Chapter 342: Days without rest and sleep!

Her words ended as her form split apart, dissolving into fragments of fading red mana. The pressure vanished.

The dungeon groaned, the oppressive weight lifting at once.

Kael stood there lowering his sword.

Then his knees gave out.

He collapsed forward, catching himself on the blade, gasping as the backlash hit him all at once.

Blood dripped from his nose. His hands shook uncontrollably.

Behind him—

The white-eyed saber stared in stunned silence.

"…He severed her," she said softly. "Alone."

Yumi ran to Kael's side, grabbing his arm.

"You are stupid," she said. "You almost killed yourself."

Kael let out a weak, breathless laugh.

"…Yeah," he replied. "But she's not getting back up."

Kael lay against a fractured pillar, his back pressed to cold stone that still radiated faint heat from the battle.

His chest rose and fell unevenly. Every breath felt earned. The backlash from Astral Severance had not faded—it lingered like a heavy fog inside his bones.

(Will she serve me like the white-eyed saber girl?) Kael thought, eyes half-lidded as he stared at the place where the red-eyed saber had fallen.

There was no body.

Only drifting motes of red mana dissolving into the dungeon air.

The white-eyed saber stood silently nearby, her sword resting tip-down against the stone. She was watching the same spot, her expression unreadable.

Then—

The red-eyed saber vanished completely.

Not collapsing.

Not shattering.

She simply… dispersed.

Her remaining mana broke apart into fine threads of crimson light and faded into the air, as if she had never truly existed in this layer of reality.

Kael frowned.

"That's different," he murmured.

Yumi noticed it too. "She didn't leave anything behind… not even a core."

The white-eyed saber shook her head slowly.

"She was not fully bound," she said. "Her existence was conditional. When severed, there was nothing left to anchor."

Kael absorbed that in silence.

(So no contract… no servitude.)

Part of him felt relief.

Another part felt uneasy.

He reached into his pocket with stiff fingers and pulled out a small, battered watch. The glass was scratched, the casing dented—an old thing he'd kept even after entering this world.

The hands ticked steadily.

"…Still time," he said softly.

He looked at the others.

"Let's take a break for now."

Yumi blinked. "Here?"

Kael nodded. "Level Thirty is unstable, but it's cleared. Nothing should spawn for a while."

The white-eyed saber inclined her head. "I will stand guard."

They chose a relatively intact corner of the arena, sheltered by broken stone and a partially collapsed wall.

Kael gathered fragments of fallen wood and debris, striking flint until a small fire crackled to life.

The orange glow pushed back the dungeon's darkness, casting long shadows across the shattered floor.

For the first time since returning, the oppressive pressure eased.

Kael opened his bag and took out the remaining packed food—dried meat, compressed rations, a few hardened bread blocks.

He handed portions to Yumi and then to the white-eyed saber.

Yumi accepted hers gratefully, already tearing into it despite her fatigue.

The white-eyed saber stared at the food.

Then shook her head.

"I don't eat such things," she said calmly. "For me to grow strong, I require mana elixir."

Kael paused, then nodded as if he had expected that answer. He reached into the bag again and pulled out a mana elixir vial, handing it to her.

She accepted it with a slight bow and drank it without hesitation. The liquid vanished, and faint white light pulsed briefly beneath her skin before settling.

"…Efficient," Kael muttered.

They ate in silence for a while.

The fire crackled.

Stone shifted faintly in the distance as the dungeon adjusted to its new state.

"I should clear this dungeon within three days," Kael said suddenly.

Yumi choked on her food.

"Three days?!" she coughed. "That's impossible!"

Even the white-eyed saber turned her head slightly.

Kael didn't look at either of them.

"The dungeon already cost me time," he continued. "I can't afford a slow crawl."

Yumi wiped her mouth, staring at him. "Kael, this place almost killed you. Twice. And we don't even know how deep it goes!"

"You do," Kael replied, finally meeting her eyes.

Yumi hesitated.

"…I know parts of it."

"That's enough," Kael said. "You just need to guide us through the levels. I'll clear the rest."

The firelight reflected in his eyes—steady, determined, almost frightening in its calm.

Yumi swallowed.

"…You're insane."

"Probably," Kael agreed.

The white-eyed saber spoke then.

"If you command it," she said, "I will carve a path."

Kael shook his head. "No commands. Just support."

She paused, then nodded. "Understood."

The exhaustion hit them all at once after that.

Kael leaned back, closing his eyes, his sword laid carefully within reach. Yumi curled up near the fire, tail wrapping loosely around herself for warmth. The white-eyed saber remained seated, back straight, eyes closed—but fully aware.

Two hours.

They meant to nap for two hours.

The dungeon had other plans.

Kael's eyes snapped open.

The fire was gone.

The warmth vanished.

