It was a small purple crystal orb, barely the size of a baby's fist, with a soft glow swirling within it. The light inside gave it a strange yet alluring sensation when touched, almost as if it was alive.

Nonetheless, unlike its harmless and almost innocent appearance, the red warning holographic window that appeared the very moment he came into contact with it proved otherwise.

Along with the notification came a sharp, overwhelming pain that tore through his body in an instant, travelling violently from his hand and spreading everywhere. His legs gave out as the pain surged, forcing him to collapse down onto one knee.

The purple crystal in his hand suddenly lost its solid form. It melted into a strange, viscous liquid and began seeping into his skin, flowing through his veins like living matter before completely vanishing from sight.

As this phenomenon unfolded, the pain intensified even further. It rose violently and without mercy, as though his body was being torn apart from the inside. Unable to endure it, he let out a loud, nerve-wracking groan that echoed across the hall and instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Marlon!"

Clarissa cried out as she broke into a sprint toward him.

The others struggled up from the ground and staggered in his direction as well, their faces filled with confusion and fear as they tried to understand what was happening to him.

Meanwhile, the pain within him continued to intensify with every passing second. It grew so unbearable that it felt as though his bones, organs, and very soul were being ripped apart from within.

Using the little aether she had left, Clarissa immediately cast her healing magic over him in an attempt to suppress the pain. However, it proved completely useless. There was no improvement whatsoever. If anything, it only seemed to worsen his condition.

As panic began to take hold of her, Marlon's body suddenly went slack. His voice seized, his eyes shut tightly, and before she could react, his entire body went limp in her arms.

"He is dead!"

One of the triplets cried out loudly after noticing the lack of movement from his body.

The words sent shock through the group.

"He is still alive."

Clarissa was the only one who managed to stop the panic before it spread further. She quickly activated her innate body scan skill, her expression tense as she checked his condition. Moments later, she confirmed that he was only unconscious.

The others released heavy sighs of relief.

"What happened?"

Holding her injured arm, Emma asked anxiously.

With their leader gone, the one who was second only in strength, their only hope at the moment was Marlon. Seeing him in such a state made dread settle heavily in their hearts.

Clarissa responded to their curiosity, explaining how she had seen him pick up an unknown object from the ground, something that appeared to have dropped from the mini-boss.

"The item should be around here, but it's nowhere to be seen," Davison said as he scanned the area, using the torchlight on the walls to illuminate the surroundings.

The others joined in the search, combing the area thoroughly, but nothing turned up. The absence of the object only deepened their unease.

Before they could question it further, the familiar robotic voice echoed throughout the hall, announcing the beginning of the next wave in less than twenty minutes.

"What are we going to do now?"

Panic spread among them.

They were all badly wounded and exhausted from the battle they had just survived. Their strongest protector lay unconscious on the ground.

To make matters worse, the moment Marlon collapsed, all of his clones dissipated silently, leaving them completely exposed.

"Did any of you bring healing potions or aether potions?" Clarissa asked urgently.

"I have some aether potions, but they're only mid-grade," Davison replied as he brought out four bottles from his inventory.

"That will do."

Clarissa took them from him without hesitation.

She swallowed all four potions at once. The others watched anxiously, unable to hide their concern.

Consuming more than one potion at a time, regardless of quality, always resulted in side effects. She had just consumed four at once.

They could only wonder what price she would pay for it.

"Come."

Before anyone could voice their worry, she called Davison, Emma, and Chike over to her side.

Then she began casting her healing magic on all three of them at the same time, an act already impressive for a healer of her level.

The strain was evident. Her face twisted in pain, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead as her breathing became uneven.

About ten minutes later, she finished healing the three of them, her breaths ragged and unsteady.

With less than ten minutes left before the next wave, she called over the remaining two and completely exhausted her aether reserve healing them as well.

The moment she was done, her body gave out. She collapsed to the ground, battered and utterly drained.

"Thank you."

The triplets bowed deeply toward her, their heads lowered in genuine gratitude.

Clarissa could only nod weakly. Speaking had become far too difficult.

Taking the lead, Davison began issuing instructions.

This time, the triplets did not question his decisions. After witnessing the mini-boss's strength and Dagon's death, they understood the danger well enough to know better than to act recklessly.

They moved quickly into position.

Davison summoned several golems and stationed them around Marlon and Clarissa at the center. The others spread out to strategic positions around the battlefield.

Minutes later, heavy footsteps echoed through the hall.

Seconds after the sound erupted, dozens of monsters poured out from a nearby doorway.

Unlike the previous waves, these monsters were all of the same race.

They were massive white bears, towering in height, with movement speeds that seemed impossible for creatures of such size.

The moment combat began, the bears revealed their terrifying strength. They could cast ice and wind-type magic, launching freezing blasts and slicing gusts across the battlefield.

The five of them fought desperately, and after several minutes, they began to notice something unexpected.

Aside from their magic attacks and unnatural speed, the white bears' physical strength and defense were far weaker than anticipated and far weaker than the monsters from previous waves.

Realizing this, they shifted their strategy and focused entirely on physical damage.

This played to Davison's and Ramson's strengths, as both excelled in close-range combat.

The remaining three continued fighting, but their roles gradually shifted toward support.

Even so, without Marlon, the battle dragged on far longer than they would have liked.

Although the monsters were weaker than the waves Marlon had single-handedly handled before, it still took them more than double the time he usually needed.

After finally clearing the wave, all five of them collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Chike and Bola helped Ramson, who had been badly wounded, bind his injuries to stop the bleeding, as Clarissa remained completely exhausted.

Davison had only minor injuries and was still mostly intact.

"That wave was pretty weak," he muttered. "Yet it took us almost four hours, even with fewer monsters."

The longest it had ever taken Marlon was two hours, and that was only when he left everything to his clones.

Whenever he joined the fight personally, the battles ended far sooner.

Thinking of that overwhelming strength, Davison turned toward Clarissa.

She was sitting on the ground, Marlon's head resting gently on her lap.

"How is he?" he asked quietly.

"He's still unconscious," she replied. "But aside from that, there's nothing wrong with him. At least, nothing my scans can detect."

Her skill could detect even the smallest abnormalities, yet every scan returned the same result.

Perfectly fine.

Davison let out a slow breath and sat down beside her.

"This portal is strange," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Clarissa asked.

She also had her own speculation about this place, especially after witnessing the appearance of the mini-boss.

Even though none of the others seemed to notice anything unusual, she could clearly see it. The mini-boss possessed a form of human-like intelligence and sentiment, something that sharply contrasted with the mindless, animalistic monsters they were used to facing.

It did not behave like a creature driven by hunger, instinct, or blind rage. Instead, there was something else guiding its actions, something colder and far more deliberate.

As she replayed the scene in her mind, a disturbing conclusion slowly formed. She began to suspect that the creature did not kill because it had to, but because it wanted to. Because it enjoyed it.

And despite possessing overwhelming strength, it never once bothered to finish off the others. It left them alive with ghastly wounds, almost as if it was intentionally allowing them to suffer, watching their fear take shape.

The only opponent it ever treated seriously was Marlon.

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