"There are no major updates. You'll be able to rank up again soon if you wish."
After my reply, I'm left wide-eyed staring at the huge creature before me. I thought the Dragon's last form was impressive, but this one is on another level.
If my predictions are correct, my ticket out of this Titan's Domain is about to show itself. The rate of Ember's mana plundering is only increasing in speed. If anyone can absorb and collapse an endless void of energy, it'd be him...
I grin to myself, then look up at the majestic black dragon. A few questions have been lingering in my head this whole week, and a few more ever since my breakthrough in training last night. Now would be the time to ask them before Ember goes back to sleep.
"I have a few questions."
"Of course, please ask as many as you'd like Master."
Ember makes himself comfortable, laying in a neat ball resting against a white wall. I nod firmly, ignoring the fact that he called me master again, and begin my questioning
"First of all, how much mana will you need to achieve your next rank-up?"
"Usually, the third one is the toughest. Even with a medium-sized labyrinth, a Dragon with Mythic Grade proficiency like me would still take decades to achieve this feat. I've only hit the third evolution a couple of times in my many lives. It's a level 500 threshold, roughly 25 billion MP is needed."
My eyes open wide as I try to do the mental calculations. He'll need to plunder billions of MP a day to achieve this... that's thousands of times more than the previous week. If I want to get out of here before my food supply runs out, I have two options. I'll either need to make a lot more progress on my mana control to open up this white box myself, or Ember is going to have to rank up again. Both are a gamble, and neither has any guarantees to help me one bit... I guess my odds will be better If I try to achieve both.
I ask my next question.
"You mentioned Void Creepers. What... are those?"
Ember smirks and raises his head, then settles back into a comfortable position before responding.
"Void Creepers? They're just pesky mindless world hoppers that live between realms. I've only witnessed one of their forms, a form similar to humans actually. The elders used to call them Titans. They have access to immense mana pools stored over long periods of time. It's not necessarily their mana, they just exist in it. Any creatures that come within range of those things are swallowed up whole in an instant, never to be seen again, absorbed into their void as more fuel. Their only true enemies are Dragons. Or, in theory, a slime if it could level up high enough. With enough time, a Dragon like myself can plunder any pool of MP no matter the size."
A wide grin stretches across my face. A "Void Creeper" is just another name for a Titan. Well, to put it more accurately, I guess a Titan is a type of Void Creeper... Ember continues.
"I've heard of Dragons ranking up multiple times from one Void Creeper encounter."
"..."
Looking at the blissfully unaware Dragon spew valuable information starts pulling at my heartstrings. It's about time I let Ember in on a few of my secrets.
I let out a sigh, then look straight into the majestic Dragon's deep red eyes.
"Hey. Can I trust you?"
The black-scaled creature twists its head to the side looking at me curiously while waving its long thin arrow tipped tail around aimlessly in the air.
"Of course. We're contracted, that's the highest form of trust a Demon and Dragon can share."
I gulp.
"Is that right...? Could you explain to me exactly how this contract works? I'm... pretty new to all of this."
"Certainly. A Demon and Dragon may create a sacred alliance to protect a growing Labyrinth. A Demon is tied to its realm and has a duty to expand its territory. A Dragon is obligated to plunder mana and bring it back to the rulers once their life has run its course. A contract between the two links their lives in many ways. If one dies, the other does too. If one gains exp, so does their counterpart. It is a perfect partnership for any two like-minded monsters wouldn't you say so?"
"I... would say so..."
"Is that all?"
"Have you ever left a labyrinth?"
"Of course not. It is a Dragon's duty to protect their domain. If I were to do so, that would put my Demon at great risk."
I nod slowly while staring down at the ground. I'm contracted to a Dragon... It must be the Demon's Core I absorbed, that's why I'm able to fulfill its alliance contract. I'm bonded to a Dragon... until death...?
After a long pause, I look back up at Ember and decide to tell him the truth. If this is going to work out long-term, I'll have to tell him everything. There's no easy way to say this, but I guess I'll have to start somewhere.
"I'm... actually a human."
