We are back Baby!!! 34 chapters today!
Hope you enjoy it ;)
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Ron left the Minpo Republic by airship.
The vessel flew steadily through the upper atmosphere. Ron sat quietly in his seat, eyes half-closed. The cabin was calm. Most passengers, like Ron, were resting, while a few remained awake, speaking softly and moving gently to avoid disturbing others.
The atmosphere in this cabin was unusually polite.
As night fell and the sky darkened, Ron had dinner and made his way to a quiet corner. There, he opened a panel in the wall and stepped into Sumas's space.
In front of him, the crystal sphere had already reached one hundred percent completion.
"Smooth enough."
Ron hadn't expected the trip to Minpo to turn out the way it did—a massive martial tournament, Rosgell's emergence, and the strange resemblance the tournament participants bore to characters from the world of One Piece.
But the outcome was favorable.
Rosgell achieved his desired transformation. Alex had successfully become the new king of Minpo. Ron, in addition to absorbing traits from Minpo's environment, had also gained two unexpected rewards.
He had obtained two Ascension Relics.
One had been brought back by Rosgell from the Dark Continent. The other had formed through the fusion of four segments of the Dark Sonata.
The first matched well with the humanoid Nen construct Rosgell; the second was highly compatible with Yuzuru Yamai.
However, Yuzuru had not yet reached S-rank, and thus could not yet use the relic. Ron needed to find a way to elevate her strength to that threshold first.
"Once an Ascension Relic is used, the user's lifeform undergoes an essential change. The most immediate effects are a dramatic increase in physical and mental capacity.
And then… lifespan.
That's the most obvious—and most important—change. Upon reaching Sequence 1, a person can live for at least two hundred years. And this isn't due to some rare elixir—it's solely the result of advancing in sequence.
And it carries no side effects."
"First, I'll use the Ascension Relic. Then I'll manifest a new Nen beast, based on the traits I absorbed from Minpo."
Rosgell's humanoid body appeared before Ron—one torso, one leg, and one arm. The head, however, had already been replaced by Lampent.
"I can make another trip to the Kingdom of Fiora to retrieve Rosgell's remaining leg and arm. There's no need to use the original head. Lampent has already taken its place. Besides, Minpo still needs Rosgell's original head to help construct the new Nen array. Completing his body further should improve Rosgell's overall strength."
But as Ron studied Rosgell's half-formed body, he suddenly thought of something—the Armament Gold and Silver Ingots, a humanoid weapon from the Dark Continent.
It wasn't just classified as a high-threat entity—it served as the guardian of the Brion plant, a rare alchemical herb said to cure any illness. The resemblance wasn't just in form.
Both were constructs bound by function, their power rooted in their physical structure and Nen configuration.
A possibility took shape in his mind.
If he wanted Rosgell to evolve further—not just in raw strength but in purpose—then following the trail of the Armament Ingots might be necessary.
He didn't yet know what sequence level the Ingots occupied, but any entity capable of protecting Brion was at least Sequence 1, or close to it. That meant its design, its material composition, or the Nen system binding it could hold the key to perfecting Rosgell.
And if Brion's rumored ability was real, then acquiring it would serve more than one purpose. It might become essential—depending on what challenges lay ahead.
Ron mentally noted the objective: locate the Ingots, retrieve the Brion plant, and study both. Whether for healing, enhancing, or building, that path might hold the breakthrough Rosgell needed.
But for now, it was time to upgrade his Nen beast!
He retrieved the Ascension Relic.
A strange aura seeped faintly into the air.
Without hesitation, Ron pushed the relic toward Rosgell.
Just before it touched his body, a magnetic pull drew it in. The relic began to dissolve, melting into a liquid state that flowed into Rosgell's form.
A powerful mutation began to unfold.
Ron stepped back, maintaining distance while observing Rosgell's transformation and mentally reviewing the Dark Continent intelligence he'd acquired in Minpo.
It differed slightly from what he had initially assumed.
Dangerous lifeforms were only part of the threat. Pollution was everywhere. It could take the form of sound, images, light—its manifestations were diverse, and defending against it was nearly impossible.
Only sequence power could resist pollution.
Humans couldn't survive long on the Dark Continent—not even by simply existing there.
And there was one more crucial detail.
The division between the surface world and the reverse world.
Rosgell had proposed the concept, though even he couldn't fully confirm it. It remained a theory.
The surface world referred to the known side of the Dark Continent—dangerous, yes, but still within the realm of understanding.
The reverse world, however, was an entirely different concept. Its nature was beyond comprehension. Even though Rosgell now existed only as a consciousness, recalling his time there still stirred visceral fear.
Ron couldn't yet imagine what such a place would look like—Rosgell's descriptions had been too vague.
According to him, reaching the reverse world was no simple task. Ascension Relics could only be found there.
Rosgell had stumbled into that world by accident, which led to his advancement to Sequence 1. But the others who entered with him had not been so lucky.
They all died. Not one survived.
In the reverse world, strength and all other qualities were suppressed.
This reminded Ron of the concept of ascension—from the mundane world into a higher-dimensional one.
A being that stood at the apex of the ordinary world would, upon entering the higher dimension, be reduced to the very bottom. Everything had to be climbed again, step by step.
"The reverse world… you can't anchor it."
Rosgell had said that after he left the reverse world, he could never find his way back. Even using an Ascension Relic didn't help.
It was as if the reverse world had disappeared.
Rosgell deeply regretted that. He had formed several valuable relationships there. But afterward, he never saw those people again—no communication, no contact.
Ron thought about it. If he had gone to places like Fiora, Gourmet Paradise, or Kakin, and formed ties with people there—only to lose them forever after leaving—he would feel the same sense of loss.
Suddenly, Rosgell's aura began to settle.
Every trace of Nen was retracted into his body. He grew quiet. Even Lampent fell silent.
Ron could barely sense their connection—just a faint thread linking him to Lampent.
"Is it over?"
He kept his gaze fixed on Rosgell.
A moment later, a black line surfaced across his body. It spread over his form, weaving a complex symbol.
Then the mark vanished.
Rosgell returned to normal.
The connection between Ron and Lampent began to reestablish itself.
At the same time, a surge of information flooded into Ron's mind.
It was everything about Rosgell's current state.