Path of Stars, Ch 25: Illusion Army (Patreon)

After he finished creating a handful of scrolls, Sam turned his attention inward, checking his condition to make sure he had recovered enough to keep hunting the lizards. He wasn’t done yet, not if he wanted to face more Outsiders or Alora’s uncle.

Fortunately, the damage from changing his subclass had mostly healed over the past few hours. It had taken a few scrolls, but there had been many minor points of damage rather than a single large wound, so it healed quickly. Eventually, he nodded. He wasn’t quite at a hundred percent, but his strength wasn’t affected much, so it would do.

With that settled, he turned his attention to his new abilities, reviewing them until he had a good understanding of how they worked. Fortunately, when the Path had stabilized the changes, it had given him some basic information. The overall changes were beneficial and the reduction in many of the abilities to Basic wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it might be.

Silver flames and astral energy swirled around him as he activated Aura of Astral Flame and then the other abilities one by one. The intensity of his aura and the flames were both far stronger than before, even with their reduced tiers. It was similar to getting a Second or Third Evolution ability at Basic.

He wasn’t as adept at focusing the abilities yet, so he’d have to work on that, but it wasn’t a problem to pour a lot of essence into them. Finesse would come, but for now, brute force was an option.

The most critical differences were in Aura of Astral Flame, Astral Focus, and Astral Strike.

In terms of the first one, there was no longer any trace of sapphire blue in his aura. The flame gems in his blood were all burning happily with pure silver astral flame that rose up through his skin. Trails of the same energy also burned from his bones, spirit, eyes, and the rest of his body, all of it unified now.

As a result, he could sense the concepts of the Void more clearly than before. The whisper of the stars and the memories they brought were stronger now, as if a barrier had been removed.

Astral Focus was now a more conscious version of that same awareness. His high-detail sensory range had lost a little distance and was down to half a mile, but its sensitivity was higher than Crystal Focus had offered, especially to natural concepts. It felt like he could truly feel the Void flowing around him with all the minor changes to space and the elements. It was more encompassing than the old ability. With its help, it would be easier to upgrade Astral Void and there was no doubt that the range would expand massively in the future, far beyond what Crystal Focus had offered.

Astral Strike came with the concepts for framing both broad and focused attacks, and it explicitly showed him how to empower a spell with astral energy in a way that was much more advanced than he’d done on his own. It didn’t include the meridian expansion that came with the ability as part of his primary class, but using it would do the same thing over time.

Until now, his astral blade was his only spell that had let him focus pure astral energy, but now he had a wide range of options. He could also combine it with other energies, including for astral flame or astral ice, which would let him take advantage of his two main elemental damage abilities even better than before.

As for his other abilities that had changed, Astral Passage operated on different principles now, but the utility of it was nearly the same as before. Where Crystal Passage relied on the energy of the flames to alter space, this one merged into instead. It was like a miniature walk on the astral threads and it came to him as easily as breathing. Overall, it was much more intricate and harmonious, and his range in teleporting had actually increased a great deal, even with it still at Basic, and it took a fraction of the energy. His Astral Void affinity was working much better with the change. It was no trouble to teleport for five miles in a single step. Crystal Passage had been a fifth of that.

Form of Astral Flame was somewhat similar to the old version, but the color had changed to a translucent silver white, like a burning star. When he activated it, he looked like a celestial being.

He had to wonder what the Astral Guardian would think if he saw him, but he wasn’t worried that the Cer’Aleth would be upset. The Titans were an older race. It was only appropriate that he’d changed to a subclass that was a better match.

Fortunately, due to the more powerful concepts in them, the abilities were stronger than the old ones, and the future was promising. He would just have to work on the tiers.

When he finished studying the changes, he looked at his old equipment that he had stored away in his cloak, like the Amulet of Mountain Strength that added 10 to that attribute, and shook his head. He’d made those so long ago that they were barely relevant with his increased attributes. He had his cloak and the reforged Lunar Bracer, but everything else needed to be rebuilt and upgraded again.

