The monster let out a roar louder than an entire foundry’s worth of hammering. It seemed to warp the air, carrying the monster’s rage with it.
Holding up one massive hand, the creature began to shape its flesh to suit its desire. A bone protruded from the palm, and lengthened, turning into a sword the length of a horse. The edge sharpened, and blood wept down its sides, seeming to hone its already razor sharp edge.
The monster raked the weapon through the air once, twice, a dozen times. Thin threads of power coalesced into one, creating a devastatingly powerful crescent moon of energy that swept across the battlefield. The air around it parted with an apocalyptic howl, and the ground below was flattened by its proximity. Jonathan curled his lip and stepped forwards, gathering his power into his fist. To those behind, it seemed like a vortex had formed around his gauntlet, drawing in energy and light. As he punched, that vortex spewed its power forwards, meeting the Exult’s strike midair.
Jonathan found himself struggling, even with all of his bonuses. The attack he was facing was one formed out of the power of a being who had been allowed to gather strength for centuries, or even millenia. One of the best ways to judge the strength and age of a monster was how much health they had. For example, Granath had possessed half a million points of health. Of course, there was no way that he could have had all of that health come from his stats. Instead, he had developed his power through means other than leveling, making the most of his near immortality.
This monster was more of a challenge though, despite its lower health. Just like the Jonathan of now could have defeated Granath with far more ease than before, even though he had less than a tenth of the worm’s health, this Exult was far more dangerous than could be measured by a single metric.
So powerful was it that Jonathan knew he could not defeat it on his own, even with all of his power. He would need the help of the army behind him.
All of these thoughts passed through his mind in the blink of an eye that it took for him to break through the Exult’s opener, scattering the blade of power into shards. Then he bellowed in rage, and charged, stirring up a battle cry from the Uthraki behind. As a species, the Uthraki were generally disposed to bravery, and despite their apprehension towards fighting the Exult, none of them fled. Instead, they followed behind Jonathan, racing to their doom.
As he ran, Jonathan began to allocate his stat points. This was not a time to be miserly with the very fabric of his power. He split 198 points evenly between Resilience and Dexterity, sending 165 into both with his multipliers. Power surged through his body as his stats erupted past the 2000 mark. Clenching his fists, Jonathan channeled that sudden burst of might into his body, his stride growing longer and more powerful.
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His heart beat like the drums of war itself, and he cocked back his fist at the last moment. The Exult’s unnaturally placid face finally showed some sort of emotion. It sneered at him, and slashed forwards with its immense blade. Jonathan ducked under the attack, relying on his Blessing to carry him through. Even then, it was shockingly quick for a monster of that size. The air was ripped asunder, bursting into flame from the speed of the weapon’s passing. A sonic boom cracked through the muggy air of the battlefield, jolting everyone to full awareness.
Jonathan pivoted, and sank his gauntlet into the monster’s knee joint. Then he released his power. A wave of purple crashed into the monster, blasting chunks off its bones. However, an attack that had obliterated the weaker mimics now only served to annoy their far more powerful leader.
The monster reached down, trying to flatten him with its free hand. Jonathan rolled out of the way, gathering his energy between his palms. Then he shot them forwards, sending a miniature black hole hammering into the weakened knee joint. The monster stumbled, but used that momentum to send its fist crashing into Jonathan, faster than he could react.
There was a sharp crack as his bones broke, and then another as he broke the sound barrier, hurtling backwards over the heads of his allies. He twisted in the air to land on his feet, using his Domain to keep his bones from breaking further. The internal aspect of the power was proving to be more useful than he thought. His bones were already harder than steel, but they could still damage themselves, in the right situation.
As he landed, he sent stamina racing to his legs, leaping with hardly a moment on the ground. He rocketed towards the Exult, just as the main body of the Uthraki force reached their enemy. He hurtled through the air, his body glowing with power. Although he had been lucky so far with such attacks, he really needed to find a way to maneuver more effectively midair. His defenses were such that traveling like this was still more effective, but eventually, he would be up against someone who would make him suffer for the decision.
The Exult ignored the attacks of the far weaker Uthraki, instead setting its eyes on Jonathan, burning with malice. Jonathan returned the favor, grinning beneath his helmet. Divinity began to pulse through his body, and his power erupted, golden light shining through his armor joints. The power of the Void coursed down his arms, mingling with the power of his runes. Whereas before he had been forced to etch them into his gauntlets, now he could simply create them with his will and power, filling the shapes with Divinity in his mind. He wasn’t exactly sure when that breakthrough had occurred, but it was likely to do with him upgrading his Void Cannon skill by slotting in a rune that did not belong there.
One hand blazed with red light, and the other with a far softer hue. The right fist promised death, and the left, salvation. The Exult was too strong to fall for the mental effects of the latter rune however, and it simply drew its blade arm back, preparing to strike.