Sam, of course, wanted to see Glakassa as soon as possible. He said as much, prompting Alyssa to leave the Interweb for a moment, contacting the other woman.

  As he waited, Sam thought about what he wanted to say. Although he, and Glakassa for that matter, saw something in one another, they had only met twice. Once on the twenty fifth floor, and once on the sixty fifth. The second time hadn’t even given them much of an opportunity to do anything but fight.

  Before Alyssa could return, Eduardo appeared, about a mile away. Sam felt his presence immediately, and teleported there. He hadn’t really expected his Authority to be capable of doing such a thing, but it seemed like it was drawing upon his pre-existing teleport abilities, adapting them to the Interweb.

  Eduardo waited next to a market stall, leaning against the wooden support beam. As Sam arrived, he straightened up. “You need to come back to the real world. Now.”

  The urgency in his voice alarmed Sam. “What’s wrong? Did something happen when I was gone?”

  “Not yet, but it’s about to. There’s a D Ranker approaching from space. She’s coming fast.”

  “Shit!” Sam swore. Rather than saying anything else, he exited the Interweb. Glakassa would have to wait.

  Rax still cradled his prone form, but the herpetopede’s hackles were raised. The monster was nearly upright, only the last few pairs of legs still on the ground for Sam to lean against.

  “You can go now,” Sam said. “I’m back.”

  Rax nodded, the human expression strange on the beast, and flew off, wings of fire blooming from his back to carry him away.

  Sam looked up and saw what looked like a meteor flashing across the heavens. An orb of fire, hundreds of feet wide, had just entered the atmosphere. In its center, barely visible, was the figure of a human woman, riding a flying sword.

  The ground cracked as Sam took off, leaping with so much force that he felt the air before him fusing, flames streaking in every direction. He clenched his fists, the energies of his newborn Dao Sapling dancing across them.

  Ethereal armor locked into place across his body, and waves of power sent his strength flying towards new horizons. His eyes burned with the light of his Dao.

  Before Sam could reach the invader, a sudden explosion tore through the air as a figure popped out of the ether a few miles away from the rapidly descending D Ranker. He was clad in armor of shining red, both fists surrounded by spiked gauntlets of crimson metal.

  “This is my world!” Jacob Atlas, the Overlord, shouted as he pushed off the sky itself, flying towards the invader. As he went, he left a long, shining tear in the fabric of reality, glowing the red of a drop of blood suspended in sunlight.

  The woman on the flying sword barely reacted in time, the blade leaping up to her hand. She swung as Jacob drove his fist towards her face, meeting his blow.

  Her face twisted in confusion as she was overpowered by a mere E Ranker, her weapon torn from her grip. Jacob’s burning fist crashed into her cheek with the force of a bomb. One moment she was hanging suspended in the air, her cheek deforming from the strike. The next, she was at the base of a massive crater, dozens of miles away from the faction city.

  Jacob gave Sam a single nod. “Leave this to me.”

  Then he teleported, appearing next to his foe. The power of Authority swept out from the Overlord, cementing his control over the world around him. Such was its resonance with his path that it felt almost as strong as Sam’s own Authority, even though it came from a man an entire Rank beneath him.

  Jacob raised his fists above his head, and twin bolts of carmine lightning descended from the cloudless sky, striking his hands at the same time. Crackling streams of electricity covered his entire body, licking at the air like the tongues of a hydra.

  With the boom of thunder, Jacob descended, coming down so quickly that he reached his D Rank foe before the sonic boom could even reach Sam’s ears. His fists sank into her chest, driving the invader deeper and deeper into the ground. A pillar of red light shattered the sky, flying off into space as Jacob fought.

  Sam flew over, wanting to watch the battle from a closer vantage point, and perhaps step in if necessary. If Jacob could do this much damage, Sam knew that he could obliterate the invader in a matter of moments.

  The swordswoman used a skill, a dome of force plucking Jacob out of the air and tossing him away. She gripped the hilt of her weapon, and line after line of runes started to glow on the sword’s blade. A heat haze formed around the blade, before a wash of flame obscured the entire weapon from view.

