Jax walked away from the circle once he was registered. He stared at the words before him, very much confused by what he was seeing.
"What's a Navi Stage?"
"It's a stage you've reached with Navi," the wisp said. "There should be none at the moment."
Jax nodded. "What's a Navi then?"
"Navi is the source of everything within the Celestial Express. It's a type of energy created specifically by the Navigator, similar to Mana, Qi, Essence, Aether, or any other type of energy you may find in the universe."
"Once you start learning how to gather and use Navi, you'll progress through various Navi Stages as you improve. Since you haven't started yet, your Navi Stage isn't available."
"Oh!" Jax said. "Wait, the words disappeared. How do I bring them back? Do I get back on that circle?"
"No. Just think about seeing it again and it will come back."
"Really?" Jax found it hard to believe. "Okay, let me try."
He merely wished to see the words again, and they appeared right back, surprising him.
[Ascendant Status:]
Name: Jax
Path: Mind
Navi Stage: N/A
Highest Cart: 10
Helper: T-1388C
Time Remaining: 42 Days
[SPELLS]
[SKILLS]
[INVENTORY]
[MAP]
[TICKETS]
[REQUIREMENTS]
[RESTRICTIONS]
"Ah! There it is!" Jax said excitedly and read the rest. "What's this about 42 days? What happens then?"
"Don't worry about it. It's just time you need to find a ticket to go to the next Carriage. When the 42 days end, it will return to 60 days again. It's a 2 month cycle in the 10th Carriage."
"I see," Jax said. He didn't understand it all that well right now, but he was bound to learn it on his own later on. "Right, I have a bunch of things here, like Spells and Skills. How do I check them?"
"Just think of opening them, and it'll happen on its own," the wisp said.
Jax nodded and thought about opening the Spells category. He was excited to see what was inside. The wisp had said Spells were magic, and he couldn't wait to use them.
The Spells category opened, but it was completely empty.
"Huh? It's empty. Why?" Jax asked in surprise.
"Of course it's empty," the wisp said. "You just started. It would be more surprising if it wasn't. For now, everything except Restrictions should be empty."
"Restrictions?" Jax asked. "What's that?"
"Remember how I said that each Ascendant has to progress while at a disadvantage?" the wisp asked. "The Restrictions category shows exactly what that disadvantage is. Check what you got."
Jax frowned. He hated the idea of having any restriction at all, but he hoped it wasn't something that would make his journey to the Navigator too difficult.
He opened the Restrictions category and found a single entry inside.
[Restrictions]
Single Spell Sorcerer:You can only learn One(1) spell your entire life. In exchange, the spell you learn will be significantly improved.
Jax froze in place, staring at the restriction for a long time. Wasn't this a terrible restriction? Especially for him, who had been looking forward to using a variety of magic.
"What does it say?" the wisp asked. "Is your sea of Navi small? Do your spells have increased cooldowns? Are you restricted to a category of spells?"
"No," Jax said in a dejected tone. "I can only ever learn a single spell and never be able to change it or learn another one."
The wisp paused. "The Single Spell Sorcerer restriction?"
Jax nodded.
The wisp audibly sighed. "That's one of the worst ones."
Jax was absolutely devastated by the restriction.
To be stuck with a single spell for life—Jax couldn't imagine how he could overcome hundreds of enemies to get his wish fulfilled.
'But I must,' Jax thought. 'I need to save…'
He still wasn't sure who he was saving, but he knew he needed to save them. He had to.
"Can I still do it?" he asked slowly. "Can someone reach the Navigator with a single spell?"
To begin with, Jax didn't know a lot about spells at all—what they were, what they could do. He only knew they were magical, and that much was not enough for him at that moment.
"It's… not impossible," the wisp answered, her tone carrying a careful consideration, as if she thought through her words to not hurt Jax. "Just…"
"Just highly unlikely," Jax finished her sentence for her. "Is that it?"
The wisp didn't answer. She too was incapable of changing the mood around the situation.
"And yet," Jax said, taking in a deep breath, "I must still continue on. I have started my journey, so now I must see it through."
The wisp was surprised to hear determination in Jax's voice, a resolve that wasn't so easy to form in such a despairing moment. The wisp hadn't yet come across anyone like this—someone who could push themselves forward despite what was ahead appearing very bleak.
The wisp wondered, 'Is this what all Ascendants are like?'
Jax started walking, and the wisp zipped next to him, following him. "Can you tell me about spells? Which ones can I learn?"
"I am forbidden from giving you any information on specific spells, but when you come across any, I can explain it in detail," the wisp said.
"Forbidden?" Jax turned toward her in surprise. "Why?"
"Because the Navigator does not want you to have an easy time," the wisp said. "If I were allowed, I could just tell you what spell would be the best one for you to learn right now—especially ones that evolve to be much better than their base form."
Jax paused for a moment and quickly opened the Restrictions category once again. He read through the restriction and was surprised when he noticed the second half of the message.
In exchange, the spell you learn will be significantly improved.
The first half had shocked him so much that he had forgotten to even pay any attention to that.
"So the spell I will learn will be improved?" Jax asked. "If I come across a spell, can you tell me what the improvement will be?"
"I won't have to," the wisp said. "You will know yourself."
Jax smiled. "At least there is a silver lining in this tragedy."
He closed down the Ascendant Status page for the moment and began walking toward the gate of the registration hall, finally going outside.