Standing on the hilltop overlooking the city, Jonathan took a deep breath. It seemed that the cities were just as bad as the wasteland around him. At least the monsters were honest about their desire to kill you. Looking back one more time at the town behind him, Jonathan could swear that he heard the sound of steel clashing with steel coming from the tavern. With a smile on his face, he left, walking off into the dark expanse of ash.

Three days, four cans of food, two levels, and one mana manipulation tier later, he was on the cusp of ranking up his Pathway skill. Sitting in a cross legged position beneath the remains of some gigantic bell, he poked and prodded at his core until he was able to draw out a massive tendril of mana. He experimented with it, weaving it in and out of his core, trying to see the limits of his power. Still, there was no rank up. He was doing the same thing that he had been doing before, and there was no greater understanding there. Just as he was about to give it up for the day, his frustration manifested by condensing a small tendril of the mana within his body. Jonathan froze, and looked at it closely. He had only tried to condense mana outside of his body before, but if he could do it within himself, then this could be the missing link between himself and the next rank.

Taking a hold of his core with his mind, Jonathan crushed it together, straining as the orb started to shrink. Pain tore through his body from the core, but he knew that he was on the right path, so he continued. A few moments later, the core stabilized, about half of his previous size. His mana reserves had not been affected but he could feel that his mana was much more powerful now than before. Also, he had a few notifications waiting for him.

You have reached Student Rank 1 with Mana Manipulation!

Taking hold of your core and manipulating it in the same way as external mana is a dangerous task, but one that brings great benefit. In doing so, you have begun to scratch the surface of your understanding.

+3 to Intelligence, +2 to Wisdom

You have access to a skill!

Mana Drill:Rare

Condense your mana into a ball of energy that can burn through most substances.

Accept?

Y/N

Jonathan quickly hit yes, and found himself more attuned with his abilities with mana condensation. As with his martial arts skill, the rank up gave him an additional five stat points. It seemed that all Student Rank Pathway skills would give the same amount. In any case, he had some major changes on his stat sheet, and he quickly opened it.

Jonathan Harlowe

Tier 1

Human(Basic)

Outsider:Tier 1

Level 16

(33 free points)

Strength

70

Dexterity

53

Constitution

59

Resilience

59

Intelligence

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60

Wisdom

57

Divinity

1

Health:590/590

Stamina:700/700

Mana:600/600

* Titles

Chosen of Sarnakthros:Unique

Nascent Divinity:Celestial

Righteous Killer:Rare

Underdog:Rare

* Skills

Smite:Legendary

Mana Drill:Rare

Redirect:Uncommon

Identify:Common

* Pathway Skills

Martial Arts:Student 3

Mana Manipulation:Student 1

* Quests

Hellbreaker:Impossible

His stats were increasing slowly but surely, and he was nearing one hundred in his Strength stat. All of his instincts told him that there would be something special waiting for him at that amount, but he did not know what. Closing his stat sheet, Jonathan leaned back, and began to test his new skill. The mana that he used for his skill came to him far more easily than before, and he wondered just how the System was able to increase his understanding of a skill by so much. Was it implanting information into his head? Or was it doing something else, something that he could not understand.

Lowering his mana ball, which had grown even smaller than before, to the ground, he was met with a hissing noise as it ate through the rock like it was made out of butter. He could only imagine what it would do to human flesh. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of something strange out of the corner of his eye. In a slightly reflective part of the bell’s surface, unmarred despite its many years out in the ash, he caught sight of strange sigils glowing in his eyes. Jonathan paused and moved closer, but the sigils were gone. He summoned his mana ball again, and the sigils returned. They were a shifting mess of three dimensional tangles that were far beyond his ability to decipher. However, he could sense that there was great power in those sigils, far beyond anything any mortal was meant to understand. In the background, he could feel a sense of energy dropping, although none of his resources were budging, except for his mana which was to be expected. When he saw a faint golden sheen on his skin, he realized that he was using up his Divinity. He seized control of it, remembering using it against the Fetid Ooze, and the rate at which it was decreasing skyrocketed. For a few seconds however, he understood a brief fraction of the meaning of the sigils. Then his mind gave out, and he collapsed backwards, into the ash.

Jonathan woke up with a burning pain in his head, and a profound sense of wrongness that he could not put his finger to. Something had changed within him, and as he studied his reflection in the mirror of the bell’s surface, he saw that his eyes were now golden. A new notification was waiting for him, but this one was different than all the others he had seen before. Rather than a simple message, it was edged in red, and when he moved to open it, something tried to stop him from doing so. He forced through the resistance, and read the message.

You have gained a forbidden Pathway skill!

Truesight:Novice 1

You can see between the cracks in reality, utilizing your divinity to access the same interface as the System itself. As of now, you can comprehend tiny fractions of the universal sigil code, but who knows where this skill might lead?

Warning! This is classified as a forbidden skill by the System. Relinquish it now or face extreme sanctions.

Jonathan read the message and shook his head. He had gone through too much to get this skill, and it seemed like it was something groundbreaking, something that could render his quest possible. Another chime sounded.

You will be rewarded for giving this skill up.You are its sole possessor, and there will be no help in mastering it.

Jonathan shook his head again, preparing to close the interface. One final chime sounded.

I will give you a one time, unique reward in order to persuade you. You will gain power beyond your wildest dreams!

He paused. That did sound tempting. Was it worth giving up something that was so clearly powerful that even the System did not want him to have it? He didn't think so. Closing the notification, he sighed. A moment later, extreme agony, the likes of which he had only ever felt once before, seized his body and soul. Blood dripped down his face, and his health bar began to drop. The System was punishing him for his transgressions, it seemed. Jonathan screamed, unable to keep a coherent thought in his head. The pain was too all consuming for that. However, he caught sight of a hovering rune over his head in the reflection on the bell. It was pointed and tangled, and it radiated a sense of great evil. Without a doubt, that was what was killing him. With a surge of primal emotion, Jonathan screamed in rage, slamming his newfound ability into the rune with as much force as he could. His Divinity evaporated like smoke, but a crack formed in the rune just as his will gave out. With a sound like shattering glass, the rune vanished, and he was left sitting there, with a mere ten points of health left in his bar.

Truesight has reached Novice Level 4!