Path to Transcendence

The day had finally arrived. Julius had spent countless hours accumulating as much mana as he could into himself. It was honestly the only slightly boring part of his training. There wasn't much variety he could do with it. He could try different methods of gathering mana but most were less efficient than his usual technique. It didn't make sense to constantly try new techniques if they took more than double the amount of time to absorb the same quantity.

Julius did try to find ways to further compress his mana before he made his core. He didn't figure anything out even after months of extensive testing and experimenting. He believed that liquid was the only state he was going to reach unless he wanted to spend another few years or decades trying to see if it was possible.

At this point, liquid mana was filled throughout the entire space. He believed that he could've done it yesterday, but he wanted to see if he could pack any more in beforehand and go at it with a fresh mind.

Edwin already shared with him the steps he was supposed to take to form his core. The most important was the intent. Julius needed to imagine all the mana merging with his body and soul. Right now, it was a mass of mana that was stored separately. What he wanted was for the mana to become a part of him, and so that he could generate mana of his own.

Julius was used to compressing the mana itself that was already inside of him. The only difference now is that he needed to do the same to the shell surrounding the mana. The barrier that kept the mana contained needed to become smaller. Julius's main concern was that he had already compressed the mana until he couldn't anymore, so he didn't know what was going to happen. Logic says that since he was compressing what held the mana, it would compress the mana inside of it as well.

Despite that, Julius had a feeling that wasn't how it worked. The mana inside of him wasn't actually contained within a physical barrier, it was just the easiest way that he was able to comprehend it. Who knows, there might be an interesting result after he creates his core.

Regardless, Julius sat down and began the process. He envisioned the barrier around his mana shrinking. He wanted it to change into a sphere. The reason for this is that the sphere is one of the strongest shapes in nature. He knew that a sphere distributed force along the arc, and it was the natural shape celestial objects like planets, moons, and stars took. Therefore, a sphere was the mental image he had in his head.

For what seemed to be forever, Julius concentrated on compressing it into a smaller shape. He didn't make any progress, no matter how hard he tried. Maybe, compressing the mana itself beforehand wasn't a good idea, he thought to himself. Too late now, what's done is done. He didn't have the time or the focus to be worrying about what he should've done. He just needed to worry about the task in front of him.

Even with his improved mana manipulation, he couldn't generate enough force for it to compact together. Realizing that he was just wasting energy, he took a step back and thought about what he could do differently.

For a long time, Julius just sat there, contemplating his options. Then he remembered Edwin saying intent was the most crucial aspect, so maybe his intent, or rather, his mental image of the process was wrong.

There was something he had to change. There wasn't enough force from the outside to compress it, that was the main issue.

Wait, outside. There isn't enough force from the outside, but what about the inside?

Julius was thinking about whether or not he could use the same vortex method. He used a vortex to bring mana inside of him, but if he used it again, there would be nowhere for the mana to go. He didn't want to remove the mana, he just wanted to compress it. So that idea was out.

But maybe he was onto something. He needed an internal force that simultaneously pulled the barrier into itself while smashing it together from the outside to make it more dense. The first thing that popped into his head, was how gravity pulled various gases and particles into a star.

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Okay, he would use the image of gravity to act on the inside while he compressed it from the outside. Deciding on how he wanted to do it, he settled down and got to work.

It was the same as before, just struggling to condense it but with nothing happening. However, after some time had passed he couldn't keep it up anymore and had to take a break. Taking a step back again, he looked at his mana. It was a beautiful combination of every color, sparkling like a rainbow lantern in the middle of the night. It was–

Wait a moment. It was smaller. Call me crazy but I think it is actually smaller.

He had spent several hours each day meditating, observing it. So he had a good idea of what it normally looked like. But right now, he could swear it looked just a hair smaller than usual.

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Julius didn't care that he might be seeing things, this was the best opportunity yet. He immediately jumped back into it and continued. This time, he wasn't going to stop until he formed his core. His entire soul struggled, it was like pushing a house-sized boulder up a hill. But with a supreme will, he commanded for it to condense. He wasn't giving it an option anymore. He wasn't stopping until he accomplished forming his core. Julius wouldn't be denied.

Suddenly, Julius felt the slightest give. Just the most subtle movement. Noticing it was ever so slowly condensing, he redoubled his effort. He was squeezing every ounce of strength from his will as possible. All he cared about was forming his core, there was nothing else distracting him.

