Chapter 515: More Theory
"At least, that’s what I’ve found. I could be wrong about the specifics, but there is certainly a pattern there to follow."
Alaric was silent for a long moment.
Moon could see the gears turning behind his eyes. The Light Sword Saint had been one of the few beings to interact with the River of Paths at a deeper level, when he had pushed himself to create a branch path during his own recent injury. Whatever Moon was describing matched something Alaric had likely experienced firsthand, but from the opposite direction. Alaric was a human who had touched the real potential of the River. Moon was theorizing about beasts that had done the same.
"That’s a significant theory. If you’re right, then the River isn’t just accessible to humans who reach the Surpasser threshold. It’s something the world itself has been brushing against in different ways. Through specific events or encounters that humanity has been categorizing as luck or anomaly."
He looked at Moon, then said, "How long have you been sitting on this?"
"A few months."
"And you figured it out on your own?"
Moon shrugged slightly. "I had time to think about it after I left the gate. The fox was an outlier in every metric I could measure. The only explanation that fit all the evidence was that it had touched something beyond First Order. The River was the only candidate I could think of."
Alaric nodded slowly.
"This changes how the Association should think about Supreme Rank threats. If our theory is correct, then every S-Rank gate has the potential to produce a Supreme creature inside it. Which means every clear of an S-Rank gate is significantly more dangerous than we currently calculate it to be."
He glanced at Moon.
"Which makes your survival even more remarkable."
Moon offered a small, modest shrug. "I had help. The team I went in with took most of the early pressure, and I was a bad matchup for the fox."
"You also made it work alone." Alaric said. "Don’t downplay that."
A faint silence settled between them before Alaric let out a slow breath and looked up at the moon high in the sky.
"You’ve given me a lot to think about, Moon Outlaw."
"You’re not going to ask about what killing the fox actually provided?"
Alaric glanced back at him. "I was waiting for you to clarify that part. I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d tell me. If not, that was your choice to make."
"It dropped something I’ve never seen mentioned anywhere else. Not in forums. Not in the Association’s databases. Not in any treatises I’ve read."
Alaric’s attention sharpened.
"Super lives."
Alaric tilted his head slightly, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Super lives. I’ve never heard of that term."
"That’s because nobody has, as far as I can tell. They drop exclusively from Supreme Rank creatures. The fox dropped one when I killed it. Each Supreme creature seems to provide a single super life on death."
Alaric’s eyes narrowed.
"And what do they do?"
Moon held his gaze.
"When you accumulate ten of them, you can use them to evolve a skill into a rank above Epic. A rank that, as far as I know, has never been documented. The system calls it Legendary."
Alaric’s reaction wasn’t what Moon expected.
He had braced for some surprise, but Alaric’s reaction seemed to be overkill.
Moon noticed all of it.
’Could it be...’
His own theories about super lives had been forming for months. He had treated them as a unique mechanic he had stumbled into because of the system’s previous requirements to evolve.
Alaric’s reaction was telling that the Light Sword Saint wasn’t reacting like someone hearing a new piece of information. He was reacting like someone who had just received confirmation.
"Moon." Alaric’s voice was quieter now. More careful. "These super lives. They might be the key to everything."
Moon’s eyes narrowed.
"You mean...?"
Alaric took a long breath before answering. His eyes drifted to the ground, then back up to Moon’s face.
"My skill. The one I created when I branched a diverted path inside the River. It isn’t an Epic rank skill. But it isn’t Legendary either.
It’s a pseudo-legendary skill. By diverting off the established path, by forcing a new branch into existence, I was able to touch on that higher ranking. To get close to it. To feel what’s possible on the other side of the boundary."
He shook his head slightly.
"And I can tell you, Moon. The difference between Epic and pseudo-legendary is staggering, just like how Epic outpaces Rare."
His eyes locked onto Moon’s.
"Based on what you’ve told me. Super lives are a currency. An important currency within the River of Paths itself."
Moon listened intently.
"The River grants access to higher ranks. Surpassers reach it through their own breakthroughs, by walking the established path far enough to make contact. Some of us, like me, push further to ensure that we reach the Ascender Rank. Which carries enormous risk and almost always fails, which is why I was always thinking about why the evolution of Surpasser to Ascender was the most difficult."
"I think... super lives might have been the answer from the beginning. We were forcing our evolution. I’m confident that someone with a legendary skill, will have an easier time in Ascending to Third Order.
They might be the way to expand your River without going through the risk. A way to touch higher ranks without forcing branches or surviving lethal breakthroughs. They allow you to truly step away from your own path and into one that is greater."
Moon had always wondered why super lives existed. He had built theories around them. Most of them had been incomplete. Most of them hadn’t accounted for the system itself, only the reward and mechanic.
Alaric’s theory made every piece click into place.
Super lives weren’t just a reward, rather a currency tied to the very mechanism by which beings transcended their boundaries. The River granted access to higher ranks. Super lives were a means by which beings could reach into bigger paths without paying the standard price.
It was the most coherent explanation Moon had ever heard. It wasn’t just about evolving a skill, but about entering a major branch you couldn’t enter normally.
