The Path of Ascension

That morning Liz shuffled around after getting up, waking Matt up from his doze. He had spent most of the night thinking about the implications of having two Tier 48 royals as parents. Mostly, his thoughts ran in circles.

Mid yawn, Matt noticed Liz looking at him. She gave him a shy smile and mouthed, ‘thanks.’ She then covered her mouth and scooped up Aster, calling out as she entered the attached bathroom, “Thanks for last night. But I need a shower and some girl time.”

Matt took that as the dismissal it was, and returned to his room.

After showering, he went downstairs and found their hosts sitting down and drinking from steaming mugs.

Travis enthusiastically greeted him. “Morning, Matt.”

Keith shushed him, his eyes still closed. Travis rolled his eyes, but lowered his voice to a normal one.

“We already made breakfast. What do you want?”

Looking around, Matt saw some dirty dishes but no actual food.

His confusion was clearly evident, as Travis raised a hand and said, “Stasis ring. It sacrifices size for stopping time in the ring. Great for making a large breakfast and not having it get cold.”

Matt just stared for a moment. “I am incredibly jealous. I want the rings so bad. They seem better in every way. I smell eggs and bacon. I’ll take that if it’s not too much trouble.”

Travis nodded and extended a hand over Matt’s plate. Out came some fluffy scrambled eggs and strips of thick bacon.

Matt had just tucked in when Liz and Aster came in. They were both wet and smelled of soap. He nodded at her while she just grabbed Travis’ hand and started shaking.

Food appeared on her and Aster’s plates. Her fork was entering her mouth when Matt struck.

“So if two of your parents are royals, are you a double princess? Or do the two cancel out?”

Liz choked, while Travis looked surprised. Keith started laughing so hard he started going red.

A scarlet Liz was unable to answer, but Travis looked at her and said, “You told him? I’m proud of you, BethBeth.”

She flipped everyone the finger while hiding behind a curtain of still damp hair.

Keith got himself under control and looked back and forth between Liz and Matt. He asked, “We were going to head into town for the next few days. If you want a few more days of R&R, we can delay it.”

Matt looked at Liz, who just shook her head, not looking up. He answered for both of them. “I think we’ll be fine going in today. I know I want to send money to my orphanage. Set up a fund or something.”

Travis had a pitying look and seemed to be resisting the urge to hug him, but Keith just nodded.

“We can stop by a bank. Any of them can set that up. You might not be the first to do so. If so, you can just add money to the existing fund. Or you can set up your own trust for them. Creating the account will be pretty painless. Oh also, you mentioned that you want to take some classes. Honestly, you should register sooner rather than later. When word goes public about the ascension, this place will turn into a madhouse. Anything you want to do should be taken care of now.”

Travis cut in, pointing at Keith. “Speaking of which, get a ticket booked for a week after the ascension date. It’s going to take months for travel to go back to normal. Even with them doing jumps every few hours.”

Matt did so. He was sure the price would skyrocket as well.

After eating, they got ready to make the trip into the city. Matt was using the flying sword to carry himself, Liz, and Aster. Travis apparently used the ankle variant, to disapproving tsks from Keith. The mage used a skill that projected a bubble of mana, keeping the wind off him.

Keith shook his head, and Matt agreed with him privately. He had even started deactivating [Cracked Phantom Armor] to feel the wind. It gave flying a more visceral feel.

They quickly flew over the mountains and forest that the trio had hiked through. In minutes, they were at the city border. The two Tier 17’s landed, with Matt following suit.

Keith shrugged at Matt’s questioning look. “Can’t use my flying sword in a city, as it’s a combat variant. And it’s bad form to use flying skills in low Tier cities like this. It’s not illegal, though.”

With a wave, he collected both flying swords into his spatial ring. Instead of walking or waiting for a bus, a taxi pulled up.

I guess at Tier 17, your time is worth more than the cost of a Taxi. The last time I checked, the rates were daylight robberies.

Slipping into the seat, he watched the city whiz by. The AI controlled vehicle went faster than any bus would go. In what felt like moments, they were in front of a glass and mana construct building that screamed wealth and elitism.

Inside the bank, everything was white stone with gold inlay. The extravagance made Matt uncomfortable. This wasn’t his kind of environment.

Liz, Aster, and Keith waited outside, walking down to a nearby ice cream shop.

Travis bumped Matt with an elbow. “Relax a bit.” He raised his voice and, with a grin, nearly shouted, “They’ll think you’re planning to rob the place.”

Matt flushed, looking around. They now had everyone’s attention. Through gritted teeth, Matt pushed out, “That’s not funny. Everyone’s looking at us now.”

