The deeper forest of Twin Disasters was different. Not quieter or darker.

Just… heavier.

The air carried an old pressure, the kind that clung to the lungs when breathing too deeply. Ancient trees towered overhead like pillars of a forgotten temple, their roots twisting across the ground like petrified serpents.

Damien moved through it calmly.

Fenrir padded beside him, silent despite its size. Cerbe followed on the opposite side, three heads scanning different directions.

Aquila glided above the canopy occasionally before circling back, while Luton rolled along the forest floor like a drifting silver shadow.

They had already traveled several kilometers since killing the armored beast.

And Damien could feel it.

The forest's density of power was increasing.

More essence.

Stronger creatures.

Exactly what he needed.

His body felt lighter now than it had earlier. The battle with the armored beast had pushed his essence circulation further, reinforcing muscles and bones that had already hardened through countless fights.

He was approaching it.

Level one hundred.

He didn't need to see the system window again to know.

The sensation alone told him he was close.

Very close.

Fenrir suddenly stopped with its ears lifted.

Cerbe's middle head growled softly.

Damien paused as well.

Something large was moving nearby.

But unlike the armored beast earlier, this one wasn't careless.

It was stalking. Just watching and waiting.

Damien's lips curved slightly.

"Good."

The underbrush shifted.

Then something massive stepped out from between the trees.

A panther-like creature.

Except far larger.

Its body stretched nearly six meters long, its muscles sleek beneath dark purple fur streaked with glowing silver lines. Long serrated claws extended from its paws, digging lightly into the soil.

But the most dangerous part were its eyes.

Cold.

Calculating.

Predatory intelligence.

Another peak Grade Three mana beast.

The creature circled slowly.

It wasn't charging like the armored brute earlier.

It was studying them.

Damien tilted his head slightly.

"Smart."

Fenrir stepped forward.

The wolf's crimson eyes locked onto the panther's.

Cerbe's three heads began growling in unison, flames flickering between their teeth.

But Damien lifted a hand again and they stopped.

The panther noticed.

It shifted its weight slightly.

It understood.

This wasn't prey.

This was competition.

And predators didn't share territory easily.

The beast lunged. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Fast.

Unbelievably fast.

A blur of dark purple fur exploded toward Damien.

He didn't step back.

He stepped forward.

Their collision sent a shockwave through the forest floor.

Claw met fist.

The impact cracked bark off nearby trees.

Damien slid back two meters.

The panther landed smoothly and immediately attacked again.

This time Fenrir intercepted.

The wolf slammed into the beast mid-air, the two predators crashing violently through a cluster of bushes.

Claws tore through fur.

Teeth snapped inches from throats.

The panther twisted beneath Fenrir, kicking the wolf away before flipping back onto its feet.

Cerbe lunged next.

Black flames erupted as all three heads attacked simultaneously.

The panther dodged the first bite.

Avoided the second.

But the third head clipped its shoulder, leaving a burn across its fur.

The beast hissed.

Angry now.

It vanished.

Damien's eyes sharpened instantly.

The creature had moved.

Too fast for normal vision.

But he felt it.

Behind him.

He pivoted.

His elbow smashed directly into the panther's jaw as it reappeared mid-strike.

The beast flew sideways through a tree trunk.

Boooom!

Wood exploded.

It landed gracefully again, though now its breathing was slightly heavier.

Its eyes narrowed.

Now it understood.

This human was dangerous.

The panther roared and its aura flared outward.

The silver markings across its body began glowing brighter.

Mana surged through its limbs.

Then it attacked again.

This time, all of them moved.

Fenrir slammed into its flank.

Cerbe engulfed the battlefield in black fire.

Aquila dove from above like a falling spear.

The panther dodged the griffin's talons and twisted away from Cerbe's flames, but Fenrir caught its leg mid-movement and dragged it down.

Damien appeared in front of it instantly.

His fist drove into its chest.

CRACK!

Ribs shattered.

The panther screamed.

But it didn't retreat.

Instead it slashed Damien across the shoulder with its claws.

Blood sprayed.

Damien didn't react.

His second punch landed even harder.

The beast's body slammed into the ground.

Fenrir pinned its hind legs.

Cerbe bit into its shoulder.

Aquila's talons pierced its back.

And Damien delivered the final strike.

His hand drove straight through the creature's rib cage and crushed its core.

Silence returned to the forest.

The panther's body went limp.

Damien exhaled slowly.

Blood trickled down his arm where the claws had cut him, but the wound was shallow.

He pulled his hand free and stepped back.

Fenrir immediately devoured the core.

Cerbe began tearing into the carcass.

Luton flowed forward and consumed the rest.

Damien stood quietly for a moment.

Then he smiled.

The sensation hit him.

That surge of progress.

That familiar shift inside his body.

Close.

Extremely close now.

Level one hundred was within reach.

~~~~~

But far away, inside a different part of the forest, two demons stood inside a dark stone chamber.

Both were captains.

Both were stronger than the one Damien had killed.

And both had just received confirmation.

The eastern stronghold had fallen.

One captain spoke.

"Find the human."

The second captain's eyes burned crimson.

"And bring me its head."

