I look up at Fisher while powering down my sword.
I've had a lot of time to think about my situation here in the labyrinth while I was away training in the Titan's Domain.
When we first met, I was a bit annoyed with this blue-haired Elite for stepping on my toes during my solo labyrinth diving mission.
I still am... but he's just following orders. If anything it's the Director's fault. He's telling all the other Association lackeys around here what to do. I don't blame him for following through on his mission, but I still work better alone...
Fisher continues to speak.
"We'll be climbing the Labyrinth."
I hear what he has to say, but I was expecting it... I reply.
"I still want to climb these floors alone you know... Just because the Director wants us to team up, doesn't mean it has to happen."
Fisher smirks, letting out a light laugh.
"I remember when I still had the will to fight like you. Trust me, stay on his good side while you still can."
I lock eyes with Fisher. He looks back at me with a serious, worry-filled gaze.
I turn away first, replying under my breath.
"This is no fun..."
The Elite sighs, then replies.
"It's not meant to be fun. We're going to war soon you know."
I gulp, looking up at him.
"What are you talking about...?"
"The breaks up north, coming from the Dark Continent. They're the worst ones we've had in a long time... That's why we're even here in the first place, and why the Director put so much money into training you C-Class recruits."
Fisher digs through his item storage and takes out two palm-sized crystals. They're both completely white and give off a low mana filled hum.
"If necessary, we'll be using these to transport back to the Association HQ. They're one-time use transport crystals."
I raise an eyebrow, staring at the glowing items until Fisher puts them away and continues to speak.
"I hear you have a mana crystal quota too don't ya? We can help you fill that while we climb the floors."
With a grin, he points a thumb back to Rylan. The redhead jumps in.
"Hey! I never signed up for this free labor!"
Fisher turns back to him.
"I... think you did. You should be with your squad on floor 17 anyway. We'll drop you off on the way up."
He opens his mouth to reply, but stops and nods.
I think about it for a moment, then let out a sigh and a shrug.
"Fine, I guess I might as well."
Fighting this point won't get me anywhere.
I could probably farm 50k MP worth of crystals in a few hours if I teleported around any dungeon solo, but abandoning my mission isn't a good idea. Even if tricked into it won't get me anywhere close to the Director's good side.
Although Fisher seems to be completely tied up by the Association, I still sense some fight in him. I'm curious to learn a few more things about him, and see what else he can potentially teach me about mana control in the meantime.
Even though he didn't teach me much directly, he's been pointing me in the right direction every step of the way so far.
I speak up.
"Before I agree... Could I test out an attack against your mana shielding again? I'd like to see how far I've come since our last clash."
Fisher crosses his arms, giving me an arrogant smirk, while Ryaln's eyes light up behind him.
"Sure, go for it. It'll give you a good idea of how hard these higher-floor monsters will really be. Now that you understand mana control a bit better, you'll realize how outmatched you really are."
He takes a step back and puts both of his arms to his sides. Rylan gets out of the way as I step in from of him with a sharp look in my eyes.
"You're sure? You don't even want to block with your sword?"
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
"Don't worry. Go all out. I know your full potential power already, you'd need over double that to even think about breaking through my shielding. Try all you want."
I clench my jaw, then grip my blade tight while focusing on an attack. I make my strike as thin as possible, The same width as the attack that sliced through the Berserker's shielding.
My availability of mana here isn't as abundant as the environment I trained in, so I can already tell my proficiency has dropped. In just under 60 seconds, I focus around 1000MP into a deadly black fiery slash.
With a swift swing of my blade, I let it soar.
The swordless swordsman's expression changes as he watches the thin energy blade approach.
Using my All-Seeing Eye to watch from afar, I witness his mana shield activate less than a meter before impact. It's denser than any shield I've faced before... I didn't get an actual close look at it last time we faced off...
Well, I did. I just didn't understand how fine-tuned his mana control really was.
My sliver of energy meets his invisible wall of mana. For a moment, it seems like time stops... My blade hits the center of his chest and comes to a complete halt, pushing forward with nowhere to go...
Moments later, I see a dim flash of white light as Fisher moves out of the way and the blade flies past him, disappearing into the rock face 20m away.
A toothy grin creeps across my face at the sight before my eyes.
At the bottom of Fisher's torso on the side my blade flew off to, there's a small rip in his shirt, and a light trickle of blood coming off a tiny paper-thin gash.
The blue-haired Elite curses under his breath as I celebrate with a childish attitude. Rylan's eyes open wide as I power down my sword and Fisher speaks while putting a hand over his side. He activates a light blue glow and the bleeding stops immediately.
"Damn it- How'd you possibly power up this much in less than 24 hours... That kind of improvement takes months of training! You-"
Rylan steps in.
"Looks like someone might be taking your spot as the new youngest Elite hotshot. Wouldn't you say?"
He looks over to me, and I just reply with a shrug.
Fisher speaks up.
"Well, that certainly settles it. You're at least ready to train on the 19th floor. Maybe even the 20th... Not going to lie, I thought I'd have to beat the Behemoth for you. At this rate, maybe you'll actually have a chance at that thing after all."
"..."
I'm still silent, staring down at my dark blade. Excitement fills my body as I realize just how far I've come.
It's been a grueling 30 days for me, but it feels like it went by in a flash...
"Come on, we might as well start now while the day is young. I brought food and water, let's start our trek upwards."
I look up Fisher.
"Already?"
"Do... you have anything else to do?"
"I...."
"Thought so, come on. We'll farm mana crystals with you up until the 17th floor. That's where we'll drop off this tag-along with his team."
The redhead rolls his eyes, and I nod.
"Once we make it up there, I'll have to check in with the Association one more time before going up to the dead zone."
I raise an eyebrow.
"The dead zone?"
Fisher nods, taking out his silver quota tablet.
His looks much different than mine. It has 4 clear gems attached to each corner.
"The Association can't contact me that far up. Monster's with higher mana control tend to live in much more mana-rich environments. It screws with long-range connections. That's why we call it the dead zone."
I nod slowly, not understanding a word he just said. The only thing on my mind is the fact that his tablet has clear gems on it and mine doesn't.
"Hey, why doesn't my tablet have those- The Director didn't-"
All four clear stones on the tablet begin to light up with a white glow. I stare mesmerized.
The blue-haired Elite's eyes instantly go back to the tired look I saw moments ago when he was waking up from his sleep at the Inn.
He grips the tablet tightly.
"What kind of timing is this... you speak of the Director's name and he comes calling..."
I gulp.
"He's... calling? Through that?"
The lights on all four corners of the silver tablet begin to shine brighter and brighter until a very familiar voice comes ringing out into my ears.
"Fisher. Fisher. Do you read me? We're going to need your immediate dispatch on a series of C-Class Dungeon breaks along the northern border. Please report your training progress with your assigned member of the new Elite squad."
Fisher replies.
"We're just about to start phase 2 of Jay's training."
"... Phase 2 already? ..."
"Yes, Sir."
"..."
There's a pause on the other side of the line for almost 10 full seconds.
I grit my teeth while listening, but can't hold myself back any longer. I storm over to Fisher with my eyes locked on the glowing quota tablet.
I've been thinking about this man for over a month straight.
"Let me talk to him, I'd like to give The Director a piece of my mind. I signed up for a solo labyrinth mission, and I'm going to get what I was promised!"
I reach over and grab the silver rectangle right out of Fisher's hand.
"Hey! Hello? Can you hear me?"
Another long pause follows, then the Regional Director's voice finally rings out of it.
"Well, what a surprise. It's nice to talk to you again so soon Jay. It seems there's been another change of plans."