Inside the spacious orbital, Alaric guided Selene to a private compartnt, ensuring she was seated comfortably but alone. Emma remained in the main cabin—the restrictive conditions Samuel had imposed on their blood pact ant that even her trusted presence would violate the secrecy requirents.
"Focus entirely on learning the techniques, every single second matters now. Damn that old man—deliberately destroying such a valuable Spirit Art manual is equivalent to eliminating a potential Ascender's advancent path entirely."
Selene nodded before imdiately opening the manual and beginning her attempt to comprehend its contents.
But as minutes passed and she delved deeper into the complex techniques and theoretical fraworks contained within, her expression grew increasingly more troubled, then distressed.
The deeper she read, the more her face contorted with difficulty and growing despair.
The manual's contents were far more advanced and intricate than anything she'd previously encountered.
With only twenty-four hours to master, the challenge felt insurmountable.
And her father had known this would happen when he imposed the ti limit.
Another layer of his punishnt, designed to offer hope before snatching it away once again.
——-
"Alaric, I can't do this, It's so complex—like trying to read a completely foreign language written in symbols I've never seen before."
Alaric's face darkened considerably. The bitter irony wasn't lost on him that even he couldn't learn the techniques himself due to the pact's restrictions. Samuel had made it explicitly clear that Selene couldn't share the manual's contents with anyone, including her own brother.
Alaric began to think through every possible solution, every possible route to achieve success. Within a second, the obvious answer ford.
"Selene, how close are you to advancing to the Second Sanctuary?" he asked urgently.
"I could advance at any mont, I just need to enter a portal—all my advancent requirents have been completed."
Alaric imdiately pulled out a communication device and activated it. "Take us to the nearest Second Sanctuary portal imdiately! Maximum speed!"
His attention returned to his sister, intensity blazing in his eyes.
"You need to hit your class advancent right now. Once you undergo the transformation, your entire body and mind will be enhanced. You'll beco stronger, faster, and most importantly—significantly more intelligent when it cos to comprehending complex things. The manual that's impossible to understand now will beco manageable or perhaps easy to grasp after evolution."
Selene bit her lip in frustration, internal conflict warring across her face.
She hadn't wanted to advance just yet. Her original plan had been to remain an awakener a little longer, potentially helping Moon with his own advancent when the ti ca, maybe even assisting Yara's developnt as well. Rushing into evolution now felt like abandoning her friends during crucial stages of their growth.
But she wasn't being given a choice.
Every minute spent hesitating was a minute less to comprehend the manual before it self-destructed.
"Alright," she resigned.
The orbital arrived above a Second Sanctuary portal within minutes, its imposing presence making the Evolvers stationed at the facility's security periter look up.
"Which influential family mber is visiting today?" one of the guards murmured to his colleague, noting the expensive vessel's obvious quality.
"Doesn't matter to us," the other shrugged with indifference. "Above our pay grade either way."
The orbital's deploynt bay opened, and a smaller transport craft descended containing Selene and Alaric. They reached ground level quickly, touching down near the portal's entrance.
Selene leaped from the craft and landed gracefully beside the guards.
"My sister is advancing to Evolver status," Alaric announced, his aura rising to demonstrate his Surpasser-level power. "We're tight on ti, grant her imdiate entry. I can handle any administrative details while she's inside."
The Evolvers imdiately recognized the overwhelming power and exchanged quick glances before stepping aside respectfully.
"Of course, sir. Safe advancent, Miss," one of them said formally.
Selene nodded her thanks and strode toward the portal's swirling energy barrier without hesitation.
She was about to take the step that would transform her from awakener to Evolver, gaining the evolution she desperately needed to master techniques that could change her life forever.
Ti was running out, but she still had a chance.
As she crossed the threshold into the Second Sanctuary, Selene carried with her not just hope for comprehension, but determination to prove that she could succeed despite every obstacle her father had placed in her path.
[First Class Advancent is comncing!]
[Two Skills have been detected: Epic Rank skill has been detected!]
[Threshold t]
After a brief mont of lightheadedness, Selene found herself inside a massive ice cave. Ice cones and columns were hanging from the ceiling of the ice cave. The air was bitingly cold, each breath creating visible puffs of vapor from Selene's mouth.
Everything around her radiated a chill that would have been unbearable as an awakener, but her newly evolved body was adapting well.
'I would have frozen to death as an awakener…' Selene thought grimly before taking a mont to examiner her surroundings, noting the portal's familiar glow directly behind her and spotting what appeared to be a large opening in the cavern wall—presumably an exit leading to whatever dangers lay beyond this ice cave system.
Although she felt deep curiosity about exploring this new world, wondering whether any human settlents or Spirit Pavilions might be nearby, Selene imdiately made the practical decision to return through the portal.
She'd achieved exactly what she'd co here for, and her first class advancent was complete.
She could feel overwhelming power coursing through her body, energy that felt different from anything she'd experienced as an awakener. Her muscles felt stronger, her reflexes sharper, her mana purer.
The sa brief lightheadedness returned as she stepped back through the portal, and monts later she was standing beside her waiting brother.
Seeing her successful return, Alaric's face lit up, "How do you feel?" he asked as he gestured toward their transport.
"Stronger." Selene replied, flexing her fingers and marveling at the raw power she could sense flowing beneath her skin.
"Good. Let's go, we're burning daylight, and you have things to master."
Selene jumped into the small orbital gracefully. The evolution had enhanced every aspect of her physical performance beyond what she'd anticipated.
As Alaric piloted them back toward his main orbital where she would attempt to comprehend the Spirit Art Manual once more, Selene felt more optimistic.
Her mind was operating with a clarity and processing speed that made her previous cognitive abilities seem weak by comparison.
The race against ti continued.
User Comments
0 comments from readers