Chapter 188: The Different Path

’What is the reason for these conditions in the first place? Why am I required to kill this many people to advance? Do others ascend through the ranks in the same way?’

[No, Host. The others do not advance as you do—or, more accurately, you do not advance as they do.]

[Awakened advance by strengthening their souls and refining their Soul Crowns. Battle experience and spiritual meditation help increase soul power and prepare the soul for advancement.]

[Soul Crown refinement can also be supported by absorbing spirit stones, as the Host did upon formally entering the Tenth Rank. Most Awakened use this method continually, supplementing it with combat experience, which is why some prefer battlefields to remaining in cities.]

[There are also many unique and rare methods, but they are not widespread, nor can we cover them all in a few words or definitions. The Host will undoubtedly learn about them in the future—if he remains alive.]

’Wow, how very tactful of you.’

Ravian recalled the stones he had absorbed back then, then lifted his gaze toward the spot where the now-hidden crown had hovered above his head.

The crown was not merely a symbol that appeared after advancement, then; it was part of the path itself.

’Meditation, combat, spirit stones, and hidden methods. They can strengthen their souls and refine their crowns until they reach the next rank, while I get a kill list?’

[The Host’s path is different.]

[Increasing soul power alone is insufficient on the Sovereign Pride Path; the Host must endure circumstances sufficiently difficult for his current stage and survive them, while also meeting the advancement requirements.]

[The stated condition represents the Records required for this particular advancement.]

Ravian’s brow furrowed slightly.

’Does that mean meditation and absorbing spirit stones are no longer useful to me?’

[No. The Host can use both to strengthen and refine his soul.]

[However, these methods do not replace the need to fulfill Sovereign Pride’s condition or meet the advancement requirements.]

[Learning to control Aura and mana and to wield magic requires meditation in any case.]

[The Host must therefore meditate as well.]

[The Host’s path is harder, as he must accomplish both.]

Ravian returned to the bed and sat down, leaning back against the headboard as he released a slow breath.

’So I have to strengthen my soul like everyone else and meditate just like them to develop combat skills and battlefield proficiency, then survive enough disasters to prove I deserve to use that power at the next rank.’

[To attain the standing you desire deep within yourself, Host, you must overcome every trial you can—and survive.]

’Yes, I understood the part about surviving. It’s hard to forget.’

None of this was entirely surprising after everything he had learned about Sovereign Pride. Even his ability to combine Aura and magic had not come through an ordinary path, and it made little sense to expect an ordinary road after all that, but he did not care about any of it.

If it would take him where he wanted to go, there would be no regrets and no turning back.

Then Ravian remembered something.

’There are a lot of things about soul refinement you haven’t told me.’

[Correct.]

[There are further details concerning Soul Crowns, methods of refinement, and differences between paths.]

[The Host is advised to read about and study these matters himself, comparing what he learns with what he experiences, to avoid developing an incorrect understanding of soul power based on the exceptions inherent to his path.]

Ravian considered the final sentence.

His own circumstances were hardly a suitable model for understanding everyone else: an Aura Core and mana circles within a single body, a soul of unknown rank, and Void fused so thoroughly with its lines that separating them was impossible.

If he assumed all of that was normal, the books he read would not be the ones at fault.

’Some books on the basics, then.’

He disliked the thought of returning to the start of a day after everything he had endured throughout it, which made it all the more important to be cautious, educate himself, and learn enough to avoid disgracing himself as he had before that damned Ambassador of Truth.

Ravian sat upright again, then directed his attention toward the unfinished window.

’All right, we understand the condition. Continue with the remaining requirements.’

The next line appeared.

[First Requirement: Absorb the heart of a Seventh-Rank being.]

’Ah, hell no. Not again!’ Ravian nearly cursed aloud, but caught himself at the last moment.

Ravian read the line twice.

The kill condition allowed him to settle for a single Eighth-Rank Awakened, yet the first requirement demanded the heart of a Seventh-Rank being.

He had not missed that ridiculous gap of an entire rank, and he certainly was not about to overlook it.

Come on!

The Seventh Rank, when he was only at the Ninth?!

’The Seventh Rank? Is that line written correctly, System?’

[Yes.]

[Acceptable Sources: A Seventh-Rank beast, human, or member of the Children of Sin.]

[Requirement Status: Unfulfilled.]

[The requirement is to absorb the heart. The Host is not required to be the one who killed its owner.]

That was obvious; he had obtained the Eighth-Rank heart from Earl Patrick without killing its owner himself, though that had hardly made acquiring it easy. It had taken a deal involving an entire project, as well as a demonstration of his engineering talent, to secure something like that in the end.

As Ravian turned those thoughts over, the remaining requirements appeared.

[Second Requirement: Possess at least ten extra lives.]

[Current Extra Lives: 10.]

[Requirement Status: Fulfilled.]

’Phew. Just barely.’

He had not lost any extra lives since the incident with Truth, but the required minimum left him without a single life to spare. If he lost one and remained below ten, this requirement would no longer be fulfilled, which meant he needed to be careful with every step he took from now on if he wanted to advance to the Eighth Rank as quickly as possible.

The warning about Sovereign Paradox immediately returned to his mind.

He already had enough reasons not to test Fate Selection out of curiosity, and the System had now given him another reason to wait before trying to use that ability.

[Third Requirement: Advance the Basic-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique to the next level.]

[Current Physique: Void-Grade Sovereign Pride Physique.]

[Requirement Status: Fulfilled.]

His gaze lingered on the final line for a moment, and he sighed aloud.

At least there were now two requirements he had already met.

Then the next window appeared.

[Fourth Requirement: Obtain a phrase from the Golden Scriptures.]

[Requirement Status: Unfulfilled.]