Edgar threw bolts of concentrated wind towards the leader of the Crimson Sect, trying to blast through her scarlet shield of crackling electricity. As Jonathan and Granath clashed in the city center, he had his own battle to worry about. Even when the titanic explosion had rocked the world, he continued to fight. He was clearly superior to his opponent in every way, but the woman had a skill that allowed her to draw upon the life force of her subordinates to boost her own power.

He sported many deep wounds from when her power had flared, allowing her to break through his defenses. In general though, he outleveled her, and possessed more raw power. She was running out of mana, slowly but surely, and as her shield cracked once more, out of willpower too. Nobody in this world had ever suspected that someone would be able to reach the peak of Tier 2. Mathematics simply prevented it, what with the lifespans of the average Tier 2, as well as the opportunities contained within the realm. Most were too weak to consistently farm the dungeon, as they would most likely die before long. That was not considering the fact that Granath would never allow it.

All that meant was that when people like Edgar, Jonathan, and the Uthraki came calling, there was no real way for anyone to stand before them, save for Granath himself. Eva was a bit weaker, but she was still more powerful than most within this realm.

While Edgar battled, he spotted a speck hurtling out of the sky and towards the ground of the citadel. He also spotted a pale serpent dropping out of the sky a few thousand feet away, landing with a thud that he could hear from where he stood. He smiled. Jonathan was giving as good as he got.

As Jonathan plummeted, he groaned in pain as his body shifted back together. None of his bones were broken, but they were covered in thousands of tiny tears that sent pain through his body every time he moved. However, such wounds were trivial to heal with his regenerative capabilities, and as he landed, he was back in fighting conditions. Whatever he had created was immensely powerful. Not as powerful as Maw of the Void, but at least a Mythical skill. He opened his notifications to check. Before the skill notifications were a few telling him that he had reached Journeyman 4 in Runecrafting, and 3 in Truesight. Instead of lingering, he simply closed them and opened the skill description.

You have upgraded a skill!

Void Cannon->Void’s Grasp: Mythical

The Void is a hungry element, and you now allow it to seek its own food. Before, you directed the power of your element in a beam of caustic energy, tearing through all that stood before you. Now, this skill creates a tiny hole in reality that sucks in everything, matter or energy, in its vicinity.

It was a very strong skill, but that was balanced somewhat by his lack of control over it. It was the sort of ability that could prove hazardous to use if he was fighting alongside his allies. He was immune to its effects, but nobody else was. As he rose to his feet, he channeled his Divinity into his body. It was time to kick this fight to the next level.

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Granath spluttered in disbelief as he rose from the shattered earth. Jonathan was proving to be everything that he had feared, and worse. He channeled the power of the gods themselves, as well as that of the hungry Void. In his long life, Granath had delved deep into the subject of elemental power, deeper than any at his level. Very soon, he had realized that something had to balance out the elements, as they balanced out one another. That force was the Void. He could not fathom how Jonathan was able to channel that element, but it was allowing him to match Granath’s far superior elemental mastery. Elemental mastery worked on an exponential scale, and even Granath’s 20 percent mastery of four elements should have been more than enough to crush Jonathan into the ground.

Jonathan watched as Granath surged upwards, all three hundred feet of that length shooting into the sky like an Eastern dragon. Only, he was far more grotesque than those majestic beasts from Earth’s legends. While those creatures brought rain to blighted lands, this one only brought misery. Jonathan clenched his fists, and started to channel his element into them, eager to use his new skill again. Maw of the Void was more powerful, but the worm was too far away for that. He would have to bide his time.

“I do not know what foul rituals you have completed, or sacrifices you have made to dark gods, but your strength should not be possible. In killing you I will be doing the whole universe a favor,” Granath hissed as he gazed imperiously down upon Jonathan. Despite his massive health pool, his wounds showed little sign of healing, a hint that his health did not come from his stats alone. There was something else at play here, likely to do with his status as a circle lord.

Jonathan laughed at the titanic monster, unfazed by the intimidation attempt. A tiny speck of darkness formed between his hands, corralled by his elemental mastery. Then he loosed the hungry force of the Void, sending it towards Granath.

The worm snarled and summoned the thickest elemental shield that Jonathan had ever seen. Rather than simply being a series of elements layered on top of one another, they blended together into a tapestry that seemed to represent the path of Granath to the height of this world. Tiny figures fought and died upon the shield, painted in different elemental hues. Jonathan had learned that elements had a conceptual aspect as well as a physical one, and this shield was likely crafted to take full advantage of those.

Jonathan's attack hurtled up towards the shield, which wrapped all the way around the front of Granath’s body. It struck a moment later, loosing its charge. The miniature black hole tugged on the air and mana around it, sending cracks spider webbing across the surface. As it did so, Jonathan leaned upon his stamina manipulation abilities, and sent himself shooting into the sky, following his own attack.

Granath’s face screwed up in concentration as he pumped more power into the shield, resisting Jonathan’s attack. He was likely the only person in this entire realm who had a hope of standing against a skill that powerful. Fueled by both runes and the Void, Jonathan’s new projectile skill was of a different caliber to anything he had seen before, save for Maw of the Void.