The Path to Advancement

Time flew, and several years had passed since Wien reincarnated in Hueco Mundo. During that time, Wien and his subordinates had hunted other Hollow Beasts without pause, diligently fulfilling the promise he had made to help everyone advance.

Now, with Wien's help, his subordinates had advanced to Gillians one after another. Unfortunately, apart from Jekain, the first to advance, every one of the other Hollows had lost consciousness during their advancement.

The situation worried Wien somewhat. Only Inora and Feisilin'na remained at his side now, and Feisilin'na had already jumped into the pit to await her advancement.

"My king, you seem displeased," Inora said, sensing the slight fluctuation in Wien's Spiritual Pressure.

"Mm..." Wien made no attempt to hide it. "For this last advancement, we've used up almost all the resources in this forest. If Feisilin'na loses consciousness too, we may have to find another way to help you advance."

"Thank you for worrying about me, my king." Inora was deeply humbled. "My king, after Feisilin'na finishes advancing, there is something I would like to tell you."

"Oh?" Wien paused. "What about?"

"The matter you've always been worried about," Inora said softly.

"Hm?" Wien hesitated briefly, then understood what Inora meant. "Let's wait until Feisilin'na advances, then."

"Yes."

Another half day passed before the Gillian's distinctive howl rang out from the battered pit. Soon, a massive head appeared before Wien at the opening, but the sight of its clown-like mask brought a trace of anger into his fluctuating Spiritual Pressure.

"She lost consciousness too?" Wien swung a claw in anger, instantly snapping a withered tree as thick as a bowl beside him.

"My king, let us leave first," Inora said at once, sensing Wien's anger. His manner was utterly respectful.

"Alas..." With a sigh, Wien led Inora away from the pit. Perhaps this time, they would have to leave this lifeless forest as well.

Once they reached a safe place, neither Inora nor Wien said a word. After a long while, Feisilin'na's roars receded from the forest, and only then did Inora nod to Wien.

Knowing that Feisilin'na had left, Wien let out a long breath and said, "Inora, it's just the two of us here now. Whatever you have to say, speak freely."

"Yes, my king. Please forgive me for speaking frankly," Inora said respectfully.

"First, please do not feel disheartened because Falles, Feisilin'na, and the others lost consciousness upon advancing. Whether a High-Level Hollow retains consciousness after advancing to a Gillian is almost entirely determined by their own constitution. You need not blame yourself."

Inora began by dispelling Wien's self-reproach, then continued, "As for your concern about whether you will also lose consciousness when you advance, please allow me to offer a few personal thoughts."

"Oh?" Wien was somewhat surprised by Inora's words, though he also thought they made sense. He nodded for Inora to continue. "Go ahead."

"My king, please forgive me for keeping something from you. My ability is Spiritual Pressure Detection, but it doesn't merely detect what's on the surface. After I advanced to a High-Level Hollow, I gained another detection skill, but I never mentioned it. I named it 'Spiritual Energy Detection.'"

"Is that so?" Wien was not angry that Inora had kept it from him. Instead, he grew interested. "Tell me about it."

"Yes." Inora explained slowly, "My king, if Spiritual Pressure Detection is used to scout enemies outside, then Spiritual Power Detection allows me to peer at the Spiritual Pressure inside an individual.

"To be honest, my king, when I examined you, I saw your immense Spiritual Pressure. That amount should have long since surpassed the limits of a High-Level Hollow, reaching or even exceeding that of a low-level Gillian. If you hadn't deliberately suppressed yourself, you might have been able to become a Gillian even before Falles advanced."

"That's true." Wien nodded. "But..."

"But you've always been worried about what would happen if you lost consciousness during your advancement. So you had us reach the threshold for advancement first, hoping to discern a pattern and give yourself a better chance when your turn came. Is that right?"

"..." As soon as Inora spoke, Wien's Spiritual Pressure fluctuated almost imperceptibly. Sensing it, Inora immediately pressed his whole body to the ground, not daring to move.

"My king, please forgive my insolent words."

Seeing Inora like this, Wien fell silent for a moment before finally sighing helplessly.

"Alas... you're right. Although I wanted to help you all advance, the truth is, I did hope to learn something from watching you advance.

"After all, losing consciousness... heh, say whatever else you have to say."

Indeed, Wien did treasure this hard-won alliance and their so-called friendship, and as their leader, it was his duty to help them advance.

But after missing Jekain's advancement and witnessing Falles's, Wien had grown uncertain. How could he guarantee that he would retain his consciousness when he advanced and avoid becoming someone else's pawn?

Because of this, Wien began to reduce the amount of Reishi he devoured and compressed his Spiritual Pressure as much as he could. He also began his long period of observation.

As his subordinates advanced one after another, only to fail each time, Wien's heart gradually sank to rock bottom.

He felt utterly helpless when it came to advancement. Inora had waited until everyone else had advanced before revealing this secret, so as not to cause Wien unnecessary trouble.

At the same time, speaking up at the risk of his life was enough to show Inora's loyalty to him.

"My king, to be honest, I carefully observed everyone's Spiritual Pressure as they advanced, including Jekain, who retained his consciousness." Inora raised his head and continued.