The room falls completely silent. The Dragon's tail stops waving back and forth, and its crimson eyes lock on me with a stare that pierces my soul.
At first, it's skeptical. Then, Ember's gaze grows intense as his eyelids tighten. Finally, curiosity wins the battle of emotions. The Dragon replies.
"Now... this... is new."
A wide grin grows across the monster's face as I continue.
"I've absorbed a Demon's Core, and well, stole the egg from a Labyrinth's boss room. I thought it was a gemstone or energy-rich core. Apparently, I was wrong. It was a Dragon's egg."
The grin across Ember's face widens even more as he lets out a bellowing laugh through our telepathy link.
"You... You have got to kidding me. No wonder this labyrinth felt so weird! There are always different variations depending on the Demon's preferences... but I guess this is what happens when a human takes over. Ha! Oh, this life just keeps getting better... With my luck, we're not even in a labyrinth at all, this is just a Void Creepers endless mana pool. Now wouldn't that be something!"
The bellowing Dragon continues to laugh and even begins flapping its wings, hovering a few meters off the ground while looking down at me. I whisper in a low tone through the telepathy link.
"I uh.... I think it is. This is a Titan's Domain, if I'm not mistaken."
Ember stops hovering instantly and hits the hard white ground with a thud while staring at me wide-eyed. He looks around the white room and begins feeling the walls with its tail and sharp claws.
"How..."
"..."
"How... Did I get so lucky? I knew you were a special one, Jay. This is my favorite contract yet, and it hasn't even been a hundred years! I might actually hit the third rank in a matter of weeks. Now wouldn't that be something!"
Letting out laughs of joy, the Dragon spreads its jet black wings to show off the glowing red underside, then jumps up high into the air. This small room is rather limiting for the massive beast, but it still manages to do a few laps while erupting into flames.
Its fire is dark red just like mine. The point where it leaves Ember's mouth it is almost pure black, a very similar color to the dense energy that comes out of my sword. It is a Dragon, after all, its mana control is probably even better than mine...
I still have so many questions to ask, but I should let the majestic creature enjoy itself. This reaction is much better than him getting mad and eating me alive. I cross my arms and watch the flames dance and the Dragon soar.
After a solid 20 minutes of celebration, the 7-meter-long fire-breathing monster finally settles down and comes back to greet me.
"Well, I've gotten that out of my system. Now let's get down to business."
I smirk and nod firmly.
"So, now that we're on the same page.... How do we get out of this prison?"
"We'll have to weaken it, then tear a hole right through. A Void Creeper's realm is one of the weakest because technically it's not a realm at all, it's just between two others."
Ember claws at a white wall, then lets out a dense ball of flames. It bounces off without leaving a scratch. The Dragon nods slowly while looking back over to me.
"In this form, and this level, I have no way of breaking through. I'll need to rank up again. That's the only way I'll be able to absorb enough mana to weaken this prison and have a fighting chance at denting this barrier at all."
I think back to my final attack last night. I managed to make a small tear in the white wall when I condensed enough mana and released it all at once. If the realm is weakened, and I can increase my attack's strength even more...
"This could work.... How much MP can you absorb without a day allowance limiter?"
The Dragon begins curling up into a ball.
"I'll have to start where I left off. A few million a day will be my limit in the beginning, but without fear of a labyrinth collapsing, I can go all out. My rate of absorption will increase as my levels rise. I believe a rank-up is possible in just a few weeks."
I take a deep breath while accounting for my food supplies and past training progression. It'll be brutal... but one or two more weeks in here is possible. I just have to make my 1.5kg of jerky and 6 bottles of water last.... I'll be in critical condition, but with my self regeneration skill and a few HP potions, I can keep myself alive as long as I have mana. It just won't be pretty. I'm down about 7kg in total and still dropping fast.
I reply with a thin smile.
"Perfect. Rank up as fast as you can, I'll have a plan ready when you awake."
"Understood."
Ember closes his eyes and begins to glow with a faint red light.
I turn to the opposite side of the room and grab my blades. My final training session is about to begin.