Sam awoke some time later, lying on the moist earth of a churned up field. His many levels had healed him of the worst of his injuries, but the actual node cracking damage was still present. He was in rough shape. Before him lay the massive form of the Corpse Titan, unmoving and silent. Devastation surrounded him, and a good portion of the city was in ruins. However, he had achieved his goal. Notifications waited for him, which he eagerly opened.
You have killed the Corpse Titan!
You have leveled up! (x13)
It was by far the most essence he had gained in his life, and he knew that it was only a fraction of what he would have gained if he had soloed the monster. Most of the damage was dealt by the various weaponry of the city, with him simply landing the final blow. Another message waited as well.
You have gained a new title!
Enlightened Butcher: Ancient
You have landed the final blow on an E Rank existence, while still in F Rank. That is an achievement almost unheard of. Fighting up a Tier, even with the help of others, is usually a suicide mission. Not only did you succeed, but you are not even crippled from the effort. Fortune truly favors the bold.
Bonuses: +10% to all stats
There was one more message after that, but this one was a lot more distressing.
Threshold pending in Strength. Stat points reserved until threshold is crossed.
Sam closed that for now, not mentally prepared for what was to come. He wanted to be in a safer place than this in order to go through the agonizing process of breaking through a threshold. He knew that this time, it would be even worse. Sam slowly got to his feet, groaning in pain. He quickly opened the quest update that had just appeared, reading as he walked.
Rise of the Titans
Difficulty: S
The unprecedented surge of power created by the formation of multiple Daos on your planet within the first month of the initialization has created a Dao resonance of epic proportions. Figures from throughout your mythological systems have been brought to life, first among them being Gaea, the mother of the Earth. These beings will not suffer the lives of ants to exist on what they consider their planet, and they will attempt to eradicate you. In a shocking turn of events, you managed to defeat the Corpse Titan, a feat of legendary proportions. For an F Rank faction to overcome an E Ranker is something that is considered to be almost impossible. However, there are still eleven more Titans left.
Ultimate Goal: Kill Gaea and her eleven children.
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Current Goal: Kill the other ten subordinate Titans.
Rewards: Survival, ???
At least the quest reward had been updated. Now he knew that there was an additional reward, beyond survival. One more message appeared, this time in bold font. It seemed like some sort of universal System message.
Congratulations to the people of Earth!
The first Titan has fallen to the blades of the Arbiters of Justice!
Sam smiled at the message, and kept going. He walked towards the monolithic corpse of the Titan, noticing that crews of city dwellers were already dismantling it for its resources. The parts of an E Rank beast would sell for billions of credits on the Interweb. Of course, Sam would gain a large cut of that, given that he had dealt the final blow. As he walked, he was joined by Eduardo, Lao, Jeffrey and Talnor. They were all bruised and bloodied, but radiant smiles graced their faces.
“We actually did it,” Talnor said, in disbelief. He had grown up in the outer Multiverse, and had known just how unlikely it was for an F Rank force to defeat an E Rank being. “Just from my small contribution, I gained four entire levels, as well as a Mythical Title. Coming here was the best decision that I ever made.”
It seemed that Sam had been the only one to gain the Ancient version of the title, as he had dealt the finishing blow. Still, a permanent Mythical Title was more than most people would have at this level.
“Did everyone gain that title?” Sam asked, interested. If everyone who had contributed had gained such a powerful title, it would boost the overall strength of the city.
“As far as I could tell, yes. Apparently our achievement was so out of the ordinary that the System handed out Mythical Titles like candy,” Lao answered.
Sam nodded. He knew that he was only trying to distract himself from his pending threshold. It was time to rip off the bandage.
“Well, I have something that I need to attend to in privacy,” Sam said. He nodded at his captains, and then raced off towards a nearby barn. Hopefully this would be over quickly.
Sam entered the barn, and found a dry spot on the ground to sit. The building had been miraculously untouched by the conflict. It was almost as if fate wanted him to gain more power. With a sigh, he began the process. At least the System had the decency to stop a threshold from happening without the approval of the user. Sam felt his muscles begin to grow warmer, and he tensed in anticipation. The heat grew and grew, but it was solely contained in his muscles. Otherwise, it would have given him the mercy of having his nerves melted away. His muscles began to churn, turning to an amorphous liquid that felt like lava in his veins. Pain billowed through his body like a smoke made out of razors and acid, sending spikes of pain shooting through his nervous system. If not for the fact that his muscles were useless now, he would have been screaming in agony. The pain grew worse and worse as his muscles began to grow, pressing against his body in ways that stretched his skin to its limit. He sat there for what felt like days, but really was only a few minutes. Eventually, the process finished.
You have passed the Second Threshold of Strength.
Your strength has eclipsed the realm of the natural world, becoming something akin to that of a demigod. People flock to your banner, drawn by the allure of your protection. Strength exists in many forms however, and not just of the physical. A brute with the ability to flatten a mountain might only be the pawn of a far weaker, but more intelligent being. Those with strength of one kind often lack that of the other, but you possess all forms of strength. You are a rarity in this world.