Soul of Searing Steel

Urbandy declined Joshua's request. It was something natural, for no living thing would reveal their own body constitution to some stranger and show them their weakest aspect.

"That's impossible." The treant declined, shaking its head ungraciously. "If I asked to see the energy nodes and vital points over your body, it's impossible for you—"

Urbandy promptly stopped mid-sentence, for Joshua, with a twitch at the corner of his lips, had nonchalantly spread his arms in front of its eyes.

Crimson light shone around the warrior's body as more than three thousand immeasurably dazzling energy nodes shifted around as lifeforce flowed, swiftly changing their position and sizes. And whatever changes there were, the energy nodes around Joshua's heart and brain were brighter than the others—they were undoubtedly the warrior's vital hub.

"What's there to hide?" Joshua asked, and purposefully pointed towards his heart and brain as if he feared that Urbandy could not see it clearly. "These two points are my vitals. If you could destroy them, I would need a long time to revive even with my lifeforce—although by then you would have enough time to kill me several times over."

"No, what I meant was—" Putting its hand over its forehead, the treant's speech seemed tangled, as if unsure what to say. "Your candidness certainly escapes my imagination. But you do understand my meaning—it's fine if you believe that it's alright to display your weakness to others since you're a champion, since insufficient ability would not allow such confidence anyway…"

The direction in which over three thousand energy nodes moved, even as they constantly shifted their zones, was essentially and comprehensively unpredictable. As for the significance of the brain on the heart, they too were a weakness that even fools were aware of. Still, as Joshua revealed his own weak points to Urbandy in a straightforward manner, the treant found that it was not able to argue its case against the warrior.

"It's fine." Shaking its head, Urbandy decided to stop thinking about the topic—it sensed that itself might have been led on by Joshua. Twisting its tremendous body formed from tree roots, the treant's single purple flame eye flashed once.

"Warrior, why would you want to study my body constitution?" it asked, "If you could give me a better reason and reward, I might not refuse either."

"I want to learn about the source of the titans' power by observing your body constitution," Joshua replied, too lazy to even hide his own thoughts, his eyes twinkling as he revealed his intentions.

"Titans have already vanished for millennia where I come from after all."

On the Mycroft Continent, many species had long gone extinct—the titans being one amongst them. There were only left scarce few Elemental Titans left behind in Elemental Planes, relics from the Divine Children of the Land that had once flourished, while the Majestic Mountain Tian could only be found in the Divine Shroud.

Naturally, in the 'Great Era of Development' that followed the Great Mana Tide, a vampire adventurer from the West Mountains would discover the bones of a Majestic Mountain Titan in the ruins within a shady underground city amidst the Central Dark Forest. Perhaps it was more apt to say that the entire underground city was built over the bones, but how could the bones of a long dead titan compare to a living, mobile one?

"Desire to attain the power of titans, huh."

Urbandy was not surprised by this reason. In truth, humans never gave up imitating the power of titans. Even the Death Shade spellcaster it just encountered recently was imitating certain elemental titans to some extent when it manipulated the crystal puppets. Though the elemental titans merely had the body construct of the titans' descendants, it certainly gave them power that could not be underestimated.

"Although this reason is too ordinary, it's not as if I could not refuse…"

Urbandy pondered long and hard while Joshua patiently waited. It was almost ten minutes later that the treant finally spoke again with a humming sound. "However, warrior—are you willing to swear an oath not to reveal this information to others while promising to help me with a certain matter?"

"I can assuredly guarantee you the former, but please do tell me the latter first."

Joshua smiled lightly upon hearing the treant's calmed manner of speech, and said leisurely, "I could mostly agree as long as it's nothing too ridiculous."

In response, an indescribable smile appeared over the treant brown-black face of tree roots. "Relax, it's nothing too difficult… I only want your help in slaying a few individuals."

"If you could swear another oath to kill those three Death Shade commanders that attempted to kill me, I am willing to show you the source of the titans' power," Urbandy said softly as Joshua lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully at itself.

With those words, the treant kept quiet as it waited for Joshua's answer.

And this time it was the warrior's turn to think.

Joshua, however, did not ponder for long—to be precise, he merely paused for seconds out of surprise, before briskly giving his answer.