The Tier 17 just laughed, and when a spot opened up at a desk, walked over.

The woman behind the desk was immaculately put together. Not a single hair escaped her tight bun. Her makeup complemented her polite smile, and as they sat down, she asked, “Are either of you a member at Krystal’s?”

Travis looked at Matt, clearly indicating that he should take the lead. With a hard swallow, Matt did so.

“I’d like to give money to my orphanage on planet Lilly. But I’d like them to have a fund or something that could ensure that the money goes through proper channels, and isn’t funneled off.”

He didn’t think it would happen, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The woman, Rebecca, according to his AI, didn’t flinch at the mention of an orphanage. She simply asked, “Which city?”

Matt told her, “Warrington.”

The screen she was using flashed with a list, and Rebecca’s eyebrows almost reached her hairline.

She scrunched her face and asked, “Sorry sir, there are quite a few. Which one, in particular, are you looking to give to?”

“Warrington’s Upper East Side Orphanage #3.”

At that, the woman flinched slightly. Clearly, she wasn’t used to more than two dozen orphanages in a single city.

She spoke up with the same professional voice and smile. “How much would you like to donate, and what would you like to set the money aside for?”

They went over the details, and it took nearly twenty minutes. But in the end, he gave ten Tier 5 mana stones in credits. The value of fifty million credits was shocking when he thought about his equipment. But then, credits were only really used on low Tier worlds for mundane things. So, Matt had to quell the cognitive dissonance brewing in his head.

Rebecca suggested what restrictions were normal. They seemed reasonable to Matt. Mostly, they restricted the usage of the funds. Wages could be increased, and new people hired, but there were limits set by the bank’s AI’s.

Matt read it over, but he had no financial background, so he looked to Travis. After giving the paperwork a good once over, he just gave Matt a nod of approval.

When they were leaving, Travis leaned over and added another two Tier 5 mana stones. Matt tried to protest, but Travis clapped a hand on his shoulder and insisted.

At that moment, Matt realized that he was actually an inch or so taller than the man. He had never noticed before, as the man had a presence befitting his higher Tier.

“Come on Matt, that’s not much to me, really. And it’s not all just goodwill on my part. The bank will see that I’m a Tier 17, and they’ll put a lot more effort into making sure the money is used well. If I didn’t associate myself with the account, they would assign a lower Tier AI. It could possibly be tricked with things like paying a family for construction, or something along those lines. This way you’re covered”

Liz’s brother shrugged nonchalantly with a warm smile. “Don’t even worry about it.”

Matt watched the man as he held open the door for the entering couple. He may have thought it was no big deal, but it was. At least, it was to him.

Matt opened his mouth to tell him so as they headed to rejoin the others, and was elbowed again. “Matt, relax. Really. It’s pocket change to me. I could have given more, but after a certain point, the money won’t really help. Personally, I would have suggested you not give any more than that. It wouldn’t have painted a target on them, but it wouldn’t accomplish what I think you’re looking for either. There’s a reason that the Empire restricts donation amounts. It also stops higher Tiers from crashing local economies.”

Matt spoke up, “Still, you may consider it nothing, but you putting your name on it will help. It’s a Tier 4 world. People there think Tier 5’s are strong. They’d shit themselves and die if they saw a Tier 17.”

Travis chuckled, but said nothing more.

They spent the rest of the day signing up for classes for Liz and himself at the local university.

Liz was going to work on her Alchemy skills while they had the free time. Matt took a remedial education class that would last a month; three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he would be taking a class that would cycle him through the major crafting professions.

The classes only took an hour of time each afternoon, so it wasn’t much of a workload. Matt was tired of having to rely on Liz for things he would know if his home planet wasn’t so mismanaged.

He was even able to schedule a therapist meeting twice a week. Travis again counseled him not to settle, and reminded him that they had nearly a year for him to find someone he liked. All three of them said that they messaged their therapists at least once a month, even when they weren’t on the same world.

Later that night, Matt idly mentioned to Keith that he missed delving. Keith was sitting in the lounge chair next to him, watching the valley beneath the floating house.

“Yeah, I wish I could refill rifts with my mana. It would be nice to always get the best rewards, like they were at the beginning of the training world. I tried to push mana out into the air, but it just went into the surroundings instead of the rift.”

He didn’t hear anything in response from Keith, and when he turned to check on him, the man was staring at him with wide eyes.

“What?”

Matt waved his hand in front of the man’s face and still got no reaction.

Almost a full minute later, he snapped out of it.

“Travis!” His shout startled Matt.

His husband appeared out of nowhere, with sudsy hair and only in a towel.

“What?”

Keith looked at Matt with an evil grin.

