For the next four hours, the Iron-Vein Mines became a slaughterhouse.
Donald and Evelyn pushed deeper into the shifting, orange-lit tunnels. The heat grew intense, sticking their clothes to their sweating bodies, but they didn’t stop. They moved from cavern to cavern, clearing out packs of Cinder-Stalkers, heavy Rock-Crabs with iron shells, and giant, toxic cave bats.
They fell into a brutal, perfect rhythm. Evelyn danced through the enemy lines. Her B-Rank speed made her look like a blur of dark hair and crimson steel. She crippled legs, blinded eyes, and drew blood. Donald followed right behind her like a heavy sledgehammer, using [Bull Rush] and his massive Type-3 Pile Bunker to crush whatever she left standing.
They were a perfect team. But the pace was punishing.
Donald swung the heavy metal tube, smashing the skull of a giant Rock-Crab. The monster collapsed into a pile of dusty stones.
Donald dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. His lungs burned, and his legs felt like lead. His Strength was high enough to kill D-Rank monsters easily, but keeping up with a veteran B-Rank fighter was pushing his Stamina and Speed to the absolute limit.
Evelyn flicked monster blood off the Bloodhound’s Fang and looked back at him. She wasn’t even breathing hard.
"Take a minute, kid," Evelyn said softly, pulling a canteen of water from her belt. She tossed it to him. "You are hitting hard, but your footwork is dragging. You’re getting tired."
Donald caught the canteen and took a long drink. "I’m fine. I just need... a second."
Just as he capped the water, a massive wave of golden heat exploded inside his chest. It washed through his tired muscles, burning away the lactic acid and fatigue in an instant.
[Experience Threshold Reached.]
[Level Up! You are now Level 5.]
[Experience Threshold Reached.]
[Level Up! You are now Level 6.]
[Stat Increases:]
[Strength: +4 (Current: 39)]
[Speed: +4 (Current: 36)]
[Stamina: +4 (Current: 35)]
[Mana: +4 (Current: 41)]
[Unassigned Free Points: 6]
Donald gasped as the power settled into his bones. Two levels at once, thanks to the sheer number of D-Rank monsters they had slaughtered.
He didn’t hesitate. He knew exactly what he needed. His 39 Strength combined with the Pile Bunker was more than enough damage for this floor. But if he was going to protect Evelyn and keep up with her hyper-lethal speed, he needed to move faster and fight longer.
Put 3 points into Speed, and 3 points into Stamina, Donald commanded the System.
[Stat Allocation Confirmed.]
[Speed: 39]
[Stamina: 38]
A cool, refreshing breeze seemed to flow through his veins. The heaviness in his legs vanished completely. He felt incredibly light, as if gravity had suddenly lost its grip on him.
But the System wasn’t finished. A new, bright golden box filled his vision, flashing with an intense light that made him blink.
[System Notice: Extensive combat data gathered.]
[Innate Skill Upgrade Unlocked.]
[Skill: ’Valuation Eye’ (EX-Rank) has evolved.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Elemental Affinity Reading.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Trajectory Prediction.]
Donald rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, the world looked completely different.
The [Valuation Eye] didn’t just show floating text boxes over heads anymore. As he looked at the glowing orange ore on the walls, he could see faint, red-colored lines of energy flowing through the rock. The skill was showing him the raw elemental makeup of the dungeon itself.
"Did something happen?" Evelyn asked, noticing his sudden change in posture. "Your mana just spiked."
"I leveled up," Donald said, standing up smoothly. He didn’t feel tired at all anymore. "And my eyes... they feel sharper."
A loud, rumbling hiss echoed from the tunnel ahead. The ground vibrated slightly.
"Good timing," Evelyn said, gripping her sword with both hands. "Because we have company. Big company."
Slithering out from the darkness was an Ore-Basilisk. It was a massive serpent, thick as a tree trunk, covered in jagged, iron-hard scales. Its eyes glowed a toxic green, and toxic gas hissed from its mouth.
Donald activated his upgraded [Valuation Eye].
[Target: Iron-Scale Basilisk (D+ Rank)]
[Elemental Affinity: Earth (90%), Poison (10%).]
But that wasn’t all. As the Basilisk coiled its massive body to strike, bright, glowing yellow lines suddenly projected onto the floor in Donald’s vision.
The lines showed exactly where the snake was going to move. A red circle appeared in the air right where the snake’s jaws were about to snap shut. The System was reading the monster’s muscle tension and predicting its attack pattern perfectly.
"Evelyn, wait!" Donald called out.
He didn’t stay back. With his new 39 Speed, Donald launched himself forward. He was incredibly fast, moving almost as smoothly as Evelyn.
He didn’t look at the snake’s terrifying eyes. He looked at the glowing yellow lines on the floor.
The Basilisk lunged, its jaws opening wide to bite Donald in half.
Donald knew exactly where the bite would land. He sidestepped a fraction of a second before the monster even moved, positioning himself perfectly just outside the red warning circle in his vision.
The giant snake’s jaws snapped shut on empty air. Its momentum carried its head low to the ground.
Donald was already there, waiting. He didn’t even need to use [Bull Rush]. He just planted his feet, raised the heavy Pile Bunker, and shoved the flat barrel directly into the monster’s open, hissing mouth.
"Eat this," Donald grunted, and pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The explosive silver spike fired straight down the Basilisk’s throat, bypassing all its iron-hard scales. The back of the monster’s head exploded in a shower of green blood and bone.
The massive snake twitched once and slammed into the stone floor, completely dead.
Donald pulled the smoking weapon out of the monster’s mouth. The fight had lasted less than three seconds. He didn’t take a single scratch, and he barely used any energy. He knew exactly what the monster was going to do before the monster even knew it.
He turned around to look at Evelyn.
Evelyn was staring at him, her lips slightly parted in shock. She slowly lowered her crimson sword.
"You dodged before it even fired its muscles," Evelyn said, stepping closer to inspect the massive dead snake. She looked at Donald with deep awe. "It was like you were reading its mind. How did you know?"
Donald tapped the side of his head, offering a mysterious smile. "I’m an investor. I always read the market trends before making a move."
Evelyn let out a rich, warm laugh. "You are terrifying, kid. I love it. Cut out that core. A D+ Basilisk core will easily fetch a thousand credits on its own."
Donald nodded and pulled out his knife. His portfolio was growing rapidly, and for the first time, he felt completely in control of the violence around him.