"Alright, no problem."

Urbandy was left in disbelief by the simple and direct answer. "Wait, you agree—just like that? Do you really know—"

"Eh?"

"Master, you're agreeing just like that?!"

Even the two divine armaments behind Joshua exclaimed in surprise within the spiritual link.

"Of course I know what it means."

Joshua shrugged, disregarding the others' disbelieving mannerisms.

Though many believed that Joshua was just a brute who solved any problems with violence by using his incredible combat ability, in reality he could completely understand the bigger picture as well as the deeper meaning contained within the words of others.

For some unknown reason, the titan named Urbandy did not move to help the people of this world to handle the Death Shade disaster. However, it was undoubtedly kind to most life—in the Xayar Mountains that surrounded them now, the warrior could detect countless scents of life that could not be felt anywhere else. Those were the many animals and magical beast that resided here, sheltered by this Divine Child of the Land, free from the disturbance of the Death Shades outside the forests.

While unaware that Urbandy could not move and only stay where it was, it remained that the warrior understood the titan's intentions.

Apart from killing them in order to avenge their attack on itself, Urbandy also planned to pull him into its faction and fight against the other four Death Shade commanders—not that they would sit and watch as their comrades were slain. Either way, Joshua would either kill all seven Death Shade commanders, or be killed by them.

The titan's motives were not deep. Like the warrior, it was raising its own request in a straightforward manner while observing the warrior's observation. If Joshua was too scared, the matter of studying its body constitution would thus be annulled. If Joshua agreed, it was not an unacceptable choice to show its future partner the source of the titans' power as he increased his own abilities.

But Urbandy did make one mistake in his foresight—even without its request, Joshua never did intend to spare that Death Shade commander that possessed a skill akin to a Nuclear Star detonation. Indeed, he paused slightly because he never expected that the titan's request was so simple and was so exactly the same thing he had in mind.

As for fear, horror… What were those?

Seeing Joshua's completely fearless face, Urbandy's slightly doubtful heart relaxed for some reason.

He was a champion who possessed a Saint's object, a man from the 'that person's' homeland—its own homeland.

Those who possess a Saint's object should exactly be so. The treant thought. Perhaps I could trust him.

"Then, take the oath." The treant said softly as its body made of countless roots dug within the stone and mud. "Then, you would see the source of the titans' power."

In the very next moment, after Joshua made a promise with his soul.

The land around them that had been largely destroyed trembled once again under a tremendous force. As the main peak of the Xayar mountains shook slightly, a curious meat pillar that was almost a hundred meters tall, seemingly consisting of flesh and plants appeared before Joshua.

At present, it was still raining heavily over the Dark Creek Forest. Though the black clouds had become thinner following the recent battle it was still enough to block out the sun and cascade across the skills. But as the meat pillar appeared over the land, the cloud layers began to plummet.

Endless rainwater, boundless fog and seemingly unbound layers of cloud poured forward towards the land and that meat pillar, assembling into an incomparably colossal cloud titan in front of Joshua.

"I am the titan Urbandy, descendant of the gods."

Since the body was made of water and vapor, the form and constructs within the pillar of flesh that held the titan's body aloft could be distinctly observed.

This time, Urbandy showed no hint of disguise and utterly revealed its own power instead.

Titans were such unique life.

Their true form was like tree roots, huge and entrenched deep within the land and every corner of soil. Usually, they breathed along the world just like that, carrying mountains, forests, lakes or even cities. That was how people lived in ancient times—with cities built over the bodies of titans. The citizens would hence consecrate the titan just as the titan shelters them—exactly like how it was in that darkened underground ruins within the Central Dark Forest.

When there's a need to fight, the titan's would condense the surrounding elements using their real body as a core and shaping into a colossal combat form that was human-shape.

In that aspect, Elemental Titans would naturally only assemble the elements of their own attribute, while Majestic Mountain Titans that were pure-blooded titans that possessed bloodline of the gods would gather everything around them that they desire to build their body. They could absorb all things—be it soil, pebble, metals, flame, flowing water, gale, lightning or fog—and mold them into their own power.

This ability that could be described as perfect was what Joshua needed.

As Urbandy revealed that power, its body, made out of fog, was completely defenseless and without concealment.

