Child of Destiny

...

Arthur, Leonard, and Zero stayed rooted in their spots as they read the series of notifications in front of them.

They looked at each other before turning their heads to the rest of the group who were currently in the state of healing their minds.

They chose not to disturb them earlier since they had experienced the benefits of that state themselves. Moreover, they also agreed with the words that Grand Marshal Draco had said, they needed to be at their peak state if they want to fight him right now.

Zero was even wearing a serious look on his face as he looked at the series of question marks written above the grand marshal's head. This indicated that their current opponent far surpassed their strengths.

It was impossible to defeat him if the gap between their strengths was that huge. Given that, the system was somewhat helping them right now.

Based on the notifications that they received, the scenario that was going to be generated was related to the upcoming battle. And when it happened, they would either get a huge buff from the system or Grand Marshal Draco would suddenly become weakened.

Either way, both cases would give them a significant chance of winning.

Arthur had a similar thought in mind and understood what was currently the best choice that they could make. He exchanged looks at the two before nodding his head.

He then hit the 'Yes' button presented by the system and responded to the grand marshal. "We have heard of the Ascended Beings before, but we don't know much about them, Elder."

He didn't forget to address the grand marshal respectfully since he was now engaging in a conversation with a named NPC.

Grand Marshal Draco smiled at his words before nodding his head. "That is only natural since you can only hear about 'us' if you reached the Great Regions of the Atlas World."

"And to be able to qualify on entering those sacred lands, you need to at least be a Tier 3 Rank individual. After all, even the most average person residing there are at least around those ranks."

"The citizens of those sacred lands are all capable individuals, so you are only able to set foot in there, if you have the qualifications," added the grand marshal, giving the three an important clue about the major regions of all of the races.

He then took a brief pause before continuing." As for us, the Ascended Beings – we are the individuals who break free from the restraints of the world and surpassed the mortal's limits."

"We are the ones who strive to become comparable to the Transcendent Beings, who are supposed to be the apex of different races."

"Us, Ascended Beings, call ourselves the ones who are the closest to being a Divine Being and reaching the godhood."

Arthur slightly knitted his brow before mumbling to himself. "It sounds like an evolution of the basic races."

His voice might be soft and could only be heard by himself, but given the current strength that Grand Marshal Draco had, his words were loud enough to be heard.

"You can put it that way," said the grand marshal, catching Arthur a little off-guard.

With a slight nod, Grand Marshal Draco continued. "It may sound too simple but not everyone can reach that state, where they can all themselves an Ascended Being."

"For an individual to become an Ascended Being, they needed to endure a series of hardships, surpassing their limits repeatedly, before they can reach it."historical

"We are individuals who pave our own paths. We became the ones who control our fates and create our own destiny."

He turned to Zero and smiled. "Let's take the humans for example."

"Humans are known to be the weakest among all of the races because they didn't possess the innate abilities that the others have – such as the sharp senses and powerful strength of a Beastmen, or the mana sensitivity and elemental affinity of the Elves, or the creative minds and intelligence of the Dwarves."

"But what they have is their ability to adapt in every kind of situation. They also looked like a blank paper, so they can train towards the path that they think is most ideal for them."

"After training for a very long time and breaking from the world's restraints, they would become an Ascended Being called the 'Conquerors'."

Reaching this point, he pointed to himself and continued. "Us, Conquerors, are humans who manage to accumulate a series of 'great achievements' and gain the 'acknowledgment' of the world itself."

"At that time, we will undergo what you call an 'evolution' after basking ourselves under the 'blessing of the heaven'."

Since the grand marshal was looking at him, Zero couldn't help but ask. "You said earlier that Ascended Beings are comparable to Transcendent Beings, then can I assume that a 'Conqueror' is also a 'High Human'?"

Grand Marshal Draco slightly nodded his head. "In a sense, yes, but not entirely."

"Unlike Conquerors, High Humans are individuals who are said to be the first human beings. They are already in this world since the very beginning and lived alongside the other Transcendent Beings such as Dragons, Giants, Primordial Beast, Ancient Elves, and the others."

"They also possessed great powers comparable to those powerful existences, giving them the qualification to stand alongside them. Though, they are not known as 'High Humans' at that time. Instead, they are called 'Immortals'."