He had the fire ore from the lizard that might work for his Starforged Bracer, as well as assorted ores and materials from the bandits. He would have to take advantage of those and the other resources in the Chaos Wild to correct the deficit. Maybe he could make some pieces of astral armor that were attuned to the Void, with abilities that were more unique, so he wouldn’t leave it behind too quickly.

Still, that was only one of the things he needed to do, and he turned his attention to his current plan and looked down at the three scrolls he’d made. Each of them glimmered with a familiar shadowy red aura. He turned toward the red suns at the center of the lizards’ system and disappeared in a streak of silver light.

*****

When Sam stepped off the astral thread, he took up a position at the center of the Fire current that flowed through the red sun system. Its energy would help to conceal some of his presence and his plan required borrowing some of its energy too.

The red world that was the lizards’ main nest wasn’t far away. It was a giant sphere of lava and boiling heat. It was almost as large as Aster Fall, but its surface was covered in giant cracks where bright yellow and red molten rock flew upward and poured out into streams that covered the land. Here and there, vast mountain ranges with towering volcanoes pierced into the sky, many of them erupting with gouts of ash and stone.

Despite the destruction on the surface, he could sense thousands of lizards crawling across the world. From this distance, each of them was a tiny speck of dense red essence. There were at least a dozen of them at the Fourth Evolution, their auras heavy and threatening in his mind’s eye.

The world offered promise and danger in equal proportion. If he could eliminate even a small number of those lizards, their essence would be enough to get him to the Second Star, or perhaps even higher. If he messed up, however, the Fourth Evolution lizards would find him. That was a fight he didn’t want to have today. One day, perhaps, but not until he was ready.

There was a chance they already knew he was out here, since he wasn’t able to fully conceal his essence signature, but hopefully the Fire current was strong enough to make it difficult for them. It meant he had to act quickly.

With a gesture, a wave of scrolls and artifacts flew out of his cloak and began to float around him in concentric circles. When that was complete, he pulled two of the three scrolls he’d just made out of his cloak and held one in each hand. He scanned over the surface of the world, searching for the right location.

The first scroll in his hand flared to life as a web of red runes began to burn across the surface. In a moment, they covered the scroll from top to bottom, all of them interwoven into a complex structure. Almost instantly, the scroll dissolved into nearly a hundred tiny floating images. Each of them was a small and illusory Flameshadow Stalker that was formed from runes. They were very lifelike, but they were only half an inch tall.

Sam raised his hand as he reached out to the Fire current around him, pulling the elemental energy toward the tiny illusions. All around him, streams of burning red light began to pour into the Flameshadow Stalkers. Their size increased and as each of them reached an inch high, he tossed them out in front of him. They floated there inside the Fire current like a small army, swiftly growing larger.

It took a few moments for them to absorb enough Fire energy to reach a normal size, which was about ten feet long for each one, but once they had, he sent them forward a few hundred feet. Then he activated the second scroll and repeated the same actions again.

A little while later, there were two armies of Flameshadow Stalkers floating inside the Fire current in front of him, each of them a hundred strong. They had each absorbed enough Fire energy that their bodies looked solid. Their scales glimmered with a dull red light like shadowed rubies and the gems on their foreheads were shining brightly.

He’d imbued a dozen auras from the real thing into each scroll, as well as some ground up scales and dust from their forehead gems to make the ink for the runes. Their foundation was strong and they gave off a very realistic feeling as they waited there. The Fire energy was enough to give them a sense of power and life. Its strength turned his illusion from a shadow of reality to the thing itself.

A series of runes flickered from his hands and fell into the two armies as he imprinted a series of instructions on them.

“Go,” he ordered them.

As soon as he spoke, the Flameshadow Stalkers surged forward, leaving the Fire current as they headed toward the lizards’ world. Each of the groups had a leader at the front that was larger than the rest, and the packs followed them in a triangular wedge.

As they flew, they spread out in a threatening manner, taking up positions a hundred feet apart from one another with their fangs bared and their claws spread wide. Sam waited in the Fire current, his eyes locked on them as they approached the world.

As they grew closer to it, they became smaller in the distance, until it seemed like they were only fireflies to him, but from the lizards’ view, it was the opposite. In short order, a series of enraged roars echoed from the surface of the planet.

