The Boundless Expanse(An Epic System Apocalypse LitRPG)

Earth appeared in front of Sam like he had never left, the blue and green orb rotating slowly beneath him. With two feet planted on seemingly empty space, Sam used his Authority to root himself in place.

Looking down at his hands, he realized that they were visibly glowing. Beneath his armor, a bright light shone, a vivid crimson mixed with grey from his Dao Cores. Now in the real world, his Daos were intrinsically connected to him on a physical and spiritual level. That had many implications for his path as a cultivator, but most importantly, his Authority was orders of magnitude stronger than ever before.

A zone of space five miles across was under his direct control, limited only by his reserves of power. Sam waved his hand, and a massive copy appeared in front of him, a perfect facsimile of his real hand. With a snap of his fingers, it vanished, replaced with a mile high rendition of his own head. It blinked, and ran through a variety of expressions.

From what Sam could tell, he didn't need to know the complicated nuances of how a thing worked to bring it to life with his Authority. He only needed to know that it worked.

Banishing the head, Sam realized why he was in space, rather than on the surface of Earth. The System was giving him an opportunity to test out his new level of strength without threatening the planet that he held dear.

Sam could feel the changes on a fundamental level. He was many times stronger than he had been as an E Ranker, so much so that he couldn't truly quantify it without the help of the System.

You have advanced to D Rank!

Your race has been upgraded to Human: D Rank.

+250 free stat points per level

+500 skill points per level

You have gained 2500 stat points in every stat.

Your Dao is now one with your being.

You may not enter a class upgrade ceremony until reaching level 250. Leveling will progress at a D Rank rate until then.

Warning!

D Rank progression is fundamentally different from the Ranks before. To reach C Rank, you must pass four major tribulations spaced out over the course of the Rank.

Divine Title: Primordial Cultivator detected!

You may attempt to cross a hidden fifth tribulation before continuing to level! Banked essence saved until a decision is made.

There were many worrying notifications, but for now, Sam pushed them aside. From the looks of things, he had time to think.

Sam wasn't sure how much he had just gained from his ascension, but judging by how much stronger he felt, it was easily ten times as much power as had come before. That meant that there were likely stages to D Rank ascension, just like with E Rank. Otherwise, all of the D Rankers he had faced in the Tower would have obliterated him. A few System notifications appeared to explain that.

You have achieved 100% resonance with your Dao and cultivation path!

You have reached D Rank Ascension: Perfect!

"Ah," Sam said. "That's why. I'm fifty times stronger than when I was an F Ranker, even without levels, or Dao upgrades."

More messages waited for Sam, but he pushed them aside. He had a faction to check on. Looking down at the surface of Earth, Sam realized that he could see almost everything there. Monsters moving on the ground. Clouds drifting across the sky. Most importantly, his faction's city.

Sam swept out his Dao senses, finding that his physically manifested Dao could pierce through reality all the way down to the faction city. He quickly found a disturbing lack of aura signatures that he recognized. None of the original captains were there. There were quite a few peak F Rankers, more than ever before, but the strongest were gone.

Sam scanned the city for about ten minutes, trying to find them. It was a futile effort. He panned his gaze out, realizing that a few smaller cities surrounded the main one, with even smaller villages and fortresses visible further afield.

Suddenly, a spike of power drilled into his perception, coming from the opposite direction. Sam turned around, seeing a bright flare of light coming from near Jupiter. Ignoring the fact that he could see every aspect of the planet's surface as clearly as if he were looking out a window at a neighbor's house, Sam focused on the spot of light. An explosion had ripped through space, leaving a tear in reality.

Tiny black dots were barely visible next to the explosion, with one larger than the rest. Sam focused his Dao, and used his Dao Seed of Travel. Punching through space with the raw might of his conceptual mastery was far easier than he had through. Just like how his Dao sight was massively enhanced since before D Rank, the range of his portals was now comparable to Granthar's.

The cores in his chest glowed like tiny suns as he worked, bending reality to his will. A shining portal opened in front of him, blocking out the view of the cosmos. He stepped through, and stepped out a moment later in front of a large fleet of spacecraft. To his surprise, and relief, he felt the auras he had been looking for coming from the bridge of the largest ship.

Sam teleported again, finding himself standing behind Jeffrey, Talnor, Lao and Eduardo. The four spun around, only to see Sam looking at them, a wide smile on his face.

"I'm back," Sam said softly. "Back home."

