“Damn you!” The mage shouted as she snapped her fingers, creating a lance of electricity that speared towards Jonathan. It was far more concentrated than the last attack.

At the same time, the archer nocked her bow in a fraction of a second and fired multiple times, sending her arrows streaking towards all the spots that Jonathan could flee to. Narrowing his eyes, Jonathan channeled his stamina, and everything slowed down. The mage and archer moved at a fraction of their previous speed, and the man appeared to be moving underwater. Jonathan strode forwards, his footsteps burning the ground, and planted his fist into the leader’s gut. His armor cracked, and he flew backwards, crashing through a door and into an occupied room.

As Jonathan struck, the two women continued to attack, channeling more power into their arrows and spells. The lance of lightning grew ever larger as it arced towards Jonathan, homing in on him unerringly. He was fast enough to dodge it for now, but he would eventually run out of stamina. Instead of fighting a potentially losing battle, he cut his losses and ran, streaking out the front door. Luckily for him, many of the city dwellers were below Tier 3, and were completely unable to see him. Those that did were too slow to stop him.

He raced out through the gates, his heart pumping with anticipation for what this realm could offer. He was eager to drink deep from the well of adversity, growing strong upon the blood of his enemies.

The ooze of Mire squelched beneath his feet as he strode across the bogs, quickly leaving the city far behind him. His body felt suffused with potency, amplified by the runic array that even now pumped his body full of mana. Nobody at the wall seemed to have noticed his departure, and he had checked multiple times for pursuers. There were none. The fighter and his two companions seemed to have given up.

In any case, it was time to start checking off his priorities. The first thing he needed to do was to find out more about this realm. He could extrapolate a lot from its appearance and the dense mana, but he knew nothing of its history, and the book from Patrulanus would not help here.

To achieve this, he would have to find a city that was not instantly hostile to him, and then find a library or some sort of information repository. He didn’t know if word of his success in the Ash Heaps had spread, but he would need to be careful.

The endless marsh was far less monotonous than the Ash Heaps had been, and as he moved through it, he quickly found his first monster. The marshes were filled with strange creatures, many of whom were far weaker than he was. It was strange seeing such a wide range of power levels, but it was just the way of this world.

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A massive frog sat upon a grassy hillock, waiting for prey to pass. It was easily ten feet tall, but it was disguised by its warty skin, which blended in with the landscape. As Jonathan approached, its tongue flicked out, trying to entangle him. He raised his arm and suffused it with the Void, burning the monster’s flesh. It recoiled, letting out disconcerting wheezing noises. Jonathan closed the distance in an instance, bringing his fist down. The monster was pulped beneath the blow, his Void energy quickly erasing the remains.

Essence rushed into him, and his face fell. It was a paltry amount, indicating that the monster was just a Tier 2. Perhaps finding a proper challenge would be harder here than he thought. In any case, he had a notification to go over from the city, which he hadn’t opened yet.

You have reached Apprentice Rank 8 with Stamina Manipulation!

It seemed that using his abilities against similarly powerful foes had given him what he needed to break through. He was close to Journeyman, which would come with a large boost to his power.

With a sigh, he continued on his way, trekking across the swamps. Weaker monsters were everywhere, but he was hard pressed to find anything that provided any sort of challenge. Eventually, he spotted another city in the distance, and the reason came to him. The cities served as hubs for adventurers, and it stood to reason that they would clear the land nearby of any monsters that could prove a threat to the fortifications. The Tier 2s and below hardly counted.

Jonathan reached the city about an hour later. His vision was sometimes a bit deceiving, as it was ahead of his stats because of his extra racial upgrade. The city had appeared to be only a few miles away, but it was closer to fifty.

It looked very similar to the previous one, to the point that Jonathan wondered if it was in fact the same. However, as soon as he stepped inside, he immediately noticed the differences. This one was a lot more martial in design, and it lacked any of the taverns from the other city. Instead, soldiers marched through the streets, heading between barracks and training yards. Someone bumped into him as he stood there, cursing at him. He moved out of the way of traffic, and continued to watch the city.

At the very center, a tower reached for the sky, made out of dull gray rock, and covered in moss. Rather than a sign of neglect, Jonathan could feel an undercurrent of magical potency running through the substrate. Intrigued, he started up the street. The steady tramp of the soldiers’ feet resounded through the streets as he moved, but he paid it no heed. He was used to seeing legions move from the Ash Heaps. In fact, the numbers here were far lower than they had been in the previous plane.