章節 43: Ascending Pressure

'Hmm... This doesn't feel too bad.' The little kitten mused after stepping fully upon the first step of the 'Stairs of Ascension.

She could feel a small pressure pushing down on her, but it was hardly anything and she felt she could live her whole life like this without issue.

"But this is just the first step... By the time I get to say, 50, I wonder how much pressure will be weighing down on both my body and soul then." The little kitten narrowed her eyes and she started to feel nervous.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, the kitten ascended to the second step and then to the third. She continued to ascend at this steady pace until she reached the 8th step.

'Wow, I'm really starting to feel it now.' The little kitten gritted her teeth. She could feel like she was being weighed down by gravity itself, except this force didn't just affect her body. She also felt like something was digging into her soul as well.

The soul was the source of a Magician and Magical Beast's cultivation. To breakthrough to the next Stage or Rank, a Magician or Magical Beast were essentially evolving their soul. An evolved soul allowed the body to evolve as well, exceeding their mortal beginnings and transforming them into more powerful beings.

So for this weight to be putting increasing weight on their soul, was like restricting their cultivation base. This would effect their aura output and the strength of their mortal body. The higher the little kitten rose up the 'Stairs of Ascension', the lower her cultivation base would drop until eventually it would feel like she has returned to being just a normal cat.

To prevent the soul from degrading too much, the kitten was forced to fuel it with her aura. Doing this kept her soul at an equilibrium. However, eventually she would then run her aura dry. And when her aura ran dry, she would then be left with a quickly degrading soul and body.

'I can't let myself stay idle, I have to move fast or I'll just be wasting my aura and stamina.' The little kitten sighed before taking on a look of deep concentration as she proceeded forth to the ninth step, the tenth step and onward with a fervour.

★★★

The little kitten was already at the 20th step and her body was somewhat lowered, as if a large weight was on her back, bending it. With tensed muscles, she stepped onto the 21st step and then the 22nd. Her momentum would only stop for a second with every step as she adjusted to the new level of pressure before she would move on to the next step.

Fortunately, the weight upon her was not too much yet and she could proceed forth with a steady but safe pace. The aura she was using to keep her soul strong against the rising pressure was still at a low level, allowing her to spend a little of her aura in boosting her small body, helping her stand strong against the pressure upon her body as well.

Despite using so much aura on various tasks, she was still at the point where she was producing more aura than she was expending. Allowing her to climb at this steady pace.

★★★

She was now at the 34th step and her walking pace was clearly slower as with the last few steps, the delay between climbing onto a step and onto the next was changing from a few seconds to multiple seconds.

'3-35th!' The little kitten exclaimed in timing with her stepping up onto the 35th step.

At this point, the pressure weighing down on her made it so that even thinking had become a difficulty. To keep her mind active, she had resolved to counting every step as she climbed them.

'36th!'

'3-37th!'

...

'40th!' The little kitten exclaimed excitedly. 'Only 10 more to the first target!'

The little kitten's climbing speed had slowed down for the last few steps as she trudged on. Yet with the first goal in clear sight, the little kitten pushed her body to the limit, increasing her pace to reach that 50th sooner.

Adrenaline filled her body and soon, she had stepped on the 47th step... The 48th... The 49th...

'50th!' The little kitten felt like jumping in the air in her excitement, but she held herself back, lest she overexert herself and waste her energy. 'I can't get too excited just yet, this is only the halfway mark!'

★★★

'...7-71st' The little kitten thoughts between long, croaky breaths. Her breathing had turned heavy, like the pressure that continuously weighed upon her. Her body was leaning closer and closer to the white steps with every step she took. Her mouth laid perpetually open dumbly and her eyes were growing hazy and tired. Yet her eyes continued to hold a concentrated gleam, narrowed and looking ahead intently as she took the next step forward, bringing her to the 72nd step.

'...72nd!'

'...73rd!'

'...74th!'

'...7-... 75th!' The little kitten eyes shut as she took a second to just settle her emotions before opening them once again, gazing determinedly upwards with deep concentration. 'Only 25 more steps... Yet... I feel like I'm walking with a mountain on my back... My Inner Haven organ has long been producing aura at a loss... Soon, I'll be running low on aura... I have to move...'

Yet, despite telling herself to move, she found that her body would not. As if paralysed, she stood haphazardly still upon that 75th step, not moving for several seconds.

'What's happening... Move!' The little kitten gritted her teeth and expended extra aura into her four paws, bulging them visibly. Finally, her front right paw extended towards the 76th step.

With a little more effort, she was soon upon the 76th step. Yet, she found more pressure baring down upon her small body and soul, only increasing her troubles.

Despite this, her bulging paws continued forth...

'...77th!'

'...78th!'

...

'...83rd!'

...

'...89th!'

'...90th!'

'No, come on!' The little kitten screamed internally as her paws suddenly faltered and she found her body careening downwards, flopping onto the solid white step bellow.

The weight was too much. Her bulging paws had been shaking for the last few steps, and finally were unable to hold her up on this 90th step.

Meanwhile, her aura was also reaching a dangerously low level as well...

