Ethan felt a strange sensation as the mirage slipped away, the pressure of it peeling back from his mind as if something had been holding him in place and finally let go. One moment there was nothing but the void and his older self, the next he stood before a set of large golden gates. The gates began to open without a sound, parting just enough to allow him through, and Ethan didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward immediately.
The mirage had clarified more than he expected. It hadn’t given him answers, but it had forced him to look at things he had been avoiding, to see the difference between what he had been and what he needed to become. It was about making sure the same failures didn’t repeat themselves, about not falling into the same patterns that had cost him everything the first time. The memories hadn’t weakened him. If anything, they had sharpened something inside him, leaving behind a quiet certainty that hadn’t been there before. Looking back at old memories and seeing what he had changed had reinforced that he was walking the right path.
Ethan passed through the gates and into the oasis. The shift in environment was obvious. Heat still lingered, but it was softer, tempered by the presence of water as a large lake stretched out across the center of the area, its surface calm and undisturbed. Sparse palm trees dotted the surroundings, their shadows cutting across the sand, while off to one side a small wooden shack sat near the edge of the water. A narrow wharf extended out from it, disappearing slightly into the lake. Compared to the golden gates behind him, the rest of the oasis looked almost simple. Out of place in its own way. But Ethan understood it for what it was. The gates were a signal, letting everyone know that they had made it.
He reached up, unclipping his helmet and attaching it to his pack. He didn’t bother searching for Leah, or anyone else for that matter. He already knew how this place worked. The oasis wasn’t shared. It wasn’t a meeting point. It was something in between, cut off from the rest of the participants entirely. Everyone who made it here experienced it alone.
Ethan made his way toward the shack without wasting time, his steps steady as he approached the small window set into its front. When he reached it, he leaned slightly forward.
A small green figure stood behind the counter. One he recognized immediately. He let out a small breath, relieved at seeing the small goblin again.
For a brief moment, he hadn’t been sure, unaware if the way he acted during the trials would influence who his handler was. The goblin looked up at him, adjusting a pair of glasses perched on his nose as a wide, sharp-toothed grin spread across his face.
“Ahhh,” the goblin drawled, “and here I was beginning to think no one would show.”
Ethan gave a small smile. “Hello there.”
“What’s this? You’re not scared? Not going to attack me?”
“No, you seem friendly enough,” Ethan answered, fully aware the goblin could kill him with a flick of its claw.
The goblin clicked its pointed tongue before running it along its sharp teeth. “Ruin the fun,” it muttered, before continuing. “Welcome, then. You have successfully cleared the first level. Congratulations.” His grin returned. “You now have exactly two hours within the oasis before you are required to proceed to the next level. Failure to do so will result in immediate disqualification from the trials.”
Ethan nodded.
“In that time,” the goblin went on, leaning forward slightly, “we have a number of matters to attend to. Rewards, evaluation and, of course, answers.” His eyes gleamed behind the lenses. “But first, introductions are in order. You may refer to me as Skrit.” He gave a small bow. “Your assigned handler for the duration of the trials.”
Ethan nodded again. “It’s good to meet you, Skrit. I’m Ethan.”
Skrit paused and looked at him, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“As your handler,” he continued smoothly, “I am here to guide, assist, and ensure you are properly informed.” His grin sharpened. “Within reason, of course.”
“There is, however, one small limitation,” Skrit added, raising a finger. “You may ask me one question. Just one. So choose wisely.”
“That sounds interesting enough,” Ethan responded. He would have to be careful with his words now, lest the goblin trick him into asking a question he wasn’t meant to. The sneaky bastard had done that on more than one occasion.
Skrit watched him for a moment longer, then leaned back slightly, clearly satisfied. “Good. No rush. You have time.” He tapped the counter lightly. “Now then, onto more interesting matters.”
His attention shifted briefly, as if reading something only he could see, his grin slowly growing wider as the seconds passed.
“Let’s see…” he muttered. “Level one performance evaluation…”
His eyes flicked back up to Ethan, something feral creeping into his expression.
“Oh… this is interesting. Very interesting,” Skrit continued, his grin stretching wider as he looked back down again. “Rupture Colossus slain. That alone is…” He let out a low whistle. “A feat that, I should mention, almost no one accomplishes.”
He glanced up briefly. “I know how you could have gained quite a lot of its power,” he started casually, clicking his claws together before continuing.
“Also, a dual cultivation awakening. Now that is rare. Now, what else do we have here? Looks like you have ten variant kills as well,” he went on, waving a hand dismissively. “Not bad. Not particularly unique, but respectable all the same.”
“Not much else, though. Just a class evolution, which is common enough. Millions have done the same. But in combination with everything else…” His grin sharpened once more.
