In front of a massive gate carved into the base of a mountain near the capital, Akira stood staring at the colossal structure that seemed to swallow the morning light.
This was the entrance to "The Labyrinth." The secret weapon of the Tempest nation, and a place where it was said that death was merely "just the beginning."
Beside him stood Hakuro, while Shion stood behind them, smiling enthusiastically as she polished her giant sword with a piece of cloth.
"Hello, hello! Is this the human boy who turned the capital upside down?!"
A sharp, slightly annoying voice came from above. Akira raised his head to see a very small fairy, about the size of a palm, fluttering on transparent wings. She had childish features but was standing in a remarkably arrogant posture, her tiny hands planted on her hips.
It was Ramiris. A Demon Lord, Queen of Spirits, and the ruler of this Labyrinth.
"You look... like a glowing fly..." The words slipped from Akira's mouth unintentionally.
Ramiris's face turned beet red with anger, and she flew over at top speed to bop Akira on the forehead with her tiny fist.
"Who are you calling a fly, you insolent brat?! I am the great Ramiris-sama! One of the oldest Demon Lords! I could crush you with a single finger... if Veldora were here to do it for me!"
"Gwahahaha!"
Veldora emerged from the massive gate, wearing his signature black outfit, his face overflowing with excitement. "Do not be angry, Ramiris! This boy is my only reference for the endings of great manga. I asked you to prepare 'that room', didn't I?"
Ramiris flew over and sat on Veldora's shoulder, looking smug. "Of course! I used all my energy to create the 'Room of Spirit and Time' on the 100th floor! Exactly as you requested. One day outside equals five days inside. You have seven days before the angels arrive, which means... 35 days of continuous training!"
Akira's eyes widened. "The Room of Spirit and Time? Did he just rip that off from Dragon Ball?"
Hakuro turned toward Akira and placed a hand on the boy's uninjured shoulder. "My role temporarily ends here, Akira. I taught you how to read danger and how to erase your presence. Now... you must learn how to endure 'absolute pressure' so you can launch a counterattack. Don't die, even if they kill you."
"Your last sentence makes absolutely no sense, Master!" Akira screamed in despair.
But Shion didn't give him a moment to process. She grabbed him by the collar, as she usually did, and dashed toward the dark gate, following right behind Veldora and Ramiris. "Let's go! No time to waste!"
They didn't walk through the floors. Ramiris used her authority to transport them directly to the 100th floor. When the glowing magical doors opened, Akira found himself facing a vast, infinite white space. No walls, no ceiling—just a white void stretching on forever.
"Enter, boy!" Veldora said, pushing him inside.
The moment Akira crossed the threshold... he fell flat on his face. He didn't trip. He was crushed.
The gravity here was several times that of normal gravity. But worse than that was the "air." It wasn't normal air; it was saturated with magicules at a density lethal to any ordinary human.
[Critical Warning!] [External Pressure: 10x normal rate.] [Magicule Toxicity: Extremely high. Risk of blood vessel rupture.] [Maximum Activation: Pain Memory.]
Akira was panting, blood trickling from his nose. He felt as if a heavy transport truck was parked on his chest. "What... what is this..." he whispered, struggling just to lift his head.
"Gwahahaha! This is real training!" Veldora stood before him, seemingly unaffected by the environment. "In volume fifteen, the protagonist couldn't master 'Aura' until he trained under a waterfall with 10x gravity! I had Ramiris create this specifically for you!"
"You... idiot..." Akira spat blood, trying to support himself on his hands.
"No time for lying around, Akira!" Shion shouted with a terrifying smile. She drew her giant sword, which gleamed with a savage purple light. "If your body feels heavy, dodge my strikes to shed some weight!"
Shion raised her sword and swung it horizontally at the ground. The attack wasn't aimed to cut him; instead, it unleashed an atmospheric shockwave that nearly tore the room apart.
I'm going to die! Akira screamed in his mind.
He didn't have the luxury of thinking. [Activation: Void Perception Eye + Void Raiment.]
The world turned gray. Despite the gravity crushing his bones, Akira managed to read the trajectory of the shockwave before it reached him. Instead of jumping—which was impossible under this pressure—he pulled his energy inward at a frantic pace, activating the "Void Raiment."
In that instant, his presence vanished completely from Shion's senses. The purple shockwave passed right over him, shredding his shirt, but it didn't land a direct hit.
"Hoh? He disappeared?!" Shion was surprised, looking around.
"Amazing!" Veldora yelled, his eyes sparkling. "He used a 'Phantom Stealth' technique to dodge the attack! But that's not enough! Now... endure this!"
Veldora raised his finger and fired a tiny bullet of pure magicules. It wasn't lethal, but it was incredibly fast. Akira read the attack through his Void Perception, but the gravity prevented his body from moving in time.
BAM!
The bullet struck his shoulder, and Akira cried out from the burning pain.
[Activation: Pain Memory.] [Muscular Durability +10. Pressure Tolerance +15. Magicule Toxicity Resistance +20.]
Despite the pain that nearly made him lose consciousness, Akira noticed something. The System was working at double speed here. Due to the massive pressure of gravity and the surging magicules, his body was in a state of "pain" every single second. This meant that "Pain Memory" was continuously raising his stats without pause!
Akira stood up slowly. His body was trembling, and blood covered his face, but his eyes were burning with a crazed, manic glint.
"I think... I understand how this room works..." Akira said, wiping the blood from his chin and looking right at Shion and Veldora.
"The gravity breaks my muscles, and the System rebuilds them in the exact same moment. Every second I spend here, I grow stronger."
Akira assumed a fighting stance, releasing his soul shards around him. "Come on... hit me with everything you've got."
Shion smiled a wide, terrifying smile, while Veldora cracked his knuckles enthusiastically. "I love this Shonen-style determination! Prepare to die, hero!"
And in that white room began the longest, most grueling 35 days in Akira Yuzuki's life. Days that would transform him from a weak human... into something that stood on equal footing with the monsters of Tempest.