It steadily picked up pace. It was no longer crawling, it was walking. And it was continuing to increase in speed. The boulder no longer felt like he was pushing it uphill, it was as if he had gotten over the crest and now it was gaining momentum on the way down.

It was scary, Julius could feel the force behind it. It was spreading throughout his body, suffusing his flesh with sheer power. He was becoming one with mana, but he didn't know if his body could take this amount of energy.

Julius felt like his bones were being ground down into dust, his skin ripped out in chunks, and his brain doused in burning gasoline.

Then gone in an instant, the pain stopped. The force had culminated to a peak and finished increasing. Now his body was saturated by this force and it sat comfortably throughout him. Julius felt like a new person, humming with untamed energy, incomparable to before. And sitting right in the middle of his body was a sphere radiating power.

He did it. For a second there he doubted whether or not he could succeed. But now Julius was officially Tier 1 and had taken the first step.

Julius took a moment to inspect his newly formed core. It was a pure white orb surrounded by a glowing ring of soft white light. It was mesmerizing and comforting to feel. Similar to a heated blanket and hot cocoa on a cold winter morning.

Julius didn't have more time to investigate his core, because his door slammed open. Standing in his doorway were Edwin and Lukas, both of them with wide smiles across their faces.

"Congratulations!" Lukas yelled with his hands in the air.

Edwin didn't say anything, but his smile was more than enough to show how proud he was.

Julius laughed. It wasn't often the two of them took off their stoic masks and relaxed. But it was nice whenever they did. It always felt like they genuinely cared about him.

"Thanks! You better watch out old timers, at this rate, I am going to leave you two behind." Julius teased.

Lukas laughed good-naturedly, and replied, "Maybe in a few centuries you will, don't get cocky. You wouldn't want to be like the other noble kids would ya?"

Julius dramatically grimaced, "If I ever become like that, just put a sword in my stomach. It would be a more merciful end."

They both laughed together. High off of Julius's recent advancement.

However, Edwin decided to step in. "I guess if you're feeling so confident, we should test out your new strength huh?"

Julius with a confident grin replied, "Bring it."

Half an hour later Julius was lying face down in the dirt. I should not have said anything to him. Me and my big mouth, I got overconfident, he regretfully thought in his head.

His overall strength had significantly increased. Everything from his speed, power, mental processing, and reflexes felt like they were on a whole other level. He ended up sparring with both of them, which was unusual because Lukas was normally very busy with house business and didn't have time to train with him. Now that he was Tier 1, he noticed that the whole world seemed to slow down compared to before. The previous him was always feeling like he was in a rush, that he was always a second behind his opponent.

When they first started, he blitzed right out the gate at Edwin, trying to create an opening through sheer aggression. However, now he noticed he had more control of his actions. Before, he was just like a maniac, trying his hardest to get a hit on Edwin. But after he formed his core, he could plan out his strikes more effectively. Julius was able to find a balance between aggression and anticipation. In that moment he understood that the changes to his mind were probably the most impactful changes.

Julius was finally able to use [Spatial Perception] throughout the entire fight. He didn't realize it, but the skill allowed him to get an unnaturally good feeling on judging distance within strikes. He was now dodging punches and kicks with centimeters to spare, and it allowed him to get into a better position to counter back. He knew exactly where he needed to be to punish their positioning.

His uncle was much more fun to spar with than Edwin. Lukas spent time letting Julius get a feel for his new abilities and just casually defending while throwing some probing attacks. Generally, just allowing him to explore his new strength.

Edwin on the other hand, was like his normal self. He let Julius get acclimated to his strength for a couple of minutes. However, once he felt he had a good grasp, he started to ramp up his own strength. Edwin pummeled Julius black and blue. He didn't give Julius the chance to take the initiative, just bulldozing him. Edwin would even charge some mana into his strikes so that they either shocked or exploded with force on impact.

Julius naturally tried to replicate him. While narrowly dodging for his life, he attempted to shape mana around his fist. Seeing an opportunity, Julius shifted his shoulder and ate a punch. However, this gave him a second to throw his mana-covered fist, glowing with a white aura. He managed to hit Edwin right in the stomach.

To his and Edwin's surprise, it did nothing. Apparently, his strike was nothing more than a colorful fist and a waste of mana. They both just paused. With Julius's fist still in his stomach, Edwin just looked down at him with extreme disappointment and judgemental eyes.

Sighing, Edwin shook his head and leaned slightly back. Then he Spartan kicked the embarrassed Julius twenty feet across the yard.