Chapter 1375: Adaptation

Michael found himself in a speculative mood as he began to unravel his thoughts. He began to think about his own goals, his own specialties, his own dream.

How does everything he did in life correlate to his mastery of the Unity Saber?

It didn’t take him long to find the answer.

Comfort.

That was his one and only goal. It was the very reason why he started the Reborn company in the first place. He wanted to spread the comforts and the ease of life that Earth had, here on this world.

And he knew that he needed to create this company into a behemoth in the business market. One that could reach all sorts of places, ones that were even obstructed by the darkest corners of this world. He wanted to spread comfort in every single living and non-living thing in this world.

That’s why he wanted to eventually reach the Conglomerate rank.

That’s why he had become stronger as a magician, eventually reaching the 8th star of mastery.

That’s why he cultivated his GodForge pieces. Why he eventually wanted to reach the pinnacle of the Nascent Spirit realm and reach the realm of the demigods that could influence the very state and reality of the world with a single thought.

And that’s why Michael wanted to create his own Way.

It all harkened back to comfort.

And because of that, he knew that his own Way would have something to do with that. Comfort. How does one achieve comfort in a battle, where one risked their very lives in duels that could last as short as a few moments, or as long as years?

The answer to that was something that Michael was still trying to find an answer to.

But it did give him an idea.

He looked towards Draco. His opponent was burnt and bleeding, clutching his injured shoulder with a lot of hate spewing in his eyes. The man wanted nothing more than to do what Michael had done to him, only infinitely more torturous.

And that was his Way. How will Michael achieve comfort even in that?

The answer? It was through the flow of water. Flexible and ever-changing.

"You’re gonna pay for this!"

Draco shouted, bringing up his spear up above his head, performing an arc that encompassed his entire being. Blood drops were left behind as he completed his form, which slowly coalesced and formed into even more spears.

"Bleeding Reality!" Draco shouted.

And suddenly, those very same blood spears, tens of them surrounding Draco, all shot out in different directions, destroying the dark and grim trees around himself.

Some of them sank into the tree’s barks. Some of them pierced into the ground. While some of them punctured through large slabs of stone.

Those spears imbued these non-living entities the ability to bleed. And so, the trees, the ground, the stones, they all began to leak out their own blood, their very own lifeforce and manifested into a violet-colored blood.

Draco raised his hands, warping reality so that those very drops of vitality were gathered towards his own body.

And as these violet drops leaked out of nature, nature itself began to lose their life.

Leaves turned shriveled and brown. The tree’s bark became thin and wrinkly. The ground itself began to dry out, becoming powdery. And even the stones began to lose their rigidity, turning into a lifeless lump of deflated stone skin.

And all of that vitality, Draco consumed. The burn and injury in his shoulder began to heal at a commensurate rate. And eventually, he became as if he wasn’t even injured in the first place.

Even his Nascent Armor, which looked to be beyond repair, suddenly found itself being renewed with blood.

Draco looked up at the heavens in a euphoric triumph. "HAHAHAHA! Bleed for me! And I shall use your power to bleed others!"

Bursting with life and vitality, Draco seemed to become empowered even more than before. A thin, red aura of bloodlust emanated out of his figure, making him look like a hellish figure that had come to take the grim reaper’s own responsibility.

With spear in hand, Draco thrusted towards Michael.

Reality bled. That very strike, despite being so far away, struck Michael straight in his helmet, making him reel back.

Michael used Quantum Step, appearing behind Draco as he used his Quantum Strike in quick succession.

Draco was unable to react to his combo, as that crescent of pure destruction crashed straight towards his chest.

But Draco, being prepared, gritted his teeth and simply let the damage occur to his body. After all, he didn’t care. There were plenty of nature for him to bleed.

More and more of those violet vitality drops shot towards Draco, suffusing him with more life that quickly counteracted any kind of damage that Michael had given him.

"Let’s so who’ll last longer!" Draco challenged Michael. "It won’t be long until my bleed will grip your very life!"

Michael looked at his Nascent Armor. It was very small. Only a few particles. But he saw that some of his golden nanoparticles were slowly losing their potency before disappearing from reality.

This was the cost of taking so much of Draco’s attack.

"Hmph," Michael said as he looked at Draco. "Bleeding is only natural. It is all needed for the cycle of life."

Michael unleashed his Nascent Influence, creating a boom of golden aura that permeated the entire Sanctum.

And immediately, his own power began to suffuse nature.

The trees began to vibrate with a new power. The ground shook with excitement. And the stones and the ground itself began to tremble.

Draco felt himself shaking as well.

He looked down at his own hands, feeling as if something was wrong. Then, roots took hold of his feet, binding them.

Violet sap began to leak out of Draco’s own feet, before being consumed by the roots that had restrained him.

Immediately, the burns that had healed in his shoulder began to return. Draco felt himself getting weaker and weaker!

"Do you know the saying?" Michael asked. "Nature giveth, nature taketh."