Alistair was enveloped by the darkness of death for but a moment before appearing in the Dungeon Arena, the agony and heat gone, replaced by the cool stone floor he was lying on. Alistair was flooded by notifications and messages. He stood up with a groan as he noticed a crocodilian alien looking at him curiously. He gave a quick nod before leaving the tunnel he appeared in, heading toward the next set of gates.
Notifications: Congratulations on placing 1st on your Galaxy Ladder! Title Galaxy Champion [Supreme] has been obtained. Congratulations on placing within the top 1000 of the Universe Ladder! Title Elite Ascendant [Legendary] has been obtained. The Arena Dungeon will not host any more tournaments and will close soon. Reentry will be denied upon leaving. The Gladiator title has been upgraded to [Gladiator X] The Dungeoneer title has been upgraded to [Dungeoneer 4] Level advanced from 107 to 110. Stat points are allocated, and free stat points are available.
Alistair felt a sense of relief when he didn't receive a skill selection. He had new priorities and more than enough titles to review. He had read that human benefits would start to diminish once he reached Grade 8. He half expected this to happen when he became a Nephilim, but the evolution option had assured him he would retain the innate Human benefits. One's Origin always leaves a lasting impact, even when individuals evolve beyond it. Notably, he hadn't received a skill point yet, even though he had expected to get one at level 110. Based on what he knew, Grade 8 was the cut-off point for multiple innate human benefits; while his skill point acquisition was still above average, he would get less than before, and his innate Human benefit of four skill options would fall off, too. He would receive only three skill choices in the future. Beyond that, there wasn't much information available within the trial on Humans or Nephilim and their progression, but he suspected his next skill choice would come at level 120. The next thing that struck him was the lack of rewards, so Alistair checked his new titles.
Titles: Tier: Name Effect: Origin: [Legendary] Elite Ascendant
The aura and pathway density and quality are improved by a large degree.
Receive System assistance for the next racial evolution to ensure the best choice.
Large improvement to Heritage Records.
A title bestowed upon those who are among the strongest of the Initiates, proving themselves to be True Ascendants. Alistair Ryser's aura will be recognized as that of a True Ascender by those able to pierce his veil, Ranked within the top 1000 Initiates.
The system guards the title, preventing those who do not own it from divulging the path to its acquisition or existence.
[Supreme] Galaxy Champion
Moderate increase in stats obtained per level
A moderate increase in [Talent] affinity.
A title bestowed upon those who ranked first in their assigned Galaxy Ladder. Awarded to Alistair Ryser for winning the [Milky Way] ladder.
The system guards the title, preventing those who do not own it from divulging the path to its acquisition or existence.
Alistair was somewhat surprised that the System had limited the rewards to titles; he had half expected to be teleported to an isolated location and see the usual glowing orb to choose a reward, like every other dungeon so far. He wasn’t entirely sure what the System assistance associated with the Elite Ascendant title meant. Would the records he acquired no longer matter since he would receive the ideal evolution regardless? Did the System not normally offer the best possible evolutions anyway? He would ask Mitania about this in the future, though he wasn't in a rush since it would take a while before it became relevant.
As he walked through the eerily empty corridors of the Arena Dungeon, Alistair contemplated staying to watch the final fights of the strongest contenders. However, he reconsidered, knowing that several of Nessyra's assistants were already busy recording as many of the battles as possible. If he could have used his senses from the stands, it would have been an easy choice. But with his senses restrained, there wasn't much additional insight to gain. With that in mind, he decided he could watch the recordings while cultivating during their travels. With a shrug, he stepped into the gate chamber, dialed the gate for the Study Dungeon, and stepped through the Arena Dungeon gate for the last time.
As he stepped through the gate and headed for his room, Alistair found Riseth already waiting for him. She got up from the bed as soon as she saw him, and they embraced in a kiss.
"Welcome back. So, tell me, which mythical creature managed to put you down?" she asked in a coy tone, her arms still wrapped loosely around his neck as they touched foreheads.
"A damn phoenix. The guy even took the time to teach me a few things while smacking me around," Alistair replied with a chuckle.
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This piqued her curiosity, and he shared a recording of the fight from his perspective through his Akashic Link, providing some commentary as they watched.
"This phoenix probably operates under the assumption that everyone can just do what it can with its incredibly high-tier species and innate understanding of magic," she commented. "I doubt perfecting one's understanding of a concept and forcing it to overwhelm another concept is as easy as he makes it seem."
Alistair thought about it but only partially agreed. His understanding of Kinetics in relation to magic was still very much lacking, as it added many facets. Kinetics had a handful of extremely powerful, closely related concepts that made up its core, such as force and movement, and he wasn't entirely sure how they interacted with certain kinds of magic.
"That might be true, but it's a worthwhile goal to strive for," Alistair replied. "I'd prefer to deepen my understanding of the concepts I'm proficient in rather than combining multiple suboptimal ones into a single arcane construct. Streamlining the process that way would be far more powerful and efficient."
She cupped her chin thoughtfully, tilting her head from side to side before agreeing. They continued watching the fight to its conclusion, and Riseth winced as she watched the white wing erase him.
"I don't think there was any way for you to win this. All the remaining participants on the Universe Ladder are those damn mythical beasts," Riseth commented with some bitterness after watching the recording.
