The heavy stone doors of the Third Floor didn't just creak; they groaned with the weight of centuries, emitting a low-frequency hum that vibrated in Kaito's teeth. As the threshold was crossed, the lush, twilight forests of the second floor vanished instantly. In their place was a desolate, obsidian plateau stretching as far as the eye could see. Above, the sky was not blue or starry, but a swirling vortex of deep violet clouds that seemed to press down on the world.
Kaito took a single step forward and nearly collapsed. It felt as if an invisible giant had placed a palm on his shoulders and pushed. His knees buckled, his breath hitching in his chest.
[System Notification: High-Density Gravity Field Detected]
[Status Effect: Agility -20%, Stamina Drain +15%, Movement Speed Reduced]
Beside him, the Celestial Fox—Luna—let out a sharp, pained yip. Her silver fur, usually flowing like silk, was pressed flat against her skin by the atmospheric pressure. Kaito gritted his teeth, his Endurance (326) and Strength (435) working overtime to stabilize his skeletal structure.
"Stay... stay close, Luna," Kaito wheezed, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Celestial Shield... now!"
The Fox's eyes flared with a galaxy-blue light. A radiant, translucent dome erupted around them. The Celestial Shield++ didn't just block physical attacks; its refreshing aura acted as a localized stabilizer. Within the shield, the crushing gravity eased, allowing Kaito to stand upright and draw his sword.
"This is what the Headmaster meant by 'The Wall,'" Kaito whispered, his eyes scanning the horizon. "It's not just the monsters; it's the environment itself."
Across the obsidian plateau, three metallic thuds echoed. From the violet mist emerged the Floor 3 Guardians: Void Sentinels. These were not biological beasts, but Level 25 animated suits of obsidian armor, standing seven feet tall and wielding massive tower shields and serrated claymores.
[System Scan: Void Sentinels (Level 25 - Silver Rank Peak)]
[Trait: Magic Resistance (High), Physical Defense (Extreme)]
Taro, standing near the entrance where the gravity was thinnest, shouted out, "Kaito! These things are built to tank magic! Don't waste your Mana on Starfall unless you can break their shields first!"
Kaito nodded, his Intelligence (495) already calculating the tactical variables. He looked at his hand, specifically the Ring of Eternal Mana. He needed to play this smart. If he burned through his 2,100 Mana too quickly, the gravity would crush him the moment Luna's shield flickered.
"Luna, use Dimensional Blink++ to flank the one on the left. Distract it! I'll take the center!"
The Fox vanished into a fold of space, reappearing behind the leftmost Sentinel. She didn't attack directly; instead, she used her wispy tails to lash at the armor's joints, drawing its aggro.
Kaito ignited his feet. "Flame Dash++!"
Because of the 20% Agility debuff, the dash wasn't a blur—it was a forced, explosive surge of heat. He collided with the center Sentinel's shield. The impact sent a shockwave through Kaito's arms that would have shattered a normal human's bones, but his Strength (435) held firm.
CLANG!
The Sentinel didn't budge. It swung its massive claymore in a horizontal arc. Kaito ducked, the blade whistling inches above his head, and lunged upward. He drove his sword into the gap beneath the Sentinel's helmet.
[Critical Hit! Damage Multiplier x2.0]
[Sentinel HP: 75/100]
"Tougher than the Behemoths," Kaito grunted. He felt the drain on his stamina. He needed a finisher. He reached into his mental library, tapping into the Shadow Mastery Skill Book.
"Shadow Cloak!"
Kaito's body dissolved into a pool of ink-black darkness on the floor. To the Sentinels, he had simply ceased to exist. In the shadows, the gravity didn't feel as heavy—he was moving through a different dimension. He reappeared behind the center Sentinel, his blade coated in a sickly, dark flame.
"Dimensional Strike!"
He slashed downward. The shadow-infused blade bypassed the physical armor, striking the core mana-heart of the construct. The Sentinel let out a metallic screech and crumbled into a pile of lifeless obsidian.
[System Notification: Passive 'Ring of Eternal Mana' Activated]
[Effect: +20% Mana Boost (Duration: 10:00)]
[Current Mana: 2,520 / 2,100 (Overcharge State)]
"One down," Kaito grinned, feeling the rush of mana flooding his veins. He looked at the remaining two. "Luna! Starfall++!"
