Earlier, before Claudia came into contact with her big sister, Shiro was having the time of his life.
The moment he was transported into the dungeon, he began celebrating. This was the first time in a year that he had left his master's sister's side. He had been ordered to protect her, and he fully intended to keep that promise. That did not mean, however, that he couldn't enjoy himself while searching for her.
He had barely trained since leaving with mistress Claudia. A dungeon full of monsters was exactly what he needed.
He approached the wooden gate. The bracelet on his wrist glowed in response. The moment he brought it close, the door dissolved into particles of green light.
Beyond it stretched a dense forest, filled with the distant sound of growling.
Shiro unsheathed his silver katana—a gift from his master—and ran straight in.
He leapt high above the treeline, rising into the clouds in an attempt to locate Claudia. From above, however, there was nothing but an endless sea of green.
Just as he began to fall, he noticed faint lights rising into the sky, made clearer by the enhancement magic running through his bracelet. Before he dropped too far, he lightened his body with gravity magic and used wind to keep himself afloat. Enhancing his vision further, he finally made out the source of the lights.
Particles of energy were rising into the atmosphere from multiple points.
A minute later, the same phenomenon occurred roughly one mile away. Then again, further out.
So the entrances were placed at fixed one-mile intervals.
How large is this forest?
If he wanted to find Claudia, he would have to start searching properly. But first—
He spotted an Armored Centipede moving below him.
Perfect chance to test something.
Shiro sheathed his katana and stretched out his hand. A sphere of flame ignited above his palm. He wrapped it in a dome of wind, then reshaped the wind into the form of an arrow. The flame immediately filled the new shape.
He formed a bow the same way.
He still lacked the control to shape pure flame on its own, so the wind served as a necessary frame. It was roundabout, but it gave him precision.
Besides, there were certain benefits this provided.
He took aim and released the arrow.
Armored Centipedes possessed natural resistance to elemental magic, but resistance was not immunity. Just before impact, Shiro clenched his fist. The wind framing the flame expanded outward in every direction, dragging the fire with it.
In an instant, the centipede was trapped inside a complete 360-degree dome of fire. It let out a short, shrill cry as the flames consumed it. Within moments, nothing remained but ash and scorched earth.
Then a voice echoed in his mind.
『Core Skill: Dome of Flame Acquired』
Who said that?
There was no answer. Whoever—or whatever—it was had simply informed him that he had gained a new skill.
Why had he never heard this voice before? Was there a condition required to trigger it?
He had just successfully used a technique he had only theorized about. Immediately afterward, the voice had recognized it as a skill.
Curious, he activated it again. This time, the bow and arrow formed automatically.
He needed another target.
After a short search, he found a group of Echosprites—giant bats—gliding between the trees. He drew and fired. The arrow expanded on its own, engulfing them in a dome of flame and reducing them to ash.
So the technique had been properly recognized as a skill, making it far easier to use.
Dome of Flame, huh? Has a nice ring to it.
Did that mean any technique he refined enough would automatically be classified as a skill?
There was only one way to find out.
He continued searching. The forest was more chaotic than expected—participants were already hunting monsters and each other for bracelets. He had nearly forgotten about that part of the trial. Still, none of them registered as real threats.
Claudia can handle low-tier trash. I'll circle back before nightfall.
Soon enough, he found a Crimson Wolf tearing through the undergrowth.
Shiro landed and drew his silver katana. Forged from a dragon's heart and mana core, the blade could easily withstand extreme heat. He coated it in flame and stepped forward.
The wolf was fast. It dodged his first slash and countered with a beam of condensed mana. Shiro tilted his head slightly, letting the attack pass by, then wrapped the blade in wind and tightly compressed the flames along the edge.
He swung.
A blazing arc tore through the air. The wolf avoided a direct hit, but its tail was seared off—only to regenerate moments later.
Shiro clicked his tongue and continued compressing the flames. With each exchange, the fire grew less wild and more refined. It stopped flaring outward and instead clung to the blade like a second edge, growing sharper and denser.
