Elias teleported, one shield descending at a relatively sedate pace. He was clearly trying to create a show for the crowd, but Sam was having none of it. He simply raised his free hand, and caught the descending plate of stone. A crack spread across it, and Sam clenched his fist, using every ounce of his Perfect Ascension’s strength to not only grind it to dust, but fuse it into crystal. Then he backhanded the shield, and as Elias reeled, he threw the crystal at his face. The other man tilted his other shield up desperately, managing to deflect the crystal. No damage was dealt to it, as after all, it was an E Rank armament, if barely. Sam’s own performance against it had cemented his true strength.
“I see what sort of man you are,” Sam calmly observed. “You think yourself to be an elite, but in reality, you only act as an executioner, showing off for the court. You are not worthy of your title. A better name would be Elias Craven.”
Elias spluttered, pure rage turning his face into a picture of idiotic violence. His heavy brows, and his general appearance only added to it. He roared and charged, holding the remnants of his shields before him. Sam cocked back his arm, holding his hammer loosely as he pumped Dao energy into it. Then he swung. Elias bulled into his strike, his shields layered one on top of the other. It made little difference though. First his shields were turned to dust, and then his body exploded as Sam poured his mana into the mix. Armor was vaporized, and a sudden windstorm swept the sands for a mile away. Sam turned towards the royal booth, and mockingly bowed.
“An impressive showing,” the king boomed, trying to maintain his dignity after one of his chosen warriors was utterly obliterated before his eyes, and his court. “However, that was hardly a fair fight. Had I known your true strength, I would have given you a more fitting challenge. After all, I would hardly wish to insult your honor.”
“I am glad you see things the same way I do,” Sam replied, a smile drifting onto his lips. “What a pity that unfairness went in my favor. I am sure Dyvan Marn is such a pinnacle of F Rank potency that he would have had a chance at beating a man a hundred levels his senior.”
Granthar’s face colored, but he said nothing. He had created this situation, and unless he was to lose even more face, he had to maintain it too.
“Now, return Dyvan to his family. He has earned his freedom.”
Instead of addressing him, King Granthar spoke to the crowd. “What a spectacle! I find myself hungering for more now that this sordid business is over. What say you, Sam Atlas, about a little bet between you and I?”
Sam’s smile flattened. “What sort of a bet?”
Granthar smiled slyly.“You made quick work of Elias. However, my legions are vast, and I have a collection of prized fighting beasts. If you can undergo a few more rounds, I shall not only free the Marn boy, but restore his family to their former status.”
Sam looked up at the balcony where Garnax and his family stood, watching as the minor noble’s face lit up with hope. Then he turned back to Granthar. “I accept.”
“Good...” Granthar crooned. “Good.”
The Frigid Peaks
Unlike Sam and the Overlord, Glakassa had continued along the normal challenge track of the Tower of Transcendence. After finishing with the Labyrinth of Woes, her version of the third Tower segment, she had moved onto the Frigid Peaks, an area where her abilities came to the fore. The entire realm was covered in ancient glaciers and towering, windswept mountain ranges, filled with ice elementals and beasts of the far north.
The elementals had not only been trivial to defeat, but actually beneficial to her, as she could co-opt their limited minds to create an army of her own. It was a rare occurrence for a Tower climber to come across a scenario that so perfectly suited them, but it happened.
As her horde rampaged across the floor, she cultivated in a cave, trying to find inner peace. However, she was distracted by her recent encounter with Sam. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his peerless strength playing out over and over again, his tremendous power compared to everyone else save his own father. Beyond that, she felt something else, even more distracting. A sense of loss when she considered that she would probably never see him again after the Tower.
“I see what you meant now, Father,” she muttered. “I did not believe you at the time. Even for cultivators, love still exists.”
As a small fraction of her mind worked to shepherd her servants around the freezing expanse outside, she contemplated her plans for after she left the Tower. She already knew that Sam had been granted an incredible offer by the Adventurers’ Guild, and if he accepted it, that would be a way for her to find him once more.
She could not join as an inner faction member, but she was already an outer member, as most promising young scions were. The ranks of the Guild were a valuable way to garner prestige. She was currently Gold Ranked, which was above average for most beginner E Rankers.
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As she contemplated her path, she opened her stat sheet, inspecting the ways she had grown since entering the Tower.
Glakassa Androvi
Nepthyian: E Rank
Enlightened Tier
E Rank
Class: Frost’s Mistress
Level 155
(46 stat points unspent)
Strength
915
1.67x
Constitution
1116
1.75x
Resilience
1045
1.62x
Dexterity
1254
1.89x
Intelligence
3127
2.12x
Wisdom
2617
2.12x
* Health 25110/25110
* Mana 91465/91465 (+21107 from Mana Processing)
* Stamina 20588/20588
* Karma: 27
* Road to Zenith
Stage 2
* Dao
Dao Seed of Frigidity(First Step)
* Bloodline
Frost Kitsune: 11% Mastery
* Skills
3x Rare, 4x Epic, 7x Legendary, 3x Mythical, 1x Ancient
* Titles
4x Epic, 3x Legendary, 2x Mythical, 1x Ancient
* Temporary Titles
1x Epic
* Party
None
* Skill Branches
Mana Processing(Level 3)
Lightning Neurons (Level 2)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Blades(Level 2)
Dao Resonance(Level 1)
Karmic Cycle(Level 1)
Lucky(Level 1)
Knowledge of the Court(Level 1)
* Weapon Style
Glacier Rose
* Weapon Mastery: Soul Connection 4
* Elemental Affinities
Water(Ice): 18% Mastery
* Quests
Queen of Winter: SSS
A Scion’s Due: S
* Professions
Enchanter: Journeyman 4
Her stats would have been the envy of most. All of them were above the one thousand point mark, with two of them far beyond even that. She had an Ancient Skill, marking her as a true elite. It was only her teleportation one, but still, most E Rankers didn’t gain one until later into the Rank.
As for her other skills, they were less impressive, but could be used to complement her immense energy reserves. With her full suite of abilities, she could conceivably trigger a minor ice age on a G Rank planet, if she really wanted to. In fact, such a thing was a part of her hardest quest, which if completed would allow her to form a deeper connection to her element, transforming her body to a higher evolutionary state. While she was a Nepthyian, her latent genetic code contained strains of a powerful monster race. As she progressed, more and more of that would be revealed.
A few hours later, she felt the tug at reality of the System’s impending teleportation, and she let reality fade, transporting her to the second stage of the Tower segment. She couldn’t know it, but she was neck to neck with Sam.