In Tartarus
The closer Jonathan and Hushar got to reaching Expert Rank, the harder it became. There was an almost exponential increase in difficulty between the eighth and ninth levels, to say the least about actually reaching the tenth level. Even with the boost that came from the array, they were still struggling. More importantly, Jonathan’s body was wracked with pain, the result of being cut off from his healing. He had forgotten what a bruise felt like over his long months in the Infinite Hells. Hushar was even worse off. He had been around his current level of power for decades, and suddenly reverting back to a mortal state was like a nightmare to the power obsessed Uthraki.
Hours passed, and then days as they sunk into a limbo state of training past the pain. Jonathan found himself growing weaker and weaker, but was aggrieved to find that the weakness was the very thing that would grant him strength. His body, while bereft of his stats, still carried some of the benefits of his Tiers, which meant that he still had little need for eating or drinking. The problem was that without his stats, he felt their absence like a hole in his being. As well as this, he found himself needing a small amount of sleep once more.
Some time during the training, Jonathan had switched up his weapon, taking a club from the racks on the wall. Using the ungainly weapon was far more difficult with base human stats than it was normally.
He had begun to come closer and closer to a breakthrough in blending his weapon masteries into one cohesive whole. After what felt like an eternity of battle, without the padding of his advanced Intelligence to take the weight of time from him, he reached the ninth level of Blunt Weapon Mastery. He was still far from finished though.
What felt like weeks passed, with Jonathan growing ever weaker and more fatigued. His body was nothing more than a walking bruise at this point, and he felt like a member of the living dead whenever he tried to raise his arms to fight. However, he pressed through with the honed will that had allowed him to ascend so far in the first place.
Neither man spoke after the first few days, not wanting to waste the time that they could otherwise spend training. Hushar had begun to branch out in his weapon choices, forging himself into a vessel capable of wielding an Advanced Pathway Skill. It was slow going for both of them.
Jonathan slowly transcended the limits of his mortal body, forging his pathway skill into something greater. His mace and club, not the basic weapons from the rack but their conceptual meaning, became like his own limbs. By the time he stood on the cusp of the breakthrough, he had become loath to drop his weapons. It was amazing the shield that the System provided to prevent various mental afflictions that a life of training and fighting would otherwise cause. Without its aegis, Jonathan was feeling the full brunt of this tortuous training session.
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Sometimes, he found himself waking up in the night, raging at Arkanon and the injustice of the world. Other times, he woke up to find himself pounding on the walls with his fists. Of course, nothing ever came of that. The only way out was to succeed.
When the day finally came, Jonathan almost had a heart attack, so glad was he that he could finally leave. His overtaxed body gave out, and he fell to the ground, panting heavily. Hushar was still at Journeyman, but he was close enough to easily break through when he left.
A moment later, the door opened, and a wave of mana rushed in, enveloping Jonathan. It was far weaker than the normal mana of the realm, but to him, it felt like the breath of life itself. His body began to slowly heal over, and he got to his feet, a feeling of euphoria racing through his body.
Jonathan walked forwards, and through the door, still getting used to his suddenly enhanced body. A notification waited for him, but he ignored it, instead setting his eyes on Arkanon.
“Very impressive work-”
Arkanon cut off as Jonathan rammed his fist into the man’s jaw. Whereas before, such an attack had barely staggered him, now, he felt a seed of some greater power lurking within his fist. He tapped into it, and felt the small area around it come under his control. That included Arkanon’s cheek. It was still like punching a piece of rock, but that piece of rock went flying down the corridor.
“YOU BASTARD!” He roared, almost leaping towards the man in an expression of bestial rage. “I SHOULD KILL YOU FOR THAT!”
Arkanon rose to his feet, dusting off his armor. “Quite impressive. Most do not gain access to their domain until at least the second rank.”
Jonathan was still enraged, but after seeing Arkanon shrug off his attack, he controlled himself. Behind him, Hushar stumbled out, his sword in one hand.
“That was completely unnecessary,” Jonathan fumed, glaring at Arkanon.
“Was it though? I would recommend checking your notifications.”
Jonathan sighed, and opened his interface, still incredibly annoyed. What he saw more than made up for his troubles.
You have reached Expert 1 with Blunt Weapon Mastery(Advanced)!
Your strength and expertise in this area has become the stuff of mortal legends, even more so due to the fact that you achieved this in three disciplines at once. Upon reaching the vaunted heights of Expert, you may form a weapon domain, expressing your will and mastery upon the world. Most do not reach this level until later in Expert Rank, but you are worthy from the beginning.
Bonuses: +115 to Strength and Dexterity.
His bonuses had more than doubled, and with his titles, that boost was equivalent to quite a few levels. Jonathan took a deep breath, clearing out the last of the rage from his system. Then he opened the next part of the notification.
Congratulations on forming your first Weapon Domain!
A weapon domain represents the concentrated will of a weapon’s user, allowing them to enforce that will upon the outside world. With the aid of such an ability, one can create phantom weaponry to supplement their own, or manipulate reality without the need of mana. Every increase in power of your Pathway Skill will increase the power of your domain.
Current power: Expert 1(Advanced)