The Ascender's Legacy [A CHAOTIC STORM LITRPG]

While Aodhán and Daruk suffered at the hands of cultists, and the kingdoms of Lutia banded together in faux solidarity, Aodhán's friends processed his kidnapping in various ways, their emotions ranging between fear, guilt, and an overpowering sense of helplessness.

Lupin, Gwendolyn, Eren, Scarlett Urdania, and her brothers processed the event with a great deal of fear and paranoia—emotions common to almost every student in the first-year bracket. Their main concern was the fact that they had been friends with a cultist for so long without realizing it.

How had they not seen it? They asked themselves. How had they not noticed anything odd about Ayisha? How had she been able to hide so easily among them without anyone realizing?

Those questions burned within them like a pyre, making it difficult for many of them to sleep on the night of the event or even in the days that followed. And though the agents of the Awakened Council had swept through the academy, interrogating students and staff members alike, they couldn't help but wonder: Had Ayisha been working alone? Could there be other cultists still present in the academy? Among their friends?

But aside from those whose hearts raced with fear and paranoia, there were many others who processed the kidnapping with overwhelming guilt. Not because they'd been directly involved in the kidnapping, but because they couldn't help blaming themselves for not realizing it before it was too late.

Kellan Dravenor and Lilith were among this group—Lilith because she had been the last friend Cyrus saw before he too was kidnapped. She could have stopped him when he'd stepped out of the training room in a rage. She could have at least followed him.

Perhaps, if she'd been there, this wouldn't have happened. Kellan also blamed himself for not being there. He was Cyrus's emotional anchor. If he had been present, Cyrus wouldn't have left the chamber at all.

That guilt ate at them when they closed their eyes to sleep or meditate. It consumed them whenever they gathered to eat, knowing the horrors their friends were likely enduring at the hands of cultists.

Their imaginations spared them no peace, and though Rahim had addressed them all, both personally and in groups, concerning the matter—explaining that if the academy hadn't noticed, if all their professors hadn't noticed, then they as students had no need to beat themselves up over it.

But their guilt had no respect for logic or common sense. This was especially true for Cameron Lorde and Scarlett, who had considered themselves Ayisha's closest friends.

However, among the sea of terrified and guilt-ridden students, there were two people who had been hit hardest by Aodhán and Daruk's sudden disappearance.

Beyond the fear and paranoia, Yurin battled a crushing sense of guilt—far more than any other student. He had, after all, been the one to send Ayisha in Aodhán's direction.

Unintentionally or not, he had contributed to the kidnapping of two of his closest friends, and despite knowing, reasonably and logically, that he couldn't have known what Ayisha's intentions were, the crushing weight of his guilt only intensified with each hour that passed without good news.

Fate had used him as a pawn, and he hated it.

Unlike many others, though, Yurin didn't break under the weight of his guilt. This wasn't the first time he had battled crushing guilt. Instead, he fought the overwhelming emotion with the same dogged tenacity with which he did most things—becoming a shell of himself, not physically but emotionally.

The aura of light and cheerfulness that usually radiated from him had dimmed, and in its place was a cloud of self-deprecation and edged snarkiness. At the end of the first day, he secluded himself within his room and began training, forcing his mind and body to wield two swords at once.

By the end of the second day, his light had dimmed even further. He hadn't eaten nor had he slept, yet he didn't stop training, his arms swinging ceaselessly as he plunged himself deeper into his practice, pushing himself metaphorically forward with each swing of the sword.

I WILL ALWAYS ADVANCE. I WILL ALWAYS ADVANCE.

His mantra echoed within him like a war drum, urging him to continue, shaping him more and more to fit the ideal of his truest self. Without rest, Yurin pushed his body to give more, channeling all of his guilt, pain, and anger into advancing his power lest he fall back into the gaping darkness his brother's death had left him in for years.

Andrew, on the other hand, was dealing with a different kind of emotion. Not guilt or fear, but the suffocating weight of helplessness.

At first, he had served as an emotional anchor for others, comforting or, at the very least, trying to comfort Yurin and the others. To motivate them and strengthen them. He had remained strong for the first two days, but by the third, he'd begun to feel the weariness and helplessness deep in his bones.

He kept hoping that news would come. Good news would come.

But after the fifth day without any good news, his strength finally ran out, and he too collapsed under the weight of his emotions. Even with counselors and professors running around to make sure they were all right, Andrew wasn't.

Helplessness ate at him like a pack of ravenous hounds and sat heavily in his chest, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe. The fact that two of his closest friends were suffering at the hands of cultists while he was locked up within the academy walls, unable to do anything to aid their rescue, only made it worse.

