The group charged without hesitation. Maximilian released his dao fields and drowned the room in a hurricane of wind, water, and electricity. The change caused them to hesitate for a fraction of a second. Enough time for him to unleash his killing intent. The world shimmered as if it were caught within a heat mirage. Yet, the warriors reacted better than anyone he had seen. They paled but continued forward. Their weapons glinted in the flashes of electricity. Maximilian forced himself to remain calm. He wasn't sure how strong they were, so he couldn't hold back. He triggered Prismatic Barrier as the group got to him. He positioned himself so the group couldn't get behind him. In case he needed to get away quickly. He shouldn't have bothered. The squad crashed into his shield and was rebuffed. Their swords were stronger than any of Earth's weapons, but that wasn't saying much. He formed three blades of wind the size of his finger and shot them forward. Only the leader was fast enough to avoid them. The other three lost two fingers each.
"Give up." He commanded as space around him exploded. Balls of electricity, wind, and water formed like missiles. He waved his hands. Each member of the squad was faced with an attack from each dao. Each one should be strong enough to kill them. Yet they didn't listen. Their weapons glowed with spiritual energy as they activated skills. "Damn it," Maximilian said before he pulled back. He still didn't have a clear estimate of their power, but their skill were concerning. Not because of how strong they were, but because they were the same. All the skills made their swords glow and double in size. The former shortswords were now closer to greatswords. Yet, his instincts didn't warn him of danger. Which should mean he's safe. At least relatively. The group resumed their attacks, and this time they were able to crack the barrier. This caused the skill to steal even more energy. A quick calculation told Maximilian he would be in trouble if this went on for an hour or two. There was no chance of that happening, but it did warn him. He couldn't afford to let future groups attack him like this.
He fired the electrical balls at each of them. The attacks were too fast for them to dodge, but they weren't anywhere near strong enough to kill. They were good enough to paralyse, which was all he needed. As soon as the attacks stopped, he sprang from his barrier. He launched, and he landed fists into each of their faces. A moment later, the group was lying on the ground. Before they could decide to stand again, he placed the rest of his attacks at their throats. "I don't want to kill you. If you force my hand, then you can't blame me for being ruthless." He wasn't sure if he or they were more nervous. When they finally submitted, he let out a sigh of relief. He kept his attacks aimed at their throats. He wasn't naive enough to believe that they wouldn't try something.
"Now. Tell me about this 'imperial decree'. Is the royal family here? In the trial?" He asked.
"Yes." The leader said through gritted teeth. "They are here. They will see you torn to shreds for daring to assault members of the army."
Maximilian stared at them in annoyance and then shook his head. He stood up straight and cracked his neck. "How many and what are their names?" As soon as they left his mouth, he knew those were the wrong words. The men found their courage and reached. Not for their weapons but for the bags at their hips. Maximilian could have stopped them. He knew that, but he would have needed to kill them. The group broke their tokens and were engulfed by white pillars. He sighed, dismissed his energy, and withdrew his dao fields. A moment later, they all winked out. He waited with faux hope that they would leave behind their tokens. That wasn't to be. He had to either steal them or kill them. He looked up at the sky. A unspoken rebuke of the Network and whatever else was responsible for this insanity. Before he could leave, four beams of white light shot into his bag. It was so sudden that he thought it was an attack. He realized that was wrong. Not only that, but it was a boon. He had been given some of the other items. He had no way to know if it was all they carried or a percentage. Not that it mattered. He tried to see what the items were, but he couldn't. The bag didn't let him pull anything out. He also couldn't pass his awareness through it. Either way, it wasn't too important. He would review everything once he was out of here.
He reentered the ruins and looked around. Without the pillars of light, he had no way to know where other people were. Part of him had hoped to run into Justinian or Yao Wei, but he doubted it. At least not until the last days of trial. If his assumption about the Network was right, the strong would be encouraged to face off eventually. The so-called imperials were the real threat. If they were a real royal family, then he doubted they would get along with the people of Earth well. He formed a step out of the wind and ran into the city. He made it less than fifteen steps before something happened. Pressure fell on him from all directions. As if he were being pressed down by a god. It wasn't painful. Nor did it seem dangerous. Yet, his gut told him not to ignore it. As soon as he touched down, the feeling was gone. He cocked his head and nodded. Either flying was banned or this place didn't like his dao. He tried it again with electricity and got the same result. Part of him wanted to experiment a bit, but he decided against it. He would explore on foot. The next building was identical to the first. He looted it and continued. He entered several more buildings. Most of which were empty or filled with furniture. Furniture that he gladly took. The stuff on Earth wasn't useful anymore, which meant he needed to do a bit of shopping. Admittedly, the stuff he managed to find wasn't high quality by any means.
