Jace woke to the sound of distant industrial machinery and the persistent throb of spiritual exhaustion. His body felt like it had been broken down and reassembled wrong, every nerve ending raw and oversensitive. The forced cultivation session had been successful, but the cost was written in every aching muscle and strained spiritual channel.
He pulled himself upright slowly, his improved Constitution of 55 making the movement slightly less agonizing than it would have been before. Kiri was sitting nearby, her golden eyes tracking his movements with the focused intensity of a predator assessing potential threats. She hadn't slept. The dark circles under her eyes and the tension in her shoulders made that clear.
"How long?" Jace asked, his voice rough.
"Fourteen hours," Kiri replied. "You were unconscious for most of it. Your spiritual channels were fluctuating violently for the first six hours. I almost severed the bond twice."
Jace nodded, unsurprised. The forced cultivation technique was designed to push summoners to their absolute limits. The fact that he'd survived the first session was proof that his royal bloodline, however weakened, was still providing critical advantages. A Common Tier summoner without that heritage would have died attempting what he'd just done.
He activated his status screen, needing to see the concrete results of his suffering.
System: Summoner Status
Name: Jace
Stats: Power 45, Spirit 65, Constitution 55, Speed 50
Rank: Common Tier Summoner
Contract Slots: 1 (Occupied: Kiri)
Talents: Insight of the Tactician (Dormant)
The numbers confirmed what he already knew. His Spirit had jumped twenty points, a massive increase that would have taken months through conventional cultivation. His Constitution had improved as a side effect, his body adapting to the sustained trauma. But he was still technically Common Tier, still pathetically weak by any reasonable standard.
More importantly, he could feel the difference through the contract bond. The connection to Kiri, which had been a constant source of strain and discomfort, felt more stable now. The wider, stronger spiritual channels could bear the load of her Rare Tier stats without threatening immediate collapse.
"We need to test the bond," Jace said, forcing himself to his feet. His legs protested, but held. "I need to know if the cultivation worked, if I can push you harder now without risking spiritual backlash."
Kiri stood immediately, her movements fluid despite her own exhaustion. "What do you need me to do?"
"Combat drills. Full intensity. I need you to use your stats at maximum capacity while I monitor the feedback through our bond." Jace walked toward the open centre of the warehouse, his steps growing steadier as his body remembered how to function. "If I can sustain you at peak performance without collapsing, we'll know the cultivation was worth the pain."
Kiri followed, her expression shifting into something more focused. The exhaustion was still there, but beneath it was the predatory anticipation of a warrior being given permission to unleash her full capabilities. "And if the bond starts to destabilize?"
"Then you stop immediately and pull back your output. We're testing limits, not trying to kill me." Jace positioned himself near a support pillar, giving himself something to lean against if the strain became too much. "Begin with movement drills. Maximum Speed, full warehouse circuit."
Kiri didn't hesitate. She simply moved, her form blurring into a streak of celestial light that carved through the dusty air. Her Speed stat of 300, amplified by the Royal Stat Floor to an effective 360 or higher, translated into velocity that should have been impossible for a Rare Tier beast. She completed a full circuit of the warehouse in under three seconds, her movements so fast that Jace could barely track them with his eyes.
The forced feedback hit him like a wave, but it was different now. Before, sustaining Kiri's bond at peak performance had felt like drowning, like his Spirit was being crushed under impossible weight. Now, with his improved channels and higher Spirit stat, it felt more like carrying a heavy load. Difficult, taxing, but sustainable.
Jace monitored his own condition carefully, feeling for the telltale signs of spiritual channel fractures or bond instability. There was strain, significant strain, but nothing approaching critical levels. The cultivation had worked. He could sustain her now, at least at her current tier.
"Good," Jace called out. "Now combat strikes. Target the support beams. Full power, maximum speed transitions."
Kiri shifted seamlessly from pure movement into combat form. She became a weapon, her strikes flowing with brutal efficiency as she attacked the warehouse's structural supports. Each impact rang out like a bell, the metal groaning under the force of her amplified Power stat. Low strike, high strike, spinning kick, every movement optimized for maximum damage with minimum wasted energy.
The forced feedback intensified. Jace's vision blurred slightly, his breathing becoming laboured as the spiritual load increased. But still, the bond held. His improved Spirit of 65 was enough, barely, to sustain Kiri at full combat intensity.
