As the group stepped into the dungeon, the atmosphere immediately shifted. The air was thid cold, the light dim, casting long shadows along the walls.

  The entire dungeo otherworldly—a k of a different realm, cut from its in and pasted ih. A barrier, white and tangible, enclosed the area. No one could cross it, nor could anyone see what y beyond.

  The only ways to leave a dungeon were retrag your steps to the entrance or defeating the dungeon's boss aing through the designated path after beating the boss.

  Kara turo the group, her tone fident but focused. "Just like usual, everyone. We know this pce. Let's push through to the boss."

  Her panions nodded, assured in their routihey had beaten this dungeon several times to train, and today was no different, except for the presence of Sora. Kara g him.

  "We'll hahe mobs and the boss on our own. You step in if things get really bad or for the hiddeion, if you don't mind" she said.

  Sora simply nodded. He was here for the hidden part of the dungeon, the se where a legendary scepter waited—ahat could greatly enhance a Kara's abilities. His mission was clear. The rest of the dungeon was just an exercise in patience.

  As they moved deeper into the duhe first group of enemies appeared, emerging from the shadows. These creatures were massive bear-like beasts, standing well over seveall with leathery skin and bulging muscles. Their faces were twisted into grotesque snarls, and their cws scraped the stone floor as they approached.

  Kara immediately took charge. "e, up front! Thierry, get into position! Amélie, find yle and keep shooting from their back!"

  e, the tank, moved forward, her rge shield raised in front of her. She braced herself as the first monster lu her, its cws crashing against her shield with a deafening g. e grunted uhe force but held firm. Thierry darted to the side, his sword fshing as he aimed for the beast's legs. Amélie, the archer, nimbly positioned herself, loosing arrows that found their marks in the monster's fad eyes.

  Sora watched quietly from behind, the group's dynamic. They were petent, w in unison to take down the monsters. But it was clear they were trying to impress him. Thierry's swordpy was fshy, almost exaggerated, and Amélie was rushing her shots. e utting on a brave face, but she was clearly struggling to keep the monster's blows from overwhelming her.

  Sora wasn't impressed. Their teamwork was solid, but their individual skills were average. They took far too long to deal with these low-level mobs, which hovered around level 57. At this pace, they'd burn out before they even reached the boss.

  What truly held the team together was Kara. She was their core, the one making sure no one faltered. Her and of the battle was good. She kly when to buff, when to heal, and when to direct her teammates. Kara's presence elevated their performao a det level, but it was evident that without her, they'd struggle much more.

  The fight dragged on lohan it should have, but eventually, the beasts fell. e let out a heavy sigh, l her shield.

  "Not bad, right?" Thierry grinned, wiping sweat from his brow.

  Amélie nodded in agreement. "We hahat well."

  Sora said nothing, but he could see their fidehey were barely keeping up with these mobs, yet they acted as if they were invincible. The truth was, they were leaning too hard on Kara's healing abilities and leadership without even realizing it. They were taking too much damage.

  They pressed on, clearing wave after wave of monsters, slowly but steadily making their way to the boss room. It was the same story every time: Kara's leadership kept them coordinated, but the others struggled to maintain their tration and were often disctracted.

  Finally, after what seemed like ay to Sora, they reached the boss chamber. The room was vast, filled with crumbling pilrs and a runes glowing faintly on the walls. In the ter of the room stood the dungeon boss—a t, armored beast with glowing red eyes. Its name appeared above its head:

  [Gergo – Titanic Bear – Level 60 Boss]Gergo let out a thunderous roar, shaking the room as he rose to his full height. His massive frame was covered in thick fur, but beh that, Sora could see the intelligent gleam in the bear's eyes. This wasn't just a mindless mo was an evolved beast, oh intelligend strategy. Its cws glinted like sharpeeel, and the air around it shimmered with a faint magical aura.

  Kara stepped forward, her voice calm but firm. "e, tank it! Thierry, get ready to strike at his ankles! Amélie, keep your distand aim for his eyes or mouth!"

  e charged in, shield raised high as Gergo lu her. The force of the impact almost knocked her off her feet, but she held on, grittieeth as Gergo's cws scraped against her shield. Thierry moved in, sshing at Gergo's legs, but his strikes barely pierced the thick fur. Amélie fired arrow after arrow, but even her well-pced shots didn't seem to phase the beast.

  Gergo was too powerful. His defense was incredible, and even with Kara's buffs, the group was struggling. e's shield was crag uhe relentless assault, and Thierry's attacks weren't doing enough damage. Amélie was running out of arrows, and Kara was w overtime to keep the team alive.

  Sora could see the strain in Kara's eyes. She was holding the group together, but her energy reserve wasn't enough. Gergo's attacks were getting faster, mgressive. e was bug uhe pressure, her shield barely holding up.

  Sora sighed. He had hoped they could ha, but it was clear they were reag their limit. It seemed that they were used to rely on their fifth teammate as well to beat this dungeon, as they couldn't beat it with their damage output.

  Without a word, Sora activated Amplify, sending a surge of mana toward the group. Instantly, their attacks doubled in power. Thierry's sword strikes bit deeper into's flesh, and Amélie's arrows flew with greater speed and force. Even e's shield seemed to glhter as it absorbed more of the boss's attacks.

  Kara's eyes widened as she felt the sudden boost in power, but she didn't hesitate. She adjusted her strategy immediately, using the amplified strength to push the team harder.

  Thierry grinned as his sword strikes finally started cutting into's legs. "What the—?! This is incredible!"

