Jonathan stopped his internal commentary, and simply watched as a canyon was torn into the ground of Tartarus, growing exponentially in depth and size. His black hole, which before had been the size of a softball, was now as large as a car, hovering in the air like a harbinger of the apocalypse. Its surface roiled and bent in strange and shifting patterns as it picked up speed and mass, before eventually striking the ground like a falling star. Reality bent for a moment, before the black hole detonated, every part of its accumulated mass converted into energy. The ground shook, and a plume of dust rose high into the sky, with chunks of rock falling down around it. A crater the size of a small city remained, with nothing but ash and rock remaining within.

  You have upgraded a skill!

  Void’s Grasp: Mythical-> Void’s Hunger: Ancient

  The Void craves the taste of reality itself, and the satisfaction of erasing people, cities, countries, worlds, and even concepts from existence. You have tapped into an iota of this desire. Conjure an avatar of consumption from the Void itself to bring ruin to your foes.

  Jonathan grinned at the power of his new skill, but it was to be expected. Anything involving his Void elementalism and his runes was bound to be potent, especially if it consisted of both in unison.

  “What the hell was that?” A voice drifted on the wind, as Edgar expressed his displeasure. “Warn a man before you toss city killing attacks into the air!”

  “You know I planned the landing spot for that skill,” Jonathan replied. “The edge of the impact crater is five or six miles away from you guys. Though, I’m flattered that you think me strong enough to accomplish what seems to be in your mind.”

  “That’s…” Edgar began. “Not what I meant. You know what? It was a mistake choosing to argue with you. Just leave some essence for the rest of us.”

  Jonathan smiled, although his friend couldn’t possibly have seen it. Instead, he sped off towards the crater formed by his new skill, interested in the aftermath of such an upgrade to his might.

  The crater wall was smooth, but the land around it was anything but. As far as Jonathan could tell, Void’s Hunger worked in two stages. One of them ate away at the world around it, carving away at everything with its bottomless greed. The other expelled everything it had eaten, once it reached its full size, in the form of energy. While the Void was smooth in its destruction, the raw power of the skill’s latter half was anything but.

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  Scorched stone and half melted sand stretched out for a mile beyond the rim of the crater, filled with charred corpses in various states of disarray. Tens of thousands of undead had died, but as they were mere Tier 3s, Jonathan didn’t even gain a level from it. He had a suspicion that the orb of destruction would have worked just as well against most Tier 4s, though, which was a comforting thought.

  Jonathan peered down at the bottom of the depression, which looked like a god had scooped out a section of Tartarus with a spoon. There was nothing in it save for glassy rock, smoother than marble.

  “Huh. At least my new skill cleans up after itself,” Jonathan declared, ignoring the desolation spread out behind him. A wry smile flitted across his face. “Interesting…”

  ***

  Jonathan had plenty of time to practice with Void’s Hunger over the next few weeks, which he spent leveling and training along with his allies. Andrava was content to let them rampage across Tartarus, as long as they left her forces untouched, and limited property damage. There were millions of undead just waiting for their eternal rest, and Jonathan was all too happy to take them there.

  During this time, he crossed oceans of roiling, molten rock, and great mountain ranges topped with ash instead of snow. He traversed ruins and cities, fighting through beasts by the thousand. While this realm of Tartarus was more cultivated than the previous, it was still a wild, dangerous place beyond the aegis of the Merchant Queen’s domain.

  Levels were the primary motivation for this grand journey, but exploration was a close second. There was a rugged, stark beauty to Tartarus, one that took time to acclimate to. Once one learned to take the vast, ashy plains and towering mesas as a natural feature of the realm, and not a curse, all sorts of possibilities unveiled themselves.

  Time started to blur together as Jonathan ascended the Tier, training and fighting alongside his allies. All of them were firmly in Tier 4 at this point, hovering around the midpoint of the Tier, with the abilities to match. His elemental mastery was now at 17 percent. All of Jonathan’s pathway skills had advanced by at least a level, with some by more than that.

  You have reached Expert 5 with Blunt Weapon Mastery!

  You have reached Expert 4 with Runecrafting Expertise!

  You have reached Expert 2 with Energy Manipulation!

  You have reached Expert 2 with Flowing Maelstrom!

  He had also upgraded his Rune of Parsimony to the second stage of runic power, bringing all of his runes up to par.

  You have upgraded a rune!

  Rune of Parsimony>Rune of Thrift(Second Tier)

  Parsimony is a concept fit for misers and fools. Thrift, in contrast, is a sign of wisdom. It is a means to conserve your power in battle, and conserve your very soul. The Void within you is insatiable, consuming without end. Perhaps that could do with a bit of regulation.