The Path of Ascension Chapter 486

Chapter 486

With Allie unable to teleport Lila, everyone but Matt hoped to attend to their affairs during the interim, but the dragon quashed any such thoughts with a simple but effective threat. If they didn’t travel with her the whole way, she wouldn’t help them plunder the other Ascenders’ hauls with targeted bets.

He was just glad to have something to do that wasn’t ‘worry about the impending removal of himself’. That was why he’d asked for Leon’s pep talk and why he’d also used a memory technique he’d learned from Max about temporarily sealing a memory. With his nerves so taut months out, he knew his worries would only increase if left alone.

Would he still be him without the core of himself?

How much would be left of him when JR took out his name.

If the body left behind was a good person, what did that say about the core of his identity? What if it was a bad person?

What did it say about him that despite his own worries that he never once considered backing down? It was like jumping in a pool of sewage, he didn’t want to do it but he would.

At least, that was what he told himself.

Tempted to open the memories that had just settled him down, Matt pushed his worrying thoughts down, thankful for Lila’s insistence that everyone travel together.

Travel plans decided, their transport was one of Lila’s smaller yachts, alongside most of the high Tiers headed to Minkalla.

Lila’s foresight proved as keen as it ever was. All of them were ever so politely asked to join any number of people, for any reason at all. One newly promoted duke even sent them an invitation to watch an orange tree he had installed on his ship harvested.

A perfectly normal orange tree.

Matt briefly considered accepting the man’s offer, if for no other reason than to personally question him about what was so special about the highlighted tree, but he knew that would be futile. Anyone brazen enough to host a banquet of a normal Tier 3 orange tree would be glib enough, he didn’t want to verbally spar with them.

Instead, they used each other as excuses to fend the various factions off.

Arriving back at Minkalla, Matt allowed himself a few moments to go back through his memories, good and bad, of the clockwork planet, but he didn’t linger on many of them. Only his final moments of seeing the white hole inside the planet’s core remained as something he might be able to investigate, but he was still at least fifteen Tiers from that day.

Instead, [Portal] allowed them to step into Lila’s suite within the Corporation space station at the cost of a fine. Far from the first to arrive, they found Sien, Maya, Max, and Oliver already in the lounge.

“Max, what did I say about letting yourself in?” Despite being in human form, Lila’s growl was unmistakably draconic.

“That I’m welcome to do it at any time?”

“No, that is not correct. I—”

Lila’s angry tirade was cut off as Olivier did a double take upon seeing Matt. “Seriously? Did you already harmonize with your stage two Power? That’s incredible. Most importantly, when?”

Realizing he’d been the subject of a bet, Matt narrowed his eyes. “What were my odds?”

Rolling his head back and forth, Oliver played dumb. “Nothing like that. I—”

Stepping around him, Matt almost instantly found himself eye to eye with the speedster once more. “Okay, fine. Here is the date. Who won anyway?”

Cursing, Oliver glared at Matt before sighing and slinging an arm around his shoulder as he led them to the bar. “Wun, as shocking as that is. The worst part of it was, he only made such an early bet because he lost a bet right before, and spite bid on it when the topic of you harmonizing with stage two came up.”

Sien joined them, nodding to confirm his words. “It is a pity, but his luck tends to come out of nowhere like that. If you are interested in betting, mayhaps I have an offer to tempt you?”

Having projected her words to the entire room, the Lady of Ill Dreams’ words cut through the conversation like sudden fear of the darkness under the bed.

The unknown.

The feeling only lasted a moment but it worked. “Does anyone want to bet that I have information that can change the realm?”

Aster was the first to respond as she turned to Max, who was closest, and asked, “Didn’t she already do this last time with the breach? Think she has another breach?”

Max didn’t mind the angry look Sien shot at both of them and agreed, causing the atmosphere to shift. “Yes to the first, no to the second. It’s definitely not that. She’s looking far too smug for that.”

Allie peered out from one of Sien’s shadows and asked, “What are you planning? Tell us. We aren’t going to fall for this again.”

Wrinkling her nose, Sien gazing at her tagalong as if contemplating to raise a foot and squish her. “You’d be surprised how many times this same setup works with these idiots, but I will concede I did just use the same tactics not too long ago.”

Handing the still standing woman a drink, Matt asked, “So, you’re not going to share now that you’ve been called out?”

