Damien stretched his arms once and stood up. 'Time to work.'

He stepped away from the lake and moved into a small clearing nearby.

The ground there was flat and open.

Perfect.

He rolled his shoulders slowly and inhaled deeply.

Magic essence gathered around him instantly.

Not violently. Every ounce of essence was controlled and measured.

Damien closed his eyes as he directed the flow through his body.

Muscle.

Bone.

Skin.

The essence layered itself across him like invisible armor, strengthening every fiber of his body.

He held it there.

Maintained the pressure.

Then increased it slightly.

Pain followed.

His muscles trembled under the strain.

Good.

That meant progress.

Essence reinforcement wasn't about comfort.

It was about control.

About forcing his body to accept greater and greater levels of enhancement without tearing itself apart.

He tightened the flow further.

His bones vibrated faintly under the pressure.

Sweat formed across his brow.

Minutes passed.

The reinforcement continued.

Then... he released it.

The surrounding essence dispersed outward in a soft wave.

Damien exhaled slowly. 'Better.'

His control had improved again.

Every battle inside this forest was sharpening him.

Every hunt was pushing him closer to the next threshold.

His mind briefly recalled the system window he had checked earlier.

His level was approaching a milestone.

Level 100.

He didn't need to see the window again to know how close he was.

The progress was obvious in his body.

His strength.

His reflexes.

His stamina.

Everything had grown dramatically since entering the Forest of Twin Disasters again.

Damien wiped sweat from his neck and glanced toward the forest.

He could push it further.

Just a little more.

Reaching level 100 inside this forest would be fitting.

But doing so required experience.

Kills.

And right now, the demons were becoming cautious.

After the destruction of the eastern stronghold, they would be watching carefully.

Attacking another base immediately would only alert the remaining captains faster.

Damien wasn't afraid of them but he preferred to control the battlefield.

So for now he would hunt something else. Mana beasts.

The forest was full of them.

And many were strong enough to give him exactly what he needed.

Damien stretched his neck slowly.

"Fenrir."

The white wolf approached immediately.

Cerbe rose from the ground a moment later, stretching all three heads as dark flames flickered across its body.

Aquila descended from the sky and landed nearby with a heavy thud.

Only Luton remained quietly beside Damien, its body rippling softly.

Damien looked at them all briefly.

Then he smiled.

"Let's accelerate things a bit."

Fenrir's eyes glowed brighter.

Cerbe's tails ignited with dark fire.

Aquila spread its wings slightly in anticipation.

They understood.

Hunting.

Damien stepped deeper into the forest.

He didn't rush.

Didn't charge blindly.

He moved like a predator.

Silent.

Patient.

The forest gradually thickened around them as they traveled farther from the lake.

Soon the peaceful sounds of water faded behind them.

The deeper forest replaced it with rustling leaves, distant growls, and the faint movements of unseen creatures watching from the shadows.

Damien stopped suddenly.

Fenrir froze instantly.

Cerbe's heads lifted.

Aquila's wings shifted slightly.

Something was nearby. Heavy and large.

Moving through the trees with enough weight to shake the ground faintly.

Damien's eyes sharpened. It was without a doubt, a strong Mana Beast.

Exactly what he wanted.

He stepped forward slowly.

Branches cracked somewhere ahead.

Then the creature emerged.

A massive armored beast pushed through the trees, its body covered in jagged stone-like plating. Thick horns curved from its skull like twisted blades.

It was enormous.

And powerful.

A high-grade mana beast.

Probably Grade Three.

The creature stopped when it saw them.

Its glowing eyes narrowed.

It snorted heavily, steam bursting from its nostrils.

Damien rolled his shoulders once.

Perfect.

He glanced briefly at his summons.

"Let's see how much closer we can get."

The beast roared.

And so the hunt began.

The roar shook the surrounding trees.

Leaves trembled and several birds scattered into the sky as the massive armored beast lowered its head and pawed the ground like a war machine preparing to charge.

The creature was enormous.

Nearly four meters tall at the shoulder, its body was wrapped in thick, slate-like plates that overlapped like fortress walls. Each step it took cracked branches beneath its weight.

Two jagged horns curved forward from its skull, each longer than Damien's arm.

A battering ram.

A living siege weapon.

Damien studied it calmly.

Grade Three.

Possibly nearing peak.

Its mana pressure rolled outward in heavy waves, causing the nearby air to thicken.

Exactly what he wanted.

Behind him, Fenrir crouched low, muscles tightening beneath white fur.

Cerbe's three heads lifted in anticipation, dark flames licking between their teeth.

Aquila remained perched on a low branch above, watching carefully.

Luton stayed close to Damien, its body rippling slightly.

