“Did we die?” Vivi asked as she woke up underneath a clouded sun.

  The spot, she realized, was the very same she’d channeled ether in last time. Or tried to, at least, until Essi interrupted her. The forest looked a lot more clear without rainfall. Vivi woke up in her dress amongst the blooming flowers. She wasn’t exactly a summer princess, considering the colors of her dress, but the cloudy weather matched the nervousness in her head.

  “Well,” Lucius said, “we did earn an exalted skill.”

  “We got crushed by a mountain, I’m pretty sure,” Vivi said. “Are we alive?”

  “Mostly,” Lucius said.

  Vivi frowned at him. “Tell me what’s going on out there.”

  “The behemoth died,” Lucius explained with a thoughtful look, clearly thinking of how he should tell the tale. “It didn’t turn into a mountain, thankfully. Just sandstone and a lot of sand. The rubble collapsed on top of us, but we survived that easily with ether protecting us. But, uh, I will remind you that at the time you passed out, you still had seventeen thousand burned wisps in your body with the lingering void wisps being your only protection.”

  Vivi sighed. “So I nearly got myself killed by abusing ether. Again.”

  “You defeated a godslayer,” Lucius said. He shivered. “Those things are known for killing fourth elevation hunters! If one spawns, you can wish goodbye to any cities on the level. How did you kill it? What did you do?”

  “What do you mean? You were there.”

  “I mean…” Lucius let out an embarrassed smile. “Uh, to be honest, I kind of passed out again. All I could do was keep burning ether.”

  “Well,” Vivi said. “I hit it with a big sword. Then it died. Now, continue with the important stuff, please. What’s happening out there?”

  “Coshi and Anthony dug you out,” Lucius said. His whiskers fanned, a grin coming back. “They were quite shaken. I haven’t seen such expressions on fourth elevation hunters in quite a while, let me tell you. They’re wondering if you’re actually a divine being.”

  “Lucius, are we going to live or not?” Vivi asked, now upset.

  “Uh,” he said. “Listen, Vivi, I told them to stop gawking and to bring you to a healer, and now you’re resting at Lortel’s place, but I honestly can’t tell you if you’ll live or not. The first time is always the worst, but we definitely went beyond the abuse you sustained last time.”

  Great… Vivi thought. This again. She wondered how many times she could keep abusing ether beyond her limits before she actually just died. She really needed to get work on her protective layer. We better not die now. We have Grandpa’s sword in spatial storage.

  “And something else, too. Look at your skill slots.”

  Vivi sighed, but did so. The last of her skill slots was now occupied by a blinding white glow. The wisp wasn’t violent like Death Sense had been. It rested still, calmly containing the powers within. The skill was just large, so much so that its presence expanded out of the skill slot like a night lamp dimly lighting a dark room.

  Zooming in, the skill was so insanely complicated that Vivi felt dizzy by the sheer amount of runes. Beyond the web of runes, more runes continued underneath. Not just one layer like with her common skills. At a glance, this one had at least five layers, some nearly as complex as the layer up top.

  “That right there is a hundred million ether minimum,” Lucius said, grinning. “It’s what we’ve been looking for. Ascension of Divinity. An exalted ascension skill.”

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  “What you’ve been looking for, at least,” Vivi said. She felt dizzy thinking about the fact that a skill in her core would sell for a hundred million.

  “We can now channel up to ten thousand ether for essentially free,” Lucius said. “It’ll only dim out the wisps. I won’t need to burn ether for mundane ascensions.”

  Vivi sat still, thinking about it. Somehow, gaining an exalted skill wasn’t as amazing as she thought it would have been. Lucius’s ability to burn wisps was already a cheat skill. He could go well beyond an exalted skill. Every ascension just had an upfront cost. An ascension skill wouldn’t actually make them stronger. It would just make her life cheaper.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Vivi,” Lucius said. “You’re thinking that the skill is useless. It’s definitely not. You’ll know when you activate it. Ascension skills are entirely different from my flimsy scarlet ascension.”