  “The Elders warned me about this planet,” the woman said. “I thought they were exaggerating.”

  “If anything,” Jacob said, “they were underestimating us. You’ve come to dig your own grave.”

  “Better to meet my death as an equal than as a coward.”

  Jacob laughed. “I can appreciate that sentiment.” He smashed his fists together, and when he pulled them apart, a tiny star blazed between his fingers. Reaching out with his right hand, he snatched the orb of energy, crushing it in his grip. Veins of reddish energy crisscrossed his body, before sinking in.

  Sam felt the same power that came from his own Dao Juggernaut skill. Jacob had tapped into his own Dao Heritage, finding the strength of his ultimate destiny, drawing upon it eons and worlds before he ever achieved it.

  The D Ranker struck, her sword passing through the air so quickly that it left an afterimage. She used her Dao to enhance her strike, the heat increasing the kinetic energy of her sword. The molecules vibrated so quickly that the weapon started to phase in and out of view. It was the power of a D Ranker, leveled at a man dozens of levels beneath her own.

  Jacob laughed and stepped up to the challenge, a multiarmed avatar of scarlet light forming around him. Each hand snapped out like bullets, leveraging his own enhanced strength to punch with so much force that just the air pressure tore apart the ground for a mile in every direction.

  Two of the arms opened, palms meeting the sword strike as it came hurtling in. They clamped down, fighting to keep the D Ranker from completing her attack. The sword immediately started to cut through, but for a moment, Jacob was able to strike unimpeded.

  The other four fists crashed home in unison, each targeting a corner of the D Ranker’s torso. Her body crumpled beneath the blows, chunks of flesh tearing off. The D Rank flesh cut through the ground like a razor, unable to be damaged by the far weaker surface of Earth.

  To her credit, the invader kept swinging, finally cutting through Jacob’s energy arms. The blade cleaved through his body, neatly bisecting him.

  “It’s impressive that you lasted this long,” the D Ranker panted, her flesh starting to repair itself. “I’ve never faced an E Ranker this strong.”

  “And you never will again,” the Overlord said, his Dao surging to life. “I am the guardian of this world. A son of Earth, rising above his limits to fend off monsters like you.” As he spoke, his Dao thumped like a heartbeat, growing and growing as he Jacob sank fully into the role of his alter ego, the Overlord. “I will reach up to the skies and tear down the false gods who seek to stop me. My destiny lies far beyond yours. And I will not have it denied to me!”

  What happened next was the single most shocking thing Sam had seen since returning to the Tower. The Overlord stepped forward, even though the two halves of his body were still disconnected. Even Sam couldn’t have done that without using his Authority. As far as he could tell, the Overlord wasn’t tapping into his Dao at all. At that realization, Sam felt a tide of Dao energy leaving him, generated by his acknowledgement that his father could do something that he could not.

  The Overlord’s flesh turned to lightning, the man turning into something more akin to a force of nature than a human. “You can keep sending your people to Earth, and the result will always be the same. Nobody can have this planet. It is under my protection!” The Overlord became flesh once more as all of his power traveled into his right fist. “When your friends meet you in Hell, tell them that the Overlord sent you too.”

  The D Ranker hadn’t spent this time idly, her sword infused with so much raw power that it had transcended physical reality, burning as brightly in the realm of the Dao as it did in Sam’s mundane sight. As the Overlord finished his monologue, she attacked. Just the force transmitted through her feet caused a localized earthquake, new hills forming behind her as the earth was torn apart.

  She swung with all her might, but it was in vain. The Overlord raised his right hand and slashed downwards. There was no blaze of glorious light, no display of utter devastation as he loosed his final attack. Only a light thump as both halves of the D Ranker fell to the ground, the sparkling fragments of her broken sword falling with them.

  Jacob looked up at Sam, a faint smile on his face. Then he collapsed.

  Sam teleported next to his father and lifted him up, making sure not to jostle the still regenerating halves of Jacob’s body.

  “Beat that…” a faint whisper came from Jacob’s mouth.