He couldn't even imagine what horrors they were enduring, and that unknown torment gnawed at him constantly. He was desperate for release, but he lacked the dogged tenacity Yurin possessed.

He had no strength to train himself to exhaustion or channel his pain into advancement. And so, he waited, suffocating under the weight of helplessness, until he finally realized there was a path to release he hadn't considered before.

Spirituality.

Without hesitation, that evening, he locked himself within the forest he'd created in his training room and began meditating.

But this wasn't just any ordinary meditation. This was spiritual warfare, and Andrew thrived in battle. He couldn't help Aodhán or Daruk in any physical way, but he could gain release from advancement—from the feeling of growth.

He needed that—to feel like he was doing something. And in a way, he would be. The situation with the cultists was escalating, and it would only be a matter of time before the academy was forced to open its gates. He would need more power than he currently possessed to help them then.

He would need the power of the advanced class. But even more than that, he would need an edge—something like {Mycelium Network} that would give him exactly the power he needed to—to what?

Andrew realized then just what he needed to prepare for, and his expression crumbled in sadness before tightening back into determination. By the time the academy opened its gates to the public, Aodhán and Daruk would either have been found or be dead.

If it was the former, then glory be to Raol. But if it was the latter, then he would have to avenge his friends. And for that, he would need power. So much power. Because there was no way he would be able to forgive himself for being helpless when he was finally free to act.

With determination churning in his heart, Andrew lost himself within his meditation.

Evening turned into night, and night into day—and after over twelve hours of laser-focused meditation, Andrew's practice had transformed into something far more dangerous.

Each second that passed pushed him deeper into communion with forces he couldn't understand as Mycelium network spread, drawing insight, knowledge, and inspiration from the forest around him.

Those insights filled his mind with questions and answers about the true nature of verdance—the true power of plant magic, and before he knew it, what had started as determined spiritual practice began straying into the abstract and then to the origin plane of verdance itself.

At exactly an hour past noon, all the insight and knowledge Andrew had gained so far condensed into a full-fledged inspiration within his mind. Energy surged out of his core in an overwhelming wave, verdant essence rippling as the forest around him pulsed in resonance with his heartbeat.

Flowers bloomed beneath him, and his bloodline hummed with the promise of evolution as the overwhelming surge of energy pushed him into the advanced class. Energy diffused into his bones and tissues, strengthening them beyond anything Andrew could have ever imagined.

His muscles hardened as willpower surged within him. His hair lengthened—a wave of verdance down his back—and his pupils, though hidden behind closed eyelids, became more vibrant as a second band was added.

Power hummed within him, far more than he had imagined he would gain upon evolution into the advanced class.

And yet, Andrew wasn't satisfied.

With {Mycelium Network}, he drew in more from the forest around him. The skill had advanced alongside him, networks spreading out from beneath him like a carpet of spiderwebs, digging, collecting, and searching for insight.

Willpower surged out of his core to fuel the skill, and the forest shuddered in response, leaves drying up and stems groaning as Andrew drew their very essence into his mind, groaning as a wave of new insight drowned his thoughts.

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Yet, Andrew didn't stop.

With each passing second, he drew in more and more. Chaos broke into his spirit like water from a dam torn asunder, filling every corner of his being and setting him ablaze. Willpower surged out of his core like water from a basket as {Mycelium Network} dug deeper, draining more and more from the forest around him to create another inspiration within him.

Willpower and chaos clashed uncontrollably within his spirit, sending a lance of pain through him, but as overwhelming as the clash of energy was, it was nothing compared to the turmoil in his mind as insights from hundreds of plants and thousands of seeds rushed into his consciousness.

He couldn't absorb them all, but Andrew was determined to absorb as much as he could, and with greedy desperation, he latched onto as many as he could, melding them with his existing understanding of nature and verdance to strengthen them further.

And before long, his greed paid off.

The world fell away as the origin plane of verdance opened up to him in all its glory—chaos and verdant nature so utterly intertwined that to simply call it overwhelming was an understatement.

Despite having been invited into the plane several times before, it seemed much different to Andrew now. More real. More familiar, as if he were no longer a visitor but a member. He felt no different from the gigantic trees around him. He had become like them.

He was them—until the familiar whispers of chaos began. You do not belong here. Leave. Stay. You belong here. Become one of us. Leave. Leave. Stay…

The whispers invaded his mind even louder than before, pressing against his thoughts like a host of slithering worms. Andrew fought the whispers with the mantra of his ideal.

I AM INEXORABLE! I AM INEXORABLE!

And then the pressure of the plane's consciousness descended upon him, all-encompassing and terrible. Andrew smiled, opening his mind to it. He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from the origin plane this time aside from more power.

More than he was entitled to. How could he be inexorable if he was weak? How could he be a guardian of verdance if he couldn't even protect his friends?

