Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Right now, Lysinthia and Twilight Viper were both at the peak of Hero level, ready to break through to Alpha level.

For a long time, Lysinthia hadn't been given any special resources. In truth, most of the cultivation resources for her and Twilight Viper had come from their own battles on the front lines.

It wasn't that Orion didn't care about Lysinthia; she'd just had fewer chances to join major wars, and her position in the Horde was a little awkward. When Lysinthia saw the three wooden boxes in front of her, she froze.

Her eyes were huge and unblinking as she stared at Orion, dumbfounded. He reached out and brushed a hand over her lush eyelashes.

"Our good times are only just beginning," he said.

Shock? Gratitude? Maybe there was even a bit of love mixed in there. Either way, Lysinthia was overwhelmed with excitement—Alpha-level resources were laid out right before her, something she'd only dreamed of.

Orion didn't say anything more. He just laced his hands behind his head and shut his eyes, feigning a nap. Truth be told, he'd just given away his last two sets of Alpha-level resources—these were also the very last Alpha-level materials the Horde had on hand.

"Lysinthia," Lilith teased with a slight laugh, "you'd best stash these things away now. If the other elders see them, they're gonna go nuts."

Lilith picked up the wooden box with the Blood Mushrooms and inspected it carefully. She'd spent a good amount of time tending those mushrooms, so she felt they were partly her accomplishment.

Hearing Lilith's warning, Lysinthia gave Orion a quick kiss on the lips, then reached out for the boxes holding the cultivation resources. Orion, meanwhile, still lay there with his eyes closed.

He'd weighed the pros and cons before gifting these two Alpha-level items. For one thing, Lysinthia was his woman; there'd be no objections among the elders if she got an Alpha-level resource set.

As for Twilight Viper—if it failed to ascend, Orion's "investment" would be a bust and the resources wasted. But if it succeeded, then the responsibility of guarding Half-Moon Lake in Thunderwood Forest would rest on Twilight Viper's shoulders.

While thinking all this over, Orion kept an eye on his status panel, a slight smile on his face. Thanks to a steady intake of high-tier magical plants, his attributes were continuously recovering without pause. His ascension to Legendary level drew ever closer.

It had to be said: the buildup required to reach Legendary level was far beyond that needed for Alpha-level. Besides those heaps of high-tier magical plants in his storage ring, Orion had also been rummaging through the ring's other contents over the past few days. And in the process, he found a few discoveries.

For example, he'd stumbled on a mini-building shaped like an arrow tower, along with some Hero-level gear. That's right—an arrow tower and some Hero-level equipment.

When Orion first saw these items, he was stunned. These pieces were exclusive to survivors and could only come from Survivor's Chests.

Orion was positive the deceased Lord Ariel hadn't been a survivor, which meant there'd once been a survivor—someone who never had the chance to grow—who died in Ariel's hands, leaving their possessions to be collected by Ariel as trophies.

Orion sank his consciousness into the Survivor's Platform, looking for answers. He found Arthas and sent him a message.

"Bro, I need some help clearing something up."

"Spit it out," Arthas replied with his usual bluntness.

Orion didn't hold back. He laid it all out:

"I killed a powerful enemy and found some items that only come from Survivor's Chests. Is it possible for someone else out there to have equipment just like ours?"

Necro Realm, Bone Throne.

With no enemies to fight lately—everyone had gone to ground—Arthas was bored out of his mind. He'd spent over a year browsing the Survivor's Platform, snagging lots of goodies from the newbies at minimal cost.

Many newcomers didn't realize they could occasionally pull territory buildings from their Survivor's Chests. These territory buildings were incredibly rare. For an Arch Lord like Arthas, they were pure gold—he could always use more.

A mini–arrow tower like the one Orion had was exactly that kind of territory structure, extremely valuable. Of course, anyone below Legendary level couldn't properly harness it.

Anyway, plenty of rookies, desperate for immediate survival, would offload such items on the cheap. Strong survivors like Arthas kept their eyes glued to the Platform, jokingly calling those deals "poverty relief."

Arthas was in a decent mood today—he'd just snagged another sweet find—when Orion's message arrived. After reading it, Arthas fell silent.

"This kid's getting more curious," he muttered to himself. Weighing his words for a few moments, he typed out a response:

"How was our original world destroyed? And what kind of world is this one? We were all reborn from the ashes—why couldn't there be other people with their own 'cheat codes'?

Remember this: never underestimate any enemy. They might be just like you—another awakened soul from some other world. I guarantee the Survivor's Platform isn't the only cheat in this world, nor is it the strongest. So yeah, what you described is totally normal. Plenty of awakened survivors exist, but not many manage to stay alive.

"Hulk, think about your ultimate goal—keep your path clear. Staying alive is what really counts!"

Having written that, Arthas shook his head at how chatty he'd been. It wasn't exactly dignified behavior for an Arch Lord. Still, he couldn't help thinking back to some of his old memories.

Many years ago, Arthas had a friend—an enthusiastic, peace-loving sort. The guy lucked out and awakened in a human civilization.

But turns out he tried to implement equality and push the rule of law in a place still stuck in slavery. People labeled him a heretic and burned him at the stake. Everything ended in tragedy.

And that wasn't even the worst story. There was another awakened one, similar to Orion, someone else Arthas had believed in. That fellow was even luckier—he woke up as a dragon, which was practically the perfect start. It was a race that grew stronger by sleeping.

But he soared out of his lair to show off—and wound up getting killed by a bunch of goblins, making some random goblin into a "dragonslayer." The memory made Arthas feel a little mournful.

"Hulk, learn to keep your head down," he added. "In this world, if you manage to hide and hang on until the end, you win."