This place was clearly similar to the dungeon in its make, and whatever the System had done here was basically the same, albeit a lot larger. There really had been a lot put into the development of the circle lords. Perhaps there was an opposing place to this that the gods used to train. Jonathan doubted that there were any Tier 100s simply wandering around Telvaria other than the gods themselves. The System was certainly capable of creating such a thing however.

As far as Jonathan could tell, it was more powerful than even the gods themselves. It could reach across multiple different layers of reality, and dictated the growth of untold numbers of people. That was a step above what the gods had shown thus far. They were likely just beings that had reached the top of this universe. In any case, he was probably beyond their reach now, and was safe. The only thing left watching him was the System. He had been waiting with baited breath for it to attack him again, but it seemed to have either given up on getting rid of him, or it was biding its time for the most opportune time to strike. It probably saw him as a threat, but one that wasn't worth losing any sleep over.

He shook his head to clear the useless thoughts and started down the stairs. They had a world to discover. This telescope would be useful in finding out more about the various landmarks of Tartarus. Then something happened that Jonathan had been dreading, but still prepared for. On his faction interface, the number went down. It was only by one, but a moment later, it decreased again.

“Shit!” Jonathan shouted, and pulled out the token. “Someone is attacking the city!”

Edgar grabbed the token a moment later, and they teleported back to the cave. Jonathan rushed out, only to see a large section of the wall in ruins, and a small party of high leveled fighters bullying their way through the paltry defenses. Bodies were sent flying like ragdolls, and blasts of energy leveled houses.

Edgar gathered the wind around himself and Jonathan, carrying them down towards the ground. They moved a bit too slowly for Jonathan’s taste however, and he banished the energy with his Void power, falling the rest of the way. When he hit the ground, he ran as fast as he could, his body streaking across the ground like a bolt of lightning.

He reached the breach in the wall a moment later, and slammed his fist into the nearest fighter, an armored man wielding a mace. His strike was imbued with as much power as he could pack into it, and the fighter was basically atomized as it landed, shards of metal and bone shooting everywhere. The others paused upon this, and turned to face Jonathan, brandishing their weapons. One of them stepped forwards, and took off his helmet. He was an older elven man, with gray hair. However, he was still youthful in all other aspects of his appearance.

“Jonathan Harlowe. We finally meet. I am Yaltan Beruvoid, loyal servant of Granath. You have evaded his justice for far too long.”

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The man had a large broadsword strapped to his back, and he quickly drew it as he spoke. The weapon was beautiful, made out of a core of silvery metal and a body of dark iron. It glowed with a faint internal light, as if it was enchanted. The man plunged the weapon into the ground and watched Jonathan, before snapping his fingers. His soldiers, about five in number, charged Jonathan, roaring in rage.

As they came in, Jonathan got a better gauge of their strength. They were all undoubtedly Tier 2, but lower Tier 2 in strength, about level 110 to 120. They were all weaker than he was without a shadow of a doubt. Yaltan however felt a lot more powerful than his soldiers. Jonathan would have to be wary. Edgar arrived a moment later, casting his buffs on both of them.

A spear of energy lanced down a moment later, taking one of the fighters in the neck and almost skewering them. Only their armor saved them from the impact, and they were tossed into a nearby wall, leaving Jonathan with one less to deal with. Then the battle was on.

He grabbed the first blow with his gauntlets, wincing as the metal whined upon sliding against the other fighter’s ax. He pushed the weapon aside and sent a devastating punch straight into the fighter’s stomach, imbuing it with his stamina. The punch accelerated like a rocket, and when it struck, bones fractured and organs ruptured.

The fighter was knocked into the air and backwards a few dozen feet, where they fell, gasping onto the ground. Yaltan sighed and raised one hand, creating an orb of greenish energy that began to heal his soldiers. It did nothing for Jonathan and Edgar save for being a bright nuisance on the field of battle.

Jonathan snarled as he saw his work being undone, and decided to take the fight straight to the boss himself. He sent stamina to his legs, and pushed off, almost teleporting towards Yaltan. The man tracked his movement however, as as he approached, Yaltan whipped his sword out of the ground and met the strike with his own.

The attack was simple, but somehow filled with complexity. The only possible explanation was that Yaltan was far more skilled with his weapon than Jonathan was. The blade almost seemed to vibrate in the air, causing it to be in multiple places at once. Jonathan was forced to parry with his entire arm, causing the attack to burrow into his armor. His newly enhanced armor held, but barely, and Yaltan projected energy into the sword, causing a caustic green mist to spill out of the blade.

Where it touched his skin, it started to bulge and grow uncontrollably, crushing itself against the metal of his armor. It was agonizing, and Jonathan screamed in pain. He drove his other fist into Yaltan’s jaw, and succeeded in staggering the man. He drew his other hand back and pulsed the Void through it, getting rid of the foul effects of whatever skill Yaltan had used.

“Many think of the element of Life as an endless wellspring of beneficence, but it is anything but that. On the other side of the coin is cancer, unchecked growth that ends with the extinguishing of life. Many underestimate my chosen element. They have paid the price,” Yaltan said, a strange aura of reverence filling his voice. All around, the other fighters circled, but Jonathan ignored them. Edgar had his back.

“You wish to speak about elemental power? To me? I will show you true potency,” Jonathan replied.