Kura stopped pretending to be civilized.
Over the next week—or what felt like a week in the timeless depths—he hunted systematically. Every monster in the sealed chamber's vicinity became prey. Every kill became fuel for his transformation.
The Organic Transmutation skill was agony every time he used it, but the results were undeniable.
Shadow wraith essence gave him enhanced agility and the ability to move silently. Stone bear meat increased his physical durability and strength. A serpent variant he'd found granted improved reflexes and thermal sensing.
Each absorption was carefully chosen. Each trait was integrated deliberately. Kura was learning to be strategic about what he consumed—no longer just eating for survival, but selecting specific monsters for specific enhancements.
His body was changing in visible ways now. His eyes had developed a faint luminescence in darkness—a trait from a deep-dwelling predator. His muscles had become denser, more efficient. His skin had taken on a slight gray tint from the stone bear essence, tougher and more resistant to damage.
He was becoming something other than human.
And he was okay with that.
Humanity hadn't done him many favors. Being weak and ordinary had gotten him killed—or would have, if not for lucky circumstance. Being strong and monstrous was keeping him alive.
Level 5. Then 6. His stats climbed steadily: Strength 55, Vitality 52, Defense 50, Agility 58, Magic 45.
Not yet at the level of Sakurai's group, but no longer helpless. No longer prey.
* * *
The ancient texts became his bible.
Kura devoured Guardian-Smith Aldric's journal, then moved on to other preserved documents. Technical manuals on advanced Transmutation. Theoretical texts about the nature of matter and energy. Even philosophical treatises about the responsibilities of those who could reshape reality.
One technique in particular fascinated him: Structural Reinforcement.
It wasn't just about making materials harder. It was about understanding stress points, force distribution, molecular bonding. A master could take ordinary steel and transmute its internal structure to be stronger than any alloy, all while keeping the surface appearance unchanged.
Kura practiced obsessively. His knife became his test subject—he'd reinforce a section, test it in combat, analyze the results, then refine his approach. Each iteration taught him more about material science at the fundamental level.
After dozens of attempts, he achieved something remarkable: his simple steel knife could now cut through Adamantine.
Not because the steel was inherently harder, but because he'd transmuted its edge at the molecular level to have perfect alignment, maximum density, and optimized force distribution. The blade looked the same, but its properties had been fundamentally altered.
Another notification:
Skill Evolved: Transmutation → Advanced Transmutation → MASTER TRANSMUTATION
New capabilities unlocked: Molecular-level manipulation, Energy conversion, Structural optimization
Kura stared at his hands. With this level of control, he could theoretically transmute almost anything. Turn stone to metal. Metal to crystal. Maybe even...
He looked down at his own arm. Flesh was just another material, wasn't it?
Carefully, experimentally, he activated Master Transmutation on his forearm. Not trying to change it drastically—just reinforcing the bone structure, optimizing muscle fiber alignment, improving skin resilience.
The sensation was strange—not painful like eating monster meat, but deeply uncomfortable. Like feeling your own body being reshaped from the inside.
When he finished, he flexed his arm. It looked the same, but he could feel the difference. Stronger, tougher, more efficient. He'd just permanently enhanced his own body through pure Transmutation.
The implications were staggering.
If he could do this to one arm, he could do it to his whole body. Could make himself faster, stronger, more durable through systematic self-modification. Could literally rebuild himself into the perfect warrior.
Another passage from Aldric's journal came to mind:
"The line between tool and wielder becomes blurred for a true Creator. When you can reshape flesh as easily as metal, when your own body becomes just another material to be perfected—what remains of your original self? Are you still human, or have you become something else entirely?"
Kura looked at his reflection in a pool of water. The face staring back was harder than the boy who'd fallen into this abyss. Eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness. Features that had become sharper, more predatory.
He barely recognized himself.
Good.
That weak, invisible boy had been murdered. What was emerging from the abyss was something stronger. Something that wouldn't be pushed around. Something that would make Daisuke regret what he'd done.
* * *
Kura's work near the seal had become routine.
He'd set up a proper workshop at the edge of the platform, using materials harvested from defeated monsters and the labyrinth itself. And yes, occasionally, small amounts of material from the seal's outer layers.
Just a little bit at a time. Just what he needed for his projects.
He was crafting armor now—not crude protection, but sophisticated pieces that combined monster chitin, labyrinth metals, and his Master Transmutation to create something that could withstand serious attacks. Each piece was carefully designed, properly fitted, optimized for both protection and mobility.
The process required intense use of Transmutation. Hours of focused work, reshaping materials at the molecular level, binding disparate components into cohesive wholes.
And every time he worked, the seal weakened just a little more.
The cracks were visible now—hairline fractures spreading across the outermost containment ring. Kura noticed them during his third week in the abyss, and for a moment, considered stopping.
But he needed these materials. Needed the workspace. Needed to keep getting stronger if he was ever going to escape.
So he kept working.
The dreams became more frequent.
Almost every night now, he'd find himself in that white throne room. The silver-haired girl was always there, sometimes sitting on her throne, sometimes walking through gardens that shouldn't exist in a dream, sometimes just standing at a window looking out at stars.
They talked. About his progress. About the seal. About her imprisonment.
"What's your name?" Kura asked one night.
She smiled. "Names have power. If I tell you mine, you'll have a claim on me. Are you ready for that responsibility?"
"I don't understand."