“Rift refills with Matt's mana.”

Travis opened his mouth, and mouthed a few words before saying, “Find a rift. I'll grab the ring with the slabs.”

With that, they were both gone.

Liz came walking in from the kitchen a moment later. They stood there confused, until Travis flew by them, saying, “Get ready, we’re going to be flying. Harness up.”

They did so, but Liz asked, “What did you say to them?”

“I just mentioned that it would be nice to refill rifts, and Keith went silent. Then they lost their minds.”

Liz looked as confused as he was, so they simply waited after the three of them got their harnesses on. Aster was as confused as they were, but far more unwilling to be in the air, even with a safe fall harness made for her. She retreated into her backpack, and refused to even stick her head out.

The married couple blew past Matt and Liz, both taking off into the air. He and Liz had to scramble to catch up.

Liz tried to shout at them, but the wind ensured that she was unheard by everyone but Matt, who was holding her. Five minutes later, they landed near a rift, and Keith started pulling slabs of metal out of a new spatial ring.

Travis pointed at the rift, and the metal slabs formed a circle around it. “Matt said that he wished he could refill rifts. He can. He just needs a concentration formation. These metal slabs naturally pull in mana, slowly. They help keep rifts functioning with enough mana to operate, but at a slightly higher rate than they would be at naturally. It’s also how the rifts in PlayPens are kept up and running constantly. The other option is just dumping mana stones into the rift, but that’s disgustingly wasteful at the higher Tiers.”

Keith finished placing the slabs of metal, which, when the circle was complete, started drawing the ambient mana forward at a slow but perceptible rate.

Travis finished, “The formula for refilling a rift to full is 10*(Tier+1 + (Tier+1)/2) mana stones of their Tier, plus one. That means Matt can refill a rift of his Tier, on his own, to full. In about ten minutes until Tier 20 where it will double.”

Matt had his AI do the math, and was shocked at how broken that was.

He asked while looking at the table, “What would it take to fill them to sustainability?”

Keith grinned, “About a tenth of that.”

Liz was clearly doing the math as well and said, “I hate you more and more. There has to be a catch somewhere.”

Travis wiggled his hand, “Ehhh. Kinda, Mana Concentration isn’t considered, and the efficiency of a mobile formation is about seventy five percent at best. But still, those don’t matter when you never run out of mana.”

Matt thought through the implications of this new discovery, and just let out a soft, “Fuck me. This can’t get out.”

Travis simply shrugged, and Liz said, “Mom and dad would never let anyone kidnap you. Mana battery or no. You’re my friend, and my partner. On top of that, Uncle Manny wouldn’t let anyone touch you while you’re on The Path, or off it, for exactly the same reason.”

That made Matt pause and think back to when Liz had shown him how to manipulate his skills.

Her words came back to him with the clarity of a movie, thanks to his AI.

“Meh. Uncle Manny wouldn’t care if I told you. Just don’t tell anyone else except Aster when she gets to that part...”

Uncle Manny...

There was only one name that was shortened to Manny that he knew of. And also only one person with that name that would interact with people in the Tier 40’s.

He cleared his throat and asked, “Umm, by Uncle Manny... You don’t happen to be talking about The Emperor, Emmanuel, right?”

Liz just nodded like it was no big deal.

Matt snapped, “Why did you teach me things the EMPEROR told you not to teach people. I could get in a lot of trouble.”

Liz shrugged, and Travis laughed, saying, “Matt, Liz has Uncle Manny wrapped around her finger. She’s the youngest niece he has. He really wouldn’t care.”

Matt dropped to his ass.

Keith cocked his head and asked, “Can you move to the right a bit and charge the rift? While you have an existential crisis.”

Matt shuffled and put his hand to the cold metal, dumping 18MPS into the gathering formation.

“At least the Emperor seemed like a nice guy when I met him.”

Travis asked, “You met him?”

“Yeah, one of my friends at the PlayPen got a super rare Talent, and it alerted the Emperor.”

He didn’t want to say too much about Melinda’s Talent, as it wasn’t his secret to share. But that seemed to be enough.

A bubble of force came around them, and the nighttime sounds of the forest disappeared.

Travis nodded and said, “It must have been an amazing one. Uncle Manny’s Talents basically allow him to copy anyone’s Talent, and swap them out at will. So he’ll always be alerted if the Talents hit thresholds. It must have been really good if he called in person.”

Matt was flabbergasted. “He can steal Talents?”

Travis waved his hand in dismissal, “No, no. Nothing like that. His Tier 1 Talent is something like: can copy anyone else's Tier 1 Talent. Repeat for Tier 3, 25 and 50. He can just yoink anyone’s Talent if they’re at least five Tiers below him, without them noticing. But they can feel and resist it if they’re close to his own Tier. However, it doesn’t have any downsides to the person he takes them from.”

