Glenn exhaled a tired breath and pushed himself up. He glanced at the dragon's corpse and couldn't help but grin.

"Hehe...Hehehe!" He laughed uncontrollably, unable to believe his eyes.

'I killed a dragon! A dragon! An actual dragon!' The realization was hitting him a little harder than he had expected. 'I actually feel like a hero now! Hahaha, Glenn the Dragonslayer, who slaughtered Bayle the Dread, hiding beneath the mountain!'

"How poetic. Don't give dumb nicknames to that overgrown lizard," Diamanes groaned, "I can't believe you didn't break through despite fighting that thing. You really are talentless."

Glenn waved his hand's comments dismissively, approaching the body curiously. The body was filling up the entire cave, its black scales reflecting the light of Glenn's Sun Touch.

"Damn...dragon bone weapons, dragon scale armor, potions using the dragon's heart...This is a gold mine..." Glenn muttered excitedly.

//Descendant.

Gundam's voice echoed in the cave, startling Glenn.

"Ah, shit, I forgot you were here!" Glenn rubbed the back of his head and looked up. A holographic screen was still displayed against the cave's ceiling, his sister's face visible through the magical equivalent of a Zoom call. She looked at him with awe and amazement. Glenn grinned and flexed his biceps.

"See? That's how strong your brother is! Haha, can't say shit now, huh?"

Lina held her head in awe, her lips moving without a sound coming out. Glenn blinked, before cursing, "Shit, I forgot I muted you. Gundam—" Sadly, Lina chose to cut the communication.

"Oh...Well, anyway," He shrugged and crossed his arms, "Gundam, could you give me a hand transporting the dragon's body?"

//Descendant. This mutated lifeform is not a dragon. Do not disrespect the draconic legacy by insulting them this way.

The robot seemed particularly irritated at Glenn calling the 'mutated lifeform' a dragon.

"Sorry, but what else is it supposed to be?" Glenn inquired as he kicked the lifeless body. Gundam took some time to process the question.

//It. Is. Not. A. Dragon. The robot repeated stubbornly.

Glenn sighed, "Alright, alright, then it isn't a dragon. Could you still move that dr...lizard for me, Gundam?"

//Absolutely, Descendant. Please be patient during the downtime.

The robot seemed satisfied that Glenn had accepted his conditions. Glenn moistened his lips and continued to explore the cave. Shadows danced to the movements of his Sun's Touch, chimeras of the battle that had just taken place in the cavern.

'I wonder, what was he eating for him to be so concentrated on it?' He jumped over the dragon's corpse and shone a light over the wall, finding a ruined vein of Blumar. Bite marks had carved through the dark blue stone, saliva covering most of it. It was the same kind of tube that Glenn and his colleagues had used to enter the Cube and access the Laboratory.

"Gundam, are there a lot of these Blumar veins in the Dark Wall?" Glenn asked aloud, only for the robot to remain silent.

"Maybe that's how Blumar propagates. That would echo perfectly with what you read in the Project: Sword of Damocles notebook," commented Diamanes. Glenn rubbed his chin.

'It does make sense. But why...why does it feel like I'm missing something?' Glenn didn't get to ponder longer on the question as Gundam initialized the teleportation, transporting him back to the Core. The humanoid, sleek robot mechanically clapped with a lack of emotion comparable to Javier's.

//Congratulations on taking care of the mutated lifeform. I have taken the liberty of storing the body in a temperature-controlled room."

"Perfect. I'll take a bit of time to rest, and then I'll go beat Doyle Malory up," Glenn said with a grunt as he sat on the floor. The Mana wasn't as restrained in Gundam's room, compared to the rest of the Cube. Maybe the robot was keeping away the Blumar's disturbance for Glenn's convenience. At most, it just felt like an area with low-density Mana.

//Acknowledged.

Glenn dove into Meditation, resting his strained Mana Heart and filling his reserves back up. His Milky Way was pulsing gently, the four Circles of stars humming in rhythm. He glanced at Nelg's Black Sun, finding it as majestically ominous as ever. A first Circle was already spinning around it, and silver particles seemed to hint at a second one to be coming soon.

"Good, good..." Glenn sighed and looked back at his own Mana Heart.

'I can't lag behind. Now...what do I need to break through to this damned Fifth Circle?'

It took an entire day for Glenn to recover his entire Mana capacity. The low-density Mana wasn't helping, making the process thrice as long as usual. The young man opened his eyes and stretched with a pleased groan.

"Hgn...Alright, Gundam?"

//Descendant.

