Maximilian narrowly avoided a chunk of wall that the prince had launched at him like a bullet. The attack was faster than anything he had encountered on Earth. He wished he could say he had gotten used to his enemy's speed, but if anything, it felt the opposite. He was pretty sure their agility stats were similar, so that wasn't the issue. The problem lay in his lack of experience. The prince had clearly been trained to fight using his attributes, while Maximilian had not. He found himself forced to dodge further than necessary, which threw off his counterattacks. Without his danger sense, he might have already lost. Even with it, he had been hit more times than he could count. He pushed the dao of rain to its limits, and it was barely enough to keep him in the fight. As much as he wanted to push himself further, he was out of options.
He avoided a straight kick as he retreated. He barely made it ten feet when the prince activated his movement skill. In an instant, the prince disappeared. This time, Maximilian didn't even try to dodge. Instead, for the first time, he activated his Prismatic Barrier. The rainbow barrier formed seconds before the prince reappeared. His bladed fist slammed into the barrier with the force of a bomb. The skill drained a chunk of spiritual energy, but it withstood the attack. Maximilian smiled, and in a fraction of a second, he formed a half dozen wind blades. For the first time in the battle, it was the prince who was forced to retreat. He knew these attacks weren't strong enough to beat him, but the sheer number bought him time. The time he needed to work on healing his injuries. He had several broken bones by now. Each one sent tendrils of pain through his body.
"If I had known you had a defense like that prepared, I might've proceeded differently," Arentan said as he avoided one wind blade and crushed another with his blade. "It doesn't follow your dao. If anything, that shield seems to be based around light? Light and other concepts I don't recognize. I would ask if it's a gift from a teacher, but your fighting style says no. A reward from the Network, then? Very impressive." He brought his fists together as his blades glowed with spiritual energy. Each one grew almost six inches and thrummed with his dao. "Let's see how strong it really is."
Maximilian didn’t need his danger sense to realize the situation was about to escalate. He immediately unleashed all of his Dao fields, fortifying his defenses. As soon as he completed this, Arentan struck. In an instant, he closed the distance, his fist stabbing forward like the sword of Damocles. The blow collided with the barrier, sending a latticework of cracks radiating from the impact site, but the shield held firm. Not only did it withstand the strike, but the energy expenditure was less than Maximilian had anticipated. While he doubted it could endure multiple blows, it provided him with the opening he needed. He quickly unleashed Flowing Storm and Severing Disc in succession. Though imbued with power, he knew these two skills wouldn’t suffice to end the battle, but they were his best chance to force Arentan into evasion. Once the skills were free of his control, he began preparing his final move. Maximilian methodically gathered his Dao, one after another, forming the pseudo-nucleus with deliberate precision. He knew he wouldn’t have the opportunity to launch it a second time; this attack had to conclude the fight. The prince said something, but Maximilian was too focused to register it. His concentration wavered momentarily as Arentan hammered into the barrier again, nearly causing him to lose control of the volatile energy.
His effort had drained nearly all his focus, leaving the Prismatic Barrier barely functioning. The skill wouldn't last much longer. But Maximilian didn't care. His decision was already made, and the ball of spiritual energy had taken shape. Stopping now would risk a backlash far worse than anything the prince could do if he broke through. He formed two rings around the ball of static electricity. The dao surged and bucked against his control, like a dog straining to break free of its leash. He glanced up just as his Prismatic Barrier shattered. Time seemed to slow as Arentan charged toward him. Too late. Far too late. Maximilian grinned and unleashed his pseudo-skill. The nucleus felt as dense as a planet's core. The instant the skill touched the tip of his blade, the world exploded in chaotic light. For a fleeting moment, Maximilian was captivated by the beauty of the attack. Then, there was nothing.
When Maximilian came to, he was in the middle of a crater. It looked like the area had been hit with a bomb. It took him a moment to remember what had happened. He wasn't sure why the hell he thought unleashing that attack at point-blank range was wise, but it worked. He tried to sit up only to be wracked by a mountain of pain. He lost control over his muscles for several seconds before he gave up. He encountered the same problem when he reached for his dao, only in his head. He briefly considered forcing the issue, but his instincts told him that was a bad idea. That he would likely do more damage trying to heal himself. Instead, he closed his eyes and let his natural healing take over. He wasn't sure how long he lay there before his instincts screamed of danger. He rolled to the side as pain like glass shards through his veins surged through him. He narrowly avoided a dagger that would have gone straight through his throat. His eyes settled on the person who attacked him. If it had been Arentan or even one of the soldiers, he could have accepted it. Instead, it was a human from Earth. A dark-skinned, African American man with skin the texture of dried leather looked down at him.
