The Third Transcendence
In Abyss City, they call the second transcendence a cost-effective breakthrough.
And the pinnacle, the sixth transcendence, is the realm of pure affection. Or, as some put it, the game's difficulty-lowering button.
So what lies between the second and sixth?
It's a murky zone of transcendences that test your love for the character—and your wallet—with their middling performance.
Even though a single transcendence costs hundreds of thousands of won, it doesn't deliver satisfaction to match. That's the kind.
And so, the third transcendence. Always rated as a landmine.
Even though it's a letdown if you build up big expectations, Rohan had something he was looking forward to.
The vision shines brightly.
──Crack!
The world Rohan sees cracks, shatters, and flows away.
This bizarre situation has become almost familiar now.
'Alright, what's it gonna be this time.'
Rohan coolly accepted the shifting view before his eyes.
He tried to grasp everything coming into sight as quickly as possible.
'It's dark.'
A pitch-black space.
A place that makes you suspect monsters might swarm if you shone an ember on it.
But it wasn't as utterly dark as the last transcendence.
Looking down, he could make out a figure standing there, sword in hand.
'Who’s that?'
Just a shadow, but even from the outline alone, it was a body so captivating you couldn't look away.
Not just visually pleasing beauty.
What Rohan sensed was the pinnacle of functional perfection—a body optimized for wielding a sword.
That flesh was undoubtedly the most practical for handling a blade, with no shortcomings in performance.
"…."
The sword in the mystery figure's grip ignited with flames.
Flames that felt welcoming to Rohan.
As the light, infused with heat, bloomed in the dark world, figures gathered around like they held a grudge.
They coiled in a circle like a serpent's nest, each gripping bloodstained, menacing weapons and exuding an eerie aura.
"──!!!"
The encircled foes shouted something and charged all at once.
Each one was robust and swift beyond what the current Rohan could handle.
Yet the figure with the light and sword remained utterly composed.
The moment the enemies closed in, it swung the blade, leaving a brilliant sword path in the darkness.
Rohan watched the movements closely.
He blankly took in the sight of one person slaughtering the sinister horde alone.
Movements that should have been too fast to follow with the eye appeared crystal clear.
Flame Cut, Dawn Falling Sun, Light Wing Piercer….
Even if the level was worlds apart, he could tell what swordsmanship it was. At least those three forms were unmistakable.
A sword dance that made his tongue stick out in awe.
The ideal sword technique for anyone who had mastered Heavenly Sun Holy Judgment Sword.
He wanted to keep watching. It was impossible to tear his eyes away.
He even felt regret as the enemies dwindled.
When the last foe split in half from a thrust and collapsed,
The world crumbled with a crash!.
Rohan's vision filled with the original world.
"Huuuuh…!"
Exhaling a breath brimming with awe, he sat up in bed.
Weakness Infliction debuffs on targets consume no mana when attacking.
The Shop skill now has a high chance for special items to appear, with a chance to refresh items immediately upon purchase.
Successful parries or attacks during evasion with Heavenly Sun Holy Judgment Sword recover a set amount of health — Cooldown: 30 seconds.
'As expected of the third transcendence.'
It matched his predictions exactly.
The path from second to sixth is indeed the start of transcendences not worth the price— the stretch gamers ignore or curse at.
You finally breakthrough, but instead of damage boosts, it's self-heals or mana savings? In a game, it'd make you sigh.
After all, what most gamers want from transcendence is shorter dungeon clears and damage receipts with extra zeros.
But.
Reality differs from the game.
The options that feel worthwhile to the current Rohan are completely different.
In Abyss City, everyone went mad chasing crit chance, crit damage, attack power.
But right now, Rohan couldn't afford to ignore things like health or defense, once dismissed as traps.
'Health recovery and mana savings? This transcendence is insane.'
Unlike Abyss City, where you could swap to a healer, cast a skill, or pop a potion hotkey to easily restore health and mana mid-fight, having a way to recover health in real combat—and applying debuffs without mana cost—was a massive boon.
