Drawing every ounce of skill that he could muster, Sam fought against his own mind to predict the next strike. As Salvar began to move, Sam shot out his hand into a seemingly empty stretch of air, tightening his fingers around Salvar’s hand as it flashed through there. His wrist was instantly shattered, sending the momentum of Salvar’s punch into his own body, but he absorbed the rest of it with no harm. Luckily he had used his already broken arm to do so.
At this level, broken bones were still troubling, but it was far easier to fight through the pain and still use them in a fight than Sam would have been able to before. In any case, he would not let something as minor as a broken wrist distract him. With Salvar clutched in his hand, Sam leveraged every iota of strength that he could muster to hold him there. Sam used Girdings of the Arbiter to lock his arm in place, and then he whipped his mace up and over his head, filling it with every scrap of Dao energy and elemental power that he could. His mace blazed like a falling star as it traveled, limned in yellow and red light. He brought it down on Salvar’s head, groaning as his broken wrist sent a spike of agony through his body.
Salvar was crushed into the ground, sinking into the cyclops’ flesh. The man’s head started bleeding profusely as his skull broke underneath the mace blow, and he screamed out loud as some of his bones shattered. Still, Sam had barely done more damage to the man than had been done to himself. The energy ran out, and his mace was pushed aside by Salvar, the man almost instantly healing his injuries with a strange mist of glowing energy. The man wiped some blood off of his face, and smiled at Sam. A moment later, his fist was planted in Sam’s gut, and Sam was flying backwards into the wall. He impacted with a grunt, and pushed off the wall. Luckily he had been struck in such a way that none of his bones had been broken, but it was impossible for him to breathe. However, that was not a problem for someone like him.
“You’re the most damn resilient G Ranker that I’ve ever faced. Why won’t you just die, you cockroach?” Salvar asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.
Sam grunted and found his breath again, sucking in a deep gasp of air.
“Because while there are people like you alive, I will never rest!” Sam shouted, surprising Salvar with the sheer ferocity in his voice. He lurched forwards, feeling the small kernel of power within him turn into a raging firestorm. His health started to deplete rapidly as he supercharged his use of Fiery Justice, but Sam barely felt the pain.
With a trail of fire streaming behind him, Sam brought his mace around in a tight arc, putting his entire body behind the strike. Salvar held up one hand, imbuing it with power, and braced himself. When the mace collided with Salvar, there was a light pop, a moment of silence, and then a storm of power erupted from the impact point. Both men were tossed backwards dozens of feet, Salvar’s hand and arm completely shattered. Sam was not much better off however. The energy had scoured his skin, and it was seared off to the bone in many places. Sam tried to get to his feet, but his arms felt like they were a light year away, and he collapsed back to the ground. Beneath him the cyclops breathed its last, and a tiny shred of essence entered him. This was the last thing that he remembered for some time.
Sam groaned as he returned to consciousness. Above him, a faint flash of light could be seen as the battle continued. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his leg, and he looked down to see a diminutive alien attempting to impale him. The spear that it was using was far too weak however and the force behind it was not much better. Sam shot his hand up, and to his surprise it passed straight through the alien's head, pulping it instantly. Sam shuddered as the warm viscera showered down on him, and he jumped up to his feet, shaking it off. He checked for his mace, and found it in his hand, just where he had left it.
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“Jesus. What happened?” Sam wondered out loud, slowly remembering the after effects of his final attack on Salvar. “Shit! Salvar!” Sam looked around the battlefield, and saw the man striding through a hole in the walls. Sam scrambled to his feet, ignoring the shooting pains that the motion inflicted on him, and he started loping towards the gap in the walls. It was too far away however, and Salvar was already in the city by then.
He heard a litany of screams, and the sound of multiple mana cannons firing at once as the F Ranker entered the city. His army poured in behind him, and Sam roared in frustration. He saw George desperately keeping a large unit at bay, his greatsword flashing in the sun. The man was stronger than his opponents individually, but he was up against dozens of them. If somebody didn't do something soon, then he would be overrun. Sam noted that nobody was near enough to help, and he realized that if he was to save the man, then he would have to let Salvar take the city. It was like the trolley problem. Could Sam let one person die to save many, or would he leave his friend to founder as he saved the city? This thought strained his Dao so much that Sam started to see sparks flashing around him.
With a grin, he started running towards George. Why not do both? His feet flew across the ground as he used all of his enhancement skills at once, his body filling with a hot feeling of rage, and righteous rage at that. These aliens were leaving him with no choice but to massacre them. They would never surrender, as they still believed that they held the high ground. Well, it was time to show them the error of their ways.
Sam started to give off a corona of red light as he ran, more and more of his Dao insights clicking into place. The power of his Dao, and this place within him began to cement itself, and he could feel the amount of power that he was drawing from it grow. As he leaped into the air to smash his mace down like a meteor, he was transported to a Dao vision. Sam hovered next to the gargantuan reddish orb that was his Dao, taking in its majesty with both eyes. There was a difference however. Normally when he was in his corespace, he felt somewhat separated from his Dao, unless he purposefully went towards them. This time though it was like he was standing in front of a star. The heat of a bonfire washed over his body, and a pervasive sense of fear filled his mind. As the Dao started to loom larger and larger within his vision, Sam started to feel his body crack apart. Insidious thoughts entered his mind unbidden. What did he think he was doing here, looking upon the majesty of a Dao? How could he have ever thought that he was worthy to contain the power of a Dao within his body? But the worst of all was the last one.
“You are no warrior, Sam Atlas, worthy of wielding a Dao. You are nothing but a scared boy, seeking to drown the troubles of your path in the heady brew of conquest. How could one such as you walk any conceptual path, let alone one as mighty as Justice?” Sam felt his will tremble as the voice echoed through the vision. He watched as the Dao before his eyes began to crack and break apart. The entire time, something was screaming at him to listen. All Sam did was watch as his path crumbled before him. A sudden agonizing pain jolted him out of his stupor, and he looked down to see his left hand slamming his mace into his leg over and over again. A hot rage filled his body at this sight, galvanizing the wheels of his will to turn again. He was worthy. He would never let self doubt cloud his way. Even if the Dao itself said that he was unworthy, he would never believe it. For he knew in his heart of hearts that he was the master of his own destiny. The Dao exploded into a storm of apocalyptic heat and light, and this energy entered Sam’s body, imbuing it with new strength. With a smile, he was whisked out of the vision. A new notification was waiting for him.
You have upgraded your Dao.
Dao Fragment of Righteous Anger(Second Step)
Righteous Anger is the purest and most virtuous form of wrath that there is. Rather than selfishly indulging in your own anger as a palliative for your inner suffering, you instead use it as a shield and sword with which to protect the innocent. Now that you have increased connection with his concept and ideal, it will begin to manifest itself more frequently. You have passed the first trial of your Dao, the trial of Will. You have proven to it that you are worthy to wield it, and as such more of its power is available to you.
+20 to all Physical Stats
+14 to all Mental Stats