Infinite Ascension: 100,000x Amplified-Chapter 38: Kaelith

Frostmere Villa — Same Morning

The training room was a cave of ice and space cracks.

Every surface was coated in frost so thick it had become structural — the walls, the floor, the ceiling, all of it encased in crystalline white that caught the room’s light and scattered it into cold blue. The temperature had dropped well below freezing hours ago and kept going. Small ice crystals drifted lazily through the air with each breath that entered and left the room’s center.

Kaelith Frostborn sat at the center of it, eyes closed, her thick icy blue and silver curly hair pooled around her on the frost-covered floor. Her white combat dress was untouched by the cold. White vapor moved in and out with each measured breath.

Her eyes opened.

Ice-blue irises flashed. The room flash-froze in the same instant — every remaining surface that hadn’t already crystallized sealing over in a single sharp crack, the temperature dropping another twenty degrees before stabilizing.

She looked at her own hands.

The laws were responding properly now. Space, Time, Water, Ice, Life, Death — all six moving through her awareness with the specific familiarity of principles she had spent decades mastering in a life that no longer existed on any timeline except her memory. She had died with those laws at 100% comprehension. She had been reborn with the knowledge intact but the life level stripped back to the beginning, her current body too young and too unrefined to channel what knowledge and laws her consciousness knew.

She had been working on that problem since the day she woke up.

Her name was Kaelith Frostborn—renowned as one of Thornhaven First Combat Academy’s "Twin Goddesses." She was also the illegitimate daughter of Silverpeak Conglomerate CEO Aldric Frostborn and the half-sister of prodigy Rowan Frostborn. However, having awakened only an A-Rank talent during the official ceremony, she’d been consistently excluded and disdained by Rowan’s mother. After her father’s death three years ago, she’d been expelled from the main Frostborn estate entirely.

Academy students often compared her to Lyris Ashenvale, the other "Twin Goddess." In terms of pure appearance, Kaelith arguably surpassed even Lyris. But her publicly awakened talent, profession, and family standing couldn’t match Lyris’s advantages.

That’s what people knew.

What they didn’t know was far more significant.

Kaelith was a regressor—someone who’d lived through the future and returned to the past.

She stood gracefully, bare feet touching the ice without discomfort. Her thick black hair floated behind her as if suspended in water, cold air swirling around her form. Her beautiful face carried an expression of authority and dominance completely incongruous with her apparent age.

The regressor’s advantage was knowledge, and she had used every piece of it. Her savings from this life, every family resource she could access without raising suspicion, the hidden treasures she had located in advance because she remembered exactly where they would be and exactly when to acquire them — all of it had gone toward one purpose. Getting back to a point where her knowledge could actually be applied.

She was there now. Tier 4. The result of several months of focused, ruthless cultivation using a technique she had found in a dungeon in her previous life — a method perfectly matched to her six laws, built around the specific way Water, Ice, Space, Time, Life, and Death interacted when cultivated in sequence. No other technique in the current timeline’s public knowledge could have produced what she had achieved in this timeframe.

"In my previous life," Kaelith murmured to herself, "I purchased an Awakening Stone from an ignorant shop owner in the market district by pure chance—six months after the examination. That’s when I awakened my second talent: SS-Rank Absolute Zero. My rise to power began from that moment."

Her ice-blue eyes glinted with satisfaction. "In this life, I dont need talents or class, I have my Cultivation technique and laws with me.

Her soul had been tempered first since she awakened, the way she had planned.

Intents had to lay the foundation as she couldn’t use laws directly at low life levels, so she had used her knowledge of them to comprehend the associated intents at peak level and then used them as a preliminary soul etching framework, the same principle as Nova’s soul etching technique though she had arrived at it through different means and for different reasons. The soul grew stronger with each etching. Then, as her life level advanced, the laws began to replace the intents properly, her 100% law comprehension expressing itself at increasing depth as her body and soul became capable of holding it.

She moved to the window.

A cold smile touched her lips. "That fool Lyris still tries to show off in front of me, completely unaware she’s the actual clown in this scenario. My strength surpasses hers by orders of magnitude."

"Idiot who doesn’t understand the value of maintaining a low profile. Just wait until the Abyss Cultists identify you as a priority target."

Thornhaven spread out below Frostmere Villa in its usual organized sprawl of towers and transit lines and the distant gleam of the outer wall. A Planet that in three years would not exist. A civilization that in three years the whole solar system would be ash, the God-Tier entity that emerged from the edge of the solar system in a rift in the three hundredth and three year of the Cataclysm Era doing to humanity what humanity had spent three centuries struggling to prevent the Abyss from doing.

She had fought in that final battle. Had given everything she had as the Ice Empress at King-Tier, alongside every other peak warrior the world had produced. It had not been enough. It had not been close to enough. The gap between their combined power and what had walked out of that rift had been so large it had no adequate comparison.

The combined might of humanity’s strongest had fought desperately.