"As time goes by, the purity of their bloodlines becomes thinner whenever it is transferred to their offspring, losing a portion of their powers during the process. That is how the Immortals cease to exist and become the humans of today."

"As for the modern High Humans, they are the ones who managed to awaken the powers of their ancestors. They gain the insight recorded on their bloodlines and become a powerful being."

He hesitated for a moment as he looked at Zero once again before continuing. "There is a ritual for someone to awaken this bloodline's powers but not everyone can awaken those powers even with its help, so being a Conqueror is the most ideal for the humans of today if they want to reach the heavens. But even that is not easy."

He then took another pause to let the information sink inside the heads of the three before continuing. "That is only an example. There are different types of Ascended Beings from the other races as well."

"If you want to know more about them, then you can have a trip to the Imperial Library of the Divine Empire. Everything about this world is recorded there. And given your strengths and talents, I am confident that you will be able to reach that place."

The three nodded before Zero asked yet another question. "Transcendent Races have their unique classes, and I heard that Ascended Beings have corresponding classes as well, are they really comparable with each other?"

Grand Marshal Draco gave Zero a meaningful smile as he could tell what the young man was planning. He had been observing them since the group entered this place, so he knew everything that happened.

He then moved his gaze toward Seven who lost the blessing of the Vermillion Bird just recently.

After being silent for a couple of moments, he finally answered. "Not entirely. It still depends on the owner of the class. An Ascended Class can be comparable to a Transcendent Class if the wielder is talented enough to showcase its full potential, but it can also be weaker than an ordinary class if they are not into it."

"Ascended Classes are still different from Transcendent Classes," he emphasized.

"Transcendent Races and Classes come to hand in hand. It is because of the knowledge recorded into the bloodline."

"If someone becomes a Transcendent Being, then the memories of their bloodline will be awakened alongside it. And they will continuously grow alongside that knowledge passed to them through it."

"On the other hand, Ascended Classes are the paths created to turn an individual into an Ascended Being."

"This means, anyone can have an Ascended Class as long as they have the qualification for it, but it doesn't guarantee that they can become an Ascended Being just by having it."

Hearing that, the trio finally understood what was going on. And they also figured out that it must be the Tier 3 Promotion Quest that everyone had to face if they want to get those Ascended Classes.

As for the Ascended Races, they have to work extra hard in their promotion quest if they want to achieve it. Or there might be an additional quest that needed to be done separately.

But at the same time, there were also the special beads that they got from Nel and Caelum. It said that anyone who used it would be able to get both an Ascended Class and Race as long as they conquered the trails recorded within it.

Seemingly able to read what was in their mind, Grand Marshal Draco slightly chuckled and added. "Of course, there are always been an exemption."

"For someone like me, who created an entirely new system for my class, I can directly pass down the knowledge that I have to my successor."

"As long as they pass the trials that I've prepared for them, then they will immediately become an Ascended Being like me since the trail itself is the process that they need to take to acquire the 'great achievements' that I have."

"Passing our direct trials is the same as getting those 'great achievements' which will lead to them gaining the 'acknowledgment' of the world."

The three understood what he meant by those words and silently nodded their heads. They still wanted to ask a couple of things but they suddenly felt a small outburst of power within the grand marshal's body.

Creasing his brow deeply, Grand Marshal Draco stopped talking and focused his energy on suppressing the berserk power within his body.

A few moments after that, he turned to the three and gave them a bitter smile. "It looks like our time is already running out. I can no longer suppress it with my current strength. I guess we have to end this already."

Right after he said those words, the others behind the three started to wake up one after another before looking at them in full confusion.

The trio also didn't have the time to explain the situation either, so they could only give them a simple smile before turning back to the grand marshal.

Arthur then took a step forward and spoke. "It looks like it is already time, Elder."

After that, he raised his weapon, signaling the others to prepare for the battle. He still wanted to hear more about the Ascended Beings and Classes, especially the one that Grand Marshal Draco had since it seemed to be related to dragons.

But after sensing the berserk powers within the grand marshal's body going out of control, Arthur understood that they no longer had the time for that.

They needed to finish this and get over it.

...