novelraw Chapter 256: The Cost Of Ascension
Chapter 256: The Cost Of Ascension
"Hmm... Tell me the full ranking."
Mirabella’s tone was entirely clinical, her mind shifting from the shock of the power disparity to the practical reality of climbing it. If the Third World operated on a different scale, she needed the exact blueprint of its foundation.
Luigi nodded, but instead of speaking, she shifted her posture, remaining on her knees as she moved her gaze around the opulent, softly lit room.
"What are you searching for?" Mirabella asked with a slight frown, annoyed by the delay.
"A pen and paper." Luigi answered respectfully. The angel knew that ranks and numerical thresholds were better visualized than merely spoken, especially when the scale was this massive.
"On that table." Mirabella pointed at the polished, runic-wood dressing table near the far wall.
She watched in silence as Luigi gracefully rose, picked up the leather-bound notebook and an ink pen resting on it, and immediately began writing. The angel’s hand moved with supernatural speed, transcribing the fundamental hierarchy of the higher realms onto mundane parchment. After one minute of furious scratching, she closed the pen and humbly passed the book back to her, while going back on her knee in a subservient bow.
Mirabella stared at the ranking, a slight frown forming on her face... Luigi didn’t just list everything, she also detailed the specific, terrifying currency of ascension. She wrote down the exact amount of evolution stones needed to break through each rank:
"So a Lv1 fighter and a Lv100 fighter falls on one Star?" She asked, her mind struggling to accept that an entire month of grinding in Galaxy Fall equated to the absolute bottom rung of this new ladder. Luigi nodded solemnly.
[Ranking Board]
[One Star - 100 Evolution Stones.]
[Two Stars - 300 Evolution Stones.]
[Three Stars - 500 Evolution Stones.]
[Four Stars - 700 Evolution Stones.]
[Five Stars - 1,000 Evolution Stones.]
[Six Stars - 1,500 Evolution Stones.]
[Seven Stars - 2,000 Evolution Stones.]
[Eight Stars - 3,000 Evolution Stones.]
[Nine Stars - 5,000 Evolution Stones.]
[The Four ranks below are divided into three stages: Early, Mid, And Peak.]
[Fusion Stage - 10,000 Evolution Stones.]
[Celestial Stage - 50,000 Evolution Stones.]
[Great Celestial Stage - 100,000 Evolution Stones.]
[King Stage - 500,000 Evolution Stones.]
"So if I want to upgrade from Star one to Star two, I will need 100 evolution stones?" Mirabella asked, staring at the ink on the page, tracing the staggering progression curve that led up to Lamashtu’s domain.
"Correct, Master." Luigi answered respectfully.
Mirabella looked up from the notebook, her blue eyes locking onto the angel. The numbers were astronomical, but she needed to know where the ceiling was. "Is the King stage the highest rank?"
"No... I also know of the Divine Sovereign stage, I don’t know if any ranks come before it, so I don’t dare write it... I also don’t know the amount of evolution stones needed." Luigi explained, a hint of genuine fear bleeding into her voice at the mere mention of a realm beyond the Kings.
’Hmm... A Divine Sovereign? Don’t tell me there is another world from the Third World... That would be crazy.’ Mirabella thought, holding her jaw as her mind tried to map out a universe that seemed to expand infinitely upward.
’If there is indeed a fourth world, how powerful will they be?’ She exhaled, pushing the existential dread aside to focus on immediate logistics. The system of progression was entirely dependent on a resource she had never encountered in Galaxy Fall. She asked:
"About Evolution stones, are they better than Awakening stones?"
"Evolution stones are the upgraded version of Awakening stones... If Master plan to enter the Third World, Master should have enough Awakening stones, so when she moved, the stones will automatically be upgraded into evolution stones." Luigi explained, revealing the systemic conversion process between the dimensional layers.
"Ok, what is the exchange rate?" Mirabella asked, her mercantile instincts kicking in.
"A hundred awakening stones is equal to one evolution stone."
"Huh?" Mirabella was entirely stunned. Her eyes widened as the sheer economic brutality of the conversion hit her.
"That’s fucking expensive!!" She yelled at her, her calm facade briefly shattering. "A thousand gold coins will give you one awakening stone, and now, a hundred awakening stones will give only one evolution stones... How many gold will you need for one million evolution stones then?"
She calculated everything in her head, the mathematical reality of the Third World’s economy crushing down on her. She exhaled a long, heavy breath:
’One hundred billion gold coins gives me one hundred million awakening stones. With these stones, I can get one million evolution stones... Just imagine, how wealthy is Lamashtu?’ She slowly nodded her head, a profound realization dawning on her as pieces of a puzzle finally snapped into place.
’That is why Mom gave me ten billion awakening stones, and one hundred billion gold coins... She already prepared everything for me. With this ten billion awakening stones, I can have more than ten million evolution stones, I don’t even need to use my gold coins.’
A brilliant, relieved smile finally appeared on her face. All her future worries about hitting a hard paywall in the higher realms were just erased by her Mom’s terrifying foresight. Her mother hadn’t just given her an inheritance; she had funded an entire ascension. Now... She just needs to sit back and grow her forces without the desperate scramble for resources that crippled other ascendants.
Her mood lightening, she shifted her focus to their next tactical move.
"Ok Luigi, about the Palace you mentioned... Are you 100% sure it’s in the central region?"
"I am not, Master... I only saw the detail on ancient texts. In fact, I don’t even believe it exists." Luigi revealed truthfully. The Central Region of Galaxy Fall was a chaotic, unmapped death zone, a place where dimensional spaces overlapped and ancient relics were buried under mountains of elite monsters.
She sat back down on the soft mattress of the bed, staring critically at Luigi, formulating a command suited for an angel of her caliber:
"The Central region is a very mysterious place, filled with countless treasures and dangers... You can see I will be busy with the competition, so you will be the one going." She said, her words completely stunning Luigi. Sending an angel into the heart of the Central Region alone was tantamount to a suicide mission if things went wrong.
"You have one month to search for this palace."
"One... One month? Um... Master, Isn’t one month too little--" Luigi stammered, her composure cracking at the impossible deadline.
"--Let me finish." Mirabella’s voice cut through the air like a blade, brooking no argument.
Luigi instantly clamped her mouth shut and nodded her head, not saying anything more. She bowed her head, waiting for the rest of the decree.
"You have one month to locate this palace and bring it back to me. If you can’t locate the Palace, find one or more powerful god level treasures and bring it back... Can you achieve this in one month?" She asked, staring at Luigi with the heavy, unyielding expectation of an Empress addressing her vanguard.