The Path of Ascension Chapter 429

Chapter 429

Tim collapsed into his bed the moment Ascender Titan left, utterly drained.

The man had been far too enthusiastic about Tim’s Talent and had eagerly offered up interesting ideas to test things.

From alchemy to the physical entries he had acquired, all had been thoroughly investigated. Each entry brought a dozen questions along with requests for examples for his simplifications. After he finally managed to relax a bit it was actually kinda fun, as the Ascender always had interesting comments and insights on the abilities, but it soon became a tad overwhelming and exhausting.

That didn’t mean Tim hadn’t been interested or wasn’t having fun. He quite thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk with someone about his Talent in such an open and refreshing manner. It wasn’t until Ascender Titan was buying them dinner and reminding him to go see a lawyer in the morning that Tim realized just how tired he was.

Sadly, while his body was done for and his brain hurt from all the thinking, his mind still raced like he had just woken up.

Tim wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

He was fairly sure that so long as he just went to sleep and pretended that nothing had happened, Ascender Titan would respect his decision and leave him alone. At least, that was the impression he had. That was backed up by what he remembered of the history lessons on the Ascender, combined with the few hours of interactions they had had.

Whether the truth was gilded in those lessons was a fearful little termite that ate at his confidence, but even his worst fears weren’t that bad. Not because he couldn’t picture terrible things, but because if Ascender Titan of all people wanted to kidnap him, Tim was sure he wouldn’t even know when or how it happened.

The Tier gap and resulting power difference was just that large, and that was ignoring his political power.

What was far more pressing was the offer itself, which loomed over him like the man himself did in his doorway what felt like just minutes ago.

Taken at face value, it seemed like a massive boon and there weren’t any real downsides, even if he decided not to work for Ascender Titan after the training.

No, the problem was it seemed too good to be true, and he was waiting for the other shoe to drop and kick him back into reality.

He just couldn’t see the trick or trap.

Tim wished he had a Talent entry for law or reading contracts because that seemed to be the obvious place for a devious clause if one existed.

Then there was the other aspect.

Did he really want to become some mythical elite or important person that Ascender Titan was undoubtedly aiming to raise his sponsored people into?

The answer came easily: not really.

At least, he didn’t feel any pressing desire to do so like he figured the true elites had. Oh, his tired brain liked the idea of adoration and easy wealth, but if today was any indication, that edifice would be built on a lot of hard work and determination to push through the challenges that would stand in his way.

Tim knew himself well enough to know he preferred to follow the path of least resistance.

If he accepted, he might find himself forged into something, or rather someone, he might not recognize under the wings of two Ascenders.

The big question was if he wanted that.

And he wasn’t sure.

The idea was enticing but another part of him just wanted to live forever and have an easy life where he could take his time and figure everything out.

Finally, he called up Garrett, not caring that it was closer to midnight than dinner time.

His friend’s voice had a hint of the raspiness of sleep as he growled, “You better be dying.”

Guilt hitting him, Tim deflected, “Hey, sorry. I didn’t realize how late it was. I—”

Before he could say more, Garrett interjected forcefully, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing man. So—”

In a sharp tone he wasn’t used to hearing, Garrett said, “Speak or I’m going to get on a train. You are only two cities away. Then you’ll have really ruined my night.” In a softer tone, he added, “Come on dude I’ve known you since we were in diapers. I can hear it in your voice. Something’s up. Spill.”

Sighing, Tim started speaking. “I got an opportunity. A massive one. Honestly, massive is probably underselling it. I genuinely don’t know the words to express how big of an opportunity it is.”

He wasn’t sure if Ascender Titan would mind if he told Garrett, but he didn’t want to risk it and ruin the opportunity before he had decided if he wanted it.

Or that’s what he told himself. If his mind repeated it enough times, he might even start to believe it himself.

He was self-aware enough that he knew if he mentioned someone as important as a duke, let alone an Ascender, Garrett would tell him to take the offer and that he was an idiot to even consider turning it down. Which he might be, but he wanted the offer to stand on its own merit. Not the person behind said offer.

Tim realized he must have been silent for longer than he thought, because Garrett made a humming sound, prodding him to continue.

“I just… I’m conflicted if I should take the offer. I—. I don’t know man, that’s why I called.”

“What is the offer? You haven’t said. Or can you say at all?”

Tim quickly checked, but there was no secrecy clause in the contract and so he read out a few select parts. “It’s a Talent training program. A program to help me grow my Talent. I’d even earn a decent wage and the trainers are free, so I’d come out with a higher Tier and better abilities. The only cost is the value of rare materials provided, but I don’t know if I should take it. A part of me feels like I don’t deserve it. What if I’m not good enough and I leave here just to fail? Then I’d have wasted everyone’s time and effort.”

Garrett was silent long enough Tim started to wonder if his friend was considering how to let him down easy before he finally spoke. “Don’t ever tell my mother I said any of this, but you should take it.”

“Wha—”

In a rush, Garrett spoke over him. “My mom told me she was worried about you. She said you were a lot like your mother.”

Sitting upright, his tiredness vanishing, Tim shouted, “What the fuck! I’m no—”

Garrett barked at him, cutting him off. “Let me finish! My mom said you were a lot like your mother. Too smart for your own good. So smart that basically everything comes easily to you, so you never had to try. I tried to emulate you in high school, thinking I could also coast and succeed, but I learned that lesson the hard way. You are just smarter than I am. Kinda hurt my ego when I accepted that, but it’s true. But that’s your issue. You’ve never had to try. Leatherworking was hard for me. I didn’t get a Talent for it, but rather steady hands, which helps. The thing is, I learn something new pretty much every day. I’m waking up and practicing something familiar to make myself better, then pushing myself to advance later with the profits I’ve earned.”

