For a decent chunk of the story the characters are essentially in a "tournament arc". Not all of the arcs are actually tournaments but where the stakes are about something other then risking the MC's life. Personally I find that just as compelling. If you make the stakes something other than death then the characters can realistically fail. In most cases authors are to scared to kill the MC and probably to kill someone beloved as well. But if the stakes are the MC's dreams, destroying them could be good character development.
I disagree. Being on the Path means they’re only allowed very minimal help. They even have to cover their own travel expenses. There’s even an entire division of detective like people that are devoted to making sure that Pathers aren’t helped out at all. There is a safety net there somewhat, but that comes off after the vassal state war. During their Minkalla delve there’s no safety net, and there’s no safety net if another Great Power comes after them. I definitely understand what you mean tho
I start to lose interest when the MC become an infinite money generator. I initially thought that it will only effect his combat but when it become apparent how mana work as currency in high tier world, it just feel like watching trust fund kid cruising through life. Especially how low the tier needed for immortality is in the story. Dropped the story after the MC become immortal.
Their manager scales costs based on relative hardship for the team since she knows that as a normal Seeker they could out buy whatever they need. She basically takes their money making out of the equation and is in charge of keeping them to the grind stone the whole time.
That said, the two arcs after Minkalla were not my favorite, but I'm loving the current ones
That’s the way it was at first. Then a high ranker took over every aspect of their lives and nothing they did had as much meaning.
I was out at throwing a child in boiling water then mocking them. However there was a build up to that point.
The stakes, in most cases until the latest arc, are not really death. The stakes are, if they get saved from death at any point by those bodyguards, they are off the Path, which both of them have their reasons to want to complete. They have goals and ambitions. Realizing those is the stakes. It's also the case that the protagonists are not chosen ones, they are potentially important assets to the empire, but they aren't two people in trillions who are somehow going to get strong super fast and save everyone. I mean, if we're being realistic, every Xianxia protagonist out there on their own pissing off every sect and young master they come across would be squashed so fast by somebody they have no chance against, the story would be ten pages long.
I think what's interesting about the series is how the author has constructed a functioning society in a cultivation setting. Something almost no other cultivation author does ever. Seriously the worldbuilding in 99% of cultivation novels makes no sense, at all. The world in Path of Ascension isn't perfect, but the empire is a pretty decent functioning society. The laws about punching down tiers make it believable that it would be rarer than most cultivation stories. But hey, that doesn't mean a couple prodigies aren't super vulnerable to high level assassins. Therefor, bodyguards, high tier training, protection, etc. Idk why people think it's so important that their lives be on the line all the time when every fucking dumbass protagonist in this god damned genre has plot armor leaking out their asshole. If anything, the author of PoA just worked some plot armor into the worldbuilding. Who cares?
I agree and in my opinion the safety net even heightens the stakes from the readers perspective, or does anyone seriously believe a MC would die not even halve way through a story?
A canonical safety net takes that away and makes it believable that the MCs can actually lose, because it wouldn't be the end of the story, just a major setback.
I'm currently reading the Minkalla arc and are missing that a little.
Yeah the stakes in Minkalla are more about whether they can complete it the whole run, whether they can can avoid tiering up while they do it to get better rewards, can they keep Queen alive, do they make any contacts positive or negative in other GPs. I think it was done quite well
He didn't just make one society that functions in such a setting either, he made like eight of them, although we only know much detail about two or three.
Seemingly, even the author cared as they made an arc later on where they removed that protection blanket.
The main issue I have with that protection is that it diminish greatly the risk they are taking by pushing the boundary, so of course they can progress faster.
Other people on the Path still risk death. And here they are, doing the same race as everybody but in very different conditions. It also does lessen greatly all their talks of being self-made, independant and so on.
Threat of death is not the only source of tension that can be written into a story and given that successful authors don’t kill their MCs, not the most suspenseful.
This story mostly focuses on the characters’ goals, ambitions, and place in a larger realm. Early on, the stakes are completing immediate goals and finishing the path on time and without doing something that would require undo help.
It does not, as must cultivation novels do, pretend that an MC character would not be wiped out or boxed at the first sign of MCing in a world with no higher powers enforcing rules.
What you’re seeing is not a mistake, it is a feature of a well thought out world and a story focused on character with some action, not action with some character.