Glenn scratched the tip of his nose, "I'm expecting Doyle Malory to be much more dangerous than that previous lizard. Do I have any guarantee, or am I almost certainly heading to my death?"

//This unit is capable of teleporting you out of harm at any moment. Any major injuries the Descendant suffers in the process of accomplishing this task will be treated by the Core's autonomous surgical station. Separated limbs can also be reattached, but I do not recommend testing this feature, as it leaves the user with deep side effects.

"Alright," Glenn shivered, "I'll try to not lose an arm or a leg to the Lightbringer, then. Make sure to pull me out whenever it looks like I can't handle it, Gundam. I really don't want to end up crippled."

//Your wish is my command, Descendant.

Glenn brushed his hair back and pulled Nelg out his soul, changing it to his longsword form. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

//Teleportation to the Source Specimen's prison in three...two...one...

//Teleportation initialized.

Glenn felt his entire being shiver as a threatening presence washed over him. He hurriedly raised his sword and defenses, using both Lord's Shield and the Saturn Rings. He was in an entirely white room, where the walls were indissociable from the floor or the ceiling. A handsome man was sitting on the floor with a bored expression. His blond hair flowed to his waist, longer than how they were back when Glenn first met him. His white coat was stained with dry blood, and his red shirt below was as impeccable as ever.

"Hmm?" Doyle Malory looked up in puzzlement.

"Fuck me..." Glenn cursed under his breath, already regretting this terrible idea.

'Oh, come on, don't cower now! That's your opportunity right there!' Diamanes encouraged him with a wicked laugh. Glenn's fingers wrapped tightly around his sword's hilt as Mana twirled around the rest of his body.

"Wait...Aren't you that boy, uh, Glenn, right?" Doyle asked, his beautiful blue eyes wide open. "What are you doing here?"

Glenn didn't even bother replying, instead lunging forward for a stab. Countless swords erupted from under Doyle's feet while Gravity Manipulation pushed down and restrained him.

"Hey, can you hear me? Ah...damn it, you're probably not real..." Doyle waved his hand dismissively, not bothering to move from his seated position. The Sword Grave that Glenn conjured harmlessly broke against the Lightbringer's skin, while Glenn's sword stopped a mere inch from his neck. Doyle sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling dejectedly.

"Hmm...This damned box will eventually break, right? Nothing is eternal but the gods and me, after all..." He muttered, ignoring Glenn entirely. The latter clenched his teeth tightly and changed Nelg's form to his double-bladed axe, ready to Cleave & Double It. His Mana surged as hacked at the Lightbringer's throat with all his might. The blades of energy dispersed like plum blossoms petals as the weapon's blade stopped once again an inch away from Doyle's skin.

Doyle picked at his nose, not sparing Glenn a glance. The latter exhaled heavily.

"Alright, I guess you don't give a shit about me. Let's see you ignore this, then." He used Arcane Surge, consuming half of his entire Mana, and took out his secret card, Pebble. Doyle Malory's eye finally twitched and turned to Glenn, but it was already too late. The Shooting Star crossed the sound barrier as it flew for the Lightbringer's forehead, a trail of blue fire following behind it.

"Ah—" Doyle tried speaking but the Pebble made contact with his forehead in an incredibly powerful explosion. Glenn flew back from the shockwave, his weapon held defensively in front of him.

"Aouch! Man, what the f—wait, Glenn, you were real? Haha, incredible!" Doyle Malory's laugh echoed from beyond the dust that had risen from the explosion. Glenn blinked in disbelief as the Lightbringer stepped out of the dust cloud while rubbing a small bruise on his forehead. Pebble reappeared right in front of Glenn and flew straight back into his breast pocket, not even bothering to hide its teleporting abilities or its sentience.

'Is Pebble scared? Fuck.'

//Extraction in five seconds. Please hold on, Descendant. Gundam's voice suddenly thundered in the white prison. Doyle looked at the ceiling in disappointment.

"Oh, noooo, you're already taking him away? Damn, and here I was, excited to speak with someone. Oh well." He turned away and laid back on the floor, unbothered. Glenn could only snort in awe, unable to believe what he was experiencing. A second later, he was back in the Core, Gundam looking at him emotionlessly.

"Damn it..." Glenn exhaled heavily. Even though Doyle Malory didn't make a single move to threaten Glenn, or attack him, the latter still felt as if he just narrowly escaped death.

//This attempt has been judged as a failure. The robot's judgmental voice echoed in the Core, emotionless and still annoying Glenn.

"Well, that was disappointing. Doyle didn't even try ripping an arm off you!" Diamanes exclaimed in disbelief.

