Amari's Ascension A Cultivation Litrpg Apocalypse Adventure

I stepped out of my apartment after the trio. It ultimately wasn't a hard choice. There was always a chance for something better tomorrow. If I let myself get consumed by those thoughts I would never advance. Instead, I would keep moving forward and do what I can with what I got.

"Is there anything that you can tell me? Now that I have made my choice." I stepped into a rhythm between the trio. Which honestly felt like I was some kind of VIP being escorted to an event. The thought was almost enough to make me chuckle if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation.

"Well let's see the System will present you with your choices. There are typically between one and five options. There is also a random option though very few pick it. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have placed a lot of faith in your fate." The woman said while lazily floating down the hall. Part of me wondered if there was a way I could learn to float instead of walking but that also felt lazy.

"The hub here has several improvements that you would not have access to on your planet. Not for quite a while anyway. It will tell you the attributes the class will rely on and it should offer you a slight nudge toward which choice you should pick." The volcanic elemental added.

"Should I aim for the highest rarity?"

"That is an impossible question for us to answer. There are two main schools of thought though. A higher rarity class will have superior skills available from the get-go. This will increase your strength immensely to begin with but the requirements to unlock those skills will be higher. Not to mention evolving those classes will be harder. There are a myriad of stories in the multiverse of people picking a powerful class only to be unable to evolve it. On the other hand, a lower rarity class will include worse skills but they will be easier to unlock. There are also many documented paths from them. It is a question of which you value more. Stability and safety or Trailblazing and potential." Aina once again fell into their role as the instructor.

I nodded along as they spoke. In truth, a low rarity class didn't appeal to me. I understand why you would want it. Playing it safe when it came to your life was appealing but everything I did here wasn't playing it safe. I completed the toughest quests I could. I did them all alone. Hell, I took the elixir to get a higher tier class it would be stupid if I wasted that. "I received a reward—"

Before I could finish Aina raised a hand. "We do not need to know about the rewards you received. They are yours and yours alone. If they impact your class choices you should use them at the time of selection. If you have already used them then their benefits will automatically apply. I would strongly recommend you refrain from sharing your unique encounters once you are in the multiverse. It is a sin to be wealthy without the power to protect it."

I stumbled a step at the seriousness in their voice. I checked the others and they agreed with Aina. I bit back a reply about not being worried but decided against it. They were all probably older and more knowledgeable than I was. "Alright, so when we arrive I just go in and speak to the System?"

The woman laughed before wiping away a fake tear and shook her head. "Oh, he is so young. No, you go in and you will find the System hub. Place your hand on it and think about selecting your class. The System will take care of everything from there."

I nodded as the trio stopped in front of a blank wall. I raised an eyebrow but before I could voice my question the wall slid open. I nodded and stepped inside. My attention was drawn to the center of the room. I wasn't sure what I expected a System Hub to look like but this wasn't it. There was a squarish base with a pillar of white light in the middle. The light looked almost solid and had an odd symbol in the middle. It was a sigil and based on the context it represented the System. It was a shape that made no sense, it was almost like it was being forced into a three-dimensional space when it should be something more. Just staring at it hurt my head. My heart suddenly felt like it was going to rip its way out of my chest. I stepped up to the hub while a grin spread across my face. I placed a hand against the hub and took a deep breath. Once I was calmer I sent my intentions into the hub. A second later a prompt appeared that made me grin like the Cheshire cat.

Psionic Paragon-1st Realm, Epic: Awaken Your Latent Power, Transcend Greatness. Wisdom, Intelligence. Upgradable

Oneiric Hunter-1st Realm, Epic: Nothing is Safe, Not even their Dreams, Wisdom, and Perception. Upgradable

Soul Seer-1st Realm, Epic: Their Secrets Laid Bare, All Yours. Wisdom, Perception. Upgradable

Storm Psion-1st Realm, Epic: Embrace the Tempest of Your Soul. Wisdom, Agility. Upgradable

Astralmancer-1st Realm, Epic: Awaken the Potential of your Mind, Achieve Perfection. Intelligence, Wisdom. Upgradable

Random 1st-Ream Class. 0% Common. 10.0% Uncommon. 40.0 % Rare. 50.0% Epic. Roll the dice.

Talk about an abundance of riches. I didn't even have lower rarity class options so that idea was put to bed. I could even roll the dice and get another epic class. Of course, I saw no reason to do that since the five options I had were great. Oneiric Hunter was the least interesting one followed by Soul Seer. I think I understood the hunter came from all the monster murders but it sounded like a class that specialized in summoning. Whether it was dream creatures or illusions I couldn't be sure. Either way, it didn't sound like me. Also the whole not being safe thing made me seem like a murderer or rather a hunter. Soul Seer sounded better especially the bit about the secrets. Still, Perception was one of the lowest attributes I had.

