Ember's voice enters my mind using telepathy once I've situated myself within the Titan's domain.
"The technique I call Mana Suppression is really just an advanced form of manipulating visual Qi. You've already shown signs of mastering the beginning stages of this, so by raising your natural capacity and Qi control, Mana Suppression should be very simple."
I sit on a small blanket in a comfortable position, getting ready to start my training, listening to what Ember has to say.
Diving right back into the Titan's Domain wasn't exactly what I was planning for, but the fact that this is most likely the last chance I'll get to use a time dilation chamber of this magnitude, I don't want to waste it.
According to my rough calculations, there's less than 25 minutes in the outside world until this Titan reaches the rift. Considering my last 6-month stay took 30 minutes, I should have roughly 5 months to train in here, and 15 times the Qi to use up...
To be safe, I've put 2 body doubles in the outside world to notify me of any changes or odd outcomes. However, the possibility that they could transfer information into this isolated domain to me is only a theory. To be safe, if I don't get any signals, I'll begin collapsing the space in 4 months.
Ember continues the lesson once I shake myself out of my thoughts.
"Let me show you what I mean in a practical sense. Allow your Qi to flow out of your body just like you do when you swing a sword attack."
I do as Ember says, calming my eyes and allowing waves of Qi to flow from my core into my fists.
I'm unable to release large amounts of visual Qi, but in highly dense areas, particles of energy do flow out, especially in the heat of intense battle.
Both of my fists glow white hot with energy, and tiny particles begin to make a mist around them the longer I hold them in the same place.
"Very good. This is a perfect starting point. The energy being released around your hands will act as a veil to suppress your natural mana output. It is in a very weak form right now because your capacity and control are lacking. However, imagine if you allowed your entire body to be covered in a blanket of energy like this."
I picture Ember's words in my mind's eye, contemplating how much extra energy I would need to be constantly putting out to keep a wave of Qi continuously flowing around my entire body...
Then, I pull out the silver case that Monk gave me and open it with a click.
Inside, a sea of bright white Qi pills looks back at me, and I speak up.
"There's 150 pills. That's 15 times more than my previous training session. However, it's possible I have less time. You know better than me, I'd like a strict outline and training plan on how to hit my goals before our time runs out."
Ember shows a toothy grin and nods.
"Only time will tell. We'll do training in 3 different segments, that is after your initial segment of flooding the entire room with Qi. Considering your current base and mana control, you're still not strong enough to handle this amount of energy. So, the first order of business once the room is ready and actual training begins will be 48 hours of Qi gathering and mana control training. Similar to your previous time in the domain, you will just circulate Qi through your body while all of your buffs are on the highest capacity possible while not building up fatigue. Small water breaks will be permitted, but no other distractions like food or entertainment."
I nod as this sounds reasonable and very productive.
"Next, you'll spend 24 hours on focusing visual Qi to your extremities. Your fists and feet will be first, but the goal is to be constantly expanding the range of coverage. Creating a thin layer of Qi around your arms and legs will be next, then eventually your torso and head to cover your entire body. This will be paired with physical body training. Sprints, pushups, squats, pullups, and weights using your earth summoning magic to make heavy enough gear to push your limits."
I nod again, as this seems pretty simple too.
"Then lastly, you get 8 hours of leisure time before we start the cycle again. You may eat small amounts of food, journal your thoughts, and sleep if you'd like. But, intense focus is necessary to succeed in this training."
My eyes widen at his last point.
"Only 8 hours of rest? After 3 days of continuous training? For 4 to 5 months straight?"
Ember chuckles to himself.
"We'll shorten the rest times as the session goes further, and make the training times longer as well. As I'm sure you can already tell, the higher your mana control raises, the less reliant you are on food, water, and sleep for energy."
"Yes, I'm aware... I just didn't know it would get this drastic."
"Of course. Your mortal lifespan increases as well, slowing your aging and keeping you in your prime years for far longer. At your current control, you've already increased your life expectancy by quite a bit; possibly decades. The progression is not linear based on pure mana intake, but it will continue to raise the more you control."
I think over this food for thought in the back of my mind as Ember covers some of the more advanced and technical topics too.
"Once you've managed to get the most basic level of visual Qi around every square centimeter of your body, the focus will shift to concentrating more on the density of the flow. Just like mana shields and mana blades, the density of the Qi being used is very important when focused on a technique like this. At first, we'll work on making the Qi as dense as possible, but that will naturally come in the gathering and channeling portion of training. Once it can fully cover your body, I want you to make incremental densities to get used to switching between them. Like low, medium, high, and extremely high."
