Was it attempting emergency evolution?! That would have surely been catastrophic. Tens of times stronger, is the gap really that big?

He genuinely didn't know if he could have handled such a drastic power increase. He could boost his strength by another twenty-five percent beyond his current hundred percent enhancement, reaching a hundred twenty-five percent total—but no higher than that yet.

I might have been overwhelmed.

Leon spoke sincerely:

"Thank you for the critical intervention."

He thanked her because this was his opponent to deal with.

However, he now looked visibly troubled, his expression conflicted.

Before he could voice his concern, Archon Vyrra's perceptive voice came:

"Don't worry about protocol. Even though I technically finished killing this particular boss monster, you may keep its core as your rightful reward. You performed the vast majority of the work today and brought it to the edge of death."

Leon's expression brightened considerably.

However, Vyrra continued with a slight smile:

"But this generosity will not be completely free. Since this is practically a fake Archon-level monster core—formed during attempted forced evolution—even I am genuinely tempted by its value. Acquiring two such cores in a single day would be tremendously beneficial for my own advancement."

Her tone became more formal and businesslike:

"So from today onward, you are also obligated to contribute five percent of your total loot to our clan's collective resources, exactly like everyone else. This applies to everything except your personal boss monster kills, which you may keep entirely."

She had accepted his shameless earlier request, but now was the appropriate time to correct that arrangement somewhat. This would also help the other Pyrrhans view him in a better light—they had been genuinely angry about the special treatment, she knew.

They would have accepted his strength regardless, though bitter about the favoritism. But seeing today's battle results, his power is undeniably second only to mine.

Leon considered briefly, then agreed to her reasonable demand:

"Alright. That's fair. An Archon-ranked core is far too valuable to surrender."

He was absolutely certain he couldn't have obtained such a prize by himself against a fully evolved opponent.

After which, Archon Vyrra deactivated her combat form, the glowing halo behind her head fading.

SHIMMER... FADE...

Then she asked conversationally:

"Would you like to return to the city with me now? The harvesting crews will be systematically collecting monster parts and cores. Your allocated share will be properly calculated and delivered to you at the main arena."

Leon politely refused, shaking his head:

"Thank you, but I'd prefer to do the harvesting work myself."

It wasn't that he didn't trust the delivery system—the words were coming directly from the Archon herself, after all, making them absolutely reliable.

"I want to handle this personally because I've never been around such high-level monster corpses before. I want to examine them closely and see what valuable materials they contain. Cores aren't the only useful components—there's much more to learn."

His enthusiasm was genuine.

The Archon departed alone on her massive beast after seeing his obvious excitement, leaving him to his educational scavenging.

He reminds me of myself when I was younger. That hunger to learn everything.

In the distance, Leon could see that Ira was already industriously harvesting monster parts, along with dozens of other Pyrrhan warriors spread across the battlefield.

He noticed something significant: only the elite fighters he'd met on top of Archon Vyrra's mount earlier were absent from the harvesting crews.

So her instruction for me to return wasn't special treatment after all. The same offer was valid to all unit leaders.

Working alongside Ira, Leon began the systematic process of harvesting monster materials.

Ira proved to be remarkably expert at this work—she performed each cut and extraction so cleanly that virtually no usable part was wasted.

SLICE! EXTRACT! SEPARATE!

A sour, coppery stench clung to the air as monster organs were opened, mixing with the faint burnt odor of acid-scorched hide. Leon's eyes watered slightly from one puff of vapor escaping a burst gland.

She's incredibly skilled at this.

Leon understood now that these monsters were fundamentally different from dungeon creatures, which simply vanished along with their bodies after being killed, leaving only cores and specific loot.

Real creatures leave real corpses with real materials.

As he was learning the proper techniques and harvesting cores from various powerful monsters, Leon asked Ira curiously:

"Why didn't you return to the city to rest? You're a vice leader now—you have that authority."

Ira replied honestly, looking slightly embarrassed:

"I... actually forgot about that privilege. And I genuinely don't mind doing this work since you killed the vast majority of these monsters. It's only fair I help with harvesting."

She asked him the same question, since he clearly also possessed the authority to leave:

"Why did you stay?"

Leon gave her essentially the same answer he'd given the Archon, expressing his desire to learn.

He also added:

"Please correct me immediately if I'm doing something wrong during the harvesting process. I want to learn the proper techniques."

Ira took this instruction extremely seriously—far more seriously than Leon had actually imagined she would.

Even if he made a single inch of imprecise cut while dismembering a creature, she would immediately tell him off and demonstrate the correct method.

"No, no! You're wasting the poison gland! Cut here, along this membrane—see?"

She pressed his hand lower with unexpected firmness, and he could feel the sticky resistance of the membrane giving way under the blade—tough like old leather stretched tight over bone.

She looked genuinely proud of her expertise, which Leon found endearing, so he let her continue her enthusiastic teaching.

She's adorable when she's being a know-it-all.

Leon stored his harvested materials directly into his inventory, which remained mostly empty despite the increasing quantity.

He occasionally discovered skill stones embedded within certain creatures—though these were extremely rare finds, appearing perhaps once in every thirty or forty monsters. Each discovery made his heart race with excitement, and the lowest-ranked he found was rare rank, which meant the sky had no limit, and he was thrilled during the whole process.

Each one had to be pried out carefully, the embedded flesh resistant and fibrous. One stone was still faintly warm, pulsing softly with residual mana, like a slow heartbeat under his fingertips.

Ira looked quite baffled every single time he made items seemingly vanish into thin air.

So Leon explained about his spatial storage ability, to which her reaction was hilariously exaggerated:

"How much can it hold?! That's incredible!"

He even doubled down on boasting:

"Things never rot inside my storage either. Perfect preservation indefinitely."

Ira looked absolutely amazed, almost envious:

"You have it so good! Do you know how much effort goes into material transportation and proper storage? And worrying constantly about decomposition and spoilage?"

She waved her hands animatedly, bits of dried monster fluid flinging from her gloves, not even noticing. "We have to haul half-rotted parts in wagons over lava rivers sometimes!"

She was practically worshipping his storage capability, which made Leon laugh.

Within approximately one hour, they had completely finished harvesting all the monsters they had jointly defeated.

It was relatively quick work, though Ira commented:

"This was slower than usual because of teaching you. But I'm genuinely shocked at how good you've become in just one practical session!"

She didn't hesitate to mention:

"Though you still have a very long way to go before matching my expertise level."

For the final monster—the massive hydra boss—Leon had to work alone since Ira's blade, combined with her strength level, simply couldn't cut through its incredibly tough skin.

"Sorry. This is beyond my capability."

After they finished completely, they returned together to the city.

Their mode of transportation was identical to before: Leon joined Ira on her personal flying beast companion without asking permission.

Ira didn't object when Leon joined her on the beast again. She looked happy—but also a little more aware this time. Their flight was quieter, more focused, but her familiar warmth never really faded, as the feeling of Ira's presence against his back occurred periodically during the journey.

She was slightly more aware but still the same girl as before with him.

Occasionally, a gust of wind shifted her scent—warm, slightly earthy with a trace of ash—reminding him they'd spent hours drenched in blood and monster essence.

Soon, they arrived at the top of the very same arena where Leon's first fight had occurred.

Archon Vyrra was already present, sitting regally on an elaborate throne that definitely hadn't been there before—it appeared to be her own elemental creation, formed from condensed special fire.

SHIMMER! GLOW!

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