Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

That night, Stormrage City rang with the thunder of battle cries, mingled with endless sobs and pleas. Meanwhile, Orion, accompanied by Lilith, had already entered the palace of Stormrage City.

"Keep Lord Ariel's corpse intact," Orion ordered Lilith. "I've got plans for it."

Once Lilith closed the door, Orion finally had a moment to examine his own body. Obviously, using sacrificed power to force a surge in strength had triggered intense backlash, leaving him badly injured. For the time being, he was in no shape to fight.

Not only was his body weakened, but the stats on his personal status panel had been cut in half. Originally, each attribute was just about maxed out—he only needed transcendent power to step into the Legendary level. Who could've guessed that one use of Blood Sacrifice would slash his attributes by half?

Worse still, Orion could sense that his remaining lifespan had been cut in half. Fortunately, giants already live for centuries, and as an Alpha-level fighter, he could likely scrape by for another three hundred years.

He glanced at the Curse of a Hundred Blossoms symbol on his chest. At that moment, it looked dim, almost as if it had been frightened by the power he'd just unleashed—too terrified to cause trouble for now.

That took a weight off Orion's shoulders. At least the Curse of a Hundred Blossoms hadn't tried blooming further in response to the life he had lost. The half of his lifespan burned away by Blood Sacrifice must have been his original portion, which was a small mercy. He'd been worried that channeling Blood Sacrifice might cause half the blossoms in the curse pattern to burst into bloom. Good thing that hadn't happened.

This was a side hint, too, that the curse maybe wasn't as terrifying as he'd feared, compared to the might of the Titans.

Next, Orion fished a ring out of his pouch—the one he had taken from Lord Ariel's body. Looting her had produced just two items: this ring and a special survivor's chest.

"Ariel had nothing else on her, so there's a good chance this ring is some kind of storage ring."

Orion held it, experimenting a few different ways to activate it. Before long, once he channeled energy into the band, he finally found the right method to open it.

The ring contained a space of around 500 cubic meters, which was far bigger than the capacity of Bagbird's stomach pouch. Orion had always wanted a storage ring, though he had no clue where Lord Ariel had acquired one. Given the world's size and its countless races, the existence of storage rings wasn't that surprising.

Inside this ring, Orion discovered a huge stash of items, including multiple stores' worth of high-tier magical plants that made his eyes widen in excitement. With those plants, he was sure he could recover the stats he had lost, and his battered body desperately needed their nourishing energy.

Without a second thought, Orion pulled out a stalk of some unknown magical herb and popped it into his mouth. Rich magical power spread through his entire body, and the sensation was downright blissful. There were way too many other items to count at the moment, so after a quick glance at the ring's contents, Orion shifted his attention away.

He wanted to see what might come out of the survivor's chest dropped by a Legendary-level being. Soon, he was holding a black-colored survivor's chest in his hands. Skipping any ritual or prayer, Orion flipped the lid open, and after some ashy residue scattered, he was left holding a gemstone that gleamed like a star.

"What is this? Could it be a Lord's Stone?"

Yes—what Orion had pulled from the survivor's chest was indeed a genuine Transcendent Item: a Lord's Stone. He eyed it carefully, frowning a bit. Only now, taking a closer look, did he notice the stone's description mentioned "territory building" and "power advancement."

That sparked a question in his mind: "Could it be that the territory-building feature and the power-advancement feature are separate?"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He stashed the Lord's Stone away, then opened the Survivor's Platform and messaged Arthas.

"Hey bro, tell me again—how does a Lord's Stone work?"

Arthas got back to him quickly, implying there wasn't much going on at his end and he was probably just hanging around the platform.

"What's up, still haven't figured out how to communicate with it?"

"Nope, not a clue."

"Well, nothing I can do to help there!"

Not discouraged, Orion kept typing, airing his confusion directly.

"Bro, a Lord's Stone can elevate your realm of power, and it can also help you build a territory, right?"

"Sure can. Why, is something bugging you?"

"After you use it to level up, how do you then build a territory with it?"

After that question went out, Arthas fell silent for a second. Evidently, he realized what Orion was asking.

"The Lord's Stone has two core functions: one is to help you ascend in rank, the other is to build a territory," he wrote.

"If you pick the power-up option, you can't build a territory."

"In other words, one Lord's Stone can only help you ascend one time."

"If you want to build a territory, you'd need another Lord's Stone."

Reading Arthas's reply, Orion finally got a more complete understanding of the Lord's Stone. But it wasn't done yet—Arthas sent more text:

"Reaching the Legendary level is just the entry point to becoming a 'lord.' You're only a real lord once you can build a territory."

"That's the difference between an ordinary 'lord' and a 'arch lord.' A Legendary fighter doesn't necessarily have a territory, but once someone reaches 'arch lord' status, they definitely can build one—and it always ends up thriving."

Arthas's extra info not only cleared Orion's doubts but also gave him a glimpse of the next realm beyond Legendary level—a "arch lord."

"Thanks for all your help, bro!" Orion replied.

"No worries. It's best to focus on hitting Legendary first. Surviving is your biggest priority. Don't overreach!"

Arthas's advice showed he thought well of Orion, regarding him as a future ally.

Logging out of the Survivor's Platform, Orion realized how important the Lord's Stone he got from slaying Lord Ariel really was. If he only had one, and he used it to break through in power, he'd have no way to build a territory. That would push back all his earlier plans indefinitely.

He kept trying to bolster his own confidence: Keep calm, figure out how to communicate with the Lord's Stone, and achieve that breakthrough ASAP. But just then, the very Lord's Stone he'd taken from Ariel began to melt into his palm, slowly moving up to rest against the center of his forehead.