Floor 4 was larger than the previous three combined. A cavernous chamber with a ceiling lost in shadow, its floor covered in loose stone and broken columns. At the far end, a loot chest sat on a raised dais, its surface gleaming with the faint blue glow of an uncommon-grade reward.
And in front of the chest, something was waiting.
The Elite Stone Elemental rose from the rubble like a mountain deciding to stand. It was twice the size of the standard elementals, its core burning brighter and hotter, visible through a chest plate of interlocking obsidian plates. Its arms ended in fists the size of Nathan's torso. When it moved, the floor trembled.
[Ding! Elite Enemy Detected!]
Nathan stared at the notification. Then at the loot chest. Rare materials glowed behind that blue light. Possibly a catalyst item... the kind the system had listed as Condition 3. The kind that might summon a second Bunny Girl without waiting for Level 25.
He should extract. He had already leveled once tonight. The Elite wasn't worth the risk. He was tired. His aim was dropping. His left leg was starting to ache in a way that suggested tomorrow's training would be miserable.
"Mirko."
'I know. You want the chest.'
"To be specific, I want what's in the chest."
'You're supposed to be resting.'
"I know."
'You're an idiot.'
"I know."
There was a small pause. Then, through the link, a sigh that was somehow fond and exasperated at the same time. Green light erupted.
Mirko's transformation was instantaneous... no wind, no petals, just the sudden shift from small bunny to tall warrior. She landed beside him, sword already drawn, the ornate bodysuit catching the elemental's orange glow.
"You're supposed to be resting!" she said aloud, her voice carrying in the cavernous space.
"You're supposed to not be an idiot!" She rolled her shoulders. "Hmph! Now we're even."
---
The Elite charged.
Mirko met it head-on. [Impenetrable Fortress] flared around her frame, mana armor condensing into a barrier that stopped the elemental's first strike cold. The impact shook the cavern. Loose stone rained from the ceiling. Mirko held.
[Unstoppable Force] began its rhythm. First strike against the Elite's knee joint. Second strike, higher. Third. The obsidian plates cracked but didn't break. The Elite swung its other fist in a wide arc. Mirko ducked under it and landed her fourth strike on the same knee.
Nathan circled the perimeter, [Hunter's Insight] tracking the Elite's core. It was deeper than the standard elementals, protected by layers of condensed stone that his arrows couldn't penetrate alone. But Mirko's combo was building. Fifth strike. Sixth. The knee buckled. The Elite stumbled. Seventh. Eighth. The obsidian plates shattered.
Ninth strike. The core was partially exposed.
"Ten seconds!" Nathan called.
He drew and charged [Focus Shot]. Mana flowed into the arrow, condensing, compressing. The Leyline Ring fed him a steady current. Five seconds. The Elite roared and backhanded Mirko across the chamber. She crashed into a broken column but was already rising, [Impenetrable Fortress] flickering but intact. Eight seconds. She launched herself back into the fight, sword raised for the tenth strike.
Ten seconds. She landed it.
The Elite's core was fully exposed... a blazing sphere of orange light, vulnerable, pulsing.
Nathan released.
The [Focus Shot] punched through the core and detonated it from within. The Elite froze mid-swing. Then it collapsed, stone crumbling, light fading, until nothing remained but rubble and the fading echo of its roar.
[Ding! Elite Enemy Defeated!]
[Ding! XP Gained!]
[Ding! Floor 4 Cleared!]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level 21 Reached!]
Nathan lowered his bow. His arms were trembling now... not from mana exhaustion, but from the accumulated strain of too many draws, too many shots, too many hours without rest. Mirko walked over to him, her sword resting against her shoulder. She wasn't winded.
"The chest," she reminded him.
He walked to the dais and opened it.
[Ding! Loot Chest Opened!]
[Stoneheart Fragment (Uncommon Material): A dense core fragment from an Elite Elemental.]
