CHAPTER 147.

Amber found herself floating in a sea of stars, and then she blinked as a Primordial Spirit appeared before her. One whom she could recognize anywhere, because it was Ax’thra. Yet, she had a feeling that he wasn’t actually there, and she was right.

“Welcome Amber, to the vision I implanted within you,” he said smiling. “If you’re watching this is because my gut instinct was right, that you truly were extraordinary; and if you aren’t, well you’re dead.”

Amber wanted to feel annoyed at his comment but instead just smiled and nodded. In fact, it made her emotional; truth was she missed Ax’thra, she missed his presence and having him around; his teasing, quips, and even their banter.

“But well, I’m saying all of this in hopes you will succeed.” He waved dismissively. “You may or may not be aware of what this vision is about, but I’ll say it just in case. This is to explain about the 1st Realm of Stars, the first of many realms, and a crucial step that your core must undergo.”

Ax’thra smiled as he laid back, sitting on the stars.

“First things first, congratulations; truth be told your presence has made me very happy over these past few weeks. Hopefully I’m still around even now.”

“You aren’t, but that’s okay,” Amber answered.

“Given you have access to this vision, I can only assume you’re level 350 or 400? After all, becoming a Primordial Human is no easy feat.”

“Uh I’m more like 230…” Amber said, confused.

Though I guess nobody expected me to get to this point this early, huh? she pondered. Otherwise Val or Sid would’ve told me about this. As for Asil? It was clear he didn’t know about any of this.

“Well, whatever it is, just know that I’m impressed.” Ax’thra smiled. “Now, I’ll proceed to explain things about the 1st Realm of Stars, also known as the First Tier. And I’ll do it in a way that is hopefully familiar to you.”

He flicked his finger as visions of a core started playing.

“The 1st Realm of Stars, the First Tier, it’s the first of the ten stages of ascension; the last one being godhood.”

As he finished that, the core broke and showed the bodies of ten people instead. Each with varying amounts of brightness.

“And each stage can be subdivided into three categories that can be advanced to. The first category is the early stage, the second category is the middle stage and the third category is known as the peak stage. But we won’t talk about that for now, this is only one of two visions I prepared after all.”

She blinked as the vision abruptly ended and saw Ax’thra wagging his finger as he continued talking.

“Because this vision is to explain something much more important; reaching the First Tier itself or 1st Realm of Stars. As I’ve told you, it represents a stage of ascension, each being better than the last. This is the start of your journey, and I'd say will be just as impactful to undergo as one of your Class Advancements. So listen carefully.”

Amber nodded at Ax’thra as the visions began once more, this time she saw two men fighting. Both were muscular but one was a high elf and the other was… a dwarf. Both were ripped and punching each other with great strength as Amber stared.

“The difference between an awakened core; such as yours. And an average core is that the awakened core has tiers of ascension. And each tier will grant the user more, even if an average core can match the awakened one, the awakened one will always have an edge because of one simple thing...”

The two men punched, and both soon flared their Essence as Amber recognized the innate glow produced by God’s Physique which both men were using, but the dwarf suddenly pulled back as only one of his arms began to shine and he punched⁠— a loud bang went off and the elf hit a mountain, breaking it apart.

“Essence control and output,” Ax’thra finished. “Unlike normal cores which will be strained by something as simple as this, awakened ones will not. For such strain will just affect your body instead.”

Amber blinked as she saw the dwarf collapse, and breathe roughly, black lines coming all over his body.

“Because awakened cores become one with you instead of a separate entity. That’s why to reach the First Realm of Stars you must first, shatter your membrane, then destroy your inner core, and finally take in your ignited nucleus and make it one with you.”

The vision ended as Ax’thra took a step towards her, gripping his fist. “The first step requires foreign Essence, the second step requires foreign Essence and you following what your own Essence is about; only then will your nucleus be stripped. And the last step…”

He took a deep breath and looked towards the sky.

“It requires something rather simple, for you to understand what your powers should be in the 1st Realm of Stars and reach for them. Only then will your nucleus fuse with you.”

Ax’thra then met her gaze, now with more seriousness than ever before.

“And if you do not understand, if you do not know what you seek, what the purer form of your Essence is; then your core will never fully awaken.”

Amber paused and Ax’thra chuckled to himself.

