Sam groaned but followed his master’s orders, and lay down on the hard stone, closing his eyes. To his surprise, sleep, or rather a state of dreamy introspection, came far easier than he thought. Resisting the Dao of an E Ranker had germinated all sorts of insights within his Dao, and he needed time to parse them. The insights were not anything concrete, rather simply experience that he had gained that could be used to further his Dao. Most of them were for his weaker Dao Mote of Resolve, which Sam sensed was coming close to ranking up to a Fragment soon enough. When that happened, his power would skyrocket.

Circling fragments of ideas and concepts floated around in his mind, aided by his many boosts to his Dao comprehension speed. As they circled, they drifted towards his core, heading towards his Dao More of Resolve. A few moments, or perhaps a few hours later he was thrust into a Dao vision, one motivated by his newfound knowledge of the Dao of Resolve.

He was standing in the middle of a vast hellscape, a plane of blood and lava that seemed to have no end. His vision spiraled out from his body a moment later, showing himself crucified on an x shaped pillar of stone. Leering demons flayed his flesh and up above, a massive creature stared down at him, speaking in a booming voice that he could not understand. The meaning was clear enough however. They were trying to get information out of him. There was no pain, as there could not be in a Dao Vision, but Sam still felt every lash on a conceptual level, allowing him to understand the suffering that this man was going through.

Years passed in the blink of an eye, but the man remained silent, refusing to speak. The years turned into decades, and the decades into centuries, but still the man continued on his path. Eventually, the vision ended, and Sam was thrust back into his own body, shaking slowly from the memory. A notification awaited him, and he eagerly opened it.

You have upgraded your Dao.

Dao Fragment of Resolution(First Step)

Resolve is a concept that allows for one to resist the pressure of the world. Resolution is a concept that allows one to never again succumb to those pressures. Not only can you resist outside forces, but future ones now hold no fear for you. Such is the nature of a resolution, and of Resolution.

+5 to Strength

+10 to Resilience

+2 to Constitution

It was a welcome boost, beyond just the stat bonus, and Sam could feel the new power that he could access from the concept. He clenched his fist, and sent the blue light of his Dao to it, feeling that it was now far more balanced than it had been before with his other Dao. It was still weaker, still subordinate to it, but it was easier to use now.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Sam got to his feet, his fractured bones healed by now, and started to circulate his power within himself, using his Dao to bolster his body, experimenting with its effects. He tried to blend it in with his other skills, but found that it did not mesh well with his other abilities. He tried to send the energy along the same pathways that formed his Fiery Justice skill, which was just a basic enhancement skill, and he was able to make it match. Blue energy coursed up and down his body, meshing with his skin and bones, and making them more durable. There was no added strength, but there was a lot more capacity for damage. This was in line with the nature of Resolution, and it had been similar to what he had expected. A skill notification popped up, and he read it eagerly.

“God, these skill notifications are like drugs, and I’m the addict,” Sam thought, only half joking. The parallels between the System and a drug dealer were quite strong. However, he didn’t really have a choice, and he could not deny that he enjoyed leveling up.

You have gained a new skill!

Warding Light: Legendary

You have incorporated the Dao of Resolution into your body, allowing for you to draw upon its concept to empower yourself. In line with the ideal of Resolution, your body becomes far more durable when under the effect of the skill, allowing you to take more damage than normal. Resolve becomes you and your path. Be sure that you continue to expound upon its tenets.

Sam closed the notification and then thrust his fist into the ground beneath him, blasting apart the stone. He felt no pain at all, and he had made more of an impact than normal, showing his newfound durability. However, the skill took a lot out of him, far more than Fiery Justice did. That made sense, given how much more of an effect it had on his body. The other skills only gave him additional strength and speed, but this one reinforced his entire body.

“Any luck with your Dao breakthrough?” Gordanus asked a moment later, still standing there.

“Yes. I managed to create another Fragment. How long was I out?” Sam asked, unsure of how much time he had spent in his fugue

“Quite some time. It’s been 2 weeks,” Gordanus said, his face straight.

Sam froze, and looked at the man in shock.

“2 weeks!” He screamed, enraged at how much time had gone down the drain. Then he saw the tiniest speck of a smile on Gordanus’ face and he groaned. “You asshole!”

“You asshole, what?” Gordanus asked, grinning.

“Master.” Sam said, shaking his head. “I almost had a heart attack there!”

“All jokes aside, well done. I wasn’t expecting that much of an increase, though I suppose the nature of your Dao was in line with the trials that I put you through.”

Sam nodded and started to stretch out, recovering from having gone through so much within the last few hours. He had increased greatly in power, and he was eager to test it. As if sensing this, Gordanus took a fighting stance and drew his sword.

“The best way to consolidate a breakthrough is through battle. Why don’t you test out your new abilities on me?”