"Why's that? Wouldn't it just be best to refine my skills in the highest density possible? What's the point of having different ones?"
"It's very simple actually. Once you've coated your body in a layer of Qi of extremely high density, little to no mana can escape through the microscopic holes no matter how hard they try to put out. Non-Qi users are unable to sense Qi energy at all, so to their mana senses, only the amount of mana you let out is your perceived true control."
The corner of my lip turns up as I realize exactly where Ember is headed with this explanation.
He continues.
"So, if you were to walk by an elite hunter with an extremely high Qi barrier, they may just think you're an unawakened hunter with little to no Qi in your body. However, maybe you'd like them to think you're at their same level? Just using a high or medium grade barrier will be thinner and allow more of your natural mana control to seep through. Training multiple barrier densities once you've progressed this far will not only help with your overall Qi control but give you built-in skills and predetermined natural settings to conceal your true power."
At this final point, everything makes sense, and I have a clear goal in mind ahead of me.
I rehash the details of my training a few more times in excruciating detail with Ember, noting certain points and extra tidbits in my journal before letting Ember fly back into my item storage to wait for my updates.
We agree that letting him stay out in the open may drain away precious Qi in the atmosphere that could be put toward my training, so I'll let him out after the end of every training cycle to give me tips and oversee my progress.
"See you soon."
"Best of luck, Master."
Considering the Qi in the room didn't dissipate until I absorbed most of it in my last session, the odds are it will be exactly the same this time as well.
One after another, I begin taking the Qi pills and oversaturating my body with energy every time enough Qi leaves my body to handle another.
Meanwhile, I sit in the lotus position, gathering the Qi that is building up in the atmosphere and keeping all of my buffs at a cool and controlled rate while constantly self-regenerating my fatigue.
This goes on for a few days before 145 pills are used up to fill the entire room with a dense cloud of Qi so energy-packed every breath feels as if it's rejuvenating my core. The rate of absorption far surpasses what it was before. The density of Qi in this room is almost 15 times what it was the last time I trained, and almost 50 times that of what it feels like inside the training rooms back at the monastery.
The Qi in the air in the outside world is immeasurably low compared to the prime environment I'm training in right now.
I place the remaining 5 pills back into my storage as an emergency energy bank and get to work.
Nine full training cycles pass, meaning about a month in Domain time, and the progress moves exactly as Ember outlined for me.
In just a month, my Qi capacity has raised just over 50%, and my mana control is steadily rising at the same rate as my previous session; About 400 million MP absorbed in just over a month. Both are incredibly immense increases. But the Qi capacity is the most impressive part; this is the most noticeable change.
I've added more pure Qi to my capacity in 1 month than I did in a full 6 months of training during my last Titan's Domain session.
Every time I finish a cycle, Ember checks my progress, and the white glow I manage to cover my hands has slowly expanded to my extremities and just barely covers my head and torso. The progress is very motivating.
Ember's words resonate in my mind as he increased each training period by 1 full day and taking 2 hours away from my rest time. Making it 3 days gathering, 2 days working on my Qi barrier, and 6 hours of sleep and leisure time.
This intense training continues for 2 more months.
My Qi base adds an additional 90%, making a 140% increase since the start of this entire session, and my mana control raises by another 1 Billion MP.
At this point, some of the Qi in the room is beginning to thin out just like the last time I trained here. Some seeps through the walls, but most of it is being gathered by me and used up in my training to flow back into the atmosphere.
I've gotten to the point where I can actually control the flow of Qi on the outside of my body. It feels as if it's a thin layer of malleable and flowing skin attached to me as an extension of myself rather than just particles that are floating away.
It is difficult to maintain it for long periods of time, but holding its form is what my training mostly consists of now. 3 days gathering, 3 days controlling my Qi veil, and 5.5 hours of downtime.
I've gotten into a very productive rhythm, but the clock is still ticking away. I want to master this before my time runs out.
Everything seems to be going according to plan until one day mid-gathering session, the memories of one of my now deceased body doubles come rushing back to me.
____________________________
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying Dungeon Diver and want to follow Jay on his journey 20+ chapters ahead of schedule, check out the Patreon link in my profile bio.
There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!
Thanks for reading:)
____________________________