The Path of Ascension

Orphaned by monsters, Matt plans to delve the rifts responsible for the devastation that killed his parents. But his dreams are crushed when his Tier 1 Talent is rated as detrimental and no guild will take him. Working at a nearby inn, he meets a mysterious and powerful couple who give him a chance to join the Path of Ascension — an empire-wide race to ascend the Tiers and become a living legend. With their recommendation and a stolen Skill, Matt begins his journey to the peak of power.

With an unexpected temporary addition to the team, Matt, Liz, and Aster venture out onto the ever-expanding frontier. There, they'll deal with the challenges of an unexplored planet and all its hidden dangers. Their journey on the Path of Ascension continues — but do they have what it takes to persevere?

Shortly after a desperate gambit nets an entire planet a reckoning against autonomous golems and a flying rift, Matt, Liz, and Aster find themselves drawn into a war between two rival kingdoms seeking approval to join the Empire. Offered the chance to choose sides and fight for experience, glory, and prizes, the team must decide which kingdom to back — with the eyes of the Empire on them and a kingdom's survival at stake.

After the vassal war, Matt, Liz, and Aster find themselves under the demanding eye of their new manager, Luna — who accepts nothing less than their best, and threatens to drive them off the Path entirely. With the Tier-10 tournament looming and a Tier-40 veteran with plans of their own, the team must dig deep to survive both the competition and the machinations of someone who has shaped Ascenders before.

Matt, Liz, and Aster have reached Tier 10 — and that means the Pather tournament, where they'll face opponents as strong as themselves for the first time. With years of Luna's guidance behind them, they must compete twice: once as themselves, and again under masks and restrictions designed to prove they truly are the strongest.

In search of greater power, Matt, Liz, and Aster set their sights on Minkalla — a dangerous planet where only those below Tier 15 can enter, and where the weaker you are, the greater the rewards. The team intends to conquer its seven floors at Tier 11. They'll face Tier 14 monsters, thousands of other competitors, and the forces of all eight Great Powers — all vying for the same prizes in a fight not just for survival, but for power.

Deep inside Minkalla, Matt, Liz, Aster, and Susanne have just survived one of the strongest monsters they have ever encountered. But the delve isn't over. Three floors remain, each promising to push them past their perceived limits. There is no escape and no higher Tier to bail them out — only themselves and each other.

Days and Tiers pass as the team leaves Minkalla, but even as they try to recover, the ever-present time pressure of the Path of Ascension nips at their heels. Now approaching Tier 15, Aster must leave for the Bond Academy for at least ten years. Can the trio get far enough ahead of the curve to manage — or will this roadblock cause them to stumble?

With Light and Shadow completing the Path of Ascension, three foreign Great Powers equal to the Empire have declared war. Outnumbered and fighting for a close loss, the Empire's only hope is a miracle Ascender reaching Tier 25 in time to turn the tide. Can Matt, Liz, and Aster finish the Path and make a difference before it's too late?

With Matt, Liz, and Aster having finished the Path of Ascension, it's time to enter the war alongside Light and Shadow — and see if they can not only stem the tide, but turn it. Ascenders are known to do the impossible. But it's never as easy as it sounds.

A century into the war, the Ascenders aren't the only ones exhausted. Fighting three against two, the Empire is in slow and bloody retreat as more border worlds are occupied. As Matt, Liz, and Aster work overtime to stem the tide alongside Light and Shadow, their enemies finally make their decisive move — and barely keeping up may no longer be enough.