In my last training session, lowering the amount of MP per charge increased my progress to a surprising degree. Handling lower amounts of mana is much easier to control and is more realistic in the long run after all. To raise my mana control proficiency, the total amount of consumed mana over time seems to be more of a determining factor than the amount I can muster per attack.

As levels increase, they bring forth improved overall stats in all categories. However, I’m finding that the refinement of mana requires a higher level of control and experience to master. While raw power may grow with leveling up, the true potential of this new power is becoming more clear to me with every passing day.

I wonder if B and A-Class hunters normally practice their mana control. Doing so without a plundering ability would cost a fortune. I’m burning through hundreds of gold worth of MP, even for an Elite hunter, this would be impossible to train consistently… right?

I decide to create the “One Second Rule”. Every day I train for 8 hours. I charge up for one full second with as much MP as physically possible, then release it all and rest for 2-4 full minutes.

On day 1, I’m able to charge 2000MP into each blade in just under 1 second. The progression is slow, but the results pay off in the end. It’s a brutal process, but I manage to average over 750k MP usage per day by the end of the week.

My rate of control increases quite a bit. In just one second, I’m able to hold 2750MP in each blade. Anything under 1000MP per blade can be charged while I swing, the attacks are deadly projectiles charged almost instantaneously.

At the end of each day, I test my progress with a fully charged attack. I still cap out at around 11000MP in total, but getting there is a lot faster. In just over 20 seconds, I can release this ultimate attack.

After each strike, the tear in the pristine white wall grows, a testament to the progression of my attack. Despite the damage inflicted, the wall heals itself in an instant each time, leaving no trace of my assaults. Its smooth surface remains unscathed, taunting my efforts.

At the end of day 7, the final tear looks wide enough for me to squeeze through if I tried. It’s just over 2m high and a little under half a meter across.

I’m getting dangerously low on food and water. My jerky is at 0.5 kg and my water is down to 3 bottles.

Ember has been progressing slowly. I’ve made a mental note of his progress at the end of each passing day.

Day 1: [Lv. 253]

Day 2: [Lv. 260]

Day 3: [Lv. 269]

Day 4: [Lv. 281]

Day 5: [Lv. 293]

Day 6: [Lv. 306]

Day 7: [Lv. 322]

His levels are going up faster every day. It seems the rate of absorption is slowly rising. I just have to hang on a little longer.

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m not even hungry anymore. I just wake up, train, go to sleep, then do it again.

My 1-second charge capabilities have risen to 3500MP per blade, and my full power strikes can be charged up to 12500 and released in under 15 seconds. This may seem like a dramatic jump in just 3 days, but there’s an interesting explanation as to why.

The crimson glow around Ember has become much stronger. The air, ground, walls, and ceiling around the resting Dragon hum loudly as it continues to absorb MP and level up.

End of Day 8: [Lv. 339]

Anytime I get within a 10m radius of the slumbering beast, my own mana begins to be sucked into the growing red aura.

End of Day 9: [Lv. 357]

My stash of mana crystals gets accidentally absorbed in its large plundering radius today. I throw all my loot into my item storage for safekeeping.

This is the day I eat my last bite of food, I’ve completely run out. I have a bottle and a half of water remaining, but it’s not looking good…

Beginning of Day 10:

Today is the day when everything changes… I wake up to a familiar ringing sound in my head.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

While rubbing my eyes and standing to my feet, I open my status to realize I’ve leveled up 3 times overnight… Somehow, I’m level 362 now. It’s odd, but with my tired mind, starving body, and singular goal, I decide not to think much of it and get back to work.

Walking past Ember, the aura around its body is nearly 20m in diameter. It emanates a deep crimson hue, pulsating with intensity and filling the air with a loud hum. The floor beneath us quakes with a violent rumble. I use inspect to check on its progress.

[Lv. 362]

Odd, it’s exactly the same level as me… During my training today, I hear the “level up” sound go off in my head over and over again.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

It goes off 15 more times in fact… My maximum mana reserves have risen because of the pure stat-based boosts and my swords have leveled up a good amount too.

I check my status.

I can hardly believe the number that floats at the top of the blue screen.

[Lv. 377]

I’m exhausted from my long day of training without a single but to eat. I’m on my last 1-liter bottle of water, and dreading the day it runs out.

My final test of strength goes very well. The 12500MP strike rips a 5m long and 2m wide tear in the white wall. It stays open for almost 30 seconds before sealing completely.

