As he rose, his own introspection vanished, replaced by horror at his surroundings. In every direction, all he could see was devastation. Many of the skyscrapers at the center of the city had been toppled, further damaging those that had remained unscathed from the initial attack. Corpses lay under the rubble, tucked away, but not quite by enough. The citizens without enough durability had died beneath the falling rubble, and those with barely enough were lying in various states of distress.
The stronger citizens were flitting around, trying to help the survivors, and returning the city to a more habitable situation. Some time later, the city shield turned back on, and the comforting blue light of the force field somehow lessened the impact. Sam sighed, and got to work, helping the survivors with his massive strength. He blasted large chunks of rock to rubble with his fists, lifting them off the ground with ease. His speed let him do this work in a matter of seconds, and he used his teleportation abilities to help his job. Before the buildings could be reconstructed, the debris had to be cleared.
A few hours later, a mountain of debris sat at the center of the city, piled up before the city hall, which had miraculously remained unscathed. The surviving buildings stood like fingers, pointing accusingly at the sky. Somebody started to use the Metropolis Core, causing new buildings to rise from where the old had stood.
Sam purposefully kept his eyes away from the rows of corpses that were laid out before the city hall. A few thousand people had died in the assault, more than from any previous Titan attack. It was only a small fraction of the total population, but it was a sizable number to see in physical form.
Sam’s face was grim as he faced the somber crowd slowly gathering in front of the city hall, the corpses and rubble behind him providing a macabre backdrop.
“My friends,” he began. “The Titans have stepped too far. No longer will we wait in this city for them to come to our gates and threaten our people. I will deal with them before they can become a threat. Such is my role as Faction Leader, and it is a role that I have sorely neglected. My strength is enough to stand against the Titans, at least for a time, and I possess enough abilities to potentially kill one. If I can do so, my strength will grow to the point that I can end the threat. A few of my captains will accompany me.”
At this, Lao, Eduardo, Jeffrey and Talnor stepped up, standing in a semicircle behind him. Sam began to slowly expand his aura outwards, coating the entire area in it. His Dao Seed meant that he could imbue much more power into his Mantle of the Arbiter skill than before, and he likely would be able to upgrade it soon. The effects were immediate. A sudden wave of bloodlust rose up from his people, directed at the Titans. Their desire for revenge was almost visible, especially with Sam’s own Dao. He simply raised one fist, not having the energy to smile after the day’s carnage. Then he turned, his captains following suit.
It took very little time to set up the city for the absence of its central council. There were many other captains to step up and hold the line, and Sam was certain that most of the other Titans nearby would not prove to be much of a challenge to the city defenses after the Flood Titan’s core fragments were sold. Besides, judging by the behavior of the Flood Titan, he was a large reason behind their hatred of the city.
His ship was ready and waiting outside of the city hall, and as he and his four strongest allies stepped aboard, the populace watched, fists clenched in rage. They wanted blood, and blood they would get. As everyone got situated, Sam opened his stat sheet. He would need every last drop of power that he could get for this fight. No, this crusade.
Sam Atlas
Human: F Rank
Mortal Tier
F Rank
Class: Greater Dao Visionary
Level 122
(179 stat points unspent)
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Strength
895
1.63x
Constitution
741
1.58x
Resilience
804
1.58x
Dexterity
810
1.63x
Intelligence
983
1.58x
Wisdom
1022
1.58x
* Health 16673/16673
* Mana 22118/22118
* Stamina 20138/20138
* Road to Zenith
Stage 2
* Dao
Dao Echo of Inspiration
Dao Seed of the Avenger(First Step)
* Skills
1x Uncommon, 1x Rare, 2x Epic, 6x Legendary, 7x Mythical, 2x Ancient, 1x Unique
* Titles
1x Legendary, 2x Mythical, 2x Ancient, 1x Transcendent
* Temporary Titles
1x Epic, 1x Legendary, 1x Mythical
* Dao Heritage
Dao Incarnation of Existence(First Step)
* Party
None
* Skill Branches
Muscle Density Enhancement(Level 1)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Blunt(Level 1)
* Weapon Style
Flowing Water Style
* Weapon Mastery: Brotherhood Stage 6
* Elemental Affinities
Earth: 5% Mastery
* Quests
The Sacred Bond: Impossible
Engines of the End Time: S
Rise of the Titans: S
* Professions
Smith: Novice Stage 5
Dao Smith: Novice Stage 1
He had a plethora of available stat points, and although having Wisdom above one thousand points was nice, it was a bit of a waste of potential. He hardly needed more Dao comprehension speed. Instead, he decided to focus on his physical stats, which were lagging behind somewhat.
99 points, divided into sets of three, were allocated in the blink of an eye, filling his body with power. With his stat bonuses, he gained 165 stat points rather than a mere 99. As his Strength crossed the thousand point mark, he grinned. A title notification waited, a version of the Wisdom title for the same reason.
You have gained a new title!
Humanity’s Strongest: Mythical
You are the first person to cross the one thousand point mark in Strength, an incredible feat for a universe so recently initiated. Is your strength tempered well with the steel of wisdom, or will your brutish might drive you to your demise?
Bonuses: This is a prestige title, meant to commemorate an event rather than provide any concrete bonus.
Sam closed the message and leaned back in his chair, emptying his mind. He was a bit annoyed with the useless titles, and decided to remove them from his stat sheet. From now on, he would not receive a notification, or see them when he looked at his sheet. All they were was a waste of space.