CHAPTER 93: THE IMMENSE POWER OF TITLES
AN: Happy New Month, guys!
***
The earth seemed to tremble with every step Logan took, his eyes filled with excitement as they fixed on the two blue glowing orbs in the distance.
Sensing movement from behind him, he quickly spoke, "There is no need for you to act. I can handle him myself."
Yet, the sound of shuffling feet didn't falter for a moment, his words seemingly ignored.
"Tch." A flicker of irritation passed across his face. There was really nothing he could do against Ben if he wanted to do as he wished.
'In that case, I just need to end him fast.'
The thought of taking a life didn't seem to pass through his mind when it came to Kael. All he felt was the rush of finally crushing such a nuisance.
His mind made up, his leisurely steps broke into a sprint.
- RUMBLE!
- RUMBLE!
The shaking of the earth seemed to intensify as Logan's bulky frame bounded forward by more than ten meters with every step.
He remembered Daniel's instructions clearly. They were to crush Kael with all their strength from the very beginning without holding anything back.
And Logan had no intention of doing otherwise.
First, he activated his Titles.
[Earth Shaker (D-) has been activated]
Logan's Strength stat instantly jumped by a whopping fifty points, a rush of power filling his body. His veins bulged with strength, and his heart rumbled within his chest.
But he wasn't finished.
[Swift Hunter (E) has been activated]
His Agility rose by twenty points, his body now covering nearly double the distance despite his stride not changing one bit.
[Stoneblood (E+) has been activated]
His Vitality increased by twenty-five points, and Logan could feel the blood rushing through his veins grow faster. His skin seemed to harden ever so slightly, the crushed rubble beneath his every step unable to nick him in the slightest.
But once again, he wasn't finished. Far from it.
By this point, the dust cloud in the distance had already settled. Kael coughed mouthfuls of blood, and no part of his body seemed untouched by wounds.
He supported himself with one hand on the ground, his two glowing eyes never leaving Logan's charging figure for a moment.
A silver war hammer suddenly appeared in Logan's right hand. Despite the weapon being massive, its silver head nearly a meter across and as thick as a furnace block, he still held it effortlessly as if it weighed nothing.
He suddenly felt his power increase once more as the five percent boost to his Strength granted by his Soul Weapon came into effect.
Finally...
Logan took a deep breath, and the world seemed to still for a moment, as if in anticipation of what was about to come.
[Your Order Imprint has been activated. Your power is amplified by 30%]
A spike of power erupted from within Logan, a surging pressure blasting into the surroundings with such force that concentric waves of rippling air spread outward from him as the center.
Feeling the power flooding his veins, Logan roared into the skies.
"WHOOOOOA!"
He felt like he could crumble a building with a single punch, like he could split the earth with a stomp and tear through steel with his bare hands.
This was the power of a cultivation realm. As the main path that held every other path of power together, how could it not be so terrifying?
One might think a mere thirty percent amplifier, which came from a Tier III Bronze Imprint, would only be so-so. Even the Strength gained from Titles seemed more significant. But that would only be true if one didn't consider that the boost acted not only on an Awakened's natural stats, but on all their powers.
That was right.
The reason Logan couldn't help but roar out in excitement was because every boost he received from his Titles and Soul Weapon had been further elevated by his Order Imprint.
And the most terrifying part?
He was only of the Rare Rank!
Ben, who was silently following from behind, was even stronger as an Elite Rank.
And then there were people like Daniel, the Principal, Elena, Nathan, Iris, Sophia, and Alice who were of Epic Rank.
This couldn't stop one from thinking, what kind of power would Rose, who was a Legendary Rank, wield?
The power of a First Order was just that overwhelming.
But that begged the question: if just the First Order granted such immense power, what about the Second Order? The Third Order?
The thought was simply terrifying to imagine.
.....
Kael wiped the blood from the side of his mouth with his hand, the small action sending waves of pain through his body. But with Godly Focus activated, one would be hard-pressed to find any trace of discomfort from his expression.
Despite his Vitality stat having permanently increased by thirty points over the past week due to his nonstop training, Kael felt as though every bone in his body had been turned to mush, and that was with him also having boosted his Vitality using more than half of his remaining ENERGi reserve.
He really had been caught off guard.
