He let out a groan as he leaped out of the pit, his entire body feeling like one gigantic bruise. Dranus still floated in the air a few miles away, the Forest Folk peering down at him with a slight look of concern. It vanished shortly after, as soon as he saw Sam rise.

He teleported next to the plant man, and let out a sigh. “One down, two to go.”

As the corruption receded around them, Sam and Dranus took off once more, heading towards the next of the Sentinels.

The next hour or so passed quickly enough, and soon Sam had another two kills under his belt. He was hovering on the brink of another level. Whatever was to come next would push him over the edge.

You have completed the Jaded Jungles: Layer 7! (Challenge Mode)

You have upgraded a title!

Twenty-Sixth Floor Obliterator: Ancient-> Twenty Seventh Floor Obliterator: Ancient

Not content to breeze through the paltry difficulty of the base Tower of Transcendence, you have proven that you are capable of greater things. In defeating the tenth floor of Challenge Mode, you have overcome a hurdle that few could at your level. In defeating the twentieth floor, you have further proven your might.

Bonuses: +54% to all stats

Sam closed the all too familiar title upgrade notification, and then opened his objectives.

You have entered Floor 8 of the Jade Jungles(Challenge Mode)

Four of the fiends that haunt the world of Vallenar have fallen, but there are still dozens left. Too many by far for one man to face. Make contact with the Forest Folk elites and aid them in ten battles.

Completion: 0/10

Rewards: Title Upgrade

The message seemed a bit patronizing, but Sam supposed there was a greater story going on here than simply a one man butchering mission. He probably could have eradicated all of the Voidrot Guardians by himself, at least in one on one fights, but there would undoubtedly be complications later.

Dranus had faithfully followed him across the surface of Vallenar, watching as he dismantled his foes. The man was slowly starting to drop his prickly facade, and talked to Sam about the history of the planet. Apparently, visitors from the Tower tended to be arrogant and brusque, not inclined to speak to those they were being sent to help.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Sam was different though, and that was surprising to Dranus, surprising enough that he found himself conversing with the other man like he was another native, rather than a being so far removed biologically from himself that he couldn’t understand his existence. He told him of his family, lost to the encroaching scourge. He explained the history of his planet, from the glory days of Anavri’s life to the long decline that came after the System arrived.

Sam had been a bit confused on what Anavri had actually been, a god or simply a powerful being that had taken that role. Her life was mythologized to an incredible degree, but the proof of her miracles was everywhere Sam looked.

She had been one of the Forest Folk with a genetic mutation that allowed her to control vegetation by connecting with it on a physical level. Her real body had been ensconced within the largest of the Sentinels, but her senses had extended across the entire planet. Sam’s lack of knowledge of life as a plant was showing here, as he could not understand this working. However, in a near infinite expanse of universes, anything was possible, even without the System. The Dao was present regardless of the System, even if it was almost impossible to find. Elemental energy too for that matter.

The System seemed to act as a bridge between sapients and the forces of the universe, but Sam suspected that it was possible to commune with them without its influence. Perhaps learning how to do so would be wise, if he ever did gain enough power to become someone that the System itself wished to kill. After all, he was what amounted to the final hope of the Dao. If he didn’t succeed in reaching the pinnacle of power, no other Dao Incarnation ever would. Even the Overlord, with his immensely potent Dao path was still weaker than him, on a logical basis. After all, Sam could walk both the path of Supremacy, and everything else.

“Dranus?” He called out, getting the attention of the man flying by his side.

“Yes?”

“Where are those fighters among your race that are capable of facing the Guardians? My next quest tasks me with finding them and aiding them.”

“They reside in the city that Anavri used to live in. With her dead, though, it is simply a gargantuan tree now, only fit to live in. I can show you the way.”

The Forest Folk changed his trajectory and started towards the East, his wings fluttering rapidly as he attempted to speed up. To Sam, he was still going pitifully slowly, but that was alright. He was quite enjoying the conversations he was having with the other man. It was always nice to learn about one of the seemingly infinite wonders of the Boundless Expanse.

As they went, Sam continued to pepper him with questions. “What is the general state of your Multiverse? I know that it’s a lot smaller than my own, and weaker too, but what are the major powers?”

“There is one preeminent race that rules over all others. They call themselves the Spore Lords. They are sapient versions of mushrooms that can spread into almost anywhere they choose. Over eons of evolution, they grew to be able to permeate the barriers between universes, even before the System came. That is why the peak level in this Multiverse is around high Fifth Sprouting. Crossing the divides between universes triggered the System to come even though the people of this Multiverse were basically powerless.”

“And there are a myriad of other Multiverses, as far as I know,” Sam replied. “I wonder how they developed.”

“I would tell you if I knew, but I do not. The vagaries of the wider Boundless Expanse are so far beyond my ken that they might as well not exist. All I know is that visitors from your Multiverse sometimes come to Vallenar.”