The winds cried and howled, fierce gusts waltzing over a nd of fmes and darkness. Loud rumbles shook the ground in regur intervals, fountains of va creating a rain of fire ead every siime. It was a nd of nightmares.

  And in such a hellish ndscape, a ferocious battle unfolds between three figures. One was a Red-eyed Cyclops equipped with six arms, skin tougher than any steel and darker than obsidian. The other two were a ptinum dragon and a young man, trading blows time after time.

  It was a deadly fury. The Bckheart Cyclops which stood more than a dozeers tall was clobbered with the eorrent of the young man's fist. Each hit, the sound of bones breaking and blood spurting echoed clearly in the air.

  Not only did the Bckheart Cyclops o deal with the young man, it also o keep an eye oinum dragon. The moment it takes its eye off him, a rge and powerful jaw lunges on it, leaving a deep bite mark, spttering dark blood all over the pce.

  "Poris, now!" ［Grey］

  At Grey's behest, Poris quickly strengthened his bite on the enemy's shoulder and with all his might, ripped it apart from its body. A loud shriek full of pain and agony soon after as blood gushed out along the fountains of va.

  Rage fueling its heart, the Bckheart Cyclops faced Poris, g its first to nd a terattack. But rather thaing revenge, what it itted was the biggest mistake of its short life.

  As if a vortex was sug them, winds streamed aggressively towards a single point. The vortex tinued, f a single mass taking the shape of a spear, raging mgressively the more winds it sucked in. Such a raging mass gathered and hovered atop Grey's hands.

  The raging gales ituo gather, ripping appart the Labyrinth walls and ceiling and colidying the scorg floor of va in just a couple fras of a sed. In that moment, Poris unsummoned himself, knowing what was about to e.

  ??Southern Wind: Notus!?? ［Grey］

  His voiing along the r winds, Grey threw the spear with all its might. The Labyrinth which could even withstand the stro of storms and quakes was now being ripped apart as the spear darted through them.

  It was like a high-powered hydraulic drill b through the ground. It didn't matter what it met. All were destroyed and torn to pieces until none was left, sent to oblivion as if they never existed in the first pce.

  The Bckheart Cyclops tried to resist it, but all its efforts were for naught. There weren't even any signs of resistahe moment the spear touched it, its whole body was swallowed whole and disied. Not even a drop of blood left behind.

  Even after the spear destroyed the enemy, its tinued darting through the Labyrinth, ripping through several hundreds meters of distand annihiting everything there is to be annihited. Such a destructive se tinued until the spear was no more.

  "Whew... That was a tough one..." ［Grey］

  Said Grey as he released the auras he had on himself, a light ag pain following afterwards. But pared to the pain he felt before, such pain was nothing. It was just a little bit of soreness.

  It has been several days since Grey and Poris started training oh floor, and so far, everything was going smoothly. Though Grey's bat power had remained stant, he had gained invaluable experience.

  In fact, Grey could now stantly use a double-boost aura without much trouble just as he did retly. A triple and quadruple boost was still far from his grasp but it was still a pretty goress.

  Now, with sideration of his current equipment, Grey could fight fairly against those with a bat power of 15 thousand. Well, he is still a little ways away from beating the Skeleton Tyrant from before. Even then, he was satisfied.

  Well, it's not like they were always training. Whilst Grey is resting himself, he often heads ihe treasure rooms and collects some treasures, costing tens of millions of kiels each, the quality was inparable with the 9th floor. Money could literally be found everywhere.

  "Poris, you e baow." ［Grey］

  "Very well, Master." ［Poris］

  A loud resonant voice soon echoed in the air as a rge figure appeared. Poris then opened his mouth shortly after, abs the lingering corruption from the Bckheart Cyclops, getting his fair share for the day.

  Poris had also gotten stronger from dev the corruption from the defeated monsters. He could now go against many of the monsters in the lower ranges of Camity-Css with retive ease.

  Not only that, he had also adapted many battle styles by using the different forms he could take, targeting the enemy's weakness. Be it speed, power, or defense, Poris tune his form to dispose of them in the easiest ossible.

  "ht, Poris, what about Liz? Is she fine by herself?" ［Grey］

  "There's o worry, Master. She could take care of herself now. She's no lohe helpless child you once rescued." ［Poris］

  "Hm? Am I being over-protective again?" ［Grey］

  "Very muaster." ［Poris］

  The fierce atmosphere from before is now gone. Grey and Poris simply chatted about one another as they prepared themselves for the uping battles, healing their wounds and replenishing the supplies they o.

