Chapter 145: Building Against Fate

Chapter 145: Building Against Fate

For one beautiful second, Kai thought that the flames were filling his soul, then he realized that he was burning alive. The dragon was unleashing a torrent of flame while simultaneously roaring, trying to burn him into a crisp. If not for his Physique he would have already been dead.

The raw power bound him in place, so Kai roared back. Instincts deeper than any human intuition told him that he couldn't win this fight, that he was going to burn to a crisp, but he wasn't going to go down accepting his fate.

Kai felt his mouth opening even wider and something dark yawned within his soul. He tried to summon forth Isulfr's Bite even though he was out of range and instead felt a maw open, trying to consume the golden flames. They were burning him from the inside out but he kept roaring back his defiance.

Suddenly he was lying on his back and he was no longer on fire. He could smell his own flesh cooking, but he was alive. The dragon was flying further into the sky, pumping its wings rapidly.

After that rejection, Kai had no reason to hold back. He extended his spiritual sight after the dragon.

Monster: Elder Golden Dragon

Threat: XII (Mu)

>

"Fuck you, dragon." The words hurt his scorched lips. "I'll eat you one day."

It didn't respond, simply continued dwindling into a golden speck.

Kai wanted nothing more than to lie there and hurt. The burns to his skin were bad, agonizing in a way he hadn't experienced before, but it felt like his soul itself had been scorched. He didn't need to observe himself to know that he hadn't been granted any magic dragon ability. Either the monster had sensed his real soul or it had just rejected him the way fate always rejected him.

Abruptly he realized that he was at risk of being killed off by Graetri and jerked upright.

Some of his skin tore away and sand dug into his wound, but Kai ignored the pain, searching for a threat. Nothing nearby. When he staggered to the top of a dune, he saw that Graetri and all his minions were running at full speed, probably having fled as soon as the dragon attacked. Which was actually the smart thing to do.

After wavering on his feet for a while longer, Kai slumped back down. He knew he'd live, but Aquagorgon's Health was straining itself to regenerate the deep injuries and he wouldn't be at his best for a while. And yet, despite all the pain, he felt strangely clean. As though all the flames had burned away his distractions and concerns.

Kai sat down carefully, his stance not meditation or cultivation or anything else, just a position where the burns were tolerable. It all seemed clearer now. When had fate ever granted him an easy blessing? If he was going to acquire an advantage, he'd need to build it himself, and that meant examining his soul.

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 153

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 99% (25)

Physique Level: E-4 (92)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Monstrous Hunger - VII (eta)

Direboar's Strength - V (epsilon)

Aquagorgon's Health - V (epsilon)

Gomodo's Stamina - V (epsilon)

Isulfr's Bite - IV (delta)

Tyrant's Claw - III (gamma)

-

Direclam's Shell - I (alpha)

Wallcrawler's Feet - I (alpha)

Infernotoad's Burst - II (beta)

Direserpent (???)

He had witnessed warriors of unfathomable power, wielding abilities he didn't understand over a battle that dwarfed him. They utterly outclassed not just him, but the Diamond Crystalliers and the Frontier elites and everyone from the other continents. If he wanted to face them one day, Kai needed real power, not a compromise.

Coming to that conclusion was well and good, but determination didn't solve his problem and he was still running out of time. Kai desperately looked over his soul, even considering trying to use one of his techniques like his bite or claw.

Then he felt something else: the Shademonger's essence twisted eagerly. It wasn't a monster he had fought himself, but it still distorted the world just the way the Frontier did.

Abruptly he realized that was his solution. He focused and the essence transformed into Shademonger's Spirit. Monstrous power from his soul began to merge into his flesh, just like his mana and qi had reinforced his body. It didn't make him physically tougher, it enhanced his body to be more resistant to spiritual attacks.

Shademonger's Spirit was strong enough to equal the other two merged essences, but he was running out of time. Kai could feel the edges of his soul beginning to fray, as if the monsters were planning to tear themselves free. Worse, the behemoth had gone from being hungry to not sure it could consume the rest, but he forced himself onward before it was too late.

Aquagorgon's Health, won in battle with allies dying around him...

Gomodo's Stamina, striking down the beast as it rose over and over again...

Shademonger's Spirit, twisting with the raw unnatural power of the Frontier...

Kai forced them all together and then blacked out.

.

..

.

When he came to, Kai realized that his body felt fine. The sun had shifted lower in the sky, so he must have slept for a while. Everyone had presumably thought he was incinerated by the dragon and left him behind, which suited him fine.

His work flooded back to him all at once and he desperately looked inside his soul, certain that he'd find it an absolute wreck. Instead he felt something throbbing in his chest, a new power deeply integrated with his body. Had it worked?

During his experimentation, Kai had wondered whether or not he'd be able to name the new ability or whether his spiritual sight would label it according to its true nature. Now there was no question. Behemoth's Heart pulsed within him, pumping monstrous power through his body.

Name: Kai Clanless

Total Power: 153

Cultivation: Qi Condensation 99% (25)

Physique Level: E-4 (92)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Monstrous Hunger - VIII (theta)

Behemoth's Heart - I (alpha)

Direboar's Strength - V (epsilon)

Isulfr's Bite - V (epsilon)

Tyrant's Claw - IV (delta)

(Void)

-

Wallcrawler's Feet - I (alpha)

Infernotoad's Burst - II (beta)

>

The resulting ability was only ranked alpha, but he could immediately tell that its potential outstripped all the others. Even now, at the very first rank, it was regenerating his body faster than Aquagorgon's Health had at the fifth. He couldn't wait to test its raw power.

Deep within him, the hunger burned hotter than the dragon's flame.