"Welcome to Floor 4. Hunt and avoid being hunted." Is this new? Let's see what the difference is.

"What is this place?" I waited the hour like in the other floors before advancing to the next one. The previous floors were like standing under the midday sun, bright and hot. On this floor it's the opposite—it's a little cold, and night, a very dark and eerie night.

My Personal World is a huge help in these situations where I can't use my vision to its fullest. Since I can't find a clear path to follow, I decide to wander in the first direction. I stop the moment I feel something entering the range of my skill. Is that… a monster? My first thought is to doubt my own detection.

It's a little small compared to the creatures from earlier floors, about 150 cm tall. Its legs are strange, thick compared to the rest of its body, its feet only having four toes. Its torso is very thin, like someone who only trains legs at the gym. And its arms are the most unusual—very long, ending not in fingers but blades, sharp as knives from what looks like the elbow joint. It seems it's already noticed me.

It moves cautiously from my blind spot, every step calculated to avoid making noise. It camouflages itself among the thick tree trunks until it's about 50 meters from me. Then, it crouches down and with those huge legs launches forward. "So fast." I couldn't even finish the phrase before I had to move, barely dodging its attack.

The problem is, I didn't avoid it completely. With those strange blade-like arms it managed to cut my right calf. It's only a shallow cut, but I feel a strange kind of mana infecting the wound. Death? No, it's different. Poison? Something similar. I feel venom affinity mixed with something else in the wound. With a powerful burst of life and death mana, I stabilize it and heal myself.

The monster tries to escape right then, but I move as fast as possible to intercept it. I won't let it attempt that attack again. The strength of its legs combined with those arms makes it a deadly threat—it's better to cut off one part of its advantage and fight at close range. That's where I have the edge, where I trust in my swordsmanship, and I don't see myself losing.

From the first exchanges I could deduce a few things: with all my skills reinforcing me, I'm stronger. I was right to stop its retreat—its swordplay with those arms is decent, but not on my level. And lastly, the speed of its arms is insane. How can it move them so fast? Maybe because they're so thin?

We're locked in a stalemate. Its lack of skill and strength is compensated by sheer speed and sharpness. If the last floor tested my leg speed and movement, this one is clearly testing the speed of my swordplay. A single misstep, and I'll receive a fatal cut.

I take advantage of this situation to refine my swordsmanship, speed, defense, and get used to using Thundersnow under these conditions. My body reacts quickly. Thanks to that slight boost of speed, I can move my limbs just right to evade or defend.

Almost an hour has passed since we started clashing. I can feel exhaustion creeping into my body. But it's not just me—the monster has also slowed down, becoming more cautious. "That's enough." As soon as I say the words, I direct my Crushing Zone against it. I'm surprised to see how its body resists the weight—the strength of its legs is not normal—but its arms can't handle the pressure and lose mobility for an instant.

My sword is already just a centimeter from its leg, and I drive it in. That was the beginning of its end. My other blade pierces its other foot, preventing its escape. I construct two more Joyeuse. It tries to defend with everything it has, but its hopes die out as quickly as the light of its life. It couldn't keep up with the trajectory of my swords while under so much gravity, and finally, it dies with a blade lodged in its forehead.

"Congratulations challenger! Floor four cleared. The calculation for the next floors has been improved. You will be teleported to the next floor in one hour, or you may ascend immediately if you shout 'next' on the platform." I collapse onto the ground as the notification ends—I need to recover energy and mana during this hour.

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"Your gravity mana has saved your life in so many situations." Glia appears, curling up beside me.

"Yeah… it's one of my trump cards when things get rough." It always helps me flip an unfavorable fight. The pressure can throw off anyone, monster or human. And in situations where life is on the line, even a tiny mistake can mean death.

The only problem is the mana consumption and the control it demands. Even after years of practice, it's still difficult to apply perfectly and eats an enormous amount of mana.

Every spell is torture for my reserves—even my Prison, which works in such a small area, consumes heavily. If I didn't have such massive reserves, it wouldn't even be viable.

