rslcontracting Chapter 164: His Stream Name
Chapter 164: His Stream Name
Against the collective resistance of the Stream Hunters and the Seventh Floor itself, the first ultimate strike of the Storm Tyrant began to lose its overwhelming momentum.
Zephiron immediately noticed this.
The gigantic eye in the sky narrowed.
The Storm Tyrant was not a mindless floor boss after all. He was an intelligent existence that had survived countless battles.
The moment he realized that his wide-area attack was being weakened, he changed his strategy.
A vast amount of mana gathered around him.
This time, he no longer spread his power across all ten islands.
Instead, he focused everything into a single point.
The Western Islands.
The surrounding storm clouds twisted violently as countless arcs of lightning gathered together.
Then—
BOOM!
A colossal spear of electric mana shot downward.
The sound of crackling thunder followed behind it.
The sky itself seemed to split apart as the attack descended.
The sheer amount of energy contained within it was enough to make countless Stream Hunters pale.
Even those who had experienced numerous life-and-death battles felt their hearts tighten.
After all, since ancient times, humanity had always feared lightning.
Before the rise of science, before the discovery of electricity, and before humanity understood the laws of nature.
Lightning had been viewed as divine punishment, a weapon wielded by gods and a symbol of heaven’s wrath.
And humanity was not alone in such beliefs.
Across countless civilizations, races, and worlds, lightning was often associated with divine authority and judgment.
Even now, after obtaining supernatural powers and climbing the Tower of Yxthar, that instinctive fear remained.
The lightning summoned by Zephiron was not ordinary lightning.
It carried [Divinity], the pressure of a being that stood above mortals.
As the attack descended, many Stream Hunters felt the same terror their ancestors once felt when looking up at a raging storm.
The fear of the gods.
The fear of something greater than themselves.
The fear of inevitable destruction.
Yet despite the danger, Adam did not move.
He simply watched.
He had complete faith in the defenders stationed on the Western Islands.
Not only had they prepared extensively for this battle, but several powerful individuals were stationed there as well.
And just as he expected—
The moment the lightning spear entered range, countless spells erupted into the sky.
From mana blasts to defensive techniques...
Dozens upon dozens of attacks collided against the descending lightning.
The massive spear weakened.
Its size shrank as its momentum slowed...
Yet it still continued forward.
Even after enduring so many attacks, the lightning remained terrifying.
Then a small figure stepped forward.
No...
The figure flew upward.
A young woman with black hair rose into the sky.
Her appearance was calm and her expression was focused.
Her eyes resembled Adam’s almost perfectly.
It was Miya, Adam’s older sister.
She held a simple wooden sword in her hand.
A weapon so ordinary that it looked completely out of place against a divine attack.
Yet nobody underestimated her.
The moment she raised her sword, countless streams of mana gathered around her.
Aura wrapped itself around the blade as the sky seemed to grow quieter.
The art of swordsmanship possessed countless styles and techniques.
Throughout history, swordsmen had developed endless ways to attack, defend, and kill.
Yet every sword style shared a common origin.
Before the thousands of styles that existed today.
Before the countless masters and grandmasters.
There had been a first.
A single foundation from which all swordsmanship was born.
And there was only one man who had perfected that original style.
No... Perfection was not enough...
He had surpassed it!
The pioneer of modern swordsmanship.
The founder of the First Style.
The man who transformed a simple swing into something capable of shaking worlds.
His Stream Name was—
[1st Style Sword Master].
And he was Miya’s sponsor.
Miya slowly raised her wooden sword.
Then she swung.
The movement was simple.
There was no overwhelming aura, as though killing intent was nonexistent.
It looked like the swing of a child playing with a stick.
Like the first swing of a novice who had only just learned how to hold a sword.
A movement so basic that countless people would overlook it.
Yet as her sword descended, a concept manifested.
[The First Swing]
The world trembled.
The incoming lightning spear suddenly split apart.
A clean line appeared through its center.
Then another... Then another...
The divine lightning began separating as though an invisible blade had cut through its very existence.
The massive attack diverged to both sides.
Its energy scattered as its momentum collapsed.
And before it could reach the Western Islands—
It dissipated completely.
The sky fell silent.
For a brief moment, even the Storm Tyrant seemed stunned.
It was a simply swing...
And an attack carrying lightning, thunder, and divinity had been erased from existence.
[5th Style Sword Master praises her mastery over the 1st Sword Style]
[5th Style Sword Master wishes to teach the streamer a similar sword style as well...]
[Frog Eater] : He’s a mage, why are you trying to teach him swordsmanship?
[UpTJay_OG has donated 4 Soul Cores]
[UpTJay_OG is intrigued with the idea of a mage swordsman]
[Jurik_Joriksson argues it’s a cliche.]
[Jurik_Joriksson has donated 1 Soul Core]
Zephiron was no fool.
Although his pride had been wounded after having multiple attacks blocked, he did not allow his emotions to cloud his judgment.