  It better be good, considering the amount of branches it has, Vivi thought.

  Lucius was certainly excited. He floated around her with a wide grin. Though when he noticed Vivi’s expression, he calmed down and took a more normal posture. “That said… This might be a bit problematic. Ascension of Divinity doesn’t exactly belong to us.”

  Vivi lifted an eyebrow. “But we just got it?”

  “It’s complicated,” Lucius said. “Do you know how, when a hunter dies, there’s only a small chance that the skills in their cores drop to be collected?”

  “Yes?”

  “The skills that can’t be collected don’t just disappear. Those skills are eaten by the Trickster god, or get sucked into the earth, or whatever. Usually, if an exalted skill user dies, the skill is collected from a boss monster later. And it just so happens, Ascension of Divinity used to belong to someone called Genille. The Second Knight.”

  “Oh,” Vivi said. “So we collected a skill from the exalted knights?”

  “Yep,” Lucius said. “It looks like an exalted knight has died somewhere below. Could have been the storm season. Or perhaps she got assassinated. But regardless, the skill belongs to Ingfried. After a knight dies, Ingfried usually places a bounty on the skill. He’ll reward the one who brings it back to him, usually with a hundred million ether and a good title. The dead knight will then be replaced.”

  Vivi watched the clouds, sitting beside the same tree she’d just talked to Essi with. She shrugged. “And does he know we’ve found the skill?”

  “No,” Lucius said. “But if he does find out, he’ll try to kill you. If we use an exalted skill publicly, he will know.”

  “Too bad,” Vivi said. “For Ingfried, that is. The skill is ours now.”

  Lucius grinned, hearing that.

  “The skill is worthless anyways,” Vivi said. “We have something much more valuable.”

  She summoned Grandpa’s sword. The ether inside had dimmed, revealing the craftsmanship without ether’s glowing brightness. It almost looked more insane now, with the idle veins filling the metal. The sight was as complex as a skill wisp with a network so precise it didn’t make any logical sense.

  He had actually done it. A six-runed sword. An absolute masterpiece. The best runesword in the whole world, one that would remain the best for years upon years to come. Unless Grandpa himself crafted another.

  I need to meet Grandpa, Vivi thought. Heal me quickly. Doesn’t matter if I can’t move. If I can just talk, that’s fine.

  “About that…” Lucius said. “Your grandpa is…”

  Vivi raised her eyebrow. Is what?

  He looked troubled. Then he formed a smile. “He’s fine. He’s waiting for you to wake up. He’s really worried.”

  Vivi tilted her head at him. Some part of that was a lie. But why would Lucius lie about that?

  She sighed. I guess it’s just practice and sleep, then. Might as well make use of the time we have. And no, I don’t want to fight any hunters on that stupid island this time. Although… There’s one request I do have.

  “Yes?” Lucius asked.

  Could you call Essi? Vivi asked. Send her a signal. You know, how Andre used to send us signals to meet in Paradise.

  “That girl? Why?” Lucius asked. “Or do you just want to talk to her?”

  Yes, Vivi thought. If I’m going to die, I want to spend time with someone who isn’t a total prick.

  Lucius studied her face, then nodded. “Sure. You’ve worked hard. Let’s call her.”

  He closed his eyes, and it looked like he was about to perform some spirit magic, when he suddenly opened his eyes. He lifted his head, surprised, and faced the woods to their left as if he’d spotted something.

  “What in the world?” he whispered.

  Wisps formed out of thin air, and someone’s figure spawned. Vivi watched as a human took shape. It wasn’t the figure of a short girl. Definitely not Essi. The figure looked more like an old plump man.

  A grey beard formed, followed by clothes Vivi used to see every day. A black raincoat. Her face opened wide.

  “Hey, Viv,” Grandpa said with a wide grin as he admired the forest. “Fancy place you hunters got, eh?”

  Patreon!