With Jonathan’s new speed, he found himself drifting ahead of the pack, even when he was trying his best to keep up. Adding nearly ten thousand points to Dexterity after his multipliers was the largest amount the stat had ever increased by in one go.
It overtook his basic instincts and made it harder to regulate his speed. Each step was a bit longer than it should have been and it was beginning to throw off his stride. He was getting used to it, but the learning process was quite slow.
Eventually, after a few hours of practice, Jonathan had fully adapted to his speed. The System had helped out with the acclimation, as it did with stats in general. Otherwise, Jonathan wouldn’t just have had trouble with regulating his pace, but wouldn’t have been able to walk at all.
After this adaptation period, Jonathan had covered so much distance that the dungeon around him was beginning to change. In the beginning, it had been hard to make out more than distant landscape features, with the rest being hidden by the topography. Now that he was out of the swamp for the most part, Jonathan was able to see that the crystalline castle that was home to the Elemental Archon was not merely content to sit as a lone monument to Order.
The land around it was warped and transfigured into rolling hills of crystal, forests of diamond and rivers that no longer ran, frozen forever into peaks and troughs of solid gemstone. There were a few monsters, but none of them were still alive. Their bodies stood like statues, dotted across the realm. All of them were now made entirely out of crystal.
Jonathan had a sudden memory of the medusa from the Desolation Caves, the very first dungeon he had ever defeated. This reminded him of the monster’s shack, surrounded by petrified corpses. Only, had the medusa tried to fight the Elemental Archon for sovereignty over that ability, she would have been erased in the blink of an eye.
The world was frozen without sound or movement, a tapestry of frigid Order, one that would never change or evolve, but never devolve. The ground beneath Jonathan’s feet tinkled like he was walking on glass, though the crystal was far harder than any such mundane substance.
The castle of the Elemental Archon loomed in the distance, and now that Jonathan was closer, he could make out something odd. The only break in the stillness was a mantle of swirling blues surrounding the castle, like an aurora in miniature.
The aurora made up the outline of a face, though the features within were impossible to make out. It was black, with even the swirls arranged symmetrically. Even in the one part of this region that was unbound by Order, the element still dictated its every move.
“This is weird,” Jonathan said as he looked the castle over. “The world is empty, but I feel like the Archon will be more than enough of a challenge.”
“Speaking about the Archon,” Edgar said, “its aura has started blending in with the world. I can’t sense it like I did earlier. It’s as if everything around us is a part of the monster.”
“You’re the one who knows the most about elementals,” Jonathan prompted. “Is that supposed to be the case?”
Edgar shrugged. “I’ve never encountered an Archon in the wild. I don’t think many people have. But, going by what I know, I would assume that to be correct. Archons have near peerless command over their element over a zone around them, and considering the way this world has gone, it certainly seems like that is the case.”
“Are we doing the right thing in challenging this creature?” Eliza asked. “How much weaker than the Abyssal Hydra really is it? If it’s on the same level, I don’t know if we have what it takes yet. The point of journeying away from the swamps was to level up.”
“Oh, there will be monsters soon enough,” Edgar assured her. “Elementals spawn rapidly around their Archons, and there will certainly be some in that citadel.”
“Isn’t the whole point of this elemental to remove all movement and change from the world?” Jonathan asked. “Why would it add more chaos with elementals?”
“While elementals move, they are not the same as living beings,” Edgar responded. “The existence of an elemental, even if acting in a way mildly opposed to its element, is still more beneficial for that element than not.”
“I guess that makes sense. So, by existing, the energy that is already condensed into the elementals has a greater ability to maintain Order than the elemental’s own actions opposing it?”
Edgar nodded. “Exactly.”
The conversation faded away as the group continued to fly towards the crystalline palace. The closer they got, the larger it became, until it was clear that the edifice was dozens of miles in width. Long walls and ramparts were arranged into a perfect geometrical grid, with evenly spaced roads criss-crossing the city.
As Edgar had promised, droves of elementals strode up and down the roads, though their movements were strange. Rather than going from one building to another, they moved in rhythmic patters that were visible all across the city, even without the lack of visible coordination. Strands of energy drifted up from them like steam, rising to join the aurora above the city.
Jonathan frowned. “What are they doing down there? Looks like some sort of ritual. Anyone know what that smoke might be doing?”
“I might have an idea, though the way it's being done here is very strange,” Edgar said. “By this point, most elemental gathering arrays like the one here would have achieved their goal. With how long the dungeon has been in place, it should have been long since completed. The only explanation here is that the Archon is gathering power. For what purpose, I couldn’t tell you.”