  Though Authority owerful, it really did do a number on Grey's "Mana Bank". The amount he saved for years was now starting to deplete. It was because of such that Grey now o drink mana potions until his stomach was full.

  While he was almost certain he could st the whole month without doing so, there was nothing wrong in being cautious. pcy is dangerous, after all. He is not going to risk anything if there was a way to prevent it. It was better to be paranoid and cautious tha things ter.

  "I see... Yuna does say that all the time... Alright! That's enough resting and chatting for now! Let's get going, Poris." ［Grey］

  "Master, there's o rush yourself. Take as long as you need." ［Poris］

  "No, it's alright. Besides... Another friend of ours has spawned, you see..." ［Grey］

  It hasn't even been five minutes since Grey and Poris defeated the Bckheart Cyclops yet another Camity-Css monster had spawned just a couple hundred meters away from them, ready for battle.

  There was no time to waste. As soon as they relieved themselves of the pain and fatigue, Grey and Poris quickly bolted towards the enemy, delivering the first hit. Yet another loud and fierce csh unfolded in the Labyrinth.

  Deathless Dulhans... Ogres of Massacre... Minotaur Overlords...

  Grey and Poris fought monster after monster as they traversed the fiery Labyrinth. Sometimes they fought two at ond very rarely, even three. Their bodies were ingrained with pain and valuable experiences with ead every passing sed.

  Of course, the two of them didn't just charge recklessly and greedily. When the enemy's bat power surpassed 15 thousand, they opted to avoid frontation and hid if necessary. Especially when they enter those at Disaster-Css. The moment they spot ohey immediately retreat.

  After all, what Grey and Poris are doing is not a simple game. A simple mistake could lead to them losing their lives. There was o engage in a battle which is more trouble than it is worth. Retreat is still a part of training, after all.

  Just like that, the day passed and it was already afternoon. Grey and Poris had defeated several monsters and collected a number of excellent drops. They are now fighting against a much weaker Skeleton Tyrant, making it their twelfth monster.

  "Poris, hahe front!" ［Grey］

  "Uood!" ［Poris］

  There was no need for any eboration. As soon as Grey issued his ands, Poris immediately unched a barrage towards the enemy and peppered it with explosion after explosion, leaving it occupied and uo pay attention to Grey.

  ??Northern Wind: Boreas!?? ［Grey］

  As soon as Poris released his fury, Grey quickly bolted towards the back, and with a little bit of magic, struother barrage of wind spears towards it. It itack, destroying the enemy from both fronts.

  It could have been avoided if the Skeleton Tyrant could still summon subordinates, but with most of its mana wasted from their drawn-out fight, all it could do arry and ehe torrent of attacks, minimizing the damage as much as it could.

  Whooosshhh

  Burning with desperation, the Skeleton Tyrant brandished its sword as fast as it could, ung bdes of mana as much as it could do was destroy the barrage, loud explosions eg all over the pce as the spears and missiles were destroyed.

  The moment it saw the smallest opening, it quickly ditched defense and charged towards Poris without aation, leaving behind the releorrent and leaping in the air, ready to strike the tter down with its sword.

  "You fool!" ［Poris］

  Before it could even notice, missiles of light and spears of wind appeared before it, maing out of nowhere. Loud booms thundered all throughout the Labyrinth as it was bsted several dozeers away towards the walls, a loud crash resounding soon after.

  Everything was a trap. Poris purposefully made gaps for the Skeleton Tyrant to get through and as soon as it leaped to the air, Poris immediately utilized w magic to teleport the torrent beside him, peppering the Skeleton Tyrant's defenseless body with a merciless cascade.

  "This is the end! ??Pinpoint Tempest: Deathpierce?? !" ［Grey］

  There was no way to dodge nor parry. As soon as the clouds of dust cleared out, Grey's howling fist appeared before it. The hing it knew, its whole body was ripped to pieces, turned into fine powder in a matter of seds.

  Fragments of light shone in the corridors soon after, corruption devoured by Poris pletely. What was left behind was a beautiful bck sword which was on the hands of the Skeleton Tyrant. Grey quickly stored it inside his "Iory".

  "Argh... Should we take a break, Poris?" ［Grey］

  "If Master wills it then I'll gdly be your pany." ［Poris］

  "Alright! Ten minutes should be enough then." ［Grey］

  Said Grey as he stretched his hands toward the air, stretg his body. Though he has used holy magic to heal himself and Poris, it was still the best to rest. He felt very refreshed the mome down on the dungeon floor.

  Well, he wasn't just tired physically but mentally as well. It has been a little over a week since he st saw Yuna and now, he just wants to hold her tightly. Still, he always made sure to trol his desires to see her again, thinking of other things to shift his attention away from her.

