Chapter 89: Challenge Map: The Astral Spire

"A permanent stat increase with every kill?"

Kael stared at the description of Sigil of Ascendance, his expression briefly betraying genuine surprise.

An increase of 0.01 points seemed insignificant at first glance.

It was the sort of number most players would overlook while searching for skills that promised immediate damage or dramatic improvements to their combat abilities.

But Kael had learned long ago to look beyond the numbers displayed on a skill panel.

There was no maximum limit listed. No diminishing returns. No hidden condition restricting how many times the effect could activate.

As long as the companion carrying the sigil continued killing, its chosen attribute would keep increasing.

One kill. Another 0.01 points.A hundred kills. One additional point.A thousand kills. Ten points.

The increments were small, but they accumulated permanently. Over weeks, months, and potentially years of hunting, the difference could become enormous.

And unlike temporary buffs or equipment bonuses, these gains would remain even if the companion changed its gear or entered a different battlefield.

This wasn’t a skill designed to win a single fight.It was designed to create a monster that became stronger with every fight it survived.

Kael’s mouth curved into a grin.’Now that’s worth investing in.’He immediately opened the skill interface and selected Lyra.

A new prompt appeared before him, displaying four choices: Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit.

Once he selected an attribute, the sigil would permanently bind itself to that stat. There would be no opportunity to change his mind later.

For an archer like Lyra, the choice was obvious. Agility.

Kael confirmed the selection.

A soft blue glow gathered around his fingertips.

Threads of energy curled together, weaving themselves into a delicate sigil that shimmered like light beneath clear water.

Its intricate markings rotated slowly, releasing a faint pulse as though something alive lay within its center.He extended his hand toward Lyra.

The sigil floated forward and touched her body.For an instant, its blue markings spread across her frame, tracing luminous lines beneath her skin.

Then the light contracted, sinking into her body until nothing remained visible.A notification confirmed the successful binding.

Kael moved on without wasting time.

Wraithlord received Strength, reinforcing the power behind every physical strike.

Void Colossus received Constitution, strengthening its already formidable durability. Thunder Roc received Spirit, enhancing the raw power behind its magical attacks.

One after another, the sigils disappeared into their designated companions.Four permanent investments. Four different paths of growth.

Once the bindings were complete, Kael sent the companions back into the surrounding hunting grounds.

Lyra’s arrows continued to cut through monsters, Wraithlord tore into anything that approached, Void Colossus crushed its targets beneath overwhelming force, and Thunder Roc unleashed spells that lit up the distant terrain.

Every kill triggered the appropriate sigil.

The changes were almost impossible to notice in the middle of combat. A fraction appeared beside an attribute, so small that it barely seemed worth celebrating.

Kael watched the notifications with quiet satisfaction.Small now.Not small forever.

With that matter settled, he opened his inventory and retrieved the reward from his fourth class advancement.

The moment the item appeared, a faint golden radiance spread across his palm.

It was a heavy ring forged from an unfamiliar golden metal, its surface worked into the shape of a coiling dragon.

Every scale had been carved with extraordinary precision, while its claws curved around the band as though the creature were guarding something precious.

Its eyes held a deep amber glimmer that seemed to shift whenever the light struck them.

Despite its modest size, the ring carried a presence that was difficult to ignore.

Kael could almost imagine a sleeping beast coiled within the metal, waiting for the moment someone dared to awaken it.

He inspected its attributes.

[WYRMGUARD RING]

Grade: Legendary

Constitution: +150

Strength: +120

Agility: +120

Spirit: +130

Equipment Effect: Wyrmfire Breath

Normal attacks have a 5% chance to unleash a scorching cone of dragonfire in a straight line ahead.

Equipment Skill: Deathless Ward

Awaken the dormant dragon soul bound within the ring, creating a barrier that grants full immunity to control effects and any attack originating from a source below Level 70 for 5 seconds.

Equipment Level: 40

Kael’s eyebrows rose as he read the final skill description."An actual invincibility window."

He went over the wording again, making sure he hadn’t misunderstood it.

Five seconds might not sound like much to someone unfamiliar with Ascension’s combat system. In reality, five seconds could determine the outcome of an entire battle.

An enemy’s ultimate skill could be wasted. A coordinated burst rotation could collapse without dealing damage.

A powerful opponent could exhaust every available ability trying to bring him down, only to discover that none of it had worked.

And during those five seconds, Kael would have an opportunity to reposition, counterattack, or finish the fight.

Strictly speaking, Ascension rarely dealt in absolute invulnerability.

Enough overwhelming power could eventually break through most defensive abilities, and the circumstances of a battle could always introduce unexpected complications.

But Deathless Ward had a clearly defined threshold.

Any attack from a source below Level 70 would be unable to harm him during its activation. Control effects would likewise fail to restrain him.

At his current stage of development, that was about as close to invincibility as a player could reasonably hope to obtain.

Equipment skills of this caliber were among the rarest treasures in the entire game. They weren’t valuable simply because they increased attributes or added another source of damage.

Their real worth came from the unique advantages they offered, advantages that could turn an otherwise hopeless battle into a victory.

Kael had spent days grinding under the distorted odds of the Ring of Infinite Fortune.

His inventory had filled with high-grade equipment, and his collection of rare items had grown far beyond what most players could imagine acquiring so early.

Yet none of those items had possessed a genuine immunity effect comparable to Deathless Ward.

That alone placed the Wyrmguard Ring in a category of its own.On the open market, it would command a staggering price.

Even wealthy guild leaders would have to think carefully before attempting to acquire it, and most ordinary players would never have enough resources to make a serious offer.

Kael had no intention of selling it.He slipped the ring onto his finger.

The golden band settled against his skin, and its dragon engraving caught the light for a brief moment before the glow faded. Its weight felt strangely natural, as though it had been waiting for him all along.

Another piece of his growing arsenal was now in place.

But the fourth class advancement had offered more than a powerful ring and an extraordinary skill.

It had also unlocked a new map.The Astral Spire.Kael recognized the name immediately.

Memories from his previous life surfaced, bringing with them the image of an enormous tower that rose beyond the clouds, its distant summit concealed by layers of swirling starlight.

The Astral Spire was one of Ascension’s most famous challenge maps, a place where individual skill, preparation, and sheer combat ability were tested against increasingly brutal trials.

It contained 108 floors.

Every player who qualified could enter at Level 40, but the opportunity came with a severe restriction.

Each player received only one attempt.

There would be no repeated entries to memorize every enemy’s movements, no endless retries after learning the layout of a difficult floor.

Every decision mattered, because a failed attempt meant losing the opportunity to climb again.The rewards grew more valuable with every floor cleared.

Early stages offered useful equipment and resources, while the higher floors contained treasures capable of changing a player’s development entirely.

But the summit was the real mystery.

Rumors claimed that the final floor concealed a reward of an entirely different magnitude, something extraordinary even by the standards of a world where legendary treasures and impossible abilities were real.

No one had ever conclusively revealed what awaited at the top.

During Kael’s first life, the server record had stopped at Floor 102. The player who reached it had become a legend, but the remaining floors had stayed beyond everyone’s grasp.

Kael had managed to reach Floor 91 himself.

At the time, he had been strong enough to stand among the best players in the world, but his early development had been far from perfect.

His ordinary Warrior class and B-grade talent had placed natural limits on how quickly he could grow, and even his years of experience couldn’t compensate for every disadvantage.

He simply hadn’t been formidable enough.