I stare straight ahead at the newly ranked-up Dragon in front of me. Just yesterday it was no more than half my size, now it’s easily double. I grin and reply.

“Ember, I’m glad you’re rank-up went as planned. There have not been any changes. Our labyrinth is running smoothly.”

The jet-black glimmering Dragon begins to move around. The creature's speed has undergone a dramatic increase, while its finely honed cat-like agility remains as graceful and fluid as ever. The large monster glides through my piles of loot, circling me two times, then flapping its wings and lifting off into the air.

It hovers 10m above me for a moment, then glides back to the ground.

“Very well. If there is nothing new to report I will begin my next rank-up. This shouldn’t take more than 6 months. Please take care of the place while I’m under.”

I almost choke on my own tongue as I audibly gulp before replying through our telepathic link.

“Did you say 6 months? Half a year? It’s going to take that long?!”

The medium-sized Dragon smiles at me showing off its razor-sharp bone white set up teeth.

“It’s great, isn’t it? Only 6 months and I’ll already be at level 250. Having such a mana-dense Labyrinth is a lucky find. With readings like these, it’s almost like we’re in a Void Creeper’s Domain. I haven’t seen one of those disgusting creatures in a while. The last one I saw was before we even found this human realm. Those were the good old days weren’t they?”

With a puzzled stare, I try to piece together this monster’s babbling. There’s one thing I’m certain of, 6 months is not going to cut it. With my current food and water supplies, I’ll be lucky if I last another week….

I reply.

“Actually. There’s been a change of plans, I completely forgot… The humans sent a series of raids into the Labyrinth while you were out. I didn’t bother mentioning it earlier because they were far too weak to pay any mind.”

Ember’s eyes perk up. I continue.

“With that being said, your MP plundering allowance has risen. How much will you need to hit level 250? Is it considerably more than your first?”

“I’ll need close to ten million MP to rank up again.”

I nod, noting this very large increase… I’ll need to make reasonable, but also take into account my own urgency for time. I swallow hard, then reply.

“One week. Try to get your next rank-up done within a week.”

“Master- I mean Jay. Please consider your own safety. Plundering this much MP from even the largest of labyrinths would surely lead to a catastrophic collapse if done so abruptly. Sure, more monsters would invade the human realm, but it would be at the expense of another demon. That Demon, being you.”

I let out an exhale.

“I understand. This is an order. You will plunder 1.5 million MP per day. Rank up within the week.”

A sly grin comes across the Dragon’s face again.

“As you wish. It’s your funeral.”

I give the black-scaled crimson-glowing creature a firm nod. Ember folds itself up into a ball once again and starts to harvest the mana all around it. With this, I get back to work as well. My next long week of training begins.

The words said by the Dragon before its slumber stuck in my head though… Something about “Void Creepers”, could they have some correlation with the “Titans”? Also, Ember mentioned “the good old days” before “we found the human realm”…

The more I think about it, the more my mind races to connect with this newfound information. It all makes sense… I just don’t want it to…

Gates appeared about 80 years ago. The Great War was roughly 50 years ago. It’s said that there were massive breaks and monsters roaming free, terrorizing humans on both of these occasions. Other known terms for these two events are “The Arrival”, and “The Great Subjugation”.

This is how the Hunters Association became the unspoken world rulers. Only when strong hunters formed teams under a unified law did the world become peaceful again. We have The Hunters Association to thank for that.

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems like the Association leaders are just money-hungry nobles that seized power at an opportune time. The higher-ups may be this by definition to an extent, but they are here for the greater good… I think…

From everything I’ve heard about the labyrinths and breaks from the Associations side, and now from the perspective of a monster, things are starting to become a bit more clear to me. This is a worldwide power struggle, and I’m just scratching the surface on the juicy details.

Humans against the monsters…. But, why? What’s all this mana hoarding and excessive leveling even good for? What’s the ultimate goal here? I’m still unsure what either side is fighting for.

In time, I hope some of these questions become easier to answer. It seems I’ve stumbled upon an interesting new path of potential knowledge. I’m going to see how far it takes me one step at a time.

Deep in thought, over the next 7 days, I continue to train.

My attacks get more and more refined, and my ability to absorb mana gets faster and faster. Although it seems I’ve hit my limit on the amount of mana my blades can handle, roughly 11000MP in just under 40 seconds, I’ve discovered an even better way to train.

The more mana that runs through my body, the faster and more efficiently I can filter and control it. At the beginning of this new training cycle, charging up to about 2000MP per blade for a 4000MP total takes me roughly 2 seconds. My weapons hardly shake, and the backlash on my hands, muscles, and joints is minimal compared to my previous extreme sessions.

I’m able to repeat this process many more times, doing an attack at 1/3 full power is much easier on my body than going all out. This is just common sense. For every 2 seconds used for charging and releasing attacks, I only need a few minutes to regain my full composure.

Using 8-hour training windows, I’m able to charge and release up to 20 attacks per hour. That’s 160 per day. On average, I’m running through 640,000MP. My daily output has grown significantly.

By the end of the week, I’ve nearly added 4.5 million points to my total mana usage. This is twice as much as all 3 previous weeks combined.

By the end of these 7 days, I’m able to charge up these two 2000MP attacks in just under 1 second. My plundering efficiency and speed have increased too. The density and pureness of each attack get closer and closer to a perfect strike every time I throw one at the wall.

