As he approached the barracks, he could sense something that made him smile. The aura of a Tier 2 warrior, that did not belong to Edgar or Eva. It seemed that a member of the city guards had broken through.
Jonathan walked through the barracks door, taking in the newest addition to the city’s true elites. A bald human man stood watching his recruits practice their sparring techniques with one another. He was dressed in a set of chainmail armor, and to Jonathan’s delight, his fists were covered in a set of heavy spiked gauntlets, not dissimilar to his own. He was not sure whether this was designed to flatter him, or whether it was simply the man’s actual fighting style. Jonathan had met some of the top tier fighters, the ones that he had given his mana regeneration blessing to. He vaguely remembered this man, but he hadn’t really done much to distinguish himself. As soon as Jonathan entered, the guard commander snapped to attention, and so did everyone else.
“Greetings, Lord Harlowe!” The man snapped out in a gruff baritone. His face was completely blank, showing his experience with dealing with army life. He had clearly been a soldier in Telvaria.
“At ease, soldier,” Jonathan replied, taking inspiration from some army movies that he had watched a few years ago. The man nodded and got into a more comfortable position, staring at him expectantly. “I wanted to get to know my higher ranking officers better,” Jonathan explained. “When I felt the aura of a Tier 2, I knew that I had to check it out. When exactly did you ascend to the next rank?”
“When you and your companion mage were in the other dimension, sir. I was getting close enough anyway, but a few hunting trips with Commander Windstar took me over the edge. There are a few others like me, on the cusp of the next Tier.”
“Good. Good. You will be the spearhead of the assault on Granath, when it comes. I am nearing the peak of the Tier, and soon I will have the strength to challenge that monstrous worm. When that day comes, I expect you to be ready.”
“I will be, and so will my men,” the man said. “Upon my name as Egon Hartwell, I will prove my worth.”
Jonathan gave the man another salute, and then ducked out the door, leaving Egon to continue his training session. The man seemed energetic, which was not necessarily a bad thing. It meant that he had the spirit to resist the bleakness of the Hells.
With the majority of the interesting sights of the city seen, Jonathan was ready to consolidate the last fragments of his strength. His mind was blazing with runic insights, and he could tell that he would be able to make serious progress with his element if he started to meditate now.
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With one last glance at his burgeoning city, Jonathan ran back up the mountain, keeping his speed to a reasonable level. If he moved too fast, he could pose a danger to the weaker citizens. He empowered himself with his stamina once he reached the end of the city limits, and propelled himself up towards his cave like a comet. He entered it a moment later, already starting to sink into a meditative state. He had used his Void powers enough in Tartarus, that a rank up was almost assured. He had created a new skill from it as well, which was even more impressive.
Closing his eyes, Jonathan envisioned the purple core of his Void powers lurking within his mind. As he watched the swirling sphere of pure destruction rotate within his soul, he applied his new insights to it. The core began to blaze marginally brighter as he fed his memories of its use into it. As he imparted the knowledge that he had gained in Tartarus, the sphere blossomed into life, and sent a pulse of power through his soul, creating a resonance within his mind. The sphere dimmed once more, but it was brighter than before. Although it had felt like less than a minute, he had actually been in his corespace for hours. His mind simply worked on a different level now as opposed to before.
He brushed aside the notification, able to feel its effects for himself. He felt more connected to his element now, and he knew that it would answer his call more readily. He knew that he had enough insight for another go, but he would have to spend a lot longer at it. Instead, he flipped through his pathway skills, looking for something to improve.
Mana Manipulation was slipping behind somewhat, with the remembrance from the dungeon in Tartarus. It was time to train that skill up a bit more. Jonathan moved towards his corespace, peering into the depths of his mana core. His recent rank up had come from realizing the power of exterior mana. If he was to make any progress, it would likely come from furthering his understanding of that.
Jonathan started to cycle mana throughout his body, trying to see where it interacted with the mana of the world around him. It seemed that there was a membrane of sorts that sealed off his body from the effects of the exterior mana. Mana could only go one way, and that was if he needed it. As he looked at this, he realized why people could live in much higher mana densities than their own Tier. While a true powerhouse would falter in mana of a lower density, someone weaker would barely be affected, as they did not require as much. A person’s body only took as much mana as they needed.
Jonathan expanded upon this insight as much as he could, but he could sense that it was merely a distracting foundation to some later skill. Instead, he turned his gaze to something more important. The way that his internal mana interacted with the external mana. There was an interplay of sorts, which resulted in an exchange. The mana from outside was filtered by his body, gradually being assimilated by it. Meanwhile, the waste mana turned back into the mana of the world around him.