Jonathan stood there, tasting ash in his mouth. All of his progression was meaningless. All of the boons he had gained, his Divinity upgrade, all of it was useless. He was back to square one. He watched as his friends were brutally beaten into the ground before him. As a legion of Circle Lords rampaged across the world. There was only one thing that he could do now. Retreat.

  Summoning his portal, now unlocked by Ashokan’s death, Jonathan scooped up his allies where they lay. Then he himself jumped through as the portal blinked into existence beside him. The ground shook beneath the ravenous tread of the monstrosities before him. Leaping through the portal felt like he was giving up. Like he was calling it quits.

  As the world shifted, Jonathan glared resolutely forward. He appeared back on the winding paths of the Oozing Bastion, gazing out at his realm. It felt like a joke now.

  “That was a shit show...” Eliza groaned, getting to her feet. “What do we do now?”

  Jonathan’s fists clenched. He turned, sparks of purple burning in his eyes. The despair started to disappear, replaced by something else. Rage. Rage and ambition. “We train. We train until we can overcome this. Tartarus will be our home until all of you can fight like I do. We will reach to the heavens and tear down the sky before I give in to Angranor.”

  One Year Later, Sixth Realm of Tartarus

  Jonathan stood over the shattered corpse of a mountain sized dragon, his fists surrounding in drifting purple light. Vast craters were blasted into the sides of the monster and the world around him. Each one bore the imprints of a fist.

  He wore the armor of Ashokan, the blocky stone plates covering him like a mantle of the world’s embrace. It was incredibly sturdy, although it did come with a small decrease to his Dexterity. Given how high that already was, though, it was worth it.

  The last year had passed like a dream. Tartarus had no day and night cycle, so it simply felt like one long training exercise. In that time, every one of the core warriors of Jonathan’s faction had reached Tier 6. He himself was about to reach Tier 7. More importantly, given that there were two Tartarus tokens to share between the faction, many of the soldiers had leveled up as well. The average was now around the middle of Tier 5. Still not enough to make much of a difference in a battle between Circle Lords, but it was a good start.

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  Jonathan was now level 599, and all of his Pathway skills had reached Master Rank. With them all being Advanced skills, his stats had skyrocketed.

  You have reached Master 1 with Blunt Weapon Mastery(Advanced)!

  A master is someone who has dedicated themselves wholly to their craft. Your craft is that of Death itself. Each of your strikes is now perfectly placed for maximum carnage. Your talent is enough to supersede that of the vast majority of Telvaria’s inhabitants. In addition, your Domain has been comprehensively enhanced.

  Bonuses: +525 to Strength and Dexterity.

  You have reached Master 1 with Runecrafting Expertise(Advanced)!

  What better way to understand the hidden usages of Divinity than by ascending through the ranks of the gods? Using your Lesser Godhood to great effect, you have found that brute force can often make up for gaps in technique.

  Bonuses: +750 to Intelligence, +300 to Wisdom.

  You have reached Expert 1 with Energy Manipulation!

  As you grow ever closer to Divine perfection, your energy reserves grow intricately linked. Your Divinity and elemental energy already are one. What will be next?

  Bonuses: +275 to Intelligence, Wisdom, Strength, and Dexterity.

  He had been rewarded one new skill from this, and one skill upgrade.

  You have gained a new skill!

  Fatal Strike: Mythical

  Every warrior has a weak point. Whether that is an old wound gone unhealed or simply the limits of their biological form, they always exist. Once per battle, you may find the ultimate weak spot on your foe. If targeted correctly, that attack will do double the normal damage.

  You have upgraded a skill!

  Ephemeral Trifecta: Mythical->Ephemeral Quartet: Ancient

  All aspects of your energy body are now one. You may transmute your power into alternative forms, ranging from stamina to mana to elemental energy to Divinity.

  Most of his power came from his levels. He was an entirely different person to what he had been before.