Sam let out a quick smile as he tracked the movement of the illusions. They had approached the world on a sharp angle, diving close to the edge before rushing away. From the lizards’ perspective, it looked like the two armies had come to attack, but then they’d seen the lizards on the surface and decided to run instead. It was a clear insult from weaker opponents who had made a dangerous mistake in coming to their nest.

The lizards’ roars grew louder as points of red fire from their sails appeared in the distance and a flight of them took off from the world, chasing after the enemies, but the illusions were swift. They raced back through the system, looking like they were fleeing for their lives as they headed toward the Fire current where Sam was waiting.

There were two hundred of the Fireshadow Stalkers and now and then a few dropped behind the others, making it look like they were unable to keep up. The lizards’ attacks crashed down on them, but each time their claws were about to land, the Flameshadow Stalkers disappeared and turned into a haze of Fire energy that swirled around their attackers. Runes lit up in the dust left behind by the illusions.

To the lizards, it seemed like their prey was escaping somehow, teleporting away from them, and only they became angrier. Their pace picked up as they surged after the stalkers. Once they were across half the system, it was clear that there were about fifty of the lizards. Sam frowned as he watched them approach.

Fifty was more than he’d wanted, but the density of the lizards on the planet was higher than he’d expected. He’d initially thought about trying to create an illusion of a Vos’Rekan or something more dangerous, but he didn’t want to terrify them or to anger them too much. If they all fled the planet or decided to come out to fight the illusion to save their nest, it would be counterproductive.

Instead, he’d chosen to create these illusions of an enemy that the lizards shouldn’t fear at all. He wanted them angry, but also overconfident. The level of a Flameshadow Stalker was usually in the low 200s, and their threat to the Firesail Void Lizards was negligible. As a Fire-aligned race themselves, he was also banking on there being an innate tension between the two types of beasts.

That much seemed to have worked. Fifty lizards was a lot, but it was only a fraction of the ones on the planet. These were the ones who were the closest and the angriest about their territory being attacked. They had come out to get rid of the weak beasts that were insulting them with their presence.

Most of the lizards chasing his illusions were in the low 300s, but there were a few that were Level 350 and one that was Level 387. That one was hanging near the back of the pack and it had a dense level of essence that felt a little threatening, but none of the Fourth Evolution lizards had been drawn out.

Not yet anyway.

The distance between the Fire current and the lizards’ world wasn’t far, and a Fourth Evolution lizard could cross it quickly. So, although his plan was working, he still had to be quick and careful. If the shockwaves of the battle drew their attention, he could be in trouble.

Now, he had to deal with all of the lizards he’d attracted.

He chuckled as he let the illusions come closer. The lizards were right on their tail. Once they were all within the edges of the Fire current, his hands wove through the air as he sent a series of runes flying toward the two groups. As soon as the runes touched the Flameshadow Stalkers, their forms blurred.

The beasts turned into streaking lines of Fire that were filled with shimmering, golden-red runes. The lines sprang outward, shifting as they formed a giant net around the lizards that had followed them into the elemental current. The Fire energy all around them poured into the runes, making the lines expand as the net closed. Its speed was as fast as thought and it enclosed the lizards before they could respond.

A massive, golden-red sphere was wrapped around them, its interior filled with Fire and illusion runes that slowly rotated like drifting clouds. Arcane patterns for silence and locked space secured the area. Sam smiled grimly as he saw it, and then he waved his hands to activate two of the scrolls in his aura.

The lizards had once tried to trap him in a fire net that cut off spatial teleportation. It was only right to return the favor. Hopefully, the barrier would last long enough for him to deal with this pack. The Fire current would help to stabilize it, but it was unlikely to last for more than a few minutes if the lizards turned their attention to it.

The most he’d killed at once up until now was five, and this was ten times that, but many of them were weak. The first thing he needed to do was to keep them angry so they didn’t attack the barrier and then kill some.

A suit of aura-infused Astral Flame armor appeared across his body as one of the scrolls around him activated. Intricate Fire runes scrolled across his face as ruby-red armor with golden highlights covered him. Except for the element, it was similar to the Ice armor that he’d used once before. The Ice one wouldn’t do as well here in the Fire current.