"I wish you had just let me end your suffering." The man said as he raised his blade again.
Maximilian glared at him. His attempt to activate a skill only hurt him more. He wasn't sure what sort of damage he was doing to himself, but it was almost certainly better than dying. At least he hoped it was. He unleashed a blade of wind at the old man. He leaped out of the way with a speed that was at odds with his appearance. He knew appearance was almost useless at this point, but it was no less strange. Maximilian reluctantly got to his feet as he braced himself. "Who are you?" He wanted to ask why he was doing this, but the obvious answer was the tokens he had gathered. He didn't see Arentan or his soldiers, but his bag was still on his body. The only reason he doubted that was what the man had said. It felt genuine. As if he thought he would be doing him a favor by killing him. "I see no reason for us to fight. We wouldn't want to leave Earth and humanity without any defenders."
The man looked between Maximilian and his knife as if he could see something Maximilian couldn't. There was a calm madness in the man's eyes. One that made Maximilian's skin crawl. His danger sense hadn't gone off, yet his other instincts told him this man was weird. Weird and surprisingly strong. It didn't take him long to piece together a likely story. The man was insane. He likely survived by playing up the old man act until he was close enough to stab you. Over time, he got strong enough that he could take out weaker humans without worry. The man might have been some sort of angel killer. That he genuinely believed he was helping people. He had wondered what happened to religious people since the apocalypse, though he had hoped they weren't all insane.
"Some people aren't able to handle the new world. It is my role to end that suffering. Bring peace to those who desperately need it. Even if they do not want to accept it."
Maximilian took stock of his situation. Despite the man's insanity, he was strong. At least compared to the people of Earth. If he had to guess, he was the other member of the top five. Silas. Ordinarily, he would beat the man without issue, but in his current state? He wasn't sure. If he didn't count the pain, he was likely in the same region as the top five. When he added in the pain and the slower skill activation, it would be a tough fight. "I don't get it. Why attack me? You should have been close enough to feel the battle. My current state notwithstanding, I am stronger than everyone else. Why would you want to fight?" Maximilian didn't really care about the answer, but he wanted to keep him talking. He had no idea how long he had been out, but no imperials had come to investigate. Which meant either it hadn't been long or the other royals had separated for something. Regardless, he had to assume that other soldiers would come. He had to leave.
"The time for discussion has passed," Silas said as he gripped his dagger. Maximilian knew that he was right. He couldn't afford to be here any longer. The insane man rushed forward as spiritual energy surged through Maximilian's exhausted channels. It felt like he stood on glass, but he had little choice. He leaped into the air and unleashed a blast of air. He wanted to rocket out of the hole, but he barely managed ten feet before the pain stopped him. He hit the ground and ran. Part of him knew leaving the old man alive would likely lead to death. As much as he didn't want that, he couldn't and wouldn't take the risk. Even with the improvements to his body, he wasn't good at dealing with pain. He wasn't willing to risk death on something like this. He looked back and saw that Silas had followed them. He wasn't as fast. If he had to guess, he could disappear within the ruins with a few turns.
He pressed spiritual energy through his channels again and leaped into the air. He landed on a building and continued. He repeated the process two more times before returning to the street. Several turns later, he ducked into a building. Some perception passed over him, but he paid it no mind. Either he would be protected, or he would have to face a new problem. He ducked into a corner and waited. After several moments, he let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure if Silas chased him the entire time, but he didn't care. He needed to recover. He sat in the lotus position and started up his cultivation technique. Fortunately, the pain wasn't too bad. It was closer to muscle soreness. The flood of energy was like ice water on a burn. He quickly took stock of his situation. Fortunately, his channels were fine.
