Like he had in mind, Jareth scoured the arcanist nexus for information about rank ascension and things like that, but he came up with nothing even after an hour of careful browsing.
Instead, what he saw was a stated warning in bold red: Arcanist Ascension is dangerous, so every arcanist planning to ascend without appropriate knowledge faces a life-threatening risk. They should visit the Arcanist Court or the Parliament Court for verified and authentic information on ascension.
'These guys really hid all the information. Looks like I'll have to talk to Esta. Let's just forget all my worries and sleep.'
With that, Jareth crawled into bed for a long sleep after eating. When he woke up, it was already night. He went downstairs, only to see Esta sitting on the couch eating popcorn while watching a drama on the television.
She threw him a glance before focusing on the television.
'She watches television? Come to think of it, I haven't watched any series in this world. Is it as good as Earth? Or better? On another note, the people are getting live action shows about those arcanists that record their battles.'
While pondering, he went to the fridge to get a bottle of water, drinking the whole contents before going to the living room. He sat on the couch adjacent to Esta.
He watched the television with her for a few minutes before facing Esta and clearing his throat.
She lazily turned to him and asked calmly, "What?"
"Umm… You see… I don't know how to ascend. And the arcanist nexus isn't helping. Can you please give me a detailed description about an Awakened arcanist's ascension? I can come back later when you're done with the show." They both stared at each other.
Jareth hurriedly added, "Or even tomorrow."
"I will explain it to you now," she answered and turned to the screen.
The living room became silent save for the television.
The silence went on for a few minutes before she spoke, "For an Awakened arcanist to ascend, you just need to enter the Elite Mana Concept Zone, study your source, and create your spell with mana. But there are a few things you must know, or else you will end up as a mediocre Elite arcanist, or worse…" she turned to him. "You become a corrupt being."
Jareth's mind instantly went to those swirling violet portals.
She continued staring at him. "First, you will need fifty Rank 1 beast cores or 10 Rank 2 beast cores for those with one source. Arcanists with two sources need double the amount, while arcanists with three sources need three times the amount."
"Three sources?" Jareth questioned.
"Yes. There are many wonders in this world. There are many blessed geniuses of many calibers with many strange spells. But you see, the foundation starts from your first ascension."
Her gaze finally returned to the playing drama.
"After placing the beast cores in front of you, you will feel the connection to the Concept Zone. Just give in to the urge and you will find yourself in another world. Here is where it becomes… very dangerous."
She turned and peered deeply at him.
"There will be two swirling portals in opposite directions—a white portal and a violet portal. The white portal is the path to the Elite Mana Concept Zone. Remember, I repeat, remember, if you enter the violet door, you are as good as mad."
Jareth nodded attentively, but he was holding his expression from twisting.
He was already blending into the world, so he controlled his expression and body language, revitalizing his long-forgotten acting skills. Or else, why wouldn't his face scrunch up knowing he had two violet portals?
"In the Elite Mana Concept Zone, you will see your spells in gigantic rune form, with tiny threads connected to the source in the void. All you have to do is trace the threads to the source, learn from the source, and create a spell. People with two sources have to create two."
"That easy?" Jareth arched an eyebrow.
"Easy as it sounds."
"So, why did they warn on the arcanist nexus…" his words trailed off.
"Because you might enter the violet portal due to ignorance. Secondly, if you waste too much time in spell creation and your mana in the Concept Zone gets exhausted, you will never be able to ascend. Thirdly, to avoid mediocre ascended arcanists. Most importantly, to know the arcanists who are ascending but didn't attend the Arcanist College," Esta explained offhandedly.
"So, basically, control and information?" Jareth asked.
Esta ignored him and continued watching her show.
Jareth continued absentmindedly watching the show with her as he processed all she had said.
"But what makes it the foundation?" Jareth asked.
She turned to him with a little smile that quickly vanished, making Jareth feel he was seeing things.
"I thought you wouldn't ask. That would have lowered my already low evaluation of your intelligence," she said.
"So your evaluation is really that low?" Jareth's face darkened.
"Yes."
"Frank and outspoken, I see." Jareth rubbed his nose. "But I don't feel dumb."
"I'm not sure a mad person knows that he's mad; they must just see the world from another perspective," Esta replied.
Jareth's lips twitched. "You don't need to make the mad person a 'he'. And that instance is a bit…"
"Why are you going off on a tangent? Focus on ascension."
'I wasn't the one that went off on a tangent,' he argued inwardly but didn't dare voice out his complaint.
Esta continued, "In the Arcanist College, there is an ancient device from the last era, with a realistic mental simulation of the ascension process and many spells created from various sources. However, there are only 200 spots for people to use it. So they conduct a brutal test for the spots, and this year's begins in three days' time."
"There are at least ten thousand Awakened arcanists every year in the Arcanist College. Plus a few arcanists from the previous two years, who held on at the Awakened rank because they missed the last spots. But guess who has it worse?"
"Me?" Jareth replied.
Esta was stunned speechless by his answer before replying, "Yeah. Your group who isn't in the academy. You've to have a very high score, at least top ten, to be considered."
"That's tough but I will have to join," Jareth answered.
Esta chuckled. "Do you know how brutal the test is?"
"No," Jareth shook his head.
"At least twenty percent of those participating in the test don't return."
"Twenty?!" Jareth blurted in shock.
"That's why it's not compulsory. So, do you dare participate in it?"