It was fuel for enduring prolonged battles.
Plus the minor boosts to physical abilities and mana that came with transcendence.
That alone was a huge help right now.
"Mm."
The euphoria washed away the fatigue from the sealed preview.
Rohan got out of bed and grabbed his exclusive weapons, Light's Bane and Stigma.
That sword dance from the transcendence vision.
It was vivid in his memory. He wanted to swing his sword right now.
Hex? Pandora? Reverse Praise Society? Black Hand? Nothing he could handle with his own hands just yet.
Going south and poking hornet's nests without even securing basic safety would be suicide.
For now, powering up was everything. That was all there was to it.
From Academy City Elysium to Samhwa Nation, you can go by car.
It takes a fair bit of time, varying wildly by road.
Using special toll roads that charge jaw-dropping fees lets you save a ton of time.
After racing down a quiet road for hours like that.
Ichinose and Noah, who left Academy City in the evening, arrived in Samhwa Nation just as night fell.
Noah, having slept the whole ride, yawned nonstop with sleepy eyes.
"Noah. Come here."
"Sleeeepy…."
Ichinose led the drowsy, half-asleep Noah.
And opened the door to her family home.
The Ichinose estate had a massive yard. A pond, guesthouses for visitors, training grounds—plenty of buildings.
But the main house where the Ichinose family lived was about the size of the mansion where Sion Testarosa and Clara stayed.
Momo, Ichinose's mother, had chosen that size because too big a house meant less family face time.
"We're home."
"Noah's here too~"
Stepping through the entrance, their parents were already waiting.
Ichinose naturally hugged her parents.
"Tough journey. Good work."
"Make yourself at home, Noah."
Entering to a warm welcome.
Rarely, a drinking setup was laid out.
Ichinose knew her parents drank occasionally. But there were three glasses at the table.
They had a guest.
"!"
Ichinose sensed the person seated.
Opening her eyes, she saw a woman with stunning beauty.
Hair down to her waist, pure white like eternal snow.
Rounded ears poking up top, and a plump tail with black stripes on white.
The confident smirk and peeking fangs drew the eye more fiercely than her voluptuous curves.
Ichinose greeted the familiar face politely first.
Noah's eyes went wide, sleep vanishing at the unexpected guest.
"It's been a while."
"I heard you've been working hard tutoring Noah, Yui?"
"Not at all. It was review for me too."
The woman laughed heartily at Ichinose's reply.
Noah approached with a baffled look and finally spoke.
"Why is Mom here!?"
"It's vacation for my girl—why wouldn't I be here? Didn't you miss me?"
Having heard her daughter was coming straight here instead of Tigrova, Noah's mother had visited Samhwa Nation on a trip herself.
"Of course I did! That's why I said we'd hit the beach first, then Tigrova!"
The woman giggled, stood, and crushed Noah in a hug.
She smacked her daughter's butt smack! smack!, kneaded her cheeks, and looked her over every which way.
"My girl's gotten even prettier in just a few months?"
"I've always been pretty!"
"Oh really? Must be from me. Be grateful every day."
Mother and daughter faced off, bursting into laughter, and after a while, Noah naturally asked.
She could guess the reason—similar things had happened before.
"Bored, huh? You could play with Dad."
"Tried to, but he's busy now. Can't play with me~"
"Tch… knew it."
"The boys are all grown and independent, daughter's off in Academy City. Even in Tigrova, it's boring."
Noah knew her mom couldn't stand the quiet.
As expected, boredom brought her here.
"Brothers are no fun anyway."
"True. Wonder who they take after—one and all, so stoic… Maybe have another girl."
It didn't sound like a joke. Ichinose blushed listening quietly.
She might have brushed it off before, but now, every such comment brought Rohan to mind, making it hard to stay composed.
And that subtle shift didn't escape the senses of a superhuman beastkin.
"Hm?"
The woman's eyes turned to Ichinose from hugging Noah.
And as if she'd caught on, a playful curve formed at her eye.