Both Alistair and Riseth finally reached level 100 and cheered and hugged as they managed to get it done before their arena matches. They were in the last month of the trial, and both expected their duels to start soon as the first people with the Elite Trial Tournament Champion title were dragged into the arena.
Grade Advancement
Description:
You have sufficient records to advance your Grade to 8. You must complete any system-imposed requirements to start the advancment. The quality of your accumulated records and your affinities will determine your available racial evolution and potential titles if any.
Warning: You will be defenseless during an evolution, and it is recommended that you evolve while guarded or in a secure location.
Prerequisites:
Racial [Nephilim]:
Develop at least three skills to supreme rating [3/3]
Each stat must have a total of 800 points or higher [6/6]
Body Cultivation:
Kill or defeat at least one opponent of a higher grade than yourself in single combat [1/1]
Augment your physiology to create at least three augmented organs/body parts [3/3]
All Advancement requirements have been met. Do you wish to advance your Grade?
[YES]
[NO]
"I got quite a few more requirements this time around. How about you?" Alistair asked.
"Same. Did you meet yours?" Riseth replied.
They exchanged their requirements and found them quite similar. Riseth had two specific stat requirements. One for her Succubus Sovereign title, which demanded a total of 700 across all stats, a threshold she had surpassed by a large margin. The other was for her Body Cultivation, requiring a high skill level in Dual Cultivation and a Charm stat total of 900, which she also easily exceeded.
Alistair was suddenly glad he had decided on a mostly even spread for his stats, as he had cut it close with some of them. He wondered if the 800 points were a minimum requirement and if this meant his stats were impressive or lackluster, but he suspected the former. He had rushed to Grade 8 to complete it before the trial ended, whereas he had taken his time to reach Grade 9, focusing on his foundation. He could have taken more time to cultivate, increasing his stats passively, but he was confident he was still far ahead of the curve. The potential titles and rewards from the Ascendant Tournament would more than likely compensate for any lost cultivation time. He was also quite far ahead with his Augmented Physiology, although he had mostly focused on maintaining the ones he had created. He knew he would likely not evolve without the assistance of an Evolution stone or similar treasure. Still, both he and Riseth decided to retreat to their room before risking to advance and potentially evolve out in the wild. Once they reached their room, they both sat on the bed, Riseth insisting he advanced first this time.
Notifications:
An increase in Grade has further tied Natural Resilience to [HP] and increased its efficiency. An increase in Grade has initiated the formation of pathways within [Alistair Ryser] and increased the stat gain per level and the efficiency of all stats.
An increase in Grade has modified your digestion, allowing you to absorb magic from food without traditional processing or waste elimination. [Body Cultivation] has prevented the removal of redundant organs. Title Swift Ascendant [Legendary] has been obtained. Title Early Power House [Supreme] has been obtained.
His stay in the Soulscape was brief, and although he didn't undergo a species transformation, he sensed a tangible difference as his power surged to new heights. The faint sensation he experienced after consuming the tea evolved into something more physically and spiritually perceptible as the energy within his body began to flow through those new pathways and circulated more swiftly and smoothly than ever before. Alistair chuckled at the third notification as he read over the notifications, finding it redundant since his Sunforge Organs had already eliminated his need for traditional digestion. The second message was of larger concern, and he wondered just how much he had benefitted from that tea Mitania had shared with them. Were the sensations he now felt the norm or more powerful than they were supposed to be upon forming? Either way, he felt at peace and refreshed, as if a piece that had been missing had been slotted in.
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A quick read over the title painted a smile on his face as it provided excellent benefits, though he was still slightly annoyed that it was another secret title.
Titles: Tier: Name Effect: Origin: [Legendary] Swift Ascendant
Greatly Increased rate of record acquisition and quality.
Moderately lowered prerequisites for future skill upgrades and acquisition.
Acquired by advancing two whole Grades in less than a year. The system guards the title, preventing divulging the path to its acquisition or existence.
[Supreme]
Early Power House
Grants a 5% bonus to all stats.
Slightly increased rate of record acquisition and quality.
Grants 50 points to all Stats.
Be among the first 1% of individuals to reach Grade 8 in a freshly integrated universe with an average stat total exceeding 600 points per stat.
Over their resonance, Riseth immediately knew that he had gotten another secret title and that it was a good one. She eagerly closed her eyes as she started her own advancement. Alistair observed her, but she opened her eyes shortly after, also not evolving. A quick glance at her new titles explained the satisfaction she had sensed from him and she agreed both of these would be a great help and mitigate the difference they were bound to experience once they left the trial. There was still a lot to consider, and first, she would have to feel out for the changes the upgrade in grade had enacted.
Exchanging what they could considering their titles, the system clearly encouraged both swift advancement and taking the time to build a strong foundation, which was good to know. He would categorize the gains from taking time as slightly preferable as it was all too easy not to fall in the 1% margin and miss out, whereas taking time had no such risks. Then again, there might be a 5% or even 10% variant; he would have to ask around about that later. Looking at the chunky title effects, he wondered just what kind of title the first person to reach Grade 8 had gotten. The prospect of this put a small dampener on his prospective ranking in the universe ladder, but he hoped his luck would aid him with matchups.
"Well, we knew it was unlikely for us to evolve without a ritual or treasure," Riseth remarked, stretching with a contented smile. "But I don't think we missed out on much. I feel amazing," she added, wrapping her arms around his hips.
Alistair casually brushed the hair out of her face, tracing her cheek with his fingers. "Yeah, it's probably difficult for us to evolve, considering we both jumped straight into such high-tier species."
