Ronan turned around to see what the source of the sharp stinging pain in his lower abdomen was, only to find Keith had buried his sword into Ronan's gut. The shock of the sudden betrayal was like a second punch to the gut.

"Keith, what the fuck, mate?" he cursed, shoving the man away and then grabbing the sword by the handle. He was about to yank it out, but stopped before he did so.

He looked up at Keith. The man was moving strangely. He lunged at Ronan, arms swinging wildly. "You bastard! I'll never forgive you!" Keith yelled.

What the hell? Ronan easily evaded the clumsy blows. Every small movement sent fresh pain through his stomach, but it was unavoidable.

If he ripped out the sword, it would only make the bleeding worse. He was sure he could gain a level on this floor—the eight-tailed foxes were actually higher level than he was—but there was no guarantee he could do so while fighting off Keith and multiple foxes at the same time.

Not that death was a major obstacle for him, but it would be pretty shitty if he died to a sword in the back, rather than facing down the boss or the most powerful enemies of the tower. Not learning anything about his enemies would be a fool's death.

Also, he'd reacted with anger and confusion initially, but Ronan was certain now that Keith was caught in an illusion. His actions were one thing, but when paired with the strange shouts, it painted a clear picture: the man wasn't able to resist the mental manipulations of the eight-tailed foxes.

"Keith! Snap out of it, mate. What you're seeing isn't real," Ronan yelled while dodging punches and keeping watch on the fox that was observing the battle with what he could've sworn was a grin.

Due to the level disparity and the inherent combat ability difference, Ronan wasn't struggling to fend Keith off. However, the moment he turned his back on the man in order to focus on the foxes, he would probably find himself being strangled or struck from behind.

The shout was ineffective. Keith actually seemed to redouble his efforts to attack Ronan. Fuck, this isn't good. The foxes won't stay out of this forever, he inwardly cursed.

Right as he ducked under a right hook from Keith, Ronan heard padded footsteps on the soil behind him. With no other option, he threw himself clumsily to one side. He stumbled, rolling on the ground, before managing to recover his balance and step up onto one knee.

He watched the fox fly straight into Keith, its claws tearing open the man's flesh. When it realised it hadn't struck its intended target, it snarled and used Keith's thigh as a launchpad to dive straight at Ronan.

Why isn't it trying to finish Keith off? Ronan had barely a moment to ponder the answer before being forced to jump out of the fox's flying charge. Then, before he could even consider his next move, a third fox rushed out of the undergrowth, saliva dripping from its open jaws as it rushed to bite his ankles.

"Fucking. Scavenging. Pests!" Each word was interspersed with an acrobatic display of body contortion from Ronan, who found himself pushing his body's flexibility to limits he hadn't known existed until now.

The huge investment and growth in dexterity and agility was paying dividends. However, every few seconds one of the three foxes would clip him with a bite or scratch. The wounds rapidly accumulated, not to mention that Keith was a wildcard he was forced to fight around.

About a minute of hectic punches, awkward kicks, half-dodges, and clumsy parries later, Ronan was forced to consider an awful possibility. I might need to take Keith out in order to make it as far as possible in this iteration…

No sooner had the thought entered his mind did he push it to the darkest corners in disgust. Do I really want to become that type of person? Even knowing he'll come back to life… I don't know. Does the end justify the means, is the question I've got to ask myself.

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He continued to fight. It wasn't entirely hopeless. The first fox that he'd wounded was moving slower than the others. Its swipes and bites were easier to deal with and Ronan found plenty of opportunities to counter-attack.

Even when it came to the two foxes who were still mostly healthy, he was able to deliver one or two devastating strikes that sent them flying and bought him a moment to breathe. However, he knew that there was every possibility of another fox joining the fray.

The longer it took him to take these monsters out, the lower his chances of surviving to discover the boss became. And given that that was his main goal here, the time to make a final decision was approaching faster than a bullet train.

Thanks to his slightly improved acuity, intellect, and wisdom—of the three he wasn't sure which governed his calculation and thought speed—Ronan could have a rapid-fire internal debate about what he should do. If I kill Keith, it might make me a bad person. If I just knock him out, then there's every chance the foxes will kill him instead. Given that me knocking him out led to his death, isn't that basically the same as just doing it myself? That thought process took under a second. He made up his mind.

Either way, it doesn't fucking matter. The end result of this iteration, just like all the previous ones, will be the death of not just Keith, but me. When the next one starts, we'll both be right as rain. And, because of this decision, I might be able to keep us both alive next time around. So… Sorry about this, mate. It's got to be done.

A little over a second later, Ronan suddenly kicked out at the nearest fox. It jumped back, avoiding the strike fairly easily. The wounded fox hesitated to strike, and the third fox was currently circling Ronan. Only Keith, trapped in the illusion, charged right at him without a care for his own safety.

Ronan didn't hesitate. Vital surge. Magic strike. Double strike. His fist smashed into Keith's face and kept going as it burst like a blood-filled balloon.

You have killed [Keith Ledbury - Human Rogue Lv.44]!

+8 Bronze Credits

+733 Copper Credits

+1 [Pugilist II] Mastery

+1 [Stamina II] Mastery

+1 [Mana I] Mastery

Party has been disbanded due to the death of all other members!

The three foxes pounced as one, the moment they saw him turning on his ally. However, Ronan was ready for them.

He spun on his heels, activating stone grip as his arm shot out towards the most wounded of the three foxes. His fingers wrapped around its throat and he squeezed with all his might.

You have killed [Eight-Tailed Fox Lv.82]!

+6 Bronze Credits

+492 Copper Credits

+1 [Pugilist II] Mastery

+2 [Stamina II] Mastery

+3 [Grappling] Mastery

+Fox Fur (Uncommon)

You have leveled up to Lv.77!

You have been restored!

+1 Vitality

+2 Endurance

+4 Strength

+4 Agility

+3 Dexterity

+2 Acuity

+1 Tenacity

+3 Free Stat Points

Ronan used a tiny part of his focus to invest the three free stat points across strength, dexterity, and agility. The rest of it was focused on the remaining two foxes.

The monster corpse in his hand fell limp, but he didn't drop it. There was some time before it dissipated, so he was going to use that to his advantage.

With a mighty yell that he hoped might momentarily stun the beasts, Ronan swung the fox's body at its comrades. The third fox hadn't jumped off the vine it was running along yet, which gave it leverage to pounce out of the way.

The other one—the closest of the two—was not so fortunate. It screeched and tried to twist out of the way, but its course was already set. Ronan's makeshift mace smashed into the fox. He released his stone grip and let the body fly with its victim. The living fox smashed into a vine so thick it resembled a small tree, then was crushed under the weight of the corpse that had flown after it.

However, Ronan didn't receive a notification. It wasn't quite dead, but judging from the blood that was pooling underneath it and the lack of movement, it wasn't far off.

A black and orange blur notified him of the third fox's recovery and subsequent attack. It jumped from above his head, jaws wide and claws raised. It was going all out.

Now that he was somewhat free to go wild, Ronan decided to let loose. A part of him knew that he felt guilty for killing Keith—even if he had justified the decision—and wanted to take out his rage on whatever was nearest and easiest to punch.

In this case, that was a level 85 elite eight-tailed fox. The sneaky little bastard deserved it, and Ronan needed it. Besides, more elite shards couldn't hurt, could they?

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