They were sore, but as far as he could tell, he would recover. He doubted that would be the case if overextended anymore. He wished he had some of the soul crystals to recover mental energy, but that was also not to be. He would need to recover the old-fashioned way. It wasn't all bad, though. He had advanced a level and was a decent way toward the next one. It wasn't lost on him that the amount of energy he needed at this stage was enough to get from levels 1 through 10 several times over. It was terrifying to think what the future levels would require, but it was what it was. He had to assume people in higher realms were likely more dangerous. With power equivalent to planets filled with people like him. It was frightening and exciting. He shifted his focus to his points. As much as he wanted to increase his Intelligence some more, the choice was obvious. He needed Agility. His last battle had shown him the importance of dodging. The cool down for Prismatic Barrier wasn't bad by any means, but it was still there. He needed to survive between activations or whenever he wanted to dodge instead of standing still. He also wanted to run faster. He reviewed his new stats and had to admit they were nice.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
His strength had grown in almost every way. The sole exception was the Dao of rain. Which was also something that would change soon. He was pretty sure he had gotten strong enough to take care of it now, but he wanted to wait. He wanted to recover first. He doubted it would impact the result too much, but it felt like the correct answer. Despite the great reasons to do the reverse. He was also nearing the limits for the other two Dao as well. He still wasn't sure what to do with them exactly, but he doubted he would need to wait too long. He was getting stronger. Yet, it still didn't feel right. The prince had been dangerous. Beyond dangerous. The fight was thrilling and knocked him down a few pegs. He wasn't immortal, and he wasn't unassailable. Other people would catch up eventually. He needed to keep moving forward. His mind shifted to the trial. Now that he had killed a prince and several other people, he was on a collision course with the rest of the imperials. Even if they hated each other, they wouldn't tolerate one of their own being killed. The way he saw it, there were two options. One, they all come together and try to hunt him down throughout the trial. If that happened, he would be in trouble. In the best-case scenario, the others were equal to the 2nd prince. He would not win a fight against more than one at a time. The worst-case scenario was that the Arentan was the weakest of the group. If that was the case. He would be in trouble.
His gut told him he should stay quiet for the foreseeable future. At least until he had a better idea how strong the others were or even how many there were. There were obviously at least three: a king and two princes. In the worst-case scenario, that number could balloon, though he doubted it. His gut told him that they were closer to the former. He found it hard to believe they would've gotten enough tokens for a large family and then guards for all of them. Of course, he had no idea how many tokens there were, but that was an exercise in futility. He settled down as his cultivation technique took care of his energy, and he focused on reviewing his battles.
There were a lot of things he could have done differently, but he was happy with his performance. He could have used his electrical stab attack, but he doubted that would work. Arentan was better than him in close-quarters combat. He doubted he would have succeeded even if he could have surprised him. He also knew it was time to formalize his custom skill. He more or less knew what form he wanted it to take. He only needed to figure out how to make it. He assumed the array would handle that step, but he was in an ancient city of cultivators. He'd be an idiot not to at least look for something. He doubted he would get to that today. He had been out for several hours, and then he had run. He also needed to recover and advance his Dao. He wouldn't head out again until the morning sun was up.
He soon lost track of time as energy poured into him and through him. He kept a watchful eye on his channels. When he had recovered, he cracked his neck. Despite not needing to sleep, he still felt stiff. He wasn't sure if that was a part of his body or a mental issue, and he didn't care. His other injuries were still a problem, but he had recovered enough mental energy that he could rely on his dao. The soothing power of the rain flowed through him, making him wish for his healing pills. He wasn't sure if it was worse to feel his muscles and bones repair through their help or his own power. They were both weird. Regardless, he would be a fool not to appreciate self-healing. He wanted to join a faction and have a group with him, but for now, he was a lone warrior.
A lone wanderer. Which meant he was more often than not going to be exploring dangerous regions alone. He would be fucked if he ran out of pills or lost them or gave them away. Or if that Pill Hall decided not to help Earth for whatever reason. He needed a way to rely on himself. If he assumed his Dao field would turn into a kind of rejuvenating rain, then it would let him be a sort of medic. Something Earth desperately needed. All of that ultimately brought him to the next task. He needed to advance his Dao. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. He focused on his injuries and what they felt like being repaired. What the repair process was like. Slowly, his thoughts changed. He called to mind rain and purification. Blessed water, the rain after a drought. The idea of washing away your troubles. All of that and more. The change came almost instantly.
The sensation of breaking through, of his comprehension expanding, settled on him like a blanket. It was hard to describe, but the feeling was unforgettable. He enjoyed it more than leveling. It also wasn't as addictive. He doubted he could chase it all the time. He had already been warned about taking too many dao, but he considered it. It wasn't enough to distract him from his plan, but it was a thought. When the sensation had fully passed, he opened his eyes. He was ready to go, but first, he needed to see the attribute bonuses from his dao.
