Despite the nagging trepidation that this new skill, "Skin Tempering," would be agonizing to train and slow to master, Edard felt a flicker of genuine peace as he carried the girl's body deeper into the cavern. For the first time since his arrival, he felt a modicum of safety. Earlier, he had lived in constant terror that some unseen force would strike him down at any moment; now, that suffocating dread had begun to lift.
This cave was vast—wider and deeper than the previous two he had encountered. It was also remarkably cleaner, save for a few scattered animal remains that marked it as the former hunting ground of the beasts he had just neutralized.
Edard's mind raced through a list of needs, but survival remained the absolute priority, overshadowing even the search for his kin. To live, he needed Longevity—the essence that would add days to his life and allow him to finally lay this corpse down and move freely.
This girl was the only thing in this world capable of halting his death-clock, a mystery as profound as the horned lion or the Level 7 gorilla. He suspected there was a link between these creatures and the watch on his wrist. When he first encountered them, his watch had itched. Was it a temporal resonance, or merely a warning? He had dissected the lion's chest, searching for the "Spirit Stones" he had read about in earth-side fantasy lore—luminescent gems said to be found in the hearts of magical beasts.
To his disappointment, the lion's chest yielded nothing but gore. Frustrated, he decided to summon his newly bound servant. He called the gorilla inside.
"How do I obtain Longevity?"
The beast grumbled, "Hmm? Longevity! Through killing."
"No, what do you mean? Explain yourself!" Edard snapped, teeth gritted. Long ago, back on Earth, he had learned that questioning animals was usually an exercise in futility. Over ninety-nine percent of beasts knew nothing beyond the cycle of eating and sleeping. Their answers were rarely helpful.
Still, the gorilla persisted, even as it winced in submission. "Through killing. Yes... through killing..."
"Perhaps I should kill you and see," Edard muttered darkly. The gorilla shot him a look of sheer terror, stammering to defend itself. "No! Through... through... through killing!" Despite its effort to communicate, the creature lacked the vocabulary to say anything more. It was the limit of its intelligence.
"Get out! Get out of my sight!" Edard barked, chasing the beast away. He sighed heavily. He still had only thirty-two seconds of life remaining if he let go of the girl, and no clear path to earning more Longevity. His only solace was his evolving skills.
He channeled his energy into a small sphere of Dragon Essence in his palm, then shifted its shape into a razor-sharp dagger—a process that took a mere two seconds. He thrust the blade into the cave wall, carving a hole a meter wide. The Dragon Essence began to siphon energy from the rock, and a notification appeared.
He realized something curious: when he had stabbed the lion, the resulting wound was only a few inches wide. Yet, using the same dagger, the same energy, and the same intent, he had just blasted a meter-wide crater into the solid rock.
"Why the difference?" he wondered. This was the key to mastering his powers. He deduced that everything in this world—be it a lion or a stone wall—possessed Resistance. The lion's resistance was far superior to the cave wall's, which was why the same attack was less effective against the beast.
He then balled his fist and fired a bolt of molten rock. Unlike the dagger, which took two seconds to form, this projectile took only half a second. While the Dragon Essence dagger was a devastating close-quarters tool, the molten bolt provided range, governed by his Willpower.
He also analyzed Violet Crush and Intimidation. Both were long-range, but Intimidation was superior for stealthy, preemptive strikes. When he used Crush, his eyes glowed with a violet light, warning the enemy of an incoming attack. Intimidation had no such visual tell.
These "Acquired Skills" were easier to improve through use and didn't require Longevity, unlike his primary "Classifications," which were stagnant without Longevity.
His Status Key, however, was slow to improve; it seemed to require thousands of "reads" to progress, unlike the language skills which evolved with each new dialect learned.
Settling into the silence, Edard closed his eyes to focus on Spiritual Sense. Like his other acquired skills, it didn't require Longevity to improve. He projected his awareness outward, covering a thirty-meter radius in every direction.
Through this sense, he could see through the cave walls, above the mountain, and deep into the earth. He watched the predators roaming the mountain outside, noting how they scurried away the moment they caught the scent of his enslaved gorilla. He practiced for hours, refining his focus.
When he opened his eyes, a notification awaited him:
His range had expanded from thirty meters to thirty-five. It was a small victory, but in this world, every meter was a lifeline.
He then turned his attention to the Conqueror Path - something he understood to be a Cultivation Manual - the Immortal Dragon skill. This was the only tool he hadn't tested yet.
The manual outlined three stages:
Meditation: Holding your breath for 15–20 minutes, then exhaling for one minute to stabilize energy. Repeat three times.
Absorption: Drawing external energy from the air.
Condensation: Compressing that energy into Longevity.
Edard doubted it would be as easy as the manual made it seem. If Longevity could be gained simply by breathing, the old man would have told him. Still, he began the cycle. He held his breath, his face turning red, sweat beads forming on his brow. The strain was immense. As he pushed through the discomfort, a new notification appeared:
Before he could decide, the screen changed. A massive map appeared—larger than anything he had seen. It highlighted a hundred high-energy locations across the world.
There were locations like Black Fly under the Rabbis Empire, Luffy under the Bara Empire, and a mysterious, undiscovered site called Blinda. Just like this, the immortal dais listed 100 places where he could siphon energy. The manual identified these as "Dungeons"—magical structures filled with enchanted creatures and, most importantly, vast stores of Nature Energy.
Through the Immortal Dragon technique, Edard could see these locations as towering pillars of light reaching into the heavens, regardless of the distance.
Edard didn't waste a second. He pressed YES. He didn't care who owned these places or what lived inside them. He was going to drain them dry.