Celestial ladder chapter 5: First hunt

  Gilbert found himself standing atop a raised section of gravelly soil, overlooking the beach he'd arrived on. With his vision now improved, he could see clearly despite the lack of light.

  Getting used to the increased sensations around him was actually just as taxing as his now constant self limitations on his body. The sound of the waves crashed into his eardrums. The sweetness in the air caused his nose to wrinkle from sensitivity. Even his skin was under constant stimulation from the night's cool air.

  All of this would've been easy to tune out before, but it now made it difficult for him to think. He tried to intentionally limit his senses, and was surprised to see that it actually partially succeeded. Though a hefty strain on his focus, his senses could be mostly dulled when utilising one to its utmost.

  When he concentrated on sight, the others receded closer to what he was used to. It wasn't practical however; the visual information was far too much for his brain to handle. The same was true for concentrating his other senses, leaving him encumbered.

  He let out a defeated sigh—then immediately sucked it back, as if realising his own stupidity. He'd been foolish to stop so soon, he'd been thinking about it completely wrong. Living with supernatural abilities, yet still thinking in a natural way.

  It was true that none of his senses would work for what he was trying to do, but that was only true from the perspective of his old self. His new self felt the Aether both around him and within him, completely non-intrusive to his thoughts.

  Focusing on that ability felt completely different from the others. It wasn't a physical thing receiving information and sending it to his brain, more like a spiritual sensation that interacted directly with his soul.

  Gilbert's field of view turned monochrome, his hearing muffled, both his smell and taste now sealed. Aether was apparent to a much more detailed level. It hung on the air around him as a faint white mist, his core shining with a deep purple which reminded him of his desperate attack on the beast from before.

  Dotted around the area, beneath the sand, were numerous pairs of shining red orbs…

  He knew immediately what he was looking at. All of them were identical to the two he'd used to form his core. They were beasts, and there had to be hundreds of them, only a few feet from the surface.

  The reason he'd come in the first place was to find one, but he hadn't accounted for this many. Still, the resolve he held in his heart wouldn't falter so easily, it wasn't like they were all clamoring towards him. They were all perfectly still, no indication of their presence other than the cores.

  Gilbert bent down, picking up a small rock from the ground, gripping it within his hand tightly. It broke it into pieces from the force, and he had to pick up another in shame. This time, he held it more carefully, launching it towards the nearest pair of cores.

  His aim was slightly off course, but he'd restrained himself well enough that it landed slightly to the right of his intended target. He couldn't hear the sound it made when impacting the sand, but he could see the sand begin to shift.

  The pair of cores rose—a scorpion-like beast nestling its way out from below. It was clearly the same as the one he'd fought before, however Gilbert now noticed the bulbous eyes that sat on the back of the carapace.

  “Shit! That's way freakier than expected,” he thought nervously.

  Though sharing many traits with those of a scorpion, primarily the stinger on its behind, the three bulging eyes on its back were grotesque. Its exoskeleton was slightly shiny, much like polished steel. Two red cores jutted out from its mid section, one on each side. The beast looked around in confusion—before locking on to Gilbert's position. It didn't immediately make a move, instead scanning him as potential prey.

  The beast clearly liked what it saw, appraising him as a worthy meal, and scuttering towards him in slow, stalking steps.

  The closer it got, the more its desire for blood could be felt. Aether pulsed from both of its cores, converging within the stinger.

  It pounced toward him, pulling back its own body at the last second, allowing the stinger to continue flying forward.

  Air was pierced, and so was the space Gilbert had been occupying. He'd dodged the strike instinctively, falling to the ground—and losing his focus on sensing Aether.

  The world's colour returned in full force, his brain once again bombarded with information. The adrenaline coursing through him helped, just enough for a second stinger strike to be avoided.

  It wasn't too difficult to predict where the beast was aiming, yet it was too fast for any counter attack to be made. Gilbert was left on the back foot, dodging numerous deadly blows.

  “Can you stop trying to fucking kill me, and give me a chance to think?!” He yelled at the creature.

  It was most likely in his own head, but he could've sworn that the bastard sped up his attacks in the next moment, as if telling him “not a chance.”

  The cycle of dodge, retreat, and repeat continued—until there was finally a chance for change. The stinger once again slid past Gilbert, directly into the trunk of a pale-white tree. This was it. This was his chance to turn the tables. The beast pulled hard, but the point of its stinger was lodged deep in the bark, and it struggled to wrench it free.

  The situation was a lucky one for Gilbert. He didn't have to worry about what would happen if he used too much force when his enemy was unable to move. He no longer held back, even drawing Aether from his core, into his legs. He crouched down, his muscles tightening, a faint purple aura clinging to them. He jumped high into the air, to the surprise of the beast's large eyes.

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  Said eyes then watched helplessly as the meal they'd been looking forward to crashed down into them, fists clasped together—a direct strike.

  The squelching noise of Gilbert freeing himself from the corpse was sickening, his office attire now truly irrecoverable. The poor clothes had been ripped and stretched, now marred by blood. It was a dark yellow colour, greasy and thick. An unfortunate tree had taken the worst of it off, but the rest would need to be washed off as soon as possible.

  The thrill of that last moment still lingered on Gilbert's mind, fueling his ambition. This victory had been a true one. There was luck in having the stinger get stuck, though it was still ultimately a far more proper fight than the haphazard one he'd first had.

  His mind held on to that particular word. “Luck…” he whispered, a flicker of realisation crossing his face.

  “Did I just literally get off lucky?” He considered.

