DoorBound

Before Atlas did anything else, he thought about what rank he was right now.

I have an Aether Core, which means I'm at least Veiled rank, and I know for sure that I'd be significantly stronger if I were a Sentinel. So that means I'm for sure Veiled. Now the real question is, how much does my strength differ from someone at the same rank as me?

After watching Sebastian and Near fight, I can see the real difference between those at the same tier is Aether control. This probably has something to do with how much you've explored into your Aether Core, as well as your room.

As he was thinking, one thing stuck out above all: he was somehow able to progress much more quickly than anyone else—at least according to Iris. This didn't make any sense. He was never naturally talented at anything; in fact, it was the opposite for almost everything, except for reading. He loved it, indulged in it, and even ended becoming a librarian.

Logically speaking, there had to be a reason for this. But what was it? Could it have something to do with taking down the Warp Rabbit or even the Strawman?

In fact, now that he thought back, how convenient it was that the maze shifted at the last second during the Straw-man fight.

When he was younger, he fell in love with a book where the main character was controlled by an outside force until he eventually died because of that person.

Could this be something similar? I mean, there are some things that support this theory, like the eye and the maze shifting at times that would help me. But at the same time, they were inconvenient. Everything's getting too confusing to keep track of.

He pulled himself out of his racing thoughts.

Atlas took a deep breath.

"Iris, do you trust me enough to lower the sword? I promise you, I will not harm you, and from now on, I will tell you the full truth about anything."

Iris finally sheathed her sword and sat down.

"I don't trust you enough for anything other than not killing you, and you not killing me. But the fact is, I need to use your technique in the future."

Atlas didn't comment and instead chose to remain silent. Nothing positive would come from speaking after that.

He watched as Iris opened a pack he remembered from earlier—the very same one she used with the group that had more space than it should hold. Atlas half-expected her to pull out a full dinner for the two of them, but instead, she turned the whole thing upside down, indicating that there was nothing left.

"Listen closely, Edmund, we need supplies, so I need you to go and cut that squid with your sword."

Atlas didn't have to say anything. Instead, he grabbed his sword and located the squid's body. After all these hours, it still remained close by. Although dead, there was no stench, as if it hadn't decayed at all.

He was going to swim to it but came up with a better idea.

He rushed Aether into his legs and backed as far away from the edge of the slab as possible.

This time, the Aether felt amazing, way more fulfilling than before, and made him feel powerful.

So this is what happens when your Aether Core advances.

Without another word, he ran, one foot in front of the other. Once he reached the edge, he jumped with as much strength as possible.

His aquamarine Aether left behind traces as he soared through the air toward the squid's body, closing over ten meters in a single jump.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

But that didn't matter to Atlas because he had his technique.

Warp!

He used it three times, each at two meters, and finally landed on top of the squid. His core wasn't completely drained; it was less than halfway, indicating a significant increase in how much Aether he could use at once.

After landing, he took out his sword and wasted no time attempting to stab into the skin.

CLING!

The sword bounced off as if it hit diamond.

Right, how could I forget? When I was falling, I tried to claw on, but my Aether-filled hands couldn't even leave a scratch.

He tried again and again, looking like a madman, stabbing at the dead squid.

Finally, he had an idea. If the outside epidermis was impossible to get through, he had to try the eye.

He walked over to the large eye, halfway submerged in the water, and touched the edges. He backed out of the eye and stabbed into it. This time, the eye wasn't as hard, but it still didn't let the sword break it. He tried again and again, leaving scratches, but he couldn't cut through.

Atlas needed a way to get this, or they would starve.

If this bastard of a squid hadn't eaten the rest of our supplies—and even the bodies of the others—we would have food.

He didn't give up, repeatedly striking one spot. Each time, he pushed Aether into his body. Finally, after over an hour of digging, he stopped.

All that effort and Aether only left a couple of marks.

A Paragon's strength is truly insane. Even a squishy eye couldn't be cut by me.

It was crazy to Atlas. He was so weak compared to this squid, yet he was the victor and stood atop its body.

This left him feeling proud, but that feeling was quickly taken away. Even if he won, he would starve without supplies.

He had no other choice.

After regaining some Aether, he copied the same movement as before and made his way back to the slab.

"It's impossible to get food from the squid. It's too strong. I tried many times with no success."

Iris didn't seem surprised. She stood up, looking into the distance at the other slabs.

"We have no other choice. We must attack."