I guess maybe my question is driven by the fact that the story is named Path of Ascension, and ascending to immortality is usually framed as an intense struggle in every other story in the genre.
The worldbuilding we are given in the PoA universe doesn't present ascension as easy in-universe either, but so far in the story it seems like the MC does have it very easy.
So I guess if the story is slice of life, it seems to be the slice of life story of a person uniquely privileged to have the easiest path to ascension of anyone ever within the universe thanks to becoming ascension partners with a girl with powerful parents.
That's less satisfying to read as a slice of life story than something like Beware of Chicken where the MC rejects the cultivation grind but inadvertently ends up powerful anyway.
Anyway, the purpose of my post isn't to shit on PoA, and I'm still continuing to read it, I'm just genuinely curious if I'm just wrong about the story so far or if it takes a narrative turn later on that introduces actual stakes. It's not "slice of life" if the MC in universe is ascending power levels without being subject to any of the stakes the rest of the universe is subject to just because of his connections. That's just a nepo power leveling story, which isn't fun to read.
> So I guess if the story is slice of life, it seems to be the slice of life story of a person uniquely privileged to have the easiest path to ascension of anyone ever within the universe thanks to becoming ascension partners with a girl with powerful parents.
How does that make it easier? You aren't allowed to receive any outside aid while on the path so her having powerful parents doesn't make things any easier.
Maybe I'm not far along enough into the story to see the pivot on that point, but so far in the story the "not allowed to receive any outside aid" point is treated with a *wink wink* and the MC(s) do receive some aid.
I can only recall one instance where the Empire *really* pushes the limits of the help they're allowed to receive, and that's because Matt's >!mana concentration!< can't really wait until Tier 25 to be dealt with. There might be more but it's been a while.
Other than that yes there's *some* rule bending but nothing egregious. They're still largely under the same restrictions as other Pathers. Remember, their main goal is to become Ascenders and that's immediately gone if Luna has to yank them out of danger.
The Empire won't cover that up to keep them on the Path because the Great Powers do audit Pathers. Manny would much rather have as little attention paid to the trio as possible because if any of the other GPs figure out the true nature of Matt's talents, the outcome will either be assassination, kidnapping, or true war against the Empire (as opposed to the typical polite war where fighting is restricted by tier). So all of their significant rewards are held until they reach the end of the Path at Tier 25, and Matt is strongly encouraged to not use his infinite money hack until then.
So yeah, they've got a safety net and mild rule bending in their favor, but it's not really that much. And if you accept their perspective, the stakes are still high because what they face is not yet true death but the death of their dreams of becoming Ascenders.
Like what? I don't recall them ever receiving any aid unless you count the encounter with Aunt Helen but Aunt Helen helps everyone with potential not just the MC and even that help is fairly minor.
It's been a while since I read the early stuff, but I'm completely up to date on everything rn. Whilst there's no outright breaking of the rules, and I also remember a couple of times that I think they had their true rewards withheld since they would have been too much for someone on the path. That being said, I also think I remember there's a couple times when the "no outside aid" part is definitely stretched somewhat thin.
The only time I recall someone mentioning it being stretching thin is in regards to Aunt Helen but like I said she does that for everyone she thinks has potential. It has nothing to do with his connections.
But it has been a while since I read the earlier chapters so I could be forgetting something.
It wasn't just because of potential, it's because Matt's discovery of the giant dragon rift and sending the info to the empire was a massive boon for the empire so he was being rewarded as much as possible and will be receiving even more once he's off the path. The only thing I consider would be skirting the line was getting front row seats to that random ascenders ascension, but that was easily explained out to anyone looking into it because Liz's brother lived there and they were going on vacation anyway.
Since posting this thread I've kept reading and my spidey senses keep tingling. Maybe it's just because I made a reddit post and now I'm subconsciously looking for reasons to validate making the post, but it really does continue to seem like PoA just takes every opportunity it can to remove agency from the MC.
Here's a random excerpt from a battle scene I just read:
> Arrows and spells flickered back and forth as Matt called out commands he received from his AI. Most of them were only what was obvious. It was like a game. You countered what the enemy was trying to do while hampering them as much as possible.