Before he could say anything else, he felt another familiar presence nearing. It was E Rank, but still recognizable. Reality warped and a massive, many legged reptilian beast came leaping towards Sam, a happy look on his face.

Sam let Rax bowl him over, smiling wider as the herpetopede gave him a lick. Although Rax was older now, and more mature, he still had a few tendencies that reminded Sam of a puppy.

"Good to see you too, buddy," Sam said, giving Rax a pat.

"It's only been a month, but it feels like so long ago that you left," Rax said. "What happened in the Tower?"

Sam grinned. "So much. But this isn't the time. What happened here? Why are all of you out this far? What was that explosion?"

"That bastard Veruvax set a D Rank monster on us. For his enjoyment, he said. We had a month to kill it before it reached Earth and ate the whole planet." Jeffrey shuddered. "I don't even know if that was the real reason. He might have been trying to kill us off to hurt you."

"But you succeeded," Sam replied. "And well before the deadline too. Even if you hadn't, I would have returned. Or my father. I think either of us could beat it at this point."

Eduardo sighed. "That's not the point. We've come to accept that we live in your shadow, Sam, but sometimes we have to see the light. If nothing else, killing that monster proved that we have what it takes to defend Earth."

Sam winced, remembering a similar conversation he had had with Lao and Eduardo, months ago. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you were weak. I've changed since the Tower. Strength is all that mattered there."

"It's alright," Eduardo said with a wan smile. "We'll catch up eventually. All of us here," he swept his hands out to indicate the captains, "are quite close to E Rank ourselves."

Sam smiled sadly. "I hope you do catch up," he replied, knowing the lie as he spoke it. Everyone else did as well.

"How strong did you really become in the Tower?" Jeffrey asked. "I can feel something lurking below the surface of reality. Like the will of a god, sheathed for now, but able to be released at any moment. What did you do?"

Sam opened his mouth, about to explain that he had reached D Rank. Then he paused, remembering the Dreamer Veilguard and its ability to peer into his mind. Just how open were his conversations to the wider Multiverse if his very mind was laid bare already?

"Is there some sort of way to shield our conversation?" Sam asked. "Even better, is there some way to do both that and shield our minds? I ran into a creature in the Tower that was able to read my mind. I assume more are out there?"

"There are ways to protect yourself from that," Jeffrey said. "How urgent is it?"

"I don't think I should share anything about my time in the Tower without the utmost security. No matter how long it takes."

"You can at least demonstrate your new powers," Lao suggested. "We can feel them on an instinctual level, but I at least am sure what exactly you gained."

Sam, rather than speaking, snapped his fingers. Clones of each of the captains appeared next to them. They lacked any sort of true mind or soul, but they were identical in every other way.

Jeffrey instinctually raised his gun and fired, but Sam turned the bullet that emerged into a marshmallow as it sped through the air.

"What the hell?" Talnor exclaimed. "What did you just do?"

"I've seen something like this before," Jeffrey said, frowning. "It was on the frontlines of a battle for an entire world. The two generals, both D Rankers, killed F Rankers like me simply by looking at them. I thought it was a skill at the time, but I feel the same thing from you that I felt from them."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Wait," Eduardo said, "does that mean-"

"Not quite," Sam said hurriedly. "It's possible to gain that ability as an E Ranker. You just have to be talented enough."

"What level are you?" Eduardo asked. "I can't see it with my scanning ability."

"I'm level two hundred," Sam replied. "The cap for the Tower. Only halfway through E Rank."

That satisfied the others. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He was incredibly wary of surveillance after his time in the Tower, and had no doubt that Tantalos Veruvax could see what he was doing. The Butcher probably wasn't always listening, though, or Sam would already be dead.

Still, Sam was one of, if not the strongest, beings in his universe at this point. A good portion of Veruvax's attention was on him at all times. He had to be careful.

***

Sam rode along with the fleet as it returned to Earth. He had a plethora of System notifications to go through, as well as new powers to explore. Finding a meditation room built into the ship, a nice touch in his opinion, Sam got to reading. He read the most important messages first.

You have gained a new title!

Primordial Cultivator: Divine

The System is not infinite in its power, and there are a few aspects of power that it does not entirely control. Ranks, the Dao and other avenues of progression such as Professions and Weapon Mastery are merely catalogued by the System, and not a function of it. What this means is that if a cultivator is at the center of a very specific confluence of events, it is possible to break the System's limits and tap into the raw power of those non-System powers before you have reached the conventional level of power. Some geniuses have become Weapon Sages before gaining the System, or gained Daos far beyond their normal level of power. Despite this, you are the only being in the history of the Boundless Expanse to have broken through to another Rank before reaching the System mandated level.