  "Right, Poris, I've always wondered about it, but... How does w magic work? The teleportation part, I mean." ［Grey］

  "Hmm... I might not be the most knowledgeable about it, but I shall try my best to answer Master's question." ［Poris］

  "Great! Let's hear it then!" ［Grey］

  Burying his longing for Yuna with the use of curiosity, Grey attentively listeo Poris' expnations as the tter tried his best to expin how w magic works.

  It was just like one of the theories Grey read of back when he was oh. Rather than ing from one pce or aeleported as a whole, teleportation works by destrug an object, preserving the information, and then restrug it in another pce.

  In simpler terms, the object would be ripped to shreds with the use of mana, only to be put together afterwards in another pce. A phenomenon only possible with the many strange properties of mana.

  "I see... So it's teleported piece by piece rather than a whole..." ［Grey］

  "That is correct, Master." ［Poris］

  "Piece by piece, huh... I see... Hm?" ［Grey］

  It was as if a lightning bolt struck him. Hearing Poris' expnation, a sudden thought appeared on Grey's mind, his heart pumping like crazy as he finally got ahold of the key he had been looking for.

  The "Mastery Level", the level whipasses how profit one is in their css of attribute. Each level from "Basic" to "Ultimate" has a certain requirement to be met which is gained as one increases their uanding and ability to utilize it.

  In regards to spell, "Basic" mastery is reached when one trol the element, "Low" when one alter the element physically or chemically, "Intermediate" when create aroy it using mana, "High" wheruly uands the nature of the element, and "Advanced" when one apply such a nature of one's body, or as many people know it, "Authority".

  When perf a spell, like earth magic's "Rock Bullet", at "Basic" mastery, one simply gathers dust from the air and ground to create a rock to fire off. Meanwhile, at "Intermediate Mastery", mana itself creates a rock from thin air. Such is the differeween levels.

  Of course, there are still the "Superior" and "Ultimate" levels. With "Ultimate", one only o know all that there is to know. But "Superior" is rather special. It is the only mastery where one o achieve enlighte about the nature of their magic.

  An example was Richter's "Coiling Dragon" in which his lightning is given "life" and turns tons" which destroys the enemy on his behalf. But not everyone of the lightning-attribute awakens such. One's enlighte is uo them.

  "Poris, back away a little bit," ［Grey］

  "Uood." ［Poris］

  His voice eg clearly, Grey slowly stood up and exhaled calmly. The very moment, he leaked out to the enviro a rge amount of mana, spreading it far and wide, grasping as mue as he could.

  'Piece by piece...' ［Grey］

  Such a thought running inside his mind, Grey sharpened his focus as he trolled the windー No, it was not the wind, but the very air particles themselves, anding them one by one, letting them dance freely.

  The true nature of wind magic was the movement of gas particles. Though Grey easily uood such with the modern knowledge he possessed, he still used them as one being, moving them together. Such was the case until now,

  RUUUMMBLLLEEEEE

  As Grey deepened his focus, the particles danced wilder and wilder, vibrating faster and faster, and breaking the sonic barrier as chaos desded upon them. It was far too fast, the vibrations were.

  The sounds which were meant to be produced had reached frequencies no being could hear, but it was there, produg implosions and shockwaves which tore apart any matter in their adjat viity without mercy.

  The dungeon walls which could even withstand nuclear missiles were now ripped to shreds without any effort. her va nor fmes were spared, disied in a matter of seds. Grey has unlocked the final door.

  [Magic Proficy]Advanced (89%) →Superior (90%)

  The numbers have risen aers have been ged. Along with such a subtle ge in Grey's status s, the whole Labyrinth trembled violently, the winds of chaos destroying everything before him.

  Golden light shohe viity, brighter than any fmes to be see gentle as the warm and soft sunlight. Such brilliance tio dazzle as the quakes became more violent. The birth of a new King.

  ...

  CRASH CRASH CRASH

  A series of booms and crashes thundered across the corridors as a rge beast-like monster brandished its wildly cws in the air, leaving deep gashes in the walls and the ground like a wild madman.

  But it wasn't just for show. It has been trying to hit a certain silver-haired girl with all it could, but to no avail. No matter how fast it was, the tter was even faster. It has been several minutes already yet it hasn't nded even a single one.

  "Pytime's over... ??Thousand Bleeding Streams?? !" ［Yuna］

  The enemy didn't even have time to react. Yuna only brandished her daggers o a rain of cuts and sshes rained down upon the enemy, c its whole body with wounds and severing its joints oer another.