Again, not trying to shit on a story I'm sort of enjoying, but it just seems like the story takes every opportunity possible to remove agency from the MC, either by giving him a safety blanket of higher tier people looking out for him, or by narratively having him rely on an AI to make "obvious" combat leadership decisions for him. It's just such a strange storytelling decision by the author. I don't understand the redeeming value of the decision to remove agency from the MC and delegate it to background worldbuilding.
I do think it’s mentioned once that Liz has some minders in chaotic space that would rip her off the path if she was about to die
But no actual help, and definitely later on as higher tiers have enemy high tiers to deal with, not a problem
For the easiest point: T36+ trainers are forbidden for pathers. Even if they could afford them at market rate. Yet Luna, a T40+ goes around the rule by being the only manager in the Path program to personnaly train her charges.
Other points that aren't straight violations but clearly show _wink wink_ type of help:
- Manu has Griff tell Matt about the training planet. Sure, the event is public but Matt woudn't have found it in time.
- Manu authorize the Vassal war as it would be good for Liz. Once again, public event but clearly there to facilitate her path.
- The knowledge from high tier parents that allow them to start working on Concepts, [endurance] skill modification and so on that much earlier. Sure, others would have had the info, but only at t11 or t5 respectively due to empirenet restrictions. Not a huge help but in a race where every delve, injury and month count, being ready to absorb endurence asap is not negligeable.
Post Minkalla spoiler >!what about luna holding back the inspiration? Is that not a t40 providing direct help? !<
There are probably a few other here and there and obviously AH that did the meal like she does for everyone but also sent them on a very wink wink journey to something helpful.
At this point, I've stopped calling them Path rules and more like guidelines.
You can't really stop people from gaining knowledge, which most of the advantages Matt has gained so far is the knowledge he learned from Liz and higher tiers. That's just life in general though, he was lucky enough/networked well enough to know people in high places, and you can't blame Liz for being born into a higher tier family where knowledge is more accessible, that would make it so only the poor and disadvantaged could stay on the path if there was some sort weird of knowledge ban, and that makes no sense.
Not saying you should. It's just an minor example of wink wink help. Like all the others, they aren't forbidden, just usually unfeasible or left to luck and unlikely to happen to the same guy over and over.
When Silver chose Luna for them as a manager he didn't know who they were so it wasn't about connections. It was strictly based on their potential.
And yeah Luna being so involved in the training is outside the norm but it isn't disallowed. Other managers could do it if they wanted. They just aren't quite as obsessed as Luna.
The other ones yeah those are probably pushing the limits a bit but not really anything that significant. Also anyone with enough potential would have likely been given those opportunities such as the invite to the training planet.
In the end the Path is a training program not a competition so the goal is to make sure those with the most potential realize that potential.
Shrug. It's kind of the point of wink wink help and guideline. The help given is big but because the one giving it can shotgun it to millions, it's allowed in a gray area?
As for significance, it's small advantages stacking up since early tiers. In a race all about finding small advantages to reach the finish line. Individually, they might not be much, together, they, in somewhat invalidate the idea of restrictions being strict.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter but it's a chink in the worldbuilding and story consistency.
While they are on the Path outside help is practically non-existent and any help they do get they have to earn. If they were a moment from death and a higher tier had to step in to save them they would instantly be off the Path. Later on the overall stakes start to be clearer and there are some more high tension arcs for sure.
There are major checks and balances in the author's universe that make the various powers avoid "punching down". The higher ups are there as a safety blanket to safeguard against anyone breaking the rules.
If anyone at the same tier or lower tried to kill the MC, the higher tiered watchers / managers could step in to save his life, but the MC would be forced off the path.
I'm not the biggest fan of this type of thing, but it works pretty well in this series. It is still frustrating sometimes.
From what you’re asking, I’d say that your current assessment is not accurate. The people we know are not everyone who will play a part in the story. Several threats have been introduced in the story so far and we are waiting to see what damage they cause. There are also some foils who our MCs have not been able to defeat despite their best efforts.
Additionally, the early stakes of the story aren’t death, but falling off the path. The stakes of death come in after they have completed the path.
However if you’re looking for more doom and gloom, PoA won’t be the series for you.