“Absolutely not. How else would I have such a good success rate with this method if I folded at the first hurdle? Shameful mindset, Matt. You should learn more from me in that regard, rather than that scaly brute over there. Mind games are often stronger than such simple creatures can comprehend. Such as a simple roasted goat illusion causing this stupid lizard to cause us to fail right before I succeeded.”

Lila jumped up from her seat and rushed into the conversation. “I told you I wasn’t sure which one was real and which one was fake, but you told me to trust my gut. AND I DID! What else do you want from me? I’m still the one who carried your bedraggled ass out of that strange realm.”

“I meant your intuition, you stupid lizard, not your actual stomach. Admit it, you simply didn’t want me to win on my first attempt where you failed your’s, that’s why you chose the wrong option!”

“Ho—”

Not entirely sure how he’d gotten caught in the crossfire of Sien and Lila’s spat, Matt listened as everyone vied to tell about their own exploits during the breach. Not one to miss out, they shared their own adventures. It almost sounded like a one-upsmanship competition, as everyone deliberately started small before working to the more notable events.

Matt thoroughly enjoyed listening to the stories of the higher Tier Ascenders journey. It sounded fun with as much internal competition as external. The groups disparate Tiers limited most of the true competition to Oliver, Sien, Eclavon, and Gideon who were all Tier 40 or Tier 41 or higher.

Lila’s significant Tier advantage meant she faced the same struggle every high Tier did, lack of places within a five Tier gap so her inclusion in a story was quite a bit rarer. The top of the pyramid was small, and the planets high enough Tier to house a strange realm she could use were difficult to find.

That didn’t stop her from having her own stories. They were simply a little slanted by her spending so much time waiting around to beat any high Tier groups that wandered by the planet she waited on.

Keeping in mind Rah’s comments about the high Tier’s treasuring such moments and having put in effort himself, Matt better understood why each adventure Lila did have was treated seriously.

Once most of the boasting had died and everyone separated into their own conversations, he tied into the Corporations’ LocalNet to browse both the listed auction items and items generally up for sale.

He didn’t really need much, only the Tassal of Lament remained as a must-buy or replace, but that wouldn’t stop him from getting other things he wanted.

While not quite a step above their last auction, most fluff items had been ruthlessly culled to fit within the auction slots’ limits. However, his most important purchase, the Tassal of Lament, remained elusive, with no one openly selling one.

That didn’t stop him from spotting two things he did want. One was a Natural Treasure replacement for the mana to flesh integration. JR hadn’t specified any need for a specific Natural Treasure like the Tassal of Lament, rather to look out for the effect itself.

He’d already bought a Tier 30 conch shell but its effect was barely passable. Seeing a replacement with an integration effect almost ten percent better, after Tier differences were accounted for, he put it on his watch list. The small and unassuming petrified seed with a single green shoot sprouting out of a crack wasn’t even expected to sell for all that much, given it was only Tier 31.

The second item that caught his eye was a pure splurge item. A Tier 21 orange mineral, the Natural Treasure’s primary effect, a small increase to mineral perception, was considered useless. If that was all it had to offer, such an item would have never appeared in even a smaller auction hall in Minkalla. Due to some quirk of its formation, the Natural Treasure’s, or more accurately, its physical shell, could copy the feeling of someone and project it later.

He knew Liz would like its coloration thanks to how similar the shade was to her fire phoenix feathers, and its secondary effect was fun. A personalized remembrance stone.

Sighing at how clever he was, he caught the attention of Maya, who raised an eyebrow in question.

Not wanting to share his gift to Liz, he offered an alternative answer without lying. “I’m appreciating being able to buy items I need for relatively cheap. In a few more Tiers, I’ll have to deal with far more people at my Tier who directly need the same items, while also having resources similar to me. I don’t think I’ll enjoy auctions as much then.”

“Fuck you. And I tried to be nice.”

Turning away from him, she returned to her previous conversation without missing a beat.

Seeing he’d deflected properly, he asked the room. “Did anyone find any leads about anyone who might have a Tassal of Lament?”

Getting a resounding silence, Matt thanked everyone before continuing his own inquiries while making Max a drink in apology while he made his own.

Rather than directly saying he wanted it for himself, which might get the other Great Powers to hoard any Tassal of Laments they found, he stated it was a payment he was trying to gather for a modification to his growth sword. Given his long standing search for items related to his growth item, he hoped few would look deeper into the matter but he was prepared if they did.

