A few days later, Jonathan found himself standing outside of the largest city that he had ever seen in the realm of Tartarus. Dozens of miles wide, most of it lay in ruins. A secondary wall had been built at some point in the past, and it marked out a far smaller section of the city for habitation. Monsters roamed beyond the wall, picking through the ruins for sustenance. Patrols of high leveled Uthraki walked through the ruins, taking out the monsters one by one.
All manner of creatures slinked, flew and skittered across the rocky ground, and they had a common origin point. A pillar of light stretched into the sky like a lance, piercing the top of the cavern, or at least giving that illusion. Monsters streamed from that direction, which was presumably the spawning grounds that the Uthraki had talked about. That was where he would gain the last few levels that he needed.
Jonathan picked up the pace, skirting around the city. However, he was not so lucky as to evade detection. A patrol of Uthraki just happened to be circling a nearby tower, when he went by. They paused upon seeing him, and then one of them called out.
“Intruder! Stop!”
Instead of listening, Jonathan began racing towards the pillar of light. His speed was such that he could easily outrun the Uthraki. He could have stayed to fight, but he had no wish to bring the entire city down on his head.
The Uthraki guards quickly faded into the distance as Jonathan circled the city, moving miles in a matter of seconds.By the time he had circled the city fully, the guards were out of sight, and out of mind. Mainly, that was because of the sight before him. A crack ran across the ground for what looked like fifty miles, extending deep into the earth. Crude ramps came up from the bottom, and monsters used those ramps to escape. Tens of thousands of Uthraki guarded the canyon, peering down from watchtowers and manning small fortifications. However, there was no stopping the tide, only redirecting it away from the city.
Jonathan moved more cautiously from then on, not wanting to draw attention to himself. The ground started to dip slowly, and it grew noticeably cooler as he neared the tear in the earth. He was like a speck of dirt before the vast natural feature in front of him.
By the time he was a few miles away, he realized that something had given his position away. A flash of light beamed out from a nearby tower, and Jonathan’s instincts forced him to duck. A beam of reddish energy sliced down through the air, cutting through the rock where he had been standing. A detonation of power blasted him off his feet. He flipped midair, and landed, unharmed. Jonathan stared at the tower, spotting a few Uthraki combining their mana to cast powerful spells. None of them appeared to be mages, but their natural talent for elemental manipulation was coming in handy here.
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Jonathan strafed across the land, heading towards the tower. He had no wish to be bombarded from afar as he entered the canyon. The Uthraki started to cast their spells more frequently, but Jonathan dodged them with consummate ease. He reached the tower a few moments later, and began to climb, digging his hands into the rock. With his massive physical strength, it was trivial. At this angle, the Uthraki were unable to hit him, and he quickly reached the top. The fighters were waiting for him, clutching their weapons in hand.
Two of them surged forwards, raising their axes up high. Jonathan rushed in before they could swing, and buried his fists into their abdomens. To his surprise, they survived. It seemed that the guards of the canyon were made of stronger stuff than the rest of the Uthraki. The other three guards moved in, holding a tight formation.
"What is your business here, outsider?” One of them asked, trying to buy time for his allies to recover.
“I merely came here to level up. Why don’t you let me pass in peace? It would make this whole thing a lot easier.”
“Filthy invader! As if we would allow you to sully the holy land with your uncleanliness.”
“Ah. Religious zealot. Great. As it turns out, I’m not exactly a big fan of the gods. But I know the effect they have on people. I can tell that you will never bend. Very well.”
Jonathan flitted forwards, using his stamina to propel himself at high speeds. He weaved around strikes, and parried those that he could not avoid. Every attack was mitigated in some way.
He quickly dismantled the defenses, stunning the Uthraki with blows of his gauntlets. However, they refused to surrender, and he eventually put them out of their misery with his new skill. A bubble of nothingness erased them, as well as half of the tower. Jonathan was on borrowed time now, and he was sure that somebody had noticed him at this point. He leaped off the tower and continued towards the canyon.
A few dozen towers stood between him and the canyon, and monsters streamed through them. Jonathan kept close to the towers, both to avoid the gazes of the guards, and to keep away from the monsters. He was confident in facing them, but not all at the same time. The monsters were a motley mix of different levels and strength, with most at a relatively low level. Some were near the peak of the Tier however, and Jonathan stayed away from those.
He managed to close about half of the distance with little trouble, but soon he was met with a problem. A group of about a hundred Uthraki stood in his way, clutching their weapons tightly. A moment later, a shape appeared in the sky, and a massive Uthraki riding one of the corvian constructs swooped down. The man was at the very peak of Tier 2, and exuded an aura of power that was impressive, even to Jonathan.
Jonathan paused, recognizing the challenge when he saw one. The man began to expand his aura as he landed, but Jonathan simply stood there, ignoring the wave of heat and power that rushed over him.