“You,” Skrit said slowly, “have achieved an exquisite grade.”
Ethan let out a breath. He wasn’t sure if he would reach it. But it turned out he had done just enough.
Skrit leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter, his sharp teeth fully on display.
“And that,” he said, his voice dropping slightly, “means your reward pool is going to be very interesting.”
“Alright, show them to me” Ethan stated.
Skrit clicked his claws on the desk. “No questions?”
Ethan shook his head. “I’ll hold on to that for now. I’d like to see the reward list first.”
The goblin sighed and notifications flared from Ethan’s system.
You have achieved an Exquisite Grade for Level One. Due to your performance, you have unlocked access to Path Selection.
Available Rewards:
• Legacy Path
• Instinct Path
• Foundation Path
• Evolution Path
• Equipment Path
Ethan’s eyes flicked over them, his expression remaining neutral even as his mind immediately picked up on what was missing.
There should have been six options. He didn’t need to ask why. The answer was obvious. His exquisite grade wasn’t good enough to receive all available rewards. It wasn’t a mistake—just a missed opportunity. If he had stayed on the level longer, he might have unlocked it. But it didn’t matter. Not for what Ethan had in mind.
Paths were rewards you received for completing levels with a rare or higher grade. Each path carried a different set of power. Legacy offered titles for achievements, which in turn allowed for added bonuses. Instinct pushed internal growth, unlocking traits that could be etched into your body. Foundation offered raw PO, as well as extra skill slots and even rare skills only acquired through clearing levels. Evolution was all about consolidating your power, and perhaps one of the only ways to merge two completely opposing skills into one. And finally, there was Armament. The path was different to others; it didn’t offer internal power. Instead, it was a unique option that offered extremely powerful equipment. Things like stasis storage, legendary weapons and more.
Even though all the options were extremely good, he already knew what he was picking.
“Do you understand? I can shed some light on each path if you’d like,” the goblin asked, leaning forward slightly, his grin sharp, waiting.
Ethan smirked at him. He had already asked these questions in the past. He knew the trick. Knew exactly what the goblin was doing. Get him to waste his question on something unimportant.
So he didn’t respond. Instead, he made his choice.
You have selected the Legacy Path.
There was no other option. It was the most important form of growth in the trials. Not skills. Not stats. Titles. They defined you. Shaped how your power interacted with the world. The strongest individuals weren’t just powerful—they were layered in titles that compounded into something monstrous.
The Sage had proven that.
Ethan needed to start gaining his as soon as possible.
Legacy Path Activated.
Generating Title Options based on Level One Achievements…
[Rupture Colossus Slayer]
You have defeated a creature far beyond the intended difficulty of this level.
Effect: Increased damage against large-scale entities. +5%
[Dual Awakening Initiate]
You have awakened more than one foundational energy.
Effect: Slight increase in stability when using multiple energy systems independently. Reduced internal strain when switching between them.
[Hunter]
You have slain fifty higher-leveled monsters.
Effect: Increased damage against higher-level opponents. +5%
[Slayer]
You haven’t hesitated to kill your own kind, showing power is the ultimate goal.
Effect: Increased damage against humans. +5%
Ethan read through each option, wincing slightly at the Slayer option, but it was inevitable. So he pushed it to the side for now and focused on the others.
All of them offered a direct boost to his strength when meeting the right circumstances. Apart from one, of course. And it was the one Ethan wanted most. Not because it was the strongest, but because it supported where he was going.
He selected it.
Title Acquired: Dual Awakening Initiate
“Good choice,” the goblin said, his grin widening, though Ethan didn’t look at him.
“I personally would have gone with the Foundation Path. But that’s just me.”
Ethan looked at him, about to ask why, before he narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.
The goblin was watching him carefully, a look of mischief in his eyes. When Ethan didn’t ask anything, he just shrugged. “It was worth a try. So do you have your question yet?”
Ethan smiled. He did have one. In fact, he had been sitting on it for a long time. There were multiple questions he wanted answers to. Things like why he was brought back, how he was brought back and plenty more.
But there was something he hadn’t forgotten, not even when he was bleeding out on the tenth level, about to take his last breath.
“Who are the Concepts?”
The goblin blinked. His grin slipped and he bared his teeth.
“…How,” he said slowly, “do you know about that?”
Ethan shrugged. “Can you answer the question, please?”
The goblin didn’t move immediately. Ethan watched him closely, curious now. This wasn’t part of the usual act. It seemed he had asked the right question.
The goblin exhaled. “The Concepts are the foundation of everything. They are not gods. Not exactly. They are forces. The breath of creation. The shiver of death. The things that decide what exists and what doesn’t. They are the creators of everything we are.”