Another scroll activated, transforming into a field of metallic golden spears that lined up in a formation. There were a dozen of them in the first rank and they were five layers deep. Metal and Fire energy rolled around them, making the spear tips glitter with brilliant light. With a gesture, the spears shot toward the lizards who had just started to look around in confusion.

Enraged roars from the beasts echoed across the area. The prey that had dared to challenge them had just disappeared and now they were under attack! Their eyes were vicious as they spun around, searching for a new enemy. Their dark scales radiated with orange flames as their claws tore at the space around them.

Some of them headed for the barrier, including two of the Level 350 ones, but most turned to face the oncoming attack. The golden spears whistled forward, carving lines through the Fire current as they stabbed into the group of lizards. Explosions of scales flew in every direction.

A couple of the weaker lizards died in an instant, their hearts or other vital organs impaled by the spears that were over a dozen feet long, but most of the beasts fared better. Their claws and fangs clashed with the spears as they fought back, sending shards of metallic golden spears and their blood in every direction.

While they were pinned down by the spears, Sam took advantage of the moment to activate two more scrolls. Another set of golden spears formed in an instant and flashed after the first, heading into the lizards’ ranks from above. It was followed by a hurricane of spiraling white blades that slammed into them from the side.

His right hands stretched out as he activated his Lunar Bracer, pouring its energy out in a barrage. Arcs of blue, green, and purple moonlight cut through the field of Fire and Metal in front of him and flowed around the spiraling winds like strands of drifting silk. Its speed was even faster than the scrolls and it covered the lizards in a three-colored domain before they knew what was happening.

This was his Moonlight Blade Domain, one of the main abilities forged into the recreated bracer. It was based on the cutting blades of moonlight that the relic had once shown him. The strands of colorful light twisted into dazzling edges as they sliced across the area and through the lizards. It was a beautiful sight, with each strand soft and glittering, but the force imbued into it was devastating.

As the blades came down, they seemed slow and drifting, but they moved with a deceptive speed. It was like the lizards were frozen in place. Their scales and then limbs began to drift away from them, followed by clouds of blood that crackled as it burned in the Fire current.

He didn’t stop there. There were too many lizards for him to give them a chance to group up on him. The Lunar Bracer continued to channel its essence into the Moonlight Blade Domain as his hands came together.

A brilliant silver flame appeared between his palms, which he quickly shaped into two dozen thin shapes. Each of them turned into a glittering, silver-white arrow that hung in the air. As soon as they were formed, he flicked his hands and sent them forward. He still had the same spell structures in his mind as he’d used for crystal flame, so there was no time like the present to unleash them and to familiarize himself with Astral Strike. These arrows were far stronger than the crystal flame ones had ever been, and they cost almost the same amount of essence.

Behind the arrows, an even brighter silver flame took shape as it changed into a spinning sphere that resembled a star. Runes gathered around it, fusing into the star, and a few seconds later, he sent it hurtling forward toward a group of lizards on the left. A moment later, the Nexus spell exploded among them.

That was the last attack he had time to send before the lizards began to respond. His efforts had created a devastating barrage, but the beasts in front of him weren’t weak and even with that many attacks at once, he couldn’t kill them all instantly. Essence continued to pour out of him and into forms of Astral Strike as he followed with more spells, but the field of lizards was changing.

The two Level 350 lizards were crashing into the barrier on the far side and it was shuddering violently. It was unlikely to last more than another few seconds. As for the closer lizards, they had gathered together into a tightly packed area under the force of the attacks and their scales were shining with a brilliant red-orange light. Flames poured off them and transformed into massive shields in the air, blocking a good part of the attacks.

He’d slain perhaps a dozen of the weaker lizards under that barrage and injured many more, but the stronger ones weren’t down yet. He waved his hand across the field as he called the available essence to him. It began to respond, but it was slowed down slightly by the force of the Fire current and the earth-shattering explosions of essence spells erupting across the field.

The Level 387 lizard at the back of the group took the opportunity to rush forward, its jaws open wide. Its eyes were burning with rage and a trace of fear as it tore through the air toward him, its body surrounded by a streak of flame that accelerated its movement.

