Jonathan bent down and exploded upwards like a comet, avoiding the incoming stomp. The golem shook the earth as it struck, but he was already long gone. He flew over the monster’s head, and came down, straight towards Altus. The Uthraki powerhouse raised his hands, and his two swords started to glow with an even brighter light. He held them out to the side in a curious stance, and then struck. A wave of red and yellow coursed out, leaving a trail in the air behind it.
Jonathan cocked back his fist and punched, meeting the attack with the Void. It was an incredibly strong technique, a lot stronger than he had expected, and he actually struggled to hold it back. As the Void ate away at the arcs of light, Altus laughed.
“Your tricks might have worked against my followers, but they will not work against me. I know not what foul elemental power you just used, but I have spent decades mastering my own. You cannot hope to defeat me!”
Jonathan could feel the truth in these words, and he knew that Altus was at a much higher level of elemental mastery than his own, just going by the perfection of the golem’s form. However, the Void was simply different. Rather than drawing from one’s own mastery, to an extent, it was simply unleashed upon the world whenever Jonathan used it. Only his own immunity kept him from dying in the fires of his own creation.
However, it was taking all of his concentration to hold back the attack, and in the meantime, Altus sent his golem’s remaining weapon on a collision course with Jonathan. He grimaced, and used his fists to push off the elemental barrage, shooting down towards the ground. The wave of light passed over him, and streaked off into the distance, growing wider and wider with time. It fizzled out without hitting anything, but the sheer distance that it had crossed was nothing to sneeze at.
Jonathan raced towards the golem’s legs, taking in the masterfully crafted greaves that covered them. It was incredible, the amount of detail that had been placed into the construct. He supposed that if one was stuck in a world where they were unable to advance in level for decades on end, then they would naturally drift to other sources of progression, such as elemental cultivation. Because of the vast amount of both the elements of Fire and Earth in Tartarus, Altus was set in terms of cultivation foci.
Jonathan clambered up the golem’s leg, and started to climb. While he was in this position, it was exceedingly difficult to hit him without damaging the golem itself. By the time he had reached the top, he was starting to get a bit annoyed with the fight. Altus was simply hiding behind his creation, relying on it to defend him.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Jonathan cleared the top of the construct’s head, and faced off against Altus himself. Without warning, Jonathan surged forwards, his stamina burning on full blast. His fist sunk into the Uthraki’s stomach, and blasted him off the golem. With the shuddering screech of breaking rock, the golem started to come apart. Jonathan dove after the Uthraki, and buried his elbow deep into the man’s gut, sending a charge of Void energy after it. Altus fought back with his own element, and managed to prevent fatal damage. He still took damage in the form of having his flesh and armor stripped off in the area.
Jonathan grunted, and withdrew his arm, which was already burnt from Altus’ elemental prowess. He seemed to wield some sub elemental mix of Fire and Earth, perhaps Lava or something similar. He simply used his other arm, pancaking the Uthraki against the ground. From there, it was a one sided beatdown, and he battered the man into the earth. Without his golem, or the wherewithal to summon it, he was far weaker than normal.
Eventually, Jonathan caved in his skull with his fist, and essence poured into him. His body was covered in burns from Altus’ desperate attempts to save himself, but his health hadn’t dipped below half. There was enough essence there to bring him up an entire level, as expected from a man with such strength. As he waited to regenerate his wounds, he leaned back, resting for a time.
When he was ready, he continued on his way. With only two levels to go, and the progress towards a third, Jonathan was as ready as he could be to take on the spawning grounds of Tartarus. As soon as he got to the next circle, he wanted to be ready to ascend to the next Tier, aided by his runic array. Being at Tier 3 would still put him close to the bottom of the realm in terms of base level, but he would be stronger than many, even with higher levels than him.
Jonathan simply walked towards the canyon, unmolested by the Uthraki. They had seen his fight with Altus, and although they were battle hungry, they were not suicidal. Jonathan would destroy them utterly if they attacked.
As he walked, his aura billowed out around him, clearing away the weaker monsters. Every time a stronger one came by, he focused his aura down upon them, scaring them off. With all of his various powers, his aura had a lot of weight behind it.
Eventually, he stood before the canyon, staring down at its depths. It was quite an imposing sight. A dark crack into the world, where monsters crawled from, sat at the bottom, endlessly discharging its progeny. From up where he was, it looked like a mouth disgorging a meal that it was dissatisfied with. Steps lined the sides, likely made by the Uthraki, and the monsters clambered up them. It seemed counterintuitive, but there was likely some sort of System provision in place if such sources of egress were unavailable, that would have been a lot worse for the Uthraki.