The man’s level was worryingly high, as well as his health. However, eighteen thousand was not as much as it seemed. If Jonathan had focused on his Constitution over his strength, he would have had over twenty thousand points of health now. This likely meant that the Uthraki had focused his efforts on other avenues of power. Judging by his bulging muscles and his massive weapon, he had focused it on strength.
Jonathan nodded, and started to slink back into the alleyway, followed by Edgar. There was no reason for them to draw attention to themselves now. As they headed into the dark and shadowy side road, Edgar spoke.
“Are you sure we aren’t biting off more than we can chew here?” That man’s aura was intense.”
Jonathan had barely noticed the aura, to tell the truth, but he simply nodded.
“Danger equals more power gain. Granath is waiting for us, and the more time we spend leveling up, the more time he has to prepare. That monster will absolutely crush us if we do not rise to the occasion.You will have to deal with his strongest allies as well. I cannot focus on a being like Granath and other high leveled ones as well. With centuries of time to consolidate their power, I guarantee that the true upper echelon of this world will be a cut above what we have faced before,” he replied, looking back at Edgar.
“I suppose you’re right. If we can’t deal with a few Uthraki, then how could we deal with something like Granath?”
“Right on,” Jonathan said, smiling.
They made their way back towards the hole in the wall, and headed inside. Their plan for now was to lie in wait, and spring out whenever one of the Uthraki passed by. The interior of the hole was dark, and would be impossible to see inside from the outside.
However, Edgar also created a partition of wind to stop any foreign scents or sounds from drifting out of the room. Otherwise, they would have alerted any passersby to their presence. With the enhanced senses of Tier 2s, any of the Uthraki would have noticed that something was amiss as soon as they passed by the hiding place.
As Jonathan sat there, he began to channel his mana in and out, trying to get in some practice time before he had to fight. The glowing blue energy cycled smoothly in and out of his core, up and down his arms and feet, and all around his body. The caustic energy of the Void should have killed him, but he was immune because of his True Affinity. That made him wonder whether those with True Affinities were completely immune to their own element. Would a Fire mage with such an ability be completely inured against the heat of their element? However, it was balanced out by the fact that one was unable to have more than one affinity at a time. As well as that, having one made you weak against certain elements. That same Fire mage would be far more affected by water than if they did not possess the affinity, even if their stats should have been high enough to stop such an effect..
However, Jonathan assumed that water would become harmful to those with such a degree of power in their chosen element. It was good for them that beyond Tier 2, there was no need to drink. That would serve to protect them against the power of their opposing element.
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Jonathan meditated on the concepts of the elements more as he cycled his mana, thinking about how they worked. Each of the twelve elements was paired, with the Void serving as the counterpart to all of them. Creation, mirrored by Destruction. Fire was paired with Water, Earth with Air, Life with Death, Dark with Light, Time with Fate, and Order with Chaos. All of them, except for Time and Fate, were self evidently opposites. Jonathan was not exactly sure how those two elements opposed one another. They seemed to have similar purposes.
Time made sure that the universe kept working, moving forwards into eternity, and Fate kept that movement in a straight line. Perhaps it was to do with the fact that Fate constrained Time to some degree. In any case, it hardly mattered, given that he did not cultivate those elements.
As he waited, he finally heard footsteps coming down the alleyway. Jonathan gave Edgar a pointed look, and started to summon his mana to his hands, keeping it locked within his skin so as to not create any light. As the footsteps neared, a tendril of wind snuck out of the hole, and whipped out at something. There was a muffled curse, and the noise of a body hitting the ground.
Edgar and Jonathan exited, to see a burly Uthraki, covered in blood, lying on the ground. The blood was clearly not his own, and going by the necklace of severed ears around his neck, probably from multiple people as well. As soon as he saw Edgar and Jonathan, red light began to billow around him, signaling the use of some sort of skill. His claws lengthened, and his stance lowered until he looked like some sort of primal beast. There was no hesitation in his eyes as he leaped at his two assailants.
Jonathan stepped backwards, and then drove his fist into the underside of the man's jaw, sending shockwaves through his skull. The Uthraki was knocked off his course, sent flying up into the air. As he fell, Edgar sent a spear of wind towards his abdomen. The man parried the strike with a shield of rock, summoned out of thin air. However, that left him open to Jonathan.
A massive ball of Voidlight piledrived into his stomach, blasting apart the skin. Jonathan cocked his left fist back and punched again, driving the man into the far wall. Rather than attempting to surrender however, the Uthraki started to exude even more of the red light, and his demeanor became completely bestial. He raced on all fours towards his enemies, ignoring the deluge of blood pouring out of his wounds.
Jonathan leaped over the charging brute, and came down with a thunderous elbow bomb, smashing the Uthraki into the ground. The tough obsidian of the streets barely shifted, given its immense durability.
Edgar sent whips of energy towards his enemy, lifting the man up into the air. However, the Uthraki quickly broke the chains of wind, landing in front of them. He let out a wordless howl of rage, and all of a sudden, the necklace of ears began to shrivel up. Power raced out of them and into his body. It seemed like they had not just been some macabre decoration after all.
The man bulked up even more, his skin starting to turn gray. Jonathan raced in, ducking under one blow, but taking another to the chest. The powerful kick sent him hurtling backwards into the wall. The air left his body, and he let out a pained grunt.
The Uthraki roared in anger, and bounded forwards on all fours, assuming a more bestial air. Edgar summoned a shield of wind to protect himself, but as the Uthraki approached, the shield began to falter in the face of the red light surrounding him. Edgar gritted his teeth and pumped more of his elemental energy into the skill, reinforcing it.
A thunderous punch came hurtling in, slamming into the shield with the force of a house sized hammer. The shield trembled, and Edgar took a step backwards. The Uthraki grinned through blood stained teeth, and punched again, shaking the shield once more. In this form, the man was easily as strong as Jonathan was. However, this was some sort of transformation ability, and was not the Uthraki’s true form. In his base, he was weaker than Jonathan.