Still, his eyes didn't waver in the slightest as they remained fixed on Logan's massive frame, which was releasing rippling waves of bronze aura. The pressure he exuded was palpable even from this distance.
With a small grunt, Kael rose to his feet.
He had decided.
First Order or not...
He would kill Logan and Ben.
His eyes barely flashed with a nearly imperceptible trace of killing intent when Logan suddenly jumped into the air.
- BANG!
A massive crater five meters wide was left behind in his original position, clouds of sand and dust swirling into the air.
It barely took a second for Logan to reach his maximum height and appear directly above Kael, his raised war hammer and bulky build casting a shadow over the injured boy, while the pressure radiating from him crashed down like a falling mountain.
Yet despite how fast Logan moved, how could it escape Kael's perception while under Godly Focus?
But therein lay the problem.
Following Logan's movements was one thing.
Reacting to them?
That was an entirely different matter.
Despite his body moving the moment Logan did, Kael still just barely managed to roll aside. The golden embers surrounding him as Ember Regeneration worked overtime to heal him flickered wildly across his body.
- BOOOM!
Despite dodging the attack, Kael was still sent sprawling across the ground from the massive shockwave generated upon impact.
"You dodged it?" A voice came from within the rising plumes of dust.
"Good!"
- SWOOSH!
A massive body burst out from within the dust cloud as Logan closed the distance.
At the same time, Kael summoned his gauntlets and took a combat stance.
Just as Logan was about to close in, Kael's Mixed Martial Arts skill suddenly alerted him to an opening.
He saw a flaw in Logan's stance, and he didn't hesitate to dump ten of the thirty-something ENERGi Units he could currently work with into his Agility stat.
His body seemed to blur forward as he entered Logan's personal space.
The latter was caught off guard but quickly adjusted, swinging his hammer from the side as if willing to smash his own chest so long as he crushed Kael.
But under Kael's heightened perception, the movement appeared slightly slow.
Kael opened his mouth, dense cold fog billowing outward.
His eyes seemed to glow brighter, twin beams of blue light drilling into Logan's own and causing the latter to involuntarily wince.
[Ignition Fist has been activated!]
Kael decisively dumped another ten ENERGi Units into his Strength.
His best chance of winning this fight was taking Logan by surprise, as the bully wasn't familiar with his powers.
He couldn't miss this opportunity.
[Double Impact has been activated!]
He also activated his gauntlet's Skill, ensuring his next attack would possess twice the power.
His planted foot dug into the earth, every ounce of forward momentum perfectly transferred into his rising fist as he launched a vicious uppercut toward Logan's liver, mixed martial arts directing his movement.
Despite his flat expression, this fist contained all his rage, all his resentment, all his frustration, his unwillingness and every ounce of fury he had been suppressing.
Just when his attack was about to land, his Danger Sense suddenly screamed.
At the same time, the strange instinct Kael had developed since obtaining his class reacted wildly.
Liquid metal suddenly wrapped around his planted foot and yanked forcefully.
It didn't take Kael even a split second to realize his attack would miss.
But if that were all, neither his new skill nor his instinct would be reacting so violently.
Under his heightened perception, he instantly understood that his posture had been compromised and that he would soon fall uncontrollably onto his back.
At the same time, the booming sounds of displaced air from Logan's approaching hammer filled his senses.
And finally, Kael saw in slow motion how the head of a spear began emerging from the ground behind him, almost as if anticipating his fall.
Kael's eyes couldn't help but drift upward toward the night sky.
For a moment, they seemed to lose focus as he stared into the countless stars glittering overhead.
'Just when will I become strong enough that my life isn't constantly hanging by a thread?'
Again and again, he had been thrown into life-and-death situations since the apocalypse descended.
Honestly, he was getting tired of it.
He wanted to become strong.
Strong enough that no one would dare stand against him.
Strong enough to overcome any challenge.
Strong enough to protect his loved ones.
Strong enough to carve his own fate. To never feel helpless again.
'Ah...'
His eyes seemed to regain some of their FOCUS.
'Don't I already know how?'
That is right...
FORGE YOUR STRENGTH!
The three words reverberated within his mind, booming through his consciousness with such force that the beams of light shooting from Kael's eyes seemed to sharpen further.
"ENOUGH!"