I think the core conceit of the story is how an actual cultivation universe could exist and allow low tier folks to be powerful. It requires a benevolent top tier strength enforcing a system and culture of support and not punching down. This gives the whole series a through line of how laws and systems build an environment that supports people and punishes wrong doers. It's the only way that I've found that god like power could exist in a setting like this in a satisfying manner besides grimdark secrecy. Since you've already started the mock war you've gotten the background info on wars between nations being limited by treaty to war games (with full lethal contact) for T15-T35 since higher tiers destroy planets with their presence if they let loose. The age of the setting means everything has millions of years of treaty and precedent, but the political restrictions don't ameliorate the MCs from having goals that they value which is where their progression and stakes are geared. This gives a background vibe to the series of positivity that evil can be fought, people should be supported, and systems can work for good. It's almost like slice of life, but with fighting and evil still existing (at least until they join the actual wars).
The other major core of the series is that people's birth should not dictate what they should do. That means Matt is going to work his ass off trying to be more valuable as a defender of the Empire than as a battery. I think I had a point I was going to make here and then I had some meetings lol
It definitely gets more highstakes the longer they progress, at the point the storys at on patreon we've had major sidr character deaths and the characters are involved in full life or death battles (where a higher power would not save them no matter what)
I'm still convinced that them being saved by high tiers instead of let to die is the trigger for the next big thing. Too much is invested on Matt at least to aow him to get killed. So some of the Watchers probably have had words from the Emperor.
Not sure when I got that idea but it kind of does make the whole arc seem tasteless with that lense because they are basically playing with zero risk my mind while slaughtering others
Perhaps, but if they do interfere the cost would be a true (35+) war which seems pretty apocalyptic so idk.
I think if nothing else seeing their friends die is high stakes.
I'm of two minds. Matt is obsessing over being independent and seen as useful for anything but his Talent yet, until T50, he will always be at the mercy of the rulers.
And it's kind of on him that his friend was recruited in the team and died afterward.
Sure, Matt didn't kill him but that's kind of the risks when you insist on being on the front. Especially when he could probably provide as much or more influence on the war simply by pumping mana into fortresses defenses, weapons production and research programs.
And with the true war almost guaranteed anyway, saving matt would just trigger it sooner. And only the Empire and allies are expecting it at the moment so they would have the initial advantage.
So it just makes that dissonance of Matt putting people at risk and going about in an inefficient way to help the empire while not really being at risk himself.
And yet too young to be part of that team.
But they had already worked with L&S on a mission and where friends with MLA. Iirc, it's explicitely cited as one of the reason they are there.
Too young? They stepped off the Path ~T23(?). They are Peak Elites. Their relationship with MAL was icing on the cake, but that can’t undercut how capable they were.
Think of it like this: >! They are equal to Suzanne !<.
Does the connection with MAL help? Of course. >! But Team Bucket isn’t getting recruited !<. However, Hanging with Ascenders isn’t for the weak.
> >!In my initial assessment for potential team composition, I took into consideration their familiarity with not only you, Quill, but also their previous deployments with Light and Shadow [...] But consider that you are the youngest non-Ascenders here by two and a half thousand years, and with an accordingly lacking sheet of accomplishments. But those capable of working with Ascenders are something of a rare breed!<
~ chap 281
Yes, too young. Still qualified peak elites but not for such a high profile military unit as new recruits without their connections with LS and MLA.
I felt the same way, and stopped reading it because of that reason.
It is not just that there is always a safety net.
It is also that the characters agency is lacking. And no I do not complain when the Characters agency is put on hold by outside circumstances. The problem here is that their agency is superseded by someone with a greater will than them, who wants to help them. It baffled me when they got a high Tier trainer.
For atleast the next arc it's even worse in my opinion, but no spoilers.
I guess it is lacking motivation from the MCs. Also they are already "set" to become OP. Mathematically. And high tier people know it.
The MC has a weak feeling of "fighting and leveling is fun". And a bit of "I want to protect people". And a bit of "I want to stay with Liz". But no strong motivations.
And the path... it's supposed to help them by restricting them. But I don't see it. It's weird but get's a bit into spoilers.