★★★

'Hmm... Looks like this might be over soon... Though I have a feeling she might be able to struggle a little longer... Sigh... Either way, to reach the 90th step is already a ginormous achievement, nearly doubling the reach of her contemporaries.' The Guardian Spirit was watching with keen eyes, hovering at the little kitten's side. It had turned itself invisible, just on the off chance that it's presence would cause the little kitten to have a lapse of attention. 'Let's see what you've got, puny cat.'

★★★

'I can't fail now!... Only 10 more...' The little kitten was pushing against the floor with all her strength, forcing her aching body upwards.

After several seconds of tiring effort, the little kitten had actually managed to stand back up, though just barely. Her four paws were shaking and her eyes were nearly shut. She couldn't lift her front paws...

'I need to do something... I'm at a point where sheer will power ain't gonna win me nothing!...' The little kitten's mind was going in circles as she thought of every possible option was available, all the while her body was working with all its strength to push her forward. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful as her body just stood their shaking against her will.

'I-I'm... Too tired... Need to wake up...' The little kitten's vision was growing blurry and her body felt like it was going to collapse any second. '...Need to wake myself up!'

The little kitten's eyes lit up with a determined glint as she suddenly begun to chant aloud. When the chant came to an end, a spark of fire lit up into life, forming into an orange snake that slithered in the air menacingly.

'Nothing like some pain to wake you up!' The little kitten gritted her teeth, and with a determined grunt, sent the 'Wandering Glow' spell into the air before making it careen backwards, aiming straight at her own body!

The sound of sizzling fire could be heard as the little kitten was struck by the 'Wandering Glow' spell. Instantly, the little kitten's eyes shot open and with all the strength she could muster, aided by her increased adrenaline, pushed her body to new founds limit!

'91st!' After several minutes of being unable to move forward, the little kitten had finally climbed the next step, landing herself on the 91st step!

Her momentum didn't stop there as she pushed herself onto the 92nd and eventually, after some more effort, stepped up to the 93rd step before she felt her body falter once more.

'Need more encouragement!' The little kitten growled and quickly, she was struck once more by the 'Wandering Glow' spell as it grazed her left side, turning her fur a black colour.

'94th!' Reaching the 94th step, she found her body coming to a stand still again. Without hesitation, she manoeuvred the 'Wandering Glow' spell to strike her again.

Using this method, the little kitten proceeded forth with a very slow, but effective method...

'96th!'

'97th!'

'...9-98t-!' The little kitten exclaimed. Yet when her body reached that 98th step, her paws faltered and she fell harshly against the step!

"Meurgh!" The little kitten mewed in an exasperated fashion from the pain. She felt like a normal cat at this point and the pain of the weight upon her shoving her against the ground hurt her immensely. Yet this pain did nothing to awake her tired body. She could not find the strength to move another step.

Even when she struck herself with the 'Wandering Glow' spell, she found it did little to motivate her forward.

Her eyes were barely a slit and her mouth lulled open as deep, croaky breaths were exhaled out her lungs in a long, exaggerated fashion.

'Is this the extent of my strength?... So close to the end, I give up?... No! There's so much to ask the Guardian Spirit... I can't give up. I don't care if I fail, but I will not let myself give up without doing all I can to succeed!... Ever since I've arrived in this world, I can't bare to look upon the memories of my previous life... Living off the charity of people and lazing around, achieving squat!... There's so much out there in this world, I will not be nothing! Someone or something gave me the chance to live a more productive life, gave me the intelligence and the chance to soar in this new life... I'm not going to be a stupid street cat no longer, I'm going to fly at the Sky Realm and succeed to whatever lays beyond!... All I want is to live to my fullest! An exciting and fulfilling life!' The little kitten's eyes lit with a determination, one much stronger than any she had shown before.

At this moment when she had felt helpless, when the tiredness almost took her over and she was about to give up at any second. The little kitten suddenly felt enlightened by her own thoughts. She felt she had found a goal in her life: To live to her fullest. This goal may be simple. But for someone who had previously just been living in total ignorance in one life, then simply adjusting to the new world in this new life, one where she was simply going with the flow, this was still a powerful motivator.

One that helped her step forward once more, despite all the odds.

'99th!' The little kitten's eyes lit up in excitement and she didn't delay, her left paw moving forward, touching the last step!

Her body was shaking and she struggled with all her strength, eventually touching the 100th step with her right paw also. Now, all she had to do was leap with her two legs and land upon the 100th step and she would be done. She would have reached the third and last target!

"Meooow!" The little kitten cried out with all her strength and concentrated all of the little amount of aura she had left in her two legs as she pushed against the ground, leaping forth!

'100th!!' The little kitten landed roughly on the 100th step, crashing into the wall of the next with her aching back.

Reaching her goal, the little kitten instantly felt her body go limp, she didn't care to fight against the immense pressure pushing down against her. She just laid there in her bliss.

'Proving once again, my superiority!' The little kitten giggled.

★★★

"!" When the Guardian Spirit saw the little kitten climb those last two steps, its eyes opened widely and its mouth lulled open with a look of shock before curling to a grin. 'To think... She would gain some insight at the last second... And into such a rare element too...'