Chapter 1513: In The Flesh
Chapter 1513: In The Flesh
The guide, who told Arthur to call him Zorak, began explaining the nature of the Path. He told Arthur that the Path was a part of Yggdrasil itself, but that wasn’t any news to the latter. Instead, he was more interested in how and why the gods fit into all of this.
"Devaheim is the highest world in the Sovereign Path," Zorak explained while feeding gemstones to his slime. "Those who reach beyond Level 99 become a part of Devaheim."
"Is that mandatory?" Arthur asked with confusion.
"In order to preserve the peace of the lower worlds, yes," the man explained. "Many choose to stop climbing the path once they reach the 99th trial."
"What happens if someone does overcome it?"
"The Divine Messenger appears and takes them to Devaheim."
Arthur felt that this was a little odd. It was... too fair. He didn’t comment about the gods’ characters, but from what Zorak explained, they were both feared and respected within the Path.
The method to raise one’s level was through climbing the path itself. There was no other way to raise a level other than to overcome the trials given by the path, known as Ascension Quests, and reach higher worlds.
This truly was a game of worlds.
Arthur kept asking the guide, and the latter kept answering without hesitation. There was some fear in the man’s eyes, but he tried to hide it to no avail. His Omniscient Eyes could see everything.
Root Town was lorded by a 99th Sovereign, and the one enforcing taxes on those residing within it. No one had seen the Sovereign for thousands of years because even the guards had at least Level 20.
The sheer difference in power between his world and the Path was astronomical. If a single entity from the Path descended to his world, it would destroy it in an instant. Arthur expressed this concern and Zorak told him about the Lower Worlds Protection Law.
A creature of a higher level, other than the Sovereign of a world, could not descend directly into a lower world or they would face heavy restrictions. Arthur realized that this was the reason gods were so much weaker in his world.
"Is there a method to counter that Lower Worlds Protection Law?" Arthur asked while remembering how the worlds ’unsealed’ themselves.
"One can, but they would suffer a severe backlash from Yggdrasil, including a demotion in their Levels and stats, or even a complete erasure of one of their abilities."
This meant that any gods who unsealed themselves before suffered great consequences here in the Path, or their own world, Devaheim. Arthur kept listening as the man explained how levels worked in relation to stats.
According on one’s class, a cap would be determined based on the level. Most classes would offer a double-level cap. Zorak himself was capped at 38 stats because of his Level 19, not that he could even reach them being a guide.
Arthur was confused because his stats were all sixes, even though his form level was 1. He rephrased a question to get an answer regarding that, phrasing it as a question about higher-quality classes, and Zorak confirmed his suspicions.
"This is where Logos come into play," Zorak explained. "If a class is closer to a higher Logos, or the user has understood a higher truth, then their stats can be amplified and can rise higher."
"What is this Logos?"
"The fundamental truths about things," Zorak explained as he raised his slime. "This creature was created by fusing multiple Logos, almost a hundred, to form the basic form of life. One such Logos is life itself, but it also contains the Logos of Elasticity, Logos of Flexibility, Logos of Liquefaction, Logos of Awareness, Logos of Movement, and many more that form this creature."
"You understand all of those?" Arthur asked in surprise.
"Haha, I wish. Complete understanding of Logos is a difficult feat, usually reserved for those Enlightened Ones. I merely memorize phrases that explain a part of those truths and combine them to create this creature."
"Then, what is your understanding of them?"
"An understanding of truth has many ranks, including: shallow, basic, intermediate, advanced, deep, partial, and perfect. If you get a single Logos of the Partial or Perfect rank, a single level for you would yield higher results."
The system was complex, but simple. It focused on ascending worlds through understanding them. It was a system that reminded Arthur of himself, the creator, and the creature he had once been.
Zorak also explained that some ways to raise stats are by defeating powerful creatures and receiving rewards from the Path. Arthur understood that he could no longer rely on his absorb rune to raise his strength.
The conversation lasted a while, which Fenrir spent sleeping. Zorak gave him a small dimensional bag that contained basic weapons and food, a gift from the Tutorial Guild.
Arthur left the guild with more answers than he had hoped for, with the bag slung on one shoulder and Fenrir sitting atop the other. He was still walking the streets and exploring the city when someone interrupted his path.
A tall armored knight, with a face made of some sort of metal, blocked his path. He had two more lackeys behind him. The three seemed ready to chase Arthur if he ran, which Arthur would not do.
"Can I help you?" Arthur asked with a smile.
"You may help us by handing over the beast on your shoulder," the man in the middle said. "I have no idea how you can contract such a high-level familiar, but its existence within the city is causing great distress."
"I read the rules. Familiars are allowed. And you expect me to believe that the Lord of this city, a Level 99, fears my wolf who is at Level 9?"
"You dare accuse the Almighty Sovereign?" the creature roared. "Seize him!"
Arthur watched the three charge at him and he sighed. He threw the bag on the ground and raised a fist covered with flames. A few moments later, the three knights were on the ground with charred faces as Arthur walked away.
"We need to receive the basic skills from the guilds before drawing more attention to ourselves," Fenrir said. "I’m not strong enough to stand against the guards here, master."
"You are plenty strong. If you were on Earth, you would rival an empyrean-ranker. But tell me, Fenrir, how did you raise your level while still being in Eden?"
Fenrir then told him about how he traveled to higher worlds to raise his strength. However, he remained at Level 9 on purpose in case he had a chance to descend to Earth again. Once he reached Level 9, he lingered in Eden waiting for Arthur.
His little fight with the three knights drew some attention, as Arthur could feel some sort of pressure pressing on him at all times. If not for Fenrir insisting on him obtaining the basic skills, then he would have left already.
There were many things about Eden, and the Path itself, that he needed to explore and understand. Arthur wasted no time rushing toward the relevant guilds and obtaining the basic guides on how to train the three basic skills of the Path: Storage, Safe-Zone, and Communication.
As he was attempting to flee the city, a few more people tried to stop him, but Arthur gave them a good beating before leaving Root Town behind him.
Fenrir grew to the size of a mountain once they were out of the city, and with two quick jumps, they left Root Town behind. Arthur flipped through the guidebooks about the skills.
"These are soul arts," Fenrir muttered. "They give you the basic abilities needed in the Path. Your previous abilities are no longer accessible here, so you need to learn this."
Arthur had an infinite amount of spiritual energy, so he had no issue training nonstop. Storage and Safe-Zone were similar, as they created separate dimensions, albeit one could freeze time and the other could store living creatures. As for the Communication spiritual art, it was about creating a link between his souls and those of others, allowing him to talk to them no matter the distance.
Fenrir said that she was taking him to the first divine trial, which they would clear and destroy the altar before a vessel could be chosen. Their trip, despite the wolf’s size, took less than two hours. Arthur finished learning the three skills during that time.
"A genius would need at least a day to learn them," Fenrir said as Arthur placed his items inside the storage. "But I guess master is far from ordinary."
"Spiritual energy comes naturally to me," Arthur said as he jumped from the wolf’s back and looked at the ruins in front of him. "Is this going to be our first stop?"
"These are the ruins of Astraeus, the God of Order," Fenrir said. "I’m not sure why, but the density of divine presence is strong here."
Arthur frowned, as he met Astraeus before, and he didn’t seem like the type of god to actually choose a vessel to descend. In fact, he was the sole god that Arthur had a somewhat positive impression of, relative to the other gods.
"Let me take a look."
Arthur used his power, Omniscient Eyes, to see through the ruins. Fenrir was right, as the divine energy here was very strong, but not for the reason the wolf guardian expected. A small smile crept onto his face as Arthur realized that the God of Order was here in the flesh.