Max stood before a Z-shaped building where a red laser-like imprint scanned his entire body.
"Max Morgan, 04, confirmed."
After the scan was completed, the door opened, and he walked in. Max went directly to take a bath before doing anything else—he smelled like goblins all the way.
It didn't take long for him to finish bathing. He wore a white T-shirt with a dark blue shirt and pants. After combing his hair, he immediately arrived at his computer.
His computer was a small circular device placed on the table, with two red and blue buttons on it. Max pushed the blue button, causing a holographic screen to appear above the device.
The holographic display didn't seem like a hologram at all; instead, it resembled a monitor or other output devices used to display data.
Moments later, a holographic keyboard appeared on the table.
"If I want to join the Phoenix Order guild, which is a fire elemental guild, then I need to have a skill related to fire," Max murmured as he searched the extranet for an F-rank fire elemental dungeon that could provide fire-related skills.
A list appeared in his vision with the names of several F-rank dungeons:
– Salamander Cave - F Rank
– Ghost Fire Jungle - F Rank
– Burning Wilds - F Rank
– Flaming Sea - F Rank
Max checked the details of every dungeon and found that only Burning Wilds had a secret chamber where a fire-related skill could be obtained. Even so, it was a long shot, as it had been years since anyone found the secret chamber in the Burning Wilds dungeon.
"With my Three Dimensional Body skill, I can find the secret chamber. So, this is the best choice for me," Max decided as he evaluated the other options. "If push comes to shove, I'll go for the boss-rank monster—it should drop a fire elemental skill too."
He could buy a fire elemental skill if he had any UNI left, but all the money his parents and sister had left him had been used up. Now, he only had a few hundred UNI, which he knew wouldn't be enough for a skill.
'I need at least a thousand UNI for that,' Max sighed and finalized his next dungeon.
"I can also earn some money and get a skill from this F-rank dungeon," he planned before heading to his bedroom.
"Before heading into the Burning Wilds dungeon, let's level up every skill to level 100," Max smiled in excitement. He couldn't wait to see what level of strength he could achieve with every skill at level 100.
"Let's see... Swift Dash, Basic Sword Arts, Magic Bullets, and Flurry Strike," he muttered softly. "These are the four skills I need to level up. If I spend two days on each skill, I should be done within a week." Max planned an intense retreat for the entire week.
'Alright, it doesn't matter if I go mad or not—I will train for a whole week continuously in the Dimension of Time,' Max clenched his fists in determination. 'But first, let me eat something and prepare food for the whole week.'
---
A week wasn't a short time, but it wasn't long either. It passed quickly as the sun set and rose a few times.
For Max, however, this week had been hell. Except for basic human needs, he had spent nearly 168 years training in his Dimension of Time. He trained, trained, and trained some more.
But it wasn't easy. He almost lost himself several times in the soundless, colorless white world where only he seemed to exist. The emptiness of the place drove him to the brink of madness.
Sometimes, he forgot why he was training and wandered aimlessly for days before regaining his senses. While at times, he would find himself just staring at the white abyss before him blankly.
It was incredibly difficult for him to endure 168 years in such a place. It was his first time training for so long, and he almost regretted it. The experience severely tested his perseverance and resolve. Yet, he didn't give up, continuing with his goal of becoming stronger and finding his sister and family.
"I almost went mad in there..." Max muttered, shuddering at the memory. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had been lost forever, unable to find his way back.
Still, a smile graced his face. He had successfully accomplished what he had planned for the week, making all his hard work feel worthwhile.
'All my skills are now at level 100,' Max thought excitedly as he opened his status.
---
[Max]
– Rank: [Novice]
– Level: 3
– Class: [Dimensional Keeper]
– Physique: 5.5
– Soul: 6.6
– Energy: 8
– Skills:
—» Class Skills: [Three Dimensional Body, Dimension of Time]
—» Acquired Skills: [Magic Bullets (Lvl-100), Basic Sword Arts (Lvl-100), Swift Dash (Lvl-100), Flurry Strike (Lvl-100)]
—» Comprehensions: [Sword Aura (Lvl-1)]
---
"It's so satisfying to see all my skills at level 100," Max chuckled, though one row displayed a glaring level 1.
"Sword Aura..." he muttered. He had spent a year training in Sword Aura, but he saw little progress in that area. Instead, it was his improved mastery of Basic Sword Arts that brought an unexpected breakthrough.
With each step forward in his swordsmanship, he felt his control over Sword Aura increase significantly, as if the two were intrinsically linked.
He drew his sword and held it aloft. In an instant, it was covered in a light blue glow. His mastery of Sword Aura had improved to the point that he could activate it instantly.
"But its rank is still only level 1..." Max sighed. He deduced that Sword Aura probably had very few levels, with each increase being far more significant than those of other skills.
"Though I did learn a trick or two on how to effectively use Sword Aura other then using in close combat." He muttered. "If only its level was high I could do much more than that."
With so much time in the Dimension of Time, he managed to skillfully learn how to use the Sword Aura effectively but he always felt he had been doing something wrong like he was missing something very important.
"But that doesn't matter. I'll learn more about Sword Aura after I join the Phoenix Order guild," Max murmured. He had received a message from Zixi two days ago, confirming that Zixi's father would recommend him if he passed the test.
'The Phoenix Order guild will start recruiting geniuses at the beginning of next month, and Zixi mentioned her father summoned me at the end of this month,' he thought. 'I still have 20 days left.'
'I'll rest today and head to the Burning Wilds dungeon tomorrow,' Max decided before going to bed, even though it was only 10 o'clock in the morning.