The first of the skills, Resolve of the Avenger, revolved around using his Dao Seed to empower himself against foes that he felt threatened by. In theory, it was a powerful ability, but after his latest Dao upgrade, it was overshadowed by the effects of the actual concept itself. Next was Girdings of the Arbiter, almost completely useless now given that he no longer had body parts to hold in place, or indeed, a need to do so. All of that was possible through Dao manipulation. Finally, Earth Elemental Bulwark was the simplest ability, and the lowest rarity. All that it did was summon a shield of pure elemental power, protecting Sam from his enemies. As a mere Legendary skill, and one that drew upon his weakest energy reserve, it was so weak at his level of power that he never used it.
As Abrinadus flapped his wings, taking off into the sky, Sam set his eyes upon the dragon, and activated Resolve of the Avenger. As he felt a marginal increase to his stats, he used Girdings of the Arbiter. Rather than fixing his physical body in place, he attached his metaphysical form to that of his Resolve of the Avenger skill, and by extension, to Abrinadus. Suddenly, a spike of power rattled him to his core, and his body glowed with a faint blue and red light as his Dao sank into his form. Finally, Earth Elemental Bulwark triggered, and as the yellowish disk of light came into being, Sam forced it into the shape of a suit of armor with his will, and molded it around himself. Threads of sky blue energy radiated through it as he summoned his purified mana. Injecting the cosmic equivalent of rocket fuel into his own armor might have seemed like a bad idea to a lesser cultivator, but to Sam, the risk was minimal.
Tiny explosions crackled and popped along the sides of his armor as he moved, the mana detonating. Instead of letting the momentum dissipate, Sam created a final layer of the Dao around himself, sealing it in. With one last effort of will, using the link of Girdings of the Arbiter as a form of conceptual glue, he tied in his body strengthening effect to his new armor.
The tiny explosions turned into detonations of incandescent azure flame, even as his strength soared with it. Creating a pair of holes behind his elbows, Sam was suddenly sent shooting forwards by the momentum of his mana flames, moving at speeds far higher than before. A notification appeared, but he pushed it aside. That could wait until the end of the battle.
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As Abrinadus rose into the sky, bolts of red lightning struck his body, limning him in elemental power. His wings stretched out to their fullest extent, and he basked in the light of his element. His Dao girded his form, an ethereal suit of golden armor forming out of the ether, while a crown appeared above his head, made of flickering halcyon flame.
He raised his claws to the heavens, and a titanic sword formed out of the ether, golden light weaving together a hundred foot long blade with an edge as sharp as an atom. The dragon tensed, galvanizing his Dao, and then swung the sword towards Sam. The air before it screamed as the blade sliced through molecules and atoms alike, so quickly that it looked like a solid plane of gold stretched across the sky.
Sam pulsed more mana into his new skill, and jetted up above the incoming sword, teleporting as soon as he was in safety. His hammer swept back as he gathered his strength, and with a sonic boom, Sam struck, great gouts of blue flame exploding out of his armor. The weapon burned through the air, pushing the dense gas out of the way as Sam forced his way past the E Rank planet’s natural durability.
Momentarily struck in his swing, Abrinadus was unable to dodge the attack, and Terra’s Will blasted into his jaw, knocking the dragon backwards. As it did so, Sam used Manifestation of Vengeance, his most powerful attack skill. A wave of pure energy washed over the dragon, melting skin and fraying wings. Abrinadus went flying back, crashing into the ground a half a mile distance.
With plumes of mana leaking from his armor, Sam looked more like a force of nature than a man, his body covered in glistening energy, his flesh invisible beneath. Without wasting a moment, he teleported above Abrinadus, and let gravity take him down, building up speed and momentum as he went.
A towering, formless force rose up from the supine dragon, and the air darkened, filling with angry storm clouds and flashing scarlet lightning. For five miles in every direction, pushing against the resilience of the planet, Abrinadus’ domain expanded, enveloping Sam. It was the power of a being ten thousand years a mortal’s senior, one who had explored many avenues of power beyond that of levels.
