[Welcome to the Sanctuary, a personal realm owned by Set. This realm exists outside all Reality—untraceable by any entity, a cultivation paradise. Time flows 100× faster than the outside world. Here, beyond the grasp of temporal decay, you do not age. All cultivation is amplified 10×—each core absorbed grants tenfold mana.]
'Perfect,' Set thought, his golden eyes blazing with unyielding resolve as the infinite emerald plains breathed mana into his lungs like divine nectar. 'I don't know how long it'll take to reach a good enough standard, but I will reach it no doubt.'
He settled cross-legged in a random spot in the field, the living grass pulsing warmly beneath him like a heartbeat. With a flick of will, mountains of cores erupted from his mana ring—literal mountains, though small ones. F-rank orbs glittered like stardust. D-rank gleamed like river stones. A-rank pulsed like hearts. S-rank roared with restrained fury. At the summits loomed 300 Legendary Cores, each the size of a melon, radiating pressure that warped the air into shimmering mirages. He had 500 at first but gave 100 to Elise and 100 to Kaiya each.
Aside from that, he had a mind-boggling twenty million smaller cores. He gained so many from the S-ranked Gates because he cleared the entire world. These S-ranked Gates were like small worlds filled with monsters, going against the rules set of killing 2,500 per group—he slaughtered 9 Gates solo.
Seeing this many cores, Vyrak couldn't even imagine how he got so many. Even though he watched the whole thing, he still couldn't understand how Set did the things he did. Is he the incarnation of Luck or something? Vyrak thought before quickly dismissing the idea. In this low-level world, yea right.
Set looked at the mountains of cores and spoke to Vyrak. "Tell me, what are all the hunter ranks you know of?"
Vyrak's serpent lip twitched hearing the word 'Hunter'. "Cultivators! We are cultivators, not some silly hunters... anyways, like I mentioned to you before, at my peak I am a Legendary Cultivator. To achieve this, you must at least have the Mana Capacity of 100,000."
"And how far is Legendary from the S rank?"
"Two ranks above. You will first step into the Epic Rank, which requires 25,000 Mana, and then the Legendary rank. Above that, I only know of the Mythical Rank; however, that rank is the limit of my world, which is only a Mid-level world," Vyrak explained.
"Hmm, so what is the limit of Earth?"
"It should be the Epic rank. Anyone stronger than that won't be able to set foot onto this world; however, that won't stop them from simply destroying what they don't like," Vyrak said.
"Damn it. Alright, here's the plan: I will reach the Epic rank before heading back out to deal with the Sunbelt family. After that is done, I will leave Earth and find a way to heal you up."
After making his decision, he began absorbing core after core. Like always, he would disregard the assimilation of those monsters.
This continued for quite a while. The Sanctuary's 10× amplification turned every core into a tidal wave of mana:
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F-rank: 2 → 20
E-rank: 4 → 40
D-rank: 6 → 60
C-rank: 8 → 80
B-rank: 10 → 100
A-rank: 12 → 120
S-rank: 14 → 140
Epic: 1,000 → 10,000
Legendary: 1,500 → 15,000
F-rank vanished in blinks. D-rank in breaths. A-rank in heartbeats. S-rank took seconds—each one a supernova that threatened to destabilize his cultivation.
Legendary Cores resisted. The first one roared like a dying star, fighting absorption. Set crushed it with raw will. The surge nearly shattered his core—then the realm rebuilt him, stronger.
After about 4 hours, he finally received the prompt he was looking for.
[You have reached Epic Rank. Mana Cap - 25,000]
Seeing this, he brought up his status screen.
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[Set]
Age: 22 Years Old
Race: Human, Void Dragon
Rank: Epic
Mana Cap: 25,000
Affinities: Ice, Fire, Lightning, Void, Shadows
Abilities: Lucky Halo, Eyes of Infinity, Cosmic Allure (All Passive)
Full Dragon Transformation, Roar of Void, Dragon's Aura, Flames of Void
Skills: Ice Ball, Fire Ball, Ice Wall, Space Step
"That's right, I did assimilate Lightning and Shadows from Elise and Kaiya," he said to himself before standing up. Although 4 hours passed in here, only a few minutes passed outside. This was thanks to this realm having time faster by 100 times. He also wouldn't age while being inside, as it was not located within reality.