The metallic twang of a 4000MP attack at the end of these 7 days is comparable to the vibrations of a full-powered 11000MP attack at the beginning of the week. I’m making so much progress, yet the wall still hasn’t shown any signs of weakness.

That is… until the last day.

Using my newfound mana density and purity control, I decided to try for one more ultimate attack on a whim. I’ve been practicing all week with 4000MP, so I’m sure an 11000MP strike will feel great as a final attack for the day.

I charge up like normal, bringing both blades up to 5500MP each. They vibrate and glow, but I’m able to handle them with much greater ease. It takes less than 30 seconds, and I can tell this will be an enormous strike…

The mana itself isn’t becoming more powerful. It’s the density of the energy released that adds to its efficiency. The high amounts of mana running through my bloodstream over the last few weeks have given me much greater control over their movements within my body and within my blades.

After taking a deep breath, and aiming for the solid white wall, I let out a yell and release two crescents of highly refined mana. They slice through the air with astonishing precision. The air blade is completely invisible, and the fire is so dark it looks like a shadow flying through the air.

With a resounding twang that echoes throughout the room, the two crescents of energy collide with the wall, producing a deafening noise and causing the ground to tremble.

I grit my teeth and brace myself as the massive explosion of white and red magic expands and covers the back wall of this white room. When the residue clears, the first genuine smile of this entire month grows across my face.

The blank white wall in front of me is cracked….

“A… way out…”

I stand firmly, arms by my sides, gripping my blades tightly, and gaze in awe at the magnificent sight unfolding before me.

A 1m long crack in the white wall starts to leak with black energy. It hums violently like the void I was sucked into at the start of all this madness. I activate my All-Seeing Eye to confirm my theory, and it’s immediately confirmed. I feel the seemingly endless twisting void connect with this small white-walled pocket dimension through the tiny tear in space.

Using plunderer, and my newfound aptitude for increased mana consumption, I push the limits of my perception ability. Burning through thousands of MP in an instant, I extend my range deep into the void.

For 10 seconds straight, until my fatigue begins to bring me to my knees, I push myself as far as I can go. This is the moment I’ve been training for, I have to find something useful…

Deep, deep within the void, I see another tiny white light. I clench my jaw and keep pushing my range. There’s something out there. Something is in this void other than me.

“There’s really a way out of the Titan’s Domain…”

The moment I make this connection is the moment I lose it as well. The meter-long crack running along the white wall in front of me beings to shrink. The black swirling void begins to disappear from my mind’s eye as the wall somehow heals itself entirely.

Seconds later, my All-Seeing Eye is useless. The white wall looks completely unscathed, and I can no longer sense the void at all.

“…”

I slump over and let out a sigh.

It’s a little disheartening to see the wall heal itself in front of my eyes, but at least I’ve made some progress. My training may just be useless in the end, but at least it’s keeping my mind busy. Without a goal or challenge in this white-walled prison, I’d surely have gone insane by now.

My food and water supply lessens with each day that passes. I only have 1.5kg of jerky left and I’ve eaten my last ration of dried fruit. There are only 6 bottles of water left and it’s starting to really worry me.

I could finish all of this in one sitting, but I have to continue rationing it out indefinitely… I’ve lost nearly 7kg. My cheeks are starting to show signs of caving in and my abs are visible, at this rate, my ribs are next.

Ember glows brighter and brighter as he continues to level up. I make a mental log of his constant progression at the end of each day.

Day 1: [Lv. 133]

Day 2: [Lv. 174]

Day 3: [Lv. 207]

Day 4: [Lv. 224]

Day 5: [Lv. 236]

Day 6: [Lv. 242]

Day 7: [Lv. 247]

The monster’s leveling speed decreases as it rises higher and higher. This is much different from its last rank-up. For its first 5 days of mana consumption to rise from level 2 to 100, it took no more than 500k MP in total. I gave it an allowance of 1.5 million MP per day this time around, and on its final day, Ember only rose 5 levels. That’s an average of 300k MP per level on the final day, and it’s only becoming more and more costly.

I fall asleep on the 7th night satisfied with my week’s worth of training. I’m Eager to see what Ember’s new form will look like after this rank-up.

Many hours pass. My dreams of the outside world seem to just drift by as well… I’ve embraced the fact that whatever happens here, just happens. All I can do is continue what I started. I’m trying my hardest every day, training to exhaustion, and staying alive. If I make it out to see everyone again, I’ll deal with those consequences when the time comes.

A sudden jab in my side wakes me from my slumber. I don't flinch, nor do I immediately open my eyes. This kind of wake-up call was anticipated.

I activate my telepathic link while stretching and slowly adjusting to the blinding morning light of the white walls.

“Good Morning Ember. How was your- Oh-“

As soon as my vision clears up I see a majestic form in front of me. At over 4m tall while sitting down, and easily 7m from head to the tip of his long twisting tail, Ember spreads his wings and replies.

“It seems our labyrinth has not collapsed. You were right, I shouldn’t have doubted your judgment.”

The radiant black-scaled dragon lowers its head, directing attention toward its long crimson horns. Upon closer inspection, I notice that they're made of a material similar to a demon's horn.

The Dragon’s deep red eyes are the size of my open palms. It blinks at me a few times, then continues to speak through our link.

“Are there any updates? Or shall I begin my next rank-up?”