Path to Transcendence

The man must have seen the look in Julius's eyes because he sighed loudly. "You're not just going to leave are you?"

Julius shook his head calmly. "And you're not just going to allow me to take my friend back with me?"

The man shook his head.

"Well, it seems we have a conundrum," Julius said softly.

"So it seems," the man agreed with him. As he finished saying that he was slowly walking toward Julius. "My only responsibility is to protect this warehouse, that means if you leave now, I will not try to stop you."

It sounded like the man really wanted Julius to leave.

Unfortunately, Julius didn't have any plans to do so.

The man gently placed a hand on Julius's shoulder and tried to lead him back toward the stairs, prodding him to leave.

However, at that moment Julius made a decision. There was no way to avoid a fight it seemed. And while this man was a Tier 4, he wouldn't let that deter him. He had fought strong people before, what was one more?

So as the man was too distracted with trying to remove Julius as nicely as possible, Julius decided to attack first.

He sent an overcharged fist covered in a gauntlet packed with kinetic energy at the man's chest.

The man wasn't expecting Julius to attack him. It probably never occurred to him that Julius would be the first to attack, nevertheless, pose an actual threat. However, he quickly learned that this was a mistake.

His fist smashed into the man's chest with an ear-shattering crack.

Even though his opponent was surprised by the attack, he was able to react in time to put up a semblance of a defense and Julius's strike was met with the man's own skill.

Still, his opponent was sent off his feet and onto his back. Julius didn't let this chance go and pounced on his downed opponent.

While he was doing so he was creating massive spikes behind his back. Each one glowing with potent blue flames, heating up the room with fiery intensity. It was hard to keep several blue constructs at once, but he would need to if he wanted a chance against a Tier 4.

He already knew how strong a Tier 4's authority could be, he wouldn't underestimate his opponent.

By the time he reached the man, he had already surrounded himself in armor, each piece was humming with sharpness, fire, and kinetic energy.

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He dropped an elbow right onto his opponent's face and was met with a hand that tried to block the strike.

As the man tried to block, he sent out his authority to wash over Julius.

Authority was a weird thing. When Gabriel had first used it against Julius, it had been an overwhelming power that he had not been able to fight. It had completely immobilized him and stripped him of all of his strength.

As he got stronger, he noticed that Authority relied heavily on the power of one's willpower, aura, and overall strength of one's tier and Concepts.

And while Julius didn't have the tier requirements to fight against a Tier 4, he had the others in spades, at least for a Tier 2.

His aura, willpower, and Concepts clashed against the authority of this unknown man. His collection of Concepts and his aura were no match for the man's but they put up one hell of a fight. However, his willpower was what allowed him a foothold.

Julius accomplished something that nobody would believe unless they saw it for themselves. Instead of being completely overwhelmed by the signature ability of Tier 4s, he was able to withstand it.

And that was all he needed.

Julius watched as the eyes of his opponent widened in surprise. The fact that he wasn't incapacitated by his authority seemed to shock the man. Hence, he wasn't in time to block the next elbow Julius dropped down onto his face.

It was like a sledgehammer. The strike was so hard that it cracked the stones underneath them and he kept raining them down onto the stunned man.

However, no matter how hard Julius hit the man, he wasn't actually doing that much damage. his opponent's defense was tough. Tier 4s had that luxury. Not only that, but the man had some sort of resounding force that tried to disrupt Julius's own armor and attacks.

It almost felt like sonic waves trying to shatter his arms.

Julius put everything he had into trying to pummel the man into oblivion, but his surprise attack didn't last for long.

His opponent eventually recovered and was able to kick off Julius with a brutal knee to his back. Julius flew like a bullet and smashed into the stone wall. Dust and rubble going everywhere.

Before the man could counterattack, he sent out a spike at him. The blue and powerful spike blasted the man backward once more. The power of the spike was no joke. Even to a Tier 4, it wasn't something that he could ignore.

He quickly got back to his feet though and he was glad he did. His opponent had also gotten back to his feet, and he seemed way less patient than he had been just a few minutes before.

His face was bleeding from several places and was wincing slightly. However, his eyes were totally different than before. They were completely alert and there was a dangerous glint in them.

It would seem he was taking Julius much more seriously now.

It was a compliment in a way. It made Julius feel good that he could force a Tier 4 to fight him seriously.

Julius couldn't help but start grinning like a madman. He knew that his chances in this fight were slim. The surprise attack worked, but now that he was prepared, it was doubtful Julius would come out on top.

If his spars against Gabriel had shown him anything, it was that Tier 4s didn't just have their authorities to rely on, they were also so much stronger, faster, and had a faster natural regeneration than a Tier 3.

The difference was not even comparable.

