahed as their imaginations brought Andrew's words to life. They must have noticed that he was a little withdrawn, but they didn't ask, and Aodhán didn't share either.

Instead, he worked continuously on improving his control and only returned his mind to the moment when a holographic screen materialized in the sky above them, showcasing the forge rankings from one to fifty.

The match began without much fuss, and though one might have thought the lack of a larger audience would affect the fighters, it turned out that they barely heard much inside the ring over the roar of adrenaline, the rush of willpower, and the explosion of skills.

To Aodhán's surprise, the matches turned out to be entertaining enough to capture his full attention. With the selection process just around the corner, students fought like their lives depended on it.

Yurin demolished his opponent so quickly that he shattered Aodhán's record for the fastest match in the first-year arena. Andrew nearly pulled the same feat with his opponent, and although Daruk took a bit longer, it was only because of the restrictions he had imposed on himself. His match still ended in mere seconds.

Aodhán's match against Malachai was quite interesting too, and although nothing too extraordinary happened, Aodhán was quite impressed with the fire-awakened, who fought in a very similar manner to Tyrus Hadjen.

Unfortunately for Malachi, a torrent of heavy rainfall was enough to quench his flames and drench him to the bone. Coupled with the multiple arrows of lightning that descended from the cloud above, Malachi barely stood a chance and soon bowed out, giving Aodhán a nod of respect.

The win pushed Aodhán further up the rankings, placing him at the 16th rank, just below Daruk, who occupied the 17th rank. Yurin was the highest ranked of them, occupying the 12th position, while Andrew occupied the 32nd rank, a far cry from the 67th rank he had entered the academy with.

After the forge match ended, Andrew suggested a joint training session in the training hall, but Aodhán and Daruk declined. The time to fulfill Aldric's request had come.

Andrew eyed them for a moment, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you guys planning?"

Aodhán exchanged a glance with Daruk and patted Andrew on the shoulder. "We'll tell you… eventually."

Andrew's eyes narrowed further, but he nodded. "Fine. Yurin and I will be in the training hall in case you're searching for us."

Yurin nodded, and they both left, leaving Aodhán and Daruk to stare at their backs as they exited the arena. When they finally left their line of sight, Daruk asked. "Are you ready for this?"

Aodhán shuddered. "No, but let's get it over with. My curiosity is killing me."