He stood up and brought out his sword from his ring. He then began training over the basics, before moving to more advanced practices. From footwork to different stances to swings, he went over it all.
The blade became an extension of his soul. He started with footwork—every step etched into the grass until the field bore permanent grooves, a labyrinth of perfect paths. Stances followed: low guard, high guard, dragon's coil—each held for hours, muscles burning, mana reinforcing tendons until they hummed like steel cables.
Swings. One million. Then another. The air screamed. Each strike faster, cleaner, deadlier. The sword sang—a high, keening note that shattered nearby stones. He fought illusions conjured by the Sanctuary: flaming hounds, stone giants, shadow wraiths. A hound lunged—he parried, riposted, decapitated in one fluid motion. A giant's club fell—he Space Stepped behind, severing tendons with surgical precision.
He kept at this for not just days, weeks, or months—but for 5 years straight, training with nothing but the sword. Compared to his 200 years of experience he gained, this might seem like nothing. However, for someone who hadn't fought much before this week, he needed the extra training.
After he finished with that, he began to practice using his skills while fighting with his sword. He first began with forming Ice Balls around him that would constantly form and shoot out while he was engaged theoretically in hand-to-hand combat.
To simulate this, the realm conjured waves of monsters. He continued practicing his sword while using the Ice Balls in different ways—firing them mid-slash, weaving them through his footwork, using them as shields or distractions. He then added his Fire Balls, creating dual-element barrages that danced around his blade like living comets.
Before moving to the Space Step, he practiced coming in and out of his Space Step, following up with moves—vanishing mid-thrust, reappearing mid-slash, chaining strikes across the field. He then fought himself—the Sanctuary spawned a perfect clone at his current skill level. They clashed for months. He lost. Again. Again. Then won. Then dominated.
He continued these another 5 years without taking a single break. Thanks to his endless mana and his cultivation, he no longer needed to sleep as often as normal mortals.
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While Set was undergoing his training, the world kept moving without him. Kaiya had long woken up from their session—only a month and a few days had passed since then. However, she hadn't left Set's apartment for a single moment. Upon waking up, she read his note and waited around for him for a few days. However, after he didn't show up for a full week, she didn't wait any longer while doing nothing.
She began to cultivate because with an opportunity like the one Set gave her, why wouldn't she? Not only that, she had dreams and aspirations as well. Not just dreams, but she had revenge she needed to pay back.
About 4 years ago, when the world first went to shit, Earth faced a drastic change. With the appearance of mana also came what people would call 'villains'. For about 2 years, lawless activity was at an all-time high, as major countries and families vied for world dominance.
During this time, Kaiya was an ordinary barista at a coffee shop. She had worked there for a few years and never had problems. Every day she would work and come home to her twin sister, who also worked, but at a different place.
When mana arrived, her twin awakened an affinity for light, while Kaiya didn't awaken at all. This caused the two to drift apart as they began living two different lives. This was fine and all—until her twin tried selling her off to some heir of a family.
Well, it wasn't exactly selling off, but more like an agreement. Her sister wanted to join a Hunter family, but the Heir wanted not just her but Kaiya as well. Her sister offered her on a platter one night while she was sleeping. She was nearly raped as her sister just watched the entire thing.
She would have been sullied that night if not for a Gate outbreak. The outbreak happened in the same city, causing both her sister and the heir to leave in haste. That night, she cried all alone before leaving behind her past.
After finally awakening, she had one goal, and that was to become strong enough to pay them back. Now, with an opportunity, she took advantage.
Another month passed since she had begun, and after two months, she grew from rank D all the way to Epic rank. This was something she couldn't even dream of accomplishing anytime soon, yet she did it in two months. All this was so surreal, but it only made one thing clearer, and that was Set.
He was the cause of everything and the one she would give her all for.
Sitting inside of his living room, her eyes fluttered open, and her lips formed a smile. "My Set, I didn't disappoint you now, did I?" She stood up and then looked around the apartment before shaking her head.
"I don't know where you are, but I will at least buy the house you were planning to do while you're gone." After thinking this, she headed to his bathroom to clean up before leaving.