  Sam laughed. “You’re on the brink of death and you’re still trying to one up me? You haven’t changed, have you?”

  Jacob fell silent, and Sam returned to the faction city, leaving him off at a hospital. The poor doctor on duty there had nearly had a heart attack upon seeing Sam appear out of thin air, a bleeding body in his hands. Sam left before the doctor could recognize him, which probably would have caused a heart attack. He would return when Jacob had recovered, but right now, he had a meeting on the Interweb. Earth was safe. For now.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  On Byrissa, the Athari Clan Capital

  Jarus Athari ducked as the clan patriarch threw a cup so hard that it detonated against the wall.

  “How? How did they defeat a D Ranker?” Manus Athari screamed, his aura barely contained. The C Ranker’s hair stood on end, his Dao pressing against Jarus like a knife to the throat.

  “Father, I believe it might be time to cut our losses and leave Earth alone. There are other planets in that universe. Ones without such… effective protections.”

  Manus glared at his son. “And face the ridicule of my peers? Never! They will not believe that a universe barely a few months into the System has the capacity to deal with D Rankers. Either they will think I am lying, or that the Athari Sect is filled with weaklings!”

  Jarus sighed, lightly pressing on his father with his Dao. While Jarus was a C Ranker as well, he wasn’t a fighter, or at least, his talents didn’t lie there. He excelled in politics, and his Dao reflected that. The Dao Tree of Peace was nearly useless in combat, other than as a source of raw Dao energy, but it was nearly invincible in the field of battle that Jarus fought within. It could affect those of a higher level than himself with ease, trying not to overcome them with strength, but with reason.

  Manus visibly calmed as his son worked, eventually sitting back in a plush leather chair.

  “We can still salvage this,” Jarus said, his voice even. “Why not challenge the other sects to take this ‘Earth’ for themselves? We can make a bet. Offer up some prize to anyone who can do so. We can say that the planet no longer interests us, save for its destruction.”

  Manus raised an eyebrow. “And when they cannot, the mocking gazes of the other will be taken off of us, and onto each other?”

  Jarus grinned like a shark. “And we won’t have to pay a single credit for the service.”

  “This is why I keep you around, son. I’m glad you didn’t let me do something rash.”

  Jarus smiled, though his heart wasn’t in it. For every time that he managed to cool his father’s rage, there were a dozen others when the fiery cultivator was unable to be stopped. Either Manus would die by the sword, or rise to greater heights of power, and kill everyone else.

  ***

  When Sam returned to the Interweb, he found two glaring women waiting for him. Alyssa was back with Glakassa, though by the looks of things, perhaps it would have been better for Sam to stay in the real world.

  “It’s been all this time and you just bail when I come to meet you?” Glakassa said, pointing a finger at Sam.

  Sam raised his hands apologetically. “I’m sorry. A D Ranker came to my planet. I… well my father had to deal with it.”

  “So what you’re telling me is that you didn’t have an excuse?” Glakassa replied.

  “No-” Sam began, before seeing the grin on Glakassa’s face. “You asshole.”

  “It’s good to see you, Sam. I wasn’t sure when we would be able to talk again.” She raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps do more than talk.”

  Sam grinned. “I’m glad Alyssa could make this work. How exactly do you two know each other?”

  “Well, my family runs a school,” Glakassa said. “Alyssa went through the training program there.”

  “My clan believes in self sufficiency,” Alyssa explained. “It’s why I’m still an F Ranker. I didn’t get any handouts. I had to solicit others for training. The Androvi clan took me on after seeing my potential.”

  “I was one of her instructors,” Glakassa continued. “She wanted to learn more about hybrid elemental disciplines, so I was able to help her out a bit in that regard.”

  “Hybrid elemental disciplines?”

  “Things like my Ice mastery. The twelve elements have all sorts of interactions with one another. If a cultivator is able to master more than one element, they can fuse them. My Ice element is a mixture of Fire and Water.”

  “Seems counterintuitive,” Sam said. “Why Fire?”