Staring at the body, Joshua's drew a single deep breath.

Red-black aura—as if flames burning in the abyss, light shining in the darkness and rich red-black lifeforce—began to gather like a tidal wave with Joshua at its center. In the very next moment, a huge titan thus simply appeared before the titan.

Ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters, a hundred and fifty meters—though the height of the titan formed from all the lifeforce within the Azurite was dwarfed by the four-hundred meters tall water vapor titan, this gargantuan body was completely condensed from the warrior's lifeforce. The two eyes of six-armed titan were also twinkling with a dazzling crimson radiance, dyeing the Xayar Mountains in a soft-red layer.

Combat Aura Steel Armor!

A Legendary-class fighting technique that emulated powerful beings, acquiring their power in turn!

Though Joshua had never learned the skill before he acquired it, his combat instincts told him that this was the most ideal learning method. As long as he could use his lifeforce and emulate the titan's body construct, it would mean that he too would get part of the power of titans!

Then, the vapor titan spoke with a supremely solemn tone that echoed heavily, mystical and indistinct as if it came directly from the clouds.

"Warrior, the ascension of titans comes in two forms." It explained. "The first form is to root their bodies in to the land, enlarging their bodies gradually into a titan of the mountains like me."

"The second form is to condense their own bodies, increasing the intensity within and finally becoming an indestructible and eternal physicality."

"I chose the first, but I believe the latter means more to you—that's why I'll show you later."

Right now, the combat aura steel armor that Joshua created was rapidly copying every important energy node and bodily construct at an unimaginable speed.

Thick streaks of energy pulse were assembling within the combat aura steel armor, which had been empty apart from the lifeforce it contained. It was also mimicking the titan's flesh, veins as well as energy nodal movements, filling those copies across every corner within the steel armor.

Eventually, the combat aura steel armor that appeared to be absolutely hollow gradually grew bones, flesh, veins, and nerves—becoming a solid body construct. Two out of the lifeforce titan's six arms now appeared incomparably sturdy. It had once been a phantom formed from pure vigor, but now it carried a hint of metallic luster. Unsurprised, Joshua became aware that a punch with that fist would crumble an entire peak, shattering it into shards strewn across the skies!

It was at that very moment when the vapor titan in front of him bellowed thunderously.

Instantly, multifarious blue-green lightning blew out of the endless vapors that formed the titan's body. These dancing bolts sparkled erratically within Urbandy's body, and quickly turned into a glinting thunder titan.

However, the thunder titan's body gradually shrank while the bolts of lightning became more solid until it was a hundred and fifty meters tall—exactly the same size as the lifeforce giant Joshua had formed.

Then, the bolts of lightning over Urbandy's body slowly vanished as it returned to its vapor form. However, the vapor that constructed the titan's body was no longer transparent, but a black translucent liquid that was so dull it resembled the seawater of the depths.

"I'm not so proficient in the second form. Learn whatever you can…"

Urbandy stopped speaking once more. There was no telling how many times the titan had paused mid-sentence today, but this was not the time to mind such things—the titan seemed to have seen something inconceivable from Joshua's lifeforce giant.

Like the titan, it could shrink too!

The monumental lifeforce giant was as if a mountain in itself. But after the warrior witness the titan's compressing and shrinking of its own body, it appeared to gained a certain epiphany—or conceivably like finding a piece of the puzzle that was missing all along.

With a silent laugh, Joshua's eyes became filled with passion—he knew that was what he wanted!

Boom!

With a sound of thunder, the lifeforce titan began to shrink wildly too. Furthermore, apart from lifeforce, Joshua could tether the surrounding mana elements too just by watching the titan's first form where it collected the vapors around it for its own purpose. Whether it was earth, wind, air or fire elements, all energy adrift around the warrior began to stream towards his body endlessly as if being swallowed by a black hole.

A hundred and fifty meters! A hundred and thirty meters! A hundred meters! Fifty meters! Twenty meters! Ten meters!

Now, the lifeforce giant had actually been compressed to just ten meters—true to the name of 'combat aura steel armor', the six-armed giant stood over the land, its red-black appearance glistening with a metallic luster. Its body was tremendously heavy, so much that the stony ground below it was crushed into streaks of fissures resembling radioactive waves. Incredible force rippled spreading beside it, churning the rocks and soil around it and levitating them and causing them to orbit around the warrior like satellites.

