For the next few days, Sam cultivated in silence, preparing for the crusade to come. His Dao slowly grew in power and depth, but he was far from reaching the third stage of the Seed level. Ruminations of the nature of vengeance percolated through his E Rank mind like snow falling from a particularly enlightened sky, filling him with calm. His skills were in a good place, and his main avenue of inquiry was into the reality warping effects of his Dao.
After reaching E Rank, he had noticed a sharp uptick in his ability to manipulate the warp and weft of local reality. So far, he had only used it to unbind ethereal spirits and the like, but he knew that there was far more to it. Had he been able to access the Interweb, he would have researched this in depth, but as he was in another Multiverse, there was no Interweb here. There was probably something similar, but it would be impossible to access with his biological differences to the inhabitants of this realm.
Instead, he puzzled through extending the effects of his Dao into the world around him. Previously, he had accentuated his aura with his Daos, but had since stopped, as it added nothing to its power, only serving to inform his enemies of his strengths. Doing so had added visible effects to his aura, like with his initial Dao Mote of the Arbiter adding ephemeral wings and a radiant glow to his body.
Experimenting with his Dao Seed, he found a wealth of options for how he could manifest it, rather than only one. Ranging from the basic, such as a rippling cloak of red and blue to the extraordinary. So far, the most outlandish Dao manifestation he had found was that of a suit of plate armor, engraved with the faces of all those he had killed in the pursuit of revenge. It was quite inspiring, but it was slightly distracting, occluding his vision. It also did nothing to actually aid his fighting prowess.
After three days, he had found that he could use his Dao energy manipulation as a way to extend a tendril of power into his vicinity, the first step to achieve his desired goal. What he wanted to form was a Domain, something that was quite common in the various books he had read about situations similar to his own. Essentially, a Domain was a localized area of control under a single person, usually keyed to a specific concept or element. It went far beyond an aura, and he wasn’t sure if it existed. He had never seen one in operation before, but he supposed that he had only ever met two cultivators above E Rank, Berrigious and Tantalos. There had been no need for them to use such an ability in any case, giving him nothing to work with.
His first sign of success was the warping of a piece of wood into a spear, representing his desire to achieve revenge by any means necessary. After that, he found it easier to control mundane substances with his will. It was a very narrow effect, only able to fashion weapons, or anything that would further his revenge. The only visual indication of it was a faint reddish hue that surrounded whatever his mind was directed at. Although it was essentially useless, it was a start.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Before he could go any further, he was summoned by Bronvar, for the first part of his next quest. Somehow, the System had managed to align its quest perfectly with what would come to pass. Bronvar and the other Forest Folk elites had drafted a plan for vanquishing the Voidrot, and Sam was central to it. A series of Anavri’s Sentinels had been designated as the best points to target, with a spearhead being established into the center of the Voidrot’s territory. All they had to do was cut off the point of connection that the Voidrot had to the greater universe, and Vallenar would be free. Rather than having to fight a prolonged battle, cleansing the Sentinels one by one, if they could cut off the taint at the source, the Sentinel trees could be cleansed in one fell swoop.
“The Astral Pit is located in the center of a mountain range, with its only entrance point being the gate that the freshly spawned Voidrot Guardians leave from,” Bronvar stated, pointing at a tiny dot on a map. “It is perhaps the most heavily guarded location on Vallenar, even more so than the Locus Tree itself.”
“That’s where I come in, right?” Sam asked, tilting his head. “My teleportation can be used without limitations, unlike yours, and I can simply lead the guardians away.”
“You’re going to have to toe the line between flight and threatening the monsters,” Bronvar answered. “Otherwise they’ll let you leave.”
Sam grinned. “I can do that.”
“As for the rest of you, you’re going to join me in assaulting the center of the Voidrot’s Domain. With our connection to the natural world, we can attempt to birth a new Sentinel Tree in the center of the Astral Pit. It will have to be the greatest of Sentinel Trees, which is why the Locus Tree itself is lending us an artifact.”
Bronvar paused, and reached into a hole on his woody body, pulling out a small orb. It looked like an acorn, but it released so much concentrated Life elemental energy that Sam was almost tempted to leap forwards and devour it. Bronvar’s body visibly shrunk as he removed the seed from himself. “This is the only True Lineage Acorn the Locus Tree has produced in its lifetime. It produces millions of lesser seeds, but out of those, only this one contains its full potential. It is perhaps the most valuable object on Vallenar. If it is wasted, then we might as well give up and let the Voidrot overcome us.”
Everyone nodded grimly, and as Bronvar put the acorn back into his body, they took off on wings of wood. Sam was the only one who couldn’t fly, so he teleported instead. Something he had discovered while experimenting with his theoretical domain was that he could create a glider of Dao energy around himself when he teleported, preventing him from losing momentum from gravity.