The time is almost up, and Glia returns to the cube for another rest. She keeps insisting she isn't lazy, that she just needs to sleep this much because she's a baby, but I'm starting to doubt that.

"What comes next?" Without warning, everything turns dark, and I feel a sensation similar to when I've taken city-to-city teleportation—like my body is being moved somewhere else entirely.

I close my eyes and open them again when the strange feeling leaves my body. The scenery has changed completely; I'm inside a cave with only one path forward. The cave is about five meters high and, at most, eight meters wide.

"Level 5 activated. Clear the cave entrance." Clear the entrance? For now, it seems like the same old thing—just fighting monsters.

"At least the walls have those rocks to guide the way." Several stones embedded in the walls emit a faint light, just enough to make out the path, though it's still too dark to move comfortably. My Domain once again becomes my number one ally in such cases.

I walk along the only route available. After several minutes of moving forward, I finally detect multiple skeletons at the far edge of my Domain. "Thirty of them?" Not only that—they seem to be waiting for someone, and that someone must be me.

As soon as they spot me, arrows and spells fly straight toward my position. Only then do I realize the problem of being in such a narrow cave. I manage to dodge the attacks by the smallest of margins, but more come immediately, cutting off my escape routes.

I kick off the wall to launch myself toward the ceiling, then push off again to drop back to the floor, narrowly avoiding the last arrow. About twenty ranged attackers are protected by just ten shield bearers. "Don't think I'm that easy." I rush through the tunnel to close the distance and give them fewer chances to keep firing.

Again, arrows come straight for my chest, while a couple of spells block off my right and left. I use my movement skill to slip through the narrow gap between the arrows and the spell. "I really need to learn teleportation like my grandmother or mother." Both are exceptional mages, and both have mastered the art of teleportation—especially my grandmother.

I dodge another three volleys of spells and arrows with quick, light movements. On the fourth, things get twice as complicated. Dodging attacks at such close range requires insane concentration and precision; the slightest mistake will let their strikes hit my armor. Hopefully, it can take at least one or two hits.

Once I'm close enough to have them within my range, I unleash several slashes, but they're stopped by the shields. My blows make them stagger but don't knock them out of position. I shift right to try and wound one, only to be halted mid-step by an arrow that guessed where I was going.

I start dodging arrows purely on reflex, while spells pile up overhead, forcing me to step back to avoid most of them. Once I dodge the last one, I dash forward again, but they've closed every gap once more.

"Stop playing with me!" None of them are as strong as the Skeleton Leader, but the tight tunnel makes everything harder. Time to crank up the pressure. Gravity makes them stagger slightly, and the arrows and spells slow just enough to give me more time to react. The shield bearers' movements have slowed enough for me to exploit small openings that were impossible to hit before.

Almost a minute later, two shield bearers have fallen, and the rest are badly injured. Being able to seize those openings has given me an edge. The ranged attackers are also taking more risks, firing at point-blank range.

My mana armor blocks the arrows just enough before that section shatters, forcing me to focus on replenishing it. The spells are stronger and manage to hurt me slightly in the weakened areas, but a quick use of Vital Synthesis fixes it.

A few minutes later, the last shield bearer falls to a clean cut to the neck, leaving the long-range attackers unprotected. Time for a massacre. With no room to cast without hitting their allies, chaos erupts.

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They try to shoot, but I dodge at the last possible moment, causing them to hit their comrades instead. They take damage not only from my blades and spells but also from each other. The fight ends faster than expected thanks to the friendly fire.

"That was a bit more complicated." I wipe the sweat from my face with a towel from my storage. This was definitely more difficult due to the cramped space—without a decent movement skill, strong strikes, terrain control, and proper reflexes, this level would be impossible.

The usual notification of clearing the level appears, giving me five minutes to rest.

"Level 6 activated. Follow the path and eliminate the Skeleton Commander and his troops." So I just have to keep going forward? That makes things easier. I move a few meters and spot the skeletons heading toward me.