He may not be a double inheritor like Aodhán or a genius like Cyrus and Daruk, but he was an awakened. Was this all he got? Could he truly not become more powerful?

These thoughts raced through Andrew's mind as the consciousness descended upon him—searching his spirit and finding him—

Unworthy!

"What?!" Andrew blanched as the consciousness pulled out of his mind, verdance surging above him like a furious storm, the sound of canopies too high above for him to see crackling like thunder in his ears.

"No, that's not possible." Andrew resisted, opening his mind further to the consciousness in sudden desperation. But his efforts yielded no results, the all-encompassing consciousness of the plane remaining distant, looming over him like a disinterested god.

And then the realm began to spit him out once more, his vision blurring as the consciousness dismissed him.

But Andrew refused to be dismissed so easily. Not after how far he had come.

His will thrashed against the rejection, even as reality peeled away around him like a collapsing cocoon. His mind stretched and trembled from being pulled apart, dragged by force back into the material plane, but his spirit anchored itself with a scream of protest.

"No!" He roared. "You must give me something! I need more power."

Quintessence burst out of him in an overwhelming wave, so powerful that his mind was rocked, and in that violent, breaking moment, the all-encompassing consciousness, for the briefest moment, stirred with interest.

The unraveling plane halted. Chaos stilled, and the consciousness drew closer, peering at him without eyes, yet digging into the deep recesses of his spirit as if it had found something it hadn't seen before.

Andrew had no idea what it was, but he opened himself up to the consciousness once more, his mind convulsing as the consciousness dug deeper into his thoughts.

It sensed every emotion Andrew was battling with—his helplessness, his desperate need for release and power, his intentions to avenge his friends, but most especially his willingness to sacrifice everything for growth.

Growth—the relentless, inexorable advancement that mirrored verdance itself.

The consciousness stirred with approval, and just as Andrew began to smile, heat erupted within him like an explosion, spreading out from his core to engulf his entire being. And then he felt a brand seared directly onto his spirit—not a seal or an icon, but something else. Something far more precious.

You have communed with the consciousness of your origin plane. And it has blessed you with an ability. [Check notification to see details.]

Andrew's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the message. An ability was far different from a skill or a technique. It was something only a few people possessed—like Aodhán's core sense and Ayisha's foresight.

And he had just gained one.

Andrew glanced up at the presence looming above him, but before he could speak, the plane collapsed around him as his spirit was forced back to the material plane.

Andrew collapsed to the floor of his training room the moment his mind snapped back to reality, his entire body aching from the ordeal he had just endured. Blood flowed freely from his nose, and his three seals had completely dimmed, but Andrew barely acknowledged them.

Instead, he called up his status screen to see what he had been blessed with.

Congratulations! You have evolved into the advanced class.

Minor regeneration >>> Basic regeneration

You have now gained passive resistance to evolved skills.

All skills have evolved to the advanced class.

Congratulations! You have gained a class scaling skill: Imbue Plants. [See full details below].

Congratulations! You have gained a blessed skill: Verdant Cataclysm. [See full details below].

Congratulations! You have gained a new title: Blessed. [See full details below].

Congratulations! You have gained a new title: Adept. [See full details below].

[STATUS]

Name: Andrew Willowood

Class: Advanced plant Awakened: (0.3%)

Tier: 25—16%

Title: Neophyte, Bronze, Sealbearer (3), Verdant Spirit, Origin Marked, Icon Bearer, One with Nature, Nascent Sage, Treader of Dread [Lesser Variant], Silver, Blessed, Adept.

Glimpse—>Opening----> Channel: Increases elemental affinity and abilities by 5%

Icon: Vines of inexorability!

Technique: Perfect Will Imbuement, Heart of the Forest (Sacred)

Skills {Innate}: [Plant Creation] [Plant Manipulation]

Blessing: Verdant Cataclysm

{Other}: [Spore Cloud] [Forest of Thorns] [Secrete Poison] [Accelerate Growth] [Create Seeds] [Mycelium Network] [Wood Skin] [Symbiotic Bond] [Animate Plants] [Root Surge] [Imbue Plants]

Bloodline: Willowood Ancestry (Epic)

· Amplifies Verdant abilities and skills by 3%

· Grants a major increase to regeneration and poison resistance

· Aura of Verdance

Adept: This is a title given to any awakened who successfully crosses the 2nd milestone tier. You are no longer a neophyte. Your eyes have seen. Your ears have heard.

Blessed: You have communed with the consciousness of your origin plane without burning to dust. You now carry a faint wisp of its aura and have gained a skill to show for it.