Damien raised a hand.

None of them moved.

Not yet.

The armored beast snorted again and slammed one massive hoof into the ground.

Cracks spidered through the dirt.

Then it charged.

The forest exploded with movement as the creature barreled forward like a living boulder.

Damien didn't move. He watched and made sure to measure the distance between them.

Ten meters.

Eight.

Five...

He stepped sideways.

The beast tore past him with unstoppable momentum, smashing through two trees before skidding violently across the forest floor.

Damien turned calmly.

"Fenrir."

The wolf launched instantly.

White fur became a streak of motion as Fenrir collided with the beast's side mid-turn. The impact echoed like a hammer strike against metal.

Claws raked across the creature's stone plates.

Sparks flew.

The beast roared and swung its horned head violently.

Fenrir twisted away just in time as the horn carved a trench through the earth where the wolf had been standing.

Cerbe joined next.

The hellhound lunged from the side, three jaws snapping simultaneously.

One head clamped onto the beast's hind leg.

The second bit into a joint between armor plates.

The third released a short burst of black flame directly into the wound.

The beast screamed.

It twisted violently, shaking Cerbe loose and sending the hellhound tumbling through the dirt.

Damien stepped forward.

His body surged with essence reinforcement.

Muscles tightened.

Bones hardened.

The armored beast swung toward him with murderous intent.

'This is good.' Damien thought as he planted his feet and met it head-on.

The beast lunged.

Its horn aimed directly for his chest.

At the last moment Damien grabbed the horn with both hands.

The impact alone forced him back several meters.

His boots carved deep lines through the dirt as he absorbed the momentum.

The beast pushed harder.

Its massive muscles strained against him.

But Damien didn't move.

His arms trembled slightly.

Then he twisted.

The horned head jerked sideways.

The entire creature staggered off balance.

Damien stepped in and drove his elbow downward directly onto the beast's skull.

CRACK.

The sound echoed sharply.

The creature roared in pain.

Fenrir took the opportunity immediately.

The wolf leapt onto the beast's back, claws digging between armor plates as its fangs clamped down on the creature's neck.

Blood sprayed.

Cerbe charged again, slamming into the beast's chest with explosive force.

All three heads bit simultaneously this time.

Damien jumped back slightly.

He watched.

Assessed.

The fight was good training for them.

The beast bucked violently.

Fenrir was thrown off.

Cerbe released its grip and skidded across the ground.

The armored monster was furious now.

It roared again, its mana flaring outward in a powerful surge.

The ground cracked beneath its hooves as it charged Damien again.

Faster this time.

Stronger.

Damien smiled faintly.

Better.

He dashed forward to meet it.

They collided.

His fist struck the beast's chest plate like a cannon blast.

The armor dented inward.

The beast slammed into him with its full weight.

Damien slid backward again but remained upright.

He struck again.

And again.

Each punch carried reinforced essence through his muscles, transferring devastating force directly into the creature's body.

The armored plates began to fracture.

The beast's breathing grew heavier.

Cerbe lunged from the side, one head biting deep into the cracked chest plate while the other two tore into exposed flesh.

Fenrir attacked again from behind, ripping open the creature's flank with savage precision.

The beast staggered.

It roared one last time and Damien ended it.

He stepped forward and drove his fist straight through the cracked chest plate.

Bone shattered.

Muscle parted.

His hand reached the core.

He crushed it.

The massive creature collapsed instantly.

The forest fell silent again.

Damien pulled his blood-covered arm free and shook it once.

The beast's enormous body lay still.

Fenrir approached immediately, sniffing the corpse before tearing into it.

Cerbe began feeding on the exposed flesh and essence within the beast's blood.

Luton slid forward calmly.

Its body expanded slightly as it began devouring the remaining mass of the creature piece by piece.

Nothing would be wasted.

Damien exhaled slowly.

The battle had been short.

Efficient.

But more importantly, it was rewarding.

He could feel the experience settling into his system.

Not enough yet.

But close.

Very close.

He looked deeper into the forest.

His eyes sharpened.

There were stronger creatures here.

Much stronger.

And if he wanted to reach level 100 before leaving the Forest of Twin Disasters, he would need to hunt them.

Damien rolled his shoulders once.

Fenrir finished devouring the beast's core and lifted its head.

Cerbe licked blood from its jaws.

Luton had already consumed half the corpse.

Aquila dropped down from the branch above.

They were ready.

Damien glanced upward through the canopy where sunlight filtered between ancient leaves.

"Let's keep going."

The summons followed him as he moved deeper into the forest. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

And somewhere far away two remaining demon captains had just received word that an entire stronghold had vanished.