The Path of Ascension 7: A LitRPG Adventure

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As they neared the asteroid, they were attracted to the small oval of rock to a degree that was unnatural, but they didn’t complain, as it gave them fresh air and a place to stand.

Once they landed, Matt looked to his bond, who felt what he wanted to do, and she immediately jumped into his arms. Together, they leapt back off the asteroid and into the vacuum.

Holding their breath, they relied on their high Tier bodies to prevent their lungs from exploding in the vacuum.

They both wanted to experience the true vacuum of space.

Instantaneously, Matt’s eyes went dry, so he shut them and experienced the emptiness with his spiritual sense and body.

There was nothing…and everything around him.

Space was the home of everything in reality.

Empty, but not.

He could feel the small random bits of rock and debris drifting along, but he treated them as the inconsequential bits they were.

Matt followed his instincts and flexed his Concept, discovering that his repulsion powers were a touch more responsive.

A white hole might not be real, but it was a celestial body. Space was its home, and he had been remiss in not experiencing this before now.

Next to him, Aster’s manifestation of the dead star appeared and flickered as it started to grow colder. Even though she wasn’t targeting him, Matt felt a chill enter his body and spirit, as her connection to the cold became stronger and stronger with each passing moment.

Eventually, she also stopped and looked up at him, and he flew with his Concept back to the ground, where they took grateful breaths of air together.

Liz was glaring at them when they landed. “What if your eyes had exploded? Then what would you two do?”

Aster rolled said eyes. “We aren’t mortals. We’re stronger than that. And I got a lot out of our experiment.”

Matt nodded along. “I feel a…well, a sort of connection to my Concept I’m not quite used to. It didn’t do much, but it feels like…a door was just cracked open, ever so slightly. It’s hard to describe, but… Hmm. No, I don’t think I can explain it, but that little test was definitely worth it. Once I’m Tier 15, I’ll see about doing it more, I think.”

Liz didn’t complain anymore, and the four of them explored their little island in space.

It was small, but the gravity was a planetary normal, giving them a good foothold despite the asteroid being smaller than a large house.

Liz checked the compass, and it pointed slightly to their left and up, which forced them to use their combined Concepts to change the direction of their asteroid base.

It was hard, but they had just succeeded in steering the rock in the proper direction when they saw another asteroid traveling on a near collision course with their own.

Seeing that it was so similar to the one they were standing on, Liz said, “Anyone want to test why these asteroids have air and such?”

Susanne shook her head. “Not on my asteroid. I’m quite good, thank you.”

Matt smirked but prepared with Aster to catch their next passerby and crack it open.

It took nearly an hour but, eventually, another asteroid drifted past, and the two of them sprang into action.

Behind Aster, a dead star appeared, and the asteroid slowed noticeably while Matt grabbed it with [Earth Manipulation], pulling it into an orbit with their own.

When it was close, they flexed their powers and shattered the rock, and even Liz whistled as the center of the asteroid was revealed.

Heavy Iron wasn’t named for its properties upon Tiering up. No, while metals almost always got heavier as they tiered up, Heavy Iron was a natural treasure that could increase the weight and durability of any item it was merged with. And the chunk they just got was big enough to be split into at least two portions.

Susanne whistled as they brought the fist-sized rock down to their own asteroid. “Okay, I take back what I said. Let’s crack open every asteroid we see like pinatas. My armor could use the extra durability.”

Liz shamelessly added, “I’m so glad I told you two to break that asteroid.”

That started their great collecting expedition, and over the next six hours, they harvested a dozen fist-sized chunks of the natural treasure. Some of the asteroids had copies of delvers on them, but they were easily dealt with, as Matt shattered the ground under their feet and left them floating in the emptiness of space, where they were easy pickings for the rest of his team.

Matt used the largest one on his sword, at the insistence of the others, as he had no issue with its weight, even with one of its growth aspects being higher than normal weight and the item being Tier 14.

After his weapon absorbed the Heavy Iron, he nodded at the greater heft and took a while to practice with the weapon, so he could get used to its increased weight. It ended up being heavy enough that Matt needed to run [Mage’s Retreat] at a low level to comfortably use it, but he could still swing the blade without the skill, it just took a lot out of him. Susanne used it for her armor, and Liz absorbed the Heavy Iron with her Blood Iron, giving her body and blood some additional weight and durability. The added momentum would help with breaking through armor, and additional body weight helped with melee weapon fighting to a degree, as everyone past Tier 6 or so had the strength to spare.

After seeing that Liz had no major side effects from the absorption, and she wasn’t slowed down too much, Susanne did the same, and the two women started practicing and sharing tips on how they were each dealing with the additional weight. Liz mostly utilized her internal hemokinesis while Susanne relied on her Concept more for the time being. While they did, Matt stashed the eight remaining chunks of Heavy Iron in their storage, idly wondering if he could get his house to absorb any of them.