Prince found himself in a battlefield.
The sky was a bloody crimson as if painted with blood. A pitch-black sun glared down, which surprised Prince- because it was emitting light despite being a complete pitch-black.
Around him, bodies littered the ground, a variety of weapons sticking out of them. These bodies were much stronger than him—they radiated a heavy presence of condensed Dao.
Prince turned around his eyes, moving through the ruined terrain and finally focusing on a man with his back turned to him.
The man was extremely muscular and stood at at least 8 feet. He had four arms, each heavily muscled and littered with cuts across his bronze skin. Prince got the feeling that no attack he did would be able to damage the man.
The man had fiery red hair and wore a tattered robe with no sleeves. A white and red halo floated behind his back, while his hair flickered like a dying flame.
Prince recognized that skill. That was Titan Awakening. Only at a much higher grade.
Name: Reamon Bloodlust
(Iron Palm Faction of #1B-A021)
Race: Titan
Origin: Planet Zaunia (#1B-A021)
Level: 330 (C-Grade)
This man was strong, but decidedly weaker than the old man that had shown Prince what could really be done in this world.
He was seeing the battle of Titans. Was he even supposed to be seeing this?
"Give up and surrender." A heavenly voice said. "The Iron Palm Faction is no more."
Prince looked up, and what he saw took his breath away.
A single, beautiful woman floated downward. Had she always been there? Shiny silver hair fell around her face, while she was dressed in light, pristine armor. She held a single spear behind her.
Her whole body radiated Dao. Where she went, the area around her was purified and made clean.
Behind her, a legion of similar but weaker heavenly beings followed her.
Prince scanned her.
Name: Fia Silversparrow
(Silver Heart Faction of #1B-A021)
Race: Titan
Origin: Planet Zaunia (#1B-A021)
Level: 325 (C-Grade)
The man, Reamon, laughed and spat out blood. He was panting, his power unstable. "Is that so, Lady Silversparrow?" He asked, mockingly.
Everyone narrowed their eyes.
He spread his arms out to his sides. His aura, that of bloodlust, exploded out of him in a burst. "I'M NOT DONE YET! BRING ALL OF YOUR POWER!"
A few people flinched, but Fia tsked. "He's done. He's just trying to frighten you all."
Then she turned toward her army. Reamon wanted to take the opportunity, but he didn't seem to be able to. Now Prince realized: chains of pure white wrapped themselves around his foot and ankles.
"Alright, soldiers!" Fia said—not shouting, simply projecting her voice. "This is the final crusade!"
She turned, brandishing her spear. The world warped around her. The soldiers brandished their weapons, their Daos, predators ready to pounce on wounded prey. Space turned to dough. Prince struggled to comprehend a fight like this.
Reamon just looked up, an annoyed expression on his face.
"CHARGE!"
All Daos, creating a sort of chemical reaction. The world was alight in colors. Explosions sounded, sonic booms. In the face of his incoming destruction, Reamon only had one thing to say.
"I am infallible!"
His aura exploded, conceptualizing around him. An unfamiliar Dao surrounded him, hardening his skin until he seemed unbreakable, unshatterable. A towering defense. The chains snapped, unable to hold him any longer, his weight had grown as well.
Prince already knew that the clash would likely destroy the entire area- perhaps even the continent. He didn't even know what to comprehend.
Then the vision ended. He never got to see the inevitable destruction.
Prince wobbled a bit on his feet. He had gotten strong, but this vision had opened his eyes a bit more. A battle of that scale? In the face of that, he was nothing. He was a mere ant.
Prince shivered excitedly. He was up for the challenge. He wanted to comprehend whatever it was he was supposed to.
He sat down on the meditation mat, immediately delving back into the vision.
Prince watched up until the point where the man began to harden his skin. Then he paused.
This was where the Dao was the clearest. Prince wasn't eager to break the System control this time—as he might get his soul sealed again or even worse. He might just get killed and be done with it.
Bringing his focus back up to the man, Prince walked up toward him. So the man had hardened his skin. Prince could do that as well with Essence, though at an elementary level.
But this Dao… It went further than that. Harder. Infallible. It could never be shaken. It would break but never bend. Brittle. One would shatter their blade against it. It was the ultimate defense.
Prince concentrated on those aspects of it more. All of these elements. The mane had weaved them perfectly, hardening himself to the point where he was almost something else. A material harder than anything on earth, durability of the highest order.
Prince found it harder to comprehend with the System stopping him from true understanding, but he would have to deal with it.
He fumbled around for the answer until everything finally clicked.
Endurance. Durability.
Prince felt as if he was the man. He looked up at his inevitable doom. Beings of heaven fell toward him, attack brandished. The power of all of them lighting up the sky, carrying more force than a nuke.
His mouth opened in a battle cry.
"I AM INFALLIBLE!"
The attacks fell upon him.
The vision ended.
Prince opened his eyes. They seemed to carry a weight to them, materialized as if his gaze put pressure on people. His body was slightly harder.
You have comprehended the Dao Node of Fortification.
You have acquired the Dao Skill: Spirit Steel Body (I) (Active)
[Dao) Spirit Steel Body (I) (Active): Concentrate your Essence and Dao into a fine point, increasing your endurance majorly until you obtain the properties of Spirit Steel. Skill scales with stats.
"Huh." Prince said out loud as he read the description. "Let's try it out."
Prince activated the skill.
He had a lot of Essence. A lot, much more than he should've. That's why he was surprised when his Essence began to vanish as if being sucked in by a whirlpool.
His newly formed Node of Fortification also directed itself toward his skin. Suddenly, it hardened until his skin began to shine.
Prince felt weighed down. Every movement took effort, which was interesting, because he had long since been used to the way he moved effortlessly. But now he felt that if he had this on while the Great Squid had shot its attack, he might've survived.
Prince then swung at Sebastian. Sebastian dodged the slow hit easily, counter attacking with a punch. Prince didn't even feel it.
Suddenly his stomach began to cramp, a gnawing hunger. His Essence ran dry, and he had taken no time to make sure his new Dao was stable before even using it. His skin returned to normal, just in time for Sebastian to kick him across the room.
Prince slammed into the wall, not damaging it in the slightest. He fell to one knee, slightly annoyed.
Alright. I haven't been hungry in a while… I guess some food would do me some good.
Prince sighed, standing. Sebastian resumed its idle position.