I wanted to rest a bit more, so I moved ahead just to see where they were, hoping I could pause if I wasn't forced into combat. "Guess they won't give me the time." They're already coming at me with slow but steady steps.

This time there are only twenty-five of them, but one skeleton stands ahead of the rest. It's much larger than the others, carrying a massive axe on its shoulder. I can sense armor covering it—it's a melee attacker. This group is also well-balanced, with both melee and ranged fighters.

When I see them, they see me too. The commander's eyes glow an intense green, and he charges straight at me with that huge axe.

I barely dodge the strike and have to move immediately to avoid incoming arrows. The commander regains his stance and tries to cleave me in half with a horizontal swing. I duck under it, but two spears thrust toward me, forcing me into a quick backward hop. A rain of small spikes surrounds where I land, forcing another quick step.

"Let's see how you handle this." With nearly all my abilities active, I construct a Crushing Zone spell. The same effects descend upon them, giving me more time to think and position myself.

When my sword meets his axe, my arm is knocked backward—his strength is far greater than mine. My speed, agility, and swordsmanship are superior, but with the interference of his troops, ending this quickly is impossible.

I have to take a few hits or stabs to damage the commander. The fight reaches a stalemate where we're both taking hits, my advantage lying in my mana reserves and ability to heal instantly.

The speed of his axe swings starts to drop. "Now's my chance!" I focus increased gravity on the commander to land a critical hit. His expression shifts as he feels the heavy pull, and he seems to order his troops to come at me all at once.

I dodge two spear thrusts and slip under him. Just as my right sword speeds toward his core, I sense two blades coming from my left. "Let's trade blows then." One sword I block with my own, while the other cuts off my hand after breaking my guard.

My hand and sword go flying, but at the same time, my right sword plunges into his chest, forcing the commander to his knees. I haven't broken his core, only fractured it, but that's enough to take him out of the fight.

The other skeletons freeze at the sight of their commander on the verge of defeat. I take the moment to break my death affinity in my arm and rebuild my hand, pick up my fallen sword, and launch myself at the two stunned swordsmen. Without time to react, their heads are taken off in a single stroke.

That triggers chaos—they rush me with no regard for their safety. One by one, they fall. Their strikes become easier to read, and without a clear formation, I can kill them one at a time until only eight remain.

"What are you doing?" I sense something strange in the commander, as if a trace of mana is flowing toward him. The skeletons are turning to smoke to disappear, but that smoke is flowing into his core.

I construct several Joyeuse and charge at the remaining mages and archers. Within a minute, they're all dead. I wasted more mana than I planned, just to bring this to a one-on-one duel.

The commander rises, not fully healed, still absorbing the fallen skeletons. I hurl two leftover Joyeuse at him, but they're shattered by his massive axe.

A grin spreads across my face. I don't know when I became addicted to the thrill of fighting someone who should be stronger and still beating them.

I rush in with my movement skill, catching him off guard with a slash to the back. When I aim for his leg, I have to stop mid-swing and duck to avoid his axe. The force of the swing leaves his chest exposed; two horizontal slashes tear through his nearly destroyed armor.

He tries to kick me, but I sidestep and cut at the same spot I hit before, finally breaking the armor entirely. Now only the holes from my first strike to his core remain. At that moment, the fight turns one-sided. His great strength never reaches me—my speed and agility are several steps above. I close in on his chest, avoid his huge axe aimed at my shoulder, and thrust my sword once more at his core, striking it.

The commander drops his axe and tries to grab me, but I leave my sword buried in his chest and reposition with my movement skill to his side. His failed grab pulls him downward, and I increase gravity to force him to the ground. With my other sword, I cut his neck. There's resistance from his body reinforcement, but after a second, the blade goes through.

His head bounces across the floor. A few seconds later, all the skeletons, including the commander, turn to smoke.

"Congratulations! Level 6 complete. You may rest for 15 minutes." The same omnipresent, emotionless voice echoes in my mind with the notification.

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