"Welcome to Floor 5. Hunt 15 monsters to clear this floor." I scan the landscape around me—it's a vast desert with a constant sandstorm. I feel confident with my Personal World and step off the platform. What's this? I feel the area of my ability shrink drastically, down to just eight meters.

I try everything to expand the diameter, but after several minutes of effort, I give up—I can't increase it even a centimeter. One of my biggest advantages has been severely cut. "This floor must be testing my reflexes and senses. Better activate Thundersnow." That's not the only ability I activate. I construct my armor and two swords as well.

My field of vision is the same size, about 8 meters. Beyond that is a dense curtain of sand. Even within the radius, sand whips around, obstructing both sight and other senses. "I just need to hunt 15 monsters, they didn't specify which." At that very moment, I feel something moving below me. Not just one—three different sources.

Something like worms or snakes leaps from the sand, aiming at my legs. I dodge with a quick step, but when I try to strike back, they're already gone, buried in the sand as if they had never attacked. I frown. This is tricky—if they're that fast and I can't detect them in time, one could easily sink its fangs into me.

Two seconds later, I feel four more trying the same. I manage to evade at the last instant, and again they vanish without a trace. They're about 90 cm long and 8 cm thick, unnaturally fast. I don't even want to imagine what their bite would feel like.

These worm-like creatures keep striking every few seconds—sometimes in groups of 5 or 6, sometimes just 2 or 3. Dodging at the last moment is hard when four or more come at once from different directions. A single mistake, and one will sink those fangs into me again.

That's the only way I've managed to kill one. When it bit into my flesh, I trapped it and cut it down. Finally, I had one of the fifteen. The wound from its teeth rotted slowly, and the bleeding was worse than normal. Vital Synthesis solved it. For a moment, I thought I could catch all fifteen like that—let them bite me and counter—but NO. This floor is about reflexes and senses.

I push my senses to their absolute limit, trying to feel these monsters more precisely. The Law of Space helps, letting me sense their movements more clearly. I focus, and with my enhanced reflexes from Thundersnow, I can react in time even against five of them. I drop my blades, focusing only on dodging with simple, efficient movements.

I lost track of time—I don't know how many hours I've spent here, evading every surprise strike. I promised to clear this dungeon in record time, but what's the point if I don't earn anything along the way? I imagine everyone who's been through here had the same thought—better to take the time to practice until you feel confident.

"It's time." I reconstruct two Joyeuse. The next wave of four worms comes at me. My body moves on its own to evade their fangs, swaying lightly to the side. With a subtle flick of my sword, I graze one. It writhes in the sand, injured, and I quickly finish it before the next round.

It only takes two minutes to kill the fifteen needed. "Two minutes… and I don't know how many hours of practice." I'm not sure how much time has passed. At one point, I had closed my eyes, focusing only on vibrations, subtle shifts, or faint sounds in the sand. At first it was impossible, but little by little, with my Personal World and the Celestial Domain Law, I improved.

"This training was very worthwhile." I close my eyes to scan my eight-meter radius. My Personal World feels a little different. I can sense life around me more clearly, movements that were once too subtle now more distinct. I'm still far from sensing everything, but step by step, I'll get there.

"Congratulations challenger! Floor five cleared. The calculation for the next floors has been improved." The omnipresent voice once again drills into my mind. "Floor six will be in the same setting. You may rest for an hour, or shout 'begin' to start immediately." I head back to the platform and sit down—I don't want more sand in my clothes.

"I'm not coming out to talk to you, I don't want sand in my fur." Glia refuses outright to leave my core. I listen to her opinions for a while, then spend the rest of the time reflecting on the small improvements from the last floor.

Time flies, and soon enough, the omnipresent voice returns. "Welcome to Floor 6. Hunt 30 monsters to clear this floor." Isn't that too simple? It looks a lot like the previous floor—the only visible difference is the number. Let's go!

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