  Amélie fired off a rapid series of arrows, eae hitting with twice the force. "Ralph, you're amazing! We do this!"

  e, who had been on the verge of colpse, suddenly stood firm. With Sora's [Mana Shield] proteg her, she felt invincible. "I'm not taking any damage! I hold him!"

  The fight, which had seemed impossible moments ago, suddenly shifted in their favor. With Sora's [Amplify] and [Mana Shield], the team's damage output soared, and Gergo's health bar began to plummet. Within mihe onvincible boss was reduced to a heap of fur and cws.

  As Gergo colpsed, Thierry leaned on his sword, panting. "That… that was incredible. Ralph, you saved us."

  Amélie, her bow still in hand, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so you were a buffer. That power boost was insane. I've never seen such a powerful [Amplify]"

  Kara walked over to Sora, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Ralph. We wouldn't have made it without you."

  Sora shrugged with a small smile. "My pleasure"

  Now, with Gergo defeated, it was time to move to the real challehe hiddeion of the dungeon.

  ---

  Sora felt the familiar hum of energy c through his body as he leveled up. A faint notification blinked in the er of his vision, firming it. Ign the kill notification, he read the other two.

  [Level Up!][You are now Level 51.]His tribution in the fight against Gergo had been enough. He had done more than he expected, but it wasn't what caught his attention.

  Throughout the entire dungeon run, Sora had quietly observed the others, watg how they trolled their mana, analyzing their teiques, and trying to grasp the meics behind each of their skills.

  Each member's mana usage told a different story. Kara's healing spells were particurly fasating—the way her mana moved and tched onto her allies with precise trol.

  Thierry's sword strikes had an underlying flow of mana that enhanced his speed and power, though he cked the refi Kara had.

  e's mana reinforced her defenses in a rhythmic, steady manner, aligning perfectly with her tanking role.

  But despite his observations, Sora realized something: watg them for just a few hours wasn't enough.

  They only used each skill a handful of times, and while he could grasp the broad dire their csses shaped mana, it wasn't enough to mimic their teiques. If he wao uand their skills deeply, he would o spend much more time with them, row stronger himself. It was too early for his dream to steal skills on sight to bee reality.

  His thoughts were interrupted by Kara's voice, pulling him back to reality.

  "Fall back, everyone."

  Sora blinked in fusion. The boss, Gergo, y dead in front of them, his massive, lifeless form still on the ground. The rest of the group exged puzzled gnces, but Kara stepped forward with purpose, her hands already glowing with mana.

  "Kara?" e asked, her voicertain. "What are you doing?"

  Without answering, Kara began casting spells—healing spells—but they weren't directed at any of them. Instead, she aimed them at the dead boss.

  "Healing the boss? What's going on?" Thierry muttered, fused.

  Sora narrowed his eyes and activated his Mana Eyes. That's when he saw it. Deep inside Gergo's body, faint mana flickered. There was something still alive. A baby bear, weak and struggling for life, y within its mother's belly. Kara's healing spells were directed at this tiny creature, trying t it back from the brink of Death.

  "Kara's healing the dying baby," Sora whispered to himself.

  The baby beast, too weak to move, started to respond to Kara's spells. Light fell from the sky and filled the chamber, p into the dead body of Gergo. They looked at each other, trying to uand what was happening, but they had no clue.

  The baby bear within began to stir, wriggling and pushing its way out of its mother's corpse. Its fur was matted with blood, and its tiny frame shook with fusion and fear.

  The light intensified, strengthening the cub. As it blinked and looked around, its eyes showed hesitation, fear, and... fusion.

  The girls, Amélie and e, gasped, visibly shaken by the sight of the tiny bear struggling to live.

  "We… we killed its mother," Amélie whispered, her voice trembling. "Was this the right thing to do?"

  e, her eyes red, almost g, shook her head. "It's just a baby..."

  But Sora's focus was elsewhere. His Mana Eyes tracked the flow of power around the bear, fasated by the energy p into it, accelerating its growth.

  Kara's healing triggered something in the dungeon and made a mysterious light appear, heal this baby and even push further. The baby bear was growing stronger by the sed, its tiny body expanding, muscles f, fur thiing. The entire process was mesmerizing.

  Thierry frowned, watg the baby as it grew. "This thing 't be the hidden boss, right? Madam Areva didn't say anything about a baby bear…"

  Kara remained silent, focused on the process, her mana guiding the cub's revival. Sora could see that she had access to information they didn't have.

  Then, the baby bear opes eyes fully, ne enough to stand on its own. It gazed at the group, hesitating. For a moment, it seemed unsure whether to attad aves fallen mother or to flee. Its small body tensed, eyes flig between Kara, who had healed it, and the others who had killed its mother.

  There was a long, painful pause.

  Finally, as if reizing Kara's mercy, the baby bear made its choice. It let out a soft growl before turning and bolting toward the far wall. With a powerful swipe of its paw, it shattered the stone, revealing a hidden tunnel.

  The barrier around the dungeon shifted, expanding to enpass the new path the bear had created. The tunnel glowed faintly with magic, marking it as the entrao the hiddeion of the dungeon.

  Kara, without missing a beat, stood and called to the group. "Let's move. We o follow it."

  The team, still shaken by the se, picked up the loot from the boss and followed her quickly. Their initial fusion was repced by a sense ency. The hiddeion was now open, and with it, the the legendary scepter Kara had spoken of.

  Sora took o look at Gergo's remains, then followed the group into the tunnel.

  As they desded deeper into the new se of the dungeon, the air grew colder, the walls tighter, and the eerie glow of the dungeon shifted to something darker.