Tim wanted to interject but Garrett spoke without pause. “I challenge myself every day. When was the last time you challenged yourself? Actually challenged yourself? When was the last time your mother challenged herself? She works a job that is usually done by Tier 5s at Tier 3, while being a barely functional alcoholic. My mom rightly pointed out just how similar you two are in that regard. So smart you never need to push yourself, but as a result, slowly falling into… not depravity but, like, laziness. You never need to try, so you never do. After all, why bother if you’ll muddle through better than most who try anyway? You never fail, so you’re never sad, but then the wins don’t have anything to compare them to, so you’re also never happy. I don’t want to see you end up like your mother, man. She’s a shell of the person my mother talks about sometimes. So take the opportunity. Get out of here. Find a bigger stage where you can find a fire under your ass. Where you can find people as smart as yourself, who will drive you to be better. Who will prevent you from sinking into being like your mom.”

That comment about his mother hit Tim like a kick in the teeth. Imagining his mother, he frowned.

He didn’t want to be anything like her.

He wasn’t anything like her.

Except, even as he internally protested, Tim knew Garrett’s words had a kernel of truth inside of them. He was slowly putting in less effort. Oh, he was still advancing, but he was comfortable and knew that was making him a little lax. It didn’t help that he had moved to a new city and didn’t know as many people, which made it all too easy to fall into isolating habits without a friend group to push him forward.

“But if I go, I might not see you or anyone else again for years.”

Garrett snorted, and Tim knew he was rolling his eyes. “Oh, don’t give me that. Messages might be a little slow if you are super far away, but it will be fine. It’s not like you are dating anyone either, so don’t give me that excuse. I know you and Jared were talking, but it was never official, and Abby got tired of you not committing a lot of time ago, so don’t try and say you two are back together. Seriously man, you have something none of us do. If I push really hard, I’ll reach Tier 5, but I don’t really want, nor need, to advance past that. I want to get married and settle down, have a kid or three, and then retire, seeing the family business passed on like my mother is doing. I’m content, but you’re merely complacent.”

They sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence for nearly twenty minutes before Tim quietly said, “Thanks man. You’re probably right, but I’ll never know if I stay here.”

Garrett chuckled. “Congratulations man. Shine bright enough we can see you from down here.”

Before he ended the call, Tim said, “I’ll do that.”

He just hoped he wasn’t lying to both of them.

A minute later he dragged himself into his shower before crawling under his sheets, mind finally settled enough to sleep.

The next morning, he half expected Ascender Titan to be waiting for him, but his hallway was empty as he made his way down to a contract lawyer who took walk-ins. They looked over everything and confirmed that it was both genuine and without hidden clauses that might entrap Tim, even going so far as to comment that it was an incredibly generous contract.

He hadn’t really expected any, but it was nice to hear his intuition was correct.

After he agreed to the contract, he again expected Ascender Titan to appear next to him like higher Tiers did in the movies but, when nothing happened, he awkwardly walked back to his apartment not sure what to do.

He didn’t have the Ascender’s contact info to call but, even if he did, there was no way he’d use it.

He had instinctively moved to sit down and flick on the TV while stirring his new soup when he remembered his conversation with Garrett and not being complacent.

To that end, he opened up an alchemy video teaching course as he stirred his small mug of soup.

He was halfway through the second lesson when a knock at his door startled him badly enough, he knocked over his mug.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Racing over, he unlocked the door, once more expecting Ascender Titan, only to find a delivery man handing him a backpack and clipboard to sign for it.

At nearly the same time, his pad beeped. Ascender Titan sent him a message informing he should pack while he finished something else up.

The spatial backpack was everything Tim had heard they were, and he spent more than a few minutes just playing with it.

He had considered buying one sooner, but their exorbitant prices could have unlocked several entries, so he never managed to save up enough, knowing that as his Tier increased and his buying power went up, he’d eventually be able to afford one at little to no opportunity cost.

In his exploration, he noted that the bag wasn’t all that high-end. Oh it was nice, made by a reputable local brand, but its size was fairly average for its Tier at three cubic feet. It was only when he finished packing that he realized Ascender Titan had given him a bag just big enough to contain all of his things.

The weight of all of his belongings was a little rough, but nothing he couldn’t handle, so long as they weren’t going to do anything crazy and walk to the ducal capital, however many planets away that was.

Sitting back down, Tim realized he didn’t have anything he could do, having packed up his belongings. Before he could even get that comfortable on his couch, a familiar knock at his door jarred him from his musings.

Standing up, he rushed to the exit to see Ascender Titan just lowering his hand from the doorbell while munching on a breakfast burrito he knew was only sold on the other side of the planet.

Tim was going to ask how that made any sense when Ascender Titan stepped inside and said, “Okay, let’s go. I’m glad you agreed. We are going to have a ton of fun.”

“How—”

Tim’s question of how they were going to leave was answered when a woman with skin like stars appeared in front of them for the briefest instant.

Before Tim could properly realize he had seen another Ascender, Ascender Shadow, she was gone.

If the instant perspiration was any indication, Tim knew he had arrived on Palustris and it was time for his big break.

If he could properly grasp it.

Mustering his determination, Tim looked to Ascender Titan for what he should do next when another familiar face from his history books stepped into existence a few feet away.

Ascender Legion.

Tim half expected Ascenders Wraith and Light to appear as well, but neither did. Or at least, he couldn’t see them.