Verdant Cataclysm: Unleash a rupture to the Origin plane of Verdance, spilling unfiltered, primal essence into the material world to transform your environment and unleash true inexorability on the world.

NB: The larger the rupture created, the greater the cost of willpower required to keep it open. Heavily willpower dependent.

Imbue Plants: This skill grants you the ability to imbue an existing plant with your willpower and energy, converting the plant into a semi-autonomous extension of your essence until the imbued energy and willpower run out.

Andrew smiled as he read through the screen, feeling the choking sense of helplessness in his chest ease a little. He took in a deep breath, savoring the sense of accomplishment as air surged into his lungs.

He had gained two powerful skills. The first was through his own understanding and attempt to transform {Animate Plants} into something more autonomous, and the other was a blessing.

Shifting his gaze from the status screen, Andrew decided to test both skills at once. His gaze landed on a small fern near his knees, and he clasped its delicate fronds gently. The soft texture of its leaves brushed against his fingertips as he activated {Imbue Plant}, and he immediately gasped as willpower and energy rushed through his pathways—far more than any of his other skills had ever demanded.

All that energy surged into the small fern, and the plant jerked violently, stem and fronds shuddering as verdant power flooded its tiny form. A brilliant green glow enveloped the plant, pulsing like a heartbeat, and then it began to move. It uprooted itself from the soil with a wet, tearing sound, dirt cascading from its newly mobile roots as it pulled free. Its fronds stretched and flexed like fingers testing their newfound dexterity, and then it began to skitter around Andrew on root-legs that moved like those of a spider.

Andrew watched it all in fascination, already thinking of ways to utilize the skill. Despite the fern's apparent autonomy, Andrew could feel the mental thread connecting them—a warm, verdant link that thrummed with shared consciousness. At a thought, the plant stopped its playful skittering and instead turned its attention to a beetle that had wandered too close.

What followed was almost comical. The tiny fern gave chase with determined enthusiasm, its root-legs carrying it in erratic patterns as the beetle fled in panic. For nearly five minutes, the pursuit continued—the fern diving under fallen leaves, scrambling over rocks, and even attempting what could only be described as a pounce. Then, just as it seemed to corner its prey, the plant suddenly collapsed mid-stride, its fronds falling limp as the energy channeled into it finally ran out.

Andrew touched the exhausted fern with gentle fingers and smiled as another bout of energy and willpower drained from his core. The plant perked back up and began clapping its fronds, making Andrew chuckle in amusement.

He watched the cheerful plant for a few more minutes before deciding to test his second skill. Unlike {Imbue Plant}, Andrew didn't have to touch any plant this time. He simply reached out mentally to the Origin plane of Verdance and attempted to open it like a door.

He didn't expect the amount of willpower that drained out of him in that instant and promptly collapsed as energy was siphoned from his core with indescribable force. But it worked, and an instant later, a square portal, about a meter in length, tore open above him, spilling a torrent of chaos and verdance into the training room.

An intoxicating scent of flowers and earth filled the air, and then came the vines—massive, thorned, and saturated with raw verdance. They spilled out of the portal two at a time, tumbling into the training room like behemoths, but just as the third wave of vines emerged, Andrew staggered again, his willpower falling below half.

He deactivated the blessing immediately, and the portal snapped shut with a thunderclap that shook the entire training room.

Cut off from their source, the massive vines exploded into clouds of pure verdance, their chaotic essence too concentrated to maintain stability in the material plane. The green mist that resulted was so thick Andrew could taste it on his tongue—wild, electric, and alive with potential.

Despite the high willpower cost of the blessing, its power could not be denied. For the ten or so seconds that the skill had been active, the amount of verdance and chaos that had spilled into his training room was so rich that the small forest had been transformed into something extraordinary.

The skittering plant he'd created with {Imbue Plant} had grown to twice its original size, as had nearly every other plant in the forest. Leaves had enlarged, trunks had expanded, and roots had sunk even deeper into the soil.

But the aura of the forest had experienced the most drastic change. No longer did it seem gently inviting. Instead, it had taken on a primal quality. The air itself felt charged with wild energy—an unfiltered savagery that reminded Andrew uncomfortably of the origin plane itself. Gone was the careful arrangement he had maintained for the past few months. Instead, his forest had turned wild and overgrown, with plants he couldn't recognize having sprouted to fill every inch of empty earth.

Andrew took it all in with a wide smile. He pushed himself to his feet, and without hesitation, stepped into the forest, excited at the prospect of studying new plants. {Mycelium Network} activated with a burst of willpower, and for the third time that day, Andrew gasped as a surge of new insights filled his mind.

The helplessness that had plagued him for days eased even further, and Andrew's smile widened into something almost manic.

He needed more power. For Aodhán. For Daruk. And for himself.