Sam let out a wordless howl as he fell, and sent a streak of Dao energy hurtling into the back of his hammer, relying on his E Rank skills to do so. A slit opened up on the Voidrot Champion’s mouth, and it twisted in a macabre grin, seemingly having been created for that purpose alone.
The earth beneath it shook, and a tide of nearly corporeal energy erupted from it, streaking towards Sam. A toxic cloud preceded it, worming its way into Sam’s armor. He shrugged it off with the aid of his Dao Juggernaut skill, and continued, burning away the rot from the air around him. Then he struck the wave of energy and bore down with Terra’s Will, the hammer tearing through the coagulation of energy with ease.
The slit on the monster’s face vanished as it focused, and it marshaled the power under its control, condensing it into a thick orb of rotating corruption, looking like a particularly drab star. Sam continued, his hammer striking it dead center and letting a corona of Dao energy loose. He powered through with his fused Dao Seed, watching as all resistance crumbled before him. Trying to eke out as much from the fight as possible, he reached out with his infant domain and tried to wrest control over the last remnants of the failing attack. A few tiny shards of rot infused Dao energy came under his control, quickly fading away as he lost focus. However, he had achieved something along the lines of what he was looking for. A way to actually use his domain in battle.
Seizing control of the Daos of others, or at least their Dao energy was something he had no experience of yet. It was undoubtedly a high level skill, as it would be incredibly powerful. A smile crossed his face as he contemplated his path forwards. His domain advanced by a tiny, but noticeable amount as he wielded it against the shattered fragments of his foe’s broken skill. This battle had dragged on for long enough. It was time to finish things here.
He teleported one more time, appearing above his enemy. Before the Voidrot Champion could react, Sam’s hammer descended, bolstered by his almighty strength. Dao Juggernaut was a skill that compounded upon one’s already present abilities, and with Sam’s Perfect Ascension, he was thousands of times stronger and faster than any human alive before the coming of the System.
Such strength was enough to bring buildings crashing down and lay waste to small towns. When channeled into a hammer capable of wielding power more potent than a nuclear bomb, just the sheer force along was immense. When Dao energy was added to it, as well as pure mana, it was nigh inexorable against anyone at Sam’s level. His latest challenger was no different.
As his foe attempted to block, his hammer collapsed its defence, a brief moment or resistance turning into nothing as a mushroom cloud of searing heat rose up into the heavens. The Voidrot Champion was scoured from existence, ash drifting through the air. Sam teleported to the ground, and let out a sigh. It was over.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
In the sky up above, he saw the mass of nearly incomprehensible size that was the Voidrot shift, turning one of its ephemeral eyes towards him. A feeling like he was standing under the gaze of God nearly pressed him to his feet, but as the reaching tendril that had scourged Vallenar faded away, and the lingering rot vanished, the presence disappeared with them. Essence rushed into Sam, lifting him into the air as he gained another level.
Sam turned his gaze to his allies, standing a few miles away. He had only been on Vallenar for around a week, but he had experienced a lot there, much of it with them. With one waving farewell, Sam left Vallenar, the System taking him to his next challenge.
The first thing Sam noticed was the scent of blood, heavy and redolent. Beneath him was a complicated sigil, filled with the heady red fluid of life itself. He stood in its center, his hammer clutched loosely in one hand.
A groan of relief came from his left, and he turned, watching as a balding middle aged man regarded him like he was a god made flesh. In his hand, a scroll crumbled into ash, and he cast it aside without any further thought. Behind him stood what looked like his family, a similarly aged wife, and two daughters.
The man himself was a human, which Sam took to mean that he was back in his own Multiverse, or at least one closer to its general genetic pattern than Vallenar’s Multiverse had been.
“It worked…” the man said, a look of wonder on his face. “An E Ranker actually came.”
“Where am I?” Sam asked, wondering if he should get ready to fight. Though, judging by the paltry auras coming off his unexpected companions, he wasn’t in any danger.
“You are on Prax, capital planet of the Granthar Dominion,” the man began excitedly. “My family and I are minor nobles, so far down in the pecking order that we might as well be glorified merchants.”
“And why am I here?” Sam replied, relaxing a bit.
“My son has fallen afoul of one of the ruling families, that of the king himself. Some affair gone awry.” Sensing that Sam was losing interest, the man wrung his hands in desperation. “But he’s a good lad! You know how the younger ones are. He just turned 45.”
Sam couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. He had barely passed his 25th birthday before the System arrived. Of course, the noble took this in the wrong light, and he fell to his knees.
“I’m begging you!”
“There’s no need for that. I was simply laughing because I’m younger than the man you just described,” Sam explained, a hint of mirth still in his voice. “If he is as you say, then I will help. If it falls within my abilities, of course.”
He was a bit suspicious of why he had arrived on the next floor in such an innocuous manner. Then he looked down at the pooling blood beneath his feet. “Say, this isn’t sapient blood, is it?”
“Of course not, Enlightened One” the other man said hurriedly, his face paling. “Simply that of livestock, bought from a butcher. My family has passed down an artifact for generations, and this was part of its activation.”
Sam nodded. “Ah. The scroll. I was wondering what exactly that was.”
Some color came back to the noble’s face. “In any case, my son languishes now in the dungeons of the royal palace. The only reason he yet survives is because he chose trial by combat. The king will likely send his E Rank lackeys to execute him publicly. That is where you come in, sir.”