The twin buzz saws shot forward like missiles. He tried to avoid the attack but there was little he could do. Even with the boost from whatever pill he took. Maximilian manipulated the blades into a pincer formation. Seconds before the saws would've claimed his life a bright sphere of golden light exploded around him. The sphere was reminiscent of Prismatic Barrier only nowhere near as strong. His defensive skill held up for less than a second and then he was trisected. Just like that a member of the top four was dead. Maximilian stared at the gory mess in confusion. He had just killed a man. He had just ended a life. So why didn't he feel bad? He had read stories and articles about people who experienced traumatic events. Yet he didn't feel anything. The world seemed just as clear as it was a moment ago. He knew that he had killed him. No part of him wanted to deny that fact. Someone screamed which drew his attention it was the man from earlier. The one he blasted. He was halfway into another attack before he caught himself. He wouldn't kill. Not if he could avoid it. This was his fault. If he had been stronger he would've been able to beat him without lethal force.

  The rational part of his brain knew that was nonsense. That he had defended himself and that he had held back as long as he could. Another part reminded him of what happened with the last prisoner. That if he hadn't killed the man he could've come back stronger. Yet he rejected the idea. Not because it was wrong. It was right. It would be easier to kill the threat. Who would he be if he did that though? No he would get stronger. So strong that they could come back time and time again. That he could beat them no matter how many times they tried. He wasn't sure if that was madness or something else. He was pulled from that line of thought when he head the voice of the Network.

  Due to the death of the previous ruler. The settlement can be seized.

  "Where is it?" He asked. When no one offered a response he unleashed a small bit of his killing intent. It washed over the gathered crowd for less than a second but that was more than enough. The cultivators grew noticeably paler. The group that had come to threaten them looked like the were seconds away from pissing themselves. He didn't see any non-cultivators so he hoped they were smart enough to leave here. If not than he would deal with it. "Five." His count was met with a series of confused stares and stammers by the time he got to three the rat faced man panicked.

  "I can take you! I'll take you." He called out and sprinted down the street. Or at least he tried to. He made half way before he stumbled fell hard enough to give himself a nose bleed. Either the man the didn't notice the pain or he didn't care. Maximilian waited until he disappeared and then glanced at Joshua who was two shades paler and looked like he was about to lose what little food he had.

  "Find somewhere for us to stay. I am tired." With that Maximilian pushed off from the ground with enough force to crater it. He followed the idiot that started this until he arrived at an old strip mall. The plaza was four storefronts but was otherwise uninteresting. He wished he could say he was disappointed but it was clear Anthony had no interest in building anything. Maximilian decided not to follow the man into the building. Instead he decided to launch a jet of water into one of the windows and then leaped in. He doubted the man was brave enough to try and trap him but it was better to be safe. From there the man headed into an old furniture store and then into a storage area. Inside of which was a large table and the Nexus Station. "You can go now." The man scramble to leave was almost enough to make him laugh. Once he was gone Maximilian turned his attention to the station. He reached his hand and a moment later he had claimed yet another place. It was a bit surreal how easy it was. Even a year ago it would cost lives to capture a city and that assumed someone wasn't willing to destroy the world to prevent. Thousands of years before that it would've required the sacrifice of tens of thousands. Now one man could do it in seconds.

  He knew that eventually someone with brain cells would be in charge. That they would have arrays or formations or whatever else they could get their hands on. He wasn't sure how powerful geographic positioning would be but he figured the top of a mountain had to be one of the best places. Assuming everyone didn't learn how to fly. He made his way out of the mall and found a large group of people waiting for him. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they wanted. He used spiritual energy to amplify voice. "Alright so you should've figured out that things are going to change. You all have one day to make your choice. You stay here and you are under the purview of the Nubian Dynasty. For those of you who haven't put it together yet my name is Maximilian Croft. Yes the same one from the list. I will have my people filter in to deal with the situation. Do not interfere with them but you can ask them if you need anything." He was going to tell that they didn't need to fear him but he knew that was pointless. He had just killed someone and nothing he said would remove that shadow. He sent word through to Nubia and sure enough his mother along with several others came through. He gave them a quick update on the situation. After which they took over. He made a mental note to make a team that would onboard new settlements. Between his habit of overthrowing people and his quest he would be doing this a lot. With everything taken care of he decided to find Joshua. The last battle had solidified the need to get stronger. Anthony didn't provide enough spiritual energy for a new level so that option was out. Which left him with one option. It was time to get a new Dao.

