The plan they concocted was simple—by necessity, lack of resources, and time.

Hazel modified Mia's [Charm] skill as they had discussed. Since she had been consistently running it dry, the skill didn't have much juice left. But she was arguably making the ability worse by specializing it to only work on [Ambling Ironfurs], so the change took hold—though once again exhausted [Skill Edit].

She mentally tucked away the application of the skill: temporarily specializing abilities in crucial fights. While slowly progressing her skills to be universally stronger was the more important long-term goal, for moments such as these, the ability to hyper-specialize was much appreciated—and sure to be useful in the future.

"Okay," Mia said. "Things are looking better, but this still won't be easy."

"You can say that again," Ash said.

"You're sure you'll be fine?" Mia asked Hazel.

"No. But neither are you two."

Ash laughed at Hazel's response, but Mia only seemed troubled.

Now that they were gearing up for the showdown, Ash seemed almost relaxed—excited for the fight to come. Hazel was getting the impression the swordswoman was an adrenaline junkie. Or maybe she was relieved she could finally save her brother. Or try to. Closure, one way or another, as she'd put it earlier.

"Stay safe," Mia told Hazel seriously. "And call out if you need help. We'll come."

Hazel nodded. The plan was for Ash, Mia, and the captured level eight—which Mia would acquire with her newly specialized [Charm]—to face off against the level ten. Even three-on-one, it would be difficult for them, because these crystal-infected monsters were stronger than regular dungeon creatures—and it out-leveled Mia by two, which wasn't a small gap in the slightest. Each level came with a notable increase in strength. So they would be hard-pressed even with their numbers advantage.

Which left the level five for Hazel. Whether her inexperienced self could actually take the beast on and win …. well, she would be finding out. She didn't need to defeat it, necessarily. Just hold out until Mia and Ash could come help. Hazel just needed to stay alive.

Or win outright. That would be preferable. But Hazel kept her expectations low. She was no experienced adventurer like her two companions. Fighting at a level disadvantage against a crystal-empowered monstrosity wasn't going to be a walk in the park. She was flattered Mia had approved the plan at all. Then again, they weren't drowning in choices.

"We're ready?" Mia asked. After receiving two confirmations, the succubus muttered, "Here we go, then."

They set off back into the cavern. Hazel nearly sighed in relief when she saw no more ape monsters had joined the others. More could return at any moment, which was why they wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. If another level ten showed up, they wouldn't stand a chance. It was already a fight with close margins.

With nothing more to discuss, the three girls shared a look, nodded to each other, and began.

Mia leveled her staff at the second largest ape, energy humming as it gathered at her staff tip. Gusts of wind picked up near her, fluttering her skirt, physical representations of the power manifesting through her casting implement.

Normally, [Charm] wouldn't be able to instantly disable—and convert—an equal-level opponent, but since Hazel had used [Skill Edit] to hyper-specialize the ability for only [Ironfur]s, the ball of pink energy hit the second largest ape and, after a brief moment in which the monster stiffened, took hold.

"I have it," Mia said, her relief plain. They hadn't been certain it would work. Even with the change, they might have needed to weaken it first—complicating their already difficult plan.

With their newest ally enthralled—and with Mia's spell a flare to the other ironfurs' senses—both of the other hulking dark-furred monsters turned. Simian faces contorted in fury, and they roared, baring their teeth.

Mia's titan slammed into the largest and strongest of the beasts, but Hazel tore her eyes away—she had her own boss fight to worry about. The level five was smaller and weaker by far than Mia and Ash's, but Hazel would be taking it on solo—and she was weaker in level and combat experience.

Hazel dashed sideways, scythe in hand and her adrenaline surging. She put distance between her and Mia, swerving right, flanking the smallest of the three beasts, which stood separated from the others. Accepting the challenge, the ironfur had eyes only for her as she closed the distance. The monster leaned on two bulging forward arms and growled, spittle flying between jagged teeth. Yellow eyes stared venomously as she came.

Before reaching it, Hazel held her free hand out and fired off [Caustic Slime Shot]. The skill had been a staple throughout her time in the dungeon, but after its recent upgrade, it had become essential to her style. Not only did the glob of green slime impact the black and gray-furred ape monster with surprising force, leaving it dazed, but the thick liquid dripped down, burning iron-like fur—and the black crystal coating its body—with its caustic touch. Its defenses would be massively reduced, an effect that wasn't flashy, but was enormously useful. Especially against higher-level opponents.

