“Alright,” Jeffrey said after the short pause. “I’ll continue now. There are two more ranks, both of which are nothing more than legends and whispers among the elite and idle of the Multiverse. A Principality Rank monster is akin to a universe ending threat, and only a few exist within the known Multiverse. Many of the creatures that wander the Astral Plane are of this rank, the ones that threaten the integrity of reality itself. The only thing higher than that, at least within this Multiverse is a Supremacy ranked monster. Such a thing has never been heard of, at least as far as I know. That would entail a Peak A rank monster, with the power of a true god. Of course, there is only one Peak A Ranker in this Multiverse, and he would not suffer such an impugnation of his power. Perhaps there were some in the past, but they are long dead by now.”
“Talking about this stuff really makes you wonder about the state of affairs in the higher universes, doesn't it? We are stuck in this frontier universe, completely cut off from the true powers of the multiverse. I have never seen even a planet being destroyed, let alone an entire universe. Well, I experienced it, but I didn't really see it in action.”
“Yeah, when the System reset the universe. That is a completely different thing however. The System is powerful enough to completely erase a universe in a single go, hence the lack of fanfare about it. Even a being like Altari would have to ready an attack to do such a thing however. The System can just will it to happen.”
Sam shook his head at the thought of such overbearing power. Such a thing simply felt unnatural to him, although that was likely his mortality speaking. He might have fully realized his place in the new world, but he sure as hell wasn't comfortable beyond his own level of power. Like most bored, young men, Sam had contemplated what he would do with superpowers quite a few times. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought about levels of power reaching into the universe destroying tier. The most he had ever thought about was a planetary level of power, and even then he had no idea about the ramifications.
The forest abruptly ended, spitting them out onto the scorched plain that surrounded the faction headquarters. One of the ever present alien armies was camped at the side of the city, bombarding it with pitifully futile blasts of energy. Sam dropped the boar head next to Jeffrey and flashed him a smile before running towards the aliens. He was feeling in a good mood today, and he was willing to let these aliens off with a mere warning, as they had not really done anything yet.
By the time that the aliens had noticed him, he was already halfway to the camp, and it was too late for them. Projectiles thudded down around him, but he ignored them all, not even feeling it when an arrow struck his upper torso. When he was within a few hundred feet of the aliens, he extended his aura to its fullest. It swept across the land, a line of red energy that caused the aliens it passed over to go glassy eyed in shock. Even their leader, a low F Ranker, was stricken by the sheer expression of power. A moment later, they were running, leaving all of their supplies behind.
Sam watched them leave, a curious feeling blossoming within him. He was so much more powerful than them that he was basically like a god. Sure, he might have taken a bit of time to kill them all, but he was sure that he could have done it without taking any injuries at all. Power was all relative, even at the low rank that Sam was at. Death was universal, and its effect did not diminish with the power that one had. One might argue that it only increased.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Sam turned back towards the city and walked towards the gates, noting that Jeffrey was already catching up. As the gates swung open, he passed through the force field and entered the city.
“Why did you let them all go?” Jeffrey asked, confused.
“They were too weak to bother with. Why should I butcher those who are weaker than me without cause?” Sam replied. “It is not the right thing to do. If they had been any stronger, it would have been a possibility, but at their level of power, there was no way that they could have injured me. Even their leader fled before my aura.”
Sam sighed as he thought about the fight, or rather lack thereof that he had just been in. It was ridiculous to think that he had progressed so far in a mere few months, but the evidence was all around him. With great power comes great responsibility, or so the saying went, but Sam was sure that such a thing was not recognized within the Multiverse. Judging by the actions of people like Berrigious or Tantalos, power was an enabler of evil, not the preventer of it. Would Sam eventually become nothing more than another bitter, power hungry old monster drifting through the Multiverse, killing all who got in his way? He sincerely hoped not.
A few hours later, with the boar’s head displayed to the grateful townspeople, Sam sat with the captains around the table in the war room, watching as Lao plotted the course of Legion forces nearby. The hive mind monsters were everywhere, and even within the bounds of the canyon that surrounded their city. There were at least ten thousand of them there, if not more, and their numbers were swelling by the day. As of now, they were not a threat, but as the million strong main force came to bear, the city would be hard pressed to survive.
Sam sighed in exasperation as he listened to yet another dire projection from Lao about possible casualties. The thought that with all of his power, even he was not enough to stem the tide that would soon be rushing in toward the city was a sobering thought.
“Sam? Sam!” Lao’s voice broke into Sam’s thoughts, stirring him from his introspection.
“Huh?”
“You were drifting off there. I know this topic isn't that interesting, but I can’t be that boring, can I?” Lao asked, smiling.
“No, it wasn’t… It wasn’t that. I was thinking about something that Jeffrey and I were talking about. About all of our futures, in the face of immortality.”
“Well, we’re not going to get there if we die now. Try to focus, will you?”
Lao’s voice was stern, and Sam unconsciously straightened up under his glare, despite the fact that technically, the other man was his subordinate. Nodding, he watched as Lao charted the path of the Legion.
“Now. One of our information gathering arrays reported that a large fleet will be launched from the coast of France soon, carrying the vast majority of the Legion’s forces. When they arrive, they will need another few days of travel to get to our positions. We weren't able to see what kind of ships they were using, but I am assuming that they are a lot faster than pre-integration ships. In any case, that is the only force we have to worry about.”
“So other than that, everything is normal?” Eduardo asked.
“Well, there was one thing that I couldn't make out. It appears as if a large portion of the army are purposefully trying to hide themselves, wearing large, black cloaks. I have no idea why though.”
“Yeah, who knows? Maybe they're a new type of soldier from the Legion side,” Sam said.
He didn't really care about the new type of soldiers however., They would still die at the same rate as the normal ones. At this point, the only things in the entire Legion that could possibly be a challenge to him was the Supreme General himself, Hugo Mar, or a large number of his lieutenants. In any case, the grunts were not worth noting.