I wasn't sure how big a role my early attributes would play so it was best to assume that it would be significant. Storm Psion sounded great and Agility had become the second-highest of my attributes. There was a clear argument for that choice. Next, we had Psionic Paragon and Astralmancer. Both of them were good and based on Wisdom and Intelligence. Also, Astralmancer was either star-related or related to the "Astral Plane" which was always cool. Unfortunately, Intelligence wasn't high enough for me to prioritize it now. Which brought me back to either the Seer or the Psionic Paragon. I went back and forth for a few more minutes before I settled on my choice. It was hard to explain why I picked it. Just a gut feeling, one that went away as soon as I made my choice.

A powerful surge of spiritual energy flooded into me from every direction. It felt like someone injected lightning into my veins as the energy purged my channels. The lingering damage was washed away along with small traces of black gunk. My channels were pulled into a complex sigil that spanned my entire body. No sooner did my channels shift did I felt the surge pass through every part of my being. I grunted and fell to one knee as my body improved. It felt like I had just spent a colossal amount of attribute points. The sensation was intoxicating! I felt like I could take on an army. The momentary invincibility faded a few seconds later.

"What the fuck was that?" I passed my inner eye over my body and found that my channels were more solid now. They now formed what I assumed was the sigil for my class. It was honestly a bit weird but I wasn't going to complain. The last bits of exhaustion and aches were gone. It was a bit like when my species was upgraded only not as powerful. Either way, I pushed it to the back of my mind and rubbed my hands together. It was time to review my gains.

Name Amari Jackson

Level 20

Class [1]Psionic Paragon

Species [2]Human

Affiliation Earth

Manual [1]Ethereal Codex(22%)

Titles Big Game, Centennial, Chosen, Classed, First to Ten, High Class, Leader of the Pack, Monstersbane, Overlord Slayer, Overpowered, Prime Hunter, Voyager, True Elite

Limited Titles Tutorial-Seventh Assignment

Agility 78 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Constitution 83 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Intelligence 76 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Luck 80 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Perception 69 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Strength 69 (Increase:50%. Potency:110%)

Wisdom 138(Increase:60%. Potency:110%)

Free Points 0

System Credits 00

Well Damn. The new titles were a welcome sight and I decided to review them first.

Centennial: Gain 500 total Attributes while in the First Realm.Reward: All Attributes +2

Classed: Reach level 20 and Gain a Class Reward: All Attributes +1

High Class: First In the World to Gain A Class Reward: All Attributes +5

True Elite: Gain the Highest Rarity Class of Your Realm. Reward: Potency of Attributes +5%

Even more of the "First of" titles which felt pretty damn good. I couldn't help but feel pleased at just how many of them I had gained. I wasn't sure which firsts were left. Maybe there would be one for building a town? Probably one for becoming a governor. After that, I wasn't sure. I did know that I had to keep it up. Once we got back to earth all hell would break loose and then it would be everyone from themselves. The new titles didn't explain the largest of the changes. So I continued searching. I pulled up my new Class screen and raised an eyebrow.

Class: Psionic Paragon 1st-Realm, Epic

Wisdom +10, +10%

Intelligence? +5, +5%

Level: Wisdom +5, Intelligence +3, -1 Free point per level

Spells:

Psychic Mastery(Locked)

Psionic Rain(Locked)

Intellect Fortress(Locked)

Well damn. My class was pretty busted. It was a bit ironic that even with the boost to my Intelligence my Constitution was still a bit higher. That and Luck though I didn't think a class would exist that would boos that attribute. Wouldn't that just break the rules? Assuming there were rules to break I guess. The loss of one of my free points sucked but there had to be some kind of balance I guess. Unfortunately, the level improvement wasn't retroactive but that was fine. It was clear why we needed to get our classes as soon as possible. If I had reached max level first I would have lost out on so many points. The next thing I needed to worry about was the new spells. I switched to the quest log and found my answer. I had a new "Class Quests" category that listed what I had to do for each one.

