Kara approached Sora, watg as he y motionless on the ground, his body fully healed, but his spirit bruised. She reached out, intending to ask if he was alright, but the words caught ihroat. One look at his face was enough to tell her that he wasn’t. His usually bright, determined eyes were dull, as if he was lost.

  Without a word, she reached down and helped him to his feet. Sora stood, still in a daze, as if the ground had bee the only familiar thio him. They walked together in silenbsp;

  After several minutes, Sora finally broke the quiet. “We’re leaving Sto,” he muttered, his voice low but firm.

  Kara stopped iracks, blinking in surprise. “What? We ’t just leave! We’ve only just enlisted. We have responsibilities now. You know deserting would make us killed.”

  Sora paused, his eyes narrowed as he processed her words. “We’re not deserting,” he said, shaking his head. “But we’re too weak right now. If we stay here and marto battle without preparing, we’re dead. You saw it—what happeoday. Richard toyed with me. I’m no match for him, and there are probably hundreds more like him oher side, maybe even stronger.”

  Kara waue, to tell him that it was fihat they could survive, sihe oppos would be forcibly weakeo level 80, but she couldn't. He was right. The gap between them and their peers was enormous. Richard had crushed Sora without even trying, and if they were to faemies of that caliber—or worse—there was no way they could survive in their current state.

  Sora’s face hardened. “We’ve got three days before the war resumes. We o use that time to train, to level up. Even if the enemy’s power is capped at level 80 for the battles, they certainly have ways to increase their strength aremely strong.. We both o level up. Our ranks are eye-catg, but not strong enough. They’ll target us, and we’ll be the first oo fall.”

  Kara’s breath caught ihroat. She had been thinking the same thing ever sihe duel ehey were too exposed, too inexperienced. But hearing Sora say it aloud made it real, and far more terrifying.

  He g her, notig her hesitation. “Listen, Kara. It’s just a remihat I’m still a frog at the bottom of the well. Every time I think I’ve climbed out, I find myself in a bigger well.”

  His words echoed iill air, and Kara found herself staring at him, searg his face for any sign of the despair she had seen earlier. But instead of pain, there was a quiet determination in his expression. .

  “This defeat,” Sora tinued, his voice gaining strength, “was iable. Now, we have te the gap between us and the rest of the world if we’re going to survive. We ’t afford to waste time.”

  He reached into his iory and pulled out a map. “I got this earlier at the Swedish Adventurer’s Guild, before the test. There’s a level 80 zone nearby that’s an XP boost this week. It seems that the amount of high level pyers killing endless moriggered XP boosts in quite a few zones, so we o make use of it. We grind there for three days, level up, and be ready for the war.”

  Kara looked at the map, then back at Sora. Something about him still felt off— as if he was f himself to keep going.

  But as if readihoughts, Sora shot her a quid said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through worse, and I’ve always e back stronger. I’ll be fiine. Right now, we o focus oing strong enough to make it through this war.”

  Kara nodded slowly, feeling a mix of relief and . Sora was strong, and she had started to believe he was invincible, almost including herself in such category. This was a wake-up call for her as well.

  They pressed forward, following the path that led them to the hunting zone Sora had marked on the map. The ndscape shifted as they traveled, dense forests and rocky terrain known as Kolm?rden.

  When they finally arrived, the atmosphere felt different—heavier. Sora remembered the first time he entered a simir pce, and died instantly. He had grown sihen, and did not fear such zone anymore.

  Without hesitation, Sora and Kara stepped inside, leaving the safety of the lower level region behind.

  As a beast emerged from deep ihe forest, its presence sent a wave of tension through the air. Its dark fur dripped with water, and its sharp, predatory eyes locked onto Sora and Kara. The notification fshed before them:

  [Level 80 Water Monkey – Elite Beast]The Water Monkey growled low, its body surrounded by swirling streams of water that hovered menagly. The battle was about to begin.

  Sora ched his baton, his focus sharp as he gnced over at Kara. “I’ll tank it. Let's farm for a while”

  Kara nodded, her expression focused as she began casting her buffs. Her hands glowed with soft light as she quickly stacked her skills onto both of them.

  [Life Speed] [Life Strength ] [Life Defense] [Life Force Boost] [Mana Regeion] [Overheal]

  These were all buffs or skills drawn from her older and newer csses, each perfected and amplified by her supreme skill. Most of her abilities relied on life force, though she was still in the process of unlog higher-level skills for her new css, which she hadn’t yet leveled up suffitly.