Eventually the sword glowed a deep crimson, as though the steel and flame had become one.
Shiro stepped in and drew the blade cleanly across the wolf's neck.
A thin red line appeared. The head slid from its body, already burning. Within seconds, both head and corpse crumbled into cinders.
『Core Skill: Ember's Edge Acquired』
So his theory was correct. When a method of using magic reached a certain level of refinement, it would be recognized as a skill.
The realization only fueled his interest.
He continued experimenting to his heart content.
Against an Ember Tiger—a creature composed entirely of flame—he compressed a sphere of water down to the size of a raisin and released it as dozens of high-speed needles. The projectiles pierced its body but lacked the force to finish it. Increasing the size of the compressed water produced larger, more destructive holes, though at the cost of speed.
He then tried modifying Dome of Flame, replacing the fire with water. The resulting dome drowned the Ember Tiger easily, but he suspected it would be far less effective against solid targets. The voice remained silent. It seemed this variation did not qualify as a new skill.
Still, he did not stop.
Against an earth golem, he formed a sphere of lightning and accelerated the electrons within it, forcing them into rapid circular motion. When he released the containment, the colliding particles superheated the surrounding air into a white-blue plasma. Using wind, he shaped the plasma into a focused beam.
The beam swept through the golem, vaporizing it layer by layer until nothing remained but faint residual charge in the air.
『Core Skills: Particle Acceleration and Molecular Control Acquired』
Interesting. The attack itself had not been recognized, but the underlying methods had.
Further testing followed. By combining Particle Acceleration, Molecular Control, and Ember's Edge, he created a new technique that was immediately acknowledged.
『Core Skill: Plasma Edge Acquired』
He tested it on another Armored Centipede. The blade passed through the creature and dismantled it at a molecular level. The centipede collapsed into dust before it even hit the ground.
Shiro made a mental note to be careful with that one. It was far more destructive than necessary.
For the rest of the day, he continued experimenting, refining, and combining abilities. Through Molecular Control alone, he developed several new applications—Water Beam, Flash Freeze, and Atomic Sever among them.
He was beginning to understand why both his old master and his current one had been so obsessed with tinkering with their power. The possibilities were endless. The cycle of testing, failing, adjusting, and succeeding was addictive.
In simple terms, it was bliss.
By the time he noticed the light changing, the sun was already setting. Night would fall soon.
He stopped experimenting at once and rose into the air, focusing on the faint soul connection he shared with Claudia in an attempt to locate her.
Instead, he found someone else.
A tall young man with flaming red hair and crimson eyes stood among the trees. He wore a white shirt beneath a black vest and red coat, black pants, and shoes engraved with raven designs. A matching raven buckle gleamed on his belt. Dragon wings were spread behind him, and an unnerving smirk rested on his face.
He gave off almost no presence, yet that smile alone carried an overwhelming sense of superiority.
A dragon in human form.
That should have been impossible. No ordinary dragon in this world could take human shape.
Unless…
A chill ran down Shiro's spine as the realization struck. The grip on his katana tightened. The lighthearted mood from moments earlier shattered.
One of the Ten Dragons.
He had learned about them from Claudia on the way to Zenith. During the Era of Demise, the dragons had slept within the Chasm— the heart of reality— for a hundred years. Most failed to withstand the energy and devolved. Out of millions, only ten survived. Even they had absorbed only a fraction of the Chasm's power, yet it had been enough to grant them intelligence and the ability to destroy multiple solar systems. In exchange, they lost the ability to assume their full planetary-sized forms.
And now one of them was standing right in front of him.
If Claudia's information was accurate, Shiro stood no chance in a direct fight. His only option was to find her and escape.
Before he could formulate a plan, the dragon spoke in a soft, almost polite voice.
"Sorry, but can you die for me?"
He raised a hand. A massive sphere of flame erupted into existence above him—large enough to cover the surrounding trees—and launched forward without further warning.
Shiro's breath caught. The sheer scale of the attack made him feel like an insect about to be crushed.