1. Psychic Mastery(Class): Mastery is born through experience. Kill 1,000 Enemies Reward: Psychic Mastery (0/1,000)

2. Psionic Rain (Class): The Mind is the Only Weapon you will ever need. Defeat thirty opponents with a single attack. Reward: Psionic Rain Spell. (0/30)

3. Intellect Fortress(Class): Endure 10 Psychic Attacks. Reward: Intellect Fortress (0/10)

I guess the quests weren't retroactive. Either that or all the people I have been fighting didn't count toward these quests. I hoped it was the former and not the latter. If I couldn't complete the quests in the tutorial I would be fucked until later. Either way, it was a pretty big haul. Part of me hoped the next quest was a hoard of enemies so that I could get at least one of these done. I gave myself a final review before closing the status screen and making my way back to the door. I still had a day of cultivation ahead of me.

I stepped into the hallway and found the trio waiting for me. I raised an eyebrow but no one said anything. After several seconds I decided to speak up. "Epic class. I believe it's based around psychic effects."

Aina and the woman nodded as if it was a matter of course while the volcano elemental shrugged as if he didn't care in the least. "Impressive. I take it you gained a title for that rarity as well. Very impressive you have taken what many consider to be the first step in cultivation." Aina stated before turning around and heading down the hall. We all stepped up behind him.

"So now that I have my class what do I do now? I mean besides finish the tutorial?"

"You will return to your world and start rebuilding," Aina replied.

"No, I get that but is there a point to this? I mean like are cultivators doing something? Is there some item to save or a monster to kill?"

The woman laughed and shook her head. "You have just gained your class and now you contemplate on Heaven's secrets? How audacious."

I stared at her in confusion as I tried to process what the fuck she just said. "What the fuck does that even mean."

The volcanic man shook his head and let out an annoyed sigh. "It means that we are too low in the hierarchy to answer such questions. I have no idea if cultivation has a greater point to it nor do I care. If you want to know you will have to reach the peak. Long before that, you will have to come up with your answer. Why do you want to cultivate? Is the only answer that matters."

"So it's one of those things where I have to find meaning for it myself?" I couldn't help but shake my head. Ultimately it wasn't a big deal. Despite the very real pain I had gone through this was more than worth it. There was no uncertainty. I knew what to do in my life. I wanted to reach the next threshold and whatever the peak of cultivation was. Hell, this was more direction than anyone got on old Earth. I wasn't under the illusion that everything would be fair. The instructors already explained that there were still the haves and the have-nots in the multiverse. Based on the way they spoke about it the earth wasn't anything special in the grand scheme of things but did any of that matter?

Why couldn't I force a seat at the proverbial table? I had access to the System the same way everyone else did. My attributes have to be high even compared to other elites. I clenched my fist and grinned. No way staying on earth was going to be enough for me.

"Oh? It looks like someone is excited." I was pulled back to the present as the air instructor's voice reached me. "I wonder if you will survive? I hope so. You are very interesting. Don't underestimate what you are about to go through. Most 'elites' of newly merged worlds fall during the initial year. The battles are vicious as your place in the world is thrown into chaos. Beasts and cultivators attempt to carve up the world for their desires. There will only be the supreme law to rely on."

I stared at her as a grin spread across her face. It was clear she was enjoying herself. She wanted me to be a good little student and ask "What's the supreme law" but I wasn't going to. In truth, it wasn't hard to figure out. If we were honest without ourselves it was the rules we played by before the System. The reason is that some were branded criminals while others were heroes for committing the same act. "Those with the most power make the rules."

The woman's grin fell from her face and she rolled her eyes. "Good enough. Now you should get back to work. You don't want to risk losing your spot just after getting your class."

I nodded as we came to a stop in front of my door. I gave the trio a nod before stepping inside. Once the door closed and I was alone again I started rotating my energy. Watching it pass through my new channels was a bit odd but that wasn't why I did this. There were slots spread throughout my body where spells or skills could go. Two of which were already taken by the spells I got earlier. I did a quick count and found that I would be able to hold a maximum of 21 spells. Of course, that assumed no weird situations came up like one spell taking two slots or that I couldn't somehow increase that number. I still wanted to create my spells at some point but I was no longer confident I could do it. The two I already had were a bit like works of art.

Each one had layers of complicated parts that made me think they were closer to some sort of language than anything else. What I needed was a library or a school. I chuckled dryly at the thought of how much a cultivation school's tuition would be. I might have to give them an arm and a leg. I brought myself back to the moment and considered my options. Despite what they said I was pretty sure the top tutorial spot was mine. Unless someone started seriously gambling their lives no one should catch up. Which meant I needed to start thinking about how to build a settlement. I was sure that our old cities would still be standing at least some of them. I made a few plans on where I should attempt to go but at the end of the day, I had no idea where I would appear once the tutorial was over. For all I knew I would get dropped off in an ocean. I decided to move away from that train of thought and turned my attention to my cultivation chamber. It was time to resume the grind.