Alistair nodded in agreement. As far as he knew, besides the mythical beasts, all the other participants were filtered out around the same time as he and Riseth had been. A quick exchange showed that despite Riseth being in the top 2000 initiates, she received the exact same title and benefits. The supremacy of the mythical beasts within the ladder wasn't overly surprising as all the mythical beasts had incredible advantages over the regular enlightened species, not least among them their innate understanding of magic. Alistair wondered what it was like to be a dragon or phoenix without magic. Did they feel a part of themselves was missing? How old were the phoenixes? Were they like the jellyfish of Earth, practically immortal even before the introduction of magic? Alistair somewhat doubted it, as Zathen had not given the impression of an ancient and wise creature one would expect from an immortal being.
The next thing Alistair noticed was a surge of power radiating through his connection with King. A quick glance revealed that the Wyvern had advanced to Grade 8 within his shard.
"Huh, King just advanced to Grade 8. I wonder if he can turn into a person now," Alistair mused.
"Probably not," Riseth replied with a jawn. "Fluffy also advanced, but she hasn't turned."
"Where is she, by the way? I expected her to be with you as usual," Alistair inquired.
"She's asleep in her jungle shard. She wanted some alone time, so I left her to it," Riseth explained.
Alistair raised an eyebrow as it was a bit out of character for the small feathered serpent but decided to leave it for now as he felt mentally exhausted as well. They decided to go to sleep as the end of the trial was fast approaching, and they essentially reached all of their goals. Tomorrow, the Automata Trial would automatically come to an end, and they still had other matters to attend to. Their retrieval of equipment was well underway, and James was bound to finish with the Kaiakos in the next few days. Their beacons had been handed out, and with the help of Zaltom, they had added some more navigational data to their ship computers.
The next day, Alistair and the rest of the clan gathered for a quick meeting in anticipation of the Clan War Challenge coming to a close. They all sat in the circular setting with drinks, discussing their fights in the Tournament and the potential rewards of the War challenge. One of the first things Alistair noticed was that everyone felt quite a bit more powerful, presumably because of the titles associated with the Asendant's Tournament. However, his brother stood out as he felt quite a bit more powerful. Alistair suspected his brother would announce that he had finished the Kaiakos during this meeting. He knew his brother had been working on the rest of the hull and must have finished since he last saw him. Noticing Alistair looking at him, James gave him a sly smile before turning back to his girlfriend.
As they watched the timer tick town with rising anticipation, they were greeted by their individual types of notifications. Once they read the Masterful rating, they broke out into cheers.
Ryser Clan War Challenge
The Ryser clan has successfully completed the War Challenge with a [Masterful] Rating worth 1000 contribution points. Your Personal Rating is rated at [Expert], worth 200 contribution points.
Note: Clan members may donate their points to the Clan's total. Only the Patriarch and Matriarch may spend the Clan's contribution points. As the Clan Patriarch, you may spend the Clan contribution points.
Reward: Description: Evaluation
Synth Lord Evolution Kit
A closely guarded marvel of technology and magic created by the Synth Alliance, it allows the user to disregard their old body and transplant their soul into an incredibly sophisticated and modular body of secret alloys and synthetic materials. This item is a proprietary technology of the Synth Alliance.
Warning: Changes are permanent, and the user is locked out of any biological evolution lines.
1 Available
500 contribution Points.
Realm Catcher
This incredibly advanced piece of magitech can catch and contain a pocket realm or subdued natural dungeon and allow it to be transplanted to another location. Due to the stress imposed on the device upon use, it is a one-time-use item. This item is a proprietary technology of the Synth Alliance.
1 Available
500 contribution Points.
Automata Self-Replicator
A storage cube containing a low-tier Automata Self-Replicator. If provided with sufficient energy and materials, the Self-Replicator can create a diverse array of low-tier Automata for the owner to use. This item is a proprietary technology of the Synth Alliance.
3 Available
200 Contribution Points per pick.
Alpha AI Core
A Modular AI Core is the cornerstone of any advanced faction. When supplied with sufficient energy, it establishes a private, customizable network for the faction. The AI Core can automate a wide range of tasks, including logistics, defense installations, and power regulation. Its modular design allows for the integration of various add-ons to handle more complex and specialized tasks or improve the efficiency of existing ones even further.
1 Available
400 Contribution Points.
USC
Universal System Credits [USC] is the most common currency of the multiverse.
100 Contribution points per 1 million USC
Bloodline Trait: Machine Slayers
All members of the Ryser Clan bloodline receive a moderate bonus to [Power] & [Senses] when interaction or fighting against any kind of Machine. Machines like Synths, Automata, and Robots will be much easier for clan members to detect.
400 Contribution Points.
Permanent Boon
Provides the user a permanent boon of +50 in all stats and an additional free skill point.
50 Contribution points per pick.
May only be acquired with individual contribution points.
As everyone finished reading, they exchanged meaningful looks until James broke the silence.
"As enticing as the Permanent Boon is, I'd rather donate my points than miss out on that AI Core. Having our own Network would make all our lives easier," James stated.
"Before you donate, let's see who has how many points. I definitely don't need the Permanent Boon reward or the USC. I'm at 200 contribution points," Alistair added.
This sparked a lively discussion as people began calling out their individual contribution points. Nessyra diligently recorded the points on her pad, ensuring an accurate tally. Once the points were totaled, they began discussing which rewards were absolutely essential, who would donate points, and how many.
Alistair and Riseth both declared they had enough skill and stat points and would rather donate their points so the weaker members could receive the Permanent Boons with any leftover points. This sparked protests from the others, who argued that Alistair and Riseth, facing the greatest dangers, should receive the boons. The debate continued in circles for a while before they finally managed to reach an agreement.