Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Early the next morning, Orion was jostled awake by the sounds of a scuffle outside the tent.

Pulling his arm from beneath Lilith's neck, he got up, threw on his leather armor, and stepped outside. He and Lilith hadn't moved into the inner keep of the Horde Hall yet because there were still some hidden passages connecting to Moonshadow Valley that needed sealing and improvement. Plus, the enchantments on the Horde Hall still weren't finished, so they had to wait a bit longer.

"Lord!"

"Lord!"

Guards Dace and Otho were already waiting outside the tent. As soon as they saw Orion, they bowed in greeting.

"Here—catch."

Orion tossed them two bottles of Pet Pills and had them feed the Frost Wolves themselves.

"What's the deal with those two brats?"

He glanced at the open area not far off, where Rolan and the little snow monster were going at it hammer and tongs, their grunts and shouts filling the air.

"Apparently, the little snow monster heard that Rolan's the strongest youngling around, so it just had to challenge him," Dace said. "Rolan didn't back down. The two of them locked horns the moment they met."

Orion watched the clash between Rolan and the little snow monster. Neither was armed—they were testing pure physical strength to see who would come out on top. And it was clear Rolan was on the losing side.

"That's fine. Let the little snow monster grind down Rolan's pride a bit. He needs a good humbling," Orion muttered, prompting bemused chuckles from the two guards.

On the other side, the little snow monster had just hatched, so it had zero fighting techniques. It was basically relying on its tremendous raw power to overwhelm Rolan. Rolan, stunned to find his usual strength advantage useless, had to resort to the combat moves Orion had taught him to hold out for as long as he could.

"You two—one of you stay behind to keep an eye on these two younglings. Don't let them get too carried away and hurt each other," Orion ordered. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

Otho nodded and volunteered to stay.

Orion didn't linger to watch. Instead, he set out for Moonshadow Valley with Dace in tow.

Moonshadow Valley looked totally different by now. The Heroic Altar, the Military Fortress, and the Beast Pens—three special structures—had been built on the main plaza in a triangular formation. A thick layer of stone slabs now covered the plaza itself.

Waiting at the entrance to Moonshadow Valley were Onyx, Rendall, Delilah, and Earthshaker. They all stood there, ready for Orion's arrival.

These special buildings required one final step—something only Orion could do. Yesterday, he had specifically ordered these four elders to show up today.

All three special structures in Moonshadow Valley would be enhanced through transcendent power. Of the three, the Heroic Altar was by far the most crucial. Once established, it could grant certain abilities.

Since the giants, succubi, buffalofolk, and obsidian golems had all offered up their respective tribal relics, Orion owed them something in return. Onyx, Rendall, Delilah, and Earthshaker were here on behalf of their four major races in the Stoneheart Horde.

They greeted Orion with respectful bows. He acknowledged them, said nothing, then led them in silence toward the Heroic Altar.

The Heroic Altar was meant to be a place of worship for a deity—a site where faith was channeled. But for the Stoneheart Horde, it was a special structure used to pass on power and strengthen the tribe.

Positioned due north, the Heroic Altar resembled a square pavilion with ornate interlocking beams, surrounding a central dais. Stone steps ran in all four directions—east, west, south, and north. There were 36 steps total, each measuring about 10 ft in height. At first glance, it looked imposing and tinged with a sense of ancient grandeur.

Still silent, Orion climbed the dais and pressed his hand to the altar. In the next moment, everything changed.

Deep within the Horde Hall's forbidden area, the territory core began to blaze with brilliant light, red transcendent power churning like a fierce tide. At the front of the Heroic Altar, a cloud of dark red transcendent power began to pulse outward from beneath Orion's hand. As it spread across the Heroic Altar, the structure was visibly infused with energy at a rapid pace.

Where the transcendent power flowed, magical runes glowed into existence. Surges of magic crackled, and all kinds of carvings came to life in bas-relief: titans, monsters, phoenixes, elves, dragons…an endless array of races appearing in mid-battle, then fading away—a sight both mystical and holy.

Faint echoes of a sacred chant, coupled with murmurs from titan deities, seemed to unfurl around them like a half-remembered dream.

Orion sensed it vividly—he could see the carvings' powerful frames, their varied maneuvers in combat, and the way their armor and robes whipped through the air.

After a quarter hour, the infusion of transcendent power finished. The Heroic Altar became solid and seamless, its fairly dark red color exuding a deep, weighty presence. Orion took his hand away and removed a bundle of crystal cores from his storage ring, piling them on the altar. These were offerings. The Heroic Altar wouldn't activate without them. It wasn't a free ride, after all.

Once enough C-level crystal cores had been heaped on the altar, Orion stepped back down to face the four elders. "Who's up first?"

He had already told them beforehand what was about to happen and what they stood to gain.

"I'll do it," Rendall replied, striding forward before anyone else could speak.

Orion nodded sagely and said nothing further.

The moment Rendall set foot on the altar, Orion triggered the inheritance process.

Poof—poof—poof! Every C-level crystal core on the altar disintegrated into gray dust, their energy fully absorbed by the altar.

Immediately afterwards, crimson strands of transcendent power rose from the base of the altar and wrapped around Rendall, swallowing him in a dazzling swirl. Before long, he was shrouded in a misty, cocoon-like shell.

Everyone waited in rapt silence, the entire Moonshadow Valley so hushed you could hear a pin drop. Orion stared at the cocoon of swirling mist around Rendall, lost in thought.

Originally, Orion had possessed two Lord's Stones. He'd absorbed one himself, while splitting the other in half. Half of that second stone's transcendent power was used by Orion, with the remaining half transformed into the territory core. Through various special buildings, that power now took physical form.

Put simply, the Heroic Altar's inheritance feature consumed sacrifices—fueling a conversion of transcendent power—to help anyone below Legendary level gain substantial benefits.

After about half an hour, the misty cocoon began to thin until it finally merged into Rendall's body. Moments later, Rendall opened his eyes, looking a bit dazed. But the daze vanished and was replaced by pure joy—an indescribable excitement that lit up his face.

Rendall hopped off the Heroic Altar and walked over to rejoin Orion and the others.

"Arch Elder," said Orion, "why don't you show them what you can do?"

Rendall nodded at the three elders who were staring at him, then let out a hearty laugh. "Watch closely—this is a supernatural power like you wouldn't believe. I'd call it nothing short of a miracle!"

With that, and without any visible movement, two dark red energy shields rose around him in quick succession, surrounding him entirely.

"Prophet, how about you give it a try with your stone axe—maybe at eighty percent power first?"

Onyx, shaking himself out of his momentary shock, hefted his stone axe from behind his back and took a swing.