Having read countless LitRPGs, I knew one thing for certain: specialization was the key to success. It felt strange basing my decisions on fictional literature, but considering my situation now mirrored those very tales, it seemed warranted. Still, I didn’t want to make any assumptions, so I decided to get answers straight from the source.

I turned to Velarion, trying to sound confident despite the whirlwind of uncertainty in my chest.

“Can you give me a quick rundown of the system? Like... which attributes should I invest in?”

Velarion’s exasperation was palpable. His golden antlers pulsed faintly as if they were expressing his frustration for him. The look he gave me might’ve wilted a lesser person, but I had learned a thing or two from years of navigating the corporate world. If there’s one thing corporate life teaches you, it’s how to bury frustration deep down and smile through it.

The stag finally spoke, his tone carrying the weight of someone forced to explain the obvious.

“How can one be so ignorant? Fine, listen carefully. Astral Body influences your vitality, strength, perception and endurance. Astral Mind affects your energy regeneration and aura control. And finally, Astral Spirit...” He paused, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. “Astral Spirit is less tangible. It governs things like luck, charisma, and... one of the most powerful weapons in an ascendant’s arsenal: Total Energy. And finally…there’s a synergy between the three attributes resulting in astral resistance “

I opened my mouth to ask more, but Velarion, clearly anticipating my question, cut me off with a snort.

“Sure, people pump points into Astral Spirit, but without backing it up, they’re just easy prey ,a meal waiting to be devoured by shadow creatures or the... unsavory types.”

That made sense, but something about it gnawed at me. “Wait. You said the system doesn’t tolerate the stealing of energy. Why would it allow shadow creatures or other sentient beings to do it?”

Velarion’s gaze shifted, his expression softening with what seemed like mild surprise.

“Hmm... insightful,” he murmured, his tone begrudgingly approving. Then he elaborated:

“The system doesn’t tolerate shadow creatures, which is why it rewards a portion of their energy to whoever slays them. As for sentients who hunt others... the system’s goal is to create warriors capable of combating the Shadow Surge. It views such actions as a necessary consequence of that goal. All is fair in love and war, as you humans say.”

Velarion crossed one leg over the other in a strangely human gesture, his antlers gleaming faintly as he continued.

“Most civilized places, however, don’t tolerate such practices. The energy stolen from sentient beings becomes tainted,corrupting the mind of anyone who indulges in it. Those who rely on such methods rarely ascend far; their greed consumes them.”

His words settled over me like a heavy weight, but I remained silent, sensing he wasn’t done. Velarion seemed to enjoy his lectures, and I wasn’t about to interrupt a fountain of information.

“Your case is... special,” he said, his voice taking on a contemplative tone. “The system can only provide so much energy for ascendants from the first three realms. It must have judged that your potential for ascension is reasonably high—albeit in a timeframe of a few hundred years.”

A few hundred years? That phrase should have hit me like a brick, but instead, I latched onto something else entirely: potential for ascension. Forget the hundred years part. The system thought I had potential. That was the takeaway.

As I opened my mouth to ask another question, the stag cut me off sharply.

“Enough,” it said, its tone carrying an air of finality. “We’ve wasted enough time already. Keeping your soul outside your body for too long will start to corrupt you. A few hours should be fine, but no longer.”

It advanced toward me with an effortless grace, and I instinctively took a few steps back. My movements were sluggish, but I could still sense the weight of its presence. The stag tilted its head, amused.

“You wouldn’t even have time to feel it if I wanted to harm you. Now, focus. Try to inspect my status.”

I blinked, unsure what it meant. My instinct was to ask, but something in its expression told me it expected action, not words. Hesitant, I focused on the shimmering, golden figure before me. I thought about seeing—not just its form but its essence—and willed myself to understand.

To my surprise, the system responded.

Spirit Guardian (Level ?????)

Third Realm / Planet Earth

A soft chime echoed in my mind, followed by another notification.

Skill Learned: Inspection (Common)

Use your senses to glean information about entities and objects. Skill levels with Astral Body.

A shiver ran through me—or at least, I thought it did. My golden, ethereal body flickered slightly, a ripple of instability. It wasn’t unpleasant, but the sensation was foreign, like a new limb I was just beginning to control.

“Now,” the stag said, its voice cutting through my thoughts. “Use your attribute points. I won’t tell you how to allocate them—the system encourages individuality. But if I may suggest, start with Astral Mind. You’ve already unlocked the Manifestation skill, and you’ll need the control it offers.”