The air had changed—cooler, denser, humming faintly with unfamiliar mana.

He sat up sharply.

Yumi gasped beside him. "What—?"

The white-eyed saber rose instantly, sword already in hand.

The shattered arena of Level Thirty was gone.

In its place—

Smooth black stone floors stretched outward in perfect geometric patterns. Tall pillars etched with glowing symbols lined a massive corridor that seemed to extend endlessly in both directions. The ceiling was impossibly high, lost in shadow.

A low, resonant hum filled the air.

Kael stood slowly.

"…We didn't move," he said.

Yumi's ears flattened. "Then how—?"

A translucent system message flickered into existence before them.

[Level Thirty-One]

[Environment: Resonance Corridor]

[Progression Trigger: Automatic]

Kael clenched his fist.

"So the dungeon dragged us forward."

The white-eyed saber scanned the surroundings.

"This level responds to rest states," she said. "It advances challengers who linger too long."

Yumi groaned. "So even resting is dangerous here."

Kael exhaled slowly.

Then smiled faintly.

"…Good," he said. "Saves time."

He tightened the strap of his bag, adjusted his grip on his sword, and stepped forward into the corridor.

"Level Thirty-One," he murmured. "Let's see what you've got."

Two days passed.

Not days measured by sunlight or darkness—because the dungeon had neither—but by exhaustion, by the number of demons slain, by the way Kael's body screamed and then went numb and then screamed again.

They did not sleep.

Not once.

Level Thirty-One bled into Thirty-Two, then Thirty-Three, each transition marked by a distortion of space and a cold system chime that no longer surprised them.

The dungeon no longer gave them time to adjust. The moment one level fell silent, the next dragged them forward.

Corridors became arenas.

Arenas became labyrinths.

Labyrinths became killing grounds.

By Level Thirty-Five, Kael had stopped counting individual enemies. Demons came in waves—bone-skinned crawlers, mana-fed hounds, armored brutes whose hides rang like iron when struck.

Kael fought them all with a brutal efficiency born from necessity. His sword never left his hand.

His movements grew simpler, sharper. No wasted motion. No hesitation.

Yumi fought at his side.

Her beast form no longer flickered from fear, but from overuse. She shifted between claws and weapon-form seamlessly, tearing through weaker demons, pinning stronger ones, calling out warnings when ambushes came from blind angles.

"Left—high!"

Kael would move before she finished speaking.

The white-eyed saber was everywhere.

She did not tire.

She did not slow.

Her blade sang endlessly, cutting through demon ranks like wind through grass.

When Kael's mana dipped too low, she stepped forward without a word. When Yumi was overwhelmed, the saber appeared between her and death in a flash of white steel.

Level Forty was a breaking point.

The dungeon shifted tactics.

No more swarms.

Instead, elite demons—each one a mini-boss in its own right—guarded narrow passages.

Spellcasters layered curses into the air. Heavy units blocked paths while ranged demons rained mana from afar.

Kael adapted.

He stopped pushing recklessly.

"Yumi, guide," he said hoarsely. "Shortest route. Skip anything unnecessary."

She nodded, eyes glowing faintly as she relied on instinct and memory. "This way… but there's a trap field ahead."

"Then we cut through it," Kael replied.

He did.

Traps detonated. Blades tore through his coat. Poison burned his skin. He drank elixirs mid-run, crushed demon cores when supplies ran low, forcing his body to metabolize raw essence again and again.

The pain became background noise.

By Level Forty-Five, Kael's vision blurred constantly. His hands shook even when gripping his sword. His mana circuits felt like cracked glass barely holding together.

Still, he did not stop.

The saber girl watched him closely.

"You are exceeding human limits," she said once, parrying three demon strikes at once.

Kael laughed weakly. "Then they should've given me better limits."

Yumi stared at him in disbelief. "You're insane… both of you."

But she followed.

Always.

Level Fifty arrived without ceremony.

A vast hall of obsidian stone, its floor etched with glowing red veins.

The enemies here were coordinated—commanders directing formations, shield-bearers locking Kael down while executioners aimed for his blind spots.

It was the hardest fight yet.

Kael was thrown to the ground twice. Yumi took a direct hit that cracked her armor and sent her skidding across the floor.

The saber girl was forced to unleash techniques Kael hadn't seen before—blinding arcs of light that cleaved entire formations apart.

When the last demon fell, the three of them stood in silence.

Level Fifty-One and Fifty-Two blurred together in a haze of constant combat. Kael lost track of how many times he drank elixirs, how many demon cores he crushed between his teeth.

His body moved on will alone.

Finally—

Silence.

A wide stone platform unfolded beneath their feet.

[Level Fifty-Two Cleared.]

The message hung in the air.

Kael stood there, sword tip resting against the ground.

Two days.

No sleep.

Fifty-two levels.

He swayed.