Regardless, of that he had always been itching to fight one for real someday, it would just seem that day came much sooner than he thought it would.

***

Dustin POV

What the fuck?

He wiped away the blood that was dripping down his forehead, the cut on it was already healing.

It was his fault for being underestimating his opponent. But seriously… What kind of kid was this?

He hit like a powerful Tier 3, each strike was backed by so much mana and power, that it actually broke through his defenses.

But it wasn't that which made Dustin wary. It was the kid's willpower and Concepts.

He must have had more than one Concept, all of which were likely pretty high-tiered. But his willpower was on another level. It practically rivaled Dustin's own. When used in conjunction with the boy's Concepts it allowed the boy to resist his authority.

Something a Tier 2 should never be able to do against someone like him.

He couldn't help but be a little impressed.

Although he reminded himself that he had to take the boy seriously. There was no way he could just keep on fooling around.

Even though he hated that he had to protect a base of criminal scums, he owed his former teammate a favor. His pride wouldn't allow a Tier 2 to make him fail that duty.

So he charged in, using [Resonating Disruption], to delay the spike of blue fire heading toward his chest.

He had already learned that he wasn't able to outright destroy the construct with his skill, which was a bit embarrassing. There was so much willpower and Concepts jammed into that spike, that he wouldn't be able to disrupt before it reached him.

However, he could delay it.

Which gave him the opportunity to dodge it and get closer to the boy. While, the boy had many terrifying aspects to him, his physical strength was undoubtedly much weaker than Dustin's. If Dustin could not beat the boy with his authority or his Concepts, he would have to just how to deal with him the old-fashioned way.

He would overwhelm the boy with sheer brute strength.

So that was what he did, he got in close and began to pressure the boy, sending combinations and blasts of compressed soundwaves without holding back. With that being said, the boy did a very good job at limiting the strength of Dustin's strikes.

Each time, he felt the boy taking away some force from his blows with one of his skills. He also noticed that the boy would always try to destabilize his foundation. Whether, that was sending out blows to Dustin's feet to make sure he couldn't send out a fully empowered punch, or to make sure he was just slightly off balance was really annoying to deal with.

He also had to keep an eye on random spikes of fiery mana. They were way stronger than they had any right to be, and the boy would use them to get some space or to punish Dustin for not being in his face.

That was why Dustin spent the entire time within arm's reach of the boy. But as he did he felt himself gaining an advantage, he continuously smashed through the constructed armor of the boy, forcing him to waste mana to recreate it.

However, what was by far the most annoying ability he had to deal with was the boy's healing skill. He had some sort of regeneration skill that was without question, one of the strongest healing skills he had seen from a non-support user. It was like the boy was practically immortal.

He once again bashed through the boy's arms and whipped a devastating kick at the boy's side. It landed flush and he felt several bones break and what must have been at least a couple of organs rupture. And the boy went flying off into the wall across the large cellar.

But he already knew that it wouldn't keep the boy down.

He watched completely flabbergasted as the boy staggered to his feet and regenerated within seconds. It was like fighting a troll. But a troll that was smart and could use magic.

It wasn't the first time such a thing happened in the fight either. Dustin had dealt at least five strikes that would have debilitated anyone else, but somehow the boy kept on going. His face was one of pure calm, even though his body was covered in his own blood, the boy never once winced or hesitated.

It reminded him of the time he fought some soldiers from the Endless Legion.

This boy is a monster, he thought to himself.

He had so many powerful abilities and his mana pool must have been absolutely massive.

How the boy had not run out of mana so far, he did not know. Even Dustin was feeling the drain of mana-consuming skills.

Who the hell trained this kid?

They must have been deranged in the head. There was no other way a boy should be able to be this powerful and take this much punishment without whimpering a single time. Dustin would love nothing else than to kick this boy's mentor down a mountain.

He dodged another pair of spikes that were heading toward him, the blast tearing another gouge into the stone. He took a look around real quick as he caught his breath. There was blood everywhere, the basement was a total wreck. Only the cells holding the prisoners remained relatively untouched.

He was grateful that the enchantments and his skill prevented any sound from leaving the basement and allowed them to fight undisturbed. He didn't want anyone to come down here, for multiple reasons.

One of which was to see Dustin struggling to take down this Tier 2 boy.

Speaking of who, Dustin looked over at the boy who was still calmly staring at him with those scary eyes. The boy was breathing heavily and his posture was slouched. He looked quite miserable and defeated, but he would not make the same mistake twice. The boy's eyes were still full of life and determination.

Although, he did notice that the boy was no longer creating a full body of armor. Dustin assumed it was to save as much mana as he could. There were also fewer spikes getting sent at him.

He's probably running on fumes, he thought to himself a little bit grateful for that.

He took a slow deep breath as he went in for the finishing blow.