I nodded, appreciating the freedom to choose. If the system forced my hand, it wouldn’t feel like my progression. But, as it happened, I agreed with its advice.

I willed my attribute points into Astral Mind, and the system responded with another chime.

Attributes:

Astral Body: 13

Astral Mind: 21

Astral Spirit: 16

My body didn’t feel drastically different, but there was a subtle shift, like a faint pressure lifting off my chest. Movement felt slightly easier, as though my form had been hydrated in a way I hadn’t realized it needed.

“What about skill points?” I asked, hoping to gain clarity before making any mistakes.

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The stag, however, didn’t respond. Instead, it swung its head downward, antlers glowing faintly as a jagged tear appeared in the air before us. The portal shimmered with swirling colors, a kaleidoscope of light and shadow.

“Follow me,” it said, stepping through without hesitation. “You need to level up. You’re far too weak.”

The bluntness of its words stung, but I couldn’t argue. It must have been important—urgent, even—if it chose to ignore my question entirely. Pressing the issue didn’t seem wise, so I swallowed my curiosity and stepped forward, crossing the threshold into the unknown.

As the portal enveloped me, the shimmering light grew blinding, and the last thing I heard was the stag’s voice, sharp and unyielding.

My mind struggled to comprehend what I was seeing. I was floating in a void—empty yet impossibly busy at the same time. Shimmering geometrical shapes surrounded me, pulsating with an unnatural rhythm. Spheres and circles overlapped and intertwined in ways that shouldn’t have been possible. They were mesmerizing yet deeply unsettling, as if reality itself was unraveling before me.

This was nothing like the controlled fantasies of my daydreams, where I was always in charge. In my dreams, I faced close calls and injuries for the sake of the narrative, but it was all under my control. Here, I felt detached, as if I didn’t belong. My whole being rejected this reality, spiraling into an existential dread that stretched for what felt like an eternity.

Then, I felt something—a gentle yet powerful nudge that snapped me out of my descent. Velarion’s voice followed, calm yet commanding.

“Don’t let your mind wander here. It could quite literally be your demise. What you’re seeing are higher-dimensional realities. You’ll start to tolerate it as your Astral Mind evolves.”

Still in awe, I mumbled, “So... is this the Astral Realm? Where was I before?”

Velarion’s golden antlers pulsed faintly, and I could sense that familiar exasperation creeping into his tone. But I didn’t stop.

“Look, I get this might be elementary for you, but for me? This is supposed to be impossible. Just a glimpse of what I’ve seen—of what I’ve heard—could trigger religious wars back on Earth. So cut me some slack, alright?”

The stag turned its gaze away, considering my words, then spoke with a hint of amusement.

“Hmm, quite right. Yes, this is the Astral Realm proper, and I am shielding you from its full influence. But no shielding is impermeable. Space and time hold no sway here. What you’re seeing are pockets of reality, floating within the entropy.”

He paused, his tone shifting to that of a patient lecturer.

“What you did—when you foolishly projected yourself here—was breach the barrier between the Third and Fourth Realms. The Astral envelops all the realms, acting as a bridge, while reality itself serves as a barrier.”

Emboldened by the scraps of useful knowledge, I asked the question that had been gnawing at me.

“Why are you helping me? Why do you want me to get stronger?”

I braced for a harsh response, but to my surprise, Velarion looked almost... proud.

“Good. Always question everything. Give your trust sparingly and rarely.”

His voice softened, tinged with nostalgia.

“The truth is, I have been the Guardian of Earth for centuries. Ascendants are rare, but one or two would emerge every decade or so. I helped them train, guided them to assimilate the system. They stayed for a time, aiding me in patrolling Earth’s boundaries, before eventually moving on to higher realms.”

Velarion’s golden eyes seemed to drift elsewhere, lost in memory.

“But I haven’t seen an Ascendant for over a century. The task has grown tedious. No beings from higher dimensions bother with the under-leveled shadow creatures that roam your realm.”

I was taken aback by his words.

“Why did humans stop ascending?”

He sighed, his tone contemplative.

“That’s a question I’ve asked myself many times. My best guess? Humans stopped nurturing their spirits. What was once standard practice became superstition, discarded as archaic. But enough of this delay.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced. Sure, people may have moved away from old religious practices, but a new wave of spirituality and beliefs was gaining traction. Humans weren’t entirely disconnected from their spirits—were they?