It hadn’t been enough.

Not even close.

Earth along with the solar system had been destroyed. Civilization obliterated. Billions dead.

Three years remained.

I must accelerate my cultivation schedule. Reach God-Tier as quickly as possible.

It must be fast.

Otherwise, it will be too late...

In the final moments before total annihilation, Kaelith’s third talent—her Chrono-Spatial Dominion—had resonated with an ancient forbidden artifact she’d acquired during her adventures. The combination triggered a catastrophic temporal anomaly.

She’d been reborn. Sent back to the period just before the Martial Aptitude Examination.

"Three years," Kaelith murmured, her voice carrying the weight of apocalyptic knowledge. "Three years until humanity’s end."

Only three years remained.

"Fortunately, I have a second chance."

Thinking about the terrifying entity that had emerged from the Eternal Abyss in her previous life—the one that brought annihilation to all civilization—Kaelith’s ice-blue pupils darkened with shadow. Her fists clenched until her knuckles went white.

"Gods..." she whispered with barely contained hatred.

In her previous timeline, she’d become a Tier 4 Warrior within one year of awakening her second talent. Shortly after, she’d awakened a third talent: SSS-Rank Chrono-Spatial Dominion. Less than three years later, she’d entered King-Tier and stood invincible among her peers.

But

In this timeline, her current combat power was already at approximately 206,000,000 battle power — King-Tier territory, capable of fighting and killing King-Tier entities in short engagements.

But short was the operative word. Her energy capacity at Tier 4 was a fraction of what a true King-Tier entity carried, which meant any sustained fight against one would drain her to empty in seconds while barely scratching what she was fighting. So for her to defeat any king tier warrior, it has to be in a single one kill shot attack. even though she will still be exhausted after the attack.

The laws gave her quality. Life level and rank gave her quantity. She had the first in abundance and needed the second urgently.

She needed to reach God-Tier within three years. That was the minimum. Anything below that and she would die again, this time without the temporal anomaly to send her back.

Her ice-blue eyes blazed with absolute conviction. "As long as I can reach God-Tier within these three years, I’ll have the power to change everything."

Kaelith’s confidence wasn’t baseless. She’d once been invincible within her tier, her combat instincts and techniques honed through countless life-or-death battles. She had every reason to be proud.

"Now that I’ve awakened my laws, venturing into low-tier Abyssal Rifts alone shouldn’t pose significant danger."

Kaelith moved to her bedroom, changed into a white casual outfit and baseball cap to minimize attention, and departed for the Warrior Association headquarters.

"First things first," she said quietly to the window. "Warrior Association registration. Then serious dungeon raiding."

She changed into a white casual outfit, pulled on a baseball cap, and left.

Warrior Association Headquarters - Registration Area

Several people waited in line ahead of her when Kaelith arrived. She found a seat, closed her eyes, and immediately began practicing the top-tier visualization method she’d acquired during her previous life—a technique far beyond anything available in the current timeline.

Meanwhile, Nova’s shadow clone arrived at the same location and spotted Elara’s figure immediately.

The woman was a striking beauty with golden-blonde curly hair styled professionally, an elegant figure displayed by her fitted work uniform, and confident bearing. She wore professional heels that clicked against the polished floor, drawing attention—particularly to her long legs accentuated by dark stockings beneath her work skirt. Many male warriors present for registration found their gazes drifting in her direction repeatedly.

Spotting Nova, her eyes lit up with recognition. She approached with a warm smile, her movement graceful despite the heels.

"You must be the junior guild member Tory mentioned! She showed me your picture and told me you’d be coming."

"My name is Elara." The blonde extended her hand, and Nova accepted the handshake with polite professionalism.

"Nova Stern. Thank you for taking time to help me with this."

Observing Nova holding Elara’s delicate hand, several male warriors present couldn’t suppress their envious—and slightly resentful—stares.

"It’s no trouble at all! Elara and I have been close friends for years. Her junior guild member is practically my junior as well." Elara’s smile was genuine and welcoming. "I didn’t expect someone so young to register as a warrior already—and so handsome, too!"

Her expression turned playfully mischievous. "Do you have a girlfriend? Would you consider an older woman?"

Nova maintained diplomatic silence.

"Haha, I’m joking!" Elara laughed, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

After guiding Nova through the preliminary registration procedures, Elara explained, "Next, you just need to pass the combat assessment to receive official warrior certification."

"There are still a few people ahead of you in the testing queue. Have a seat here and wait—I’ll call you when it’s your turn."

She gestured to a seating area where one other person already waited.

Nova thanked her and took a seat beside the girl in the white outfit and baseball cap.

He glanced at her briefly. Despite the cap partially obscuring her features, her exceptional beauty was immediately apparent. Delicate bone structure, flawless pale skin, an aura of cold authority that seemed unusual for someone so young.

Interesting. Someone else my age registering as a warrior today. She must have broken through early as well.