The ability had a ten-second cooldown, though, and the stun didn't last long. But it opened a window for Hazel to get in her next two crucial skills. Rushing forward, she slashed at the beast with her scythe. Blade met reinforced skin, and where Hazel suspected it wouldn't have penetrated normally, she opened a small cut across the monster's shoulder. Less than what a direct strike with a blade should provide, but she had already known the ape-like beast would be tough.

The instant her blade met flesh, Hazel activated [Attribute Siphon], weakening the ironfur and strengthening her in turn—if only mildly. At the same time, she used [Motion Usurpation], a skill that had only seen minimal use in her adventures.

Hazel's eyes widened in excitement as she pulled away from the monster, withdrawing before it could retaliate—before [Caustic Slime Shot]'s brief stun ended. Oftentimes, [Motion Usurpation] provided nothing on activation, but this time, it had given her something great.

And not only had she acquired a new way to move around the battlefield—and disable the enemy—but she had taken the ironfur's skill, too. The benefits came twice over: giving her a tool and depriving an enemy of one. [Seismic Leap] might have been one of only two or three of the monster's useful abilities—and potentially its best.

Before Hazel could activate her new skill, the [Ambling Ironfur] shook off the stun, then roared and charged her. It moved with a speed Hazel hadn't been expecting. She'd fought level fives before, and this monster had seemed slow and hulking—hence its name, 'ambling ironfur'. Instead, the distance between them closed rapidly, the creature's muscled limbs rippling as it rushed her.

Haze threw herself away from the beast's vicious swipe. The blow caught her glancingly on her shoulder, sending her tumbling sideways, and the power behind the attack was unbelievable for having barely connected. She cartwheeled twenty feet and slammed into the wall with a smack.

Even made of sterner stuff than the day prior—both from level and combat experience—Hazel struggled to force herself to her feet. The ironfur didn't waste its advantage: it arrived to her before she recovered.

A set of instincts Hazel had only halfway started to cultivate kicked in. She stumbled sideways, narrowly dodging a two-handed fist-pound. The ape's fists hit the ground, and stone cracked and went raining—bits of black crystal mixed into the fountain of material. Hazel slashed viciously at the ape's exposed flank, scoring another red wound across its side.

She flung a second [Caustic Slime Shot], the ability coming off cooldown. It hit true, buying a brief window for a follow-up. Hazel used it to test her newest skill. [Seismic Leap] activated, and a hidden set of instincts guided her: she crouched, muscles tensing, then flung herself forward. She hit the ground next to the [Ironfur], and stone cracked and splintered around her.

The ironfur stumbled, suddenly unsteady—and only half from the fractured ground. Hazel didn't know for certain what kind of disorientation effect [Seismic Leap] inflicted, one of the downsides to using foreign skills. Either way, Hazel took advantage of the opening, slashing at the creature with her scythe. She danced away from its clumsy retaliatory swipe. They traded several blows, and Hazel could tell [Seismic Leap] had robbed the monster of its coordination; she came out the victor of the exchange.

Then the thick steel-like fur of the ape monster bristled, standing up on end, giving Hazel a half-second warning that something was coming—even if she didn't know what. She threw herself sideways on instinct, and a half-second later, a barrage of needles soared past where she'd been. She scrambled across the ground, dragging her scythe awkwardly with her, dodging the continued barrage. Bits of metal—or fur?—embedded into calf, thigh, and side, not fully able to get away. Despite having a body made of goo, her pain receptors dulled to physical attacks, the piercing needles sent waves of fire through her as they embedded.

She gasped but forced herself to push past the pain. She climbed to her feet, ignoring the stabs of agony up and down her left side, then withdrew several essence coins and monster cores from her inventory. She activated [All-Consuming]. Some of the pain faded, needles popping out and clattering to the ground as her body healed, but [All-Consuming] took concentration to activate, and was no instant cure-all—even if it was quicker than a health potion.

The ironfur capitalized on the opening, and, while somewhat healed, Hazel was put onto a desperate backfoot. Another [Caustic Slime Shot] provided her own opportunity to score several slashes of her scythe, but Hazel wasn't sure how effective the attacks were. While bleeding with each accruing strike, the monster only looked enraged, not injured. It certainly hadn't started flagging from blood loss. She wasn't sure whether she was winning. At a minimum, she satisfied herself with the fact that she was holding its attention—her ultimate goal.

