Only Edgar, Hushar, and a few of the stronger fighters were unaffected. Jonathan mumbled an abashed apology as he banished the rune, met with a few stony glares from those who dared to give him such a look.
While the upgrade path for his previous rune had been quite simple in hindsight, this rune was a lot more esoteric and complicated. All he could think of was a greater degree of attraction. These thoughts were useless to his goal of actually upgrading the rune to something more useful.
He tested it out on various enemies that came out of the woodwork, but found that it had the same effect no matter the image in his mind.
All the while, more of Slothari’s forces assaulted them, and in greater numbers. This served to propel Jonathan’s level upwards. He now stood at level 291, in the final stretch to the peak of Tier 3. In terms of actual strength, he was already there, but he still wanted to get as much out of the Tier as he could.
In between a session of runic manipulation, he checked on his stat sheet, knowing that a plethora of free stat points was waiting to be used. Now that he had a better idea of Slothari’s true strength, he wanted to be in perfect shape to fight.
Jonathan Harlowe
Tier 3
Void Human(Exalted)
Divinity Aspect: Void Hegemon
Elemental Mastery: 13%
Elemental Juggernaut: Tier 3 Legendary
Active Blessings: The Third Eye of Exal’drin
Level 291
(489 free points)
Strength
3535
Dexterity
2573
Constitution
2240
Resilience
2588
Intelligence
2564
Wisdom
1886
Divinity
20
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Health: 50400/50400
Stamina: 79538/79538
Mana: 57690/57690
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Titles
True Unbound Spirit: Unique
First Circle Breaker: Unique
Nascent God: Transcendent
Supreme Initiate: Ancient
Prodigy of Fusion: Mythical
Lesser Xenocide: Legendary
Greater Giantslayer: Legendary
Iron Will: Epic
Leader of Men: Epic
Refined Form: Epic
Avenger: Epic
Lineage Hunter: Rare
Righteous Killer: Rare
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Skills
Maw of the Void: Ancient
Ephemeral Trifecta: Mythical
Greater Smite: Mythical
Void’s Grasp: Mythical
Void Piercer: Mythical
Void Missile: Mythical
Runic Overcharge: Mythical
Mantle of the Void: Legendary
Rune Savant: Legendary
Void Drill: Legendary
Channeled Basic Truesight: 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
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Pathway Skills
Blunt Weapon Mastery(Advanced): Expert 3
Energy Manipulation(Advanced): Journeyman 9
Runecrafting Expertise(Advanced): Journeyman 9
-
Martial Path
Flowing Maelstrom: Journeyman 9
-
Weapon Domain: Expert 3(Advanced)
-
Quests
The Strongest: ???
Hellbreaker: Impossible
Pathway of the Titans: Heroic
Every time he opened his stat sheet, he marveled at the effects of his racial upgrade. His stockpile of free stat points was truly immense. Almost as much as his titles, that was a boon he could not understate.
He looked over his stats, and saw that many of them were neglected. Ninety nine points were slotted into Constitution, providing an ever greater bonus with his titles.
Even then, he still had almost 400 stat points left. Investing more into Strength at this point would be a mistake, as it would continue to increase his chances of injuring himself when he attacked. Instead, he focused on Resilience and Dexterity. They both received the same treatment as Constitution, and he felt his power soar, his body noticeably faster and more durable. His stockpile of points dipped, but he continued going. There was little reason to leave so many unused.
One of his stats in particular was far behind the others. Wisdom was only useful for mana regeneration, and had he been a mage, he would have prioritized it a lot more. As it was, it had been neglected for as long as he had little need for it. Still, it was almost half as weak as Strength, which had to change. He repeated the stat points investment as before, and watched as the stat creeped over the 2000 mark.
Jonathan closed his stat sheet and stretched, reveling in his newfound potency. Using the System was somewhat like using a drug that was actually good for you. Had this existed back on Earth, it would have replaced the addictions of many, whether to food, sloth, or other such vices. The thought of noticeably improving yourself beyond your limits was one that appealed on a fundamental level to most of humanity. Jonathan wondered how differently his path of progression would have gone had he been engaged in a different sort of story, one where the System had come to Earth. Knowing what he did of the wider swathe of existence, there were multiple universes, at least two. Why not more? In fact, perhaps all of his favorite stories were taking place at this very moment, at some point in an infinite Multiverse.
It was an intriguing thought. Perhaps at some point in his future, he would find out. If he ever did ascend to Tier 100 and defeat the gods, there was still more out there. He had a distant desire to explore Existence itself, finding his meaning out among the vagaries of the Astral Plane. At the very least, he could find more out about his power from its denizens.