I heard a knock as I looked towards the door opposite the balcony, which I assumed led into the hallway. It opened a crack as a short, woman in her mid-thirties wearing a gray and black uniform poked her head into my cabin. She spotted me looking at her and quickly bowed as she addressed me.

"Day, young master. The Lord has requested to be informed of your state as soon as there was news of young Master was awake. If young master will excuse me."

Not sure what to say, I nodded my head giving her approval as she shut the door behind her.

"Osiph, I assume?" I asked.

"Yes, I can feel my father getting closer."

"Will they be able to see you?"

"Not yet, once you achieve Novice rank at level 50 when you get to choose your class, you will have access to my upgraded floors and I'll gain the ability to form a shadow avatar in the real world. It's mainly for the ability to aid in the research lab and to take over the automation of crafting at level 100 once you reach the Journeyman rank. But that's just part of it. Like I said, I don't like giving away too many spoilers, just enough to give you something to look forward to."

A confident knock came in two solid raps again at the door. Looking back once more, I answered for them to enter and Osiph walked in now wearing a fitted mask that covered everything from the bridge of his nose, down to beneath his neckline. The mask was a deep navy blue with stars speckled across it like the night sky. Instead of his robes, he wore a casual dark gray tunic with black trousers, and a belt that matched his mask carrying a shortsword with a curve upward at the end, creating almost a hook, similar to a falx.

"Day, boy. How are you feeling? One of the ships Life mages is on their way, to look you over." Osiph looked at me standing in the middle of the room, as he examined me. "Well you look like shit, but you're standing so that is promising. When we left Cullar City, we brought you to a medical facility in a neighboring town. They found no damage, but your health was dropping steadily, so for the first day, they had someone battling whatever caused it. Your regen took over on the second day and they have been constantly monitoring you for the last few days. I hypothesized that it was the small fracture in your Core but a specialist Soul mage examined it and couldn't detect more than a small mana leak. That should be practically harmless as long as it isn't damaged further. Though I would like to keep an eye on it, as a precaution. Can you feel your integration yet?"

I nodded along as he caught me up with everything that had happened. "I'm close, Within maybe eight hours I think, I can feel the Core settling in my soul space, My mana feels as if it's getting heavier but it's not slowing down as I'm constantly channeling it."

"From what I felt during our Soul oath while still under that spell. And from what I sense now, I'm glad you are unable to cast any spells at the moment as we would most like to be at the bottom of the Ara sea by now." He let out a light chuckle taking a seat on the bench on the far wall.

"Yeah, I had a similar thought. Mel even commented on it." I said taking a seat back on the edge of the bed.

"How is that progressing?"

"It's been like twenty minutes, but first impressions were good." I didn't feel the need to share that she had looked like my sister when she first formed.

"Excellent. Excellent. She is a special case, very picky, that one. With her specific requirements for finding a partner, she has been looking for a very long time, even from the point of view of someone such as yourself. When Bel informed me of your abnormally high Intelligence and Luck, I felt it quite a fortuitous opportunity to introduce you. I currently work for the Hall as a Curator and have the Head Librarian as my familiar." He emphasized this by pulling down his mask to rest around his neck. "His progeny, Mel, is one of numerous, practically identical offspring. Eventually, each develops their own personality once bonded, except with Melthezaaria being unbound for so long, she began molding her own consciousness which set forth her increasing pace of denying a multitude of candidates. Her father was worried she would never bond out of sheer stubbornness."

This made me chuckle a little, as Mel scoffed indignantly in my head.

"A Librarian will be of more use than any other powerful item or magic spell. They are true power incarnate, for once they are fully trained and properly nurtured, they are knowledge itself."

"I have to ask…" I paused, hoping it wasn't insensitive to ask, then realizing I didn't really care, I just let my biggest current priority flood out in a rush. "Is my jaw gonna get replaced with that weird metal 'cause it's freaking me out, and Mel had a small panel already on her face. Nothing has appeared on mine yet, but I've been thinking that's just because of the Integration-."

"Relax boy, the option of physically merging with a Librarian's conjured body isn't even available until Master rank regardless. I chose to fuse Bel with my jaw as it was synergistic with multiple abilities that I had at the time. I recall that being a major factor in my journey from Master rank to my Ascendancy on my home planet. I'm sure when the time comes there will be an option that benefits your path and is acceptable." Osiph paused, confused at the look on my face.

"You're Ascended!?" I didn't know if that was more of a question or an accusation.

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"Yes, yes." He took a deep breath in and leaned forward, searching my face. "Where do you think you go when you ascend?"

"To the land of the Gods. They say you join those who made the universe to live forever by their side… but by the face, you're giving me I'm guessing that's wrong. "

"Complete and utter bullshit, while still skirting the truth, propagated by those in power everywhere across the multiverse on little planets just like this one. To keep the huddled masses blissfully unaware of the greater cosmos. Of course, they tell the few expected to ascend but to the majority; Their only goal is to narrow the big picture, to keep the farmer tilling his field, and the seamstress mending her fabrics. From the perspective of those who are keeping this secret, they are protecting the fragile minds of the ones who would never dream of ascending. They imagine knowing what is out there will break their sense of purpose and lead to a decline of civilization."

"So what is out there?"

