In a place where spacetime didn't exist, one that couldn't even be called a 'place' at all, Erasil raised his head. His black hair draped over his flawless face, which was adorned by his golden eyes. He looked to the right. His sight effortlessly pierced through the lack of dimensionality to arrive at a young human with black hair and emerald eyes.

…A Dragon's descendant. Mithren's, even. He's also been blessed by Clyranth.

Erasil tilted his head and caressed the edge of the sword on his lap. It hummed in pleasure.

"Are we going to kill him?" asked a voice in his mind. It sounded like an old man's, but at the same time, it shifted as it spoke, turning into a young woman's. By the end of the question, it didn't sound like any kind of person or entity at all. Yet, it still resounded.

Erasil stared at the young human. He felt nothing. No killing intent, no desire to harm, but also no will to help the young man in what would certainly be a hellish task.

"No," Erasil replied simply.

"Once the Gods of War find out about him, there will be war," the voice continued to speak in his head.

Erasil shook his head with a deadpan expression.

"There can be no war against a single person. It will simply be an attempt at extermination. But he's covered by an Umbra's Rune of Shadows. They won't find him for some time."

"And once they do?"

Erasil continued to stare at the young man.

"He's Mithren's descendant. It might be enough."

His sword went silent. It continued only to hum in accordance with his fingers' movements. Erasil didn't move his gaze. The sight of the young human had brought old memories to the surface. Memories of a multiversal war that he himself had waged as the spearhead. Memories of the people he'd lost to the Dragons before he decided to break their wings. Memories of her.

In the face of those memories, he felt nothing, as had been the case for a long time now. All that remained were the embers of the feelings he used to feel when he thought of those memories. A memory of a memory, of the times before he transcended.

Still, he felt the smallest hint of interest in the young human. Would he become strong enough to survive against the so-called Gods of War? Erasil finally moved his gaze and scanned the planet the young man was on. He found the boy's mother instantly. Not only was the resemblance uncanny, but he could also see the entirety of her genetic material to begin with.

Will you be able to protect what you care about, unlike me?

The question didn't give rise to further sensations. No, there were never any to begin with. He only felt that he 'should' be interested, and as such, he'd created his own emotions. It was a trick he'd learned long before he completely surpassed the concepts of emotions and mortality. At the very least, the sight of Mithren's descendant reminded him of the battle he'd fought before, except that his enemies had been the Dragons themselves.

The desperate struggle to survive and overcome enemies that seem so incredibly above you.

Erasil placed his hand on his chest. It had been an immeasurable amount of time since his heart had stopped needing to beat, but once he gave the mental order, he felt his heartbeat. It throbbed under his palm. He was reminded of how much anger and outrage he'd felt back when he hunted the Dragons, especially after she died. The memories of those emotions were still perfectly clear, as all of them were, even though he could no longer feel them.

"Will you survive, child?" he asked out loud.

Naturally, nobody replied. After all, he was somewhere that no one else could reach, no matter who they were. He was forever unreachable, unless he wanted to be found. The only entity he could talk to was his sword, which was nothing but part of him. He was alone, left with nothing but his memories and the shadows of the feelings he once felt. There was nobody on his level, able to keep up with him.

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That was what it meant to be the Transcendent.

***

Michael ran through the city, heading to the nearest entrance to the underground subway stations, a bit lost in his thoughts.

How can I search for them?

Right now, finding his friends' families and loved ones was a priority, but he also couldn't neglect his own growth. For the sake of everything he cared about, he needed to keep growing stronger. However, if such strength was achieved by letting the families of his friends die, what was it worth? He needed to at least know of what fate had befallen them, as quickly as possible.

No, even if I get power that way, it would still be worth something.

He only had ten years before a god possibly appeared and nuked this planet into oblivion. At the very least, he needed to make sure he could hide from them once the ten years were up. Michael clicked his tongue as he leaped over an overturned car.

The moment he landed, his ears twitched. He unhesitatingly raised his right arm and grabbed a giant stinger in mid-air. It had been rushing toward his chest like a bullet. Michael crushed it in his hands and looked to the right, where an oversized insect floated in place.

…Is that a wasp?

The thing was hideous and the size of a man's chest, with stripes along its carapace. A new stinger was growing where the previous one had been shot from. Michael frowned in distaste.

Damn thing looks like an alien. Jesus Christ.

He pointed his staff at it as it started buzzing around. Naturally, his eyes perfectly captured its movements.

Arcane Missile.

The longspear of mana took shape and shot right through the giant wasp's head. Its wings stopped falling as it fell to the ground. The kill notification rang out in Michael's mind, making him nod and continue on his way.

This pattern repeated itself several times, despite the short distance between the Safe Zone and the nearest entrance to the underground. Evolved animals and monsters appeared repeatedly, and Michael slayed them with a single spell every time.

Looking at the carcass of five of the evolved rats, Michael's nose twitched in distaste. To his enhanced sense of smell, the smell of blood and destroyed organs was starting to become a bother.

Michael shook his head and continued to run. Finally, he arrived before his destination.

He stood at the top of the stairway, looking down. Unlike before the System descended, the entrance to the underground was as dark as a bottomless pit. The stairs led only into the shadows. Michael raised his eyebrow. A System notification appeared in front of him.

[You have discovered an entrance to the City Dungeon (New York City).]

He stared at it for a second.

…City Dungeon? And it's even specific to NYC?

The realization dawned upon him as he looked back at the darkness.

It's a permanent hunting ground.

If his guess was correct, the City Dungeon wasn't like an ordinary Dungeon. It likely spanned the entire underground and acted as a place for Leveling. Still, did this mean it didn't have a Boss? Or maybe it had more than one? And what about the difficulty and the power of the enemies? Was it like the Consumed Territory, where only the powerful could hunt, or did it represent a hunting ground to the general population? Since this one was specific to NYC, did the difficulty change based on the city?

His questions were endless, but he didn't have a solid answer to any of them. The only way to find out was to enter the Dungeon. However, exactly because he didn't know the answers, he had no way to guess how much time he would spend down there. Hell, he didn't even know if he would be allowed to leave at will.

"Change of plans," Michael said to himself under his breath before decisively turning around.

Given the nature of this Dungeon, he should first look for the loved ones of his friends. There would be time to delve into the City Dungeon later. Every second he spent inside it could result in the death of a parent.

Michael channeled Lightspeed without pushing it too far. Because of his current level of power, it was much more manageable. He lowered his center of gravity, then pushed against the ground to shoot up like a bullet. The air rushed around him, but he didn't even need to blink. In nothing but two seconds, he found himself over twenty meters above the ground.

Wind Blades.

He cast the spell through Twin Casting, doubling the amount of air that held him in place. Now floating, Michael kept moving upward before he activated his Dragonheart to enhance his senses even more. It was easy to find more Safe Zones, given how different they were from the area around them, but it also allowed him to behold the size of the three giant trees all around Manhattan, and the levels of mana around them.

…I'll have to tackle those eventually.

It was unlikely that they were harmless. Still, this wasn't the time to worry about them. He determined which Safe Zone was the closest one and started flying toward it, then lowered himself to touch the roof of one of the buildings. Now with some support, he pushed against the concrete, increasing his speed sharply.

He could only hope everyone was alright.

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