"... and enter another Titan's Domain..."
As I speak these words, the thought of going back into that white-walled prison makes my stomach lurch. If I could never see one of those emotionless monsters again, I'd do almost anything to make that happen.
Almost, anything... One of my faults may be the undying urge for more power. All self-preservation and logical reasoning bends at the possibility of this.
Ember has a good point. I'm burning through way too much MP to reasonably keep this up. The only way I'm even able to handle these attacks is by using buy All-Seeing eye to aid in the precision aspect, and my self regeneration skill to heal from the immense damage done to my body after each strike.
Any normal hunter would be hospitalized after trying a single one of these attacks...
I gulp again as Ember replies.
"Shall we go now?"
I'm still a bit flustered at the thought of it, but very tempted for so many reasons. I'm actually seriously considering going back to that place...
I reply.
"You're sure it's safe? How do we know last time wasn't just dumb luck?"
Ember replies with an answer that makes me feel a lot better...
"While I was farming Titans on your command, I fell into dozens of domains. At my current Plundering proficiency, I can make one of those pocket realms collapse in just under a day."
I stare straight ahead, taking this new information into consideration.
"Really....?"
Ember bows his head as I smirk.
In real-world time, I have just a few hours remaining before my meeting with Fisher. If I stock up on supplies like food and water, I can train inside the Titan's Domain for as long as I want before coming back here.
After a long pause, I open up my Item Storage.
"Let's do it. We're going back."
The Dragon slips into my pocket dimension and I Dungeon Walk back to my hometown's starter dungeon without a second thought.
A wide grin creeps across my face as I step out of the exit portal into the outside world. I make my way to the village market grinning all the way.
I'm excited. What started out as a nightmare, is now turning into a gold mine for new power-ups. Falling into the Titan's Domain may not have been a pleasant experience at first, but It turn out it may become even more fruitful than I'd first thought.
I make my way to a local grocery store and begin stocking up on everything I'll need for this upcoming training session. I grab a small shopping cart and get to work.
I go overkill on the water... Stacking up 10 cases of 20 1-liter bottles, almost clearing out a whole section of shelving.
With food, I keep it simple. I stock up on 2 months' worth of fresh fruits, vegetables, dried meats, and nuts. My item storage works as a perfect preservation chamber, so none of this will go bad.
I grab a few comics and light novels I've been meaning to catch up on at the register while checking out. It's been a while since I read anything, might as well get something to keep myself occupied during my downtime so I don't go too crazy...
The store clerk gives me a funny look at the checkout counter but accepts my handful of silver coins without question.
As I roll my cart out the front doors, I make a sharp turn out of sight to immediately store my supplies in my item storage.
Lastly, I make a quick pit-stop back at my old apartment to grab a pillow, blanket, and a few pairs of clothes.
It's been almost 30 minutes now since I got to town. Not wanting to waste another minute, I jog back to the starter dungeon ready for what's to come next. I'm shaking with excitement, but also some nerves.
Whenever I feel like this it's usually for a really good reason.
The moment I step into the dungeon's glowing entrance portal on the far side of town, I teleport to my new destination, The Great Plains.
In the blink of an eye, I'm deep within the rolling hills of the bland landscape I know so well. Activating my enemy detection skill, I'm thrown off by a few unaccounted-for variables.
Spreading out my detection skill to the furthest depths of this dungeon, I pick up on all of the usual lower-level mobs and occasional mutants. There are a few distortions of 500m diameter blind spots that must be wandering titans, but one oddity sticks out.
[4500m]
[Lv. 606]
[Lv. 371]
There are two high-level hunters not too far off from me... One of them could be a monster, but they're traveling close together, and sticking nearby one of the blind spots... I'd assume they're a hunting duo, but a level 606 is really high for the place, right?
I whisper under my breath.
"Could it be Arie and a B-Class...?"
I remember back to when my team was sharing our weekly quota assignments, recalling Arie's was to take down a Titan. He did say that he'd be accompanied by a B-Class Archer. There's a good chance that's them.
