Human (F)
Alignment
Human (Earth)
Titles
Born for Carnage , Ultimate Reaper , Luck of the Draw , Giantsbane , Disciple of David , Overpowered , Slayer of Leviathans , Adventurer , Demon Slayer I , Full of Class , Rarified Being , Trailblazer , Child of Dao
Dao
Seed of Heaviness - Early
Strength
136
Dexterity
57
Endurance
77
Vitality
66
Intelligence
46
Wisdom
46
Luck
64
Free Points
0
Nexus Coins
134780
Zac was shocked when he saw his Strength . He had gained close to 30 points in Strength without gaining any levels .
There were two other changes to his page . The first was that he had a new title , Child of Dao . The second was an entirely new row was added next to the titles , called Dao .
Zac had heard of the concept of Dao somewhere , but couldn’t remember the details . It was a part of eastern mythology or religion , but he didn’t know exactly what it meant . But from context it felt like it was akin to insight or the like .
He had started to gain insight into the weight behind the man’s swing , and he gained a Dao seed .
He began with checking his new title .
Child of Dao : Third in world to attain enlightenment and create a Dao seed . All stats +5 , All stats +5%
The description gave Zac a start . He was only the third in the world to gain the Dao seed . Since the integration into the multi-verse he had constantly been at the forefront , be it with achievements or levels . But he had actually been bested on this aspect .
He didn’t know if someone had surpassed him in level since level 25 and gained a seed the same way as him , or whether there were other ways to get them . But it was a reminder that there were billions of people in the world . He had his lucky encounters , why couldn’t others have theirs?
Besides , he knew he wasn’t a born warrior , and it had taken him an enormous amount of effort to get where he was today . Perhaps there were geniuses that simply were perfectly suited for cultivation and the new world order .
The lost opportunity made him feel a bit depressed , and he swore at himself for all the time he had wasted . Had he gotten to this point a few days quicker he might have snagged a better title .
If the third spot got 5 points in all stat and 5% increase , what did the second and first place get? Perhaps as much as 10 points for second spot and a whopping 15 points for the first?
But Zac steadied his mind quickly , as he knew he couldn’t get greedy . The number of advantages he had accumulated would probably make anyone on earth green with envy if they knew .
Chapter 39 - Guidance
Next Zac wanted to check out the Dao seed . Soon he managed to open a new screen in the system .
It didn’t have a lot of information , just a list in the same manner as the titles .
Dao seed of Heaviness – Early . Strength +10 , Endurance +5]
While the menu or information wasn’t very spectacular , the stat bonuses were quite good . As Zac’s main stats were Strength and Endurance this seed’s bonus was a perfect gift . Perhaps a reason why he learned the Dao seed so smoothly was due to this .
It also made him understand the importance of Dao to the system . He just gained a seed of the Dao of Heaviness , and it was only an early seed . Both things indicated that he had just taken the first steps to understand this concept , but it already gave a boost worth a few levels .
What would it give if he managed to improve it to a higher level , like the Late stage? And what happened if it stopped being a seed and turned into the real thing? The boost it gave would likely be astonishing .
Zac felt that the seed and the fractal in his mind were somehow connected . He gained it while trying to emulate the powerful feeling in that axe swing after all . He once again turned his sight inward and gazed upon the axe fractal again .
He couldn’t tell exactly how , but he sensed that the pattern of the fractal somehow subtly changed . It also no longer seemed inert as it was before , but emitted an aura that gave Zac the familiar sense of weight and intractability .
It was the same sense of heaviness that he somewhat managed to instill into his swings while trying to emulate the axe-man . Now that he could contrast it to the aura in the illusion , he understood that the Dao of Heaviness was only part of the whole picture , and the suffocating aura of the axe was something far greater .
Still , it was a step in the right direction . His seed was only at the early stage . There surely were ways to improve upon it , and perhaps someday his axe aura , or Dao , might be as mighty as the one he saw .
Now that the fractal felt active again , he once more tried to circulate cosmic energy through it . This time it actually worked , and the fractal lit up .
Suddenly his vision changed , and fractals started appearing . Some shone up like glowing footprints in the ground , and others were lights forming arcs and trajectories around him . The lights seemed to have no effect on its surroundings , not lighting the ground or trees up in the slightest . Furthermore , when Zac moved his head the lights moved with him and slightly adjusted . Meaning it came from the system in the same manner as his different menus .
It felt like he was wearing augmented-reality goggles , giving him an extra layer of reality that only he could see . At least he assumed only he could see the lights and the menus , as they only seemed to respond and change in reaction to Zac’s movements and commands .
He tried to touch the fractals that formed the trajectories , but it was like trying to touch a rainbow . Furthermore , as he moved his hand the lights adjusted and moved as well . After adjusting to his new vision he tried stepping on the glowing footprints and moving his body according to the illuminated trajectories . He found himself swinging his axe in a slanted upwards motion . The movement felt smooth and natural , and it felt like he was able to bring the full force of almost his whole body into the swing .
He kept following the glowing instructions and found himself performing a multitude of attacks . There were not only normal swings , but every part of the axe was used . From the butt of the haft to the spike on the back-side of the head , everything was used in an array of methods to maim and kill enemies . It even showed how to use the rest of his body , such as grabbing with his off-hand , footwork and tackles .
It couldn’t be said that the fractals in the air taught him actual Skills , but rather basic guidance on how to properly move and handle an axe .
Every strike had one thing in common , it contained the mass and intractability of his Dao . It made him realize many aspects of his weapon of choice as well . An axe differed from a sword in that it was balanced toward the head , whereas a sword was closer to the handle . This gave an axe a higher forward momentum and higher destructive power .
To master the axe he should focus on the part where it excelled , meaning this power and forcefulness . Its disadvantage was that it wasn’t as flexible as a sword was . The bladed area was also far shorter with an axe , so some precision was needed for a killing strike . At least until he could swing his axe in the fantastical manner of the man in the vision .
Zac kept going through various motions as he moved toward the camp . He was entranced by the beautiful simplicity in the moves , and the power they managed to bring out .
Suddenly he stumbled and fell down , shocked to notice that he was completely and utterly drained . He hadn’t completely recovered his energy from his vision earlier , and it seemed like using the axe fractal consumed large amounts of cosmic energy .
At least Zac finally felt he had figured out how the Axe Mastery] skill worked . It wasn’t what he expected , but he was still very happy with the result .
He initially thought he would get a bonus to stats similar to the Demon Slayer title , like bonus stats while wielding an axe , and perhaps generally get imparted some knowledge about axes . The reality actually trumped his expectations , and the rewards were twofold .