"While observing their Spiritual Pressure, I noticed a detail. After they advanced to Gillians, only Jekain's Spiritual Pressure was extremely condensed. The others' Spiritual Pressure met the standard for a Gillian, but within those enormous bodies, it seemed very diffuse. I believe this may have something to do with whether consciousness can be retained."

"You mean... the higher one's Spiritual Pressure during advancement, the greater the chance of retaining consciousness?" Wien asked, puzzled.

"Not only that. I think it may also have something to do with each Hollow Beast's own constitution," Inora continued.

"Jekain, who retained his consciousness, already had the ability to compress and condense the Reishi in his body before he advanced. Moreover, he was far better at it than ordinary Hollow Beasts, so after he advanced, the Spiritual Power in his body was much greater than the others'. I believe this may be the way to retain consciousness."

"Spiritual Power Compression? That's how you retain consciousness?" Wien could hardly believe it. "Every Hollow has that ability, don't they?"

"That is true, my king. But not every Hollow is willing to remain a High-Level Hollow and continue compressing and accumulating Spiritual Power."

"Advancement is every Hollow's goal and aspiration, as well as their chance to survive. Hollows with low Intelligence need no explanation, but even most Hollows with Intelligence hope to advance quickly. They do not choose to remain at the High-Level Hollow stage to build up their strength. After all, a Gillian's Cero can wipe out High-Level Hollows in swathes.

"They are more eager to advance. As for those who retain consciousness, some may simply be lucky enough to keep it when they advance, while others are born with exceptionally strong constitutions and have accumulated vast amounts of Spiritual Power, allowing them to retain it.

"In short, I believe there are two factors that improve the chance of retaining consciousness during advancement. First, one must be born with superior talent and constitution, namely a high Soul Density.

"Second, one must know how to compress Spiritual Power and be able to accumulate and compress it to a certain extent. Only Hollows with both have a greater chance of retaining their consciousness. Of course, this is all my own speculation and has not been tested in practice. However, I believe no Hollow possesses both qualities more than you, my king."

"Spiritual Power Compression?" Wien felt the abundant Spiritual Power within him. Indeed, his ability to compress Spiritual Power was far greater than that of other Hollow Beasts.

Although it was all only Inora's speculation, Wien still intended to give it a try, even if it improved his chances by just one percent.

"Inora, thank you. I feel much better now." A trace of relief appeared at the corners of Wien's mouth. Inora's words had been very important to him.

"There is no need, my king," Inora said respectfully. "It is my honor to serve you."

"Heh, honestly, if it weren't for your help, the excess Spiritual Pressure in my body might have made me burst a long time ago," Wien said self-deprecatingly. "Come on. Let's leave this land too. We'll find a relatively small territory and help you prepare to advance."

"My king, I don't think that will be necessary," Inora declined.

"I know my own constitution best. Although I have been compressing my Spiritual Power as well, I think I'll reach my limit before long. There's no need for you to take any more risks for me, my king."

"Hm?" Wien paused. "You mean you don't need to hunt and devour Spiritual Power anymore?"

"Yes, my king. If I remain in this forest, in as little as two days or as many as five, my Spiritual Pressure will reach the limit of what my current body can hold. So I think it will be enough for us to stay here a little longer and hunt some surviving prey."

"The limit of compression? What does that feel like?" Wien pressed.

"The power inside my body feels incredibly full, as if I'm about to burst. That's roughly what it feels like," Inora answered carefully.

"My king, your constitution is extraordinary. Whether in the amount of Spiritual Power you can hold or your ability to compress it, you are far stronger than any of us. I believe that if you faced a Gillian-class Menos Grande alone, you should be able to win with ease, right?"

"I don't know how capable I am, but if I faced an unconscious Gillian alone, even if I couldn't beat it, I'd have no trouble escaping. If the terrain were favorable, killing it wouldn't be impossible either." Wien estimated the gap between his fighting strength and a Gillian's.

"My king, I can now tell you with confidence that, according to my observations, your body can still hold at least another third as much Spiritual Power. If you compress it a little more, perhaps you could hold twice as much. In Gillian terms, even if you ate two or three Gillian Level Menos Grande, your body wouldn't burst."

"Really?" Wien could hardly believe it, but he truly couldn't find a reason for Inora to deceive him.

"My king, perhaps you really know nothing about your own limits, but please believe me. As long as you can bear the risk, remain at the High-Level Hollow stage, and compress your Spiritual Power with all your strength, your chances of retaining consciousness will certainly be much greater than an ordinary Hollow's.

"Even if you are truly unlucky enough to lose consciousness during advancement, your Spiritual Pressure will still be several times greater than an ordinary Gillian's."

"Haha, I hope you're right." Wien smiled. "Since you think you really are about to advance, let's go back to that pit. I'll find your food for you from here on."

"Sorry for the trouble, my king," Inora said respectfully. "There is one more thing, my king. Please, you must promise me."

"Hm? What else is it? Go ahead," Wien replied.

"If..." Inora said resolutely, "if I am also unfortunate enough to lose consciousness during my advancement, please do not let me go free. Please, you must kill me and devour me."

"...What?"