Over the next day, Jonathan and Edgar waited for the timer on the token to expire, so that Jonathan could enter Tartarus once more. Perhaps he would be even able to have Edgar join him in traveling there. It didn't say anything about having another traveling on the description, but it didn’t say that it was prohibited either. Perhaps it would work, or perhaps it would not. It was still worth a try though.

In that time, they both trained to the greatest extent of their abilities, after Jonathan had fully healed up. If they were to take on Tartarus, they would need to be in top shape, assuming that Edgar would even be allowed to enter the world in the first place. Jonathan had gained a greater level of control over his stamina ability by the time that he was done, and had been able to increase the amount of power that he could channel to about 25 percent more than he had been able to use before. It still only added up to a tiny amount of stamina, compared to the amount that was wasted, but it was still an increase in strength.

With his ability, he could easily increase his physical strength, which was already monumental, to something that would be akin to that of a being dozens of levels his senior. It was hardly fair to his enemies. However, that was not his purpose here. He was here to destroy the Hells, and he would need every unfair advantage that he could get.

In any case, he was ready by the time that a day had passed by. Time really passed quickly when one had no distractions. He might have been helped along by his higher stats though. As the day ticked by, the token briefly flared with a reddish light, telling him that it was time. Stretching, he got to his feet, and beckoned for Edgar to come over. The man untangled his feet from his cross legged state, and walked over to Jonathan.

“How are we going to do this then?” The man asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe if we both hold onto the token at the same time?”

Jonathan held out the token and Edgar grabbed onto one of its sides. He then used the token, causing him to be transported away in a swirl of light. When he opened his eyes, he was standing on the same mountain as before, but this time Edgar was with him. It seemed like it had worked.

Jonathan silently pumped his fist, and watched as Edgar stared at the vista around them, wide eyed in wonder. The place was not as intimidating the second time around, but it was still quite impressive.

“Did you manage to find out anything more about this place other than your encounter with the Drake Rider?” Edgar asked as he finally got over his awe.

“No. I was too weak to fight back then. I retreated rather than attack it. However, I feel like we are ready now for anything that comes,” Jonathan replied.

He drew energy to his hands, and waited for something to happen. There was no reason to leave this mountaintop until he had been able to gauge the strength of the combatants native to this realm. Seeing what he was doing, Edgar followed suit, and began to warp the air around him, in preparation for what was to come. Looking out into the swirling thermals caused by the superheated rock that made up a good deal of the floor of the realm, Jonathan caught sight of a lone rider swooping around about a mile away.

He sent off a solitary Void Rocket to gain its attention, the attack streaking off into the air. Obviously, it did not hit its target, as his aim was not that good, but it still got its attention. A spear came hurtling back, moving far faster than it had any right to do, propelled by the monstrous strength of its wielder. Jonathan deflected the spear with his gauntlet and waited for the monster and its rider to come near. He wasn't sure what to call the Uthraki, as he was unable to tell its gender. Then again, it hardly mattered. It was just something that he was going to kill anyway. It was not worth remembering.

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The dinosaur-like beast flew incredibly fast, and it was upon them in a matter of seconds. As it approached, the rider kept throwing spears, which grew progressively harder to avoid with every increment in distance that it neared. The creature soon reached the top of the plateau, only to meet a bolt of wind from Edgar that cut through its thin wing membrane.

The monster squawked and fell, crashing into the mountaintop. It flailed around as its rider dismounted calmly, facing off against the two men. The Uthraki was a lot larger than Jonathan had expected, as he had been unable to get a good look at it before. The monster was about ten feet tall, and covered in thick red scales. Two curling horns rose out of its forehead, and it was covered in thick muscle. A quiver of spears lay on its back, and it held a primitive atlatl in its hand that looked to be capable of use as a club. Whatever private parts it had, they were covered by a tattered loincloth. It gazed at them for a second, and then spoke unexpectedly, in a deep, undoubtedly masculine voice.

“Who are you? You are not the worm. He has been the only outsider to come to this place.”

“The worm? Granath?” Jonathan asked, wary of the Uthraki.

“Granath. Whatever he called himself. The taint of that beast has been gone even since he reached maximum level, and seemed himself too powerful for us anymore. We welcomed that day, at least initially, but it has been a while since any worthy opponents came our way. Beasts are not exactly conducive to training with,” he said, rattling his atlatl to show what he meant. His voice was filled with a strange hatred when he talked about Granath, and the way he had said ‘at least initially’ told Jonathan that there was something he was missing here.

“Well, are you intending to fight then?” Edgar asked, ready to battle.

With a single nod, the Uthraki pushed off the ground with a crack of breaking rock, and moved towards the man faster than he could see. Edgar’s reflexes allowed him to get out a shield of swirling wind in time to deflect the first blow, upon which time Jonathan was already charging the man. The demonic figure whirled around and blocked his fist with his atlatl, sending the gauntlet skittering off of the polished surface of the weapon. Jonathan recovered quickly and used his other hand to strike, pummeling the Uthraki in the gut.

With a groan, the man took a step back, but did not seem overly hurt. This would be a tougher fight than Jonathan had thought. The Uthraki was not as powerful as the angel had been, despite having a higher level, at least judging by the first one that Jonathan had seen, but it was clearly unfettered by the mana concentration here. However, come to think of it, neither was Jonathan. He had ignored it the first time coming here, but he now realized that the mana was a lot denser here than outside, and he felt no inhibition to his strength from the effects. If anything, he felt stronger.

Edgar took a shot at the demon’s back a moment later, sending the man staggering forwards, a bleeding wound opening up on his back. With a howl of rage, the fighter charged Jonathan, seeing him as the greater threat. Jonathan met him with a howl of his own, enhancing his fists as he did so. With the sounds of metal on flesh and bone, Jonathan fought the Uthraki, leveraging his skill to even the gap between him and his opponent. Punches weaved into dodges into feints, and Jonathan weaved a circle of steel around his opponent, landing hits and taking them in equal measure.

Each strike of the atlatl was like taking a cannon shot, but Jonathan was able to deal with it for the most part, as the weapon was not exactly intended for melee combat. In the background, the pterodon flailed on the ground, unable to move after its crash landing. Its bones were too brittle to survive the fall, and most of them were snapped. Jonathan ignored it for now. He had bigger concerns. He could sense that even if he killed the monster, it would not give anywhere near as much essence as the Uthraki would, as it seemed to be far weaker. It had been clearly bred as a mount, and its level was not at all indicative of its strength. Perhaps it was simply buoyed up by the average level of this dungeon.

The Uthraki took advantage of his momentary distraction and whipped its weapon around into Jonathan’s head, its hands blurring with speed. He was knocked off his feet and rolled towards the edge of the cliff, only sinking one hand into the rock a moment later to stop his fall. Propelling himself up with his strength, he sent himself rocketing towards the monster, his fist outstretched and burning with purple light. The Uthraki snorted and dodged a bolt of wind that came from behind, letting it fly off into the distance.

“You are no Granath. You are far weaker than he was,” the fighter said, as he moved towards Jonathan.