“It should be Gibbous Moon now.” Claud gazed at the massive platform in front of him, a platform that emanated a horrifying aura, and then let out another breath. “Have you gotten used to it?”

Lily, who was also mediating with him, nodded. “Partially. As expected, being the O thing really does make dealing with gods easier, though. My progress is still lacking, compared to yours.”

Claud looked at the massive platform. The two of them had, after long periods of painstaking effort, managed to climb onto the eighth step. There were only two steps remaining before they would reach the top, but it was physically impossible for the two of them to ascend any further.

“Well, I am supposedly the end of all things or something,” Claud quipped. “Still, I feel like I’ve grown mentally stronger after staying here. And my muscles feel very compact now. Did I grow shorter?”

“Isn’t the pressure this thing giving off intangible? It’s probably your imagination…”

“True.” Claud closed his eyes again and took in a deep breath. Their training here had been fruitful. The presence of a divinity, the raw, unbridled effect they had on reality, had been muted drastically ever since the two of them began to mediate here. The presence and pressure the gods gave off were awe-inspiring, true, but given enough time, one would eventually adapt to them.

It probably helped that the both of them were hexa-folders too.

“Anyway, I don’t think we can progress any further right now. Maybe this is a place where deca-folders can eventually rise to become gods. I mean, the Black God left this platform thing here, and there’s a mysterious power at the top…”

Claud nodded. The two of them, over the past few weeks, had eventually made out a clump of dense, shimmering energy that seemed completely different from lifeforce or mana at the top of the platform. If they could take it into their bodies, something would definitely happen, but one needed a corresponding level of strength to do that first.

“I wonder what that energy does. I don’t think it’ll turn us into gods, though,” Claud murmured, voicing out one of his favourite questions. “We’re leaving today, right? Should I use that and try to grab the energy anyway?”

“…Should you?” Lily asked. “I mean, you know yourself the best. And you’ve already taken a sword and some armour pieces too. They’re really good too.”

Claud grinned. “Hearing you say that makes my heart lighter.”

“Yeah, so…maybe you should get something for yourself too,” Lily replied. “I’m sure you can do anything, so why not?”

Claud gazed at the top of the platform, where a fairly huge clump of intense light lay dormant. Could he get up there, absorb or take away all that that power, and then leave safely? Was it possible for him to do that?

In the first place, why was there a clump of complex, mysterious energy on this platform where the Black God probably ascended? Why did he leave it behind? Why would anyone leave something like this behind?

The two of them had settled on the answer that there was probably something about the laws of the world in this. The five grand skies might have some rule that new gods would need to leave behind some divine power or something for the later generations.

This was why he wasn’t worrying about there being any traps in the energy itself. However, how would this energy change him?

“…I suppose I’ll give it a try,” Claud muttered.

Lily removed the Goddess of Hope’s armour and sword, before handing them over to Claud. “Here. This will definitely help.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Her face contorted slightly, and Claud felt his heart skip a beat. “Lily?”

“I’m fine. It’s just that the pressure just increased. I’ll take this as more training for me while you grab that energy,” Lily replied, her face looking a bit pale. “Now go!”

The little meeplings scurried onto Lily’s head, and Claud nodded. “I’ll be back.”

Power surged through his body, and the divine pressure that had been crushing him vanished in that instant. It was no different from approaching the fallen god’s corpse back then; it was as if nothing could stand before his Absolute skill.

More than once, however, Claud had found it weird. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t faced off or heard about other Absolute skills before, but none of them seemed as powerful as his. With his Absolute One, he had slain the Red God, a feat that was probably unmatched in history when it came to the killer’s strength. The gods of the previous eras fell to opponents who were their equal, but Claud was far from being their equal.

Yet, this skill defied logic and everything. Not only was it a skill that literally turned him invincible, it also gave him a never-ending well of power and had other lingering effects. Were Absolute skills supposed to be this powerful?

It was hard to say. Claud, however, knew that Absolute One came long before Omen; it was not the influence of his Omen skill that turned Absolute One into a monster.

As the thoughts whirling in his head receded, Claud found himself on the apex of the platform. The whole process had taken a single second, and it took another second before the energy on the platform reacted and charged towards him.

Everything around him began to glow, and a new box appeared in his vision.

[ has been completed.]

[Having taken in a portion of primordial divine power, your lifeforce and mana will now continuously change and evolve. You have earned the qualification to step into the apex of mortality.]

[You have learned the passive skill, Transcendent Mortal!]

[The requirements to learn has lowered!]

Claud gazed at the message for a heartbeat, and then blinked as he noticed the fact that the mysterious energy on the altar was still surrounding him. A good half of it had vanished into his body, but the other half wasn’t going anywhere yet.

Without thinking too hard, he returned back to Lily’s side. Before she could say anything, he wrapped his hands around her, and the primordial divine power that was still in his body poured into Lily’s body.

“Eh?”

“Just accept it,” Claud replied. “Don’t worry. It’s safe…do you see the changes now?”

Lily paused, and then nodded, just as the sense of overwhelming might faded from Claud’s body. “I do. Transcendent Mortal…what does it do?”

Claud opened his status and checked the skill.

[Skill: Transcendent Mortal

Skill effects: Drastically weakens the effect of divine power and mental attacks. Your resistance to physical attacks drastically increases. This effect increases for every fully formed mana circuit in your possession.

Additional effect: This skill will evolve under the correct circumstances, when all conditions are met.]

“Okay, but how do I get Divinity Aspirant?” Lily wondered out loud. “Is it possible for a non-Bearer to get something like this?”

“Maybe.” Claud paused. “I wonder what happens if there were even more portions of primordial divine power. Maybe we could gain that skill in advance…but one must wonder if it’s the only way to become a god. Is Divinity Aspirant a requirement for godhood?”

“That is a very good question.” Lily made a face. “But let’s put this aside for a moment. Haven’t you noticed something?”

Claud looked around as he removed the Goddess of Hope’s armour and sword from his body. “What’s wrong?”

Lily began to wear the armour. “Well, the pressure that this platform or altar is emanating is beginning to weaken. I can’t quite sense the Black God’s presence from this anymore.”

“…So, I’m the first person in this cycle to gain primordial divine power, huh.” Claud made a face. “Would the gods be able to detect it? Now that I think about it, it’s quite dangerous, right?”

“Hmm. I don’t think it’ll be an issue for you, since you do have that skill,” Lily replied. “But what about me?”

“Right.” Claud pondered for a moment. “I wasn’t thinking too hard about what came afterwards.”

“Eh, it’s fine.” Lily smiled brightly. “You were thinking for me, right? At most, just use your Will of Solitude to cover us from now on. That should be fine.”

Claud thought for a moment. “Well, I guess that’s how we’re going to do it for the time being. So, now that this platform is losing its effectiveness, I suppose it’s time for us to leave, right? Nothing big should have happened in the meantime, so let’s call it a day and go home.”

“Let’s pack up first, then,” Lily replied. “Nero and Kemata better not trash our house, or I’m going to wipe them on the floor. I’ve gained a lot.”

“The Third Tutorial…”

“Soon, I suppose.” Lily’s eyes twinkled. “Soon. Let’s go pack everything up first, and then head for home.”