"It differs, but all share the same experience, we gain something we lost or never had."
Hearing this Gyro understood what Nirvana was. It was something that he will only find when the right time comes. Even Gif can't say when might Gyro achieve Nirvana for the 1st realm.
***
2 months later
The present day.
Gyro was moving through the forest.
Even though Gyro knew his body was strong, he did not use it to actually slay the monsters directly. Even though it wasn't bulky and was more of an athletic build, he was crazy strong for someone in the 1st realm.
The reason he didn't use his body often was to improve his reflexes and gain enough battle experience to tackle higher-grade imager humans and higher-grade creatures.
Transcended creatures are classified as pure and impure, which is the equivalent of sage and imager for humans.
After a month of sleeping on the cold forest floor and constantly battling monsters, Gyro felt it was time to actually move out of the forest. The forest was insanely huge. Having spent a month there, Gyro had not even explored 10% of it, even with his attribute, which is meant for long-distance traveling.
It's time to leave.
Gyro then moved through the forest with his Switching Attribute. He had only explored less than 10% of the forest, but he knew the layout well enough to escape. It wasn't hard to analyze, since animals tend to stay deep in the forest rather than in the outer regions.
This was also the reason he had not found any transcended creatures for quite some time when he first arrived in the Forest of Terra.
Gyro threw rocks at incredible speeds and, with his body, was able to escape the forest in two days. It took him that long even with his attribute while avoiding transcended creatures.
Finally, after two days, Gyro came to a new environment which he had never seen. After the constant journey through the black grass and the huge, dangerous forest, Gyro finally found something that didn't look too depressing. He came to grass which was green in color.
Finally.
Gyro moved through the plain grassland; the breeze was slow, and it was truly enchanting. The land had short grass, and there were no weird dragons flying in the sky.
It had been two months since Gyro had arrived somewhere normal, somewhere that he could actually explore without looking at weird creatures or constantly being hungry.
Gyro moved through the plain grassland. This time, he did not use any of his attributes because he wanted to feel the wind and the touch of the grass, instead of throwing rocks here and there like a weird ritual.
The sun was high in the sky; Gyro looked at the sun and walked.
Hey Gif, the sun which is high in the sky. Is it the same in every realm or different in every realm? Since realms are basically a different world from one another.
"It is the same everywhere."
How's that possible?
Gif did not respond.
This old bastard, why does he keep fucking ignoring me? This old bastard wants me to survive but only speaks when I'm in danger or he wants me to kill elves. Such an old bastard. Leave it. I will now try to search for a human settlement.
Gyro moved through the plain grasses. He traveled for a week.
He did not use his attribute or his strong body to run too much. One reason was to understand the land, the climate, weather, and other factors in the surrounding.
Another main reason was that Gyro would get hungry really quickly. Even though he had a strong body, it had a weakness. He had to eat a lot to maintain it. And now there were no transcended creatures to slay.
If only Gif had told me about my body, I would have slain those dragons from the black grassland or something, that fallen land as he calls it.
Gyro moved through the grassland, and then finally something caught his eye. There were huge hills which rose up from the plain grassland. These hills were massive. Even if they were called hills, it wouldn't be too different to call them mountains.
There were no transcended creatures around the mountain, and neither were there trees. The hill was covered with the same plain grassland.
Gyro climbed the mountain by using his attribute of switching places.
Gyro finally reached the top of the huge hill, breathing hard and wiping the sweat from his forehead. His legs ached from the long climb, but when he lifted his head, he froze. The sight before him stole every thought from his mind.
Beyond the mountain ridges stretched a city so vast he could not tell where it ended. It spread far into the horizon, fading into a soft blue mist. A faint, shimmering barrier surrounded the entire city. It glowed like moonlight on water, moving gently as if it were alive. Gyro could feel a strange power coming from it, ancient and mysterious.
Inside the barrier stood the most magical city he had ever seen. The skyline was filled with tall towers and grand halls that reached toward the clouds. The buildings shone in many colors, their surfaces glowing with soft light. Some had golden roofs that caught the sunlight like fire. Others had walls made of crystal that reflected rainbows across the streets below. Many of the taller towers had pagoda-style roofs that curved upward with elegant points, and from a distance, they looked like floating lanterns in the sky.
Outside the main skyline were smaller buildings, spread across the land like stars scattered across the night. These houses were not built for efficiency or order but for beauty. Every one of them looked different, yet together they formed a perfect magical scene. Some houses looked like gentle lizards curled around themselves, their scales made of colored glass. Others took the shape of dragons with wings folded at their sides, their eyes glowing faintly as if watching the world. There were even houses that looked like shrines, surrounded by soft lights and tiny floating orbs that moved like fireflies.
