I narrowed my eyes at the redactions made by the dungeon. Master Kairos had told me about the existence of healing hot springs on every floor, so he was either using this to illustrate the dungeon’s interference with messages or the message alluded to something entirely different.

I refused to believe a Tier Ten Time Mage would have forgotten what he’d already told me about. But just to be sure, I composed a reply that included a question about the springs and the dungeon’s redactions.

After editing the message I’d drafted to my family to add a request that they take Master Kairos’s offer of relocation, I sent both replies, hoping they might somehow make it into the current exchange. With the dungeon taking the time to review and redact our communication, I wasn’t optimistic.

Strangely eager to really start on my ascension now that my biggest questions had been answered, I quickly packed and stored everything I’d taken from my ring before disconnecting the pods and shrinking them for storage.

“Leaving?” Marjorie asked from the side door to her restaurant as I stored the small items. I’d set up next to her out of convenience, and we’d gotten to know each other pretty well over the six (Sira) weeks that I’d been there.

I nodded. “Yes. I got the answer I was waiting for, so I figured I might as well get to it.”

After talking to some of the more experienced dungeoneers and getting a better idea of what to expect on the third floor, I’d done quite a bit of hunting and exploration during the first few weeks. However, after spending the last couple of weeks focused more on crafting, I’d started to feel antsy.

I’d barely started my ascension, and the messages from home had motivated me into action. While I could easily come back to the village every night, I knew doing so would ultimately slow me down.

Besides, I could still craft in the evenings if I found myself with extra time. I’d already started on Jackle’s prosthetic, and I planned to have it complete before the month was finished. I’d just work on it when I got tired of hunting and processing my kills.

Maybe some of the materials I gathered would even be useful for the project.

“Make sure you’re safe,” my friend replied, not trying to talk me out of leaving like others might have. “You don’t have to wait until you fill your storage before coming back, either.”

A lot of people were like that. They’d stay out for a few days and fill their Inventory and any bags they purchased before coming back, only collecting meat and other perishables on the last day or so to avoid spoilage. I hadn’t introduced [Stasis] items just yet since I was limited on the reagents required to make high-quality items, but once I found a source of Time-attuned materials, that would likely change.

“I’ll probably stay out for the next month or so,” I admitted, which caused the Chef’s eyes to widen. “Don’t get worried if I’m not back for a while. I’ll keep in touch to let you know my status.”

“But why…” Marjorie trailed off as her attention was drawn to something inside her restaurant. Since Spatial Sense didn’t indicate anyone had entered the area, I assumed something she was cooking needed her attention.

“I’ll be safe,” I assured her. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

My new Kastet friend looked conflicted but finally nodded and ducked back inside the building. It was nice having people who cared about me already. Unfortunately, my climb would be long and arduous, and it was unlikely many of them would keep pace with me once I got going.

I wouldn’t isolate myself completely, though. Master Kairos’s warnings had been sufficient to deter such activity. However, I also wouldn’t allow myself to grow too close to anyone who wasn’t capable of keeping up with me. Doing so would only lead to emotional pain or result in me slowing down to accommodate others.

With one last look around, I teleported directly to a location I’d scouted earlier. The deep rumble of thunder caused my [Barrier] to flare momentarily before it adjusted to the new environment.

Not many people chose to enter the storm zone. It surprised me since even a basic Barrier would be sufficient to keep from being targeted by the near-constant webs of Lightning. Entering the zone without some kind of [Barrier] was a great way to become overwhelmed, but it only took a little preparation to mitigate most of the risk.

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The small clearing I’d chosen was not empty when I arrived. A small Lightning Wolf pack was hunting near the edges and immediately turned in my direction, excited for the prospect of a meal. I immediately cast Pause, locking the aggressive canines into place before quickly dispatching all five of the creatures.

Yeah, Time magic is a bit of a cheat, I thought with a smirk. I would have probably fought them head-on if I’d had a moment to mentally prepare.

Time magic was great for gaining advantages, but I didn’t want my actual skills to atrophy and fail me when my trick inevitably failed to work. I was familiar enough with Murphey not to let myself grow completely compliant.

I collected the corpses before moving on. With the storm zone not being as heavily challenged, the number of mobs was lower than in the forest zone. I was pretty sure the dungeon adjusted the mob density based on how many people were on the floor and what zones they frequented.