Osiph smiled. "Mysteries beyond your wildest imagination. And that's all you're going to get for now. We will have plenty of time for history lessons and general knowledge of the greater cosmos beyond. The main thing you need to know right now is that you start at the Beginner rank, then at level 50 you hit Novice and gain the Class that will define the beginning of your path. Then, Journeyman at 100, Adept at 250, Expert at 500, Master at 750. Master is a milestone for your path, as whatever you choose will cement your path to ascendancy, whether for good or ill. Then of course you finally become Ascendant at 1000. Ascending the moment you level. Not going too far into it, it's Angel at 2000, Archangel at 3000, Herald at 4000, and finally, you reach Godhood at 5000 at the limit."

"There will be more time in the future for further context, unfortunately, we do not have it currently." He clapped his hands together and leaned forward on the bench, looking me square in the eye. "In the meantime, we have much to discuss, and a wealth of information to apprise you of. So get comfortable and prepare to take mental notes, as it won't be repeated. You may ask three questions after my explanation. Clear so far?"

"Crystal." I nodded.

"First, you are alive. Let's just take a moment to congratulate my brilliance and we can't forget the power of sheer fortitude on your part."

Then he just sat there for a solid ten seconds, literally taking a moment. I didn't say anything and just waited. Considering if the man who owned my soul was not just a bit insane. Like minds, I guess. I thought, inwardly smiling.

"Second," he continued. "We are on a refugee ship that will be taking us to the east, away from your Island nation to the larger continent to the east, Pelerias. We will be arriving in 16 hours, be prepared to depart in no less than twelve. We will be arriving in the Port city of Arani where we will embark toward a secure estate provided by your local leaders. I will explain more in-depth once we are in a somewhat more secure location."

"Next, you will use the alias: Typhen Cerilius, until instructed to do otherwise. If anyone needs to be informed, you lived in the village of Terrana and your parents were in the city during the attack. That's all you need for now. With the influx of refugees, they should be spread too thin to dig deeper. You cannot hide that you are a mage, with your mana as it is currently. We can obtain an item once in the city but until then, just tell the clerk that your enrollment to whatever academy you were planning on attending, has been postponed for obvious reasons and your dear uncle Osiph is coming to take you back to mourn on the old family grounds."

"After we get situated, we will discuss a strategy for your best path forward and what steps to take thereafter. But I'll give you a hint." He said in an allusive tone, grinning at me. "You may want to avoid getting any gear that doesn't have a self-cleaning enchantment on it."

"Speaking of…" He pulled out a belt similar to his own, attached with a foot-and-a-half-long dagger sheathed in a plain brown scabbard with a tan trim. He levitated them over to me, setting them next to me on the bed. A folded set of matching blue battle robes with a pair of flat slippers appeared just as the belt and dagger had, placing them with the others. Finally, a ring of what appeared a white stone inset with a silver band in the center shifted like a liquid.

"The belt offers a five percent boost to agility when attacking with a short-ranged weapon. The dagger is enchanted to stay sharp and it has a weak Ice Affinity due to a powdered natural treasure that was infused into the metal during the folding process. The shirt has an outer layer of absorbent cloth that will reduce damage when it has a decent supply of one of the four elemental mana types taken from the ambient mana. The pants will allow each breath you take to last slightly longer and the shoes have a durable sole for rough terrain but offer no extra armor."

"This ring," he said, the item in question hovering just above his right palm. "Is a dimensional storage, it will automatically store any loot you gain from monsters or people and is pretty intuitive when it comes to interacting with the inventory inside. You don't have to worry about it too much, as you will have access to more floors of your library by Novice. Including the storage domain. Until then, you will need some place for your items and miscellaneous goods to go."

"Any questions?"

I thought over everything without rushing. I did indeed have questions.

"Yes, several but if I only get three...Is there a way to bring back my family?"

"A fantastic question. Several circumstances could allow that, yes. All of them require you to Ascend before you can begin working on them but it can be done, and before you ask no I will not do it for you. I lack the connection to them to facilitate a proper return."

I nodded, that had been the most important question. All I had to do was get stronger and I could bring them back, or join them in death. And to do that I would have to work for it. A burden lifted off my mind ever so slightly, as I focused on what was directly ahead of me

"Second question then, if you aren't using an alias, why am I?"

"Ah, great question to be sure. Alas, the answer is a simple one." He paused dramatically and widened his eyes like he was about to pass down some ancient knowledge, but then switched to a voice that you use for dogs. "It's because you're a special little boy. Yes, you are. "

I stared at him blankly for a moment before he chuckled at his stupid joke.

"It really is simple, it's because I'm not hiding. Whereas, we need to keep your identity out of any official document and away from observant ears. All this is for reasons that will be explained at the estate once we have our actual debrief."

"Alright." I nodded once more. "Last question: are you going to throw me or make me jump?"

Osiph studied me for a moment before bursting out into a fit of laughter as he tried to recover quickly. "When did you figure it out?"

"Asking me to be ready to leave four hours before we were scheduled to arrive when I didn't even have any belongings. That, plus some of the gear, like the shirt, the only place around here to have excess elemental mana would be the sky or the ocean, and I can't fly…"

"Mel was serious about that Intelligence Stat. No, I was going to tell you to jump."

"A test, I assume. Seeing if I can obey like a good little pup, now that I'm not actively signing a contract under duress. Well, I can assure you, I truly don't give a shit. You got me out of there, and there were worse things I promised to do for the Gods if they rescued me. I'll follow your lead until you give me a good enough reason not to."

"You didn't get invited to many parties did you?" He asked seriously.

"Some," I said with a deadpan stare. "Seeing how all my friends just died, the number of invites will most likely significantly decrease."

He chortled as he stood up, walked over and placed the ring down next to the rest of the pile, and pulled out a token. "Infuse this with some mana to call me once your Integration is completed. I will come check in on you then."