Connection Evolved

Atlas panicked at the sight. He could hardly believe that the Titano, someone even the System had lauded as one of the most powerful beings in the world, could bleed, despite how strong the new Warrior Tainted might be. And the worst part? Atlas knew it was his fault. If Atlas hadn't been as weak, he could have handled more of the Beyond, and Big A would be that much stronger.

However, even with Atlas's limited capabilities, Big A still held enough strength at .05 percent to fight off the Warriors. With a shout, the giant lunged forward and ripped the spear from the hands of the Warrior closest to him with one hand. Off-balance, the Warrior couldn't avoid Big A grabbing its head with his other hand, spinning the spear, and stabbing it under the creature's chin, all in less than five seconds. Ignoring the remaining seven Warriors and Atlas all staring in shock, Big A slipped the spear out from the Tainted and shuffled back to create some distance.

Atlas grinned with relief at the blatant display of skill, even as the rest of the Warriors charged at Big A with horrible shrieks. Big A swept the spear so fast that he split the first Warrior in half at the waist. Unfortunately, the rest fell back fast enough to avoid it. Rather than chasing after them, Big A stabbed the head of the one he'd just taken down. Atlas didn't understand why until he saw that the core of the creature only went out after Big A stabbed its head.

Now sure of its fate, Atlas focused on the fight between Big A and the rest of the Warriors, though the fight might have been an exaggeration. Despite the weapons and increased durability of the Tainted and Big A's limitations due to Atlas, the Titano's skill with the spear more than made up for everything. With every movement fluid, every thrust calculated, Big A moved through the Tainted like a natural disaster. One moment he had a Tainted impaled on his spear, the next he split one in half with a vertical sweep, though how Atlas didn't know. Even when more Warriors and a few grunts started to exit the portal and join the remaining five, Big A easily held them off.

Still, Atlas knew that if enough Tainted came through the portal, Big A would never be able to handle them, and eventually, some would make it off the weird plateau they stood on or come after him. He shivered at the thought and sighed, knowing what he had to do.

"Welp. This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" He grumbled before increasing the percentage of power to .06 percent. The pain that ran through his body hurt exponentially more than before, and something Big A had told him before the Scenario began popped into his head.

"Listen, boy. The power of the Beyond is not something easily measured, even by the System. System-compatible people, the ones your planet calls Espers, can be likened to a cup with walls that thin the closer to the top you go, and the Beyond's energy is an energy-filled fluid that fills it up. At the base, the walls of the cup are thickest. At that point, the Beyond mana is minimal as is the strain.

"However, the more power you try to contain in your body, the higher the cup fills, and the thinner the walls become, putting more strain on your body. Usually, this isn't a massive problem as the higher level and rank a person becomes, the more resilient their bodies become, similar to the walls of the cup growing thicker. You don't have that advantage. As someone about to do their system integration, your body is only on the level of an above-average human. Frankly, I'm surprised that your body can handle a thousandth of the power mine does, much less a hundredth. Your affinity for the Beyond, or some aspect of it, must be incredibly high, and I'm only able to handle as much as I can thanks to System intervention."

When Atlas had asked what he was supposed to do so he wouldn't break down, Big A had gone strangely silent. He had resumed speaking, but his voice turned extremely tense.

"I can't help you there. For most forms of attuned mana, the solution would be converting the energy to something else, but from my experience, doing that with the Beyond is not realistic. The best you can hope for is that your affinity for it is strong enough that your body can handle enough that you can reach the level needed for your quest."

"And if I can't handle it?" Atlas had asked nervously.

"Then, you will die, and I will only be able to handle the Tainted for so long before they succeed in getting off the plateau, attacking and converting anyone and anything they come across."

Though Atlas had found the conversation overwhelming, he had still absorbed enough to realize that he had hit a threshold where the Beyond energy, or mana as Big A had called it, put more strain on his body. That meant that every time he drew in more of the Beyond from here on out, he'd be more likely to kill himself. Sadly, Atlas knew that if he wanted to get out of the Scenario alive, he'd have to continue increasing the strain, not just because that was the only way Big A would be able to fight off the Tainted while he was there, but also because he hadn't even reached the level that he could begin the first quest requirement.

TASK: ASSIST THE UNSTOPPABLE TITANOS IN HIS BATTLE AGAINST THE TAINTED.

(1/2 COMPLETED)

#1: TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS'S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (0/5:00)

#2: TAKE AT LEAST .01 PERCENT OF ATLAS'S POWER FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES (15:00/15:00) - COMPLETED

Atlas was pleasantly surprised that he had completed the second part of the quest, but when he checked the timer, that pleasant feeling faded away.

TIME REMAINING: 45:00/1:30:00

Half the time had passed, and Atlas hadn't even gotten to seventy-five percent of the remaining task. As painful as it was going to be, that meant he needed to step it up.

"Big A!" Atlas shouted. "I'm going to start ramping things up!"

Big A swiped the head off of the final Warrior in the most recent wave of Tainted before turning and shouting at Atlas, "Are you sure, boy?"

"Yeah, I got this." Then, testing the waters of his new acquaintanceship with the Titano, Atlas added, "You just make sure not to slack off on your part, old man!"

Big A's brow rose before the giant man burst out laughing. The Titano turned back around as a new group exited the portal and called back, "In that case, put your money where your mouth is, boy! I'm excited to see you show your worth." With those closing words, he charged back into the fight, a new spring in his step.