~~~~~

Back in the forest.

Damien wiped the blood from his arm and looked deeper into the wilderness.

"Just a little more."

The hunt continued as the forest no longer felt like an enemy.

Not to Damien.

When he had first stepped into the Forest of Twin Disasters months ago, every shadow had carried death. Every rustle of leaves might have meant a creature strong enough to tear him apart.

Now, it felt different.

Now he walked through it like something the forest itself had begun to tolerate… perhaps even recognize.

Not prey.

Not intruder.

A predator.

Damien stepped quietly through a stretch of towering trees, his senses fully extended. The ground beneath his boots was damp with morning dew, while beams of sunlight slipped through the thick canopy far above.

His breathing was steady.

Controlled.

He had learned long ago that reckless hunting only attracted unnecessary attention.

And right now, his focus wasn't demons.

It was beasts.

Mana beasts.

Creatures with dense, pure essence cores.

The kind his summons needed.

The kind that would push him over the edge toward the milestone he could almost feel within reach.

Level one hundred.

He flexed his fingers slowly.

His body felt different lately. Stronger. Sharper. Like every battle had been hammering him into a weapon.

But weapons required sharpening.

And hunting beasts was the whetstone.

Behind him, Fenrir moved like a silent ghost between the trees.

The wolf's white fur barely disturbed the forest shadows. Only its glowing crimson eyes betrayed its presence.

Cerbe followed a few meters behind, its three heads constantly scanning in different directions. Occasionally a small lick of dark flame escaped from its jaws when it scented something interesting.

Luton rolled quietly beside Damien, sometimes stretching out to devour stray corpses or smaller creatures unlucky enough to cross its path.

Above them, Aquila circled high in the sky.

Damien glanced upward briefly.

The griffin had become more confident in the air lately. He had watched it spar against several aerial beasts over the past few days, refining its speed and precision.

It was working.

Aquila's movements had grown sharper.

Predatory.

Damien turned his attention back to the forest floor.

Something was nearby.

He could feel it.

A faint disturbance in the mana flow around them.

Large.

Heavy.

Fenrir felt it too.

The wolf stopped walking and lifted its nose slightly.

Cerbe's middle head growled softly.

Damien raised a hand.

They all froze.

The forest went quiet.

Then a massive shape burst from the underbrush.

A tusked beast charged forward with explosive speed.

It resembled a boar, but far larger and far more monstrous. Jagged stone plates covered its back while two enormous tusks curved forward like scythes.

Its eyes burned with violent intent.

Yet another Grade Three.

Good.

Damien didn't summon anything.

This one was his.

The beast thundered toward him.

He stepped forward.

The distance closed instantly.

At the last second he twisted sideways, grabbing one of the massive tusks as the creature passed.

Its momentum dragged him several meters before Damien planted his feet and yanked downward.

The tusk snapped.

The beast screamed.

It spun violently, trying to gore him with the remaining tusk.

Damien ducked beneath the swing and drove his fist into its ribs.

CRACK!

The impact caved in part of the creature's armored side.

The beast stumbled but didn't fall.

Instead it lowered its head again and charged.

Damien smirked slightly.

Persistent.

He dashed forward to meet it.

Their collision sounded like thunder.

Damien caught its skull with both hands and forced it downward. The ground shattered beneath the creature's weight.

Before it could recover, he slammed his knee into its jaw.

Bone broke.

The beast collapsed sideways.

Damien finished it with a single reinforced punch that crushed its skull completely.

Silence returned.

Fenrir approached immediately.

The wolf devoured the core with visible satisfaction.

Cerbe tore chunks of meat from the corpse while Luton absorbed the rest of the body like liquid swallowing stone.

Damien wiped blood from his hands.

Not enough.

Close.

But not enough.

He glanced deeper into the forest.

"There's more."

They moved again.

Hours passed.

The hunt intensified.

Another beast fell.

This one a giant serpent that had attempted to ambush them from the trees. Damien had crushed its spine after a brief but violent struggle.

Then a pack of razor-backed wolves attacked.

Fenrir tore through them like a storm.

Cerbe incinerated three with hellfire.

Damien killed the rest.

The forest slowly began to thin as the afternoon light shifted.

But Damien kept moving.

The sensation inside his body continued growing stronger with each kill.

The pressure.

The buildup.

Like a dam ready to burst.

Then, a deep roar shook the forest.

Damien stopped.

The sound had come from somewhere ahead.

Fenrir growled.

Cerbe's flames flickered brighter.

Aquila shrieked from the sky above.

Whatever had made that sound was powerful.

Very powerful.

Damien's lips curled slightly.

Finally.

He stepped forward.

The ground ahead opened into a wide clearing.

And in the center stood a creature nearly the size of a small hill.

A colossal bear-like beast covered in jagged obsidian armor.

Its claws alone were longer than Damien's arms.

Its eyes glowed like burning embers.

Peak Grade Three.

Maybe even stronger.

The creature slowly turned its massive head toward him.

Their gazes locked.

The beast roared.

Damien cracked his knuckles.

"This one's mine."

And he stepped into the clearing.