After all, it was only his delving weapon, and nothing they needed to worry about. Thankfully, his efforts proved unnecessary upon the arrival of Gideon and Eclavorn.

Unlike the last time they arrived, they carried with them good news instead of insults. They’d found a Tier 36 Tassal of Lament. Best of all, the shark bloodline group who had the Tassal of Lament were on their way to Minkalla and were willing to talk about a trade.

Their help almost made Matt feel bad for selling the Plasma upgrade elemental orb with an open auction, but it had already been consigned and Ecalavorn had been a dick. With their assistance being the only one that proved helpful, he mentally wrote any prior grievances off, but couldn’t change the past.

Not that Lila gave him a chance to speak as she kicked things off immediately. “Now that we are all here, except Aiden, let’s deal with some things we should have done last time we got together. First, and most important. Bets on the newest Ascenders. Who’s got ‘em? Where and how soon?”

Hearing Oliver, Sien, Max, and Maya all grumble, Lila stomped over them. “Don’t give me that. Once you sell everything, you are going to try and say you have nothing to bet, so bets first.”

Eclavorn was the first to respond with a smile. “I think the next Ascender will be in the Collective. We are ripe for it. I can feel it in my bones.”

Aster coughed as she mock whispered, “Lack of calcium in your bones.”

However, Ecalvorn was unbothered. “Good tooth health is important for a real combatment like myself. Maybe a support like yourself can afford to have your teeth rot out, but I cannot.”

“No need to compare dresses, children. I’m the prettiest girl at the ball and there is no need to bicker.” Wun nearly caused a fight then and there, but Lila kept order by speaking over him.

“When are you betting, E? Pick a time or I’m moving on.”

“Within the next five hundred. And as for my wager, I’ll give a free selection of any Tier 35 or lower item from my hoard, but in return I expect either the same or an item I’ve been desiring in particular.”

Both Ellen and Max took the bet and after they settled things, Lila turned to the rest of the room looking for other bets; Matt thought there wouldn’t be anyone taking when Olivier spoke up.

“I’ll toss my hat into the ring. The Guilds have been doing well in recent years but I’ll go for a full thousand.”

The grumbles on the long timeline immediately got pushed back. “Let me finish what I’m offering. Sheesh, you people are impossible. I’m the speed guy here. I’ll bet a Tier 30—.”

Sien scoffed at him, “Cowardice to bet so low. Ten Tiers beneath yourself? Pitiful. I’m willing to bet, so let me instruct you. I—”

Ellen raised her hand. “Oh, give up, Sien. People took it personally after the breach bet. No one is going to fall for that again so soon. Spill or stop teasing.”

Instead of getting angry, Sien acquiesced by crossing her hands in her lap.

Unable to get anything else from her, everyone returned back to the conversation of the next Ascender. With the typical timeline pegging a new Ascender every handful of thousand years, all of the bets were long shots and correspondingly inexpensive.

When they finally settled things, Aster and Allie took center stage as the area darkened and snow started to blow wildly around their seating area.

Allie, shivering and blowing into her hands, stumbled around, bouncing into their tables and jostling their drinks. “Help, help. I can’t see. If only I could find my way [Home].”

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Hearing her cue, Aster stepped forward and once behind Allie, whispered. “I can offer you that. A way to always find… [Home].”

Still looking forward, Allie started to plead, “Oh? How is such a thing possible!?”

Like a switch was flipped the snow and darkness vanished as Aster withdrew a simple box containing the [Home] orb and she sent information on the skill to anyone who hadn’t already seen it in the Ascender chat.

Aster snapped the box close with a smile. “Now that we have your attention, what goodies do you guys have? I want them all.”

Krodag raised a finger as if confused, “I don’t think that’s how a bet works.”

Aster cradled both Allie and the box the teleporter was helping to shield from the mean words. “And I don’t think you know how bets work with me. We will only wager [Home] for things of similar value, so if you don’t have something interesting, we aren’t trading. You can wait for it to pop out of a rift.”

That was part of Lila’s devised strategy.

Wun shrugged, proving her help invaluable, “Meh. I’m not planning to head into chaotic space any time soon, so I’ll pass. In fact, I think we should all pass. Buyers market.”

Having said that, he didn’t move from his seat or look away.

Maya wasn’t so coy seeing Allie move to put the box away. “Don’t try to play games, Wun, no one here is that dumb. Or at least not that game. I’ve got a Tier 37 cold related Natural Treasures I was never able to figure out in my treasury. Or umm I have a—”