Sam’s energy reserves were a bit below full, but he had enough to level an empowered strike against the incoming spear. His hammer surged in might, veils of scarlet and azure light surrounding it as he forced all of his Dao energy into the weapon. Next came the power of his two Fragments, bringing a halo of crackling lightning, and a faint shroud of golden light to the already overloaded matrix of his combined Daos.

  Then came his purified mana, in the tens of thousands of points, increasing the blue glow of the hammer until it appeared like a star affixed to a shaft of silvery metal, itself humming with barely contained power. Finally was the might of his elemental mastery, a wave of yellow Earth aligned energy mixing with his mana and Dao, the very pressure of its existence pressing down upon the world around.

  Sam felt a dangerous pull towards the head of Terra’s Will, as if he had just birthed a new star into existence, and was stuck within its gravity well. Even then, he was far from finished. His Domain layered itself on top of his hammer, just in time for it to strike Abrinadus’ concentrated lance of red lightning and the Dao. Sam narrowed his eyes as a blinding light swept out from the epicenter of the impact zone, carrying such intense heat with it that the asteroid, what remained of it in any case, melted away. His armor quickly turned a white hot, which meant that the heat being channeled was at an ungodly level, like that of a star’s.

  The flash of heat only lasted for a moment, and instead, a wave of force exploded outwards, blasted apart the entire asteroid. Cracks spread for dozens of miles, before it fell apart, chunks flying off into the Void. The ziggurat that crowned the celestial body broke apart with it, masonry flying everywhere.

  Sam gritted his teeth and pushed forwards, forcing Abrinadus back, despite the dragon’s superior Dao. Focused as it was through an inferior vessel, the dragon’s will might have been immense, but his power was not. A crack appeared on the spear of crimson, and it shattered, letting Sam’s technique through. Unburdened from the resistance, Terra’s Will traveled so fast that Sam’s arms were almost torn from their sockets, as he was tugged after the weapon. It impacted Abrinadus’ torso a split second later, rending through all resistance. The dragon screeched in agony, just before he was torn apart from limb to limb, a nova of pure power turning his scales and flesh to ash.

  One claw impacted Sam from the side at the last moment, tearing through his weakened armor, and into his flesh. His left arm was almost severed, but he pushed through the pain, ensuring that his foe was dead. Once nothing remained of the dragon, save for the stench of cooking meat, Sam let go of his hammer, floating in the darkness of space.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I will be waiting for you…” Abrinadus’ voice drifted from the remnants of his vessel. “This insult will not be forgotten…”

  Sam merely raised a tired middle finger to the dragon’s lingering awareness, but there was no response. Abrinadus was gone. A tide of essence rocketed into him a moment later, along with the power of his upgraded title. Two entire levels hit at once, his body limned with the incandescent light of pure ascension.

  Sam sighed in relief, as his arm began to patch itself up. A minor investment of the Dao ensured that his armor did as well, the dark metal growing back like a second skin. That battle had been tough, even with Abrinadus limited as he was. For the final battle, Sam would need to find some new reserve of power, as the dragon had already seen most of his techniques. Well, there was always Dao Juggernaut, but at this point in the Tower, that was hardly a guaranteed victory, more a way of leveling the playing field between himself and foes normally too tough to fight.

  As he floated there in the expanse of space, he read over the next layer quest.

  You have entered Floor 7 of the Desolation Belt(Challenge Mode)

  Abrinadus now knows of your existence, and will ramp up his attempts to kill you before you kill him. Mercenaries, lesser dragons, and all manner of foes will hunt you down across the Desolation Belt as you search for their master. Survive, and kill. Only high E Rankers will count for this quest.

  Completion: 0/250

  Rewards: Title Upgrade

  Sam closed the message, and smiled grimly. It was about time the Tower started to challenge him. Growing as much, and as quickly as he could, was the only way he could reach the final floor, assuming his potential even reached that high. Nevertheless, he was going to try.

  Faction Headquarters, Earth

  While Sam fought for his life in the Tower, his faction flourished on Earth. With Rax’s return, the faction had an E Rank defender, enough to deter most from attacking. The Athari Sect was now engaged in a blood feud with the Arbiters of Justice, as they had lost too many promising scions to them. E Rankers attacked every few days, but all they served as was a grindstone to sharpen the talents of the faction elites.

  Jeffrey and Lao had recovered by this point, their F Rank regeneration enough to repair the extensive damage dealt to their cultivation and Daos. Both were closer to E Rank than ever before, with Lao almost at the point of ascension. The man had spent most of his time in convalescence to conceptualize his Dao path, the hardest part of reaching E Rank. The man was already a prodigy with the Dao, near the peak of what was possible without being a Dao Incarnation like Sam and his father. He was mediocre in other areas, like close quarters combat, but everyone had their specialties. When it came to support and long ranged battle, he was nearly unstoppable at his level.

  In comparison, Jeffrey was less talented with the Dao, but he possessed something that few did at his level. A Legendary class. The result of associating with Sam, the Dao Incarnation of Existence, the powerful class had ensured that his stats were immense for his level.