Chapter 123: Imprinted Upon the Soul

The moment the First Ascent began, Zishan felt something inside him change.

The Mana circulating through his body suddenly became heavier, and a strange pull started drawing part of it somewhere deeper while the rest continued moving normally through his pathways.

Zishan frowned. ’So this is the Gathering Stage...’

It was not only his Mana either. The strength he had gained from his Stats, the different Mana Affinities he possessed, the changes brought by his Insatiable Warbody, and even the growth he had accumulated from leveling all seemed to react to the same pull.

He could not see any of it, but he could feel everything slowly being brought together.

The sensation was strange more than painful. His Mana still responded whenever he tried controlling it, though part of his attention kept getting pulled toward whatever was happening inside him, and even maintaining Frostbound Dominion became more difficult than it had been a moment ago.

’Wait. Am I losing control of my Mana?’

[No, Host.]

[The Host’s accumulated foundation is currently being gathered in preparation for the First Ascent.]

Zishan understood what the System meant after feeling it for a few more seconds.

Reaching Level 100 had only allowed him to begin the First Ascent. Before he could actually move into the next stage of his growth, everything he had accumulated before that point first had to be gathered together into one foundation.

The only problem was that he was trying to do that while several Wyverns were still attempting to kill him.

Part of his Mana moved whenever he called on it, while another portion continued being pulled inward. Trying to control both at the same time felt awkward, and Zishan could already imagine how annoying this would become once he started using several Skills together.

[Ascent Stabilization Activated]

The pressure inside him settled soon after.

It did not disappear, and Zishan could still feel the Gather process continuing somewhere within him, but controlling his Mana became much easier again.

’Oh. That’s useful.’

Before he could pay more attention to it, the Level 224 Wyvern came diving toward him with both claws stretched forward.

Zishan looked up. ’Right... Still fighting.’

"Come."

He waited until the creature was almost on top of him before increasing the Gravity around its descent. The Wyvern was already falling fast, but the sudden pull dragged its massive body downward even harder.

Zishan disappeared with Rift Steps just before its claws reached him.

The Wyvern crashed into the frozen ground.

He reappeared several meters behind it and pushed more Ice Mana into Frostbound Dominion while the creature was still recovering. Frost spread across both of its legs and locked them against the ground for a moment before the Wyvern roared and forced one free through brute strength.

Zishan looked at the other leg that remained trapped.

"Gravitic Anchor."

Gravity pressed down around it.

The Wyvern tried standing again, only for the weight around the frozen leg to drag one side of its body downward. Its balance broke before it could properly recover, and the creature fell onto its side with enough force to crack the ice beneath it.

That exposed the softer scales beneath its jaw.

Zishan was already moving.

Thunderwake flooded his nerves and muscles with Lightning Mana, increasing his acceleration as he rushed across the frozen ground. Pale-blue electricity followed behind him while he closed the distance and drove his fist beneath the Wyvern’s jaw using the momentum he had built up.

Its head snapped upward.

Zishan did not stay there. He continued past the creature before it could retaliate, leaving an electrical wake stretching across the ground behind him.

The Wyvern recovered and twisted around.

Zishan glanced back. ’Come on.’

It followed him.

One of its front legs crossed the electrical wake.

’There.’

Zishan triggered it.

Lightning discharged from the trail and spread across the Wyvern’s legs, causing its body to jerk right as it tried turning toward him. One of its claws swept through the frozen ground, but Zishan had already used Rift Steps to move outside its reach.

He appeared several meters away and immediately felt something else enter the area covered by Frostbound Dominion.

’Another one...’

Zishan turned just as the creature rushed toward him from the right.

Ice Mana rose from the ground and formed a thick wall between them, though the Wyvern did not bother avoiding it. Its body smashed straight through, breaking the wall apart and sending pieces of Ice flying around its head and wings.

Zishan’s eyes followed the fragments.

They were still carrying his Mana.

The moment several pieces struck the Wyvern, Frost started spreading from wherever they touched.

’Oh?’

The creature shook itself and forced its way through most of the Ice before continuing toward him, though Zishan had never expected the wall itself to stop something that was much stronger than him.

He only needed the delay.

While the Wyvern was breaking through the Frost, Zishan moved around it and reached the creature’s back before it could properly turn toward him.

’Not bad.’

The more he used Frostbound Dominion, the more he understood why a control-type Skill could become so annoying.

Wildfire Requiem was much simpler. If Zishan needed destruction, he poured Mana into it and burned whatever was caught within its range.

Frostbound Dominion did not need to overpower an enemy in the same way.

Against something stronger than him, freezing an entire body might be difficult, but he did not need to do that. If one wing became slower, one leg stiffened for a moment, or the creature lost its balance because Frost appeared at the wrong time, Zishan already had an opening he could use.

The Wyvern twisted around again, forcing him to move, but the sensation from his First Ascent suddenly became harder to ignore.

The Gather process had never stopped.

Even while Zishan fought, more of his accumulated foundation continued being pulled together. The pressure inside him had grown denser compared to before, and now that he had gotten used to fighting while it happened, he could finally pay attention to where everything was actually going.

’Where is it gathering?’

At first, he assumed the answer would be somewhere inside his body.

Maybe around his chest. Or perhaps somewhere near his Mana pathways. But the more Zishan focused on the sensation, the more obvious it became that neither was correct.

It felt deeper, though not in the sense that it was simply farther inside his body. The sensation seemed to come from somewhere he could not physically point to, and Zishan nearly lost his footing when he finally understood what he was feeling.

’Wait...’ He moved away from another attack before focusing inward again. ’It’s gathering in my soul?’

[Correct.]

[An Ascent Imprint is not a physical object. The Host’s gathered foundation will be permanently Imprinted upon the Host’s soul.]

Zishan’s expression became strange. He had always imagined an Ascent Imprint appearing somewhere visible after completing the process. Maybe on his chest, his arm, or even some overly dramatic mark covering most of his back.

Instead, everything he had accumulated was being gathered somewhere inside his soul.

He could not physically see the place, but the more of his foundation that gathered there, the easier it became to sense.

’So that’s where the Imprint forms...’