Bonuses: Limited capability to overrule the System on matters of personal progression, while all aspects of that progression are present save for the System's own requirements.

There were no stat bonuses, but considering the power it already granted, and the fact that Sam's other Divine Title, S Rank Potential, granted him a bonus for possessing another Divine Title, he hardly needed one.

Sam opened the next notification, the one for his newly upgraded Dao.

You have gained a new Dao!

Dao Sapling of Karmic Retribution(First Step)

In an ideal world, no evil deed goes unpunished, no sinner walks free and no innocent lives are taken by tyrants who do so simply because they can. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an ideal world. There is only power. You choose to take that power and wield it against your foes, especially those who have wronged you and those you hold close. Now your retribution goes beyond that of a mortal, tapping into the very threads of consequence and morality that underpin sapient interactions.

+10000 to all physical stats

+6000 to all mental stats

The boost was incredible compared to before. Had Sam not already been inundated with the power of reaching D Rank, he would have nearly doubled his strength from this alone. As it was, the ten times boost from reaching D Rank was far more substantial.

Another notification waited next to the Dao upgrade.

Congratulations, Sam Atlas. You have taken the Fourth Step on the Road to Zenith!

The Road to Zenith is a metaphysical path to the heights of the cultivating world, and its followers line the ranks of the upper echelons of the Boundless Expanse. You have proven that you are among their numbers by setting foot on this path.

First Step: Complete all initial thresholds before F Rank.

Second Step: Gain a Dao Seed before level 149.

Third Step: Reach the 50th floor of the Tower of Transcendence.

Fourth Step: Gain a Dao Sapling within a decade of reaching E Rank

Rewards: Your Fatemark has deepened. All Authority Expressions are ten percent more powerful

It was a useful upgrade, giving Sam another mile of range with his Authority. Speaking of which, a message waited for that as well.

You have upgraded a Fundamental Skill!

Psuedo-Authority: Mid D Rank

Current Range: 6 miles

Current Power: 1 million tons of transmutation

Sam's Authority was exponentially stronger than it had been before on account of his physically manifested Daos. As an Authority drew upon the power of the Dao to shape reality, it was far more efficient when the power of the Dao in question was already present. Sam realized just how much greater his connection to his Dao was now that he was a D Ranker. It felt as natural as breathing to draw upon it.

After that, Sam received some more worrying notifications. In short, all of his physical stats were at the next threshold. That was a shock to him, considering that he had only just reached the third threshold in the later half of the Tower. How had he gained ten times more stat points since then?

Regardless, he had four extremely painful thresholds to go through. There was no point in delaying. He sealed off sound in the room, and turned the door into a solid sheet of metal with his Authority. Sam didn't want any complications in what was already an incredibly harrowing and dangerous process.

Had sound been allowed to escape the room, the entire ship would have been ringing with screams. Each threshold was immensely painful, digging into the very nature of Sam's cultivation path. With his Daos now part of his body, they were included in the threshold process. Each threshold assaulted Sam's faith in his mastery of his concepts, threatening to break them entirely. That did not mean simply erasing his progress. At his stage of power, it meant death.

Fortunately, Sam had the strength of will to make it out the other side. When the pain faded away, he was left feeling immortal. Indestructible. Invincible. With a grin, he opened his stats.

Sam Atlas

Human: D Rank

Enlightened Tier

D Rank

Class: Lesser Dao Paragon

Level 200

(300 stat points unspent)

Strength

57801

4.19x

Constitution

60171

4.14x

Resilience

59753

4.14x

Dexterity

53045

4.19x

Intelligence

39876

4.14x

Wisdom

40348

4.14x

Health 3096782/3096782

Mana 1345815/1345815

Stamina 2926176/2926176

Karma: 59

Road to Zenith

Stage 4

Dao

Dao Echo of Inspiration

Dao Sapling of Karmic Retribution(First Step)

Dao Seed of Travel(First Step)

Skills

1x Rare, 3x Epic, 4x Legendary, 6x Mythical, 2x Ancient, 2x Primal, 1x Unique

Titles

1x Legendary, 3x Mythical, 2x Ancient, 1x Transcendent, 2x Divine

Temporary Titles

1x Epic, 1x Legendary, 1x Mythical

Dao Heritage

Dao Incarnation of Existence(Second Step)

