By the time he reached the tower, he had seen a wide array of levels among the citizens. It seemed that only guards and soldiers reached Tier 3, with everyone else staying at a lower level. However, they were not treated like demigods as the Tier 2s had been in the Ash Heaps. There were far more of them here, mainly because they were not limited in their movement. None of them paid any attention to him, likely seeing nothing more than a man at the base of Tier 3, down on his luck. His armor did not look especially impressive, especially covered in mud as it was.
The entrance to the tower was a large archway, which had a strange obfuscation effect on it that prevented him from seeing inside. With a glance around himself, he headed in. He felt something oddly cold and wet wrap itself around him as he walked through the arch, but it seemed to react to his Void energy and mana, letting him through. A small amount of his mana was siphoned, but it seemed innocuous enough.
The interior of the tower was far larger than the exterior, easily a hundred feet wide while the outside had only appeared to be twenty five. The walls were lined with books, some of which glowed with a faint magical aura to Jonathan’s Truesight. This was clearly some sort of arcane repository.
“Who are you?” Someone asked. Jonathan turned to see a middle aged woman, holding a large staff in one hand. She was Tier 3, which meant that she was likely centuries old, if not older.
“What is this place?”
“It is the center of learning for those more inclined to the magical arts. What I do not understand is how you managed to enter, given your clear predilection for brute force.” The woman’s nose turned up at the end, showing her opinion for warriors.
“Eh, I dabble,” Jonathan replied.
“You must do more than dabble. That film only allows those who have reached the second threshold of Intelligence to enter.”
“Ah. Well, what exactly does this place do? I noticed all the books. Is it for learning new skills?”
“Nothing so crude. Here, we specialize in elemental magic. Many of these books contain cultivation paths for the different elements.”
“Cultivation, you say?” Jonathan asked, intrigued. It was the first time he had heard a native of this universe talking about it.
“Yes. The furthering of one’s elemental connection. Battle is not the only way to develop your connection. Prolonged mediation and exposure to concentrated elemental energy also helps.”
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“So these books contain paths to achieve this? Interesting…”
“Yes. Now, I have things to attend to. Feel free to browse. Damaging any of the books will incur a large fine, so be careful. Your fee for entry has already been paid in mana.”
The woman walked away, leaving Jonathan standing there. He shrugged, and headed towards the nearest bookshelf. He suspected that there would be nothing here for him, but perhaps he could find some basic information about the circle itself. Asking about it would raise suspicions, so he would have to search for it himself.
Eventually, he found a slim leather bound book, entitled Slothari, Ruler of Mire. It was exactly what he was looking for. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened it.
The realm of Mire is the second layer of the Infinite Hells, and as such requires a more powerful ruler than the previous one. Slothari is the chosen circle lord of the realm. She is a titanic aggregation of slime and arcane magics of transmutation and change. The form of any being she has defeated in battle is available to her, from the lowliest of goblins to drakes and wyverns. Fighting her is akin to fighting a legion. There have been many attempts at rebellion, but all have failed before the gates of her citadel have been breached.
Annoyingly, that was most of the information that the book had on the monster’s abilities, with the rest simply being a sickening morass of flattery and ego petting that Jonathan could barely stand to read.
Closing the book, he moved on, intrigued by the cultivation manuals that lined the bookshelves. Even if there were no Void attuned ones, he could still perhaps make one of his own. A few minutes later he found A Basic Cultivation Primer. Opening the book, he flipped through it to find a section dealing with the basics of elemental cultivation.
Cultivating the elements might be seen as lesser to the path of transcendence that the System follows, but it is just as vital. While returns might seem small at the start, by the end of an elemental cultivation path, one can channel the raw power of their elements' true form. Legends tell of the gods of Telvaria erasing entire solar systems with simple expressions of their elemental mastery. If you wish to step upon this path, you must find a technique that works for connecting you to your element. The key to this is meditation, but there are a near infinite number of ways to enhance this. Once you find your center, and have visualized your elemental core in mind, you can further your understanding by channeling your element. However, if you are surrounded by your element at the time, the benefits are greatly heightened. There are specific ways to accomplish this with maximum efficiency, but this is not a book on that subject. Go forth, young cultivator, and remake the world in your image.
It seemed that he had already been practicing a form of elemental cultivation, but the reason that he had been stagnating recently was because of a lack of physical connection to the Void. He needed to find a way to surround himself in pure Void energy to truly connect with it. Jonathan had a hunch that his own energy would not suffice. He would have to return to the dungeon in the Ash Heaps, the only source of the element that he knew of. For now though, he needed to find a way to increase the efficiency of his basic cultivation.