Kaito gripped the hilt of his sword as he looked around. Hundreds of these floating platforms drifted through the air, connected only by thin, translucent bridges of light that flickered like dying candles. Below him, there was no ground—only a bottomless descent into a cosmic abyss.
[System Notification: Aetherial Labyrinth Entered]
[Environmental Hazard: Sensory Distortion & Low Oxygen]
[Passive Mana Drain: 5 MP/second (due to atmospheric vacuum)]
"Luna, stay on my heels," Kaito commanded, his breath coming in shallow gasps. The air here was thin, making every movement feel twice as taxing.
Beside him, the Celestial Fox let out a low, vibrating growl. Her silver fur began to pulse with a rhythmic light, acting as a beacon in the dim, purple glow of the nebula. She stepped onto the first bridge of light, her paws treading softly.
Suddenly, the space in front of them warped. Out of the stardust, creatures began to take shape—translucent, jellyfish-like entities with long, electrical tendrils that crackled with blue energy.
[System Scan: Void Phantoms (Level 28 - Silver Rank Peak)]
[Ability: Intangibility & Mana Siphon]
"Mana Siphons?" Kaito muttered, checking his status. "If they touch me, they'll drain my overcharged pool from the Ring."
[Current Mana: 2,495 / 2,100 (Decreasing...)]
Three Phantoms lunged, their tendrils lashing out like whips. Kaito activated Flame Dash++, but instead of a straight charge, he used the lack of gravity to leap into the air, spinning over the first attacker. He slashed his blade, but it passed harmlessly through the Phantom's ghostly body.
"Physical attacks don't work!" Taro shouted from the platform behind him, his voice sounding distant in the thin atmosphere. "Kaito, you have to use pure Mana or Shadow energy!"
Kaito landed on a narrow crystal spire, his boots skidding. "Luna, Starfall++!"
The Fox howled, a sound that resonated through the void. Instead of meteors falling from a sky, shards of starlight erupted from the nebula itself, piercing through the Phantoms. The "Star" element was the natural antithesis to the "Void" element of the Phantoms. Two of them evaporated into mist, but four more emerged from the shadows beneath the bridges.
"They're coming from the void itself," Kaito realized, his Intelligence (495) analyzing the spawn patterns. "They aren't guarding the path; they are the path."
Kaito closed his eyes, centering his focus. He reached into the dark well of power provided by the Shadow Mastery Skill Book. If he couldn't hit them with steel, he would hit them with their own kin.
"Shadow Cloak: Infusion!"
Instead of turning invisible, Kaito funneled the shadow energy directly into his sword. The blade turned a matte, soul-sucking black, devouring the ambient light of the nebula. He leaped, utilizing Dimensional Blink++ to teleport mid-air between three platforms.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
The shadow-coated blade sliced through the Phantoms as if they were solid flesh. Each kill sent a jolt of cold energy back into the Ring of Eternal Mana, keeping his reserves topped up despite the environmental drain.
[System Notification: 10 Phantoms Defeated]
[Level Up Progress: 24,000 / 30,000 EXP]
As Kaito fought his way across the bridges, the Unidentified Egg in his bag began to vibrate violently. It wasn't just absorbing Mana anymore; it was reacting to the Void Phantoms. Every time a Phantom died near Kaito, a wisp of its soul-essence was sucked into the egg's shell.
"Not yet," Kaito whispered to the bag, feeling the heat of the egg against his spine. "We have to reach the sixth floor first."
The Fifth Floor: The Frozen Core
By the time Kaito reached the portal to the Fifth Floor, his stamina was flagging. He stepped through, expecting more space-themed hazards, but was met with a wall of absolute zero temperature.
He was inside a gargantuan cavern of "True Ice"—ice so cold it functioned as a conductor for magic. The floor was a mirror-smooth lake of frozen Mana.
[System Notification: Frozen Core Entered]
[Environmental Hazard: Absolute Zero (HP -10/second without Heat Source)]
"Flame Dash... keep it active!" Kaito ordered himself. He forced his Mana to burn constantly, creating a thin veil of fire around his body and Luna. The steam hissed as it hit the sub-zero air.
The challenge of the Fifth Floor was a test of endurance. There was only one enemy here: a Frost-Bound Colossus (Level 32 - Gold Rank Initial). It sat at the center of the lake, a mountain of ice and ancient runes.
Kaito didn't wait for it to wake up. "Luna, full power! Celestial Shield++ to keep us from freezing, and then use every bit of Mana for Starfall++!"
The battle was a blur of white ice and blue fire. The Colossus moved slowly, but every time it slammed its fist into the frozen lake, the entire floor shattered and reformed, trying to trap Kaito's feet in the ice. Kaito danced on the edge of death, his Agility (385) being pushed to its absolute limit as he dodged ice spikes the size of skyscrapers.
After a grueling twenty-minute struggle, Kaito found the weak point—a glowing core in the Colossus's chest. He used Dimensional Blink++ to appear directly on the monster's shoulder, drove his shadow-flame sword into the core, and unleashed a Flame Burst from within.
The Colossus shattered into a billion diamonds.
[Floor 5 Completed!]
[Level Up! Kaito Yamada: Level 21 -> 24]
[Rank: C (Peak)]
[Stat Points Awarded: +300]
Kaito collapsed onto the ice, his lungs burning. He had done it. He was at the doorstep of the Sixth Floor.
Up in the monitoring station, Seraphina's emerald eyes were fixed on the screen. She hadn't moved for three hours. Her arms were no longer crossed; her hands were resting on the console, her fingers tapping a restless rhythm.
"He's Level 24 now," she whispered, more to herself than to Haruto. "His Strength and Intelligence are scaling at a rate that shouldn't be possible for a C-Rank. Haruto... what exactly is that 'System' he has?"
"It is the SSS-Rank 'Universal Tamer' interface," Haruto replied, his voice grave. "It doesn't just give him power; it adapts to his needs. But look at the screen, Seraphina. Look at the Sixth Floor entrance."
On the monitor, a gate made of golden light and dark void-matter began to materialize.
"The Floor 6 Guardian," Seraphina said, her voice trembling slightly with excitement. "The Calamity Behemoth. If he beats that... he won't just be a student anymore. He'll be a Master-class candidate."
She turned toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Haruto asked.
"To the Rift Exit," Seraphina replied, her crimson ponytail whipping behind her as she moved. "If he survives that Behemoth, he's going to be half-dead and overflowing with unstable Mana. He'll need a teacher who can suppress his core before he self-destructs. And... I want to see his eyes in person."
As she walked down the hall, her A-Rank aura flared, causing the lights in the corridor to flicker. She was the "Crimson Valkyrie," and she had finally found a disciple worth her time.
Kaito Yamada
Level: 24
Rank: C (Peak)
New Stats (after +300 Point Distribution):
Strength: 510 (+75)
Agility: 460 (+75)
Intelligence: 570 (+75)
Endurance: 401 (+75)
HP / Mana: 3,400 / 2,400 (Base)
Celestial Fox (Luna)
Level: 18
New Status: Silver Rank (Peak)
Skill Update: Celestial Shield++ now grants 10% Cold Resistance.
The Unidentified Egg
Synchronization: 8.5%
Status: "Hungry." It has begun actively drawing tiny amounts of Mana from Kaito's Ring.