The spikes along its back were brilliant orange, giving rise to a massive sail that was twice as tall as any of the ones he’d seen before. Although the lizard still had a few levels to go to reach the Fourth Evolution, it was already well on the way. All around it, the radiant flames pushed back the attacks that were still crashing into the lizards.

A ripple of elemental Fire came from it, something purer than he’d felt from any of the other lizards. It was almost like a diluted version of the Fire current. The spikes on its back were gleaming as the sail billowed. Fireballs and smaller drifting motes of folded golden flames shot out in a storm.

Sam frowned as he saw his ambush falling apart. He’d gotten quite a few of them, but it was a shame to let the rest go. Unfortunately, their defenses were stronger when they banded together like this. Their flames had merged to create the shields in that tight formation and they were avoiding most of the damage now.

He would have been able to break through that defense in time, but with almost forty lizards supporting it, it would take a while. The only lizards that were alone now were the two Level 350s attacking the barrier and the single Level 387 that was approaching him. His eyes narrowed as he studied that one.

Since it was delivering itself to him, he would naturally not be polite enough to let it go. With the essence from it and the ones he’d already killed, it should be enough to make this ambush worth the effort. At the same time, he glanced toward the magma world in the distance. It was time to end this before anything else showed up.

A golden streak of astral flame formed a spear in his hand as he leapt forward to meet the lizard’s charge. In his other hand, a flare of astral light shaped itself into a second spear. This one, he threw ahead of him. It left his hand in a flash of light, moving so quickly that it struck the lizard before he’d taken more than a few steps.

Despite the lizard’s defenses, the spear drove through its shield and then into its shoulder, tearing through the joint in an explosion of blood and bone. The fireballs all around it crashed into Sam’s defenses a moment later, exploding against an Essence Shield that shimmered with a bright Fire energy of its own.

Then they met. Sam’s spear lashed out, carving a furrow in the beast’s chest at the same time as its fangs came down and it tried to bite him in half. An explosion echoed through the Void, shaking the area around them as its jaws closed on nothing. A streak of silver light reappeared above its shoulder and a spear stabbed down again, stabbing into another joint.

The lizard spun, its tail lashing for balance as its claws slashed toward Sam. The spikes along its back turned darker, until the orange was closer to red, and lines of fire energy surged through the air in an all-encompassing web.

Sam tore his spear out of the lizard’s shoulder and lashed upward, slicing through the lines of fire. At the same time, his other hand rose, creating a shield that diverted the energy around him. Runes flickered on the tip of the spear as he reversed it and stabbed again. His muscles bulged as he drove it down toward the lizard.

With his current height, he was half again as tall as the lizard’s head and he took full advantage of the positioning that the distance offered. He ignored the shattering sound as the illusory barrier behind him exploded into fragments. At the same time, he could sense that the ball of lizards had just finished enduring the attacks he’d launched before.

His spear stabbed down into the lizard’s side, tearing a deep gash into its ribs where dark blood welled up, and before it could regroup, he activated the Lunar Bracer again. This time, a series of curving moon-shaped blades soared away from him. There were nine of them, each one larger and more dangerous than the one in front of it, and they shot toward the lizard with a shimmer of three-colored light.

The first one was just a faint line like the first night of the moon peaking over the horizon, barely even a crescent yet. The second was more visible, but not yet a full crescent even though the energy in it was twice as deadly. It was the third that created a familiar crescent shape in the air, followed by the fourth, fifth, and then sixth that grew steadily brighter and more solid. By the time the ninth wave arrived, it was a full moon that shimmered with green, blue, and purple light that washed across its surface in a constant and ever-changing pattern.

The Nine Phases of the Full Moon crashed into the lizard like lunar blades hurled from a god, tearing through its body with massive explosions that tore away chunks of its legs, ribs, and spine as they carved through its body. By the time the ninth one crashed into the lizard, there was a massive gash torn through its body that ripped it into two pieces, accompanied by an eruption of blood and flame.

The lizard’s roar died in its throat as the flames in its eyes faded. It had been turning to attack him, but with its body chopped into two pieces even its tenacious life force wasn’t enough for it to survive. Flickers of flame sparked and faded along its body.