Most of it was likely better when it was first made. It would be good enough for now. Whenever they got a furniture store, they could get some better stuff. He hadn't encountered any other people, but he had seen them. None were from Earth. He wasn't sure if the Network had done it on purpose, but he leaned in that direction. It was hard to leave things up to poor luck when you had a literal luck attribute. Based on how few opportunities he had gained to boost, he was certain his luck was at least average. He pulled himself back to the moment as he arrived at a large mansion.
The place was surrounded by a massive gate and was the only thing in this section of the city. He would have to run for another ten or fifteen minutes to reach the next one. He couldn't explain why he was drawn to this one in particular. He attributed the desire to his luck and ignored the worry. Despite how eager he was to head inside, he stopped himself. He was pretty sure a place like this had to have an array or formation or something to protect it. This place had also survived whatever happened to the city far better than other areas. He stared at the gate for several moments. As if his gaze would reveal whatever secrets were hidden in it. He would need to do something he just wasn't sure what to do.
After another ten minutes, he sighed and formed a lance of each dao. He aimed them above the fence and released them. The three attacks shot forward like spears and crashed harmlessly into what had to have been a great garden. He did it again only to get the same result. Either there were no defenses, or they only activated if a person entered. Either way, there was one way to find out. He stood up and prepared himself.
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He circulated the Dao of rain through his body and expanded his Dao fields. He considered doing the same with his killing intent, but held himself back. He was worried the defenses might react poorly. With all his preparations complete, he ran forward. He leaped over the fence and into the property. As soon as his feet touched down, his danger sense exploded. A pulse of energy spread through him like a wave. He braced for pain, for an attack that didn't come. A moment later, he realized his mistake. The pulse didn't want to hurt him. It was searching for something. Maximilian pushed spiritual energy into his feet and exploded forward. The pulse came two more times before the world exploded. The ground in all directions exploded upward as innumerable chains shot for him.
He swore as he unleashed dozens of attacks. He countered several of the chains, only for them to split apart. As if he were fighting some sort of hydra. One chain became two, four, and eight. He abandoned offense to focus on moving. His instincts provided just enough of a warning to avoid the onslaught. He crossed half the distance before he was forced to make a change. The chains shot into the air and then rained down on him. He activated Prismatic Barrier and imbued it with both the Daos of Static and Squall. The shield formed seconds before the chains slammed into him. The barrier held for several seconds before it shattered like glass. He had just enough time to activate the array on his robes before the chains hit him. He screamed in agony as several chains cut into him.
His robes were barely enough to protect his torso. One chain shot through his right leg and then dissolved into spiritual energy. Energy that returned to the array. He unleashed an explosion of his Dao and killing intent. The world seemed to shake as his explosion tore through the grounds. The chains that held him down were shattered. In the fraction of a second before new chains attacked him, he unleashed a blast of air behind him. He shot forward as if he had been launched from a cannon. He pulled out his emergency healing pill and swallowed it. It wasn't enough to restore him, but it should let him finish running. He hit the ground a moment later, only for his danger sense to warn him again.
He spun a ball of air around him and expanded it until it was the size of a truck. He deflected several chains. As soon as that threat was dealt with, he sprinted toward the building. He was less than twenty feet from the door. He would make it. He could—those thoughts were disrupted by yet another scream of danger. Without hesitation, he jumped into a barrel roll to his right. He looked up and saw what had nearly killed him. The tip of a had been shot at him like an arrow. The thing cratered the ground and likely would have killed him instantly. Maximilian left nothing to chance as he ran. He braced himself in case the array wasn't done, but no other attacks came. Still, he refused to relax until he had passed through the threshold. He barreled into the door and collapsed in a heap. He took a moment to catch his breath and circulate his dao. His injuries were bad to say the least. The single healing pill wasn't enough to take care of his needs. He wouldn't die, but he wasn't going to be in fighting shape anytime soon. Still, he had gotten to the house, which was a victory. Even if I felt a bit pyrrhic. He closed his eyes and focused on healing. When he opened his eyes, he was more or less healed. He still wouldn't want to fight, but he could explore the house. As soon as he saw the room he was in, his pain was forgotten.