He forced himself to move, tightening his grip on the sword and activating Atomic Sever in an attempt to dismantle the flame down to its subatomic structure.
The skill activated.
The fireball remained completely intact.
Atomic Sever was the strongest technique he had developed so far.
Against one of the Ten Dragons, it was meaningless.
What stood before him was likely nothing more than a casual attack—yet to Shiro, it was a death sentence.
But, if he was going to die, he'd rather die fighting.
Do what I can, the best I can.
That was the advice he gave Claudia, and now he must abide by his own words.
He took his sword and attempted to do what he's been doing this whole time. Experiment.
If he could create that failed experiment, Dome of Water, he might be able to create a barrier of water, large enough to engulf the fireball.
He quickly formed a bow and arrow made of water. In order to ensure this attack would work, he formed nine arrows each as thin as needles.
He looked up towards the massive fireball, aimed at it core...
"It's all, or nothing."
...and fired.
The arrows shot through the sky like...needles. then they separated.
Two each went above, below and to the sides, with only one still shooting at the core.
Then, they expanded.
The arrows each expanded, creating fragmented parts of a barrier. Each was as powerful as a fully formed dome, so they could withstand the heat to some extent.
Separately, they could do nothing, but together...well, it's a risk Shiro had to take.
Finally, the expanded arrow connect, forming one fully enclosed Dome of Water, swallowing the fireball whole.
For a moment, it stood.
Steam exploded outward from the dome in violent waves. The pressure caused the dome to crack and steam spewed out from it.
It stood, but for how long was the question.
Shiro still had control over the barrier and seeing as he had already made plenty, he decided to take another risk.
He opened his hand and attempted to compress the Dome of Water. As the dome shrank, more cracks began to form on its surface.
The dome was also shaking violently as the fire and water fought. Both trying to consume the other.
With all his might, Shiro compressed the dome until it became the size of a watermelon.
A few more seconds, and it would have blown, so Shiro, with all his might, launched the dome into the sky.
For a moment, nothing happened. Both Shiro and the Dragon looked up at the sky.
Then–
Boom.
A massive burst of steam erupted from the sky along with a shockwave that shook the entire forest.
The steam slowly began to descend.
It worked, Shiro thought to himself as he breathed heavily.
This attack took almost all his primary source of mana. It's a miracle he's still flying right now.
He looked up and met the stare of the dragon.
From that attack it just used, it was most likely the Ember Dragon.
"Why didn't you die when I asked you to? Now you've just made things harder for me."
The dragon gave a long sigh.
Just as it lifted its hand–
Tick.
The world turned red and time slowed down.
And that brings us back to the present.
Shiro's body has come to a halt. His heart. His fingers, they can't move at normal speed.
But the dragon on the other hand, seems to have no problem with this.
It simply looked around the reddish world and then looked back at shiro.
The smirk from before is gone, replaced with a cold and cruel stare from the dragon.
The dragon flies towards Shiro and rubbed his hands over Shiro's long white hair.
"If only you just died."
His hand seems to now be engulfed in flames. Flames that make the fireball from before feel like a tiny spark.
He takes one last look at shiro, and punches.
Shiro closes his eyes, and waits for his inevitable death.
In this reddish, time slowed world, he can't do anything to defend himself. He can't counter, he can't dodge. Even if he could move, he still wouldn't be able to do anything.
He was simply delaying his own death. And so death is what he waits for.
But death never comes.
Instead...
"Raise your head, my loyal subordinate."
... a voice calls out from within. It's different from the voice he's been hearing all day.
It's calm and familiar. It's the voice of someone who gave him this body, this sword, this purpose and a deal to find his old master.
It was none other than his current master, the one and only God of Chaos.
He snaps his eyes open and is met with the sight of a flaming fist mere inches away from his face. The heat is enough to singe his bangs.
The dragon's eyes narrow slightly, as if they sensed a change.
The voice speaks again in a much more casual tone.
"Leave the rest to me..."
His master stops talking for a moment before finally continuing his sentence
"...and go save my sister."