"It's that bad?" Kyle asked.
"It is that bad," the Chief Overseer answered. "I managed to become a Fulfilled Sage, and I didn't even attempt to become a Unique Sage."
"Is it like that for the entire Wisdom Fire Realm?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," the Chief Overseer asked. "The entire Realm is just pain. It's all about how much pain you can bear. From the beginning to the end, it's just horrible. It's the worst Realm out of all of them. Even people in the Singularity Realm say that, and they know the most about the path to power."
'Singularity Realm?' Kyle thought.
"Is that the twelfth Realm?" he asked.
The Chief Overseer just nodded.
The worst Realm, and there wasn't even any debate.
It just sucked.
It was just horrible.
'In a way, this is a good thing,' Kyle thought. 'Since I'm not super talented with my mind, I was afraid that the Wisdom Fire Realm would be the biggest hurdle, but I can deal with pain.'
"Change of topic," Kyle said. "I think it's best if I become a Crusher pretty soon. I assume my friends are waiting for me."
The Chief Overseer nodded. "I have been keeping Psychosis Manifestation and Star Genesis on the waiting list."
"Wait," Kyle said. "Star Genesis?"
"Long Transformation has changed her title after becoming a Crusher," the Chief Overseer said. "She decided to go with Star Genesis. I don't know the details. More importantly, yes, it would be in your team's best interest to advance soon."
'Star Genesis, huh? Sounds better than Long Transformation,' Kyle thought. 'I mean, stars are related to light or something like that.'
"Then, I will advance immediately," Kyle said. "Is Swamp Dragon also waiting?"
"I believe so," the Chief Overseer said. "You should talk to him. Whenever you are ready to advance, simply go to one of the advancement halls."
"Then, I will do just that," Kyle said. "Thank you for your guidance."
The Chief Overseer nodded. "I have high hopes for your team. Your team has a great variety of Laws and specialties. This will help you in your future job, assuming you decide to go with the job I tell you to go with."
"Speaking of," Kyle said. "What job should I vote for?"
"I'll tell you later," the Chief Overseer. "Technically, I am not allowed to share the available jobs for Crusher Inner Disciples with you. That has to wait."
"Sure," Kyle said with a shrug.
The two of them said their goodbyes, and the Chief Overseer left.
After the Chief Overseer left, Kyle looked at his Communicator. As he looked at his friend list, he still saw Star Genesis' old name, making him scratch his head.
Yet, after he went to her profile, he saw that her name had really changed.
After updating his friend list with her Star Genesis' new title, Kyle contacted Swamp Dragon.
"Hey, I'm done. Are you waiting for me?" Kyle asked.
"Did you succeed?" Swamp Dragon asked.
Kyle wasn't sure how honest he should be.
Talking about the Legendary Realms came with negative Karmic Luck.
"Yep," Kyle answered. "I went all the way and got what I wanted."
"That's good to hear," Swamp Dragon answered. "I'm happy to hear that everything worked out as desired. As for your question, yes, I was waiting for you. We all are."
Kyle sighed as he felt a bit guilty.
His friends were waiting just for him.
"Sorry for the wait, but I'm ready to advance," Kyle transmitted.
"Great!" Swamp Dragon answered. "Then, I will also advance."
"Sounds good! See you soon!" Kyle transmitted.
"See you soon," Swamp Dragon answered.
The connection was cut, and Kyle took a deep breath.
'Time to become a Crusher,' he thought.
But then, he remembered something.
'Fuck! Forgot to ask the Chief Overseer about my reward.'
Kyle quickly sent a photo of the horn he had received from the Natural Trial to the Chief Overseer.
"What does this do? I got it from the Natural Trial," he wrote.
This particular Natural Trial was notorious for giving out worthless and horrible rewards, and even if it didn't, someone in the tenth Realm most likely wouldn't care about something like this.
"It's the horn of a Karmic Beast," the Chief Overseer answered. "They are bringers of good fortune, but there is no evidence that owning a part of their body has any effect on Karmic Luck. You could sell it for a bit of money if you find the right buyer, but that little bit of money won't even be worth the effort for a Crusher. Just keep it as a reminder."
Kyle sighed. "Thanks," he typed.
'As expected, a dud,' he thought. 'Well, I got what I wanted from the Natural Trial without having to go through another attempted suicide. That's reward enough.'
A moment later, Kyle left his room and traveled through a couple of hallways.
When he reached the advancement halls, he booked one for himself and entered.
The halls all looked identical. They all had a couple of big Formation Arrays inside of them, but that was the only thing of note. Otherwise, they were just empty halls. After Kyle entered his advancement hall, the door locked.
'Reminds me of the time I became a Primal,' he thought. 'I got surprisingly little after advancing, but that's because I already had the Primal Enhancement. Still kinda weird to think that every other Primal has the same enhanced instincts as me.'
'If I remember correctly, Sebastian had the Crusher Enhancement. If he's still alive, he probably won't get a lot after becoming a Crusher.'
'Sebastian has an insane talent for lightning, but after becoming a Crusher, everyone's Affinity gets improved.'
'As a Transcendent, he probably learned the Law of Minor Lightning, which should have allowed him to become a Unique Transcendent.'
'I can't be sure how far he got in the Primal Realm, assuming he's still alive. With his talent, becoming a 10/13 Primal should be a given. I'm not sure about the other Clusters, though. He might decide to invest 500 years into learning more about lightning over unlocking the eleventh Cluster, and I'm not sure if he went through enough battles to become a 12/13 Primal.'
Kyle sighed. 'I hope he's living a good life.'
The next moment, Kyle sat down in the middle of the room.
"I'm ready to become a Crusher," he said.
The next moment, several rocks of dense Energy appeared in front of him.
'I guess some things don't change,' he thought, reminded of the rock he had received when he advanced last time.
Kyle grabbed the rocks and shoved them into his mouth.
As he consumed the rocks, he felt his Center filling to the brim.
It hurt a little bit, but his instincts told him that everything was fine.
After Kyle consumed all of the rocks, he felt like he was approaching some kind of barrier.
He took a deep breath and forced his Energy to become more violent.
His body shook, and a couple of seconds later…
His advancement started.
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