Arios walked forward, the mist parting faintly before him, pulled by the sheer force of his steady momentum. The forest had shifted again, indicating another stage transition. The trunks of the trees were wider now, some as thick as four men standing side by side, their bark black and gnarled. Their roots jutted out of the ground like thick, grasping ribs, forcing him to step carefully to avoid tripping. The air was heavy, thick with the damp, earthy smell of the illusion, and the silence was unnatural, broken only by the sound of his own labored breathing.

His grip on the wooden sword tightened, the familiar wood rough against his sweat-slicked palm. His breathing was steady, though the deep ache in his arms and legs lingered, a constant, dull protest. He had fought for what felt like hours already, pushing his limits repeatedly, yet the dungeon didn't loosen its grip. Garron was testing his very limits of endurance and discipline.

The growl came first, low and menacing. Then the scraping sound, a dry, harsh friction against the dirt.

Arios's eyes narrowed as new figures stepped into sight, his mind instantly categorizing the threat.

The wolves were still there, six of them, circling low, their red eyes burning. But something else crawled between them. It was shorter, its body low to the ground, moving with a jerky, unnatural motion. Its skin was pale like the disrupters but stretched tight over a gaunt, skeletal frame. Its arms were long, ending in sharp bone-like points, dragging along the dirt. Its mouth stretched open, drooling black fluid that hissed when it touched the dirt, smoking faintly.

Arios tilted his head, processing the visual and the noxious smell. "Another new one. A physical and chemical threat."

The wolves didn't wait for orders. They rushed forward, relying on their speed. Arios stepped in calmly, his blade slicing into the first, pivoting to the second, kicking into the third to disrupt its attack. His movements were smooth, practiced, though noticeably slower than they had been earlier due to the accumulated fatigue. Each wolf fell in turn, dissolving into mist.

The gaunt creature came next. It didn't run. It crawled quickly, dragging itself across the dirt with sharp, unnerving scrapes. Its mouth opened wide as it lunged, snapping. Arios stepped back, his blade cutting into its arm. The limb cracked, an audible sound of damage, but the creature didn't dissolve. It shrieked, a high, wet sound, and lunged again, fueled by the corrosive fluid it drooled.

He blocked the next strike, avoiding the poisonous fluid, then drove his blade through its chest. It twitched violently, the black liquid spilling before its form dissolved like the others, leaving a faint, acrid smell.

Arios exhaled once, tasting the chemical tang on his tongue. "Poison type. They're adding layers of debuffs and damage over time. Garron is getting insidious."

He adjusted his grip again and kept moving. He had to assume the black fluid was corrosive or toxic, another subtle element of psychological pressure.

---

The dungeon didn't wait long for the next stage.

Another clearing opened, and the wave came fast, a mixture of familiar and new elements.

Eight wolves. Three hybrids. Two disrupters. One of the gaunt crawlers. The combination was designed to maximize chaos and strain.

Arios stood firm as they closed in, planting his feet firmly in the dirt. The wolves came first, their fangs flashing. He struck hard, cutting down four in rapid motion before deflecting the fifth with his elbow and driving his sword into its side. The sixth came from the left; he pivoted and finished it quickly. He had learned the pattern of the wolves, and they were now the easiest to manage, even with his fatigue.

The hybrids pressed next, their claws heavy, exploiting the brief pause. Arios blocked and countered, though each impact shook his arms deeper than before. One hybrid went down, then the second, then the third after a sharp, powerful exchange.

The disrupters screamed, the high-pitched ringing stabbing at his focus. His vision blurred, his balance wavering. But Arios pushed forward, cutting through them both, silencing the sensory attack.

The crawler lunged last, a desperate, final move, drooling its black fluid. Arios sidestepped, slamming his boot into its back before finishing with a clean strike that eliminated the final threat. The creature dissolved with a hiss.

He stood alone again, chest rising and falling heavily, forcing oxygen into his burning muscles.

"Still manageable. But they'll escalate further. He's looking for the one element that will make me stumble."

He kept walking, refusal his only fuel.

---

The forest path narrowed again, roots twisting tighter. The air grew thicker, the mist heavier, almost opaque. Arios could feel the dungeon pressing on him—not just physically, but mentally. It wanted to grind him down, to make him doubt his own endurance.

The next wave confirmed the psychological shift.

This time, the monsters didn't come from one direction. They emerged from all sides at once, a coordinated 360-degree assault.

Ten wolves. Four hybrids. Three disrupters. Two crawlers. A full-scale siege.

