Blinded by the light for a moment, Jonathan felt his feet sink into a pillowy substance. He opened his eyes slowly, and found himself standing on a cloud, suspended high in the sky. Before him was a vast arena, crafted out of the same clouds that surrounded him. The sun beat down from above, its light and heat far higher than any normal star.
A path of clouds led towards the arena, within which Jonathan could see a figure waiting, sitting on a throne of alabaster and gold. A powerful aura centered around the figure, stirring up the nearby clouds into a lazy cyclone. This was not a challenge that could be taken lightly. It was time for the immense stockpile of free stat points that Jonathan had to be used. He pulled up the first section of his stat sheet, looking over the numbers.
Jonathan Harlowe
Tier 4
Void Human(Exalted)
Divinity Aspect: Void Hegemon
Elemental Mastery: 17%
Elemental Juggernaut: Tier 4 Legendary
Active Blessings: The Third Eye of Exal’drin
Level 381
(1704 free points)
Strength
5283
Dexterity
4435
Constitution
4203
Resilience
4239
Intelligence
4166
Wisdom
3653
Divinity
40
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Health: 94568/94568
Stamina: 118868/118868
Mana: 93735/93735
Jonathan almost choked as he saw just how many points were waiting to be used. Almost two thousand in total, it was enough to shoot any of his stats up to new heights, or all of them by a decent amount. Currently, most of his stats were trailing Strength by a good amount, especially Wisdom. With that in mind, Jonathan slotted two sets of 99 points into the stat, bringing it up by a whopping 330 in total. With that out of the way, he did the same for Resilience and Dexterity.
Even then, he still had over a thousand points left. Scanning his remaining stats, he decided to do the same for Constitution. With his body sufficiently reinforced, he could finally allocate some to Strength, without the risk of being torn apart with every punch.
Four sets of ninety nine points were dropped into Strength, sending it shooting up by over six hundred points. Jonathan’s muscles bulged, and he smiled as his favorite stat was lifted to new heights.
With more still to allocate, Jonathan brought Intelligence and Constitution up by 330 points, bringing them more in line with the rest. The final few hundred points were basically free to use for anything, so Jonathan decided to keep them in reserve until he saw what sort of foe he was facing up against.
With his stats settled, Jonathan headed towards the arena, following the path of clouds. The sun above seemed to grow hotter the further he went, but that was merely an illusion, driven by exposure more than luminosity.
The figure sitting on the throne remained unmoving, and as Jonathan neared, he began to make out more details. Rather than being a living creature, it seemed to be an androgynous golem, made out of the same stone as the throne that it sat upon. A golden crown rested on its head, and eyes of diamond glared out from beneath it, the light from above reflecting off them.
The body was heavily muscled, and jointed in a way that it mimicked a human’s form almost perfectly. Only its skin differentiated it from that form. In any case, it was a masterpiece.
Jonathan soon set foot within the arena’s bounds, and as soon as he did so, the golem shifted, rising from the throne. It held out one hand, summoning a massive hammer, patterned in the same manner as itself. Banded with brilliant gold, the shining white stone of the hammer glistened in the light of the sun.
A plume of white fire erupted from the head of the hammer, the heat palpable even at a few hundred feet’s distance. Jonathan continued to walk forwards, gearing up for battle. Greater Smite girded his body with Divinity, and his fists burned with the light of his element. His runes circled him, ready to be used for his new Vengefire array. That was a last resort, but he had a suspicion that it would be needed here.
“Challenger,” the golem called out as Jonathan neared. “Are you prepared for this battle? I will not, and cannot hold back.”
“I’m as prepared as I can be,” Jonathan replied warily. “Who-what are you?”
The golem strode towards Jonathan, dragging its hammer along the soft ground. “I have no name, no purpose, save to test those who dare to challenge me. My maker has long since passed, but I remain.”
Jonathan merely nodded in reply, raising his fists in preparation. His face turned grim as he watched the golem explode into motion, crossing the gap in the blink of an eye. Stamina crackled through Jonathan’s musculature, and with a turn of speed, he bent backwards, letting the flashing hammer of the golem pass over his head. His fist snapped up, and buried itself in the construct’s sternum, cracking the stone. A shockwave radiated out from the impact point, and the golem flew backwards, slamming into the far wall. Due to the pillowy nature of the environment, the machine remained undamaged.