With the Mana boost from the ring, Kaito funneled energy into his bond. The sky above fractured. Purple meteors, larger and faster than before, slammed into the remaining Sentinels. Deprived of their leader's defensive aura, their shields shattered under the celestial bombardment. Within seconds, the plateau was silent, save for the crackling of scorched stone.
Meanwhile, far above the Rift floor, in a high-security observation room accessible only to the Academy's elite, two figures watched the feed.
Master Haruto sat in a velvet chair, his eyes twinkling with pride. Standing beside him was a woman who commanded the room's entire presence without saying a word. She was tall, with crimson hair tied in a practical high ponytail and eyes the color of polished emeralds. Her uniform was different from the standard instructors; it bore the crest of a High-Tier Battle Mage, and a silver rapier hung from her waist, humming with A-Rank mana.
This was Instructor Seraphina, a woman known as the "Crimson Valkyrie" on the front lines of the S-Rank Rifts.
"He's using Shadow Magic, Haruto," Seraphina said, her voice a cool, dangerous velvet. "An F-Rank student wielding Space-affinity beasts and Shadow-affinity spells? You realize the Eclipse Order will see him as a Tier-1 anomaly the moment he leaves this building."
"That is why he is in the Rift, Seraphina," Haruto replied calmly. "To grow strong enough that their gaze doesn't incinerate him."
Seraphina narrowed her eyes at the screen, watching Kaito pick up a small, pulsating blue chest from the remains of a Sentinel. "He's raw. Look at his footwork—he relies too much on the Fox's shield to compensate for his lack of defensive parrying. He's a glass cannon with a god-tier pet."
"He is Level 21," Haruto reminded her. "He reached C-Rank in less than a week. Most hunters take ten years for that."
Seraphina crossed her arms, her gaze lingering on Kaito's face through the monitor. She saw the sweat on his brow, the determination in his eyes, and a flicker of something she hadn't seen in a student in a long time: true, unbridled hunger for power.
"His 'System' is unlike anything I've seen," she admitted quietly. "But the Eclipse Order has assassins that can hide in a person's heartbeat. If he doesn't learn 'Mana Suppression' and 'CQC' (Close Quarters Combat), he'll be dead before he reaches the 10th Floor."
Haruto stood up, walking to the window. "Which is why I am assigning him to you. When he clears the 6th Floor and exits this Rift, you will be his personal mentor. No more regular classes. He is to be under your direct supervision 24/7."
Seraphina let out a short, sharp laugh. "You want me to babysit a brat? I have a mission in the Northern Rifts in two months."
"If you train him well," Haruto turned to her, his expression deadly serious, "he won't be a brat you're babysitting. He'll be the partner you've been looking for to clear the S-Rank Void."
Seraphina fell silent. She looked back at Kaito, who was currently inspecting the Unidentified Monster Egg he had pulled from his bag, unaware that his entire life was about to be upended by the woman watching him.
"Fine," Seraphina said, a small, predatory smirk touching her lips. "I'll take him. But tell him to enjoy his rest while he can. Because once I'm his teacher, 'Leveling Up' will be the easiest part of his day. I'm going to break him until only the SSS-Rank core remains."
Down in the Rift, Kaito felt a sudden chill run down his spine, far colder than the gravity of the Third Floor. He looked around, but saw nothing.
"You okay, Kaito?" Taro asked, walking over to join him.
"Yeah," Kaito muttered, rubbing his arms. "Just... felt like someone was walking over my grave. Let's move. We have three more floors to go."
As they headed toward the portal for the Fourth Floor, the Unidentified Egg in Kaito's bag pulsed once, a deep crimson light thumping like a heartbeat against the Star Rank equipment, waiting for its time to hatch.
As Kaito stepped through the shimmering portal leading to the Fourth Floor, the crushing gravity of the plateau vanished, replaced by an even more disconcerting sensation: weightlessness. He found himself standing on a floating island of jagged crystal, suspended in a vast, endless void of swirling stardust and nebula gases.
This was the Aetherial Labyrinth, the Fourth Floor of the Great Rift.