Damian finally arrived at the Tower. Although, from afar, he already knew it was tall. However, up close, it looked even more taller. It stretched into skies seemingly neverendingly, and its width measured a whopping 150 meters.
He marveled at the grandeur, taking in the view of its bronze color. Countless etchings danced across its body, and for a moment, they looked as though they were alive, only to remain lifelessly unmoving the next moment.
This was the Tower. He had partially achieved his goal. All that remained was to get in. However, his forehead wrinkled in displeasure when he dropped his eyes down again.
Environing the Tower was a large group of over 300 Nulls. Normally, with his current strength, he was absolutely confident even 500 Nulls wouldn't put a strain on him as long as they were within the First Sphere. Even then, that was only if they were normal Nulls. If Variant Nulls were added to the fray however, then he had no confidence of defeating even 30. Such was the gap between a Normal Null and a Variant.
And within the group of Nulls surrounding the Tower, Damian could already make out over 50 Variants. And that was only considering that this part of the Tower was the only side viewable to him. He had no doubt that if he were to walk around it, the numbers would be more.
Perhaps, the most shocking part of it is that, just by the way the Nulls moved. They seem to have no intention of leaving. It was as though something is pulling, or more appropriately, attracting them to the Tower.
It was then Damian suddenly understood. Weren't Nulls' main meal the Edict Essence inside every lifeforms? And they become especially ravenous when they come across those with especially pure Edict Essence.
And it just so happened the Tower itself was made up of pure Edict. Apart from the rewards one would receive after completing each tests of the Tower, if one managed to completely conquer it, one would also get the extremely pure Edict Essence that made up the whole of the Tower.
When things were put this way, it suddenly became clear why Nulls would be unwilling to leave it. And this was also the reason Damian wanted to get in first. With his current stats, he was confident anyone who entered after him would be unable to catch up to him, no matter how powerful they are.
However, with such a disorganized, yet powerful formation blocking his way, he had little hope of getting in.
Damian took advantage of this to rest for awhile, whilst checking his status board.
[ Name: Damian Octavius
Sphere Tier: First Sphere, Stratum 11
Race: Human
Physiology: Battle Sovereign Lineage Physiology (Unawakened)
Title: None
Ability: Innate Adaptability
Strength: 58 | Stamina: 38 | Vitality: 54 | Agility: 41 (+20) | Edict: 202 | Soul Edict: 192 ]
Damian was impressed. Seeing his current stats, he was further convinced with great danger came equal benefit. The Venomous Scorpion's greatest strength wasn't its strength, nor its vitality, nor its hard scales. No, its greatest strength lied in its venom.
There was a reason it wasn't called Strength Scorpion, nor Undying Scorpion, nor Scaled Scorpion, but Venomous Scorpion. With the lethality of its venom, it could have walked through Earth unimpeded to become an overlord. However, it was really unfortunate its opponent was Damian.
The truth was, by all rights, Damian shouldn't have been able to defeat it. However, with the Light Saber in his hands, the short battle was flipped in his favor. As a result, it became a part of Damian's strength.
This was the new order of the world. Only those with the bigger fist will have a chance to survive.
At this moment, Damian felt a tug. He withdrew his mind from his status panel before turning his head to face the only individual with him.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Adah, however, chose not to reply but point at the Tower a little over forty meters away from them.
Damian raised an eyebrow, before he looked towards the Tower. What he saw sent his eyes slightly wide.
The Nulls were getting agitated, as though an existence unlike them had appeared amidst their ranks. This was further reinforced by the sudden increase in heat.
Seeing this, Damian's eye narrowed. To the current him, the heat was as good as a gentle breeze, however, the girl behind him was clearly still a Stratum 1 existence, in other words, a normal Human. There was no way she would withstand it, and yet he couldn't just stand here idly. He could leave her here and come back to get her later, however, he knew that would be a foolish act.
If she didn't die by getting mauled by Nulls before he came, then a Spheric Beast would do the job.
Scanning his surrounding, Damian suddenly realized his worries were unfounded. All the Nulls in a hundred meters radius were those around the Tower. As for the Spheric Beasts, such a large concentration of Variant Nulls seems to have scare them off.
"Wait here!"
With that, he dashed towards the group of Nulls, covering the distance in a blink of an eye. Upon getting there, he immediately took out three of them with a slash of his blade.
[ You have acquired the Edict Essence of First Sphere, Stratum 8 Base Null ]
[ You have acquired the Edict Essence of First Sphere, Stratum 8 Base Null ]
[ You have acquired the Edict Essence of First Sphere, Stratum 10 Base Null ]
He advanced again, piercing through the glabella of yet another Null. Within moments, over 10 Nulls had fallen under the blade of Damian.
He took advantage of his Agility, disappearing before a blow of a Null could hit him, then reappearing behind said Null to deliver a fatal hit.
Like this, Damian began a new round of mass killing.
*
On the other side of the Tower, the young lady with the black flames narrowed her eyes. The Nulls coming from the other side were reducing. They were reducing as though someone was making sure of that.
If it were just normal Nulls, she wouldn't have bat an eye, however, even the Variant Nulls were reducing. Although, she had little idea of their amount on the other side, just by number that kept flocking out when she began her attack, she knew they were not small.
But, wasn't she supposed to be the most powerful on Earth currently? Who is that person on the other side that could possibly be a contender? It couldn't be that they are individuals like her on Earth, right?
The young lady suddenly redoubled her effort. She had to see for herself who this dark horse is, even if she had to go all out.