"Cheer up a little…" Sol touched my arm, trying to encourage me. I've already had six duels in the second stage, and nothing particularly interesting has happened. Only two of them had some sort of Pseudo Law, and they both seemed related to speed since they were close-range attackers with high mobility.

"It's fun, but not that much…" I find a bit of excitement in each match, but it's different… nothing like when I fought that Denosis or the skeleton in the dungeon of the fallen hero. The scale of excitement is on a completely different level.

I've completely avoided watching the new boy who might be as strong as me. I want to be surprised in the moment when I face him. I don't know if it's arrogance on my part; I just feel confident, and it's better to face the unknown. When I'm in a dungeon or attacked by someone, I don't get the chance to have prior information—I have to keep adapting to the unknown.

"Don't feel down, you've managed to improve a bit with the bracelets." Arisa must have noticed my discouraged expression.

"Progress is slow…" I still lose limbs every time I use them. It's true that now I only lose smaller segments of each limb, but in the end, I still come out injured. The pain is bearable when there's no blood, but if I don't apply my aura properly to protect myself, it hurts, and it wouldn't be controllable if not for my Frozen Core.

"But you are improving. Almost anyone would love to have the opportunity you do… space-type items are extremely rare." Marga made sense. These bracelets are special because they suit what I seek and my skills. Perhaps I would've received something else if I couldn't heal myself—and everyone desires a space-type artifact.

"You're all right. I shouldn't complain about things like this—I expected them, after all." The three girls were lying on the ground from exhaustion. I created a layer of ice under their feet, and they glared at me. "It's time to keep training, get up." Reluctantly, they all stood.

The third day was more of the same, with only one duel being somewhat interesting. A boy with a metal affinity already had a related Pseudo Law; his defenses were solid and sturdy. The fight was balanced until I decided to increase my speed and power. That person has an interesting future as a tank—his affinity is perfect for defense, and his fighting style is defensive.

"Congratulations on qualifying for the final stage." A familiar voice came from behind as I was celebrating with the girls my perfect-score advance to the next stage.

"Thanks, uncle." Camux had returned to the balcony just in time. I could see hints of dark circles on his face. All these days, he's been waking up early and going to bed late, always making the most of his time in the capital. Running a flower and plant business with shipments across the empire must be a nightmare.

"We should celebrate." His usual smile bloomed. He pulled out a bottle and some glasses from his storage bracelet. Was that wine? He uncorked it with his fingers and poured some white wine into five glasses. The girls immediately gathered around the center table to drink. I'm not a fan of white wine since it isn't sweet, but I couldn't refuse if my uncle wanted to celebrate.

"To your advancement to the final stage, and to seeing you as champion soon." We all clinked our glasses together and drank in one go. We decided to return to Camux's house to celebrate a bit more and prepare for tomorrow. Arisa had convinced her family to let us go to a grade-2 dungeon, and apparently, the four of us would enter alone—but specialized people would wait outside in case we needed help or someone got hurt.

Point of View: Marga

"Are you ready?" Maki's voice reached my ears. Hearing Sol and Arisa's positive answers, I also tried to sound cheerful in my response. Truthfully, I was a bit nervous—we were only four people entering a grade-2 dungeon. Yes, it was well controlled, and we had Maki, who was technically at Sapphire rank, but… I had never gone into a dungeon so unprotected.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone get hurt." Maki must have noticed my emotions because he touched my shoulder, trying to calm me.

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"Yes, everything will be fine as long as you're here." I trusted him completely. These were only nerves, and I needed to control them. I couldn't call myself a Komil if I got nervous in situations like this.

"My father chose a Denosis dungeon with a water affinity. Only some of them can use magic since they're just grade-2 monsters, everything should be fine." Arisa had explained everything in detail yesterday, and now she was just reminding us.

The four of us entered the dungeon, and the world turned black for an instant, as usual, before we appeared on the platform. This dungeon had three enormous lakes—the main one in the north and two others to the east and west. The number of monsters should be normal, and nothing unexpected was supposed to happen during this incursion.