Glenn glared at his left hand, "What, would you rather have him rip me apart?"

"A thousand times yes, if that means you can reach the next Circle," stated the entity without a shred of hesitation. Glenn groaned and sat on the floor.

//Descendant, this unit requests for you to use all the means available to you to attack the following target. Gundam pointed at a Blumar dummy that suddenly rose from the floor. Glenn looked at the training target and sighed.

"What for?"

//I believe that I could assist in developing your abilities after analyzing your current skill set.

Glenn forced himself and looked at the dummy. "Sure, what do I have to lose anyway? It's not like anything I threw at Doyle Malory worked, besides my Shooting Star."

"And here we go, another very boring moment. Wake me up when you fight against Doyle again, that'll be a little more interesting than this bullshit." Diamanes complained as his presence faded away from Glenn's mind. The latter took a deep breath, a rare peaceful silence reigning in his head.

Strangely, having multiple voices in his head was quite mentally taxing.

"Alright, let's start with all my spells using my Specialty, Astral Sorcery," Glenn steeled himself as he channeled his Mana and conjured one spell after the other. Be it his Blackhole, his Implosion, or even the Gravitational Singularity, not even one of his spells managed to damage the Blumar dummy. Glenn knew he could cut through it with Nelg, but since Gundam requested that he show everything he had in stock, might as well start with the spells and finish on Nelg's capacities.

He also showcased all the powers he took with Diamanes, from the Silence Curse to the Nitrogen, while even showing Divine Blessing or CPR. It took a few hours for Glenn to show everything he had from the sheer amount of spells he knew.

Glenn grunted as he cleaved down with his sword, cutting the damned Blumar dummy in two. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and stored his weapon back into his soul.

"Here," He glanced at the robot, "That's all I have."

//Acknowledged. Analysis in process. Please rest in preparation for further testing. Gundam warned as he laid back in his steel, futuristic chair. Glenn sighed and sat on the floor, diving back into Meditation.

'This whole situation is seriously starting to get on my nerves...' He thought as he recovered his Mana and stamina. Nelg showed no signs of waking up, and Diamanes refused to talk to him. He could call his sister, but to say what?

'She might as well call me first if she needs something,' Glenn grinned as he left his Meditation. Once again, it took an entire day to recover his entire strength. Time was being spent at incredible speed doing whatever this was.

//Analysis complete. Descendant, my findings are unanimous. Gundam spoke with an ominous tone. Glenn frowned.

//Your current skill set is unbalanced and inefficient.

"Huh," Glenn crossed his arms, "How so?"

The robot made a holographic screen appear, replaying the scenes of Glenn using spells such as Earthquake, Hellzone, or even Solar Flare.

//Many of your spells overlap with each other and could be dismissed in favor of more versatile and powerful ones. I'd recommend focusing your efforts entirely on mastering a few powerful spells, such as Gravity Manipulation, Solar Flare, and Nitrogen Lance. All of your other spells can be created with correct control over these first three spells.

Glenn scoffed in disbelief, "What the hell are you talking about? How am I supposed to do that?"

Gundam didn't let himself get intimidated.

//Choosing example: Earthquake. Spell is used to disrupt the structural stability of a physical area. Can be dismissed in favor of Gravity Manipulation.

"W- Wait, uh, what about Carbon Blade?"

//Carbon Blade. Spell condensing thin dust particles and sending them at high speed to create an extremely sharp projectile in a crescent shape. Can be dismissed in favor of Gravity Manipulation.

"Fuck..." Glenn rubbed his forehead, before grinning victoriously, "Ah, I know! What about Arcane Surge and Overload?"

//These two spells allow you to respectively go beyond the limit of your spells, and your Mana capacity. Both come with severe side effects and could be dismissed in favor of better control and efficiency. They do nothing that can't be done with pure skill.

"Onnea be damned..." Glenn started seeing the logic in the robot's words. But how the hell is getting rid of a few spells going to allow me to grow stronger? It makes no sense!

//This unit suggests purging your skill set to conserve only the strictly beneficial ones and improve those to the limit. This will allow the Descendant to attain power beyond his current rank and is the same method as Sevirox, the Creator.

Glenn perked up when he heard Gundam mention Sevirox.

"Whoever that guy was, he created Blumar and the Core. He was certainly stronger than Doyle Malory, so...If I can adopt his techniques to grow stronger..." The corner of Glenn's lips curved upward wickedly.

"I can reach power that will rival even Exan! Haha, that's what I'm talking about!" He laughed widely and turned to the robot.

"Gundam, where do we start?"