  When the merciless cascade stopped, all that there was left was a corpse riddled with wounds and holes, bathed in blood. A loud thud then resounded in the air as the lifeless body fell towards the ground without aance.

  "Really... It's ridiculous no matter how many times I see it..." ［Julius］

  "Fufufu! Yuna's amazing, after all!" ［Amelia］

  Watg such a se unfold were Julius and Amelia who were currently resting after their own battle. Yuna had told them to watch carefully and learn, but in all hoy, they haven't learnt a si. Yuna was just too fast for their eyes to follow.

  The only ones who could see her swift movements were the familiars who were on standby in case another enemy suddenly appeared. They looked at their Mistress with pride in their eyes as she fihe enemy off brilliantly.

  "Sorry, did I take too long?" ［Yuna］

  "This girl... Are you seriously asking us that...?" ［Julius］

  "Hm? Why? Is something wrー" ［Yuna］

  RUUUMMBLLLEEEEE

  Yuna couldn't even finish her words when the Labyrinth suddenly started to rumble violently, heavy quakes running through the ground without any warning.

  "O-Oi! What's happening?!" ［Julius］

  "K-Kyaaa!" ［Amelia］

  Panic struck Julius and Amelia's heart as they tried to stand their ground. If it wasn't for the fact that the familiars were there to g on, they would have already fallen butt-first towards the ground. But strangely enough, they were the only ones.

  Rather than panic, there were only soft expressions and smiles of satisfa to be seen in Yuna and the familiars' faces. In the deepest depths of their hearts, they could feel something amazing happening.

  "Mistress, it seems that Master has do. He has broken through." ［Sirius］

  "Un... That's great..." ［Yuna］

  A soft ale smile was afloat Yuna's face as she replied to Sirius' words. But Julius couldn't be any more different. Though it took him a little while to uand, the moment he did, shod disbelief swallowed his heart whole.

  Amelia was also in the same state, her eyes widened in shock, uo say a single word as a cold chill ran down her spine. She couldn't believe it, but she could only accept the truth... The fact that Grey had reached Camity-Css.

  "Yuna, just asking... How old is Grey again?" ［Julius］

  "Hmm... He's still 18. Why?" ［Yuna］

  "No, nothing... Just curious..." ［Julius］

  Or so he said, but Julius couldn't hide the dry smile on his face. Well, who would be? After all, even Richter, who is often called a great prodigy, had only reached it when he was in his mid-thirties. Yet Grey beat his record when he was just half his age. Everyone would be shocked.

  'Holy... What an unbelievable guy...' ［Julius］

  heless, Julius was still very happy. Evehe gap between them had only widened, he couldn't trol the excitement shaking his heart. An even fiercer fme of determination had started to burn.

  ...

  The brilliant golden light has faded and the quakes have finally calmed. Everything had returo normal and all that was to be seen in the fiery ndscape tinum dragon and a young man.

  "I bid you gratutions for your assion, Master." ［Poris］

  There was no response, only silence filled the air as Grey closed and opened his hands again and again. Though it was his own body, he felt a little strange. He felt much lighter and more fortable.

  The reason was simple. It was because the limits in his body had finally been lifted, a great burst of strength flooding his body as if the gates of a dam had just been brokeing all the water out.

  [bat Power]9,999 →14,889

  [Threat Level]S →Camity

  In just a single moment, Grey's strength leaped to more than three times than it was. Now, even without the use of Authority and only relying on his equipment, he was fident he could go toe to toe with the Skeleton Tyrant from before.

  If he were to use Authority like he had been doing, he was fident he could defeat even the monsters at the bottom of Disaster-Css. He felt like a bird who had regained his wings, ready to soar even much higher.

  "Poris..." ［Grey］

  "Yes, Master?" ［Poris］

  "I'm feeling a little daring today... What should I do?" ［Grey］

  "The Master should do whatever he wants. I am all but a mere servant. I will gdly follow the Master's wishes." ［Poris］

  "I see..." ［Grey］

  It was subtle, but a smile formed on Grey's face as soon as he heard Poris' answer. Well, his decision was already set in stone before he even asked. It was time to test out his newfound strengths.

  "Now the's this pce up, shall we?!" ［Grey］

  A bright smile on his face, Grey's voice resonated clearly throughout the Labyrinth corridors. A rapid surge of emotion flooded his heart whole, filling ead every side and er. That emotion was excitement.

  Soon, shrieks and squeals echoed all over the tenth floor as Grey and Poirs id waste towards all and any mohey saw. It was not a battle but a one-sided massacre, dozens of Camity-Css and a couple Disaster-Css monsters sin mercilessly oer another.

  Oh, what aful day.

  CHAPTER 193 END