The atrium was beautiful. It was made out of a golden brown stone that practically glowed. At first, he thought there was a chandelier about ten feet above him, but that was wrong. It was floating balls of white light. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but it was some sort of array. The more he looked at the more beautiful it was. Arrays were magic circles, which were his favorite type of magic in fantasy stories. Normal spells were great, but those could bring about world-changing events. He wasn't sure he'd get a chance during the trial to learn how to make them. As soon as he left Earth, he would find a way. Find a teacher and whatever else you needed before you could build them. He shook off his stupor and focused. The rest of the room was no less interesting. It was a beautiful house, though time had worn it down. There was a painting, a mural on the wall that depicted a family of humans. They had dark skin and brown cat-like eyes. Two men had a hand, one each on a child. He assumed they were a family, though they could have also been some military group. Either way, the craftsmanship was impressive. There was a winding staircase that led to a second floor and two doors on either side. From what he could tell, there was no reason to pick any one direction over the others. So he decided to go right. He strode through these people's home and stole everything. Every chair, table, piece of art, everything that wasn't nailed down.
Part of him felt bad for stealing in what had to be someone's family home. The more pragmatic part said that it was stupid. These people were likely dead. Not only were they likely dead, but the Network had turned this place into a trial ground. He wasn't sure what the rules of that were, but he assumed the people who lived here had to have died a long time before the Network did that. Either that or they somehow sold their home to the Network. That was a scary thought. He would need to look into that if he could. He wouldn't put it past some people to try and sell out the Earth for a few credits. When he got to the kitchen, he was amused to find no oven. Or rather, he found a stone box with a few arrays inside. It didn't take a genius to figure out how it was supposed to work.
There was a spot where your spiritual energy would go. You should be able to control the flames and other parts with energy. The only issue was that the whole thing was broken. The array inside was damaged, and he wasn't willing to test it. Stoves back home were dangerous to use if they weren't working right, and the last thing he wanted was to blow the place up. He wasn't sure how durable he was in comparison to this stuff. Sometimes he felt stronger, other times he felt normal by comparison. The array outside was a perfect example. He had gotten a bit too used to being superhuman. He should have been a bit more cautious. Not that I would have made a difference. As far as he could tell, there were no other ways inside this place. He still collected it. With any luck, his followers would study it and reproduce it. Or find a way to make old stoves work.
By the time he headed up to the second floor, he had stopped paying attention to the items he looted. They all became beams of light. It wasn't until he got to the top of the stairs that something changed. Something called to him. It felt a bit like a magnet. It wasn't strong enough to force him to do anything he didn't want to, but it was noticeable. He strode forth into a hallway. It was a "T" intersection that was filled with rooms. The feeling came from the centermost room, which was the one he entered first. He was a bit surprised to find that it was a simple bedroom. It had a harem-style bed that looked incredibly comfortable, along with another of the chandeliers. For a moment, he wondered if the Network or his luck attribute had taken his desire for a better bed a bit too seriously. Not that he wasn't going to take it. Fortunately, he quickly realized that he was wrong. Or rather that he wasn't being pulled into this room, but to the room across from him.
Now that he was here, he had an idea of what that room was, which was why he didn't go there immediately. Instead, he headed to the room to his left. Which turned out to be a closet. His excitement faded almost as fast as it arrived. Most of the clothes were tattered. Time had ruined them until they were falling apart. The only exception to that was three robes, one of which was child size. All three robes had arrays on them, which he figured was the only reason they were still there. He placed two of them into his bag. He intended to test the third robe to compare it to his own. Only for it to turn into light as soon as he tried to put it on. He sighed but wasn't surprised. They had been told that they couldn't use anything. It wasn't too big a deal either way. His current robes were strong enough for what he needed. With everything else taken care he turned toward the door and smiled. It was time to see what a cultivation chamber looked like in the multiverse.
