Chapter 122: First Ascent Initiated

"Hey, System, can I start the process of undergoing my attempt to complete the First Ascent while I’m trading blows with these fiends trying to take Silvy away?" Zishan asked while staring at the Mana gathering inside the Level 224 Wyvern’s mouth.

[Yes, Host. The First Ascent does not require the Host to remain stationary.]

[Gather, Imprint, Temper and Ascend involve the Host’s accumulated foundation. As long as sufficient control is maintained, the process may continue even while the Host is moving or fighting.]

[Ascent Stabilization will also assist in maintaining the stability of the First Ascent throughout combat.]

Zishan’s eyes lit up. "Sweet! Then we’re doing it."

The Wyvern fired.

Zishan disappeared with Rift Steps before the attack could reach him, reappearing several meters away while the blast tore into the ground behind him. Dirt and broken pieces of rock flew everywhere, but his attention had already shifted to the green panels appearing in front of him.

[ADVANCE CLAIM CONFIRMED]

[Processing Quest Rewards...]

[ADVANCE CLAIM SUCCESSFUL]

He did not bother going through them one at a time.

"Give me everything."

[EXP: +10,000]

[+100 Distributable Stat Points]

[INT +50]

[Ice Mana Affinity Acquired]

[Skill Acquired: Frostbound Dominion]

[Tier: Sovereign]

[Beast Nurturing Space Upgraded x1]

[+60 Distributable Stat Points]

[First Ascent Imprint Reinforcement Acquired]

[Ascent Stabilization Acquired]

[Advance-Claimed Rewards: PROVISIONAL]

[LEVEL UP!]

[Level 100 Reached!]

[Further Level Advancement requires completion of the First Ascent.]

A large amount of information entered Zishan’s mind along with the rewards, though the changes to his body were much easier to notice.

His Mana Capacity rose again from the additional Intelligence, while another 160 Distributable Stat Points joined the ones he had already been refusing to spend.

"That’s... a lot."

Nonetheless, he could deal with those later.

What caught his attention was the Ice Mana.

The moment the Mana Affinity became his, the cold air around him started feeling different. He became aware of the moisture mixed into it, the temperature of everything nearby, and even how the Mana itself could be manipulated to pull heat away and create Ice.

Zishan blinked. "Huh."

He had only possessed the Mana Affinity for a few seconds, yet most of what should have been unfamiliar already made sense.

Then, Perfected Glimpse responded.

[Perfected Glimpse has activated.]

[Ice Mana Affinity Resonance has reached Gold.]

Zishan looked at the second prompt. "Why do you have this now? You never mentioned Resonance when I got the others."

[Because the Host had not yet acquired sufficient knowledge regarding Mana Resonance when the previous Mana Affinities were obtained. The System does not display information that would provide no useful context to the Host.]

Zishan’s expression became strange. "So my other Affinities already had Resonance Colors back then? Perfected Glimpse was affecting those too?"

[Correct.]

He thought back to the military assessment.

Every Mana Affinity they tested had shown Gold.

At the time, Zishan had thought it was simply another ridiculous consequence of Perfected Glimpse. Apparently, that had already been happening long before he even knew enough to understand what the result meant.

"So you’re only showing it now because I actually know what Gold Resonance means?"

[Correct.]

"You could’ve told me earlier."

[The Host did not ask.]

Zishan stared at the panel for a while and eventually said, "Of course."

A shadow suddenly moved above him. "Later."

He looked up just as another Wyvern descended.

Zishan raised one hand and pulled on the Ice Mana around him. Frost spread across the grass, followed by several thick spikes that erupted upward beneath the Level 273 Wyvern.

The creature twisted away from the first two and beat its wings harder when another rose directly beneath it.

It escaped.

Zishan watched the Wyvern climb higher. "Frostbound Dominion..."

The information belonging to the Skill was already sitting inside his head, so there was no reason to keep guessing.

He activated it.

Cold Mana spread out around him.

The grass nearest Zishan froze first before thin layers of ice began creeping over rocks and exposed patches of soil. His breath turned visible, though what interested him more was the strange sensation that came together with the Skill.

He could feel the area touched by his Ice Mana. Although not perfectly, but just enough.

The moment the Level 273 Wyvern entered that area again, Zishan noticed it before the creature had even finished turning toward him.

’There.’

Frost crawled across the edge of one of its wings.

The Wyvern roared and shook itself violently, breaking part of the Ice away before lunging straight toward him.

Zishan grinned. "So that’s how it works."

He moved sideways with Rift Steps as the claws tore through the ground where he had been standing, then appeared near the creature’s flank and stretched one hand toward the wing already covered in Frost.

"Gravitic Anchor."

The Wyvern suddenly dropped.

Its left wing struck the ground first, and Zishan immediately forced more Ice Mana into the same area. Frost spread farther along the joint before the creature could properly lift itself again.

Its next attempt to open the wing was slower.

’Useful.’

Wildfire Requiem could simply destroy things.

But Frostbound Dominion was different.

Zishan did not need the Ice to overpower something stronger than him. If he could make one wing slower, freeze one leg for a moment, or ruin an enemy’s balance at the right time, that was already enough.

The Wyvern proved his point almost immediately. It snapped its head toward him and fired another Mana blast.

Instead of moving right away, Zishan increased the Gravity pulling against the frozen wing.

The creature’s balance shifted.

Its body lurched sideways right as the attack left its mouth, dragging the blast away with it. Mana ripped across the ground several meters from Zishan, but he had already disappeared.

Rift Steps brought him above the Wyvern.

Wind Mana compressed around his arm while he twisted in the air and aimed for the same wing he had been bothering since the fight started.

"Stormwing Rend."

Several Wind blades ripped downward.

The first few scraped across the creature’s scales without doing much, but the others landed near the base of the wing where the Frost had already been accumulating.

Blood scattered across the frozen ground. The Wyvern roared and whipped its tail toward him. Zishan landed and moved out of the way before it could connect.

A green panel appeared in front of him.

[The Host may begin the First Ascent.]

Zishan looked at the notification, then at the injured Wyvern forcing itself back onto its feet.

There were more flying around them. Elinox and Ernest were still fighting. Ollie was still inside the barrier. Silvy was waiting inside the Beast Nurturing Space.

And apparently, this was the perfect time for him to undergo his First Ascent.

Zishan breathed out and slowly said, "Begin."

[FIRST ASCENT INITIATED]

[Stage One: Gather.]