Matt still didn’t know what to think of that. “That seems extremely broken. He can mix and match with an Empire’s worth of Talents.”

Matt was sure that with how happy the Tier 50 had seemed with Melinda’s Talent, he had taken a copy of it.

That raised another question, “Can he just take it from anywhere?”

Travis shook his head, “Nah. His target needs to be within his spiritual sense. So a planet or two away.”

That was even more surprising. Matt’s spiritual sense extended a few dozen feet. He didn’t even want to think of how powerful one had to be to extend worlds apart. That wasn’t even usually measured in real space distances, as the chaotic space that allowed them to travel between planets wasn’t the same as normal space.

Most worlds were found in different universes. The chaotic space let them jump between the universes, and even between galaxies in the same universe. Chaotic space linked planes of existence with essence, which meant all worlds that had life at one point would be connected.

Matt’s focus drifted back to the ability to have any Talent.

“Does he have a limited number of Talents that he can remember at any one time?”

Travis shook his head, “Nope, but they don’t grow with him. Most Talents, even the non Tier 3 Talents, grow a bit. Usually the Tier 3 is the dedicated Talent that grows the most. But he takes a copy as it is, and it can’t grow at all. I’m sure with how your Talents are working, he’s waiting until you hit a higher Tier to copy your Tier 3. If he took it now, I’m pretty sure he’d have 20 max mana. Which isn’t an improvement.”

“I don’t know how to feel. It almost feels invasive.”

Travis shrugged at that. “I don’t see it that way, but I understand what you mean.”

Liz interjected, “It’s not like he hurts anyone, and he always pays people for the Talents that are really useful to him. Once they reach a high enough Tier, that is.”

Matt thought it over. Paying people helped, but it still felt weird that someone could have his Talents.

He had to admit that he would scout the entire Empire if he had that ability. It was only potent if he could mix and match the various Talents into combinations.

“That’s so broken. So that’s why he called Melinda and seemed to be happy? I guess it makes a lot more sense that he would have his AI watching Talents then. It feels like he would really like to be able to view everyone’s Talents.”

Liz and Travis laughed at that.

Keith spoke up, after a while. “He would. And in private dinners, he’s even said as much. But any breach in security would put a vulnerability in the system, so he does it the hard way. He’s doing the best he can to make himself strong, while protecting the privacy of the common man as well. If he wanted, I’m sure he could get into the system. He doesn’t because it could possibly hurt people if the info got out.”

That was a fair point, Matt had to admit. As a Tier 50, the man could take whatever he wanted.

The rift behind him changed suddenly. They all turned their attention to it.

Liz murmured, “Well, that’s fucking stupid as hell.” She poked her brother in the ribs, making him jump slightly. “How much does one of these cost? I want one.”

Keith laughed, “BethBeth, even the cheapest of these is in the Tier 10 price range.”

That crushed Matt’s hopes.

Travis tossed out, “Don’t look so down. With how much mana they’re gonna be burning through when they start building temporary structures, the value of mana is going to skyrocket. I’m sure you’ll be able to buy a set of these. Shit, you’ll probably be able to completely regear as well. Or at least buy a skill or two. You’re gonna make a ton of money either way.”

That perked Matt up. He could never have enough money. There was always something to spend it on. After seeing the couple’s house, he definitely wanted a bigger bag, so he could travel with something better than a tent.

Their house had all the protections and luxuries one could ask for.

They all looked at the rift for another long moment. Finally, Keith began to speak.

“Well, let’s clean this up, and I’ll quickly delve this back to where it was. We don’t want to leave any evidence about your ability to feed rifts. That would be dangerous.”

Matt shuddered slightly at that thought. He still hadn’t even processed how valuable it would be for every group to enter a rift and get the maximum rewards. All it would cost him was time.

He was glad he had Liz’s family as a shield that he could throw around. He didn’t want to get locked away in someone’s dungeon. Anyone could get greedy with the prospect of rift rewards that strong.

I could probably even make a rift, given enough time.

That was an even crazier thought. One he also kept to himself.

That night, his dreams were filled with the horrors of being captured and forcibly Tiered up, until he was able to power some dukes personal rift. His dreams were so bad, Aster left his bed and scampered to Liz’s room.

After the third night terror, Matt just went down to the grassy area and watched the stars. He loved the view. They reminded him that even while he would eventually have the strength to crush them, they still didn’t care about him. His problems were insignificant on any universe’s scale.

Keith plopped down next to him.