[XP Boost Crystal (Consumable): When activated, increases XP gain by 50% for a single Tower floor. One-time use.]
Nathan picked up the XP Boost Crystal which was small and barely the size of his thumb, and it glowed with a soft golden light. Fifty percent bonus experience on a single floor. If he used it on a high-XP floor, a boss floor especially, it could be worth two or three levels in one fight.
"Jackpot," he murmured.
Mirko examined the Stoneheart Fragment. "Is it a catalyst?"
Nathan checked the system. The fragment just registered as an uncommon-grade crafting material... no summoning compatibility flag. "No. Close, but not what we need."
'Then we keep looking.'
"Yeah. We do"
---
Floor 5 was almost disappointing after the Elite. Standard elementals, standard patterns, no surprises. Nathan cleared it in under five minutes, his movements mechanical and efficient. When the last elemental fell, the Tower's completion notification appeared.
[Ding! Tower of Shifting Stones Cleared!]
[Time: 42 minutes 18 seconds.]
[Overall Clear Rank: A]
Nathan left.
The night air hit his face like a splash of cold water. The eastern district was even quieter now, past midnight, the streets empty, the Tower behind him going dormant. He stood there for a moment, breathing, feeling the ache in every muscle.
Mirko shifted back to bunny form and tucked herself into his jacket. Her warmth was immediate, grounding.
'Home. Now. Sleep.' Her mental voice left no room for argument.
"No argument there"
---
The apartment was dark when Nathan returned. Lucy was asleep already, and next to her a sliver of light was visible... her nightlight, shaped like a star, that she refused to give up no matter how old she got. Nathan paused beside her, listening to the soft sound of her breathing, then moved to the couch
He collapsed onto it, still in his combat suit. The Leyline Ring hummed on his finger, still working, still replenishing mana he didn't need at the moment. A shame itt couldn't replenish fatigue... Something to think about later.
His status panel glowed in the darkness.
[Name: Nathan Cross]
[Class: Archer]
[Level: 21]
[Second Summon: Condition 1, Level 25. Not Met.]
[Condition 3: Catalyst Item. None Found.]
[Inventory: XP Boost Crystal (Consumable), Stoneheart Fragment (Uncommon), Various Potions]
Four levels. Eleven days remaining until the duel. At this pace, Level 25 was achievable, but only if he kept pushing. Only if he kept climbing every night, burning the candle at both ends, running on adrenaline and stubbornness and the quiet, desperate knowledge that the party he'd assembled wasn't enough.
Garrett was loyal. Elise was powerful. Dillon was skilled. But they were allies for a duel, not partners for a war. Mirko was his partner. The system was his weapon. And the second Bunny Girl, whenever she arrived, would be proof that he wasn't just lucky... he was building something. Something permanent. Something that couldn't be taken away by a bad fight or a lost duel or a family like the Stones deciding he was inconvenient, he hadn't quite placed how cartoonishly evil they might be. better to be prepared than not.
'Master.' Mirko's voice was soft, almost sleepy. She was still tucked against his chest, a small warm weight. 'You did well tonight.'
"Not well enough yet."
'You never think it's enough.'
Nathan stared at the ceiling. The cracks in the plaster were familiar now... he'd memorized them during sleepless nights in the weeks after his transmigration, when this world was still new and strange and he was trapped in a body that didn't feel like his own. But It felt like his now and that was almost more terrifying.
"It's enough," he said quietly, "when we're strong enough that no one can threaten what we're building. Not Derek. Not the guilds. Not whatever's watching us from the top of the Towers."
'Then we keep climbing.'
"We keep climbing."
He closed his eyes. Sleep came faster than he expected. In the morning: team training, more drills, more attempts to turn four strangers into a unit. Tomorrow night: another Tower, another grind, another step toward the second summon.
The grind was just beginning.
But for now, in the darkness of the apartment, with Mirko's warmth against his chest and his sister sleeping safely a few feet away, Nathan allowed himself a single moment of something that felt almost like peace.