  “Fire doesn’t just control flames,” Glakassa replied. “It controls heat. A master of Fire can turn an ocean to ice by pulling all of the kinetic energy out of it.”

  “I see. That does make a bit more sense, now that I think about it.”

  “It makes sense in theory, but it’s a lot harder in practice.”

  “Right now, I only have Earth mastery. Do you know of any good hybrid elements for that?” Sam asked. He knew that he would eventually have to claim all the elements, and finding the interactions between them would be very useful.

  Glakassa narrowed her eyes in thought. “A few. Fire and Earth make Magma, which is very popular, if a bit basic. I knew someone who used Earth and Death to make a new element called Grave. It's ultimately up to the user.”

  As Glakassa spoke, Alyssa left the Interweb, giving Sam and Glakassa time to speak.

  “Grave?” Sam said. “That sounds like a very specific element. What did it do?”

  Glakassa shrugged. “When I said I knew the user, I meant that I briefly met him. I only saw him using it to summon legions of skeletons from the ground.”

  “So it’s some sort of necromancy confluence?” Sam asked.

  “Death taints any concept that it is added to. Invariably, they end up having some form of necromantic powers.”

  Sam couldn’t help but laugh. “Here we were, meeting up for the first time since the Tower, and we’re talking about necromancy.”

  Glakassa grinned. “You spent an hour telling me about the most gruesome fights you’ve ever been in the first time we met. I don’t think necromancy can top that.”

  “Yeah,” Sam said with a chuckle. “You’re right. Now, I know this is the Interweb, but maybe we can find a better place to chat than the street?”

  “That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we should leave this part of the Interweb first? It’s not exactly the most engaging of locations. I’ll show you things you’ve never seen before.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on his face. “Really…”

  Glakassa flushed. “Not like that! I meant… I meant-”

  “I know what you meant. I was just teasing you. I’d love to see whatever you think is best.”

  Glakassa reached out, and grabbed Sam’s hand. Space folded in around them, and a moment later they stood on a balcony overlooking a massive city. They stood hundreds of stories above a futuristic megacity made up of thousands of titanic skyscrapers. All around, vehicles sped through the air and across floating highways. Cultivators flew by them, sometimes overtaking the vessels.

  “This is a replica of my Candras, my homeworld,” Glakassa explained. “The entire planet, as with most worlds at or above D Rank, is covered in cities. The Interweb doesn’t really do it justice, though. Sometime, I hope that you can come to visit.”

  Sam smiled. “I already like the look of it, just from the Interweb. Now, what were the sights you wanted me to see? This is beautiful, but I was hoping more for somewhere to sit and talk.”

  “There’s this spot about a hundred floors up. On the roof. I go there all the time in the real world. At least, when I’m not cultivating. It won’t be as nice in the Interweb, but you can still enjoy it.”

  “Lead away,” Sam replied.

  Glakassa giggled, not exactly what Sam would expect from the normally professional cultivator. She realized this, flushing slightly. It was something that she seemed to do a lot around him.

  Turning, Glakassa headed for the elevator at the back of the room, Sam following close behind. The elevator itself seemed to be more of a thinly disguised teleporter than anything, as when Glakassa pushed the button for their floor, the doors opened immediately after, letting them off on the roof.

  “I assume that elevator isn’t like that in the real world?” Sam wondered.

  “Oh no, it is. Higher end D Rank planets have all sorts of advancements over the norm. Most of Candras is covered in a comprehensive spatial array that allows for things like this. The Interweb just makes it easier to run.”

  Sam nodded, looking around. The roof was covered in floating pods, each with a few chairs in them. There weren’t any waiters, just floating orbs of light drifting between pods with trays on them.

  Glakassa led Sam to the nearest available pod, tapping a button on the surface. A staircase unfolded from the side as the pod slid open. She quickly ascended the stairs. Sam waited until she was all the way up before following.

  They sat down, and before they could say anything, one of the floating orbs drifted by.

  “Greetings,” it said in a robotic voice. “Permission to initiate a mental scan?”

  “What?” Sam asked. “What does it mean, mental scan?”

