"The two of us are going to clear the Great Dungeon," Isaac said.
"Just the two of us? I know Emily and Alice could clear up to the Third Area together with Master and everyone else, but the difficulty rises exponentially after every Area. Even with all the boosts we've received, clearing the Fourth Area alone will already be difficult. We would still need Master, Emily, and the others," she said.
"That would normally be true. But I have another method in mind. First, we'll increase Emily's combat power. Once her strength improves enough, I'll share those new abilities with myself. After that, the two of us should be able to clear at least up to the Fifth or Sixth Area," Isaac said.
Catherine quietly considered his words instead of questioning them further.
Isaac rarely made plans without thinking them through, especially when they involved something as dangerous as the Great Dungeon. If he sounded this confident, then he had already calculated the risks.
There were four reasons he wanted to rush their Great Dungeon expedition.
The first was Catherine herself. If everything went according to his plan, she would fight every Mini Boss and Main Boss alone. The rewards for solo kills had to be unique. Isaac did not find any records of any gaining solo kills on Bosses, but Isaac suspected they would include special Titles that would strengthen her far beyond ordinary stat gains.
The second reason was Emily.
The Catastrophe sleeping inside her could only be dealt with after they entered the Tower of Heaven and Hell. Reaching that Tower required clearing the Great Dungeon first, and Isaac had no intention of allowing Emily's condition to worsen while they delayed.
The third reason was their unfinished Conqueror Trial.
They still had no idea what awaited them in that Trial, but Isaac knew one thing for certain. Every bit of additional strength Catherine gained beforehand would increase her chances of completing whatever challenge appeared.
The final reason was the Florathi Kingdom.
Soon they would have to travel there, and considering everything surrounding the Third Priest, Isaac preferred entering that kingdom with overwhelming strength instead of uncertain confidence. Becoming stronger now would save them countless problems later.
"We should get moving," Isaac said.
His body disappeared as he activated his disguise skills, and a moment later black scales spread across his skin. His body rapidly expanded until a massive dragon flew where he had been. His wings unfolded across the streets, and with a slight adjustment, he lowered himself until his head rested close to the edge of the building where Catherine stood.
[Come on.]
"Are you sure about this? I thought dragons didn't like people riding on their backs." Catherine looked at him with an amused smile instead of climbing aboard immediately.
[You're my wife. You're not just people.] Isaac rolled his large eyes.
"I suppose that's different." She laughed softly.
They could have simply teleported to Emily's City, but flying was better overall since Isaac intended to clear monsters along the way. Ever since adventurers had begun exploring farther into the wilderness, he had regularly dispatched clones to eliminate stronger monsters before they could threaten trade routes or adventure camps.
Even so, Catherine remained standing where she was.
[You're still hesitating?] Isaac sighed.
"I was wondering how I was supposed to climb onto your back."
Without another word, invisible telekinetic force lifted Catherine into the air. Her eyes widened for a split second in surprise before being gently placed between the large ridges behind his neck.
[There. Now hold on.]
She wrapped both arms around one of the sturdy scales near his neck. "I'm ready."
Isaac beat his wings once. The world beneath them blurred.
By the time Catherine instinctively looked back, the city had already disappeared beyond the horizon. Only forests, red rivers, and distant mountains stretched beneath them.
Even Isaac found himself smiling.
Although transforming into a dragon was nothing new, this was the first time he had flown across such a vast landscape without holding back. The freedom was strangely refreshing.
[How is it? This must be your first dragon flight.]
"It is. And I don't think I'll ever forget it. Thank you for bringing me," Catherine answered.
Her voice carried genuine excitement as she looked across the endless scenery below. Thanks to her current attributes, their incredible speed did little to blur her vision. She could still distinguish forests, lakes, and wandering monsters as they rushed past.
Isaac smiled to himself. Catherine usually carried herself with quiet maturity, always thinking about responsibilities before personal enjoyment. Moments like this reminded him that she also appreciated being spoiled once in a while, even if she rarely admitted it.
They spent the next several minutes chatting casually while Isaac flew forward. Whenever powerful monsters entered his perception range, golden flames flashed through the sky before enormous creatures collapsed below. Most never even realized what had killed them.
After another stretch of peaceful flight, Isaac remembered something.
[By the way, which skills did you upgrade with the two Skill Rank Up Tickets?]
"I chose Killing Mirage Projection and Perception Lock Disrupt."
[Those were probably your best options.] Isaac nodded.
Inside his mind, he calmly spoke to the System.
'System. Share Catherine's new skills!'
Killing Mirage Projection: SSS Rank → SSS+ Rank
Perception Lock Disrupt: SSS Rank → SSS+ Rank
The information immediately flowed into his mind.