Oh this is a surprise, Nova thought as his absolute insight gave him a unique information.

Sensing his gaze, Kaelith opened her eyes and fixed him with an ice-cold stare for approximately two seconds before closing them again and returning to meditation. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She thought to herself ’His aura was suppressed — deliberately, carefully, in the specific way of someone who had made a considered decision to appear unremarkable. She could feel the edges of something behind the suppression that her cultivation instincts flagged as significant without being able to read the specifics through the veil. His soul felt deep in a way that her senses could touch but not measure. Why do I feel like he his seeing through me? and I can tell he is very strong and he is hiding much but I dont recognize him at all. Well its not my business and I dont have time to get to the bottom of this, I have to get to God tier fast.’

Nova also thought to himself ’She’s Tier 5 or 6 at minimum based on the life and soul signature my Absolute Insight is reading. Through the consciousness link, the observation transferred to his main body at home. Probably higher. And there’s something strange about her presence — something that reads older than her appearance suggests. Lived-in, somehow.

Interesting.

His main body, currently running the Eternal Chaotic Origin Scripture through its morning cultivation cycle, received the observation and filed it.

Another exceptional student. The competition this year is genuinely unusual in its concentration.

Two young people who appeared to be students, sitting together in the warrior registration area, inevitably attracted curious attention from other registrants.

"Those two should be academy students, right?"

"This is the warrior registration section. Are they actually here to register?"

A short-haired young man in a muscle shirt—physique suggesting dedicated training—sneered openly. "Registering for what? Look at that skinny kid. You can tell his vitality hasn’t even reached ten. They’re probably here to take photos and videos to show off to their classmates. Lots of people do that. Registration only costs a thousand points anyway—failure doesn’t mean much to wealthy families."

"Ah, that makes sense," several people agreed, nodding with understanding.

After hearing this explanation, the crowd’s expressions shifted from curiosity to contempt. Multiple individuals looked at Nova and Kaelith with obvious disdain.

Rich kids playing pretend warrior, the general consensus seemed to be.

Nova, naturally, ignored them completely. His shadow clone’s purpose was purely functional—register, obtain badge credentials, return home. The opinions of random strangers held zero relevance.

Kaelith similarly paid no attention to the commentary. She’d experienced far worse in her previous life and possessed absolutely no interest in proving herself to irrelevant nobodies.

The muscular young man, noticing that neither teen reacted to his mockery, felt his ego bruised. He raised his voice deliberately.

"Hey, kids. You know this is the warrior registration area, right? Not the academy career counseling office. If you’re just here for social media content, maybe do it outside so you don’t waste everyone’s time."

Still no response from either teen.

The man’s face reddened with irritation. "I’m talking to—"

"Next registrant: Kaelith Frostborn. Please proceed to Testing Chamber Three."

The announcement cut through the tension. Kaelith opened her eyes, stood with fluid grace, and walked toward the indicated chamber without acknowledging anyone present.

Her cold aura and confident bearing left several people momentarily speechless.

"She actually went in?" someone murmured with surprise.

"Maybe she really is a warrior..."

"Impossible. She’s like sixteen at most."

The muscular man scoffed, though less confidently than before. "She’ll fail the assessment and come out embarrassed. You’ll see."

Nova allowed himself a faint smile, though his expression remained otherwise neutral.

That girl... her aura is genuine. She’s definitely a warrior. Probably Tier 6 based on the life signature I detected.

And there’s something else. Something... strange about her presence. Like she’s older than she appears, though I can’t identify the specific cause.

very Interesting.

Through his consciousness link with his main body, Nova’s original self—still at home analyzing martial techniques—received all these observations with curiosity.

Another prodigy who broke through early. The competition this year really is exceptional.

I wonder how she’ll perform in the assessment.

Inside Testing Chamber Three, Kaelith faced the examination proctor with absolute calm, ready to demonstrate exactly why underestimating her would be a fatal mistake.

Nova’s Correct Battle Power:

Base stat: 11,892

Limit Break ×10: 118,920

Divine Scripture ×6: 713,520

Single strongest law (Plasma Law 9%): Base stat contribution: 11,892 × 9 × 3 = 321,084

Total effective stat: 713,520 + 321,084 = 1,034,604 × 100 = 103,460,400 BP

Vibrational Force Perfect Mastery +200%: 11,892 × 2 = 23,784 additional 713,520 + 321,084 + 23,784 = 1,058,388 × 100 = 105,838,800 BP ✓

Kaelith’s Combat Power:

Base stat: 5,000

Passive physique enhancement ×7: 35,000

Passive cultivation enhancement ×4: 140,000

Single strongest law at 100% (Space-Time combined): 5,000 × 100 × 3 = 1,500,000

Space-Time energy ×3 multiplier on base: 140,000 × 3 = 420,000

Total: 140,000 + 1,500,000 + 420,000 = 2,060,000 × 100 = 206,000,000 BP ✓