"Well then, try it. Let's see. You might as well give it a test run in here while I start the collapse and get us out."
I look down at my sword, then back up to Ember.
"How?"
The dragon starts to pulse red, signifying the mythic grade Plunderer skill is activating, but he responds.
"You either know how to do it, or you need to continue working on raising your capacity. There's no special technique or secret. It just takes time to build upon your base. If you don't have control, you won't be able to manifest it outside your body."
Ember closes his eyes and his body becomes completely engulfed in the red aura of his mythic grade Plunderer skill.
His words echo through my mind before he closes his eyes and begins.
"Try it with your sword. It should feel like you're throwing a punch, but allowing the Qi to flow out similar to how you release mana from your weapon. I've gotten a lot stronger since our last time collapsing a domain like this, it shouldn't take more than a few hours. So practice all you want, I'm sure that will be enough time to understand your natural limit."
The floor beneath Ember begins to rattle slightly and a deep red colored aura seeps out of him at a fairly quick rate.
"Looks like you really have gotten a lot stronger..."
I give a light smile, then turn to walk over to the opposite side of the room holding my sword.
While Ember starts to take in all of the mana in the atmosphere, I concentrate hard on only my Qi and let it flow through my sword just like I would in a normal fight.
I haven't tried this in quite a while, and the nearly 70% increase in my capacity and the constant state of control I've been practicing while meditating over the last few months, it comes as second nature.
Saturating my blade with Qi up to its optimized potential is as easy as raising a hand to get ready to punch.
I swing it through the air a few times, activating my swordsmanship skill to help practice a few foot movement patterns I learned from Monk, then stop with my blade pointed at the wall.
"I do feel quicker... and this is all much more crisp and natural, but manifesting Qi outside my body? Where do I even start...?"
I close my eyes and try to focus on the waves of white-hot energy circulating through the blood-bonded sword in my hands. In the same moment, I repeat the swings and foot patterns I used before, and increase the rate at which Qi flows from my core into my sword.
The speed and force of the flow begins to create a strong sensation like an ocean wave's current coming from deep within my body. The waves of Qi clash against the outer edges of the blade as I continue to practice the movements and become more in touch with this increased power.
As the crashing waves collide with the edges of my blade, particles splash out into the open room, and every strike slices through the air with increased vigor. My attacks seem more deadly than ever, but I can't seem to get more than just a few microscopic particles of Qi to drip out like condensation on a glass.
It's progress, but I still need something to test it on to know what its true capabilities are.
My eyes open, and I see Ember's cloud of red aura has expanded even further, and the portal of Domain he sits on is beginning to fall away already.
"I don't have much time."
I smile and my focus shifts to the nearest white wall to my left side.
Using the same technique as my test run, I begin slicing through the mana-shielded wall as if it's made of styrofoam.
I'm not using any mana at all in my strikes. The only thing I'm doing is oversaturating my sword and allowing Qi particles to be released at an even more rapid rate on impact.
For the next hour or so, I slice holes in the back wall of the Domain over and over getting better and better at releasing trace amounts of Qi through the edge of my blade. The hundreds of cuts in the wall heal up almost as fast as I make them, and the small amounts of Qi that escape from my blade float off into the endless void around me.
Once the red aura from Ember's skill fills the entire room, I simultaneously come to a halt in my training.
"Ember was right... There is a limit."
For the first few dozen strikes on a real target, it felt as if I was improving each time, releasing more and more Qi in each attack. However, once I got used to the feeling, and even releasing energy became almost second nature, the natural limit to my attack is met.
What started as just a few tiny particles is now a faint mist.
After all of this, about 30% of my Qi base has been depleted. A single Qi pill will bring me back to full without a problem. The depletion rate is slightly faster than normal training with my fists. It is still sustainable for long battles, but I can tell if I raise my capacity and control, I'll have the ability to release attacks that use up higher percentages of my entire base.
While pondering this, content with my progress so far, I let all the Qi in my body and sword trickle back into my core and prepare to meet the outside world again.
Ember's Mythic Grade Plunderer skill begins to take up more and more of the area and the white-walled structure around us begins to crumble. It's just like the time before. Once it starts, the reaction won't stop, and I let out a wave of fire magic nearing the end of his plunder to help break down the dwindling outer edges of the domain.
A multicolored flare of light leaves us both on the grassy Dungeon Floor of the Great Plains moments later.
Ember wakes up from his slumber-like state and I point to the sky.
"Want to stretch your wings before I get back to work?"
I air-step onto Ember's back while he flaps his wings and flies high up into the sky into the artificial dungeon clouds and away from anyone's sight.
As we soar through the air, I fill him in on the progress of my Qi and he explains that this is a very good start. The gathering and meditative state has brought my control up considerably, so practicing more won't do much more to raise my ability. More time and more Qi will.
Aside from that, as I look out at the open dungeon, my mind feels crystal clear.
I read through my journal to make sure I know exactly what I have to do next. Abby and Maria are still in their training session high up in the Vice City Labyrinth. This was all 6 months ago in my time, but merely 4 hours ago in the real world before I entered the isolation pod in the Galeheart Tower.
After their farming is done, I have to meet with Monk for a training session. I'm going to make sure to load up on Qi pills when I do.
Then lastly, I have a counteroffer for Lith that I'm sure he won't refuse.
With sharp eyes, and a barely visible grin creeping across my lips, I speak out into the open air.
"I have some work to do. This will be quite fun."
Usually, after a great awakening or rise in power, I see the world in a whole new light.
The sun looks brighter, the trees look greener, people's smiles even seem wider, and it feels as though whispers of the universe have entered my mind.
This time... it feels different. The world around me has not changed at all. It feels as if I'm looking out at a puzzle that is already solved.
My mindset is exactly the same as it was when I entered the Titan's Domain, the only difference is I know exactly what I have to do next. The situations I put myself in are very complicated. However, now that I've had enough time to think things through, it has all become very simple.
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