Authority

Mid D Rank

Party

None

Skill Branches

Lightning Neurons (Level 2)

Iron Body(Level 2)

Iron Bones (Level 2)

Muscle Density Enhancement(Level 1)

Basic Weapon Knowledge: Blunt(Level 1)

Dao Resonance(Level 1)

Karmic Cycle(Level 1)

Lucky(Level 1)

Increased Blood Flow (Level 1)

Weapon Style

Flowing Water Style

Weapon Mastery: Brotherhood Stage 7

Elemental Affinities

Earth: 20% Mastery

Elemental Boons

Elemental Infusions: Stoneskin, Mountain's Flesh

Quests

The Sacred Bond: Impossible

Engines of the End Times: S

Professions

Smith: Apprentice Stage 9

Dao Smith: Apprentice Stage 9

Sam stared at his stat sheet. Then he stared at it some more. He had known, on a somewhat instinctual level, just how strong he had become since reaching D Rank. Despite that he hadn't had a chance to really test that power.

Going by the simple numerical values of his stats, as well as the bonuses from his thresholds and Rank ups, he was over one and a half million times stronger than an average human. He could lift mountains and cause tsunamis with the raw might of his body. He could stand in front of an extinction level asteroid and break it upon his body. He could move at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light. It was utterly absurd, but yet, nothing compared to the true titans of cultivation who existed in the Boundless Expanse. Compared to them, Sam was still an infant. Perhaps it was even more accurate to compare him to a bacterium, utterly insignificant and invisible to those who still stood above him.

A knock came at where the door had been. Sam looked up, startled. He had been so absorbed in looking at this stats that he had forgotten where he was. The metal quickly shifted back into a door, and it opened.

"Sam?" a voice came from outside. It was Jeffrey. "What are you going in here?"

Sam smiled and got to his feet. "I had a few thresholds to cross. I didn't want to disturb the crew with the noise."

"That bad, huh?" Jeffrey said, entering the room. "Wait, thresholds? You've already reached the third threshold?"

Sam nearly corrected Jeffrey, but realized that was a bad idea. "The Tower gives a huge title boost. I was on the Challenge Mode track, so my boost was doubled."

"How far did you get in the Tower?" Jeffrey asked. "I've only heard of it in legends. I never did reach E Rank before I was exiled here."

"You will soon, from what I can tell," Sam said. "Your aura is very strong for your level. I think you're almost ready to break through. Lao was the closest, though."

"Yeah," Jeffrey replied. "That makes sense. He is the most self-aware of us all. Well, except for you and the Overlord."

"Call him Jacob," Sam said softly. "He's changed a lot. We hashed some things out in the Tower."

Jeffrey raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like him at all. What happened?"

"Let's talk about this as we walk," Sam suggested. "I still haven't seen most of this ship. Perhaps you can show me around?"

"Uh, yeah. Can't you sense it all, though? Some of the E Rankers from my kingdom could see through walls and hear people talking from miles away."

Sam could in fact do that, and already knew how the ship was laid out. However, there was a difference between seeing something in your mind's eye and actually seeing it.

"I can, but I want to move around a bit. Those thresholds were… extremely unpleasant."

Jeffrey blinked. "Right. That does make sense. Sure, I'll show you around."

As the two walked through the utilitarian metal hallways of the ship, Sam continued to talk about his time in the Tower. "I can just show you the title I got if you want," Sam said, realizing that it was a good way to confuse Tantalos, given that he could manipulate what the title displayed.

"Are you sure? That's a bit private, isn't it? People would kill to find out how far someone like you got in the Tower."

"Good thing I'm showing you for free, then." Sam snapped his fingers and a System display popped up in front of him. It was visible to both him and Jeffrey, but what Jeffrey didn't know was that it was visible to everyone else.

91st Floor Obliterator: Transcendent

You are amongst the prodigies of your Multiverse, with potential rivaling that of the Creator Kings. With the potential to reach A Rank, your future has become a valuable commodity to the great factions. However, so has its end.

Sam changed the message a bit, emphasizing the fact that while he had achieved something that few ever would, he wasn't so powerful that he was worth killing. He had no doubt that if Tantalos knew how far he had truly reached, the warlord would kill him before he could even see him coming.

"Damn," Jeffrey said, drawing out the word in his astonishment. "I knew you were going to do well, but not that well. The king of the Salvinii System often boasted about reaching the fortieth floor of the Tower."

Sam couldn't help but laugh.