After thirty seconds of sustained assault, Jace raised his hand. "Stop. That's enough."
Kiri halted immediately, her form resolving back into solid visibility as she reduced her speed output. She wasn't breathing hard. Her Seraph physiology and high Constitution meant she could sustain that level of exertion far longer than Jace could bear the feedback.
"Assessment?" Kiri asked.
"The bond is stable," Jace confirmed, allowing himself to lean more heavily against the pillar. "I can sustain you at peak performance for extended periods now. The cultivation was successful." He paused, his analytical mind already processing the implications. "But there's a problem."
Kiri's expression sharpened. "What problem?"
Jace pulled up her status through their bond, studying the numbers with growing concern.
System: Beast Stats
Beast: Kiri (Wingless Seraph)
Condition: Peak Rare Tier
Stats: Power 290, Spirit 295, Constitution 285, Speed 300
"You're at the Rare Tier stat cap," Jace explained. "Your Speed hit 300, which is the theoretical maximum for the Rare classification. Your other stats are close behind. This should be cause for celebration, proof that our training is working."
"But?" Kiri prompted, sensing the tension in his voice.
"But the stat cap is a hard ceiling. You physically cannot improve further without ranking up to Epic Tier." Jace's expression darkened as the full scope of the problem became clear. "And Epic Tier rank up requires a specific material, an Epic Core extracted from a defeated Epic Tier beast. Those cores cost thousands of credits from legitimate dealers, and the cheap alternatives in the black market are unreliable at best, lethal at worst."
Kiri processed this information with visible frustration. "So I'm trapped. I've reached the limit of what this tier can support, but we lack the resources to advance further."
"Worse than that," Jace continued, his tactical mind running through the implications. "The stat cap isn't just a limitation on your growth. It's a fundamental rule of the contract system. A beast cannot exceed their summoner's tier. You're Rare Tier because I'm Common Tier with stats that barely qualify for Rare threshold. Until I break through to proper Rare Tier myself, you physically cannot rank up to Epic, even if we had the materials."
He straightened, forcing his exhausted body away from the support pillar. "The Academy trials are in four days. You're strong enough to pass, your stats are exceptional. But after the trials, after we're accepted and begin actual Academy training, you'll need to rank up quickly or risk falling behind. Everyone else will be advancing their beasts. If you're stuck at the Rare cap because I haven't advanced my own tier, you become obsolete."
"And more immediately," Jace added, his expression darkening, "my Spirit of 65 isn't enough. To break into proper Rare Tier, I need my Spirit at 100 minimum. That's the threshold. Below that, I'm still technically Common Tier regardless of my individual stats. The system won't recognize me as Rare until I hit that benchmark."
The blunt statement hung in the air between them. Kiri's expression shifted through several emotions, confusion, frustration, anger, before settling on grim determination.
"Then we're trapped in a different way," she said. "I can't advance until you advance first. But if neither of us can advance, I become useless. We've created a deadlock."
"Not quite a deadlock," Jace corrected. "More like a bottleneck. I need to push my Spirit stat to 100 to break through to proper Rare Tier. Once I achieve that threshold, the system will recognize me as Rare, and only then can you attempt your Epic rank up. That's the priority. Everything else is secondary."
"And how long would that take? Using conventional cultivation methods?"
"Years," Jace admitted. "Maybe decades. The Spirit stat is the hardest to improve because it's tied to the soul's fundamental capacity. The gap from 65 to 100 is enormous, exponentially harder than the jump from 45 to 65. Forcing growth through cultivation techniques like I just used can accelerate the process, but there are limits."
Kiri was silent for a long moment, her golden eyes fixed on something in the middle distance. When she spoke again, her voice carried a weight of realization. "So the Academy isn't just about passing the trials. It's about gaining access to resources that can accelerate your growth. Materials, techniques, knowledge that can push your Spirit stat higher faster than conventional methods allow."
"Exactly," Jace confirmed. "The Academy has access to Spirit enhancing treasures, rare materials that can boost a summoner's core capacity without requiring brutal forced cultivation. They're expensive, normally reserved for the wealthy students or those who've proven exceptional value. But if we can demonstrate tactical brilliance during the trials, if we can position ourselves as valuable assets, we might gain access to those resources."