At that moment, Sam raised his hands and slashed his talons through the air as he called all of the essence to himself, and then he spun to look into the distance at the ball of lizards and the red world far behind them.

A violent, Void-shattering roar tore up from the world. It was so loud that the Fire current shook as a wave of force flowed through it, sending the lizards and Sam inside tumbling away. It was the same voice that he’d heard before, the angry lizard that had called its pack back to this point. Now, it had clearly seen what was going on.

A massive wave of danger crashed down around Sam as he felt the spatial energy around him hardening, but he ignored it as he grabbed one of the metal scrolls floating in his aura and activated it. Silver runes shimmered along the surface of the scroll as they flared into brilliant light and then spun out, surrounding him in a web like falling starlight.

In front of him, he could see a massive jaw approaching that looked almost as large as the red world itself and a dark shudder went through his heart as he felt the strength of the beast. It felt like a mountain crashing down around him that was trying to freeze him in place.

He’d known there was a Fourth Evolution or two on the world, but this was far above that level. There was no doubt in his mind that this lizard had reached the Fifth Evolution. If it reached him, he’d be torn into pieces like raw meat thrown to a pack of wyverns.

The energy in the beast’s aura was heavy with the concept of Fire. He could feel the fluctuation of concepts in it, ones of devouring flame, scorching lava, everlasting rivers of heat, and flaming torment inflicted on its foes. The analysis of the beast flashed through his mind.

Firesail Void King. Level 515. Lord of Magma.

The pressure it was exerting just from its aura was so great that Sam could barely move and space around him had frozen nearly solid, but despite that his eyes were calm. The web of falling starlight lit up like a brilliant constellation in the night sky and he felt the movement of the Void, the ever-changing presence of the stars. Astral energy swept around him as he disappeared in a shimmer of silver light.

In front of him, the massive jaw was closing in, but by the time the fangs tore through where he was standing, he was gone. His form had merged into the stars. The only thing left behind in the lizard’s system was a furious roar as a wave of magma swept through the Void, drowning everything nearby.

A short while later, Sam reappeared near a distant astral thread on the edge of the system and he immediately stepped into it as he disappeared again. A little while later, he reappeared in a different system and jumped away again, heading into a different thread.

He wasn’t heading back to the Blue Star system, since he wasn’t sure how well that lizard could track him and he wanted to make sure it didn’t discover his home. Instead, he was heading away at a sharp angle toward the Deep Wild.

Although the beast was powerful and it had tried to keep him there, its attempt to block spatial travel was crude compared to his innate Astral Void ability, which was what he’d infused into the escape scroll along with a teleportation enchantment. He’d needed to activate the scroll in time to ensure it would work, but once it had begun, there was little to worry about. Even at the Fifth Evolution, that thing could no more stop him from leaving than it could stop the stars in their course.

It was the only reason he’d dared to attack the lizards’ core world.

Two astral threads later, he calmed down a bit and headed for a small moon that he could see in the distance. There was a calm yellow star in this system that felt young and welcoming, so he decided to recuperate here for a moment and count his gains.

The pressure of essence all around him was a burning weight, but he’d held off absorbing it until now, since he hadn’t wanted to be distracted during the fight. It was only after he took a seat on a small mountain that rose up from the surface of the moon that he turned his attention to it.

As soon as he began to absorb the essence, a massive whirlpool of starlight formed in the Void above him. Streaks of light from distant stars curved out of their paths to head toward him and the area directly above him turned translucent, until it looked like a bright star was born from the darkness.

Brilliant silver flames rose up from his body and soared into the Void to meet the starlight that was falling toward him. When they came together, a tremendous explosion tore outward, encompassing the whirlpool of astral energy and everything within several thousand feet. The small mountain below him disintegrated into particles of Earth mana as he floated upward into the Void.

Streams of essence and astral energy poured into his body as his essence constellation spun wildly. One by one, but moving so swiftly it felt like a storm, new stars were born in his essence and filled the constellation that extended from his first star. They stretched outward in a vast web, spiraling around a dark central point where the second star should be.

