Jonathan ignored it, trying to find something that would save him. His stamina abilities were too weak to get him out of range fast enough to divert the attacks. However, he could always improve. In the blink of an eye, his entire history with the skill flashed through his mind, and he realized that there was something different about stamina. Why did he have a mana core, but not a stamina one? It seemed strange, given that they were similar skills.
As death encroached, Jonathan focused on his stamina. Rather than sending it to his limbs, he started to pull it out of them and into his center. His body seemed to go limp, and his chest blazed with power. As the red mist of his stamina condensed, a fiery heat surged through his body. He kept compressing it, into a space next to his mana core. The stamina was far more unstable than the mana was, and it burnt his flesh as he condensed it. However, it was better than the alternative.
A moment later, the core condensed fully, and a wave of power rushed through his body like a supernova, connecting every aspect of him to the core. With a deep breath he moved. His body tore through the air, and he weaved around the energy bolts like they were not even there. They burrowed into the ground, and exploded. His bones were still broken, but that was at the background of his mind.
Jonathan headed towards the lich, and before the monster could even react, he sent a pulse, filled with almost ten thousand points of stamina, into his body. For the briefest of moments, he felt like a god. Before the lich could react, he blitzed past its weakened shield and drove his fist into its phylactery. With an explosion of green light, the crystal exploded. With a moan of pain, the undead collapsed, turning to ash as its phylactery was broken. Essence thundered into Jonathan, almost enough to bring him up another level. A notification waited for him, which he quickly opened.
You have upgraded a skill!
Stamina Redirection:Legendary->Stamina Manipulation:Pathway
Jonathan frowned. He hadn't even known that something like this was possible.
Stamina Manipulation: Apprentice 7
You have found the strength within yourself to form a core out of your stamina. This core provides you with a higher baseline of physicality, as well as allowing you to draw upon that power more effectively.
+10 to Strength, +5 to Dexterity
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The new skill was very welcome, and the fact that it was a pathway skill meant that it would have a far higher potential than if it was a normal skill. The limits to pathway skills were almost nonexistent, as they could simply be upgraded naturally. Even better, it would allow for him to create sub skills under the discipline, improving his power even more.
The hordes of undead were still attacking Edgar, and Jonathan decided to lend a hand. He blitzed across the ground, using his new skill to its fullest, and he arrived next to his companion within seconds.
He imbued his right fist with as much power as he could, feeling his core pump concentrated power into his arm. When he punched, not only did he atomize the undead standing in his way, but he created a massive shockwave that blasted away a dozen others. Smite had already worn off, so this was just his baseline strength at work.
Jonathan sent the Void to his arms, and sent out waves of purple energy. A lot of elemental power was conceptual in nature, and revolved around his own conceptions. For some reason, he was able to send his Void energy further if he put more force behind it. His elementally attuned mana was a bit different, but it functioned the same in theory.
Between him and Edgar, they quickly mopped up the undead, finally clearing the floor. It provided less essence than he would have expected, given that he had killed thousands of them, but in the end, it made sense. There was almost no strain in his killing of the monsters. The System would not reward such a one sided beatdown.
When the floor was finally cleared, a pillar of light touched down in the middle of the field, revealing a strange pedestal. A glowing orb stood on it, at odds with the rest of the dungeon. It was pure white in color, and it blazed with an internal light.
Jonathan just then noticed that every trace of the battle had been wiped away by the arrival of the pillar of light, from the lich’s staff to the remains of the undead. It was probably some sort of way to prevent them from taking the staff from the lich, as there was only supposed to be one reward from the floor.
As the orb appeared, the departure notification arrived. Jonathan pushed it to the side and headed towards the pedestal. The orb sat there like a tiny star, giving off a bright light. It gave off an aura of what Jonathan could only describe as holiness. It certainly fit the theme of clearing the floor of an undead menace. Jonathan reached out and touched the orb, scanning it as he did so.
Blessed Orb of Cleansing
Tier 2
This orb can clear any poisons or diseases at Tier 2 or lower if the afflicted lays their hands on it. It was blessed by an angel of the Heavens, and contains their holy spirit.
It was an interesting item, but not that useful all things considered. It would have been more useful to a different party. With his massive health and Resilience, Jonathan was already incredibly resistant to any such effects at his own rank. Meanwhile, Edgar had a fighting style that made it very hard for him to be hit in the first place.