Chapter 972: The Shortcomings of Atavism
Chapter 972: The Shortcomings of Atavism
“Should I continue focusing on the Records and reach the 3rd stage?” asked Valyr to himself. “Or should I try my hand at atavism now that I’ve become a fully-fledged High Human?”
Of course, while these thoughts came to mind, Valyr also thought about forgoing the two choices instead and heading straight to the Blacksmith Guild to complete yet another weapon quota.
‘But it’s not like Julian is rushing me. I could focus on the two first before completing another quota,’ thought the young man to himself not long after, eventually deciding to bring up information on the Records in his mind.
Whoosh!
Having already gone through the first two stages of the Records, Valyr had confidence that he would have no problems tackling the 3rd stage of the Records.
However, thinking about the 3rd stage made him wonder whether his species would ascend by another intermediary tier.
After all, he’d already ascended to a variant of High Humans after putting his own twist on the Records’ 2nd stage.
Would the 3rd stage really have that much potency to push his species even higher on the ladder?
Whether or not the 3rd stage would allow him to ascend his species by another intermediary tier, Valyr still looked through the steps needed for him to complete the 3rd stage, only for him to frown once he began looking through it.
“I think… I’ll have to pass on this for the meantime.” Reading through the various steps that made up the 3rd stage of the Records, the young man gradually began to realize why the 3rd stage originally had the ability to advance his species.
The 1st stage of the Records tackled the neural pathways of the body, the so-called communication network that allowed the various parts of the body to work together.
On the other hand, the 2nd stage of the Records tackled the bone marrow, as well as the bones of the body. In other words, the frame that the other parts of the body would extend out of.
As for the 3rd stage of the Records, the final stage that’s considered to be part of the foundation of the human body…
It tackled the human brain.
With all things considered, having the brain be formed as part of the foundational stages made a lot of sense if one were to talk about the human body.
After all, the brain acted as the command center of the human body, working alongside the neural pathways to send out messages and commands that allowed every part of the body to work together.
However, if one were to talk about the brain in terms of how easy it was to form, it was undoubtedly a far cry from the simplicity of the pathways and the bones that relied on the infusion of energy.
According to the information Valyr had on the 3rd stage of the Records, he would not only have to form the various neurons making up the brain, but also the synapses, as well as the connections it had to the neural pathways he’d created in the 1st stage.
Considering how many neurons and synapses there were in an actual human body, Valyr immediately had an idea as to how long it would take him to complete the 3rd stage, even if the Records only needed him to form a small fraction of it.
With how drastic the difficulty was increased between the 2nd and 3rd stages, the young man began to wonder how Vaughn did it, considering that the next three stages after that were possibly harder to complete.
“I guess we’re going with atavism, then,” said Valyr as he pushed thoughts involving the Records to the side for the meantime.
Not long after, he brought up the information Sellifer had given him while he was in the inheritance, namely the second packet of information he’d given her.
“How does one go through atavism anyway?” murmured the young man to himself as he began to read through it.
Fortunately, it did not take long for Valyr to get a rough idea of how atavism worked, with Sellifer laying out the various steps to atavism in the packet of information he was reading.
If one were to summarize the process of atavism, then it could be simplified into three steps: awakening, confirmation, and assimilation.
As the first step, awakening involved rousing the ancestral traces underlying within one’s body. At the same time, it roused the slumbering potential within the body, making use of both to form a connection of sorts with the universe.
Then, with the connection formed, one would move onto confirmation, which prompted the being undergoing atavism to take a trial given by the universe itself.
If one were successful in clearing the trial, then the being could proceed onto the final step of the atavism process, which was assimilation.
However, if one failed in the trial, then it was highly likely for one to succumb to the injuries received during the trial and die.
Then again, even if one survived the treacherous injuries inflicted by the universe during the trial, their chances of success in a second attempt at atavism was abysmally low.
In fact, it was the exact reason why many advised others hoping to undergo atavism to be certain of their first and only attempt.
‘I wonder how the Atavists of Alkadran succeeded in their attempts,’ thought the young man to himself as he arrived at this part, recalling that small group of players who all successfully underwent through atavism.
Returning his train of thought back to the process of atavism, Valyr eventually found himself in front of the final step, assimilation.
‘According to Sellifer, some people also call this step the second awakening,’ thought the young man to himself, continuing to read through the packet to find out why.
Eventually, he realized that the reason why others termed it that way was because the assimilation process was basically turning the temporary awakening done during the first step into something more permanent.
Specifically, one would use the power obtained from succeeding in the trial to permanently awaken the ancestral traces and the slumbering potential within the body, gradually having one’s ancestral traces become the dominant part of the body instead.
‘Through that, one would be able to ascend one’s species by an entire tier.’ Valyr faintly nodded in understanding. ‘However, it is also for that reason why one could only undergo
through atavism once.’
‘Though it has been proven that there exists primordial traces beneath one’s ancestral traces, the amount of such traces within the body is so minuscule that it would be considered fruitless for one to undergo a second atavism.’
“Hmm…” Going over the steps of atavism he’d just read in his mind, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit, allowing his mind to go through various trains of thoughts related to the topic. After a while, the young man opened his eyes, bringing up a certain piece of information Sellifer gave him as he ordered a sumptuous meal from the inn.
“It’s been over a day since I last ate something,” muttered Valyr to himself at the thought, extending one of his palms outward as he began to form an esoteric rune in the air with Prime
Azure Energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Though the rune he was forming appeared complex at first glance, Valyr felt that the rune was easier to condense compared to the rune the Records had him create during the 2nd stage.
‘And then… infuse the rune with Prime Azure Energy.’
Swoosh!
With the rune in the air complete, Valyr proceeded to infuse it with a great amount of Prime Azure Energy, allowing the rune to soon radiate a certain sensation that could only be picked
up by a specific being.
Fwoosh!
Thankfully, it did not take long for the rune to do its job as a thick strand of foreign Azure Energy from who knows where attached to it sometime later.
At the same time, a female voice began to resound in Valyr’s mind, prompting the young man to faintly smile as she began to speak.
“I’m surprised that you’re already using the communication method I’ve given you,” echoed Sellifer’s voice in his mind. “Hasn’t it only been a day or so since you left the Shadow Plane?”
“It has,” responded Valyr through his thoughts, more than used to the communication method at this point. “However, I have something important to ask you.”
“It’s about the atavism method you’ve given me.”
“Oh? You’re already planning on tackling atavism?” As these words left Sellifer’s mouth,
Valyr received the meal he ordered.
“Yeah. I had a feeling ascending my species would be a quick way to improve my strength in preparation for the war.” Continuing the conversation he had with Sellifer in his mind, the young man began to dig into his meal as he gave her a swift excuse.
“I see,” said Sellifer in response. “Since that’s the case, what species do you currently have
right now?” “High Human,” Valyr succinctly responded, continuing to savor every bite he took.
“You’re already a High Human?” asked Sellifer back, her tone that of slight bewilderment before becoming silent for a bit. “If so, you’re gonna have a problem, then.” “…Why?” Hearing those words, Valyr stopped eating for a bit, instead focusing his attention
on what Sellifer would say next.
“Well, that’s because High Humans nurtured by the system have no ancestral traces to speak
of,” said Sellifer after a bit more silence.
“In other words, the atavism method I’ve given you is practically useless.”
Sᴇarch the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.