The goblin straightened abruptly. “That,” he said, the grin snapping back into place, “is your question answered and my patience gone. It’s time for you to leave. Pick a destination.”
“I still have more time,” Ethan said.
“I don’t. Pick before I pick for you.”
A list came up. Ethan quickly selected his and Leah’s agreed-upon location, as he felt mana gathering.
The air shifted. Ethan felt the mana move around him. The oasis blurred, until something solid hit Ethan’s feet.
He looked down. He was sitting in a small dinghy. Water lapped softly against the sides as it carried him forward, drifting toward the center of the lake where everything simply ended. He looked back. The goblin was standing on the wharf, watching him with a feral grin.
Ethan turned just in time to see the dinghy cross the lake line, before everything turned white.
—~~—
Alex stood at the gates of Highrocks, his gaze fixed on the steady flow of people leaving the settlement in large groups, each one escorted out toward the oasis. Three months. That was all they had left on this level, and no one was willing to risk being caught behind when it ended. The guards moved people through efficiently, keeping order, but even from where he stood, Alex could feel the tension beneath it all. Fear, urgency, and something else—uncertainty. They had all been told they had time. Years. That had been the understanding passed between groups, confirmed again and again through reports from those who had reached the second level. And yet, the system had just proven all of that wrong.
His thoughts drifted back to Ethan, as they had far too often over the last month.
It didn’t sit right. None of it did. The boy had moved like he knew something the rest of them didn’t, like he had been working off information no one else had access to. And now—this. The level ending the moment humanity fully entered the trials. That wasn’t something you guessed. That wasn’t instinct or luck. That was knowledge. The problem was, Alex couldn’t figure out where it had come from. Every report they had gathered, from every group that had pushed ahead, said the same thing. Two years per level. That was the expectation. That was what people were planning around. So how had Ethan known it wouldn’t hold? How had he been so certain?
It wasn’t just that, either. The way he moved. The decisions he made. Even the risks he chose to take. None of it lined up. Alex felt like he was missing something obvious, something just out of reach, and the more he turned it over in his head, the more it bothered him.
Mia clicked her tongue beside him.
Alex glanced over, pulling himself out of the spiral. She was already watching him, eyes narrowed slightly, a knowing look on her face that made it clear she’d been tracking his thoughts without him saying a word.
“Still thinking about that boy?” she asked lightly. “You’ll get me jealous if you keep that up.”
Alex snorted, though there wasn’t much humor behind it. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Mia hummed in agreement, lowering her gaze to the diary in her hands—the one Ethan had left behind as a parting gift. She flipped a page slowly, her expression sharpening as she skimmed through the contents again.
“You can say that again,” she muttered. “Half of what’s in here reads like someone threw logic out the window.” Her finger tapped lightly against the page. “Even this cultivation manual. If I hadn’t seen the results myself, I’d have called it impossible. If only the writing wasn’t so crap.”
She looked back up at Alex, her lips curling slightly.
“He’s a diamond,” she said. “And one we need.”
Alex’s expression didn’t change, but his stance stiffened slightly. “We made a deal, Mia. And I intend to keep it. I gave him my word.”
“I know,” she replied easily. She closed the diary with a soft snap and held it loosely at her side. “And you will. We’ll help him build his guild. We’ll make sure everyone knows who supports him.” Her smile widened, not entirely kind as the wind caught her blonde hair and sent it shifting around her face. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t bring him into our fold.”
She lifted the diary slightly, giving it a small shake.
“This information doesn’t get traced back to him. Not yet. Not until I know exactly what we’re dealing with. And for that, I’m going to need you to get closer with him.”
Alex let out a slow breath through his nose, the tension settling deeper rather than easing. He understood her point. Hell, he agreed with most of it. But there was a line there, one he wasn’t willing to cross, not after everything.
Still, he didn’t argue. In fact, the thought itself terrified him.
Instead, he stepped away slightly, creating just a bit more distance between them as the air around Mia began to shift. Heat rolled off her in subtle waves.
He cast one last look toward the gates, toward the people leaving, toward the direction of the oasis.
Then, quietly, he said a prayer for Ethan. Because unfortunately, he had just sent a hound after the boy. One that made sure she always got her way.
“Sorry, buddy,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
END OF BOOK ONE
That wraps up book one and the first level. I’m excited about what’s coming up and can’t wait to share more. Thanks for all your support on here. It means a lot. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the story so far and stick around to see the rest of the levels play out.
With the book ending, I’ll be going back through it and making edits for eventual publishing. So if you have anything to add where you think some things could have been explained better or just handled in a different way, let me know.
Thanks again!