“Rising through the Ranks is a curious thing. It requires talent and ability, but determination and willpower. Our world, or perhaps the gods that rule it, do not wish for mortals to ascend to divinity.

There are natural limits to progression, each step becomes harder to achieve, the Mana more difficult to control.”

Chapter 57

Wil slept well into the next day. The blue sun was high in the sky before he woke up. After washing and dressing, he went downstairs to eat a large breakfast. Most of the town appeared to still be sleeping or recovering from yesterday’s celebrations. He saw tired or hung-over figures shambling down the road outside the inn’s windows.

The snow that had been piled waist deep or higher from the storm was now melting in the warm spring weather. Already, he could see that some of the trees were budding in the sunlight.

Finishing his breakfast, Wil returned to his room, but he found that he couldn’t sit still. His body had been exhausted when he had returned and demanded sleep, but his Core was filled with a restless energy.

His Mana had been highly agitated since the crown had flooded his body with its energy. Although the foreign power had left him, his body remembered the feeling it had given him. His Core craved action.

Unable to stay in his room, Wil left the Inn, hoping to burn off some of the agitation he felt by walking around the town. He strolled the well paved roads, exchanging greetings with the people he met. Many were going about their business, spring’s arrival allowing them to finally leave the confines of their homes.

Wil saw people repairing rooftop tiles and the exteriors of their houses. Fully laden carts trundled down the paths, filled with building materials and tools. A large crowd of people were still celebrating in the main town square, and Wil spotted a drunk Archibald, singing and playing to entertain them.

He shook his head at the man. He didn’t have any ill will towards him, despite his desire to be in the spotlight. Everyone believed that the defeat of the bugbears and the elemental they had summoned had stopped the storm. But Wil knew that they were only worshiping it, they weren’t the cause.

He reflected on the Crown, sealed deep in the mountain. It obviously belonged to the dwarven ruler, the desiccated corpse on the throne couldn’t have belonged to anyone else. What was the cursed items origin? Had it been created by the dwarves, were they the artificers of their own downfall?

Lost in thought, he hadn’t realized his steps had carried him to the church until the large symbol of the Twin Suns that decorated the door was directly in front of him. He stared at the symbol, the golden and blue interlaced circles. He rubbed his palm absently as he remembered the golden coin he had found.

In a daze, he pushed open the door and entered the stone building.

Despite it being late in the day, the church was nearly empty. A few clerics, dressed in yellow or blue were hurrying about, whispering to some of the parishioners quietly.

Wil took a seat in a pew towards the back of the room, his head bowed as he stared at his palm. When he had grasped the icy crown, a heat from the brand in his hand had fought the cursed item’s attempts to control him. He had even used that power, strengthening his own mana to burn the diamond from the crown.

It had obviously been a gift from the Twin Suns, a power imbued into him when he had grasped the golden coin. If he had any doubt, then the pillar of flame that burned a hole into the dwarven ruins were proof enough.

They had wanted him to delve the ruins, to find the crown and destroy it. But why him? Why did they guide him to leave the group, and trust such a task to someone like him?

He reflected on the events, and his restless Mana settled for a moment. Content, he was lost in thought until his calm Mana suddenly flared to life again. The burning heat that had come from his palm, which he thought was gone when he destroyed the diamond, began to burn slightly in his chest.

Wil looked deep inside himself and visualized his Core. The fragile glass container that represented it in his mind was filled to the brim with a silvery, mercury like Mana. As he stared, the heat warmed the Mana in his core, making it bubble and flow quickly.

Without a thought for where he was, he drew on the ambient energy around him. A haze of magic surrounded him as he breathed in deeply, the energy entering his Core.

The already full container stretched and bulged as he forced more and more Mana into it. It grew hot and he could feel the heat in his chest, flowing through his veins as he pushed more and more Mana into the fragile core.

A sudden cracking sound, only audible in his mind, came from the Core as it shattered. All around him, energy rushed into his body and everyone in the church turned towards him, alarmed as they could feel the magic flowing from his body.

The still air in the church blew fiercely towards him, forcing everyone to brace against the sudden wind. Wil was in the center of a vortex of energy, as the air carried the ambient mana directly into his reforming Core.

With intense focus, Wil formed the walls of a new Core, stronger and much larger than the one before. Unlike the glass container before, this one took the shape of a diamond. The brilliant gem sparkled from the mana it held, glowing with a silvery light as he filled it with his Mana.

The light from his new gemstone core shone throughout his body, infusing it with a level of power he never felt before. The Mana rushed from his Core, flowing through his veins, carrying his magic throughout his limbs before returning to start the cycle again.

His breakthrough to Rank 3 complete, Wil slowly opened his eyes as he took in his surroundings.

He was surprised at how much better his vision had become. It was as if he had been seeing the world through a thin veil before, muting colors and dulling the world around him.

His new rank removed that veil, he saw with a clarity he never imagined before. The colors around him were vibrant and vivid. He could see details at a distance that he didn’t think possible.

He could see the blue robes of the priestesses glowing azure in the sunlight, while the yellow robes of the priests were like a liquid gold.

He stared around in wonder for a moment, before he finally noticed the stares he was receiving from those around him. He saw that many of the people present were rank-less and they were braced against the pressure his cycling Mana was producing.

With a feeling of embarrassment and shame, he slowed the energy inside him, reducing the pressure on everyone in the church.

He could hear sighs of relief and some of those present sat heavily on the nearby benches, relieved to have the weight of his Mana removed.

Red with embarrassment, he stood up and looked at the approaching priestess, the same one who had healed him a few days ago.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.” He stammered out as she looked at him and smiled.

“It’s alright, no harm was done to anyone here.” She said soothingly.

She held out a hand to him, clenched together as if she was holding something in it. Confused, he lifted his own hand towards her, palm upwards. He felt a heavy weight settle in it as she placed something warm in it.

“What’s this?” He asked, as he held the item up to inspect it.

“I was told to give it back to you. You may need it in the future.” She said, before she gave him another smile and turned to leave.

In his hand was a gold coin, with a seven-pointed sun symbol carved on one side, and a perfect circle etched on the other.

He looked upwards at the departing priestess, questions on his tongue to ask, but she had already left the area.

He stared in wonder at the gold coin in his hand, before he tucked it into his pocket and turned to leave the church.

He was quickly learning that there were some things in this world that you don’t question. Sometimes, you just accept the helping hand offered and carry on.