Ramping Progress

Time blurred as Neto rampaged through branches with Charlotte.

[Level Up!]

[Skill Up!]

[Skill Up!]

...

Despite his progress, Rakshasa warned him:

{At this rate, you'll be too weak to survive after leaving the Underbelly. We should take a detour and fully use that potion's effect, at least until you reach level six.}

So, they agreed to go on a detour. Two days turned into a week, and before Neto knew it, slaying dokkis and mid-tier ichorwicks became as easy as breathing.

Low-tier ichorwicks seemed to be a kind of universal food for the monsters in this dungeon, even for each other. Neto stumbled upon multiple instances of cannibalization, as well as a strange display of Dokki's slurping up puddles of melted wax.

After a substantial amount of time farming similar mobs for XP, every skill in his arsenal increased their cultivation. He'd also reached the level threshold to ender [The Underbelly] Safely.

"We did it!" Neto hugged Charlotte, patting her nose while kissing her cheek. She seemed flustered as her solid-red eyes blinked rapidly and her body-temperature rose.

He even unlocked a hidden passive skill: [Unbound Cultivator], and a title: Slayer of the Verdant Gates. He'd only farmed XP safely in easy green-gate dungeons, after all.

{Hmm. We should increase your dexterity and strength for now.}

Thankfully, unlocking that hidden skill didn't take away from the cultivation Rakshasa could put towards his stats.

[Neto]-{Lv. 6}

[Class]-{N/A}

Title: Slayer of the Verdant Gates

[Strength]-{9}

[Dexterity]-{11}

[Agility]-{7}

[Intelligence]-{6}

[Focus]-{12}

[BI]-{9%}

[SP]-{N/A}

[IM]-{1%}

[ME]-{7%}

[Pain Tolerance]-{43%}

Skills

[{Unrefined} Unbound Authority (Lv. 2)]-{Active}

[{Unrefined} Unbound Sense (Passive)]-[Lv. 3]

[{Unrefined} Unbound Entity (Passive/Active)]-[Lv. 3]

[Unbound Cultivator (Passive)]-{Lv. 2}

[Unknown]-{Lv. {Unknown}}

Neto recognized too little of this stat-page, and the bottom half made his brain hurt. Rakshasa's explanations were usually half-truths or flat out lies, so he decided that learning everything himself would be best in the long run.

Unbound Sense was already level 5, allowing him to identify almost anything inside a branch that wasn't hidden with magic.

All of his other skills were gaining traction as well. Unbound Entity had reached level 3, so he rarely felt hunger, thirst, or fatigue in the void, and his wounds healed in only a couple hours. Just how strong would it's active be? Neto didn't have a safe way to test this.

Unbound Authority was exponentially stronger at level 2 as well. Neto figured out many uses to increase this skill's strength for different enemies.

For ichorwicks: Neto tightened his gate as far as he could. Barely any pressure was required to destroy their weak spot. Plus, the speed/maneuverability from less-concentrated blasts made them easy pickings.

For dokkis: Neto needed precision. They were tougher than ichorwicks and stayed in large groups. However, with his strengthened mana-muscle (as he'd started calling it), Neto could rapid fire blasts so long as his gate adjusted properly. Flexing a muscle at a certain tension for extended periods of time turned out to be rather difficult, so Neto wasn't too fond of this foe.

Only one other enemy was weak enough for Neto to fight confidently: Elementals.

Standing six feet tall, they reminded him of rock sculptures touched with life. They were slow but lethal. One strike could put craters in the ground or walls and rippled shock-waves through the dungeon.

They'd be easy to take down if not for one reason: Rakshasa told Neto their hearts were extremely valuable.

Typically, the most efficient way to destroy an elemental was to destroy its heart, but if you could take out its limbs, and drill through its chest, a precious gemstone used for several potions, compounds, homunculi, and even artificial spirits would be your reward.

Powerful impacts were required to shatter their limbs, a job perfectly suited to the dexterous Charlotte. She would incapacitate the elemental, and Neto would use the last specialty-version of unbound authority he'd come up with: a mana-drill.

It took a lot of concentration, but Neto could hold a strip of unbound mana in his palm, and spin his gate, creating a makeshift drill. He had to be incredibly careful however, as even a slight shift or shiver would be enough to shatter the heart if he was close enough.

The first elementals they tried to harvest were complete failures. Neto did not know how deep their hearts would be or what they would look like. But, after a successful third attempt, Neto became confident enough to extract elemental hearts. Unfortunately, this enemy was rather rare, so Neto only had three hexagon-shaped hearts in his possession. Each one was a different color: one orange, one blue, and one bronze.

After so many back-to-back battles, Charlotte took a long nap by the purple portal to their next destination. Whatever lay behind that gate would be leagues stronger than anything he could hope to encounter in a green dungeon. Neto pat her nose until she fell asleep, letting his thoughts drift.

He remembered the night this game should've been over. Reliving this dream a second time, there was no mistake the voice he'd heard was Rakshasa's.

She seemed knowledgeable about his world, and told him she could access his memories, but Neto's intuition dictated there was something more to this demon. Her appearance was too coincidental. She'd helped him too much.