I only encountered other challengers a few times during the next month as I wandered and collected materials, either via killing and processing mobs or gathering herbs and other materials. Encounter wasn’t even an accurate description since I avoided contact with others, opting to observe from [Invisibility] whenever Spatial Sense alerted me to other challengers.

None fought or traveled alone, apart from me. The smallest grouping I saw was a trio of obvious dungeoneers. Their non-human appearances made it obvious the individuals were not from Earth. None of the groups even realized I was there, and I passed them by without incident.

I tried a few different camp options as I traveled through the storm zone, sometimes setting up a pod in the open and other times performing a bit of covert Spatial Manipulation inside caves or hollow trees before expanding my lodgings. Regardless, I always had multiple wards running to prevent being noticed or attacked.

There were no complications during my first month-long excursion, even though I spent most of my time at the cusp of where the zone moved from low-Tier Three to mid-Tier Three. Most of the creatures I encountered were around level twenty-three or twenty-four, though I did have to fight a level twenty-six Wind Roc that randomly attacked a couple of weeks into my expedition when I entered a new area.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t been expecting it.

Every zone had at least one predator that could be considered an ambush predator, and the storm zone’s was known to inhabit the mid-tier area of the zone. Thankfully, I’d asked around and learned what to expect in each zone, so I’d been keeping an eye out for the Wind Roc as I traveled.

I’d barely felt the shift in mana indicative of entering the territory of an apex predator when a loud screech sounded over the ever-present thunder. Having pushed Spatial Sense to its limits, I had enough time to dodge out of the way before the huge bird dove through an opening in the trees and scythed through the area where I was just standing.

Though the effects didn’t get past my [Barrier], I could feel the sharpness of the mana being projected from the creature’s wings. Even missing, the beast would have cut through an unprotected person daring to enter its territory. My robes were likely enough to prevent injury for a time, but I doubted most people without strong Barriers would be capable of withstanding even a glancing blow.

Unfortunately for the creature, I was a Time Mage.

I quickly set up an anchored zone of control, allowing me to manipulate the flow of time directly within the small area. Excluding myself from the effect, I played the part of bait while dramatically slowing down Time around me.

Seeing me still standing, the Roc let out another angry shriek and dove toward me, no doubt assured that its cutting effect would be more than enough to defeat any defenses I might have. I stood defiantly, weapon in hand, as the creature entered the zone, slowing dramatically.

Using the opportunity to get in a bit of training, I hit the slow-moving creature more times than it could probably count before it processed the fact that I’d moved at all. I didn’t let myself feel sorry for the majestic-looking flier. Even if it hadn’t attacked first, we were in a dungeon, and I had no qualms about hunting the creatures created for that purpose.

The fight gave me enough experience to reach level twenty-three, which I did upon resting that evening. My points went into Perception since I realized just how necessary recognizing threats was, especially when I was fighting alone.

It was something I’d known from the other timeline, but I’d spent so long fighting with others that I’d allowed myself to forget the significance of the attribute. If I struggled to cast spells or regenerate mana, I’d probably still invest into those attributes, but my increased affinities and the training I’d gotten had made me much more capable as a spell-caster. I wasn’t nearly as wasteful with mana as I had been before.

The experience gained was so good that I was tempted to focus solely on the mid-tier area of the zone, but I didn’t want to become overconfident. It was much too early in my climb to allow such hubris, even if my magic was a bit of a cheat.

The weapons and tools I created only magnified that, but I didn’t care to limit myself. Master Kairos said the dungeon was a platform on which to showcase my abilities. One of my strongest was my ability to craft – specifically, to enchant. Since I’d already shared that capability, there should be no issue with my use of enchanted tools.

My evenings were mostly spent processing my harvests and crafting, though I did make use of the DIVE equipment I’d brought along. As expected, I had no access to Earth’s Junction – or any Junction, being in a dungeon. I also didn’t have access to any version of the game worlds.

I did have access to my VPS, however, though it did not include any kind of network.

That was okay. I’d stored plenty of digital materials in my gear’s local memory banks. My VPS became something I’d use to relax and watch old movies or shows I’d pilfered, as well as where I slept. Two hours a night simply couldn’t be beat, especially when I didn’t have to pay the mana upkeep to power time dilation.