Before I could press further, Velarion tilted his head, smirking slightly.

“You’re wandering again. I can tell by that dumb look on your face. Focus. We’re going there.”

He gestured toward what seemed like nothing—just empty space. And in the blink of an eye, the void around us dissolved.

I found myself standing in a vast, alien forest. The trees were impossibly tall, their metallic-blue bark shimmering faintly under a pinkish sky. The air hummed with an energy I couldn’t place, as if the entire forest was alive, watching.

“Welcome,” Velarion said, his tone laced with a mixture of pride and warning. “To your first real test.”

I kept looking around, taking everything in. My body was still golden, its surface shimmering faintly, and a long tether stretched out behind me, disappearing into the void. I assumed it connected me to my real body, though I couldn’t be sure. The world around me felt... off. It was unstable, like something fundamental was broken.

“Are we still in the Astral Realm?” I asked, my voice betraying a hint of unease.

“Yes and no,” Velarion replied. “We’re in what we call an unanchored world. Here, the reality barrier has started to erode, allowing the Astral Realm to seep into the material world. Look to the sky—you can see the fissures.”

Following his gaze, I spotted jagged cracks in the sky, each one shimmering with impossible colors that shifted and pulsed like living things. They varied in size, some no bigger than a thread, while others stretched across the horizon.

“Shadow creatures slip through these cracks,” Velarion continued, “drawn by the remnant energy of a dying world. They feast on it, consuming what little is left.”

The mention of shadow creatures made my stomach twist. “Is it safe for me to be here?” I asked hesitantly.

He snorted, the sound almost condescending. “It takes centuries, even millennia, for a world to fully dissolve into the Astral. This is a stable enough environment for now. Besides, this is the best way to level you up in relative safety. Quit stalling and let’s move on.”

That eased my nerves slightly, but part of me still felt uneasy. Could I really grow stronger in an environment like this—under the constant protection of a celestial being? Where was the challenge, the risk, the sense of triumph that came with overcoming real danger?

I glanced at Velarion, then back at the fragmented sky. Maybe it was the weight of the moment, or maybe it was the spark of ambition that had burned in me for years, but I made a decision.

“I want to go alone,” I said firmly.

Velarion turned to me, narrowing his golden eyes. “Why? It’s true that the creatures here should be manageable for someone of your level, but there’s always a chance you’ll encounter a higher-level shadow creature. One beyond your capability.”

I met his gaze, my resolve unwavering. “I took care of those leeches alone before—without the system, without skills. I need to start relying on myself if I’m ever going to grow. If I keep hiding behind you, I’ll never reach my potential.”

Velarion studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he nodded, a glimmer of approval in his eyes. “Hm. Very well. Tribulations can indeed lead to growth. If you focus, you’ll be able to sense the concentrations of energy around you. Seek out the ones that feel similar to your own strength and start there.”

I closed my eyes and tried to focus. At first, there was nothing—just the emptiness of the unanchored world pressing in on me. But after a few moments, faint lines of golden light began to appear, stretching out like an intricate cobweb. Some lines were thin and delicate, while others pulsed with vibrant energy, their thickness hinting at something far more powerful.

I pivoted toward Velarion, and the light surrounding him was blinding—so dense and intense that I instinctively recoiled.

Skill Learned! Astral Sight (Common)

You don’t see with your eyes; you perceive the very fabric of existence.

Skill levels with astral body

“Good,” Velarion said, his voice carrying a note of approval. “That Ascendant title of yours is already proving useful.”

I took a moment to steady myself, drawing a deep breath as I activated my new skill. The world around me transformed. The golden threads I had seen earlier became sharper, more vibrant, their movements like the flow of a living river. The light surrounding me was faint—barely a candle’s glow—but it was there.

I scanned the area, looking for a suitable destination. My eyes—or rather, my senses—settled on a faint cluster of golden lines ahead. The energy there felt manageable, close to my own level.

Without hesitation, I turned toward it, determination surging through me.

“Be careful,” Velarion called after me, his voice calm but firm. “And remember: strength means nothing without control.”

I didn’t look back. This was my chance to prove myself—to push past fear and step into the unknown.

As I moved toward the light, the fragmented sky above seemed to watch me, fissures pulsing faintly like the heartbeat of a broken world