“Though maybe that won’t be an issue and I’ll just tell you what it is if you beg hard enough,” he said. “Good luck until you decide to come crawling to me for help.”

And with that, the vision ended as Amber blinked, finding herself standing in the middle of the room. Her core was stripped of the membrane completely, so she had already succeeded in that step, what was left was shattering her inner core to give way to the nucleus. And the way to do that was to use the foreign Essence to attack it, and pushing her own limits to actually break through it.

But yet, even though she understood all that, the fact that Ax’thra had taken his time to leave this vision for her made her feel touched, and also a bit sad. Because well, he wasn’t around and she wouldn’t be seeing him for a few years, unfortunately.

She shook her head before chuckling. “Well, a few years is nothing in the face of eternity.”

Her lifespan was probably in the thousands now, so waiting a few years to see the friend that got her started in this world wasn’t the worst. After all, Ax’thra had gone above and beyond for her, so her appreciation couldn’t be understated. She was thankful for him, and his help, extremely so.

Amber smiled to herself. “All the more motivation to go to Ill’hine I guess.” She tilted her head. “Though the First Tier out of ten… interesting…”

She felt more motivated than ever to focus on her core, and thanks to Ax’thra, she knew exactly what to do.

And so, Amber, without sleeping or resting, continued her descent.

* * *

The next floor was an icy hell with beings of ice. Ones that she killed all over the floor even though it was meant to train her resistances mainly.

[Floor 117.]

[You have defeated a [Newling Ice Serpentera. Lvl. 180].]

[You have defeated a [Newling Ice Crab. Lvl. 187].]

…

She saw change to her core, but it wasn’t enough. And so, Amber pushed forward, landing on a floor of pure darkness with beings that could only be killed with her Essence, but she figured out how to kill them with her mana as well.

[Floor 118.]

[You have defeated a [Newling Boreal Spectre. Lvl. 202].]

[You have defeated a [Newling Shadow Reptil. Lvl. 199].]

[You have defeated a [Newling Darkness Erfera. Lvl. 220.]

…

Regardless of the floor Amber continued on climbing, on exerting herself, and on becoming better. But more importantly, she focused on her core and making it better. She focused on tearing down the walls of her inner-core, chipping away at them with every single kill.

[You have defeated a [Newling Earthen Eater. Lvl. 210].]

…

[Floor 119.]

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[You have defeated a [Newling Kin of the First Flame. Lvl. 199].]

…

[Floor 120.]

…

Regardless of how tired each floor made her, or how hurt she felt, she continued. Whether it was fighting a sea of monsters. Enduring immeasurable pain, or even having to hide from an unkillable being. She did it all, all with the goal to become stronger. And that’s why Amber exerted herself as much as she could, going as far as to force herself to fight after using her Primordial Exertion skill.

She pushed her limits to the fullest; to change her core and to grow stronger. Even against the boss of a floor it was no different.

Amber rolled away as the giant golem of rocks stomped the spot where she had just been in. Her body hurt all over and ached in pain from forcing herself too much, and yet she still pushed. She slashed at the golem’s limb as she chipped it, and a rock erected from it, penetrating through her stomach as she collapsed on one leg.

Then, as the golem raised its two massive limbs to crush her, she placed a hand against her chest.

“Reignition and exertion.”

The golem swung down and Amber used Cursewelder in response, breaking through its arms as she threw up a mouthful of blood. Then she stumbled forward and used Quick Step, appearing behind the golem as she pushed her body even more. Drawing more of its strength as she cried.

“Just die!”

Amber swung as she tore through the golem’s backside, rocks exploding as the monster let out a screech of pain. But it wasn’t dead, not yet. She dodged its earth magic, and targeted one of its already battered legs with her next swing, smashing through it with her increased strength. Then, raising her flaming purple fist, she hit⁠—

An explosion of cursed fire hit the beast and caused it to topple. It fell to the ground with a loud rumble as a notification came, and Amber supported herself with her sword. She had long gone above what her body tolerated on Primordial Exertion, but even then she kept using it.

And perhaps it was paying off.

Amber saw the walls of her core flake away, and she was well over halfway through which made her happy. Her progress wasn’t as fast as she would’ve liked, but at the same time it only made sense. Because even if she constantly risked her life, this was still a great step in her progression of power.

