For a few seconds, Rylan only focused on breathing in and out. His entire body ached. He looked down at it.

More than a dozen wounds, from small to large, crisscrossed his frame, having already ruined his shirt and most of his pants. It was difficult to move his left arm at all, and it hurt terribly, with a large gash going from shoulder to elbow. The rest of his body wasn't in much better shape. His legs felt like they would buckle under his weight, and his back had two large, gaping wounds.

But I won.

He smiled to himself, then sat down on the Golem's body. Closing his eyes, he focused on perceiving the new movements his mana was capable of, now that Mana Cultivation had advanced.

Please, something that will help with my recovery rate.

His mana spread throughout his body. The first thought that crossed Rylan's mind was that it was much more similar to Aura than before. Yet, it had retained mana's characteristics, in an almost paradoxical way. He started circulating it through its usual path. The wave of energy started from his Mana Core, flowing throughout his body until the very tips of his fingers and toes. It followed his blood vessels, filling him with newfound strength, even though his mana reserves were currently low. Rylan made a quick evaluation.

With a full mana pool, I'd be about fifty percent more powerful than before.

He smiled, his teeth covered in blood. It was a sizable increase in my power and just what he wanted. Throwing all the useless thoughts aside, he focused on circulating his mana to the best of his ability. The pain from his injuries was quickly replaced by the feeling of utmost concentration and calmness that he had trained for decades to achieve at any moment. Every time his mana completed a cycle around his body, he could feel his injuries slowly mending. From the Mana Core to the body, from the body to the Mana Core. The cycle repeated.

Time slowly passed. Rylan kept only a small part of his awareness on his surroundings, ready for an enemy ambush of whatever kind. Seconds turned into minutes, which in turn became hours.

At the end of the fourth hour.

Rylan stood up and stretched his body, then sheathed Silver Twilight.

"That's better," he mumbled to himself with a grin.

Nothing had changed in his surroundings. He scanned his body. Most of the wounds had already stopped bleeding, and a few were smaller than before. It would have to do. He looked at the System window at the edge of his vision.

[You have slain Golem Haven's Boss, 'Prime Golem'.]

[You have been rewarded with the Manacore Ring.]

He smiled. As expected, defeating the Boss rewarded him with an artifact. The ring was peacefully floating in mid-air, right in front of him. He grabbed it and willed for its information to appear.

[Equipment

Manacore Ring (Rare)

One of the first few rings created by the Mage who ruled the laboratory. It focuses solely on improving the effects of the wearer's mana and their mana recovery rate. Its resonance with all spells and all kinds of magic is its greatest strength.

* Improves mana recovery rate by 12%.

* Increases the effectiveness of all magic and all spells by 5%.]

Rylan nodded to himself. It was a simple piece of Equipment, but one that was useful nonetheless.

The boost to all magic is small, but it probably works with my mana circulation.

He put the ring on his right ring finger and circulated his mana. The difference was slight, but as experienced as he was, he could tell. The circulation was stronger than before. He smiled.

"Alright, now, let's get out of here."

Instead of moving toward the door, Rylan jumped to the second floor and started looking around. All he needed was a big robe that could cover his ripped-up clothing and make him just a bit more inconspicuous. Fortunately, he found what he was looking for just a few minutes later, tucked away between two of the bookshelves. It even had a hood, which would be useful. He promptly put on the robe and looked around with regret.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I wish I had enough time to study all of these.

Unfortunately, the possibility that a party of Mages would arrive at the Boss room existed, and he needed to leave to use the Communication Crystal and ask Damian if everything was alright. There was simply no more time to waste here. Nodding to himself, Rylan ran out of the room and started making his way out of the Dungeon. His injuries still hurt, but they were much more manageable than before, not hindering his speed much.

Soon, he ran into the first group of Golems. Not even bothering to give them more than a glance, Rylan used Snowstorm to run right past them, avoiding their attacks with minimal movements. Things were the same in the second and third rooms. He ran past all enemies, pushing himself a bit whenever necessary. Soon, he managed to hear the shouts and voices of other Mages.

Rylan let out a breath and stopped channeling Snowstorm, falling to the floor, and continued to run. After some time, he stepped into a room where around ten Mages were fighting a single Golem. A red-robed woman snapped toward him and frowned.

"Hey!" she shouted almost immediately. "Someone came from deeper in! Wait, is he in the Third Circle?"

