His asteroid was tiny, barely a mile across. He could have circled it hundreds of times in the span of a few seconds, or even faster with teleportation. Nothing lived on it, not even the tiniest of microbes. To both his sight, and the sight of his Dao, it was empty.
A System notification appeared a few seconds later, explaining where he was.
You have entered Floor 1 of the Desolation Belt(Challenge Mode).
You are stranded on an asteroid, orbiting a star without a solar system. Only emptiness surrounds you for millions of miles. Or does it? Only exploration will tell. Perhaps finding something other than grey rock will give you a clue about your situation?
Completion: 0/1
Rewards: Title Upgrade
Sam closed the notice, and simply stood there, gazing off into the darkness. While he had saved Prax, his victory felt hollow, as he had barely been able to save those his original mission was for. The Marns had summoned him to the planet, but had quickly faded out of sight, as mere F Rankers in the life of an E Ranker. His destiny was far beyond their own, and as a result, Dyvan had died, and the rest were cripple. He would probably never see them again either.
Sam laughed bitterly. Wasn’t my original task to save Dyvan from execution? Instead, I brought his death.
To distract himself, he opened his stats, which, as expected, had profited greatly from Granthar’s death, even with his minimal involvement.
Sam Atlas
Human: E Rank
Enlightened Tier
E Rank
Class: Lesser Dao Paragon
Level 167
(100 stat points unspent)
Strength
4104
2.47x
Constitution
3647
2.42x
Resilience
4810
2.42x
Dexterity
3619
2.47x
Intelligence
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3566
2.42x
Wisdom
3619
2.42x
-
Health 82061/82061
-
Mana 80246/80246
-
Stamina 92345/92345
-
Karma: 59
-
Road to Zenith
Stage 2
-
Dao
Dao Echo of Inspiration
Dao Seed of the Avenger(Third Step)
Dao Fragment of the Passage(First Step)
Dao Fragment of Retaliation(First Step)
-
Skills
1x Rare, 3x Epic, 5x Legendary, 6x Mythical, 1x Ancient, 2x Primal, 1x Unique
-
Titles
1x Legendary, 3x Mythical, 2x Ancient, 1x Primal, 1x Transcendent
-
Temporary Titles
1x Epic, 1x Legendary, 1x Mythical
-
Dao Heritage
Dao Incarnation of Existence(Second Step)
-
Party
None
-
Skill Branches
-
Lightning Neurons (Level 2)
Iron Body(Level 2)
Iron Bones (Level 2)
Muscle Density Enhancement(Level 1)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Blunt(Level 1)
Dao Resonance(Level 1)
Karmic Cycle(Level 1)
Lucky(Level 1)
Increased Blood Flow (Level 1)
-
Weapon Style
Flowing Water Style
-
Weapon Mastery: Brotherhood Stage 6
-
Elemental Affinities
Earth: 15% Mastery
-
Elemental Boons
Elemental Infusion: Stoneskin
-
Quests
The Sacred Bond: Impossible
Engines of the End Times: S
-
Professions
Smith: Apprentice Stage 9
Dao Smith: Apprentice Stage 9
Resilience was near its next threshold, and after his near death experience at the hands of Granthar, Sam was done with hoarding stats. He would have died had he not allocated them before the battle. It was time for him to propel his durability into the next realm, pain be damned. A darker part of him felt a perverse sense of pleasure at the thought, akin to a flagellant finding peace in punishment. His failure was now-
God damn it! Without a second thought, Sam slammed the points into Resilience, more to shut his inner self up than anything else.
There was no immediate change, only a sudden change in his body’s weight. He felt heavier, denser somehow, as ripples of power crisscrossed his E Rank form. It was the first threshold of Enlightened Tier, and he had a suspicion that it would be very different to his previous ones.
The pain started a moment later, as familiar and blinding as before. Only, this time, it touched every aspect of his being, not just his flesh. His soul and mind burned along with his body as he was reforged on the lonely asteroid, flesh melting like wax and cooling again, stronger than ever before.
Sam refused to utter a word, or even scream. On the outside, he seemed resolute, stalwart, but within, he was a wreck. The reforging of his mind and soul was agonizing, but not in a physical sense. Instead, every negative emotion and thought were amplified a hundred fold, until it felt as if a chorus of demons dwelt within his mind, tormenting his every thought. Resilience was not merely of the body, but of one’s very being. As an E Ranker, that was painfully apparent.
A minute later, the process ended, leaving Sam standing in a pile of shed skin and bone fragments, a grotesque facsimile of a snake’s sheddings.
You have passed the Third Threshold of Resilience.
Mountainous. Unmoving. Invulnerable. All these and more, you might be called by a mortal. Your durability transcends the limits of the mortal world, and has reached a degree of power akin to a force of nature. Your hide is like diamond, and your bones like mithril. Natural disasters break upon you, rather than breaking you. Perhaps the best offence is a good defence.