It’s the first step out of ten to become god after all.

Amber closed her eyes as the notification of the kill came.

[You have defeated a [Fledgling Primordial Elemental of Earth. Lvl. 245].]

For defeating an enemy 10 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

[You have reached level 231. 15 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

Leveling up was slow, but she didn’t mind it. At this point Amber was completely convinced that the experience she required for a level up was considerably higher than the average person’s. But that didn’t matter, not for what she was doing.

Soon, I’ll be done⁠—

And an unexpected notification came.

[The Shattered Tower is impressed by your performance in Challenge Mode. Perhaps you deserve to be crowned as a hero? Only time will tell on whether a true opportunity to prove yourself will be given or not. However one thing is certain no matter how many millennia pass in this world.

Heroes will rise to the challenge.]

Amber blinked before smiling. “An opportunity to prove myself? I’ll look forward to that.”

After all, one of her goals still remained to go to the second floor of the treasury, and for that she needed to overcome a great challenge. Just like what she needed to shatter the walls of her core.

Still, it seemed that her grind so far had only impressed the tower, so if she wanted to truly access the treasury then she had to keep going.

The difficulty spike between the first and second floor was real, but at the same time she supposed it made sense. After all, she was quite sure that the difficulty depended on the individual’s strength and how much they personally were pushing themselves. And it seemed that Amber wasn’t quite there yet.

She chuckled as she started to walk forward, her body feeling heavy as she approached the entrance to the next floor.

“Let’s get going then?”

Amber smiled and stepped into the portal.

[Floor 122.]

* * *

Amber didn’t know much about the Primordial Spirit of the tower, but she thought about him every now and then. And it was only natural. Arden didn’t say much about them other than the fact that meeting them was near impossible. Yet, Amber was curious, how couldn’t she? It was a Primordial Spirit that had been sealed away by none other than one of her friends, Sid’fril.

So what did he do?

What happened?

And more importantly.

Why?

There were so many questions Amber had as she continued on ascending the tower. And of course, that wasn’t all. She also observed each of the floors she passed.

[Floor 123.]

From a floor that was akin to an ancient temple with carvings reminiscent to the ones in Ax’thra’s tower.

[Floor 124.]

To a floor that was closer to a small town, with monuments and buildings. One that was full of monsters.

[Floor 125.]

But the more Amber observed the more she noticed something. A common theme that seemed to keep on popping up. At first she dismissed it, not thinking much of it even in spite of seeing it in multiple floors, but now she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Because even the books she found on the next floor depicted the same thing.

A monster of multiple heads, one that was said to be a calamity and one that was constantly depicted as the end of the world. Part reptile, part dragon, with breaths of different elements, and it was named the end of it all. Its might rivaled the monsters of the sky of Ill’hine, those that fought in a realm of their own. Those that were just under the gods.

Beings with no set Essence, beings that were said to be blessed by the stars themselves to destroy the gods, whether it be the Primordial Spirits, the Demon Gods, or others. They were twisted monsters that emerged from the deaths of gods themselves. Born from their regret and hatred for the world of the living.

And these creatures were destroyers of stars. They were apex predators, with few beings that could rival their might. They were the dragons of Ill’hine.

Hydras.

Amber let out a breath as she closed the book that depicted their powers and atrocities. These monsters could use any kind of Essence, no matter what it was. Unlike her, they didn’t need to push their limits to achieve it. No, it was because they had multiple cores on their bodies, and so their Essence reserves were unmatched.

A hydra that has reached its true potential can rival even weaker gods…

Such information was hard to believe, but given everything she read about them it only made sense to her. They were beings that did not follow the laws of the world after all.

Amber chuckled. “Having dozens of cores? Now that sounds interesting…”

She looked back at the dead boss of the 126th floor and at the burning town. Just like floor 124, it was similar, except her fight had torn the entirety of the town. But that didn’t matter too much, what mattered was that her core was getting closer to the next step. Her inner walls were almost gone.

All that remained were a few chunks of her core here and there; oddly enough however, she couldn’t see her nucleus, only a blue shining wall surrounding it. But she knew what it was, or what it represented.

It was the last wall before getting to the last step. The last hurdle. And she was getting close to it. She was getting close to the 1st Realm of Stars. To the First Tier of Ascension.

