The monster twitched as he scanned it, almost as if it could sense him doing so. Then it struck, its gently gyrating field of tentacles suddenly erupting from their resting spots and surging down towards him. Faced by a wave of rotting corpses borne by the monster’s already abhorrent flesh, Jonathan let his disgust get the better of him. He thrust his palms forth, and a wave of colorless power erupted forth, evaporating everything within a fifty feet cone. The tentacles were reduced to nothingness, and the corpses were excised from existence. Jonathan shook his head in involuntary relief.
The Alokarg began to writhe, its tentacle stumps blasting out great sprays of congealed greening blood. Then, to Jonathan’s horror, they began to grow back. This was beginning to grow out of hand. Jonathan sighed, and truly let loose. Whatever came of this, it was better than the alternative, a regrowing monstrosity with a skillset unknown to them.
“Maw of the Void!” He shouted, and the world rippled before him. A wave of all consuming energy tore through the rock beneath his feet, carving a canyon into the ground between him and the monster. The creature barely had time to raise its tentacles before it was cut clean in half, its body slumping down to the ground like water falling from a height.
It released a tide of fluids suffused with multicolored energy as it fell into the canyon, splashing against the ground with a sudden hissing noise. The liquid grew brighter and brighter as it coalesced, and then detonated. Jonathan was blasted backwards, sent hurtling through the sky at many times the speed of sound. He tumbled through the air, only righting himself with a quick burst of elemental power. Then he watched as Edgar and Hushar came flying out of the missing segment of the wall, propelled by the former’s air mastery.
A shockwave rippled through the remainder of the keep, and the walls buckled outwards, collapsing in a titanic wave of dust and masonry. Jonathan skidded to a halt about a mile away, coughing up dust. Then he smiled. At least that thing was dead now.
Jonathan got to his feet a moment later. While the explosion had sent him flying into the sky, it hadn’t actually harmed him much. He had a bit of bruising below his armor, but that was nothing compared to his regeneration. In fact, it was already gone. Most of the pain was a mere memory by now.
With a blur of stamina and speed, he was back before his allies, his fist raised in victory. After seeing the explosion, his army had stopped their charge, simply watching as their leaders dealt with the threat on their own. They had needed something like this to convince them fully of Jonathan’s worthiness to lead, but now they had it.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Even better, the kill had netted him another level, suffusing him with health and wellbeing. A smile crossed his face, and he halted in front of his followers, pumping his raised fist.
“WE FIGHT!” He roared.
“WE FIGHT!” The army roared back, their voices raised in unison. The rattle of swords clattering off shields sounded out as they erupted into a frenzy.
Jonathan thumped his own gauntlet against his armored chest.“AND WE WIN!”
“WE WIN!
Jonathan lowered his arm, happy with the reaction that he had garnered. He was growing more and more adept at leading large groups of fighters the more he progressed through the Hells, which was a supremely useful skill. Though, he would have to build up his cadre of elites to ensure any were strong enough to transition to the next circle.
Edgar and Hushar reached him a moment later, smiling widely. The former because of the ease he was finding in proving Jonathan’s worth to his soldiers, and Hushar because he was finally on the path of revenge. From now until they stood at the gates of Slothari’s bastion, it would be one journey of glorious bloodshed.
In the Ash Heaps
Eliza had advanced to the cusp of Tier 3, only to find out a horrifying truth. She had no way of entering the portal to Mire without the permission of the new circle lord. It hung there for all to see in the center of the Ashen Citadel, a purple circle that promised adventure and progression, but only to the chosen few who could use it.
She had tried, but nothing had come of it save for her bouncing off its obdurate surface, to the laughter of the others in her cohort. She had grown in many ways, leveling and progressing far faster than those around her. She was now one of the most powerful fighters in the entire realm, if not the most powerful.
For the last three days, she had been roaming the streets of the city with her unit, on a victory tour of the various taverns. They had cleared a vast swathe of land out near the Rim for future development, and a new city was already in construction. It had been hard pretending to care, but she had done an adequate job. It was all just business to her though. All she really wanted to do was to achieve her goal so she could finally have some peace in the brutal new world that was now her home. And in the realm of Telvaria, peace could only be bought with the currency of power.
She would bide her time, but until then, there was nothing to do but wait. She had skills to hone and mastery to gain. Even this cesspit of weakness was enough for that.