"Come on, let's go with the planned formation." Maki would go in front, Sol and I in the middle, and Arisa a few steps behind us to avoid ambushes. It didn't take long before we finally found a group of about eight Denosis near us. Maki was the only one who had detected them—we still couldn't see them.

"I'll go ahead while Arisa follows my lead. You two, try to keep the perfect distance from us in case Denosis appear from the rear and need intercepting." Maki ran toward the monsters ahead, who roared savagely upon noticing him and prepared to intercept.

A pair of swords and armor appeared on Maki. He only covered specific parts—his chest, head, and arms. He didn't need more against monsters of this rank. Even though his armor looked light, it compressed a massive amount of mana, Imra, and Laws. Arisa chased close behind to cause maximum damage, while Sol was already preparing spells to strike the farther ones.

Not wanting to fall behind, I summoned vines to restrain a couple of them for a few seconds, spreading them subtly behind us as well to detect if any other monsters tried to ambush from the rear. That was my way of sensing people or monsters—if they stepped on my constructs, I would know someone was approaching.

Maki tried to injure the monsters as little as possible, using only his swords to block their attacks and push them back. Those openings were exploited by Arisa and Sol to inflict damage. I saw a monster wounded by Arisa's spear, and I took the chance to wrap vines around its arm and crush it with all my strength.

The damage built up little by little. Just as we were about to finish off the last one, I felt another group of Denosis approaching from behind—this one twice the size and seemingly led by a leader. Controlling my nerves, I alerted the others. Maki must have already noticed, but he hadn't said anything because his role was to tank. He would only intervene when necessary.

We moved quickly into a better position for their attack. Seconds later, they arrived and were met by Maki. With such a large number, I saw him summon ice walls to block part of their path, while others were paralyzed—he must have used that prison technique he had practiced with us.

The group vanished quickly. Our offense was strong thanks to Sol and Arisa, while I focused on controlling monsters and gradually wearing down the wounded.

"This is way too easy…" Maki was fulfilling his role perfectly—he let no monster slip through, absorbed all their attacks, pushed them back while moving to fight them at staggered intervals, and created openings for our attacks.

"Yes, Marga is right—Maki, you're too perfect." On Arisa's face, I could see mixed feelings.

"Maki, it's only been a few minutes, and I can already see our clear progress. We're moving perfectly, but… reality isn't like this. There will always be times when Arisa will have to take some monsters off your load, or we'll have to run to reposition. We won't always find someone as perfect as you to tank for us." Sol summarized what we all felt.

"I get it. I'll start raising the difficulty little by little without putting us at much risk." Maki put his hands behind his head, looking at the sky, clearly deep in thought.

We spent hours hunting monsters, resting briefly between hunts. Maki and I alternated using our detection skills to sense incoming enemies. We wrapped up a few hours later, exhausted but happy with the hunt. We all gained levels in our skills and improved our coordination as a group.

"You need to find a scout with detection skills. Marga is spending too much mana constantly spreading her plants to detect enemies. It also helps for control and gradual damage, but in the long run, it'll be a disadvantage. A scout could solve those problems and more." We were already sitting at the small training room table, freshly bathed and in comfortable clothes.

Maki was right. We had good synergy, but the excessive use of one member's mana would be a handicap in the future. A scout also worked as a silent assassin, and if they had detection abilities, they'd be a key piece.

"It's hard to find a girl willing to join us—we have too many requirements, and finding someone with those skills is a nightmare." Arisa complained. We had already talked about it before: a group of five would be ideal, but finding the right people was difficult.

The three of us took a well-deserved rest and discussed what we needed to improve while watching Maki train with his bracelets. That man was tireless. He had small flaws, but he was good-hearted, strong, and carried countless other positive traits. I had done well to fall in love with him—I wanted to stay by his side for the rest of my life.

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