Chapter 419

Chapter 419

"What do you mean the rift is closing? It's hardly even been a full day. I thought this tear has been closing for weeks, even months. Why is it closing so fast now?"

I do a full scan of the dungeon to locate the excess mana emanating from the rift, then Dungeon Walk us from the sky to directly in front of it.

The massive tear in space is now hardly over 10 meters in height.

Its black endless void is as ominous as ever, but just this morning when I looked at it, it was almost twice the size.

Ember responds.

"It could be for a number of reasons. The first being pure chance, the Void Creeper Lord could just be routinely closing the rift after it absorbed its fair share of mana in this dungeon."

My gaze tightens as Ember nods slowly to continue.

"But I also believe this isn't a coincidence. The overfarming must have made this dungeon inefficient. They're losing more mana than they're gaining, and there's no point in staying. On top of that, it's pretty easy to tell where the source of the problem is. Your mere presence is enough to drive these creatures off now. They may enjoy absorbing mana, but only from the weak."

I cross my arms.

"My presence? You mean my intimidation skill's passive perk? I have shielding up to cover that at all times now, lower-level mobs can't even sense my presence."

Ember nods.

"True, but high-level beings can. The fact that you're using such dense mana instinctively to shield a simple passive buff is more than enough of a tell that you're an extremely strong ranked-up hunter."

I raise an eyebrow as Ember keeps explaining.

"On top of that, any ranked-up monster or hunter with basic levels of mana senses can tell you're no ordinary being. The mana radiating off your body at all times is incredibly immense. The only time it's truly covered up is when your legendary stealth skill is activated."

"That seems to be a problem... I knew other strong hunters could sense my presence when I'm not actively hiding it, but is it really that accurate? You're saying any hunter with high mana perception can tell how strong I am just from being nearby even if I don't have any buffs or skills activated?"

Ember nods slowly.

Especially after my recent training session, I raised dramatically in power in a single day and decided not to attend the fight ring event tonight. If the Dark One wasn't already watching me closely before, it is now.

I turn to Ember and respond.

"Yes, I need to learn this Mana Suppression Technique. I would like you to teach me."

At the thought of it, I extend my enemy detection skill to see if there are any titans left in this Dungeon.

The radar reading that comes back is not what I was hoping to see at all...

A single blotch of dense energy is about 2km away moving at a very slow pace. It may reach our current position in front of the rift in about 25 minutes.

I turn my head back to the black rift behind us and can't tell if it's my imagination or if the edges have started to close in slightly faster than just moments ago when my conversation with Ember started.

My eyes widen and I airstep onto Ember's back.

"This may be our last chance to make use of these Titans."

It would have been nice to stock up on more materials for a long session, but there's no time. I have some extra unused clothes, leftover blankets, miscellaneous items, and months' worth of food and water still left over from last time. The fact that my high mana control reduces the amount of food and water I need to consume is a major plus. It's more than enough; it just won't be as comfortable as my last session.

I activate Dungeon Walker to spawn up about 500 meters in the air, right outside the energy blotch on my enemy detection radar. The last titan, with long swaying limbs and slow, steady moving footsteps, is silently making its way toward the closing rift.

Ember responds as he divebombs downward at the huge mass of black energy.

"Yes, it looks like we made the final one panic. We'll have to use it wisely, and make sure we get out before it leaves through the rift with us inside."

"Very good point."

I create two body doubles right before we plunge into the dark Void.

The copies airstep away from the danger while weightlessness takes over my body, and I fall back into the Titan's Domain.