  Her buffs washed over them, and immediately, Sora could feel the power c through his body, heightening his speed and strength.

  A moment ter, Kara added the final yer of prote: [Life Shield], which surrounded both of them, stag on top of Sora's own [Mana Shield]. Together, the shields formed a nearly imperable barrier around them, ohat would absorb the brunt of the Water Monkey’s elemental attacks. She summoned a ade of Life Energy, and had him take Sora's appearance, and use simir bat style.

  Kara stood behind Sora, her eyes narrowed in tration as she prepared to support him from the bae. With their shields and buffs in pce, Sora stepped forward, ready to face the monster head-on.

  The Water Monkey wasted no time. It raised its cwed hands, summoning a massive torrent of water that hurtled toward them like a tidal wave. Sora didn’t flinch. He braced himself, allowing the [Mana Shield] and [Life Shield] to absorb the impact. The water crashed into the barrier with enough force to knock lesser pyers off their feet, but Sora held firm, the shields proteg him from the brunt of the damage.

  “Let’s see what you’ve got,” Sora muttered as he infused his staff with mana, causing it to extend and glow with power.

  He lunged forward, swinging the baton with all his strength. The impact ected with the Water Monkey’s side, but the creature barely flinched. Its fur rippled with elemental energy, the water cushioning the blow. Sritted his teeth and attacked again, this time aiming for its legs. The beast dodged with surprising speed, its movements fluid and agile.

  Kara, standing behind him, was already at work. Her hands moved gracefully as she cast [Vital Surge], targeting the Water Mohis art of her Supreme Skill, and probably the stroool in her arsenal. Thin streams of glowing energy began to siphon from the beast, flowing toward Kara and replenishing her life force. The monkey growled, feeling its vitality being drained, and whipped around, trying to disrupt the e. But Kara’s focus was unshakable, her [Vital Surge] tinuing to sap the beast’s health, quickly weakening it.

  The Water Monkey retaliated, summoning another wave of water, but this time, it ihe attack with freezing energy. The wave turned into a torrent of ice shards, raining down on Sora and Kara. Once again, the shields absorbed the damage, holding strong uhe assault.

  “Let me get rid of that,” Kara said, casting [Purification], a skill that removed any lingering effects. The freezing shards dissolved before they could take hold, the area around them cleared of any lingering elemental danger.

  The Water Monkey, clearly frustrated, shifted tactics. It opes mouth, unleashing a deafening screech that sent shockwaves through the air. A momeendrils of water ed around Sora’s legs, attempting to immobilize him.

  Kara was quick to react, casting [se], a skill that removed most crowd trol effects. The tendrils of water dissipated instantly, freeing Sora from their grasp.

  Sora swung his baton again, nding a heavy hit oer Monkey’s side, but still, the beast stood firm. Its natural resistao damage was incredible, making the fight a drawn-out struggle. But Sora and Kara didn’t falter. Their buffs, shields, and Kara’s [Vital Surge] kept them in the fight, ensuring they could outst the creature’s relentless attacks.

  Time passed, with the Water Monkey growing increasingly desperate. Every time it tried to nd a blow, Sora was there, abs the damage with his yered shields. Every time it attempted to hihem, Kara’s buffs and sing skills nullified its efforts.

  The battle dragged on, but her Sora nor Kara took a signifit hit. The enemy's level ah were extremely high, but they were like cockroaches—resilient, difficult to kill, aless in their attack.

  Finally, after what felt like ay, the Water Monkey’s movements began to slow. It staggered back, its energy reserves depleted.

  Seeing an opening, Sora unleashed a powerful, [True Mana Strike], hitting the Water Monkey square in the chest. The impact sent the beast sprawling to the ground, where it y motionless, defeated at st.

  A notification popped up before them:

  [Level Up!]Sora hit level 63, and Kara reached level 67.

  They both stood there, catg their breath as the adrenaline faded. The battle had been long and grueling, but they had e out on top, their teamwork and resilience carrying them to victory.

  Sora looked over at Kara, a small smile on his face. “That was tough.”

  Kara hey had barely taken any damage, thanks to their shields and buffs, but the mental strain of the fight had tired them.

  "Let's start grinding then" Sora said, activating [Prime Monster Radar]

  mimou