“Should we really go barging in like this?” Eliza cautioned. “Has anyone even scanned one of those elementals? I’m all for leveling up, but this seems a bit hasty to me.”
“She’s right,” Jonathan said. “I’ll scan one before we make a decision.”
He paused midair, summoning a platform of energy beneath him. Jonathan’s skill went off without a hitch, locking onto the nearest elemental.
Order Elemental(Basic)
Level 850
Health: 1500000/1500000
Mana: 1500000/1500000
Stamina: N/A
Status: Healthy
Highest Skill Rarity: N/A
Highest Pathway Skill: N/A
This is one of the most common templates of Order Elemental, patterned after a human being without features or a personality. This particular elemental serves the Elemental Archon Zandrus, and was made with one sole purpose in mind. To funnel power from the Elemental Plane of Order into this one, and fuel Zandrus’ grand designs.
“Looks like a pretty normal elemental to me,” Jonathan said. “A bit high level, but its stats are that impressive. One and a half million in Health and Mana. It probably won’t have any special skills either. I could nuke most of these things from orbit if I wanted to.”
“Look a bit closer,” Edgar chided. “Look at the elementals at the front of the processions. Can you scan those?”
Order Elemental(Advanced)
Level 875
Health: 2500000/2500000
Mana: 2500000/2500000
Stamina: N/A
Status: Healthy
Highest Skill Rarity: Legendary
Highest Pathway Skill: N/A
A Basic elemental that has been granted limited sentience by the workings of an Elder Elemental. These creatures hold enough sentience to use rudimentary skills and elemental manipulation techniques.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“It’s an Advanced Elemental,” Jonathan reported. “A million more health and Mana, and some skills. Highest skill rarity is Legendary. Also, the description hints at the presence of at least one Elder.”
Edgar gave Jonathan a worried look. “That sounds like trouble. While this would be an essence goldmind, do we really have what it takes to deal with an Archon, possible multiple Elders and millions of lesser Elementals?”
“Well, you tell me. How much stronger is an Elder than an Advanced? An Archon from an Elder?”
“An Elder is probably four times stronger in terms of stats, and will have Pathway skills of its own. An Archon has full System access and a field of reality manipulation. Its stats will only be about twice that of an Elder, though.”
“So we’re still looking at around twenty million Health and Mana. Maybe Stamina too?”
“That’s right. You think you can take that on?”
Jonathan shook his head. “Probably not. Definitely not while having to watch out with you guys. If I can get another fifty levels or so, I think we can make it. Tier 9 will do wonders for my strength. It will for the rest of you as well.”
“Sounds good to me,” Edgar replied. “So, more hunting in the swamp’s edges?”
“Alright.”
***
Zandrus, the Elemental Archon of Order, watched from within his citadel as the strange intruders flew away from his domain. He could have stepped in at any moment, teleporting to meet the warriors in battle, but he had chosen not to. While he was stronger than any of them individually, as far as he could tell, their leader reeked of the Void. Zandrus had never encountered anyone who used that element, but as an elemental himself, he knew about it. Introducing that sort of power into the middle of his delicate gathering array would be a bad idea.
For the past few millenia, ever since he had first awakened, Zandrus had watched and waited, gathering power for something most Dungeon monsters would have thought impossible. Escaping the dungeon entirely.
While most dungeons had some sapient monsters, even if only one or two, they were still subject to the same rules as every other monster. Upon dying, they were recycled to the next instance of the dungeon, never truly passing on, but never really living either.
Dungeons were pockets of dimensionally isolated space, and their upkeep required a power source. Most drew upon a natural source, but in the case of Cantasia, it was powered by an artifact. That artifact was incredibly powerful, but also incredibly sensitive. If Zandrus could muster enough energy to break through the dimensional shielding and directly target the artifact, it would be enough to destabilize the shield enough to break free.
This was supposed to be impossible for many reasons. Dungeon monsters were always weaker than the dungeon itself, as otherwise they would break through the containment and tear a hole into the Void. However, as an Archon, Zandrus was able to draw on power from beyond the dungeon, more so than most elementals. His task was made even easier by the Abyssal Hydra, whose constant growth in power had stretched the boundaries of the dungeon more than it should have.
Cantasia’s dungeon had a single flaw within it. Its average level range was incredibly imbalanced. It could contain monsters all the way from Tier 4 to Tier 12, even though the mana wasn’t actually able to support the higher end monsters. All of them except the Abyssal Hydra had long since died.
