The Path of Ascension 8: A LitRPG Adventure

3

It was beyond her wildest dreams, and she sat in a stupor for what felt like hours before she properly realized where she was.

A Talent scanner.

Armed with her new weapon, she waded into the pool of not-water and let its findings form themselves upon the reflective surface of the scrying pool

Tier 1 Talent determined.

Primary effect: Light and Fire spells are 50% stronger when channeled through Stjolna.

Secondary effect: Stjolna’s Light and Fire enchantments are 50% stronger.

Tertiary effect: Light and Fire spells are 25% weaker when not channeled through Stjolna.

Quaternary effect: Light and Fire enchantments from sources other than Stjolna are 25% less weaker.

Stjolna. That was the name of her Artifact. Her companion.

The Realm would have to make way for the two of them from now on.

Kelsey Tur swallowed as she looked up at the Headmaster of Barstock Academy. The man was impeccably dressed as he looked down at the students seated below him.

“My name is Leonard, and you are the newest students of Barstock Academy. That means you are better than your peers. We take the best of the unawakened nobles and craft you into the perfect ruler. We will teach you how to fight. We will teach you how to learn. We will teach you how to lead. As the offspring of nobility, you have a great burden. Even if you don’t inherit your parents’ fiefs, you will be expected to be an example of your noble lineage. Succeed, and opportunities will be opened to you. If you keep succeeding, the entire Empire will be open to you. Many of our top graduates are among the strongest in the entire Empire, second only to those rare few Ascenders. Fail, and you will still be far better-equipped than any of your peers.”

At the murmur that ran through the crowd, Headmaster Leonard glared at them. “That is two demerits for all of you. Remaining quiet when being spoken to is a matter of simple manners. For those of you who didn’t speak, you should have silenced your neighbors.”

Kelsey gritted her teeth. Two demerits meant more work in the coming weeks, and she was sure she would be earning more from the idiots around her.

Before she could complain more, Headmaster Leonard continued, “Now, if you feel under your chair, you should find a packet of information. It is not your own. Your first mission is to find your correct packet. You all have five minutes.”

Just as everyone was about to explode, he added, “Oh, yes. For every time someone speaks out loud, everyone gets one demerit.”

As if to punctuate his words, the massive clock behind him chimed its warning of the new hour.

Kelsey and everyone else earned seven demerits trying to finish their tasks in the short time they were given but, thankfully, people listened when a boy stood up and gestured for them to get into two lines where they could walk past each other quickly.

It was a good idea, and she wished she had stood out first, as he earned an approving nod from a woman next to Headmaster Leonard in the teachers’ area.

Being noticed was a good thing.

If not for the idiots among them who exclaimed when they found their packets, they would have made out perfectly.

Kelsey sat down with everyone else as Headmaster Leonard resumed his place at the podium. “Acceptable, but not perfect. You will learn. Of that, I am sure. If you open your packets to the first page, you will find your room assignment. That is the one place where you will not be tested. Be warned and informed. Everything outside the door frame of your quarters can and will be a test, but inside your room, you will never find a test or an instructor unless our AI reports you are in danger. That is your single place of solitude.” For the first time, Headmaster Leonard smiled. “I recommend you not spend too much time there. Safety is a trap and tests as much as danger.”

Kelsey had already memorized her information when her eye was caught by a slight change in the weave of the paper.

She’d always had something of a knack for noticing things, and that served her well here. She split her attention between listening to Headmaster Leonard explaining more of the rules and inspecting her paper, trying to figure out what it said. By turning it and angling it correctly, Kelsey found a second message on the paper. ‘At midnight, come to the Albatross quad. By the third bush, you will find the next hint revealed by the moonlight - The Circle.’

Seeing that, Kelsey thought hard. Everyone was meant to be in their rooms by ten at night, and being caught outside was risking far worse than demerits, but like the Headmaster said, everything was a test. From what she knew, The Circle was a group of advanced students who acted like a shadow student council.

If she could join them, she would be able to secure herself an even better position in the school.

While they didn’t publicize their members, The Circle was rumored to never have had a member not make it to a Tier 15 academy.

Kelsey wanted to be even better than that. To do so, she needed their resources.

She just needed to plan everything perfectly so as to not get caught.

Risk and reward.

As they walked through the halls, she noted all the wards and security measures. They were surprisingly lax, which she supposed made sense. This school was a test, after all.

That night, when she was supposed to be asleep, she slunk out of her room and stalked down the halls, covering her face with one of her shirts.

Not exactly a foolproof measure to conceal her identity, but the best she could do on short notice.

It turned out to be a good choice because she saw three others sneaking through the halls in different directions.

She wasn’t the only one to see a hidden test, but each seemed different enough that no one was on her path to the quads.

Right before midnight, she was hidden inside the shadow of a bush when she saw it.

In a topiary of a man holding an orb, she found a thin panel of what she thought was glass, but seeing the liquid dripping off the leaves, learned it was ice.

As the clock struck midnight and the moon shone through it, she found a second message written in the shadows spread across the grass field.

‘Right, left, right, left, back, back, forward, forward.’

Seeing nothing else, Kelsey furrowed her brows. But hearing steps behind her, she ran into the nearby hedge maze.

Following the pattern, she found herself not in the center but a dead end.

As panic started to set in, she saw a root that seemed slightly different than the others.

Throwing caution to the wind, she bent down and pulled it—and almost cried out as the ground dropped out from under her feet.

Landing on her butt, she looked up to see the sliver of sky disappear as the trap door shut.

Then, as if on command, the room lit up with torches.

Standing around her in a circle were six people with dark robes and masks covering the top of their faces.

“Kelsey Tur. We, The Circle, invite you into our hidden society. The strongest weapons are the ones you don’t show. Mystery and our minds are our strongest weapons. Would you like to make them yours?”

Kelsey stood up and brushed her dirt covered hands on her outer coat before looking around the circle of people.

Having gathered herself, she calmly answered.

She didn’t have to think about it after all.

The answer was obvious.

“Yes.”