She went on her knees, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before jumping off the bed. "We should still try to get some additional levels in," she sighed.
Alistair groaned but agreed with her assessment, curious about how many stat points he now gained per level. A quick glance at his skills revealed that many had downgraded again, even though it hadn't been long since he last upgraded them. Fortunately, most of his stronger skills remained at their tier. He knew that many skills would upgrade again once he gained more stats, and he suspected his high stat total had prevented many from downgrading further. Despite the lower-tier skills, he felt significantly more powerful. The increase in efficiency from the pathways alone had boosted his energy pools by almost 40%. The title's stat injection and percentage increase had pushed all his stats, except Power and Mental, above 1000. He fixed that issue using the points he had saved from the last three levels, bringing all his stats to just over 1000. He had half-expected a title but was disappointed when none appeared.
"Is it strange that I feel bad for the trial beasts? They were hardly a threat before our evolution. I can't imagine the kind of terror we represent for them now," Alistair remarked as they walked toward the door.
"Probably best not to dwell on it. Most of these beasts wouldn't live longer than a month anyway," Riseth responded.
Alistair tilted his head and nodded in agreement before leaving their room. They continued to hunt beasts for two more days but found that, despite their new titles increasing record acquisition, the beasts posed too small a challenge. They only managed to gain one level each, revealing their new stat gains per level: Alistair received 56 points, with 10 automatically assigned to his Body stat, while Riseth gained 51 points, with ten points automatically assigned to Body and five to Charm. It would be a much longer road to Grade 7 as not only would the speed be much reduced and the benefits of Trial be gone, but they would also need to advance to another 100 levels instead of just 50. A quick discussion with Nessyra revealed that she had not gotten such a large increase in stat efficiency or gain per level. Mitania had given them another advantage, and they would use it well.
The very next day, they were pulled into their respective first arena matches. Riseth was the first to get a match, a window informing her she had 1 minute to prepare before teleportation, prompting them to rush to leave the slayer trial world. Alistair couldn't watch Riseth's first match, as her opponent, still in Grade 9, was hopelessly outmatched. His fight was similarly one-sided: he faced a seal-kin with esper powers that failed miserably to affect him and was quickly dispatched. One of the more bothersome aspects of the Tournament was that you did not know how many rounds there were, what the brackets looked like, or even when the next match would happen. Since they did not wish to be teleported at an inopportune moment, they mostly stayed close to the portals or worked on refining their skills and Body Cultivation to the standards of their new grade.
This trend continued, with their opponents growing more and more powerful and the intervals between matches lengthening each time. It reminded Alistair of his previous lackluster matchups throughout the earlier tournaments. He was still dissatisfied with his opponents to the point he almost suspected that the system tossed him the chaff that had managed to get too far into the tournament for him to sort out, as his opponents were often very specialized and did not cope well when countered. Alistair had only faced one Grade 8 opponent, but the gray alien was a dedicated crafter first and fighter second. However, it confirmed that they had a planet of grays within the Milky Way.
While practicing his battle spheres skill, Alistair received another invite to enter the arena. Alistair cheered as he read that he had made it to the top 10. He had suspected that there weren't many rounds left as some of the faster-moving Galaxy Ladders had already concluded. Unfortunately, the rest of his family had fallen off the ladder after meeting Grade 8 opponents, some of whom were from Earth. He felt they were more powerful after falling off, but they could not tell him what the title rewards were due to secrecy restrictions until he fell off the ladder and found out for himself. Simon was the only one still on the Milky Way ladders besides him. He had initially heard of the top 10 notification from Desily, as she had also managed to get into the top 10 of her ladder. He was excited that no matter what, he would get to participate in the universe ladder.
Ascendant's Tournament Home Galaxy Ladder [Milky Way]
Congratulations on ranking in the top 10.
Time left before teleport: 49 Seconds
He spotted his opponent on the other side as he teleported to the usual bland white stone-tiled arena. Alistair was surprised to see one of the centaur-like horsekin, though this one had white fur, a set of white bird-like wings and a spiral horn. Alistair suspected that he was some kind of mix between a pegasus and a unicorn. A quick Identify revealed [Savagio - lvl 103], and a search in his Akashic Record let him know he was an Equusari, which was a variant of Alicorn. But more disturbingly, there was a lack of clothing.
"Dude, put on pants," Alistair requested while using the vicious mockery aspect of his Akashic Sound Board, trying to instill annoyance and hesitation into his opponent.
This got the Equusari's attention as he let out a frustrated neigh and scraped the stone floor with his hoves.
"Ah, another Human," the horse-faced beastkin remarked with a hint of disdain. "Let me guess, you're either special forces or think you've got the power of god and anime on your side?"
Alistair chuckled, unperturbed. "Well, I'm on good terms with Sol, but I wouldn't say he's exactly on my side. And as for being special forces, I'm just a grenadier. Not quite on that level."
The beastkin groaned in response. "I swear, are there no other formidable fighters from the Stellar Steppe besides humans? I've taken down five of them, some higher level than you. Save us both the trouble and surrender."
Alistair considered the statement. It revealed that Savagio had managed to pierce his aura and identify him without him noticing. He also suspected the Stellar Steppe was what they called the Milky Way before he brandished his poleaxe, a cheeky grin spreading across his face as he observed the stands in the arena slowly filling up with indecipherable presences, among them the unmistakable resonance of Riseth and pressure of a few natural gods, one of which he suspected was Sol. "Counter offer," he retorted, "If you put on some pants, I won't have to geld you."