All four of them stopped before Jonathan, and bowed. Jonathan nodded in response, dipping his head slightly. It was what he remembered from historical TV shows back on Earth, and it seemed to work. His reaching of Tier 3 had instilled an even larger degree of devotion in his followers.

“My Lord Harlowe, we are pleased to greet you,” Bordeg said.

“Please, just call me Jonathan. I don’t need any fancy accolades.”

“That is what you are, lord. You are our ruler and commander. It would be improper for us not to give you the respect due,” Maranta said.

“Oh, is this about me defeating your leaders in Tartarus?” Jonathan asked.

“In part,” Tukar replied. “However, much of it is to do with your strength. Reaching Tier 3 is a legendary feat, at least among those who had previously never had a shot of achieving it. You have liberated us from the cruelest of shackles, those of futility. Is it not right for us to call you our lord?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jonathan replied. He needed to get used to the consequences of possessing power in this world.

“Now, I assume that your return to this realm means that you wish for us to accompany you to Mire?” Hushar asked.

“Yes. Do you all feel ready? It is on a different level of power than what you are used to, at least with the higher level monsters.”

“We wish for nothing more than an opportunity to pay you back for what you have done for us, and a means to progress. We are ready, lord. Ready and willing.” The Uthraki replied.

“Very well.” Jonathan reached out with one hand and summoned the purple portal that led between the realms, mentally designating the Uthraki as being allowed to enter.

He stepped in first, shortly followed by the others. He stepped out of the portal in front of Branth. Before the beastman could respond, the others emerged behind him. Branth snarled, and bared his teeth, presumably at the sight of the Uthraki. His claws glistened with elemental power, but he stopped when Jonathan raised his hands.

“Calm down, Branth. These are our allies. Fighters from the Ash Heaps that helped me defeat Granth. They are here to gain power”

“Oh,” Branth said, his claws going back to normal. “So we are to go hunting?”

“That’s the plan,” Jonathan replied.

Over the next few hours, they explored the wastes, and Jonathan introduced the newcomers to some of the monsters of the fetid expanse. Working in unison, they were more than capable of taking out a low Tier 3 monster, but doing so individually was still mostly beyond them. However, they were all being boosted by Jonathan’s runic array, which increased their mana regeneration rate. In seeing this he was reminded that it was time to start experimenting with more of his runes, in order to make more strengthening arrays. He had an idea for using the Rune of Physicality in an array that he needed to try.

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Levels flowed like water as they got used to the new world, and before long, Edgar and Hushar were standing at level 199. It would grow far harder to level after ranking up, but it was well worth it. As the others continued to grind, with the help of Branth, Jonathan watched over the Uthraki and Edgar as they went through the Tiering process. It took them a while, but eventually, they opened their eyes, grinning widely. All that was left was for them to choose their classes. Closing their eyes again, they went under for a bit longer. Edgar emerged first, a wide grin on his face.

“Something good?” Jonathan asked.

“A Legendary class!” Edgar exclaimed. “It’s called Mage of the Tempest.”

“Congratulations! A Legendary class is exceedingly hard to come by in the first through Tiers. Now you’re on par with me.”

“We just need to wait for Hushar to emerge, then we can help with the others. It might take them significantly longer to reach the right level.”

It took Hushar another ten minutes to pick his class, and he emerged with a smile on his face, similar to Edgar.

“Legendary?” Jonathan asked.

“Legendary,” Hushar replied. “Abyssal Hunter. Participating somewhat in the fight against the strongest monster in the realm probably helped in my acquisition of the class.”

“Great. Any boost to our collective strength is a boost to our quest as a whole,” Edgar replied. “Now, let’s catch up with the others.”

A few miles away, Branth corralled monsters for the others to fight, and they slowly whittled away at the ranks of Tier 3 monsters, leaving corpses in their wake. Although they were all weaker, they had enough intelligence to come up with plans for each monster, especially with their experience in hunting from Tartarus. As a result, their levels were shooting up rapidly.

Jonathan watched as they butchered the wide array of creatures, ranging from giant insects to amphibian monstrosities. Branth helped occasionally, but for the most part, he let them work unaided. It was the best way of gaining essence, as his help would siphon off a significant part of the share. As a result, the Uthraki were covered in wounds, but they were still going strong, their eyes blazing with a fierce hunger for power. It was quite inspiring to watch.

It took another few hours for them to finally reach level 199, and a few after that for them to finish. None of them received Legendary classes, but they all gained Epic ones. Maranta became a Volcanic Seer, Bordeg gained one named Volcanic Knight, and Hushar became an Obsidian Sentinel.

All of them were happy with their upgrades, but Tukar seemed jealous of his brother’s advancement. That jealousy disappeared when Tukar realized that his class seemed to hover in the space between Epic and Legendary, and its description promised great things in the future if he followed its path to the end.

With the party all at Tier 3, it was time for them to begin their conquest of Mire. Jonathan pulled up his faction sheet and made some changes. It was time for it to reflect his true goal.

Faction Name has been changed from Ash Heaps Liberation Front to Vanguard of the Hellbreaker.