There must be something he could do for her that she couldn't. Otherwise, why would Rakshasa put her body under so much strain? That chibi-demon needed three months to repair its damage...

"So that's why you bound yourself to me. Why you became my unique spirit."

In his dream, Rakshasa told him:

{Some unsavory people sent you here, and they won't let you play around for too long.}

'That unsavory group... SUN?'

But if SUN really sent Neto to a different world, what did they want from him? From this universe?

Neto had too many questions and not enough information. His head throbbed with pain.

The most logical answer was magic. Electricity, precious minerals, extended life. He could think of a million reasons SUN would want to bridge these universes. Weirdly enough, these logical answers felt... off. Perhaps they had more personal reasons.

Neto, Peter, and whoever else they sent here underwent an intensive selection process to partake in this VRMMORPG. Physical examinations, MRI's, etc. He thought little of those tests at the moment. But now...

Neto wasn't anything special. Why had they chosen him over other people for this task? Couldn't they send employees or freelance mercenaries? Unless Rakshasa had been a part of him from the very beginning.

"You've known me for a while, haven't you?" Neto wondered out loud.

He guessed he hit the nail on the head, even without her response.

There were certain gaps in his logic. For example, why hadn't they just harvested that weird shadow-barf thing from him instead of transmigrating him? Wasn't that Rakshasa's soul or something? After eating it, she'd said: 'It feels good to be back in my body...'

However, Neto couldn't help but use the information he had to grasp at straws. Most likely, Rakshasa lived inside him for as long as he could remember.

"You can't avoid this question forever, you know." Neto sighed. "You're almost as shady as SUN."

He knew he struck a chord with the demon. Rakshasa's feelings affected him as well, and her disdain for the corporation was clear after he uttered its name.

With or without Rakshasa's explanation, Neto would search for the answer. For now, he'd play along and get stronger. This was his goal even before he entered this world. He wanted to challenge fate, just like Toru, after all.

Rakshasa's incentive to help him was strong, and Neto would use this as a stepping stone.

A waking nudge from Charlotte interrupted his ruminations. She was ready to continue their journey.

'How many days has it been?'

This time, Rakshasa responded.

{You'll learn to tell time by branches, eventually. Four days since you met Charlotte.}

'The aura in here is strange, and that lavender scent... Two more zones and we enter your friend's home, right?'

{Again, she's not my friend. But you're mostly correct. I'm glad that my disciple has shown so much growth thanks to my guidance. Buahahahah!}

Neto sighed. Rakshasa's personality constantly changed between tsundere, cold and calculated, to an egotist chuuni.

"My unique spirit is a piece of work."

Charlotte sat up. She'd grown a bit since their adventure started, which didn't surprise Neto considering how much she ate.

They entered the portal of swirling lilac.

////.

Beauty unlike anything Neto had seen previously expanded as they emerged.

He stood on a sheer cliff backed against a wall made entirely of thermalite. Mana undulated like flowing lava.

An expansive field spread as far as his eyes could see, dotted with a rainbow of flowers and milky-white trees.

Charlotte grumbled with approval, nuzzling her head against Neto's shoulder. This would be romantic if he brought the right person.

{The gate to our destination should be here, along with some guardians. About time we came to a dryad leaf. }

"So, a leaf is just a smaller version of a branch without separate paths?"

{Right. Now you see the importance of these classifications.}

Neto shook his head. This demon was terrible at explaining things. Her analogies would only mean something to a being that had experience with [Grand Void]'s structure.

"I suppose... anyway, how should I deal with the trees here? They're alive right?"

{WHAT?!! You ignorant scum! Never, ever slay a dryad without reason! They're the most amiable of my children!!!.}

"Ok, Ok, sorry." Net frowned, even though he'd said nothing about slaying them. "I didn't know there'd be amiable monsters besides Charlotte in [Grand Void]"

He sensed life from every trunk, but most of them gave off no hostility. This was refreshing for Neto, who'd dealt with mostly bloodthirsty monsters until now.

{Well, not all of them are likeable, but they're my favorite children overall, so I'm rather biased towards them.}

Charlotte pouted, as if she found that comment insulting.

"Can she hear our conversation?"

{No, but like I said, they have an acute sense. Some nose pats will cheer her up, I'm sure.}

Neto did as he was bid. Sure enough, Charlotte perked up at his touch. He felt bad for tricking her into being affectionate towards him, but this was better than being in her belly.

{Just make sure you don't mess up your first impression.}

"I don't think that pseudo-encouragement will help. Why not give me some practical advice?"

{Tsk. All you have to do is remain polite and tell them you 're headed to the [Underbelly].}

"Got it, so just treat them like respected seniors. I always wanted to experience this kind of relationship (albeit from the other side)."

Neto shimmied down a set of steps leading to the cliff's bottom. Charlotte brazenly jumped from the highest point, landed on all fours, and began rolling around on the grass as she waiting for Neto to catch up. He couldn't see her, but her antics were loud enough for him to hear.

"I can't tell if she's more like a dog or a cat."

{She's Dragon kin, even better.}