The other Mages reacted as if they had just been slapped and looked at Rylan almost at the same time. He clicked his tongue.

I really need a way to conceal my Circle.

Still, that was a matter for another time. Right now, he needed to leave this Dungeon and rush to the next one. For a second, he considered the possibility of telling the Mages he'd wandered too deep into the Dungeon, but interacting with them at all would give rise to questions about what he was doing there to begin with. It was better to just run past all of them.

Rylan lowered his center of gravity, then shot forward with his full strength, hiding his face with the robe's hood. The Mages' shouting and gasping were lost in the wind as he sped past them, then kept going. The same thing happened in the next room. In the end, Rylan managed to exit the Dungeon after just a bit less than two hours of running. Of course, he earned dozens of stares the moment he stepped out of the Gate, but he ran into the forest before any of the guards could question him. He was chased for a while, but Snowstorm allowed him to easily evade his pursuers.

Some time later.

Sitting on an enormous tree's branch, Rylan looked in the direction of the next Dungeon he would tackle as he took a bite out of the chunk of meat in his grasp.

Frozen Sanctum.

A land of ice and snow where he would be pushed to his limits once again. Before that, however, there was one thing he still needed to do. Rylan's mana resonated with the Spatial Ring as he pulled out the Communication Crystal. He infused it with his mana, but there was no response.

"Still too far away from Caer Rhelon."

He looked west again.

No way around it, then.

He would start his return to the capital until the Communication Crystal became active again. From there, once he spoke to Damian, he would decide what to do.

After finishing his meal, Rylan stood up.

There was much to do.

***

In a small town some distance away from Caer Rhelon.

Rylan sat in the room's bed. The bedroom was small but tidy, being composed almost entirely of wood. It didn't matter. He had just needed a place to stay for a single night. He infused his mana into the Spatial Ring once more and pulled out the Communication Crystal. This time, it was glowing. He immediately channeled his mana into it, feeling a connection just moments later.

"Did something happen?" Rylan said almost instantly.

"…No, not yet," Damian's voice echoed out of the round crystal. "It's good to talk to you, too, Rylan. Don't worry, nothing's happened. But that doesn't mean things are safe."

Rylan felt like his heart was about to leap out of his throat. What did that mean?

"Tensions are rising," Damian continued. "Jason – more precisely, his parents and the noble house they represent – have been recruiting allies. The Empire's influence over this kingdom is growing without them even doing anything. I don't like the way things are going. Your family remains inside my Mage Tower, but at this point, I'm certain Jason has already talked to the Empire about you. Something is coming, and it's coming soon."

Damian sounded utterly exhausted. Rylan's gaze softened, though it was also thick with worry.

"…I see. I'm sorry that I placed such a huge burden on your shoulders. Is there enough time for me to tackle the other two Dungeons?"

Damian's voice scoffed.

"Nonsense. I'm this kingdom's protector. The burden was always mine to begin with. And do you mean you've already cleared Golem Haven?"

"Yeah. I've killed the Boss, the Prime Golem, and Leveled up quite a bit. I'm much stronger than before. So, is there enough time?"

Instead of replying right away, Damian remained silent for almost fifteen seconds.

"…How strong are you, really? How much power are you even hiding? That shouldn't have been possible. How—"

"Damian."

He could hear Damian taking a deep breath.

"Right. I don't know if there's enough time. I can't predict when the Empire is going to make a move, and how they will do it. My advice is to just pick one Dungeon and become as strong as possible within it. I don't think there'll be enough time for both of them."

"Alright. To Frozen Sanctum, then. Thank you, Damian. I won't forget this."

Rylan stood up. Just as he was about to cut off the connection, he could hear Damian speak again.

"Rylan. I'll protect your family and this kingdom to my dying breath. Focus on becoming stronger and developing. I'm certain you can become much stronger than I ever was. Just don't throw your life away."

Rylan grinned, even though Damian couldn't see him.

"Thank you."

"It's my duty as the strongest Mage in Ceotha. But…" Damian's voice failed him for a second. "Given how powerful you are, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but please, if the Empire comes… help me stand against them."

Rylan smiled. It was the first time Damian was sharing the weight on his shoulders directly with him.

"I will," he replied firmly. He could hear Damian let out a breath.

"…Thank you."

Rylan dismissed the connection. The light in the Communication Crystal's center became a bit dimmer before he stored it in the Spatial Ring again. With a deep breath, he readily walked up to the door and opened it.

The race against time continued.

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