  “You probably don’t have these on your world,” Glakassa realized. “It’s nothing intrusive. On most high Rank worlds, restaurants don’t have menus. You order by letting the waiters, or in this case, the serving drones, scan your mind. They can find out what you want the most, and cook it to order.”

  Sam frowned. “I have a lot of secrets I want to keep. I’d rather just order. It might not be a problem, but I have to be sure.”

  “That is not a problem,” the drone replied. “There are many like you. Simply tell me what you want, and it will be delivered shortly.”

  As Sam thought about it, the drone scanned Glakassa, a gentle blue light bathing her head.

  Eventually, Sam made up his mind. “I’ll have a steak. Medium rare. With all the fixings.”

  Half expecting the drone to not know what he meant, Sam was getting ready to explain. Luckily, it wasn’t necessary. The drone flashed a brighter color for a moment, most likely indicating a nod. Then it sped off, heading towards a building at the center of the rooftop.

  “Now,” Sam began, “I know I must have talked your ear off when we spoke before. Tell me a bit about yourself. I want to know more about your universe. Maybe beyond.”

  “Alright. I’ll start with this planet,” Glakassa said. “Candras started off as a G Rank planet in the middle of nowhere, until my father settled here. He was just an E Ranker at the time, with barely a thousand followers.”

  Sam nodded. “Sorry for the interruption, but there’s been something I’ve wondered for a while.”

  “What is it?”

  “How do planets rank up?” Sam asked. “Earth started off at G Rank, but I don’t know what it is now. Probably F? It did grow bigger when the System came.”

  “Yeah, it all depends on the strength of the inhabitants. It takes a lot of mana to rank up an entire planet beyond a certain point. Most G Rank planets only take a nudge to get to F. From F Rank to E Rank takes a lot more. Maybe a thousand native E Rankers?”

  “So it won’t happen for a while?” Sam asked. “I’m starting to get concerned about damaging the planet with how strong I’m getting.”

  Glakassa frowned. “If you’re that strong already, the planet might be closer to ranking up than you think. You must be coming close to D Rank strength, with how far you got in the Tower. It would only take another few like you, or maybe a hundred normal E Rankers.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Sam replied. “Jacob came back today. He took out a D Rank invader pretty easily.” Sam paused. “Well, not really, but he beat her. I’d say that counts.”

  “Altari, what are they feeding you on that planet?” Glakassa breathed. “You’re the strongest E Ranker I’ve ever met, and you aren’t even halfway through the Rank. Your father is almost as strong.”

  “Enough about me,” Sam said, laughing. “The whole point of this conversation was to talk about you. Somehow, it came back to me. I already know enough about myself.”

  “Right. I was talking about the history of Candras…”

  Sam and Glakassa chatted amiably for a few minutes, waiting for the food to arrive. Sam learned a lot about Glakassa’s planet, but it mostly boiled down to her father conquering most of the surrounding galaxy over a few millennia, cementing his position within the universe.

  By the time their food arrived, Sam was starting to get very interested about how eating on the Interweb worked. He said as much to Glakassa.

  “You know how the dueling interface works?” she replied.

  “Yeah?”

  “It lets you form a greater connection with your real body when you’re on the Interweb. In this case, you can taste things at a greater level.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow, before cutting a piece off of the steak. He raised it to his lips, and took a bite. His eyes widened as the flavors hit his palate. It wasn’t the panoramic experience that his D Rank senses should have created, but it tasted far better than anything made out of code should have.

  “How is this even possible?” Sam asked, his eyes still wide.

  “Oh, it gets even crazier in higher Rank zones of the Interweb. It’s supposed to be indistinguishable from reality.”

  “Right. Now, where were we? You wanted to tell me about how your father met your mother. On some planet orbiting a black hole, right?”

  The rest of the meal went as well as Sam could have expected. He hadn’t realized just how much he needed a break from fighting, and his larger responsibilities in general. The Tower had been a brutal, all consuming slog. Now he had a few months to relax and explore. With Glakassa able to meet him through the Interweb, Sam was a lot happier about what the future might hold.