Chapter 299
Compatibility (2)
Vanessa adjusted her glasses as she stood behind the podium, her sharp blue eyes slowly surveying the classroom. Her gaze eventually landed on IAM, who met it and gave her a small, casual wave.
For the briefest moment, the corner of her lips lifted—so faint it was almost unnoticeable—before the smile vanished just as quickly. She turned away from him and faced the rest of the class.
"Good morning, class," she said evenly. "I hope everyone is doing well today, and that your journey on your path is proving fruitful."
"Good morning," most of the students replied in unison.
The response came mainly from the younger students, most of them around seventeen. The older students followed along more hesitantly, some clearly feeling awkward responding in chorus at their age.
Vanessa nodded once, satisfied enough. She reached down and tapped a few buttons on the podium. A moment later, a large word appeared on every students screen.
COMPATIBILITY
"I'm sure you've all seen what today's subject is on your smart screens," Vanessa continued. "Today, we'll be learning about compatibility."
Around the room, several students exchanged glances. Confused expressions surfaced as they tried to connect the topic to what it meant to be an ascender.
Compatibility wasn't a word they associated with combat, power, or survival—yet the way Vanessa stood suggested it was far more important than it sounded.
IAM himself knew what Vanessa was talking about. He had read about it before, and he understood just how important it was. Before coming to the academy, he hadn't even been aware of such a concept, but now that he was, he could see its true value.
In some cases, compatibility wasn't just a minor detail. It could become the catalyst for greatness—or for doom—if it wasn't handled properly by an ascender.
With that in mind, IAM straightened slightly, his attention heightened. He focused fully on Vanessa, determined not to miss a single word. Maybe she could offer him insights the books couldn't. After all, no matter how detailed they were, a book was still just a book.
Vanessa smiled slightly as she spoke. "I can see that a lot of you are a little confused," she said calmly. "Allow me to clear that up. Compatibility, in this context, has to do with your path… or I suppose *paths*, as you're about to find out."
Most of the class had already grasped the first part, but the wording of the last part drew puzzled looks. A few students frowned, others leaned forward, clearly trying to understand what she meant.
Vanessa continued, "As we learned in the very first lesson we ever had, gaining enough understanding of another Path can allow you to essentially borrow certain elements from it." She gestured lightly with one hand. "This provides more uniqueness and can elevate your own path."
Many students nodded along, interest steadily building as they sensed where the lesson was heading.
"We also learned that there are many, many ways to apply other Paths into your own," Vanessa went on. "That means there are countless possibilities you could choose to walk down." Her expression grew more serious. "But I'm here to inform you—before it's too late—about the limit."
"The limit?" someone muttered under their breath.
"Exactly," Vanessa replied without missing a thing . "As with many things, there is a limit... Now, to be clear, there's no limit to how many Paths you can draw from to elevate your own. You can pick and choose from almost anything."
A few expressions brightened at that.
"However," she continued, her tone sharpening slightly, "that doesn't mean you should."
The room grew quieter.
"That's because of a little thing called compatibility," Vanessa said. "Or, more specifically, compatibility between the Paths you're taking inspiration from."
Vanessa pressed another button on the podium, and a diagram immediately appeared on their personal screens. Before most of the students could properly look through it, Vanessa's voice carried across the room, pulling their attention back to her.
"With the help of this diagram," she said, "I'll explain a core feature of being an ascender."
She gestured toward the display behind her. "First, we have the main path. This is the initial path you decided to walk down. It is impossible to change." Her tone left no room for argument. "Every bit of inspiration you take from any other path will always be added only to your main path."
A few students immediately began writing furiously on their notepads, unwilling to miss a single detail.
"And then we have the sub paths, or supporting paths," Vanessa continued. "These are the main paths you take inspiration from to improve your own. In theory, you can have as many of them as you want."
She paused there.
Vanessa let out a slow sigh, her cold blue eyes studying the room one student at a time before she spoke again. "Now… what I'm about to say is something that's been heavily supported by research and by a deep understanding of Paths." She straightened slightly. "It isn't an absolute rule. Everyone is different."
Her gaze hardened just a little.
"But it is very strongly recommended that the sub paths you choose are compatible with your main path."
Many eyes widened across the room. Quite a few students had already begun planning, imagining themselves drawing from all sorts of powerful or useful paths to supplement their own, without ever once considering the concept of compatibility.
It was an eye-opener, to say the least—and a deeply surprising one.
IAM simply nodded to himself. This wasn't new to him. It was something he had discovered on his own earlier, and even then, it had caught him off guard when he first learned about it and the effects it could have.
That realization alone had forced him to rethink his plans entirely. The path he had been carefully constructing in his mind had been altered significantly, many ideas crossed out and discarded without hesitation.
But there was still one he hadn't given up on.
One supporting path he still believed could work.
The Death Path.
That's right. In addition to his main path—which was already a dead path—IAM was planning to add another to his roster.
Seriously.
Was there anyone crazier than him?
…Or maybe just more stupid.