The guards' reaction was immediate and sharply different from Peter's calculated stillness. The moment they recognized the white-haired devil, panic overtook them completely.

"Run!" one guard screamed, already sprinting away from his post.

The others needed no encouragement. Weapons clattered to the ground as they abandoned everything—dignity, duty, posts—and fled in every direction. One guard tripped over his own spear in his haste, scrambled to his feet without retrieving it, and continued running. Another shouted prayers as he ran, begging every deity he knew to spare him from the monster's attention.

CLANG! CRASH! Abandoned armor pieces and weapons littered the ground in their wake.

Within seconds, the dungeon site was deserted except for Leon and Seraphine.

Leon didn't even glance at the fleeing guards. They were lucky—if he had wanted to act against them, running wouldn't have mattered. But they were beneath his notice, insects scattering before a storm. Peter's instinct to remain still had been the right one, though these guards would never know that.

"This one's more unstable," Leon observed, studying the chaotic mana fluctuations. The portal's edges flickered erratically, threatening to collapse back into raw energy at any moment. "It'll take more mana to stabilize."

He stepped forward, raising both hands this time. The blue energy reacted instantly to his presence, writhing like a living thing desperate for sustenance.

WHOOOOSH!

Leon began channeling his mana into the unstable mass. The drain was immediate and vicious—worse than the first dungeon. The unstable portal didn't just consume his energy; it tore at it, ripping mana from his reserves in violent gulps.

The air around him shimmered with heat despite the cold emanating from the portal. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought to control the flow, to feed the dungeon without letting it consume him entirely.

This hungry bastard, he thought grimly, feeling his reserves depleting at an alarming rate.

He also knew this was dangerous; once the dungeon started sucking on the mana you willingly gave at first, it tried to consume it whole, whether you allowed it or not, because of how ferocious it was.

However, Leon wasn't worried about anything, for his holy energy kept him safe and sound.

The portal's color deepened from blue to almost purple as it consumed his energy. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the pressure, spiderweb fractures spreading outward.

"Leon..." Seraphine said, a note of concern entering her voice as she watched his face strain with effort.

His entire mana reserve emptied at once. The sensation was like being hollowed out, every drop of energy drained. But he continued, pushing past the emptiness, forcing his body to channel more.

Finally, when he felt himself approaching dangerous levels of depletion, Leon cut the flow and stumbled back. His legs held firmly to the ground as the holy energy was helping him, but his face remained pale.

"Huff... huff..." Heavy breaths escaped him as he steadied himself.

The portal was more stable now—not complete, but no longer on the verge of collapse. It would need more energy, but not immediately.

"I need to rest," Leon said, moving to a nearby rock and sitting down. "Let it recover naturally for a bit."

He could feel the mana potions in his inventory, purchased from the Cosmic Shop a while ago. High-grade recovery items that could instantly restore his reserves. But those were for emergencies, for life-or-death situations. This wasn't worth wasting such valuable resources.

Besides, he thought, closing his eyes and entering a meditative state, my recovery rate is fast enough.

The abandoned guard posts stood empty around them, weapons scattered on the ground like discarded toys. In the distance, dust clouds showed where the guards were still running, and they probably wouldn't stop until they reached the nearest town.

Seraphine stood guard while Leon meditated, though she knew nothing in this area could threaten them. The portal hummed hungrily, waiting for its next feeding. At the same time, Leon's body began the process of drawing mana from the environment to refill his depleted reserves.

Leon sat in meditation for nearly thirty minutes, feeling his mana reserves slowly refilling. The energy flowed back into him like water filling an empty vessel, drawn from the ambient mana in the air and earth around him.

When his reserves were full again, he stood and approached the portal once more.

"Round two with this greedy thing," he muttered.

WHOOOOSH!

He began channeling again. The portal latched onto his mana immediately, drinking it down with the same voracious hunger as before. The blue energy swirled faster, growing denser and more defined, but still not quite stable.

This time, he was better prepared for the drain, controlling the flow more effectively. However, the portal still emptied his entire reserve before showing signs of satisfaction. Leon pulled back, breathing heavily.

"Still not enough?" he said incredulously, staring at the almost-but-not-quite stable portal.

Another rest. Another thirty minutes of meditation while Seraphine kept watch, occasionally glancing at him with mild concern. The abandoned guard posts creaked in the wind, a lonely sound in the empty clearing.

When he rose the third time, Leon's expression had shifted to one of irritation.