Zandrus hadn’t always been as powerful as he was today, and in clawing his way up the Tiers, he was better suited to working within the limitations of the dungeon.
His ambition was far greater than any other inhabitant of the dimensional pocket, and it was that ambition that would let him escape. The only thing standing in his way was the intruder whose elemental powers were so troublesome.
***
Jonathan and his team ringed the swamp, picking off as many of the monsters that lived there as they could. Most of them were the same reptilians that he had fought earlier, but there were some variations. A tribe of semi-sapient lizardfolk that were incredibly hostile to anyone who intruded upon their domain, no matter how powerful those intruders were.
Jonathan’s level continued to climb, but the rate of growth slowed more and more the further he went into Tier 8. It took a week to reach level 775, and even longer to climb up to level 790. He wondered what the Elders were thinking outside. Perhaps they thought he had died or given up. He didn’t really care that much. They had waited for thousands of years. They could wait for a few weeks.
His strength continued to grow and grow, bringing him further away from the realm of mortals and into something else entirely. While his allies leveled at a similar speed, they couldn’t match his strength.
Jonathan also made some progress on his Pathway skills training with Sarnakthros, most of the gains coming to his Blunt Weapon Mastery skill. He learned more fistfighting techniques, though they were far less developed than Sarnakthros’ own. His Pathway skill had moved up two entire points as a result, though Sarnakthros had warned him that such progress would decrease rapidly as he continued to train.
His Energy Manipulation skill had increased as well, from frequent uses against the monsters. In comparison to Blunt Weapon mastery, it had only gone up a single point.
Unfortunately, Runecrafting Expertise hadn’t improved at all. Jonathan hadn’t used many of his Runes recently, as the Void was far more effective. For short term power gains, Runes were almost useless as it took so long to develop and experiment with them. Unlike the Void, which Jonathan was immune to, testing out new Runes in battle was quite dangerous.
The very first time he had used his Rune of Consumption, he had nearly turned himself into a mana bomb, which would have ended his journey all the way back in the Ash Heaps. While some of his Runes were relatively harmless to himself, such as the Rune of Attraction, others were a lot more dangerous and did not discriminate between friend and foe.
After his training session, Jonathan opened his stats once more, finding himself a lot better prepared to attempt fighting the Elemental Archon and gain the necessary levels to face the Abyssal Hydra.
Jonathan Harlowe
Tier 8
Void Human(Ascended)
Divinity Aspect: Void Hegemon
Elemental Mastery: 29%
Godling: Tier 8 Legendary
Active Blessings: The Third Eye of Exal’drin
Level 790
(1116 free points)
Health: 2423588/2423588
Stamina: 2708471/2271071
Mana: 2484743/2484743
- Titles
True Unbound Spirit: Unique
Fourth Circle Breaker: Unique
Lesser God: Godly
Supreme Giantslayer: Primal
Supreme Initiate: Ancient
Stand Against the Unknown: Ancient
Prodigy of Fusion: Mythical
Lesser Xenocide: Legendary
Iron Will: Epic
Leader of Men: Epic
Refined Form: Epic
Avenger: Epic
Lineage Hunter: Rare
Righteous Killer: Rare
- Skills
Spark from the Dark: Unique
Maw of the Void: Ancient
Aegis of the Void’s Dichotomy: Ancient
Void’s Hunger: Ancient
Wrath of the Void: Ancient
Minor Endfire: Ancient
Ephemeral Quartet: Ancient
Void’s Eye: Ancient
Fatal Strike: Mythical
Void Piercer: Mythical
Void Missile: Mythical
Runic Overcharge: Mythical
Anchored Mind: Legendary
Rune Savant: Legendary
Void Drill: Legendary
Sense the Weave: Legendary
Fists of the Maelstrom: Legendary
Minor Enlightenment: Legendary
Void Slipstream: Epic
Warrior’s Trance: Epic
Battle Focus: Rare
Impact: Rare
Focused Scry: Rare
Runes of Power: Rare
Redirect: Uncommon
- Pathway Skills
Blunt Weapon Mastery(Advanced): Master 4
Runecrafting Expertise(Advanced): Master 1
Energy Manipulation(Advanced): Master 2
- Martial Path
Flowing Maelstrom: Expert 9
- Weapon Domain: Master 1(Advanced)
Metaphysical Domain: Master 1(Advanced)
Energy Domain: Master 1(Advanced)
- Quests
The Strongest: ???
Hellbreaker: Impossible
Pathway of the Titans: Heroic