  Was this perhaps a result of the hidden [Luck] stat he'd been granted? He couldn't be sure, but it definitely gave him something to consider for later. For now, he had a job to do. He reached into the body of the scorpion creature, and yanked out the two cores. It was then a simple matter to refocus himself on sensing Aether, sitting down to meditate far away from any other beasts.

  Gilbert absorbed the Aether, watching in amazement as the red flowed into his core, changing into the amethyst purple within him. It filled up far faster than when using ambient Aether, and after topping itself off—the core grew hotter as more flowed inside.

  The outer shell further condensed, shrinking in size, yet holding more Aether than before. The two cores cracked, his own halting progress and cooling.

  He'd been too distracted by the process to notice the energy supply running dry; he now sat in both confusion and excitement.

  “It actually worked! I'm an absolute genius!” He exclaimed, celebrating.

  The last thing he had to do to confirm his current theory was to check his status screen. As always, the thought alone was enough.

  Name: Gilbert hendrix

  Level: 6

  Attunement: n/a

  Race: Human [First Rung]

  Alignment: Unclaimed planet [Native]

  Titles: Quick to kill, Class of your own [First Rung], Unfettered, Celestial progenitor, Flawless core [First Rung], Insecticide

  Concepts: Energy flow [Expansive]

  Concept skills: n/a

  Core: Efficiency core [First Rung]

  Strength: 44 + 55%

  Agility: 42 + 55%

  Durability: 44 + 55%

  Vitality: 40 + 55%

  Intelligence: 38 + 55%

  Wisdom: 38 + 55%

  Luck: 43 + 55%

  Status points: 8

  Gilbert's theory was completely correct it seemed, his increase in level serving as proof. When Aether was added to a full core, it would condense itself and pressurise the energy inside. It was like comparing a balloon to an oxygen tank. Both could contain air, yet the amount of air in the tank was greater despite not necessarily being bigger.

  Still feeling like he had more to give, he decided to try hunting a couple more before daybreak, though he would be careful to choose targets with the weakest Aether concentration to be safe. Gilbert once again stood atop his raised section of dirt, scanning for his next few levels…

  ___

  Layla had been with her father before it happened. One moment, they were watching some TV reality show about life in the desert, the next, everything went black. She heard a strange voice, rambling about some fusion sequence or something. It mentioned that the ‘natives’ would be taken to the ‘tutorial’, and then she had been whisked away into some cosmic tunnel filled with stars.

  She really should have panicked. She had literally run to her brother in tears because of a cockroach just the other day, and yet she was fine. The hidden truths contained within the tunnel soothed her—providing her with an ethereal calm.

  She hadn't kept track of time, it seemed pointless to care about such things in a situation like this. She'd been enthralled by the beauty around her, surprised when it suddenly disappeared to reveal solid ground. She was surrounded by many other people, appearing suddenly, and silently.

  They stood within an enormous town square, clearly modelled after mediaeval architecture. A tall stony spire stood in the centre, piercing the sky—further than the eye could see. Numerous wooden structures littered the edge, some were clearly homes, and others were completely unfamiliar.

  Layla looked towards a particular one which looked like a farm of some kind; a large pen attached to the side housing wolves.

  “Who the hell would bother raising a bunch of beasts? I wouldn't be caught dead near one of those,” she thought sardonically.

  Their claws were made of metal, fur far thicker than any she'd seen. A bright yellow orb bulged from its forehead, emanating something she couldn't begin to explain.

  “I wouldn't mind turning that into a necklace,” she said, only half joking.

  She walked towards the spire, making a face at the wolf who'd just glared at her. Only a few steps were taken before yet another voice cut in. This one being far more natural than the first, almost… inviting?

  “Natives, welcome to the tutorial! Your generation has been lucky enough to be alive during the integration of your species into the cosmos!” The voice yelled with enthusiasm.

  It had come from a small woman, floating in the air. Her translucent wings glimmered, her bright blue eyes scanning the crowd for reactions to her great announcement. Seeing that nobody held any excitement, she let out an exasperated breath.

  “I understand that you are all confused. My name is Jora, and I will be here to guide you all throughout the three months of the tutorial. Everything will be explained, and you will be given ample opportunity to become prepared for what's to come.

  “For now, I'll just give you the basic goal you will share with everyone here.”

  She raised her palm, a small ball of blue light forming ahead of her. The light grew brighter, the ball growing larger. It stopped, then burst in a bright flash that stunned everyone's eyes shut.

  “What you just saw is known as ‘Aether’, it functions as the lifeblood of the cosmos, and nurtures cultivators towards getting stronger. Your job during the next three months will be learning how to use Aether to form a core within your body, allowing you to evolve. If you succeed, not only will you become more powerful, you will also be deemed as worthy enough for further guidance.”

  Jora went to continue but was interrupted by a man who shouted above the crowd.

  “Send me back home right now! I don't give a shi-” He was interrupted mid-sentence, vanishing just as quickly as when he'd arrived.

  “Not a single person is forced to be here, however it would be foolish not to take the chance you've been given. That man will most likely die within days… shredded to pieces by some beast.

  “As I was originally trying to say, anyone who fails to form a core will most likely die. I suggest you all try your best! Go ahead and move on over to the tower and we'll get started”

  She had far too much positivity for something that sounded so serious, but Layla actually thought she was kind of cool. She had always admired confident, commanding people; this was the reason she’d been bothered by her brother so much.

  Jora then gestured towards the stone spire, disappearing into a puff of blue smoke in an instant.

  Layla wasn't the brightest, but she knew that doing as instructed was her best bet at learning more. It was the only way to find her family. She, along with all the other people who had sense, headed towards the spire—tutorial now truly starting…