Sanctuary of Growth

Now that Neto could heal his wounds, he put more effort into clearing this dungeon.

He asked Charlotte to pull back as he fought through a good portion of the branch, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Wherever there were dokkis, Neto saw few ichorwicks, so there were most likely infighting between the monsters.

Every time that strange muscle got sore, he would flood his arm with unbound mana to speed up its recovery process.

This mana-flooding technique worked in a medley of ways. If he created the gate in his belly, Unbound mana would satiate his hunger. If he created one on his tongue, his thirst would quench. If he opened up a pore in his skull, his fatigue would drain away.

'Just how many applications does this have?'

{Tsk... you shouldn't have found out about that skill so soon. You'll become dependent on it. Remember, there's no unbound mana in the outside world. You need to learn to avoid taking damage without these skills.}

There was truth to what Rakshasa was saying, but Neto was still angry at her.

He was on a suicide-mission to become stronger at the moment, taking in more unbound mana than his body could handle to become strong as quickly as possible.

'Can you tell Charlotte to stop for a few minutes? I think I'm going to throw up...'

His snapscale companion sat down with a sigh. Sliding off her back, Neto ran to the nearest wall of the cavern.

'Ugh' he groaned. There was nothing in his belly except for that red-bulb and bile, but what came out of him was darker red. Iron-flavored ichor.

Blood.

{You should have listened. That skill puts more mana into you than your current body can handle. Well, at least your pain tolerance stat will level up again.}

[Hidden Stat: Pain Tolerance]-{Increased!}-{40%}

Neto couldn't stop convulsing. His insides felt like they were being pulled apart, but because of his tolerance, this feeling was more sickening than painful and only added to his nausea.

[{Unbound} Sense]-{Close to leveling up!}

Amid his turmoil, Neto's unbound sense seemed to gain potency. Awareness spread through the branch of Unbound space and found its way to a light that seemed to call him over. His urge to throw up stopped, and he wiped the blood from his mouth.

{You can sense it too, right?}

'Yeah... Unbound sense suddenly feels stronger.'

[Aze]-{Where that light is, there's a dungeon's gift sanctuary.}

'Another aether-form potion?'

{No, those only grow by spire portals. If I had to guess, this is a combat-related gift.}

Neto walked back over to his dragon. She'd been watching him intently, and her expression was full of worry.

'Ah, don't give me that look... I wanted to be helpful, ok! Here, have some nose pats.'

Charlotte snuggled up to him and gave him a few licks before Neto climbed on her back.

'Let's hope this buff is OP.'

Rakshasa directed Charlotte through a maze of unbound twigs. They were narrower paths with colorful ore-veins decorating from the ceiling to the floor. Unlike the main branch, these twigs had no stalactites, so visibility was poor. Neto relied mostly on his strengthened sense for sight.

'It should be around that corner, right?'

Their path was mostly dirt now, and faint showers of dust clogged the air. A musty scent hung around Neto.

{Wow... you'd be dead one-hundred times over if not for Unbound Entity.}

'Why? is this air poisonous or something?'

Neto felt a thin layer of dust form when breathed, as if the unbound were purifying his air.

{Yes, and this area is littered with traps. They won't go off for monsters or those with a certain unique spirit.}

'You want me to praise you, asshole?

{Pain tolerance is necessary to level up!!!}

They came to a studded metal door, like a large, vertically placed utility hole. Charlotte butt the center with her head.

Light spilled through the twig as the door opened. Instead of creaking, it shook the surrounding earth.

{There it is...}

Light from a plant-like cauldron illuminated the small room, spilling onto the floor as it overflowed. Charlotte was too large to fit through the doorway, so Neto went through alone. There were strange veins snaking down all sides of the wall, connecting to the cauldron's metal rim, filling it with ambrosia-colored fluid.

The second he stepped into the sanctuary, the light from the cauldron dimmed, and the potion on the ground evaporated. Only the liquid inside the cauldron remained. Neto thought he'd activated a trap, and froze like a deer in headlights.

{You're fine, keep going.}

After some hesitation, Neto tip-toed to the cauldron's rim.

{touch it with your lips only, otherwise it will all evaporate.}

With surgical precision, Neto puckered his lips like he was going for a kiss, and gently sucked some of the liquid into his mouth. It was warm... This potion was flavorless, but filled his head with the rush if nutrients.

[{Unbound} Cultivation Potion]-{15 minutes remaining}

{Cultivation potions help cultivate skills and levels. A truly powerful tincture, and quite rare. Drink as much as you can.}

Rakshasa's excitement spread to Neto, who hurriedly gulped more mouthfuls, careful not to wet his chin. The liquid didn't fill his belly at all, as if it were evaporating inside him.

[{Unbound} Cultivation Potion]-{4 days remaining}

Four days already? If Neto could successfully drink this entire thing...

He sped up.

[{Unbound} Cultivation Potion]-{2 weeks remaining}

Unfortunately, in his haste, Neto touched his chin to the potion's surface. The rest evaporated, and the room became dark.

{You did good for your first time.}

'I'd prefer to hear that under different circumstances...'

RUMBLE!

The cavern shook with immense force, as if this twig was shattering! Neto cut his losses and sprinted out of the small pocket, running up Charlotte's tail like a ladder. Behind him, the potion veins tumbled to the ground, and a large impact signaled the room had collapsed.

[{Unbound} Sense]-{Level Up!}

[{Unbound} Entity]-{Level Up!}

Immediately after leveling up, more dirt from the unbound encased Neto. The passive of this ability seemed to make him a magnet for Unbound Mana, which coated him in a protective layer. His sight, hearing, and sense had also increased. A distinct lavender aura came from one twig a hundred meters away. This was what Rakhsassa told him about before.

Charlotte ran faster than a bullet. Every ounce of Neto's strength focused on keeping his wrists attached to his arm.

They popped out of the collapsing twig into a chaotic mess of falling rocks and cracking floors. Even the main branch was turbulent.

{This might've been an unstable branch... the mana from that sanctuary probably kept this place intact.}

'Focus on directing Charlotte. ' Neto ordered.

He closed his eyes, but his heightened sense didn't allow him the bliss of ignorance.

Every second was a close brush with death. Rocks the size of basketballs rained from the roof.

Charlotte constantly surprised Neto with her dexterity and calm, fluid movements. They were progressing without so much as a scratch. Was she used to this sort of thing? Neto only spent a few days in the unbound, but if his experience so far was the norm, Charlotte's composure made sense.

Soon, they tumbled through the silver portal at the end of a nearby twig.