The Path of Ascension 8

The eighth volume of The Path of Ascension picks up in the aftermath of Minkalla, the deadly proving ground that dominated the previous books. Matt, Liz, and their Bond Aster have come out the other side changed and exhausted, and what they want most is time to rest. The Path of Ascension gives them none. The program's relentless timetable keeps nipping at their heels, and every day spent recovering is a day lost against the curve they have fought so hard to stay ahead of.

The larger problem is Tier 15. Reaching it means Aster must leave for the Bond Academy — a mandatory separation of at least ten years. For a team whose strength has always been the three of them together, the approaching deadline forces hard questions about how far ahead they can get before the roadblock arrives, and what the climb looks like if the trio has to stumble through it apart.

Book 8 of C. Mantis's twelve-volume Path of Ascension series, which began as a Royal Road serial and is published by Aethon Books. The series crosses LitRPG systems with xianxia-style cultivation: beneath the dungeons, skills, and Tiers sits a magic and progression system built to be logically and internally consistent. It follows Matt — orphaned in a rift-spawned monster attack and admitted to the Path despite a Talent rated detrimental — alongside Liz and the Arctic fox Bond Aster as they climb the Empire's Tiers.