By the time he reached the robot, who was still standing guard outside of the Dao tree, he was ready for a fight. He cracked his knuckles as he approached, feeling the boost to his strength that he had gained from his recent training coursing through his muscles. The line outside the Dao Tree was as long as ever, if not more so. Almost every fighter in the city had gained a Dao by this point, and many of the civilians as well. Some of them even possessed Fragments at the initial stage.
Sarge stood watch next to the gate, looking bored out of his mind. The robot was meant to train future powerhouses, not babysit some fledgling cultivators using a natural treasure. When he saw Sam, his demeanor perked up, and he abandoned his post without hesitation, bounding over towards Sam.
“Finally! I’m dying of boredom here,” Sarge said.
“Can you even get bored?” Sam asked drily.
“Not really, but it’s fun to pretend. Anyway, is it time for more training?”
“I will be leaving for another expedition soon, and I want to be in top shape for it. If all goes well, we will have another Titan down.”
As Sam spoke, he started heading towards a nearby arena, tugging Sarge along with him. The robot obliged, and kept up the pace. Almost nobody used the arenas for one on one matches, save for the captains. Only beings that powerful needed such a large space to fight in. Everyone else was content with simply marking off a portion of the ground. As they entered the deserted arena, Sam started to layer on his buffs. This match would be one to the very edges of his limits.
“Sarge, I have a special request today. I would like you to set your strength to the power of an average Peak F Ranker. I want to see how I stack up.”
Rather than question the request, Sarge simply nodded. The robot began to pulse with power, and a moment later he was off. Sarge was like a blur, but to Sam’s surprise, he was still visible. He managed to dodge the first strike, but his return attack was dodged in turn. Sarge spun around, and drove a lightning fast kick into Sam’s upraised arms. He was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall with a grunt. However, the damage was surprisingly low. A few of his bones had fractured, but none of them were broken. With a grin, Sam got to his feet, and started to pump power into his hammer. The weapon began to blaze with light, and as Sarge came streaking in once more, Sam held his hammer out to the side and swung with all of his available speed.
The hammer blurred through the air, catching Sarge unawares. The robot raised his hands, and the hammer came crashing down, blasting through his guard and sending him flying into the far wall. For a few seconds, Sam thought that he had beaten the training robot, but then Sarge got up, now hefting a spectral hammer of his own. Sam grinned at this, and started to gather his energy once more, using his weapon mastery to guide his next strike. Both fighters cleared the gap in less than a second, and their blows collided, shaking the very air. They both exchanged strikes within the blink of an eye, causing the arena to shudder. However, they were evenly matched. To Sam’s amazement, he was actually keeping pace with a Peak F Ranker. Of course, this was an idealized one, as a real Peak F Ranker would hardly be average. They would likely possess all sorts of artifacts and the like. Those would boost their strength beyond the norm, even if they were entirely average in every other regard. However, Sam did not let that take his joy away.
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Sarge pushed away, withdrawing, and beginning to draw on his store of false Dao energy. Sam let him do so, eager to see how he compared. The training robot did not have an actual Dao, as only living beings could have something like that, but he did have access to a store of Dao adjacent energy that could be used for the same things in many cases. It was not specialized, but it was still able to emulate Daos. It just needed more power to do so.
His spectral hammer started to pulse rhythmically, juddering in the air as the Dao energy entered it. The weapon seemed to become more solid as the power rushed through it, and Sam felt a premonition of danger from his weapon mastery. Sarge hefted the weapon, and then flashed across the distance between them, using his false Dao energy as a source of power. Sam barely got his hammer up in time, blocking the blow by the barest of margins. He expelled his own Dao energy in response, avoiding the brunt of the ensuing explosion. His twin Daos were leagues above anything that Sarge could bring to bear.
Sam leaped backwards, and gathered his power for a return strike, ready to teach the robot a lesson. Although the tension was building up slowly, Sam’s desire to grow stronger and progress was being swamped by being in the city. He wanted to go out and fight the strongest beings that this world had to offer, but because of his responsibilities, that was an impossibility. While the Titans were around, he needed to stay here, until they were sure that it was time for him to go. Even then, it would simply be for a mission to draw the Titan back to the city. Once the threat was gone, he would be free once more, but that was quite a bit in the future.
Sarge came rushing forwards with an explosion of air pressure, his hammer sweeping low along the ground. Filled with a sudden, hot rage, Sam roared, running to meet it. All of the pent up aggression within him came to a head, and while he could control it, it made his strikes far stronger than was wise. If he was fighting anyone other than Sarge, the attack would have obliterated them. Probably not the best idea in a simple sparring match.
Sarge sensed this however, and matched his power, meeting the tremendously powerful strike with one of his own. Sam’s eyes blazed with frustration as he started to channel his Dao into his weapon, causing it to burn with power. He shoved Sarge’s weapon to the side, and smashed his own into the robot, knocking him to the ground. Then the rage faded away, leaving him panting.