The Path of Ascension 5: A LitRPG Adventure

45

“For those that have been welcomed to East Flower, but will be leaving after this event, thank you for coming so far. It always warms my heart to see citizens from even the farthest reaches of the Empire able to attend these events.”

A smaller cheer was allowed to go on for a short while before the Emperor’s smile lit up the entire stadium.

“Finally, I would like everyone to welcome The Pathers we have gathered here today. I welcome all one million, one hundred seventy-eight thousand, fifty-two of them. For they are the best of their generation of billions.”

This time, the cheering crowd was allowed to cry themselves hoarse for a solid ten minutes. They were egged on by the royals, all following the Emperor, who clapped at the Tier 10 Pathers.

Matt whistled mentally at the final number of Pathers who were good enough to attend this event. That didn’t just mean that there were a million or so Pathers who had reached Tier 10. It meant that there were over a million of them who had reached Tier 10 and had the possibility to reach further.

This time, the Pathers joined in the cheering, and Matt could feel the excitement of the crowd. It was exhilarating and seeped into him as well.

Matt and Liz tried to out-scream each other while Melinda’s team started to jump in unison as they yelled. The energy was infectious, and quickly, everyone around them was jumping and screaming along with them.

The Emperor seemed content to let everyone shout their heads off, and just smiled along.

“They are our people’s best and brightest. In the coming year, we will see them push themselves to the limits of their personal power and showcase their potential. We will look on as they surpass their previous achievements in rift delving and fighting. Let us not forget the crafters and the wonders they make, for they will be showcasing their own skills alongside our more combat-oriented subjects. We have more people attending this event than five years ago, when a new attendance record had been established. Through all of you, the Empire grows strong.”

The Emperor clenched a fist as he said that, and then opened his hands and gestured to everyone around him. “We grow strong because of you, the people of the Empire. As you better yourselves, the collective whole grows stronger. And for that, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

The Emperor seemed content in the cheering that followed his statement.

“It gives me great pleasure to be able to do this.” The Emperor swept his arm backwards and continued, “I would like to introduce our newest royal, King Frederic, and offer him the opportunity to say a few words to everyone.”

With that, Frederic exploded from his position like he had been holding himself back, waiting for those exact words.

As the Emperor took half a step back, Frederic shook the Tier 50’s hand and bowed slightly over their clasped hands with a radiant smile.

When they broke apart after an unheard but seemingly pleasant exchange of words, Frederic stepped forward and opened his arms wide.

“Good afternoon, East Flower! It is my great honor to be here today.” As the crowd cheered, he looked to Tur’stal and nodded to her. “And to my esteemed fellow royal, Queen Tur’stal, I thank you for the gracious hospitality you and your people have shown me during my visit. I hope that my own capital planet can one day be as glorious and generous as yours has been.”

That seemed to please Tur’stal, but Matt’s gut told him there were deeper currents to the political game Frederic was playing at.

“To that end, I would like to welcome all who wish to migrate out to the newest sector of the Empire and join my kingdom. We will welcome one and all. I don’t care about your Tier or Talent. We need and welcome everyone from all walks of life. The planets are safe and settled, as required of one being appointed to an official royal position, but we have so much room to grow. And to that end, I welcome you. There are rifts to delve and jobs to work. Be you a Pather looking for a rift with less competition, or an inspiring entrepreneur looking to start your own business. I open my arms in welcome.”

There was a wave of cheering that only served to widen Frederic’s smile.

“To assist in that endeavor, I will cover the cost of anyone who wishes to relocate for the next two years. In return, all I ask is that you do your best in growing and thriving.”

Seemingly having said his piece, Frederic took a step back and repeated his handshake and slight bow to the Emperor.

The Tier 50 retook his place center stage and redirected the crowd’s attention. “I wish everyone the best as they flock to take up Frederic’s offer. Moving into the newly settled regions of the Empire is a hard but rewarding life, filled with opportunities to grow and expand. Now”—He paused for a heartbeat, and Tur’stal stepped forward to stand beside the Emperor—“let our gracious hostess introduce our venue.”

Tur’stal’s voice was soft and elegant, but carried to his ears as if she was only arm’s length away as she directed everyone’s attention to the sky.

Matt and the other Pathers grew silent, hanging on her every word. This was their venue for the upcoming games. After all, no one wanted to miss if there was a hint in her words. Examples of such were easy enough to find, if one researched previous tournaments.

“If everyone would look to the sky, I will be bringing our little planet into orbit around East Flower.”

Her voice held an unmistakable pride as she added, “For my higher Tier immortal brethren who are watching, if you send your spiritual sense out to about forty-three AU, in the second quadrant, you will find our planet. For the watchers who can’t send their spiritual perception out that far, let me show you.”

Matt couldn’t even spread his spiritual sense to the location of the center stadium, so he had to wonder at just what Tier could someone see nearly fifty times the distance from the local habitable planet to the central star.

He was sure they had to be well over Tier 35.

With that, the bright blue sky darkened as the sun seemed to dim and the stars came out. As the stars became visible, a portion of the sky shimmered while Tur’stal created a magnified view for everyone watching the spectacle. A single dot of light slowly took over the sky, expanding to show a small planet in the coldness of space.

Tur’stal’s voice once again slithered through the crowd, and Matt was able to see her reach up from the corner of his eye. With a twisting motion, she seemed to grab hold of the air itself and pull down.

Her manipulation of the sky had finally focused onto the surface of the planet, as if looking at a nearby moon through a telescope. As the image in the sky became clear, the fabric of reality seemed to shift around them. To his Concept, it felt like something with authority over existence itself had decreed that the planet’s location wasn’t correct, and then moved the planet to its proper home.

At that moment, the zoomed-in portion of the sky faded away, and the planet that had been forty-three times farther away from the central star than East Flower had been teleported into a nearby orbit.

The new planet was close enough that it took up over half the horizon, and even as the sun slowly returned brightness to the arena, the planet still dominated the backdrop of the sky.

Matt swallowed at the display of power.

He could also feel that he had missed a massive portion of what had just happened as he didn’t have an Intent or Aspect to feel those powers at work.

Even still, the power that his Concept could detect felt vast in a way that he couldn’t put words to.

Tur’stal’s Concept was simply more than his.

The entire display was a raw and naked threat to anyone watching.

Tur’stal had just moved an entire planet across a solar system in realspace, while an audience of billions watched on. And she did it without any visible effort.

She hadn’t even used any visible skills that would have made the effort easier. She had seemingly only relied only on her Domain and its control over space.

That display of power actually caused the crowd to go silent for once, as everyone stared at the planet now dominating the sky.

Someone somewhere started to cheer, and that small noise woke the beast. The roar of approval was ear-shattering as the citizens of East Flower celebrated their Queen’s display of power.

After letting cheering go on for a long while, Tur’stal started speaking once again. “This is our Tier 15 planet. It’s a small planet, as those things go. Little more than the size of our moon. Still, it’s a proper Tier 15 planet, with rifts ranging between Tier 11 and Tier 15. But to let us have a little more leeway in our planning, a number of rifts have been held back from advancing to keep them Tier 10.”