Not wanting to make an awkward unplanned appearance, I Dungeon Walk in the opposite direction putting another 5km or so between us just in case.
If I get caught hunting Titans right now, there would be too many people asking many questions I'm not looking to answer. It's best I steer clear of that mess.
Once confirming there's nothing but a new slow-moving mass of endless mana within many kilometers of me, I open up my item storage to let Ember fly out.
Immediately, I open up our telepathic link.
"We're here, but we're not alone... There are others in this dungeon with us. We'll need to make each takedown quick and precise."
The black-scaled Dragon stretches its wings and replies as it senses the nearby sensations of humming mana approaching us.
"Understood."
I turn to face the low hum as well. Off in the distance, no more than 700m away, a wandering black hole of energy comes marching at us.
I take out my sword and instinctually burst into flames. Ember flies low to the ground, and I air-step forward to follow. I hear his voice in my head as we get closer and the humming mana becomes louder.
"As long as we're making physical contact, we'll be transported into its domain at the exact same time. I recommend you hold on..."
I stare forward at the black shadow of a humanoid figure in the distance, grit my teeth, then jump onto Ember's back as we continue to fly in the monster's direction.
[400m]
We soar closer and closer as the humming gets more intense. I hold onto Ember's back with my legs and carry my flaming sword with a death grip.
I know we'll be fine, there's just something not quite right about these monsters... The sight of them is always quite unsettling.
[150m]
Ember bursts into flames as well. We leave a trail of dark fire behind us as he speeds up, facing the Titan head-on.
[50m]
This is it... I'm going back in...
The humming sound of mana fills all my senses as both of us rocket toward the monster's midsection. Ember speaks through our link moments before impact.
"Don't let go."
[0m]
We collide with the 30m tall giant and disappear into a black void seconds later...
I'm not too sure what else I expected to happen, but this seems about right.
In the outside world, its domain must have expended to a 500m wide dome just like it did that that one time I attacked it with Arie. I'll never know for sure though...
My vision went black the moment we made contact... Ember and I are floating in the endless black mass that is the Titan's Domain. The sensation of dense mana all around me is both frightening and soothing...
The feeling of weightlessness returns as I peer down into the void, seeing a pinhole of white light below us. I know exactly where we're headed.
A few minutes pass and we fall closer and closer to the white box ominously approaching.
This time around, however, I'm riding a Dragon that knows its way around this place. With a powerful flap of its wings, I'm saved from hitting the hard floor. We glide in, making a perfect landing.
The ceiling above us shuts closed the moment we enter without a sound and I'm left staring at white walls that imprisoned me for months in the past.
After a gulp, I let out a sigh and jump off Ember's back.
The Dragon speaks through our link.
"Shall I collapse this Domain in 24hrs? Or would you like your training to go on longer?"
I pause, thinking about this option carefully.
When I did my initial scan of this dungeon there weren't more than half a dozen Titans that showed up on my radar...
"When you were hunting Titans on your own last week, how many would spawn at once?"
Ember thinks for a moment, then responds.
"No more than 7 or so a day at first. Although, the more I hunted them the less often those Void Creepers came out from their realm. It would be wise to train inside each one for much longer than 24 hours. We could even spend time in this one indefinitely if you'd like."
I nod.
"Let's do 10 days per Titan. We can farm Strengthening Fragments while I train."
I smirk as Ember responds.
"Very well, I'll limit my mana consumption by 90%. The Domain will become unstable within 10 days. Once it begins to fall apart, you may slice through its weak barrier, or wait for the domain to naturally collapse. It's your choice."
Excited for what's to come, I already start plundering mana from the rich stores all around me. Letting out a satisfying sigh while taking in the pure energy, I reply.
"Sounds good. I'll see you in 10 days."
Ember bows then curls up into a ball, closes his eyes, and begins to glow light red.
I smirk while channeling mana into my glowing blade.
This training session is about to begin. By the time I see Fisher for our next meeting, I'll be on a whole different level...