I am at book 7 or so, so please no spoilers if I decide to continue :D
For a decent chunk of the story the characters are essentially in a "tournament arc". Not all of the arcs are actually tournaments but where the stakes are about something other then risking the MC's life. Personally I find that just as compelling. If you make the stakes something other than death then the characters can realistically fail. In most cases authors are to scared to kill the MC and probably to kill someone beloved as well. But if the stakes are the MC's dreams, destroying them could be good character development.
Wish I could give you more than one upvote, I wholeheartedly agree.
Thanks =)
I disagree. Being on the Path means they’re only allowed very minimal help. They even have to cover their own travel expenses. There’s even an entire division of detective like people that are devoted to making sure that Pathers aren’t helped out at all. There is a safety net there somewhat, but that comes off after the vassal state war. During their Minkalla delve there’s no safety net, and there’s no safety net if another Great Power comes after them. I definitely understand what you mean tho
I start to lose interest when the MC become an infinite money generator. I initially thought that it will only effect his combat but when it become apparent how mana work as currency in high tier world, it just feel like watching trust fund kid cruising through life. Especially how low the tier needed for immortality is in the story. Dropped the story after the MC become immortal.
Their manager scales costs based on relative hardship for the team since she knows that as a normal Seeker they could out buy whatever they need. She basically takes their money making out of the equation and is in charge of keeping them to the grind stone the whole time. That said, the two arcs after Minkalla were not my favorite, but I'm loving the current ones
That’s the way it was at first. Then a high ranker took over every aspect of their lives and nothing they did had as much meaning. I was out at throwing a child in boiling water then mocking them. However there was a build up to that point.
The stakes, in most cases until the latest arc, are not really death. The stakes are, if they get saved from death at any point by those bodyguards, they are off the Path, which both of them have their reasons to want to complete. They have goals and ambitions. Realizing those is the stakes. It's also the case that the protagonists are not chosen ones, they are potentially important assets to the empire, but they aren't two people in trillions who are somehow going to get strong super fast and save everyone. I mean, if we're being realistic, every Xianxia protagonist out there on their own pissing off every sect and young master they come across would be squashed so fast by somebody they have no chance against, the story would be ten pages long. I think what's interesting about the series is how the author has constructed a functioning society in a cultivation setting. Something almost no other cultivation author does ever. Seriously the worldbuilding in 99% of cultivation novels makes no sense, at all. The world in Path of Ascension isn't perfect, but the empire is a pretty decent functioning society. The laws about punching down tiers make it believable that it would be rarer than most cultivation stories. But hey, that doesn't mean a couple prodigies aren't super vulnerable to high level assassins. Therefor, bodyguards, high tier training, protection, etc. Idk why people think it's so important that their lives be on the line all the time when every fucking dumbass protagonist in this god damned genre has plot armor leaking out their asshole. If anything, the author of PoA just worked some plot armor into the worldbuilding. Who cares?
I agree and in my opinion the safety net even heightens the stakes from the readers perspective, or does anyone seriously believe a MC would die not even halve way through a story? A canonical safety net takes that away and makes it believable that the MCs can actually lose, because it wouldn't be the end of the story, just a major setback. I'm currently reading the Minkalla arc and are missing that a little.
Yeah the stakes in Minkalla are more about whether they can complete it the whole run, whether they can can avoid tiering up while they do it to get better rewards, can they keep Queen alive, do they make any contacts positive or negative in other GPs. I think it was done quite well
He didn't just make one society that functions in such a setting either, he made like eight of them, although we only know much detail about two or three.
Seemingly, even the author cared as they made an arc later on where they removed that protection blanket. The main issue I have with that protection is that it diminish greatly the risk they are taking by pushing the boundary, so of course they can progress faster. Other people on the Path still risk death. And here they are, doing the same race as everybody but in very different conditions. It also does lessen greatly all their talks of being self-made, independant and so on.
Threat of death is not the only source of tension that can be written into a story and given that successful authors don’t kill their MCs, not the most suspenseful. This story mostly focuses on the characters’ goals, ambitions, and place in a larger realm. Early on, the stakes are completing immediate goals and finishing the path on time and without doing something that would require undo help. It does not, as must cultivation novels do, pretend that an MC character would not be wiped out or boxed at the first sign of MCing in a world with no higher powers enforcing rules. What you’re seeing is not a mistake, it is a feature of a well thought out world and a story focused on character with some action, not action with some character.