After all, he did not need to destroy every island.
He only needed to destroy one.
The objective of the Seventh Floor was simple.
Protect all ten islands.
The moment a single island fell, the Stream Hunters would fail!
Knowing this, Zephiron immediately changed his strategy.
A portion of his strength and existence was already being restricted by the Tower of Yxthar.
Continuing to waste power against heavily defended islands would only work against him...
This time, he no longer summoned lightning, nor did he unleash thunder.
Instead, a different power gathered within the heavens.
[Divinity].
The faith of countless believers began flowing toward the Storm Tyrant.
Invisible streams of worship, reverence, and devotion gathered around him.
His already overwhelming presence grew even greater.
The dark clouds above seemed to transform into a divine realm.
Then the attack descended.
A torrent of divine light poured from the sky!
Countless rays of golden-white radiance targeted both the Eastern and Southern Islands simultaneously.
Unlike his previous attacks, these were not aimed at the islands themselves.
They were aimed at the defenders.
Zephiron had decided to reduce the number of Stream Hunters first!
Once enough defenders were eliminated, destroying an island would become significantly easier.
The moment the attack appeared, experienced Stream Hunters immediately recognized the danger.
"Don’t look at it!"
"Cover your eyes!"
"Block your ears!"
"One must not directly perceive the Divine!"
Defensive spells erupted everywhere.
Barriers rose and protective artifacts activated.
Many hunters immediately shut their eyes and lowered their heads.
However, not everyone reacted quickly enough.
Some hesitated while a few failed to understand the danger.
Others simply froze.
The consequences were immediate as several Stream Hunters collapsed to their knees.
Blood poured from their eyes, and a few began screaming while clutching their heads.
Some died instantly as their heads exploded without warning.
A single moment of hesitation...
That was all it took.
Life and death were often separated by less than a second.
Such was the reality of climbing the Tower.
The summit was never meant for the slow, nor was it meant for the hesitant.
Within the endless wave of Divinity, a crimson figure suddenly rose into the sky.
His wings spread wide behind him.
Blood-red feathers shimmered beneath the divine radiance.
At first glance, one might mistake him for an angel descending to save the world.
His appearance was majestic, and his flight graceful.
His presence carried a strange sense of reassurance.
Yet the longer one looked, the more unsettling the image became.
The wings were crimson rather than white.
The blood-like color stained the heavens.
And instead of descending from above...
The angel was flying upward... As though he intended to challenge heaven itself!
[Authority of Invincibility]
Adam’s eyes remained fixed on the divine attack.
For a long time, he had questioned something.
Why were the three S-Rankers so overwhelmingly powerful whenever they used their Authorities?
Why did their powers seem so natural? So absolute?
Meanwhile, his own Authorities felt awkward and incomplete...
As though he was only scratching the surface of its true potential.
At first, Adam believed the answer was simple.
Perhaps he was weaker or perhaps he lacked talent.
Perhaps he simply didn’t understand Authorities well enough.
But eventually, he realized he had been asking the wrong question.
The issue was never the Authority, the issue was something else entirely.
Abilities were reflections of existence.
That was one of the fundamental truths of the Tower.
If that was true, then the S-Rankers would naturally be the people most suited to embody their Authorities.
No one could wield [Omnipresence] as perfectly as Celestia.
No one could use [Omniscience] as terrifyingly as Elaric.
No one could embody their Authorities more completely than they already did.
Because those Authorities were reflections of who they were.
The Authority did not shape them, instead they shaped the Authority.
Understanding flashed through Adam’s mind.
Did that mean he should simply accept that Invincibility would never reach the same heights in his hands?
No.
If abilities reflected existence...
Then he simply needed to become the type of existence capable of wielding it.
[Your Stream Name has begun making its existence clearer...]
The system notification appeared before him.
Adam’s crimson eyes remained calm.
He was Adam.
The hard worker of his family.
A man who would have achieved greatness even without supernatural powers.
He was a military commander.
A soldier who had led countless battles and sacrificed everything necessary to complete his missions.
He was a returnee.
A man carrying the burden of a future that nobody else remembered.
A man who had chosen to place humanity’s survival upon his own shoulders.
[SimplyInvincible opens his eyes while looking at the streamer.]
Adam had never been defined by a single role.
Whenever something was needed, he became it.
When intelligence was required, he became a strategist.
When ruthlessness was required, he became a weapon.
When courage was required, he stood at the front.
When leadership was required, he carried others forward.
And now...
The Seventh Floor needed someone who could not fall.
Someone who could stand against [Divinity] itself.
Someone who could become a wall between destruction and the people behind him.
Therefore—
He would be invincible.
Not because it was his Authority.
Not because it was his power.
But because that was what the people behind him needed him to be.
His crimson wings spread wider.
The divine radiance descending from the heavens reflected in his eyes.
And for the first time since obtaining the Authority, Adam felt as though he understood it.
He was not merely using Invincibility.
He was embodying it.
He was...
[The Chosen Conduit.]