Sam smiled, and followed the Voidrot as it went, knowing that his allies would need all the help they could get. As the nascent Locus Tree spread its boughs across the horizon, a shockwave rippled across the sky as the darkness of the Voidrot strengthened. An orb of concentrated rot descended like a meteor, wreathed in flames of rampant disease. It was small enough, but its presence heralded the arrival of Vallenar’s final challenge. The mysterious champion of the Voidrot. On cue, the quest notification appeared.

You have completed the Jaded Jungles: Layer 9! (Challenge Mode)

You have upgraded a title!

Twenty-Eighth Floor Obliterator: Ancient-> Twenty-Ninth 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: +58% to all stats

You have entered Floor 10 of the Jade Jungles(Challenge Mode)

The final battle for Vallenar begins, the forces of nature arrayed against those of decay. The Voidrot might lurk in the dark places of the heavens, uncaring of anything save for growth, but its servants are ever waiting. A Champion of a higher ranked Conceptual Presence like the Voidrot is not an easy foe, even for the sorts of prodigies that might hope to defeat them.

Completion: 0/1

Rewards: Title Upgrade

Sam teleported dozens of miles in the span of a second, appearing on one of the branches of the newborn Locus Tree. Its trunk had erupted from the center of the Astral Pit, a mile deep crevasse in the center of the mountain range that enclosed it. He spotted his allies standing on another branch a few miles away, gazing up at the comet of purple rot falling from the heavens.

He flashed over to them, space unfolding before him, and joined them. The incoming Voidrot Champion was about ten miles up at this point, and rapidly descending. It would make contact with the Locus Tree in a matter of seconds.

“This is it,” Bronvar said, a note of resolute joy in his voice. “Even if we die here, it will have been for a good cause. We did something unheard of in the history of Vallenar.”

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“I have a feeling things will go our way,” Sam replied. “Trust me.”

Before he could say anything more, the falling meteor of darkness sped up and impacted the ground. It had struck the top of a nearby mountain, carving a crater into it. Sam tried to get a look at his latest challenger, but whatever was in there was shrouded in fog. There was a shockwave of purple energy as the meteor’s momentum was discharged, and a wave of pestilent grey mist. The Locus Tree began to burn with a viridian flame, something Sam had never seen before, as it fought to ward off the incoming miasma.

A booming chuckle rumbled across the mountaintops, centered on the crater. The mist began to clear, revealing a humanoid figure. It was much smaller than the Voidrot Guardians, about fifteen feet in height. Boasting four arms, it wielded a quartet of pitted copper swords, covered in verdigris and rot. A halo of what looked like the night sky rotated around its featureless head, studded with patches of encroaching corruption.

The creature tilted its head, and spoke, the noise coming from its entire body, rather than the mouth that it lacked. “So this is how the ants of Vallenar contested the will of my progenitor. The help of an Outsider, stinking of the rot of unbelonging.”

“You’re one to talk about rot,” Sam quipped back, drawing the creature’s full attention.

“And the intruder thinks himself a match for me. How touching…”

Sam scoffed and held out his hammer, filling it with the burning power of his Dao. Then he teleported, crossing the gap between himself and his foe in the blink of an eye. If the Forest Folk elites wanted to fight, he wouldn’t stop them, but he also wasn’t going to wait either.

The smooth face of the monstrosity tilted towards Sam, and a beam of purple fire shot out from it, the halo beginning to spin like a saw blade. Shards of mottled starlight were loosed from the halo like astral buckshot, tinged with the light of the Voidrot.

Sam spun his hammer around, deflecting the incoming attacks. The shards of starlight shattered like crystals, a tinkling noise ringing out as they did so. Specks of dust fell to the ground, tinging it with an odious purple hue.

Sam swung, his hammer racing towards his foe. Then the Voidrot Champion teleported, appearing behind him. Sam teleported in turn, continuing the arc of his hammer, straight towards the monster’s knee joint.

A sword flashed down, and blocked his strike with the immense strength of a high E Ranker, sending Terra’s Will on a collision course with the mountain below that blasted a slab of rock the size of a yacht off its side.

Then the other three swords descended, seeking Sam’s flesh. He teleported again, but this time his enemy locked down space, trying to keep him from escaping. Sam raised his free arm, and used his armor’s ability, sending a pulse of steely durability across its midnight colored metal. The swords impacted, grating against the armor, but it ultimately held. Sam grunted and pushed the swords back, testing his strength against his opponent. To his surprise, he was evenly matched. Rather than struggle in futility against the Champion, he withdrew, shooting backwards with the power of his legs. The swords skittered along his gauntlet, but he escaped, swinging his hammer once more.