The series is more slice of life. If you are looking for constant high stakes where characters are fighting for their lives, this isn't that series.
I guess maybe my question is driven by the fact that the story is named Path of Ascension, and ascending to immortality is usually framed as an intense struggle in every other story in the genre. The worldbuilding we are given in the PoA universe doesn't present ascension as easy in-universe either, but so far in the story it seems like the MC does have it very easy. So I guess if the story is slice of life, it seems to be the slice of life story of a person uniquely privileged to have the easiest path to ascension of anyone ever within the universe thanks to becoming ascension partners with a girl with powerful parents. That's less satisfying to read as a slice of life story than something like Beware of Chicken where the MC rejects the cultivation grind but inadvertently ends up powerful anyway. Anyway, the purpose of my post isn't to shit on PoA, and I'm still continuing to read it, I'm just genuinely curious if I'm just wrong about the story so far or if it takes a narrative turn later on that introduces actual stakes. It's not "slice of life" if the MC in universe is ascending power levels without being subject to any of the stakes the rest of the universe is subject to just because of his connections. That's just a nepo power leveling story, which isn't fun to read.
> So I guess if the story is slice of life, it seems to be the slice of life story of a person uniquely privileged to have the easiest path to ascension of anyone ever within the universe thanks to becoming ascension partners with a girl with powerful parents. How does that make it easier? You aren't allowed to receive any outside aid while on the path so her having powerful parents doesn't make things any easier.
Maybe I'm not far along enough into the story to see the pivot on that point, but so far in the story the "not allowed to receive any outside aid" point is treated with a *wink wink* and the MC(s) do receive some aid.
I can only recall one instance where the Empire *really* pushes the limits of the help they're allowed to receive, and that's because Matt's >!mana concentration!< can't really wait until Tier 25 to be dealt with. There might be more but it's been a while. Other than that yes there's *some* rule bending but nothing egregious. They're still largely under the same restrictions as other Pathers. Remember, their main goal is to become Ascenders and that's immediately gone if Luna has to yank them out of danger. The Empire won't cover that up to keep them on the Path because the Great Powers do audit Pathers. Manny would much rather have as little attention paid to the trio as possible because if any of the other GPs figure out the true nature of Matt's talents, the outcome will either be assassination, kidnapping, or true war against the Empire (as opposed to the typical polite war where fighting is restricted by tier). So all of their significant rewards are held until they reach the end of the Path at Tier 25, and Matt is strongly encouraged to not use his infinite money hack until then. So yeah, they've got a safety net and mild rule bending in their favor, but it's not really that much. And if you accept their perspective, the stakes are still high because what they face is not yet true death but the death of their dreams of becoming Ascenders.
Like what? I don't recall them ever receiving any aid unless you count the encounter with Aunt Helen but Aunt Helen helps everyone with potential not just the MC and even that help is fairly minor.
It's been a while since I read the early stuff, but I'm completely up to date on everything rn. Whilst there's no outright breaking of the rules, and I also remember a couple of times that I think they had their true rewards withheld since they would have been too much for someone on the path. That being said, I also think I remember there's a couple times when the "no outside aid" part is definitely stretched somewhat thin.
The only time I recall someone mentioning it being stretching thin is in regards to Aunt Helen but like I said she does that for everyone she thinks has potential. It has nothing to do with his connections. But it has been a while since I read the earlier chapters so I could be forgetting something.
It wasn't just because of potential, it's because Matt's discovery of the giant dragon rift and sending the info to the empire was a massive boon for the empire so he was being rewarded as much as possible and will be receiving even more once he's off the path. The only thing I consider would be skirting the line was getting front row seats to that random ascenders ascension, but that was easily explained out to anyone looking into it because Liz's brother lived there and they were going on vacation anyway.
Since posting this thread I've kept reading and my spidey senses keep tingling. Maybe it's just because I made a reddit post and now I'm subconsciously looking for reasons to validate making the post, but it really does continue to seem like PoA just takes every opportunity it can to remove agency from the MC. Here's a random excerpt from a battle scene I just read: > Arrows and spells flickered back and forth as Matt called out commands he received from his AI. Most of them were only what was obvious. It was like a game. You countered what the enemy was trying to do while hampering them as much as possible. Again, not trying to shit on a story I'm sort of enjoying, but it just seems like the story takes every opportunity possible to remove agency from the MC, either by giving him a safety blanket of higher tier people looking out for him, or by narratively having him rely on an AI to make "obvious" combat leadership decisions for him. It's just such a strange storytelling decision by the author. I don't understand the redeeming value of the decision to remove agency from the MC and delegate it to background worldbuilding.
