Jonathan closed the notification after a moment and surveyed the corpse of the monster in front of him. If it had only been seven levels higher, it would have fulfilled the requirements for most of his reagents to raise his weapons and armor to Tier 2. However, they would likely find the required goods further on towards the rim of the world, and the only thing that Jonathan was unsure about was the other materials for the armor and his gauntlets, which was Tier 2 Dark Iron. The metal itself was easy enough to get, as both of his pieces of equipment were made out of it, but the Tier 2 version would likely be far harder to do.

Edgar descended from the sky, landing next to the corpse without a sound. The cloak of wind that kept him up dissipated a moment later. The man was smiling from ear to ear, and Jonathan assumed that he had leveled up. However, as it turned out, that was not the case.

“I just took a large step towards my goal of having a True Affinity,” Edgar explained. “Reaching 15 percent mastery must have opened up something within me, making me more susceptible to the influence of my element. At this rate of progression, I might get there within the year.”

“That’s incredible! Maybe it will speed up even more once you reach Tier 2,” Jonathan suggested.

“Hopefully. However, just reaching that level alone would be good enough for me. For my entire life, I have lived in envy and fear of the higher ranks, but now that I have power of my own, it seems suddenly more possible to me. You saved both my life and my way, Jonathan, and for that, I will forever be in your debt.”

Not knowing how to respond to something like that, Jonathan simply nodded, and let Edgar work the excitement out of himself. Celebrating was good, but it did not take precedence over progression. In any case, Jonathan could tell that this part of the Ash Heaps was perfect for leveling. It would make their task easier. Perhaps they would be able to reach the vaunted status of Tier 2 within a few weeks, which would allow them to go further and further afield.

Now that Jonathan had a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of those around him, just by sensing their aura, he could judge that monster that the System had sent after him as being about mid Tier 2, somewhere in between himself and Granath. If he could kill one of those, then the essence gains would be astounding. To think that a bit over a month ago, he had been the most pathetic creature in this world, without a level to his name.

Jonathan smiled at the thought, and as he and Edgar continued on into the wastes, past the titanic corpse, he felt good for the first time in a while. With the promise of power stretching out in front of him, unmolested by the forces of Granath, at least for now, he had the opportunity to truly let loose and grow. More than his quest, more than his goal to kill the gods themselves, he wanted to become the most powerful being in the universe. He needed that power so that nobody would ever be able to control or threaten him again. He would raise himself to the height so that nobody else would ever have to go through what he had before. He had no idea how that would work, but it would sort itself out in the end. After all, dead men did not feel regret.

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The next few hours went by in a flash, with dozens of monsters coming and going, turning into nothing more than sources of essence and broken flesh by the time that Edgar and Jonathan were done with them. There were no more peak Tier 1 monsters, with most of them being mid level beasts that did not provide enough essence to level up, or even enough to budge the requirement by a noticeable amount. With the amount of strength that Jonathan had on top of his level, the only effective way to gain power was to defeat monsters more powerful than himself.

He went through these monsters, consequently, on autopilot, with them barely registering in his mind. He was powerful enough to kill them in a single punch, without even using any enhancements.

As they traveled, the environment began to change, and for the first time, the living mountains in the distance became larger. They were still easily thousands of miles away, but they were closer than before. By the time that Jonathan reached them, he would be a Tier 2. He had been intrigued by the description within the tome in the library all those weeks ago, the one managed by the demonic librarian Janessa. He felt a twinge of regret at the memory of the town that he had left to founder in the wake of his passing, with all of its inhabitants dead, save for the two defenders that had been left alive. They had treated him unfairly in the aftermath, but it was somewhat deserved. Jonathan had left a trail of blood and violence across the realm, and as his power grew, it would grow in turn. However, that was the cost of power. As one became a greater being, their footprint on the world around them became larger as a consequence. It was simply the way of life. The gods were the ultimate incarnation of this ideal, as their reach extended across the entire universe. If they could do such a thing, then there was no reason that he could not do so also. It was simply a matter of will and power.

As the mountains grew on the horizon, so did the average levels of the monsters that they faced, and their numbers. Out here, there were few settlers and even less soldiers to cull the numbers of the beasts, allowing them to breed at incredible rates and grow strong off the essence of one another. Most of them were the same types that Jonathan had already fought, but stranger variants of monsters were starting to come out of the dark places of the world to fight him. Tentacled horrors with dozens of eyes lurked in the shadows near the ruins of the hundreds of desolate buildings. Burrowing worm like monsters that waited until their prey was directly above them to strike. Flying beasts that descended from eyries that were located on the tallest of towers. Most noticeably however, the land was no longer the endless flat expanse that it had been before. Now there were hills everywhere, and rocky outcroppings breaking up the monotony of the ash. It certainly made for a change of scenery.

One of the main features of this world was the sheer lack of variety in the surrounding land, but now that Jonathan and Edgar were traveling where free had ever gone before, they were seeing sights that were quite frankly beautiful. Large cliffs made out of shimmering onyx stabbed up through the ash, and monsters roamed the lands freely, and in far greater numbers. Up above, the sky shimmered faintly, as if they were starting to come near the edge of the world. It was hard to track time in this place, but they had been traveling for weeks, and had crossed thousands of miles in that time.