Above it all, the sky was alive with movement. Large wooden ships flew gracefully through the air, their sails shining with blue light. The ships drifted slowly between the tallest towers, leaving trails of magic in their wake. The sound of distant bells and faint music carried through the wind.
There were also humans flying in the sky, gliding.
Gyro stood still, his eyes wide with wonder. The city before him was beyond anything he had imagined. It was not just a place made by hands; it was a living dream, a world built by transcended humans.
Gyro climbed down the hill and moved towards the huge human city.
As Gyro started to approach the city, he saw the illusory cube barrier around it.
"It's not a city; it's an empire," said Gif.
"This is the largest empire in all of the 1st realm. This empire was born when I was in the 1st realm, and it is still standing. Its name is the Ascension Empire."
Gyro walked towards the huge empire. The walls of the place were very tall, looking like dragon scales. Gyro then saw a gate that was far away.
Gyro walked towards the gate.
The gate was massive, easily taller than any tower he had ever seen. It was made of black stone mixed with silver veins that glowed faintly. Strange runes were carved all over its surface, moving slowly.
Two giant dragon statues stood on each side, their eyes burning with blue fire. When the wind blew, it sounded like the dragons were breathing.
There were not too many 'guards' or 'protectors' or 'overseers'. There was a single human transcended who was sitting in a chair in front of the gate. His face was covered with a straw hat and it looked like he was dozing off.
Surprisingly, Gyro could feel the person's level. The dozing guard was an 81-grade Imager, which meant his Transcendence Lake was filled with soul water up to 81/100 parts, or 4/5th-ish around.
"An 80-grade Imager is no joke. A 70-grade Imager will always lose to an 80-grade Imager, and the same applies for an increment of 10 grades. You will certainly lose if you fight him," said Gif in his mind.
Gyro felt anxious because the person in front of him could kill him if he wanted to, but human Transcender are not like Transcended creatures. Humans have intelligence and understanding.
Gyro went towards the human transcended who was guarding the gate and slowly nudged him.
In a split second, Gyro saw a blade pass right through the air in front of his eyes.
The human transcended guard assigned to this gate had brought out his blade.
YAWN
"Who's disturbing my sleep?"
"It's me, I'm Gyro. I want to enter the empire."
"Where did you come from? Do you have an Ascension Citizen Card? You are only a 2nd-grade Imager. Did you just Transcend? Which Gate did you pass through?"
He is probably asking about the portal through which Gif sent me to the 1st realm after giving me my body.
"I passed through the gate in the fallen lands."
"Huh? The black-grassed area? That is pretty far from here. Are you sure? There's no way you crossed the Forest of Terra to come here?"
I should just lie. Gif has not spoken a word, so this guy's not dangerous to me right now.
"Yes. I was lucky to escape using my attribute."
"Hahahah, so you mean to tell me you just transcended, then passed through the Forest of Terra? Hahahahhaha."
This guy's such a pain in the ass. I should make up a story.
"I almost died to the transcended creatures. My attribute is very special for escaping. I survived by eating the plants and the berries. Later, by luck, I crossed the forest in a month while almost dying."
"No matter what happened, you're an interesting fellow. I'm just checking if you were a spy sent by another country. Here, step on that platform for me to analyze your soul. It's a test to see if you are a transcended creature in disguise or a blessed one of the demons."
Gyro stepped onto the platform, which was made of concrete. He stood there, and after the guard pressed a button on a machine, a golden light shone from the platform and covered Gyro. After a few seconds, the golden light stopped and Gyro stepped out.
"Okay, you are cleared to enter. If you do anything that is harmful or spreads harm indirectly, the guards inside will kill you in an instant. Do remember that, and also consider becoming a citizen of the Ascension Empire. You probably don't know too much right now since you just transcended, but travel to the several consultancies placed around the kingdom. My name is Ren."
"Thanks, Ren."
Even with so many attributes and abilities, the door was just a normal, functional door. The massive door groaned to life, its movement surprisingly smooth for something so immense. It wasn't magical or special, just a ridiculously huge piece of craftsmanship.
Gyro stepped into the empire.
He found himself on a street that ran alongside a beautiful, winding river. Canals stretched out like watery streets, with buildings rising directly from the water, reminding him strongly of Venice from his old life. But the most amazing thing was the people. The streets were packed with human Transcended.
They browsed market stalls, argued with friends, and hurried to work. After so long in the wild, seeing a normal, bustling civilization was almost overwhelming.
Finally, a human civilization. I don't have to fight weird creatures and sleep in the cold forest anymore.
***
"Tranquillus animus, sapiens dominus."
Author notes:
[From now on, the words Gif speaks would be enclosed by brackets because there will much more dialogue with humans.]