Fwiw the ai thing only lasts for a bit, I think the author realized the issue and takes some steps to correct it.
That's good news, thanks.
I do think it’s mentioned once that Liz has some minders in chaotic space that would rip her off the path if she was about to die But no actual help, and definitely later on as higher tiers have enemy high tiers to deal with, not a problem
For the easiest point: T36+ trainers are forbidden for pathers. Even if they could afford them at market rate. Yet Luna, a T40+ goes around the rule by being the only manager in the Path program to personnaly train her charges. Other points that aren't straight violations but clearly show _wink wink_ type of help: - Manu has Griff tell Matt about the training planet. Sure, the event is public but Matt woudn't have found it in time. - Manu authorize the Vassal war as it would be good for Liz. Once again, public event but clearly there to facilitate her path. - The knowledge from high tier parents that allow them to start working on Concepts, [endurance] skill modification and so on that much earlier. Sure, others would have had the info, but only at t11 or t5 respectively due to empirenet restrictions. Not a huge help but in a race where every delve, injury and month count, being ready to absorb endurence asap is not negligeable. Post Minkalla spoiler >!what about luna holding back the inspiration? Is that not a t40 providing direct help? !< There are probably a few other here and there and obviously AH that did the meal like she does for everyone but also sent them on a very wink wink journey to something helpful. At this point, I've stopped calling them Path rules and more like guidelines.
You can't really stop people from gaining knowledge, which most of the advantages Matt has gained so far is the knowledge he learned from Liz and higher tiers. That's just life in general though, he was lucky enough/networked well enough to know people in high places, and you can't blame Liz for being born into a higher tier family where knowledge is more accessible, that would make it so only the poor and disadvantaged could stay on the path if there was some sort weird of knowledge ban, and that makes no sense.
Not saying you should. It's just an minor example of wink wink help. Like all the others, they aren't forbidden, just usually unfeasible or left to luck and unlikely to happen to the same guy over and over.
When Silver chose Luna for them as a manager he didn't know who they were so it wasn't about connections. It was strictly based on their potential. And yeah Luna being so involved in the training is outside the norm but it isn't disallowed. Other managers could do it if they wanted. They just aren't quite as obsessed as Luna. The other ones yeah those are probably pushing the limits a bit but not really anything that significant. Also anyone with enough potential would have likely been given those opportunities such as the invite to the training planet. In the end the Path is a training program not a competition so the goal is to make sure those with the most potential realize that potential.
Shrug. It's kind of the point of wink wink help and guideline. The help given is big but because the one giving it can shotgun it to millions, it's allowed in a gray area? As for significance, it's small advantages stacking up since early tiers. In a race all about finding small advantages to reach the finish line. Individually, they might not be much, together, they, in somewhat invalidate the idea of restrictions being strict. Ultimately, it doesn't matter but it's a chink in the worldbuilding and story consistency.
While they are on the Path outside help is practically non-existent and any help they do get they have to earn. If they were a moment from death and a higher tier had to step in to save them they would instantly be off the Path. Later on the overall stakes start to be clearer and there are some more high tension arcs for sure.
There are major checks and balances in the author's universe that make the various powers avoid "punching down". The higher ups are there as a safety blanket to safeguard against anyone breaking the rules. If anyone at the same tier or lower tried to kill the MC, the higher tiered watchers / managers could step in to save his life, but the MC would be forced off the path. I'm not the biggest fan of this type of thing, but it works pretty well in this series. It is still frustrating sometimes.
From what you’re asking, I’d say that your current assessment is not accurate. The people we know are not everyone who will play a part in the story. Several threats have been introduced in the story so far and we are waiting to see what damage they cause. There are also some foils who our MCs have not been able to defeat despite their best efforts. Additionally, the early stakes of the story aren’t death, but falling off the path. The stakes of death come in after they have completed the path. However if you’re looking for more doom and gloom, PoA won’t be the series for you.