Isaac focused on Killing Mirage Projection first. Its biggest limitation had always been equipment.
The clones perfectly copied Catherine's physical abilities, but any artifacts they carried became ordinary replicas without mana or special effects. If a clone wielded her real weapon and was destroyed, the genuine artifact would fall to the ground, making it both dangerous and inconvenient to use against powerful enemies.
Because of that, Catherine usually equipped each clone differently to confuse opponents. Experienced enemies could still determine which body was genuine by paying attention to equipment quality or artifact effects.
That weakness had now disappeared. The upgraded skill allowed her to duplicate Mortal Rank artifacts together with the clones.
Mortal Rank might be the lowest grade among artifacts, but for Catherine, it changed everything.
Now every clone could wield identical weapons and equipment that retained their proper abilities. Opponents would no longer be able to identify her real body simply by examining what each clone carried, and every clone's combat ability would increase dramatically. Combined with Catherine's speed and assassination techniques, the upgraded skill had become far deadlier than before.
Isaac then examined the second skill.
Perception Lock Disrupt had not gained any entirely new effects, but every aspect of its previous abilities had been strengthened. The skill could manipulate a target's senses more effectively, making it even harder for anyone to consciously notice Catherine's presence. It was a straightforward upgrade, but one that perfectly suited her fighting style.
'That's a solid improvement,' Isaac thought to himself before dismissing the System window.
Not long afterward, the walls of Eltari City appeared on the horizon.
Isaac gradually descended from the sky instead of flying directly toward the city. Although his disguise abilities had reached a point where even powerful wards would have difficulty detecting his dragon form, there was still a small chance something could go wrong.
He wasn't worried about being discovered. He was worried about causing unnecessary panic.
A giant black dragon suddenly appearing above Eltari City would almost certainly throw the entire city's wards into emergency mode before anyone realized it was him.
As they landed on top of the outer wall, Isaac returned to his human form.
The dragon's enormous body rapidly shrank until only Isaac remained standing there. He immediately reached into his spatial ring and took out a fresh set of clothes before dressing himself.
Every transformation left him completely naked.
Isaac had become used to it by now, but it still felt strangely awkward every single time. Fortunately, his concealment skills prevented anyone from seeing him, whether it was ordinary people, magical surveillance, or even recording devices.
"I seriously need to find clothes that can survive my transformations," he muttered while fastening his shirt.
Once he was finished, he noticed Catherine quietly watching him.
"What?" he asked.
"I was simply enjoying the show." She shrugged with a faint smile.
Isaac stared at her for a second before sighing. "I shouldn't have expected a different answer."
Her smile widened slightly as he opened a teleportation gate.
A cloud of dark spatial mist formed in front of them. Emily had already granted Isaac permission to create portals directly into the secured room beside her office, making it unnecessary to travel through the city normally.
The two stepped into the dark fog together.
Isaac instinctively reached for the legendary equipment that allowed him to see through magical mist, but before he could equip it, Catherine gently stopped him.
"Don't."
Her fingers slipped between his, and she held his hand as they continued walking through the endless gray mist.
"What do you mean?" Isaac glanced toward her.
"What do you think this fog actually is?" Catherine looked around at the swirling fog.
Isaac thought for a moment, then answered. "I assumed it was created naturally by spatial turbulence."
She slowly shook her head.
"No. It isn't natural. I don't know all the details myself, but this fog is artificial. It was created to protect anyone traveling through the Void Dimension."
"Protect us from what? And who could possibly create something like this?" Isaac frowned.
"I don't know either answer. Nobody knows who created the spatial fog. According to every historical record, it has existed for as long as people have documented teleportation magic. As for what lies outside the fog..." She paused briefly. "We don't know what it is. But even the Gods only travel under the fog's protection."
Isaac remained silent.
He looked into the endless mist surrounding them with completely different eyes now. If beings as powerful as Gods refused to leave its protection, then whatever existed beyond this fog was not something simple.
The two continued walking until light gradually appeared ahead of them.
A moment later, they stepped out of the spatial cloud and entered the private room beside Emily's office.
Isaac dispersed the teleportation gate before opening the connecting door.
The guards stationed outside immediately recognized both of them. They respectfully bowed before one of them opened the office door without asking any questions.
Inside, Emily sat behind an enormous desk that had nearly disappeared beneath stacks of documents.
She wore a serious expression while reading through one report after another, but Isaac quickly noticed that Lyra and Kyra, the twin dragon maids, were handling most of the paperwork. They efficiently sorted documents, prepared summaries, and placed only the important reports before Emily.
Standing quietly behind Emily was another Eltari woman, apparently serving as her new assistant.
The moment Emily looked up and saw Isaac, her tired expression disappeared completely, and a bright smile speared on her cute face.
"Isaac!"