  He found Joshua in front of a row of houses that had seen better days. He was happy to see he had regained some color though there was still some fear in his face. Maximilian gave him a forced smile as he strode up. "I had expected something a bit better. A four star hotel at least."

  Joshua snorted at the poor attempt at humor and gestured to the two family house behind him. "Well I doubt we will find one of those anytime soon. We could stay here though. I scouted it out and can confirm its safe. Well, there are no monsters." An uncomfortable silence fell between them after. A silence that lasted until he gestured for Joshua to follow.

  "I am going to perform a breakthrough and it might help you to watch. I am going to get a new lesser dao." The house wasn't the best place for cultivation so he decided to sit in the living room. He gave a brief explanation to Joshua about to expect and then he broke one his mental crystals. The energy in the room improved but there was only so much it could do. When he was ready he closed his eyes and let himself slip deeper and deeper into meditation. He already had daos related to the water and electricity which left wind. He also knew that he wanted to focus on movement and speed for this one. He already had a strong offense and healing. He called to mind the speed and power of the wind. Tornadoes, storms, the untamed nature of the wind. The freedom of movement. Its ever present nature. The power to destroy and build. The power of freedom and life. The chaos an anarchy of freedom. It felt like was suspended within a web of dozens of options. Paths that he could take most of which weren't what he needed. Nor what he wanted. He could almost feel the howling winds tearing at his robes. He synced his breaths to the imagined wind. He wasn't sure how long he sat there before clarity bloomed. Another part of his soul opened and he became more. He still couldn't say he understood what it was. All too soon that moment of understanding fled him. He knew by now that there was no point in chasing it. That it wasn't his that it was the heavens and that he could no more control it than fight the sky. Still he couldn't bring himself to move. He was at peace. Part of him wished he could stay here forever but he knew that was impossible. Further he could feel other presences. One was Joshua and he was closest. He was certain the other was his mother which meant he needed to get up. That being said he wanted to review his gains first.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Lesser Dao of Squall - Comprehension: Low. Attributes: Agility +15, Strength +5

  Maximilian wasn't sure why he got "Squall" instead of gale or gust but he didn't think it mattered. Part of him wanted to sit back down and try to get to gust just to see what would happen. He knew that wasn't possible. He didn't get why but he could tell he had used up the understandings that went into squall so he would have to start from zero. Which would take too long. He doubted he would be allowed to just sit here for the days or weeks it could take. The attribute boost was proof enough he had gotten what he wanted. He assumed the Strength boost came from the power of wind which was odd. Since that was also related to its speed but he wasn't complaining. Both of those were falling behind his Intelligence so this was welcome. He opened his eyes and inhaled. When he exhaled he infused his mouth the dao of squall. What came out was what you'd expect from a superman comic. He blew out the window and wall in front of him along with the couch. Despite the display he couldn't help sigh. His control was poor. Or rather it was poor when compared to his other two. He hadn't wanted to cause that much damage.

  "How are you able to do that." His mother asked.

  Her voice brought him back to the moment. He glanced at her and shook his head. "Understanding I think. I am not sure why we couldn't get the Dao before the Network but I just draw on the image of what I want. In this case I focused on the speed of the wind and well I can now use it."

  She nodded and looked pensive for a moment before she shook her head. "I will look into it. We have a few things we could use your help with." She gestured toward the new hole in the wall.

  Maximilian glanced at Joshua who was now seated in the lotus position. He decided not to disturb the man. If his breakthrough could help him out than he wished him luck. "Lead the way."

  "We've gone through most of the people here in the hours you spent meditating but it appears that someone has gone missing." She started.

