Chapter 394: The Way Of Leveling

Caelus accepted the device and carefully stored it away.

"Thank you, Miss Glaciana."

"Do not thank me yet." Her body began fading into mist. "Survive first. Then we will talk."

With a soft rush of wind, Glaciana vanished completely, leaving only a lingering chill in the air.

For several seconds, everyone remained where they were, still processing everything that had just happened.

Gorn was the first to break the silence.

"What the hell just happened?"

Lucian nervously adjusted his gold chains.

"I think we almost died, and then an ice goddess saved us."

"The entrance to this world sure was eventful," Caelus said with a dry laugh.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Valerica shook her head slowly.

"I’ve never felt pressure like that before. Those two were on a completely different level."

"Overlord-Rank," Elder Sterling murmured. "Or close to it. We are ants compared to them."

Caelus turned toward the group.

"Which is exactly why we need to get stronger immediately."

He looked at each of them one by one before continuing.

"It’s time for us to reach Emperor-Rank."

Gorn immediately raised an eyebrow.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that? We don’t even know the proper method of ascending to that level."

Lucian nodded vigorously.

"He’s right. Back in Tier 1, we needed Ascension Tokens and specific quests. What do we need here?"

Caelus simply smiled.

"Don’t worry about it. Just stay within my vicinity."

His answer only confused them further.

Gorn scratched his head.

"What does that even mean?"

Ayame, Seraphin Lin, Freya, and Sylvia, however, remained completely unfazed. They already knew what Caelus was capable of.

Freya giggled.

"Just watch, Mr. Gorn. Big Brother Origin is amazing."

Caelus closed his eyes and reached deep within himself.

He then activated the rule-breaking ability of his Ender passive, the power that allowed him to ignore the fundamental rules of the Origin Ascension Domain.

The moment he did, energy exploded outward from his body.

Blue light enveloped everyone within his range, and those who had already reached the peak of Ace-Rank suddenly felt something click inside them. A barrier they hadn’t even known existed shattered without warning, allowing their power to surge into an entirely new realm.

[Ding!]

[Rule Override Activated.]

[Bypassing Emperor-Rank Ascension Requirements.]

[Gorn has reached Emperor-Rank.]

[Lucian has reached Emperor-Rank.]

[Valerica has reached Emperor-Rank.]

The notifications continued appearing one after another.

At the same time, something else began stirring within Caelus himself.

[Ding!]

[Star King Talent has unlocked a new ability.]

[Chaos Magic Unlocked.]

[Ding! You can now convert suitable skills and traits into your own personal abilities that use little to no mana.]

[Ding! Calibrating the Half-Dragon Transformation.]

[Ding! You’ve obtained +75 Combat Score.]

[You’ve reached Level 1 of Emperor-Rank.]

[You’ve received +3 Combat Score from leveling up due to your Ender Passive.]

[Combat Score: 79.12]

Strength surged through Caelus like a tidal wave as transcendental energy flooded into his body.

The energy began destroying his old and weaker cells before reforging them anew, transforming his body into something capable of unleashing enough physical power to break continents with a single palm.

This was Emperor-Rank.

It was infinitely stronger than Ace-Rank. After all, 1 Combat Score of Emperor-Rank was equivalent to 1,000 Combat Score of Ace-Rank.

Caelus slowly opened his eyes with a satisfied smile. There was more to look into but that wasn’t the priority right now. It was going to meet Glaciana to get information about this world.

Around him, Gorn, Lucian, and Valerica stood frozen in complete shock.

They stared at their own hands, feeling the overwhelming power now coursing through their veins. The breakthrough to Emperor-Rank was supposed to be incredibly difficult, requiring tremendous resources, lengthy preparation, and countless hours of effort.

Yet Caelus had pushed them through that seemingly impossible barrier as though it were nothing.

"You..." Valerica’s voice trembled with disbelief. "What did you just do?"

"Just a small trick." Caelus waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about it."

Gorn’s jaw dropped.

"Small trick?! You just forced us into Emperor-Rank! Are you the son of the Origin Ascension Domain?!"

Caelus ignored their shock and instead focused on the matter at hand.

"Keep the territory under control for now. The citizens are probably panicking after arriving in a new world."

They all readily nodded at his words.

The population of Genesis Kingdom had declined somewhat after the ascension. Most of the players had remained attached to Earth and were unwilling to follow them into the Tier 2 World, leaving only around ten thousand people behind.

Caelus didn’t consider it particularly important.

Those who remained were the loyal ones, the people who genuinely believed in Genesis. In his opinion, quality mattered more than quantity.

With that settled, Caelus turned toward Sylvia and extended his hand.

"Shall we go now, Miss Sylvia? We’ve got a lot of things to do."

"Of course, Mr. Caelus." Sylvia gave him a playful wink. "Let’s go."

Together, they activated the teleportation device Glaciana had given them, and their figures disappeared in a flash of cold blue light as they began their journey toward her territory.

Soon, Caelus and Sylvia arrived at Glaciana’s territory.

The entire place was covered in ice, with enormous icicles surrounding the territory and Ice Elves moving through the streets. However, Caelus also noticed humans living here, while guards patrolled the area with weapons in hand and various vehicles moved through the streets.

Seeing this, Caelus couldn’t help but look around in surprise.

"So this is the reality of the Tier 2 World."

Before, territories had existed within the Origin Ascension Domain, but now it was located in the real world. Because of this, the significance of owning a territory seemed to be far greater than it had been in Tier 1.

Just as they continued forward, a white-haired child approached them.

He was an Emperor-Rank being.

"Our Queen is waiting for you," he said respectfully.

Hearing this, Caelus and Sylvia glanced at each other before immediately following him.

Soon, they arrived at the palace, where Glaciana was sitting on her throne with a bored expression.

"Welcome. First, let me congratulate you on successfully ascending."

"Thank you, Miss Glaciana."

Glaciana nodded before continuing.

"You must be confused about a lot of things here, but I will explain."

"I’ll begin with the levels. Unlike Tier 1, there are no longer fifty levels. Here, each rank only has ten levels."

Both Caelus and Sylvia were equally shocked by this.

"There is also no Emperor I, II, or III. Once you reach Level 10, you can advance to the next rank, provided you meet the necessary requirements."

Caelus nodded as he listened carefully.

"And instead of EXP, what exists in this world is something known as Origin Energy."

"The power of the Origin Ascension Domain itself."

Caelus’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"As for how you acquire it..."

Glaciana paused for a moment before continuing.

"There are several ways."