"You hungry beast," he cursed under his breath as he approached the portal again. "Let's finish this."

WHOOOOSH!

The third feeding was different. The portal seemed to recognize him now, its energy reaching out eagerly to meet his mana. It pulled and pulled, draining him steadily, but this time Leon could feel it approaching its limit.

The chaotic fluctuations smoothed out. The irregular pulsing became a steady rhythm. The edges solidified from flickering wisps into defined boundaries.

Then, with a sound like thunder—

CRACK-BOOM!

The portal snapped into perfect formation. A giant blue gateway stood before them, even larger than the first dungeon despite the lower capacity reading. Its surface rippled like water but held steady, finally stable and ready to accept those who would enter.

"Finally," Leon said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Three full drains of his massive mana reserves—this dungeon had been far more demanding than expected.

The blue light from the portal painted everything in ethereal tones, casting long shadows across the abandoned camp. The gateway hummed with satisfied energy, no longer the hungry beast but a proper entrance waiting to be used.

Leon sat down once more, letting his mana recover. Even opening his dimensional space portal required significant energy—a full thousand mana points. He closed his eyes, drawing in the ambient energy around him while Seraphine stood guard.

After another period of meditation, he finally stood, his reserves sufficiently restored.

"Time to bring them out," he said, raising his hand.

The silver-white portal began forming, its appearance distinctly different from the blue dungeon gateway. This one required precise control and massive energy output—creating a bridge between dimensions wasn't simple magic.

CRACK-WHOOSH!

The portal expanded to its full size, draining exactly one thousand mana from his reserves as it stabilized. Without hesitation, Leon stepped through.

A second later, he emerged again, and immediately behind him came the rush of people.

One hundred figures poured out, clad in the same worn armor as the previous group, weapons at the ready. Their faces showed the same mix of determination and barely contained excitement. They had been waiting inside the dimensional space, watching others go before them, and now their turn had finally come.

They formed up quickly as they emerged, more organized than the previous group—they had learned from watching the first wave's chaotic rush.

"Good luck," Leon said simply, gesturing toward the blue portal. "Enter immediately. Don't waste time."

They needed no further encouragement. The group surged forward as one, their boots thundering against the ground as they rushed toward their destiny. No hesitation, no looking back—just a hundred souls charging toward transformation or death.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

The portal swallowed them eagerly, its blue surface rippling with each person who passed through. The organized groups maintained their formations even in the rush—teams of five, ten, fifteen moving together, having planned their approach while waiting.

Within a minute, all one hundred had vanished into the dungeon. The portal's surface solidified into blue glass once more, sealed until those inside either succeeded or failed in their awakening.

The clearing fell silent again, just Leon and Seraphine remaining among the abandoned guard equipment scattered on the ground.

"Where's the third dungeon?" Leon asked, turning to Seraphine.

"About 380 kilometers north," she replied. "It's quite far—it would take us at least an hour at our pace."

Leon considered for a moment, then made a decision. Instead of racing like before, he stepped closer to Seraphine and, without warning, swept her up in his arms in a princess carry.

"Wha—!" Seraphine gasped, surprised for a second as she found herself cradled against his chest.

However, the surprise quickly gave way to delight. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly, and pressed her face against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat through his clothes, steady and strong. A content smile spread across her face.

"Hold on," Leon said softly, adjusting his grip to make sure she was secure.

Wind element began swirling around them, creating a protective barrier that would shield her from the violence of high-speed travel. He crouched slightly, energy gathering in his legs.

Then he launched.

BOOM!

The ground exploded beneath him, leaving a small crater where he had been standing. His figure blurred into near-invisibility as he accelerated to terrifying speeds. Trees became green streaks, hills flashed by in an instant, and the landscape transformed into an abstract painting of motion.

But Seraphine felt none of the violent wind that should have torn at her. Leon's wind barrier kept her in a pocket of calm even as they moved at speeds that would have killed a normal person instantly. She could feel the careful control he maintained, the way he adjusted his grip, and the barrier with each movement to ensure she remained completely comfortable.

She closed her eyes, savoring the moment. Being carried like this, protected and cherished, feeling the immense power he wielded being used so gently for her safety—it made her heart race for entirely different reasons than the speed of their travel.

The 380 kilometers disappeared beneath them; the hour-long journey was compressed into mere minutes as Leon moved at his speed.

Still, he only utilized a fraction of his physical strength without any mana.

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