[This novel is being translated from Portuguese to English and may contain translation errors]

Three weeks later…

Melina and Saicha were sitting in a busy café in Apex. The smell of fresh coffee and sweet bread filled the air.

Saicha: — I can’t believe I couldn’t get past the Apex Master…

Melina: — Don’t feel bad, Sai. Healers and Appraisers weren’t born to become Masters… there are exceptions, but still…

Saicha laid her head on the table, disappointed.

Saicha: — You’re right… the only Healer Master is Danzai, from Wings of God.

Melina’s thoughts:
Danzai… First Dan Master… He’s a support hunter from Wings of God, the biggest group in the Hunter Guild. They’re currently on a mission to open ascending portals… they’ve already reached the seventh world…

Saicha: — Why do you keep zoning out during our conversations, huh?

Melina: — I’m sorry, Sai…

Saicha: — It’s been a while since you’ve called me that, ksksks…

Melina: — Ksks… and it’s been a while since you’ve called me Mel…

Saicha: — Ksks… silly. But hey… now that you’ve become an advanced hunter, are you going to take the Master test?

Melina: — It’s complicated… at my level… I’d be killed in one hit.

Saicha: — Oh! So now you’re just rubbing it in!

Melina: — Sorry… but at least you tried. But tell me… is he really that strong?

Saicha sighed, remembering.

Saicha: — There’s a reason these worlds are named after the titans. Apex was magnificent… not just because of his power… but his aura… it was different from the monsters… and he was beautiful. Too bad… he defeated me in a single blow — she sighed again — so humiliating… I think I’m going to get kicked out of my group.

Melina: — Don’t be like that…

Hours later…

Apex Research Center

Aether: — Melina, welcome to the Advanced Research and Development Center… also known as… the Research Center.

Melina’s thoughts:
Yeah, “also”... what a long name…

Aether smiled and activated a holographic panel. A timeline appeared, connecting Earth and Apex.

Aether: — Our most advanced study is Time, Temporal Evolution, and Genetic Effect… aka TETEG.

He pointed at the timeline.

Aether: — We use Earth’s time as the universal standard… but each world has its own time and temporal effects. According to our studies, we believe in this scale: 1×7×3.

Melina: — What does that mean?

Aether: — One year on Earth… equals 7 years in Apex. And 1 year in Apex… equals 3 years in Atreus.

Melina: — That’s confusing…

Aether: — The Apex occupation expedition began 190 years ago… and was completed 70 years ago. Keep in mind we use Earth time for this count… so in practice, the occupation lasted 840 years. Incredible, right? For Earthlings, only a mere 120 years passed.

Melina: — It took 840 years to make Apex suitable for the human race? Then… Atreus…

Aether: — No, no… if we use power level as a reference… the humans of that time were equivalent to our amateur class hunters, with a few intermediates. In Atreus, the expectation is that it will take 30 years.

Melina: — Even though my body ages according to Earth’s time… 30 years is still a lot. That’ll cost me at least 2 years of life.

Aether: — You wanted to know why the Research Center is so interested in Atreus? It’s simple… time. We also want to save Earth… and for that… we need to speed up technological advancement. The bigger the world we conquer, the faster we progress. If we’re already seven times faster here… in Atreus… it would be 21 times faster.

Melina’s thoughts:
I get it… it’s 7 from Apex times 3 from Atreus… Every 21 years in Atreus equals 1 year on Earth. If they go to Ares, Antares, Angel, Afant, and Ajax… time would expand even more… So the Center’s focus… is the time Dungeons can offer humanity.

Melina: — I see…

Aether: — Appraisers always go all-out in Atreus. The evolution we’ve had may be linked to the worlds. Don Rosário and you… were the only Appraisers from Earth who evolved enough to fight against inferiors. I… and number 2… were the only Appraisers from Apex to achieve that.

Melina: — I’ve heard that those born in Apex are superior to Earthlings.

Aether: — Yes… and that was the trigger for the internal war between the Apex government and the Hunter Guild. As you know… your class was the last group of Earthling hunters to come here. Today, the population count is 1.9 billion Earthlings and 7 million Apex-born.

Melina: — That’s a huge difference…

Aether: — Yeah… and the Atreus expedition will take 1.2 billion Earthlings. During the expedition and colonization. It’ll reduce the population gap… and also solve a certain “social issue.” Even though we’re all human… we’re two different peoples, with different cultures and worlds.

Melina: — So… in the end… it’s sociopolitical.

Aether just smiled.