Ascension (5)

It was nearly 30 minutes now. Sweat dripped down Arthur's brows. This was even more taxing than any of his gym workouts. Arthur's finger pressed against the glowing button before his eyes again, setting the wheel into motion once more as at this point, he was beginning to wonder if his greed had gotten the better of him.

In one of the many times he had spun the wheel, he even got a baby as his Legend, a whole freaking baby.

He looked at the time. 28 minutes had already gone by. Going by how he could pull only once every minute, since the spinning animation seriously took too long, that meant that he only had 2 more pulls left.

"Just 2 more."

The room fell into silence, broken only by the whirring of gears and the rapid thumping of his heart. Time seemed to slow as the wheel inched closer to its conclusion.

Tick by tick, the seconds slipped away, and doubt gnawed at Arthur's resolve. Had he made a grave mistake? Was his belief in an elusive legend ranked above God nothing more than a desperate hope? Anxiety coursed through his veins, his eyes locked on the wheel's dwindling rotation.

And then, in a breathtaking moment that hung in the air, the spinning digits and symbols aligned, coming to a halt.

<<System Notification>>

[Congratulations! You have obtained the legend: King Arthur (Demi-God)]

For a split second, Arthur faltered, wondering if he should just settle with this since it was too risky, not to mention he felt it pretty ironic that he received a Legend with the same name. Maybe it would give him some sort of boon or something since they both shared the same name?

No. Jokes aside, Arthur had already decided before he'd pulled the wheel, that it was ride or die for him. So, what if he got another Mortal as his Legend, he had already received a Mortal from the beginning.

"Fuck it."

And, just like that, Arthur spun the wheel once more.

But then, something went wrong, at least with him. For the minute that it took for the wheel to spin, Arthur felt an absolute serenity, where all of his worries had disappeared. He could feel his heartbeat pump every second, the light tingling in his blood, and the feeling of silence where it was just him in the room, no-one else.

Before he could wonder what was going on, he received a notification, and to say he was surprised would be an understatement.

DING!

The interface flickered, displaying a radiant glow that bathed the room in ethereal light.

<<System Notification>>

[Congratulations! You have obtained the legend: Aegis - The Personification Of Heaven & Light (Concept)]

A gasp escaped Arthur's lips as his eyes widened in disbelief. The room around him seemed to fade into the background as his mind struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the revelation. He had done it. Against all odds, in the final moments before the wheel's closure, he had attained the legendary rank he had dreamed of.

Surprise, shock, and elation intermingled within him, creating a whirlwind of emotions. He had come so close to accepting his fate as a mortal, to resigning himself to a lesser destiny. But now, he stood on the precipice of something far greater—a legend beyond gods themselves.

Awestruck, Arthur's gaze fixated on the words illuminating the interface before him. Aegis, the personification of heaven and light. The weight of his newfound legend settled upon his shoulders, both exhilarating and daunting. He had surpassed the boundaries he once believed confined him, transcending the limitations of mortal existence.

A smile tugged at the corners of Arthur's lips, a blend of disbelief and triumph. The room, once a reflection of his doubts and fears, now radiated with a newfound sense of purpose and possibility. The walls seemed to shimmer with the ethereal essence of heaven and light, mirroring the transformation taking place within him.

"Fuck YES!" Arthur pumped his fists, before striking it towards the very heavens themselves. "LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!"

In that pivotal moment, Arthur realized the significance of taking risks, of never settling for less than his true potential. He had gambled against time itself, and fortune had favored him. The wheel's closure had become a catalyst for his ascension, pushing him to the precipice of greatness.

Arthur took a deep breath, but almost choked because he simply couldn't hold back how excited he was. But, as excited as he was, he didn't forget to quickly accept his own role as Aether, the personification of heaven and light. What that meant for him, he had no idea but simply hearing the grandiose name and having the rank of a [Concept] for his legend probably meant that he was at the very least definitely stronger than the [God] rank.

"The personification of heaven and light," Arthur muttered under his breath. Oh, he couldn't stop his smile. It was like he had woken up and found out that he had become a billionaire, no more it felt way better than that.

Then a thought came to his head. He had stepped into the realm of the beyond, and there was no turning back now, but even if there was, he simply wouldn't do such a foolish thing.

What did it mean to become the personification of Heaven & Light? Was that simply just a cool name or did it actually have some sort of significance? Did it mean that he would now encompass all of actual heaven, and now had dominion over the concept of light itself?

If it was possible, Arthur's smile grew wider. He was an avid gamer, and more importantly, read lots of novels, especially fantasy ones - on the web or physical book, western or eastern - which meant that there was no end to his creative ideas on how he could elevate his power. Already, he wanted to try something but before he got ahead of himself, he needed to call out for his status first.

"Status!"

<<Status Screen: Arthur>>

Name: Arthur

Legend: Aether [The Personification of Heaven & Light]

Level: 1

Race: Conceptual

Attributes:

Strength: C Intelligence: D Wisdom: D Agility: B Dexterity: C Endurance: C Charisma: A

Racial Skills:

Crown: Novice

Light Manipulation: Novice

Heavenly Eyes: [Locked]

Freedom: [Locked]

Mana: Null

Now there were multiple reasons as to why Arthur's jaw had dropped down to the floor but he focused on the important ones first, like how his status had basically doubled in power, especially how he had a 'B' grade in Agility, which wasn't really that surprising if he considered the fact that he was now the personification of light.

If he thought about it that way, he seemed pretty weak for someone with a rank higher than the gods, like how his strength and Lily's was still the same for some reason. Maybe whoever implemented this system in the world made it so that the most your status could be from the get-go is a 'B' grade? But, how strong are these 'B' grades, or 'C' grades and what-no?

He would have to test that out later.

But, before that, he needed to check something out first. Without a moment of waste, he tapped on each of his skills.

<< Status Screen - Arthur >>

Crown (Novice): As the concept of heaven and light, a crown is something that is befitting of you. The brighter the crown, the stronger you will become. [As a novice, your crown is still dim.]

Light Manipulation (Novice): You now wield the power to manipulate and control light itself. Your will is its command. [As a novice, you are only able to manipulate it for basic life-style use.]

Heavenly Eyes: (Locked)

Freedom: (Locked)

Before everything else, Arthur was most excited about the Light Manipulation racial skill, since who wouldn't want to bend the fastest thing in the universe to his will. Obviously, he saw the novice rank, but it didn't hinder him in trying to think of ways to make it an offensive skill, like if he concentrated light into the diameter pin-hole, wouldn't he basically have a laser that could pierce through nearly everything? Or, if that didn't work, he could still bend light around him to make him as fast as well. . .light, and he knew light was pretty damn fast.

His mind conjured images of legendary heroes moving at the speed of light, leaving trails of brilliance in their wake. He envisioned warriors summoning dazzling light constructs, shaping them into formidable weapons or impenetrable barriers. The possibilities seemed endless, limited only by his own mastery.