Urbandy looked on as the human mimicked the two giant ascension forms down to the last detail. It did not respond, for it could not come up with the words.

Nonetheless, Joshua was still not satisfied.

"Not enough!"

Watching with the corner of his eye as his energy output level leaped to fifty-seven percent and closing in to the threshold of sixty, an epiphany flashed through Joshua's heart.

The meaning of energy output level isn't my former strength, but just the depth of potential within my body! If I bring my body's potential power completely to bear and perfectly grasp Steel Strength, I would arrive at hundred percent—the moment I ascend into legendary!

Though the power output level was only sixty percent, Joshua's combat prowess now was comparable to when he was at his peak. Still, he felt that he had space to improve himself by a notch! He could completely recall the lifeforce titan that had assimilated all the elemental energies surrounding it within his own body in its entirety!

Exhausting all his control and compressing the construct once more, the lifeforce giant that was a dozen meters tall begin to shrink again with a clear sound as if glass was broken. Now, as the giant became less than ten meters tall, the warrior's body became entirely black, while the outer shell reflected silver-crimson radiance as if it were genuine metal.

"The homeland of the Evil God of Air… The method those vapor lifeforms compress their own bodies!"

Remembering the memory of the Evil God of Air he saw back in the ruins within Moldova, Joshua quickly recognized that it was the method of energy compression he needed. The beings that were composed of pure energy and gas was similar to the warrior's combat aura steel armor on the outset.

When those lifeforms had shrunk themselves, they made themselves capable of penetrating the gigantic storm that was swirling over their gaseous planet, and was so terrifying it would consume entire stone planets. Undoubtedly, this was the most perfect and most powerful energy compression method in this world!

Kr—aaack!!!

The sound of twisted metals echoed throughout the mountains. All of Joshua's own aura and lifeforce steel armor, as well as the endless external energies adrift that were assembled began to shrink bit-by-bit inwardly. It was an extended process—it took several hours for that layer of immeasurably solid outer aura shell to completely sink within the warrior's body.

It was already late night. The dim blue moon illuminated the land since Urbandy's body had absorbed the ever-present rain and vapor.

After a long time, the warrior opened his eyes. He looked unbelievably tired, as if he had fought seven or eight champions as strong as Herlas.

"How does it feel?" Urbandy asked. It had already reverted back to its treant form, staring at Joshua with a curious gaze as it stood before the warrior.

"… Really not bad, thanks." Joshua nodded lightly. Before his eyes, the energy output level checkpoint had reached sixty percent. He now understood what remained of his path.

Compressing his own power was now largely achieved, what next was for him to learn how to fuse other elements while honing his own body. The warrior felt that shrinking and binding the incredible energies within his body was only the first step for his ascension into Legendary—what he needed was to learn how to freely control his body's form.

He must become capable of transforming into a hundred-meter giant or revert back to his original state at will, with no pauses in between, much less like he did just now—requiring a few hours just to mostly revert into his original form.

Steel Strength was the origin energy of all things, and reaching the initial energy benchmark was meaningless. What comes after was for Joshua to quickly empower his physicality and refine it into a form that could match this energy, with absorbing the energies within Jewel Seeds being amongst the shortcuts that could rapidly raise his body density and bulk of his power.

Suddenly, Joshua looked up at Urbandy.

"By the way, those Death Shade commanders should carry Jewel Seeds with them, right?" he asked.

"… Of course." The treant quickly replied after a brief pause; he smiled stiffly as he understood the warrior's intentions. "That Death Shade spellcaster's three crystal puppets had one each, as well as one itself—so that's four in total."

"Is that so." Joshua nodded contentedly, his gaze filled with fervor.

One who hunted the heir of the fourth Sage's Legacy, a bounty posted by the titan and possessed so many Jewel Seeds.

More importantly, all the commanders were champions—indubitable former heroes and legends of this world.

Would he let the chance to fight them pass him by?

The warrior could not come up with a reason to decline.

Behind him, as if sensing their master's heart, the weapons hummed softly.

It was night at the moment.

The warrior bid the titan farewell, and headed along to the west.