And so, now more motivated than ever, Amber continued on climbing the tower.

* * *

For the week, Amber saw more depictions of the hydras, she saw depictions of the Primordial Spirit, and she also progressed her skills as well as on the schematics of her bone carving endeavors. And naturally, she also progressed her core to the cusp, where only the blue barrier encasing the nucleus remained.

And by the end of it, she reached the 131st floor. Where a battle that lasted over a day occurred against its boss.

Amber screamed as she punched right into the hulking monster. A massive spider with a dozen legs, and immediately blew a hole through it. Then, she collapsed as its acid showered her, melting apart her flesh. She panted, as her body refused to listen to move or listen to her commands.

She was tired. Exhausted.

She hadn’t taken a single break so far, not for actual weeks; and while normally that wasn’t an issue, with her new skill it was different. With her new skill she suffered from true exhaustion; from tiredness.

Amber didn’t remember the last time she felt like this, she couldn’t remember it. Maybe only before she acquired Recovery of Curses did she feel this tired. But this was on another level, because now she couldn’t even force herself to stay conscious.

And in the end…

Amber peered within her, looking at her core with her mind’s eye. There was a large crack on the blue barrier.

It wasn’t enough.

She hadn’t been able to shatter it.

A sigh left Amber, and shortly after she fainted.

[You have defeated a [Fledgling Starweaving Ardrid. Lvl. 250].]

For defeating an enemy 15 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

[Toxin Resistance has leveled up from 5th Rank level 4 to 5th Rank level 5.]

…

[You have reached level 232. 15 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

* * *

Amber awoke to a notification. One she didn’t expect.

[Toxin Resistance has reached 6th Rank ⁠— level 1.

You’ve lived an unfortunate life where poisons seek you⁠— except you’re actively looking for them. Please stop. Poisons and other toxins are considerably less effective on you now

2nd Rank ⁠— All toxins are 30% less effective on you, this is stacked with the main effect of the skill

3rd Rank ⁠— Toxins will be cleansed out of your body within one hour.

4th Rank ⁠— You can now sense toxins and how strong they are.

5th Rank ⁠— Toxins can now be sensed from a distance.

6th Rank ⁠— Contact with powerful toxins builds immunity to them, once immunity is achieved your body remembers it for a week.]

“Wait what…”

Amber paused as she noticed the melted hole on the ground and the green liquid all over her body, and she couldn’t help but do a double-take as she realized what happened.

I actually fainted in a puddle of acid… And the result of it was her Toxin Resistance leveling up five times and reaching 6th Rank. Ridiculous.

Oddly enough she no longer felt tired, in fact, she felt great. She was completely recovered and back in peak condition. Which could only mean one thing; she had been unconscious for at the very minimum a day.

Amber stood up from her spot and climbed out of the pit that she was in. And as she prepared to go to the next floor an unexpected notification came. One that made her grin with excitement as she read it.

[The Shattered Tower has prepared a true challenge to acknowledge you as a hero.

The difficulty of the next ten floors will be merged into one single fight, one that will decide your fate.

Will you rise from champion to hero, or will you run and be forgotten?]

Was it even a question?

She laughed. “Of course I’ll rise to the challenge.”

Not only was this going to get her to the second floor of the treasury, but this would also help her in her ascension.

With a flash of green light, Amber was teleported into a dark room, one that was ignited by a fire pit that was before her. Beyond that, there was a pair of double doors. They seemed to have a carving or something, but it had long been scratched away, rendering it impossible to decipher.

Yet, Amber couldn’t help but gulp as she sensed a presence beyond the double doors; a powerful one that gave her pause.

A single fight that will decide my fate…

She took a breath as she sensed the creature’s power. She had faced a lot of bosses throughout the Shattered Tower, but nothing quite compared to this one. But it only went to show how serious the situation was.

However, even though Amber felt nervous, she still approached the double doors and swung them open. Right now, she has one goal and one goal only.

Ascend.

Amber entered the dark room and the doors behind her snapped shut. Fire pits ignited the wide hall just like before, and Amber was engulfed by bloodlust as the power of the monster she was sensing easily doubled.

And she immediately froze as she saw the monster that was the size of a town square be lit up by the fire pits.

[Newling Primordial Hydra. Lvl. ???.]

Because it was a hydra.