Arios spun immediately, his blade flashing in the dim light. The first wolf went down, then the second. A hybrid struck from behind; he twisted, blocking, countering, forced to engage multiple targets simultaneously. The disrupters screamed, stabbing at his ears from three different angles. His vision swam, his balance was tenuous, but he didn't stop moving, maintaining his defensive circle.

One by one, they fell. The wolves dissolved in a flurry of quick strikes. The hybrids collapsed, requiring sustained effort. The disrupters shrieked their last notes before fading. The crawlers hissed, their black fluid spraying before their forms faded.

When the clearing was silent again, Arios stood still, his breath heavy, a painful rasp. His arms trembled slightly, a clear sign of near exhaustion, but his mind held firm.

"They're surrounding now. Forcing more angles. Testing reaction speed and spatial awareness. The goal is to overload the system."

He steadied himself with a deep, shaky breath and walked forward again, driven by a stubborn core of determination.

---

Time stretched, warping under the constant pressure. Fight after fight came, a blur of motion and sound. Wolves. Hybrids. Disrupters. Crawlers. Different mixes, different patterns. There was no end in sight.

Arios fought each one. His movements slowed with exhaustion, his steps labored, but his strikes stayed precise, relying on years of trained muscle memory. His eyes didn't waver. His stance didn't break.

Then came the next clearing.

And the next, inevitable escalation.

---

The growl was deeper this time. He recognized it instantly. Another **greater hybrid**.

But it wasn't alone. The stage was set for the final, most complex combination yet.

Five wolves circled. Three crawlers dragged themselves forward, leaving wet tracks. Two disrupters twitched in the back, silent for now, conserving their sonic weapon. And at the center, alongside the greater hybrid, stood a **new figure**.

It was tall—taller than the hybrids. Its body thin, stretched unnaturally, unnervingly lithe. Its head was covered by a smooth bone-like mask with no features, utterly blank. Its hands held long, sharp blades that seemed part of its arms, extensions of bone.

Arios's eyes narrowed, his stance shifting again to account for this new threat. "Another elite. Speed and technique. The ultimate test."

The wolves attacked first, the final dregs of the cannon fodder. Arios cut them down quickly, though each swing strained his arms to their limit. The crawlers came next, hissing their black fluid, but he dispatched them with sharp, efficient strikes, prioritizing clean disengagement.

The disrupters screamed, a wave of sonic pain that momentarily paralyzed the air. But he forced through the sound, cutting them both down before they could fully unleash their power.

That left the greater hybrid and the masked blade-wielder.

The hybrid roared, charging with predictable brute force. Arios blocked, countered, striking into its ribs. The creature swung hard, but he twisted away, cutting across its chest. It roared again, then dissolved after a final, desperate strike.

The masked one didn't move at first. It stood still, silent, observing. Then it blurred forward, a flash of motion.

Arios's eyes widened, shocked despite his preparation. Its speed was sharp—faster than the hybrids, faster than the wolves. Its blade-arm swung fast, forcing him to block instantly. The impact shook his grip, a sudden, jarring shock.

The creature spun, striking again, a perfect, practiced move. Arios ducked, the blade slicing the air just above his head. He countered, his sword cutting into its side, but the wound didn't dissolve it. It was too resilient, too focused.

The masked one struck again, faster, sharper, forcing Arios onto the back foot. Arios deflected, sidestepped, countered. The exchange grew quicker, harder, forcing Arios to rely purely on instinct and discipline, pushing past his exhaustion.

Finally, as the creature lunged wide, a desperate maneuver, Arios stepped inside, driving his blade upward through its chest with his last burst of strength. The masked head tilted once before dissolving into a silver mist.

The clearing fell silent again.

Arios exhaled, his chest rising and falling heavily, a deep, wracking sound. His arms trembled violently, uncontrollably. Sweat dripped down his face, blurring his vision. But his eyes stayed sharp, focused on the deeper forest.

"They'll keep adding. Wolves for numbers. Hybrids for power. Disrupters for senses. Crawlers for poison. Now elites for technique. I've survived the master key."

He steadied his breath and kept walking, moving deeper into the illusion. His only hope now was to find the core, the anchor holding this false world together.

---

The dungeon didn't stop. It couldn't stop. Its design was simple: pressure, escalation, exhaustion, fueled by Garron's fading mana.

But Arios didn't stop either.

Step by step, fight by fight, he pressed deeper into the endless illusion.

The monsters kept coming. Wolves. Hybrids. Disrupters. Crawlers. Elites. Greater hybrids. Each one pressed harder. Each one demanded more.

But Arios fought them all. Calm. Steady. Relentless.

And the dungeon still hadn't broken him. He kept looking for the flaw, the seam, the shimmer of light that wasn't part of the illusion, the faint sign of the outside world that would lead him to the exit.

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