Essence poured into them, the only good thing that the fight had brought, and Jonathan leveled up, taking the edge off his annoyance somewhat. With both of the apex predators in the area down, they were free to roam. Monsters at this Tier did not get there by fighting opponents beyond their means, and after seeing how powerful Jonathan’s party was, none of the weaker ones would dare come near.
A few hours later, they found themselves standing before an imposing sight, that of a massive canyon, easily miles in diameter. The bottom was shrouded in mist, and heat drifted up. The mist at the bottom was backlit with a subtle red glow, and was likely covering a pit of lava.
“I wonder what’s down there,” Branth said.
“Not anything we wish to trifle with,” Edgar replied. “The mist is hiding it, but I can feel something down there. For an aura to be noticeable from this far up, it must belong to something beyond our level.”
“I agree,” Hushar added. “However, what exactly are we here for? All we’ve done is fight two monsters, and wandered a bit. There has to be more to this realm than just this.”
“If we could find the dungeon, then we would be set,” Jonathan said. “That would catapult our levels. This realm is far larger than the previous one though, and it could take weeks, if not months to find. We also have priorities in Mire that have to be balanced with this.”
“What happened to the simple days, back when we only had the Dread Legion to deal with?” Edgar asked.
“A lot,” Jonathan said. “We’re all Tier 3 now, and the challenge has risen to match that. We won’t be given a linear path of progression any more. We have to make our own. Because of our victory against Granath, we are now in uncharted territory. Either we will founder here, or we will make it through the Infinite Hells to freedom.”
Edgar nodded in response, and continued on his way, floating over the canyon on wings of wind. Jonathan gathered as much stamina to his feet as he could, drawing upon his Ephemeral Trifecta skill to supplement it. Then he blasted off, streaking across the multi mile gap in the blink of an eye. The air rushed past him, and he found himself skidding to a halt in a furrow of rock on the other side of the canyon.
The others proceeded at a more conservative pace, with Branth joining Hushar on a floating slab of rock that proceeded across the divide. They reached Jonathan within a few minutes. In the meantime, he got a headstart on some elemental cultivation. His stats, Pathway skills and regular skills were ample enough for now, which meant that he had to shore up his elemental power. He was past the ten percent mark, but that meant little on an exponential scale like that of elemental progression.
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He closed his eyes and stopped breathing, allowing the void within his body and mind to reflect the wider elemental Void. The orb of purple power that represented his connection to the element shone brightly in his mind, allowing him to focus upon his goal. He drew upon his elemental power, trying to ingrain its concept within his mind and soul. Of course, given that he had a scant few minutes, he barely got anywhere before the others arrived.
He opened his eyes as soon as he heard their approach, and they continued on. A large fog bank came into view some time later, shrouding the land in mind. Behind it, a strange, shadowy shape loomed, with a vague sense of heat emanating from it, largely hidden by the ambient heat of the realm.
They passed through the fog, emerging before an unexpected sight. A mountain rose out of the fog, with the mist coming from streams of lava that descended its slopes, interacting with a bubbling lake of sulfurous water that surrounded it. All around the volcano, a city bustled with life. It stretched up the mountain slopes, with the buildings growing ever more elaborate as it proceeded.
It was a massive construction, far larger than any Uthraki city Jonathan had ever seen before. Unlike the capital of the first realm of Tartarus, this city was in full repair. Highways stretched out from massive gates, along which troops of soldiers marched, and caravans traveled. Of course, given the power of this realm, everyone moved at incredible speeds.
Hushar stared at the city with shock in his eyes. “This is incredible. For my people to have banded together for long enough to create something like this without killing one another in a miracle.”
“I assume that we should avoid this place. It likely has defenders near the upper reaches of Tier 3,” Edgar added. “I assume that they also have a way of contacting the realm lord. It can’t be that hard to realize something amiss from seeing such a diverse group as us.”
“I agree,” Jonathan replied. “It was simply bad luck that brought us here.”
He gazed into the distance, realizing that something was coming towards them. A small group of flying creatures flapped through the air, each of which was ridden by an Uthraki. They looked like larger versions of the Lava Pterodons from the previous layer of Tartarus, but stockier and more armored.
“Shit,” Branth cursed. “We’ve been spotted.”
The men started to run back into the fog bank. The flapping noises from behind sped up, but they were already gone into the mist. Jonathan could hear one of the monsters moving through the mist behind him, but even with his advanced perception, it was impossible to see them, which meant that it was impossible for them to see him, and his group. He had greater senses than almost anyone at his level, because of his extra racial upgrade.
He could potentially read the location of the monsters by eddies and ripples in the mist, but such a task would be almost impossible, given how much the ambient heat caused the fog to swirl in the first place. Because of this, he was sure that they were safe for now. Voices rang out of the fog from far away, mainly the Uthraki calling out to one another for any sign of the intruders. However, there were none.