A cacophonous crash drew her attention. She glanced in that direction, eyes widening as she took in the carnage that the two larger ironfurs, Mia, and Ash were wreaking. The destruction wasn't even comparable to her own fight against the level five. She tore her eyes away; she didn't have time to analyze how Mia and Ash were doing. Unless she wanted to end up as green goo smeared across the ground, she needed to focus on her own fight.

The dance continued. Hazel fell into a rhythm. Though she'd fought level fives before, the ironfur was much stronger than the weaker insect monsters she'd been cutting her way through. Levels weren't absolute. There was a range of strength within the digit identifier, and this ironfur was certainly on the upper end. Close to a mini-boss, maybe. If not as bad as the Abyssal Melder—because then Hazel would certainly be losing.

Injuries accrued across the ape monster, more and more blood leaking from scythe slashes across its body. But the beast also grew more enraged with each injury, and Hazel was hard-pressed to keep up. The beast swiped, hurled needle-like bits of sharp fur, and threw its bulk around, bullying Hazel across the cavern.

Then, inevitably, Hazel slipped up. A blow caught her on the side, only half-dodged. Like before, the overwhelming difference in strength meant she was all but flung sideways. She went tumbling across stone, holding onto her scythe with a death grip.

She careened toward the black-pillar Spire of crystal in the center of the cavern. A feeling of dread washed through her as she recognized her trajectory—though she couldn't explain why. The pulsating, vibrating mass of crystal drenched her in fear, like a bucket of ice water, and something told her that she couldn't let herself touch it. That it was dangerous. But she could do nothing about it.

She hit, making contact for only a half-second before continuing on her tumbling trajectory.

Even only barely touching the crystal, her vision went black. Sound disappeared. All sensation. A switch flipped, turning off her senses.

Then, an image appeared. Hazel floated formless, looking down at a woman with long white hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. Dark violet tattoos covered her body in intricate, layered designs. She sat kneeling, hands flat on her thighs, staring forward with a glossy expression. As if seeing something that wasn't there. Dreaming. Or something else.

The pale woman's violet eyes focused, blinking as something woke her from her fugue. Her eyes turned to Hazel, and Hazel's mind froze. It was like having the gaze of a tiger turned toward her. Worse. A thousand times over. She became a bug being forcibly crushed in a hand, just from the attention of the woman. Hazel's essence—she, at a fundamental level—boiled under the heat radiating from the woman's calm, curious eyes. She looked at Hazel, her brow furrowed, a frown creasing her beautiful, unearthly face. The power she exuded was unbelievable. An aura pervaded through the room, threatening to wash Hazel's sense of self away.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the scene vanished. The pressure disappeared.

Hazel's senses returned with a gasp.

Two hurtling, interlocked fists came crashing down toward her.

Somehow, she reacted in time. She flung herself sideways, dodging the downward fist-slam of the [Ambling Ironfur]. She had no time to consider what the vision had been. Her life-or-death fight had gone nowhere, and that took higher priority.

Hazel scrambled back to her feet, hurling a [Caustic Slime Shot] to buy a moment to recover. [Seismic Leap] finally renewed, and she activated it, crashing down next to the ape with a slam that pulverized stone. She slashed viciously, adrenaline—which stemmed more from the vision than the fight—lending new strength to her attacks. She cut at the ape's face, opening long gashes across its eyes and throat. It was the cleanest series of shots she'd gotten in so far, and the result was devastating.

Blinded, the ape thrashed around. Hazel could recognize she'd won—the monster just hadn't figured it out yet. Hazel systematically cut at the beast, taking advantage of its lack of sight. Finally, energy started to sag from the creature, blood dripping to the floor as it flailed around. Roars turned to whimpers. The dying noises unnerved Hazel, still not having adjusted fully to the violence of her new profession. One last [Caustic Slime Shot] stunned the ape monster, and Hazel buried her blade into its throat and yanked.

The creature choked as it fell to the ground—dying, the fight taken out of it.

She didn't have time to celebrate her victory. Behind her and to her side, another, more intense battle raged, and with her fight over, she had another to help with.

She turned, finally taking in the scene of Mia and Ash's battle.