  "Missing as in fled the settlement or missing as in kidnapped?"

  "We don't know. We believe its neither. There were a few children that tended to go on adventures around the ruins. Their parents tried to stop them but as more and more of the parents disappeared. The kids would take advantage. Now we are unable to locate two of them. Benjamin, that is the man you terrified earlier wasn't certain how many children were here to begin with so..."

  "So you can't tell me how many kids I need to find. Nor can you tell me where they are?" He sighed. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

  "No, we've been trying to track down families but we haven't had much luck. Your display earlier has made people a bit reticent to trust. Not that they are antagonistic. They seem to be avoiding us."

  Maximilian nodded and glanced in the direction of the forest and less civilized parts of the settlement. He didn't technically own those areas at least not as far as the Network was concerned. It wasn't even a neighborhood more like a loosely connected islands of civilization among a sea of green. "I'll go. Tell Joshua to help you defend this place. I don't have enough credits for another array which leaves you all vulnerable. I will be close by so if something does happen make enough noise."

  "Of course, we have found a flare gun. I imagine that will be good enough." His mother replied.

  He chuckled and was about to push off from the ground when he thought better of it. He took a step away from his mother and then drew on the Dao of Squall. He tried to push it into his legs but that only pushed him off the ground. It wasn't what he wanted. Instead he tried to push it out of his feet. As if the soles of his feet had holes in them. It took him a few tries to get it but when he did he shot off like a rocket. His speed was more than five times faster than anything he had accomplished before. Not only that but he didn't need to use spiritual energy for it. It was no where near what a real skill could do but it was great for now. He continued at the pace until he was out of the city. After he leaped into the air until he was on top of a gas station. He doubted he would see the children from here but it might make it easier to see any place they could be. The lack of monsters made him feel better. He wasn't sure if it was the proximity to the former settlement or if there weren't many here. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?" His voice boomed. He tried to send spiritual energy into his ears to magnify his hearing but either that was impossible or that wasn't how you did it. Either way it meant he was on his own. He stood there for a few more minutes before he leaped off the building. He fell like a stone until he a few feet above the ground at which point he unleashed a blast of wind. Just enough to slow his fall so he could land without crushing anything. From there he began his search.

  He searched for the better part of four hours before he found something. In the basement of an old warehouse, he found a back room with a collapsed floor. One that led into a deep dark cavern. He wasn't a big fan of gambling, but he felt confident that if he were a child that wanted to explore that this is where he would go. Despite that he didn't jump in. He was confident that he would be able to get back here but he knew he would be out of contact with the others. He also didn't want to waste time running back, telling everyone and then jumping down. He decided to compromise. He left the building and used his dao to carve a brief message into the ground. He didn't think the others would face something they couldn't handle without him. If he was wrong this would at least help them figure out where he went. It wouldn't be a replacement for speed though. With that done he reentered the building and projected his dao fields a few inches away from his body. Then he leaped into the dark. He hadn't explored the subterranean area for more than ten minutes before he realized something was off. The area wasn't natural. Not only was the stone around him worked as if master artisans had dug it out but he could tell it was old. Much older than the city above them. It was also stronger than any material he knew about. He tried to dig into it with his fingers, but he might as well have been a normal person pushing into solid steel. Which only made him more curious. The Network had merged earth with different worlds. Worlds that would have their own histories and ruins. That didn't take into account the weird things that could exist on earth. If it weren't for the missing kids he would choose to explore this area in more detail. Not that he wouldn't when he saved them.

  He was starting to consider going back to the settlement to begin his search again. When he heard something. It took him a moment to realize it was a child crying. Something that felt much more frightening than it should have. He strained his ears until he found which side tunnel the noise was coming from. He had to stop himself from calling out in case there was a threat down here. He would feel terrible if he caused the child to get caught. Instead, he decided to take a bit of a gamble. He might not be able to call out to the kid, but he should be able to make himself a better target. He released his daos in succession. He managed to get through two cycles before things changed. A sound that reminded him of nails on a chalkboard shattered the stillness. A moment later something was charging him. He cracked his neck and braced himself for impact.