My mind is fuzzy and my body is weak. As I fall asleep, a few words the Dragon said about our contract repeat in my head as I drift off into a peaceful slumber.

“If one dies, the other does too. If one gains exp, so does their counterpart. It is a perfect partnership for any two like-minded monsters wouldn’t you say so?”

The connection in my foggy nutrient-deprived brain finally clicks. The reason for my accelerated level growth becomes clear: I am actually sharing Ember's experience gains.

As I drift off, a faint smile tugs at the corners of my lips. Even though I'm on the opposite side of the white-walled prison, the rumbling and intense humming of the black-scaled Dragon's [Mythic Grade] plundering skill reaches my ears. It's a reassuring reminder of the strong companion that now stands by my side.

My dehydration and mental exhaustion are pushing me to my absolute limits. My lips are cracked, my joints aching, and my hair starting to fall out. No amount of self regeneration is helping at this point. The hard ground is getting comfortable, the hot dry air is oddly soothing, and the lack of food and water hardly bothers me. All I’m focused on is finishing my mission.

Hours later, I’m woken up by more “level up” ringing noises.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

I gained another 7 levels in my sleep… I’m at 384 now.

[Status Open]

____________________

Name: Jay Soju

Level: 384

Hp: 1925/1925

Mp: 320/1925

Strength: 945[+954][+652][+473]

Speed: 1112 [+667][+556]

Agility: 1211 [+545][+836][+606]

Defense: 835 [+334][+418]

Mental Strength: 945 [+567][+378][+425][+662][+491][+473]

Skills:

Absorption [Special Grade]

Swordsmanship

Combat Magic [Advanced Fire Summoning]

Inspect [Special Grade]

Enemy Detection

Body Hardening [Special Grade]

Self Regeneration [Special Grade]

Spacial Magic [Item Storage]

Plunderer

Telekinesis

Appraisal [Special Grade]

Conceal [Special Grade]

Berserker

Dungeon Walker [Special Grade]

Intimidation

Dagger Mastery

Stealth

Bloodlust

Equivalent Exchange

Combat Magic [Wind Summoning]

All-Seeing Eye

Extreme Strength

Dual Wielding [Special Grade]

Telepathy [Legendary Grade]

Items Equipped:

High Ogre King’s Ring [+60% Mental Strength]

Cyclops Eye Pendant [+40% Defense]

Dark Elf Boots [+60% Speed]

Griffin’s Talon [+40% Mental Strength]

Serpent King’s Scale [+45% Agility] [+45% Magic Resistance]

Desert Troll’s Charm [+45% Mental Strength]

The Flame Emperor’s Sword [Fire Aspect][+101% Strength][+70% Mental Strength]

The Wind Tyrant’s Dagger Set [Wind Aspect][+69% Strength][+69% Agility][+52% Mental Strength]

[Greater Demon’s Core] +50% All Stats

[Lenses Of Illusion]

_____________________

At this rate, I’ll be a B-Class in just a few more days. I gained 20 levels yesterday and 7 while sleeping… If I can survive this trial I’ll be a B-Class just mere weeks after my C-Class exams…

Today, as I do my morning ritual of rubbing my dry eyes, stretching my poor arms and back, then slowly standing to my feet. I realize my MP bar is nearly at 0…. A red tint fills my vision and the ground beneath my feet reverberates with a powerful hum.

I look over to the far side of the rectangular white-walled room to see Ember bathed in an aura of intense, dark red energy. The surroundings seem to bend and warp under the sheer pressure of the Dragon's skill.

I step closer and the hum gets louder. Every echoing footstep I take toward the rapidly leveling Dragon sucks more and more MP from my body. I’m easily able to plunder my way back up to full, but it’s still an odd sensation.

At 50m away, the ground isn’t just humming anymore, it’s rattling making it hard to stand up straight without concentrating on my balance.

At 20m away it’s a whole different story. The crimson veil around the creature is so dense that if I didn’t have an MP plundering skill myself, along with the intense training these past few weeks, I’d be sucked dry of mana in an instant. The floor shakes and moves violently at this distance, it’s very difficult to stay upright.

Determined, I tighten my jaw and decide not to go in any further. I understand that by keeping my distance and focusing on my training, this ordeal will be over soon. Based on my foggy-brained calculations, Ember has the potential to achieve a rank-up within the next 5 days, given his current rate of progress. My primary goal here is to endure and survive.

“Just… a little longer…”