Matt sat up, “Did I wake you? I’m sorry...”

“Nah, not at all Matt. You really don’t need to sleep when you hit Tier 15. It’s mostly just a habit, and it’s nice to sleep with loved ones. Well, it’s still good to sleep to let your mind settle. But you need that a lot more than I do.”

Keith just sat with him for a while. Eventually, he said, “I get what you’re going through. When Travis got serious, I went through the same thing.” He chuckled at the memory, and a wide smile seemed plastered to his face, “He didn’t tell me shit. I walked into a ‘family get-together’ and found myself with five of the Empire’s royals, and more dukes than I could count. I nearly shit myself when my AI noted all the names and ranks. Ascenders, I was so mad at him.”

The Tier 17 waved out to the surroundings. “My parents were the first generation to settle a new Tier 3 planet. They were only Tier 7, but by helping subjugate the world and settle it, they got a massive land grant along the coast. I still grew up on a weaker world, and even with them helping, my prospects were limited. I got a crafting Talent, but I always wanted to delve. I grew up on the movies and shows. My point is, I get how shocking it can be to get thrust into the world of power.”

Keith let Matt think, and finally, Matt said, “I worry that I’ll lose my agency with someone like Liz. It wasn’t so bad when I just thought her parents were strong. Now, I know that they’re the strongest people. Period. They can take or do anything they want. I know Liz doesn’t want that, but now a small part of me whispers, ‘how can I say no?’ I understand that acting that way would be exactly what she’s afraid of, but...”

Matt trailed off. He knew Liz didn’t want that, but the discrepancy in backgrounds left him feeling inadequate.

He looked to Keith. “Do you ever feel like you can match up to Travis? You delve together and explore new planets together. Do you have a larger team, or is it just you two? I worry that I’ll hold Liz back. She knows more than I do, and she’s a princess, for Ascender’s sake. I don’t even know what her life growing up was like, let alone where she’ll end up.”

Matt continued rambling, and Keith let him get it all out. Finally, when Matt ran out of steam, the Tier 17 said, “I felt the same as you do in the beginning. We were never on The Path, so it was slightly different, even though Travis never relied on his parents. But yes. I felt like I was dead weight. We talked about it, and he was shocked that I would think that.”

He hooked a thumb over his shoulder and finished, “Mara and Leon do great work raising their kids in most ways. They get raised on tales of how no one is lesser. I myself, and I’m sure you as well, got raised on stories about how those with power are inherently better. A lot of the middle nobles are pushing that narrative after all. Especially the ones who did nothing but inherit their positions.”

“I don’t have the answers, Matt. All I can say is, I get it. And honestly, with your Talent, you could go anywhere. Even now. You’ll rise on your own merit. Shit, it might be hard for Liz and Aster to keep up with you. I’ll bet that’s what Liz is thinking right now. How do you keep up with the man who can refill a rift of his Tier in ten minutes?”

Matt spoke without thinking, “I’d never leave them behind. They aren’t...” He trailed off, seeing the correlation, “Useless. And I’m sure Liz sees it the same way with me and her background.”

The Tier 17 hoped to his feet. “I’m glad you made the leap yourself. Now let’s go get a spar in. The sparring room is soundproof, so we won’t bother anyone else. I even have an armor breaking skill that I’m sure you can practice with. It will pop your skill, and it’s good to learn how that feels and learn how to defend against it.”

Keith was an infuriating opponent. He was a hammer and shield user. Even when the man fought at Matt’s own physical abilities, he was able to avoid any attack. He had decades of experience, and it showed. Even Matt’s best attacks were blocked or deflected with little effort.

The only strike Matt landed with the practice sword was when he flared [Mage’s Retreat] to change his speed. The trick didn’t work a second time, but Keith constantly gave feedback. It was incredibly helpful for Matt’s own combat ideas. Even if they didn’t work against Keith, he told Matt what combinations gave him the most difficulty.

The fact was, Matt was at a disadvantage, using his longsword against a shield that he couldn’t batter through. It forced Matt to rely on Longsword techniques that he hadn’t needed since he bought the Tier 5 sword. He was so used to it cutting through everything in Tier 4.

The Armor breaking skill shattered [Cracked Phantom Armor] at the slightest touch. The skill Keith used was directly attacking and destabilizing the armor’s skill structure. It was somehow shaking the skill, and punching holes into where the mana traveled. That combo made it take nearly a minute for Matt to get the skill back up. He knew what he'd be asking Keith to do for the next few months.

They fought for so long, even Keith worked up a slight sweat. Matt took that as a win. It was the only one he got that night. Still, the sparring helped him calm down. And if nothing else, improving his skill was always a step in the right direction.