"You will." She approached him, close enough that he could see flecks of red in her silver eyes. "You're doing well, Kura. You're becoming strong. Stronger than those who abandoned you."
"They didn't abandon me. Someone pushed me."
"And the others? They could have come looking. Could have tried to rescue you. But they didn't, did they?" Her voice was gentle, understanding. "They assumed you were dead and moved on. Because you didn't matter to them."
Kura wanted to argue, but the words stuck in his throat. She was right. No one was coming for him. No rescue party was braving the depths to find his body.
They'd written him off.
"But I see you," she continued. "I value what you are, what you're becoming. You're not weak. You're not useless. You're a Creator—one of the most powerful classes to ever exist. And you're only beginning to understand your potential."
"Why do you care?"
"Because we're the same." She touched his chest, right over his heart. In the dream, he could feel it—a warmth that spread through him. "Both trapped. Both underestimated. Both capable of so much more than anyone imagines."
"What happens when the seal breaks?"
"I wake up." She smiled. "And you won't be alone anymore."
Kura woke from that dream with tears on his face, though he couldn't say why.
* * *
Day twenty-three in the abyss.
Kura had stopped counting after a while, but his internal clock suggested it had been about three weeks since the fall. Three weeks of fighting, eating monster meat, studying ancient texts, and slowly transforming himself into something new.
He was level 7 now. His stats had crossed the 70 mark in most categories. He'd successfully enhanced his entire skeletal structure and major muscle groups through careful self-Transmutation. He wore armor that combined the best properties of multiple monsters with alloy metals he'd created himself.
He was stronger than he'd ever been.
And he was hunting something big.
His exploration of the labyrinth had revealed a massive chamber three levels below the sealed prison—a cavern easily a thousand feet across, home to something the ancient texts had called a Behemoth. A creature so large and dangerous that even the Age of Gods guardians had avoided fighting it, instead sealing off the entire section.
Kura had broken that seal two days ago.
Not intentionally—he'd been harvesting rare crystal deposits from the barrier, not realizing it was load-bearing. The whole structure had collapsed, opening the way to the Behemoth's lair.
And now he was going to kill it.
Not because he needed to. Not for materials or experience. But because he wanted to test himself. Wanted to see how far he'd come. Wanted to prove that he was no longer the helpless boy who'd been thrown away.
The Behemoth was waiting in the center of its domain—a creature that looked like a rhinoceros crossed with a dragon, easily fifty feet long, covered in armored scales that glowed with internal heat. Its breath came out as jets of flame. Its footsteps shook the ground.
It saw Kura and roared—a sound that would have made the old him collapse in terror.
Now, he just smiled.
The fight was brutal. The Behemoth was strong, fast for its size, and its armored hide resisted most attacks. But Kura had learned to fight smart, not just hard.
He used the terrain. Used hit-and-run tactics. Used his Master Transmutation to reshape the ground beneath the Behemoth's feet, throwing off its balance. When his knife couldn't penetrate its scales, he transmuted the metal at the point of impact to be ultra-dense, turning each strike into armor-piercing force.
The battle lasted three hours.
When it finally ended, the Behemoth lay dead, and Kura stood on its corpse, blood-soaked and exhausted and triumphant.
Level Up! Level 7 → Level 8
Level Up! Level 8 → Level 9
Two levels from one kill. The experience must have been massive.
But more than that—something else triggered:
Class Evolution Available
SYNERGIST → CREATOR
Warning: This evolution is permanent and will fundamentally alter your class abilities. Accept evolution?
Kura didn't hesitate.
YES
Power flooded through him—not painful like the monster absorptions, but overwhelming. His entire understanding of Transmutation expanded, deepened, became something more. He could feel new pathways opening in his mind, new possibilities emerging.
Class Evolution Complete
New Class: CREATOR
New Skills Acquired:
- Reality Forge: Create objects from raw mana
- Mana Transmutation: Convert between matter and magical energy
- Spatial Manipulation: Basic control over physical space
- Perfect Analysis: Complete understanding of any material or energy
Stats Increased:
Strength: 95 | Vitality: 92 | Defense: 88
Agility: 98 | Magic: 150 | Magic Defense: 145
Kura stared at the notifications, barely able to process what had just happened.
He was a Creator now. One of the legendary classes from the Age of Gods. The same class as Guardian-Smith Aldric and the other masters whose texts he'd been studying.
He could create matter from mana. Could manipulate space itself. Could transmute energy and matter interchangeably.
He was no longer just a support class. He was something genuinely powerful.
Kura looked at his hands, watching mana flow visibly across his skin, responding to his will. He thought about creating something—just as a test—and without materials or tools, a perfect crystal formed in his palm. Solid, real, created from nothing but his mana and will.
Reality Forge.
He was literally creating reality.
A laugh escaped him—half-hysterical, half-triumphant. This was what he could have been from the beginning if anyone had bothered to teach him properly. If anyone had recognized the potential of his class instead of dismissing it as worthless.
But they hadn't. They'd thrown him away.
Their loss.
Kura turned and walked back toward the sealed chamber, leaving the Behemoth's corpse behind. He had work to do. Armor to finish. Techniques to master. Power to consolidate.
And a seal to break.
Because he wasn't alone down here. Not really.
She was waiting for him.
The Sleeping Princess who understood what it meant to be imprisoned, to be underestimated, to have power that frightened those in control.
Soon, she would wake.
And neither of them would be trapped anymore.