The process continued and then the small stars reached a critical point as the last of them came alight. Streams of energy from them poured into the dark area at the center, merging together into a spiral of silver flame. All of their energy fused into a giant whirlpool that condensed at the center. Under that pressure, it reached a critical point and a silent explosion tore outward as the sun there came to life.

A wave of astral energy tore through Sam’s body as he felt his muscles expanding, his bones hardening, and his mind becoming sharper. His heart beat like the crashing tide, echoing across the Void. The sound of crackling flames and chiming bells resounded throughout his mind as the Titan Star burned with a fierce light.

Congratulations, Astral Titan. You have met the requirements for your Racial Evolution.

Since you are in the Void, your natural home, this process will take place immediately.

You have earned your Second Star.

Current Racial Evolution is Astral Titan: Early Adult.

Your Elemental Mastery (Special) has been upgraded. You will find it easier to influence the elements of the Astral Void in the future, including summoning them directly.

Your Racial Affinity: Astral Void gains a tier and is now Elite.

You may now use the Racial Ability: Astral Rift.

There was a massive wave of essence and astral energy that continued to sweep through his body and in its wake, he felt the rest of the changes settling into place.

In total, there had been about 560,000 essence from the lizards. It was enough to get him to the Second Star and then to have a bit left over. That wasn’t the only change, however, since there was also some experience from the battle. The Titan Star announced the more regular changes in his mind.

Congratulations, Astral Artificer. You are now a Level 258 Astral Artificer.

You have gained 8 Class and General Levels.

Essence Constellation (Second Star): 251,196 / 5,000,000.

You gain 840 Strength, 973 Constitution, 233 Agility, 40 Wisdom, 1,480 Intelligence, 1,480 Aura, and have 96 free attribute points to assign.

The crackling force of the changes spread through his body as he felt his height growing again, and by the time it stopped, he grew another twenty feet. It only stopped when he was 80 feet tall  and his horns stretched for another 9 feet like sharply curved moons that framed the stars between them.

He looked down at his hands, flexing them as he felt the new strength flowing through them. All around him, his aura blazed more strongly than it ever had before. It felt like starlight had been folded together into it, making it denser and stronger. He had two major stars in his essence constellation now and they were empowering each other.

He assigned the free 96 points to Charisma, which took it up to 1,077. As soon as it passed a thousand, he felt his sense of self solidify in his mind, as if his personality had suddenly taken on a quality like diamond. He felt unshakeable, as if he could see everything in the world calmly and consider it for what it was, without letting his own thoughts get in the way.

His other attributes had grown massively too from the essence and experience he’d absorbed. His strength was at 4,260, his Constitution was 4,785, his Agility was 1,247, his Wisdom had increased to 824, and his Intelligence and Aura were at 7,394. The force of his essence crackled through his meridians.

It was enough to give him the confidence to face a Fourth Evolution head on. Perhaps even someone a few dozen levels into the Fourth Evolution, at least with the help of some artifacts. He’d have to test it out and see.

The Will of the Path had told him that one day he would know what it meant to be Primordial, and as he felt the power flowing through his body, he felt like he was finally beginning to understand. By this point, the strength from his essence was overwhelmingly greater than what he got from regular levels. Anyone who looked at him and saw a Level 258 would be so surprised that their ghost would be the only thing left by the time the dust settled.

If he returned to Aster Fall right now, the Cabal at Level 399 shouldn’t pose any significant threat to him. The thought sent a dark smile across his face, even as he wondered how much trouble they were causing. Hopefully, they were leaving his family and the Moonlight Relic alone. If they weren’t, the relic should be enough to protect them until he got home, and then he would settle the account.

He evaluated the changes for a little while longer and then he nodded. The main thing from reaching the Second Star besides that was the increased tier for Astral Void and the new ability for Astral Rift, which he was planning to test out soon. He had some vague impressions of it from his Titan memories, enough to set him on the right path to using it, but he’d have to practice a bit to make sure it worked the way he thought.

It should be even more powerful than Astral Blade.

He looked up into the distance, his eyes studying the stars in the Void as he took in a deep breath filled with stardust and light. He had a few days left before he needed to get back to his hall and meet Alora and the others, and that should be just enough time to test his new abilities.

A streak of burning silver light cut across the Void.