Jonathan called down Hushar to fix up the damage dealt to the plain, and headed back towards his cave. When he walked through the city gates, he was immediately able to see the changes that the sudden influx of money had made. Some of the buildings had actual glass windows now, and there were strange vehicles parked on the sides of the roads that looked like a cross between a bicycle and a living being. They hummed disconcertingly as they waited, and Jonathan saw a few in action. The machines whirred down the road, using a plethora of tiny feet to move. It was a strange sight, but one that was not unwelcome. Many of the weaker members of the city needed such transportation options to get around.

Jonathan walked past all of that, noting a few weapon embankments that had sprung up in between houses. A collection of cannons of some form littered the free spaces of the city. They looked dangerous, easily a dozen feet long and crackling with power. None of them had been fired yet, but Jonathan could see that they would do a lot of damage. The main difference that he could see however, was that the guards were now equipped with higher quality weapons. The strongest ones wielded Tier 2 weapons, while the weaker ones used high quality Tier 1 weapons. As he passed the fully kitted out platoons, they saluted him, knowing the source of their new equipment. Jonathan saluted them back, but continued on his way.

By the time he had reached the cave, he was no longer astounded by the changes made to the city. The amount of raw materials that he had brought back had been worth a large amount of money, a large amount indeed. Such an influx could have only had positive effects on the city.

The cave was empty, and Jonathan headed towards the back, ready to go through his incredibly painful threshold ceremony. He currently had 44 free stat points, which was enough to grant him 73 stat points if he allocated them in the most optional manner. Luckily enough for him, he was seventy two points away from ranking up. With a sigh, gritting his teeth in preparation for the pain to come, he allocated the points. As his Dexterity increased, his muscles started to tense and loosen. The motion felt fine at first, as if he was simply stretching, but then it began to speed up, tearing apart his muscles in the process. His body began to vibrate, turning to jelly in the process. As usual, his nerves remained intact, the will of the sadistic System. He became nothing more than a puddle on the ground, quivering in torment. Then the pain began to abate, and he found his body coming back together once more. With a groan, he rose to his feet, feeling like he had just downed a dozen espresso shots. His entire body felt full of energy and speed, and when he raised one hand, he could see it shaking rapidly as it got used to his new speed. The threshold notification popped up a moment later.

You have passed the Second Threshold of Dexterity!

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In your journey of progression, you have learned that the speed of one’s body is the speed of one’s ascent. A dumb, plodding brute may be able to obliterate anything slow enough to stand in their way, but they will be torn apart by a true devotee of speed. You are taking your first major step on this road of power. Be sure that you do not become its final victim.

Once the soul rending pain was said and done, the boosts from a threshold were like nothing else imaginable. Before he was able to fully analyze his gains, another notification appeared.

You have gained a new Title!

Hasteful Initiate: Mythical

You have crossed the second threshold of Dexterity while still in Tier 2. This shows one of two things. Either you are a prodigy beyond measure, or an idiot who focused entirely on one stat over all else.

Bonuses: +10% boost to effective Dexterity utilization

Jonathan felt like he was on top of the world with his massive increase in speed. Everything around him felt like it was going in slow motion, and he swore that he could see the very molecules moving in his vicinity. That was only an illusion, of course, but his speed was significant now. He was over two hundred times faster than a normal person, meaning that he could run at thousands of miles per hour, and move his extremities at dozens of times the speed of sound. Even scarier, this was only the beginning. At a certain point, he would be able to move faster than the speed of light, if such a thing was possible here. Given the existence of gods, he assumed that it was.

Jonathan took a step out into the outside world, marveling at how slow everything appeared. Luckily he was able to mitigate this effect, or else it would have been hard to do anything. Speaking to one of the lower level citizens would have been impossible, except for the fact that he could limit his speed.

He looked down at the city below him, coupling his racial upgrade with his speed. He could see the citizens moving like they were frozen in space and time, and when he slowed down his perception, the effects were barely better. He had to reduce his speed by a sizable amount in order to see at a normal level once more. Walking down towards the city, he had an idea. The center of the city was about half a mile away, which was quite a distance for him to cross quickly, even before his threshold. Now however, he sensed that he could push himself a bit further. Summoning his stamina to his legs, he raced forwards for a few feet to build up momentum and then pushed off. His perception blacked out for a moment, and he found himself standing in front of the city hall, with a long skidmark visible on the mountainside. He shook his head to clear it, and marveled at the new power that he possessed. People all around him were staring at his sudden appearance. To their eyes, it would have looked like he had teleported into the middle of the city. With a grin, Jonathan walked off. He wanted to find Edgar. It was time to get revenge on the Uthraki Guildmaster. Although no harm had come of it in the end, it would not be wise to leave an opponent so knowledgeable about the weaknesses of outsiders alive.