He began pacing, his tactical mind working through scenarios. "There's also the Wild Continent. The Academy controls three Warp Gates that lead into contested zones filled with dangerous beasts and rare materials. If we can gain authorization to enter those zones, we might find natural treasures that can boost my stats. Dangerous, but potentially faster than waiting for Academy bureaucracy to grant us access to their vaults."
Kiri watched him pace, her expression thoughtful. "You're planning multiple paths forward simultaneously. The trials are just the entrance. The real strategy begins after we're accepted."
"Always," Jace agreed. "The trials test basic competence. The real challenge is navigating Academy politics, securing resources, and advancing fast enough to avoid being crushed by students with better backing and more money."
He stopped pacing and faced her directly. "But first, we need to pass the trials. And that means I need two more forced cultivation sessions to push my Spirit to at least 70. The pain will be worse each time, the risk higher. But it's necessary. We need every advantage we can get."
Kiri stepped forward, her expression intense. "Then let me help. The bond goes both ways. If your spiritual channels are strained during cultivation, I can feed stabilizing energy back through the connection. It won't eliminate the pain, but it might reduce the risk of catastrophic failure."
Jace considered the offer carefully. The Prince's tactical mind analysed the mechanics, weighing risks against benefits. Kiri's suggestion had merit. Her Seraph bloodline gave her exceptional spiritual control, and her Spirit stat of 295 was far higher than his. If she could provide stabilizing pulses during the critical moments of channel reconstruction, it might prevent the kind of dangerous fluctuations that had nearly killed him during the first session.
"It's risky," Jace said finally. "If the feedback loop destabilizes, it could damage both of us instead of just me. You'd be directly connecting your spiritual core to mine during the most volatile part of the cultivation process."
"I'm aware of the risk," Kiri said calmly. "But I'm also aware that if you die during cultivation, I go feral and die shortly after. Our fates are already bound. I'd rather take an active role in ensuring we both survive."
Jace studied her carefully, searching for any sign of doubt or hesitation. He found none. The Seraph's determination was absolute, her commitment to their shared goal unwavering. It reminded him, painfully, of the kind of loyalty his family's elite guards had once shown. The kind of loyalty that had gotten most of them killed defending a throne that couldn't be saved.
He pushed the memory aside. That was the past. This was survival.
"Alright," Jace agreed. "During the next cultivation session, you'll act as a stabilizer. I'll guide you through the technique before we begin. But understand, this means you'll feel everything I feel during the process. The pain will be shared through our bond. It won't be pleasant."
"I've endured worse," Kiri said simply. "I've had my wings cut away. I've starved in a cage marked for destruction. Pain is temporary. Failure is permanent."
Jace felt something warm bloom in his chest, cutting through the cold analytical detachment of the Prince's consciousness. It was respect, genuine respect for this broken Seraph who refused to stay broken. She wasn't just following orders or accepting her fate. She was actively fighting for their shared future, willing to suffer alongside him to ensure they both survived and advanced.
"Then we rest for today," Jace declared. "Tomorrow morning, I'll teach you the stabilization technique. Tomorrow night, we do the second cultivation session. And the morning after, we do the third and final session. That gives us two full days to recover before the Academy trials."
He walked over to his makeshift bedroll and sat down heavily, his body finally demanding rest it could no longer be denied. "We're at the stat cap wall. We can't climb higher until I'm strong enough to support your advancement. But we're going to break through that wall. One agonizing session at a time."
Kiri nodded and took up her position near the warehouse entrance, resuming her self appointed role as guardian. "Then rest now, partner. Tomorrow, we face the pain together."
Jace laid back, his eyes closing as exhaustion dragged him down. His last conscious thought was a grim calculation of probability. Two more cultivation sessions. Each one progressively more dangerous than the last. A roughly thirty percent chance of permanent spiritual damage per session. And at the end of it all, Academy trials that would determine whether any of this suffering had been worthwhile.
The numbers weren't encouraging. But numbers had never stopped the Prince before. And they wouldn't stop him now.
The stat cap wall loomed ahead, a barrier between Common mediocrity and the first real step toward reclaiming what had been stolen. And Jace was going to break through it, even if he had to tear himself apart to do it.