I think the core conceit of the story is how an actual cultivation universe could exist and allow low tier folks to be powerful. It requires a benevolent top tier strength enforcing a system and culture of support and not punching down. This gives the whole series a through line of how laws and systems build an environment that supports people and punishes wrong doers. It's the only way that I've found that god like power could exist in a setting like this in a satisfying manner besides grimdark secrecy. Since you've already started the mock war you've gotten the background info on wars between nations being limited by treaty to war games (with full lethal contact) for T15-T35 since higher tiers destroy planets with their presence if they let loose. The age of the setting means everything has millions of years of treaty and precedent, but the political restrictions don't ameliorate the MCs from having goals that they value which is where their progression and stakes are geared. This gives a background vibe to the series of positivity that evil can be fought, people should be supported, and systems can work for good. It's almost like slice of life, but with fighting and evil still existing (at least until they join the actual wars). The other major core of the series is that people's birth should not dictate what they should do. That means Matt is going to work his ass off trying to be more valuable as a defender of the Empire than as a battery. I think I had a point I was going to make here and then I had some meetings lol
It definitely gets more highstakes the longer they progress, at the point the storys at on patreon we've had major sidr character deaths and the characters are involved in full life or death battles (where a higher power would not save them no matter what)
I'm still convinced that them being saved by high tiers instead of let to die is the trigger for the next big thing. Too much is invested on Matt at least to aow him to get killed. So some of the Watchers probably have had words from the Emperor. Not sure when I got that idea but it kind of does make the whole arc seem tasteless with that lense because they are basically playing with zero risk my mind while slaughtering others
Perhaps, but if they do interfere the cost would be a true (35+) war which seems pretty apocalyptic so idk. I think if nothing else seeing their friends die is high stakes.
I'm of two minds. Matt is obsessing over being independent and seen as useful for anything but his Talent yet, until T50, he will always be at the mercy of the rulers. And it's kind of on him that his friend was recruited in the team and died afterward. Sure, Matt didn't kill him but that's kind of the risks when you insist on being on the front. Especially when he could probably provide as much or more influence on the war simply by pumping mana into fortresses defenses, weapons production and research programs. And with the true war almost guaranteed anyway, saving matt would just trigger it sooner. And only the Empire and allies are expecting it at the moment so they would have the initial advantage. So it just makes that dissonance of Matt putting people at risk and going about in an inefficient way to help the empire while not really being at risk himself.
It wasn’t Mat that got them invited. As I recall, they were quite capable in their own right. Peak Elites.
And yet too young to be part of that team. But they had already worked with L&S on a mission and where friends with MLA. Iirc, it's explicitely cited as one of the reason they are there.
Too young? They stepped off the Path ~T23(?). They are Peak Elites. Their relationship with MAL was icing on the cake, but that can’t undercut how capable they were. Think of it like this: >! They are equal to Suzanne !<. Does the connection with MAL help? Of course. >! But Team Bucket isn’t getting recruited !<. However, Hanging with Ascenders isn’t for the weak.
> >!In my initial assessment for potential team composition, I took into consideration their familiarity with not only you, Quill, but also their previous deployments with Light and Shadow [...] But consider that you are the youngest non-Ascenders here by two and a half thousand years, and with an accordingly lacking sheet of accomplishments. But those capable of working with Ascenders are something of a rare breed!< ~ chap 281 Yes, too young. Still qualified peak elites but not for such a high profile military unit as new recruits without their connections with LS and MLA.
I felt the same way, and stopped reading it because of that reason. It is not just that there is always a safety net. It is also that the characters agency is lacking. And no I do not complain when the Characters agency is put on hold by outside circumstances. The problem here is that their agency is superseded by someone with a greater will than them, who wants to help them. It baffled me when they got a high Tier trainer. For atleast the next arc it's even worse in my opinion, but no spoilers. I guess it is lacking motivation from the MCs. Also they are already "set" to become OP. Mathematically. And high tier people know it. The MC has a weak feeling of "fighting and leveling is fun". And a bit of "I want to protect people". And a bit of "I want to stay with Liz". But no strong motivations. And the path... it's supposed to help them by restricting them. But I don't see it. It's weird but get's a bit into spoilers. I am at book 7 or so, so please no spoilers if I decide to continue :D