Yuuya didn't sleep much.
Even with the ache in his arms, the low hum of pain beneath his ribs, and the dried blood on his shirt, his mind refused to shut off. It wasn't adrenaline. It was hunger. Not for food. For more.
He stared at the cracked ceiling of his outcamp bunk, a dull leak dripping near his foot. The mattress was barely a step above stone. But it was quiet, and quiet meant he could think.
> [Level: 14] [Next Level: 542 EXP Required]
He ran through every movement in his head from the Crimson Verge. Each dodge. Each mistake. Each opportunity he could've taken. That was how he learned. Not just by doing, but by remembering.
He wasn't getting stronger just by luck. He was working for it.
---
At sunrise, he was up. No breakfast. No breaks.
Just gear check, weapon check, and a single bottle of water from the supply crate that smelled vaguely like iron. His fire poker was splintered at the handle, so he duct-taped it and reinforced it with a strip of scrap metal.
Toma found him on the outskirts of the registry.
"You're actually going again? After yesterday?"
Yuuya nodded, eyes already scanning the board.
> [Temporary Dungeon: Gravewake Sprawl - Tier: E to D] [Gate Stability: 73% - Open to Divers]
"You're nuts," Toma muttered.
Yuuya looked back, expression flat. "You coming or not?"
Toma sighed. "You're lucky I hate sleeping."
---
The Gravewake Sprawl lived up to the name. Half-swamp, half-cemetery. Fog coiled around broken mausoleums. The sound of buzzing insects echoed through the air, along with something that could've been whispers.
> [New Zone: Gravewake Sprawl] [Enemies Detected: 17] [Recommended Progression: Pair Combat or Strategic Elimination]
Toma adjusted his scarf. "Anything tries to crawl up my pants, I'm leaving."
Yuuya stepped forward.
First target: a hunched creature with a spine like a centipede and a face stitched into a permanent scream.
> [Gravespawn - Level 13 - Aggression: Moderate]
He attacked low, swinging upward. The creature screamed, then exploded into oily smoke.
> [EXP Gained: 85] [True Learning +2%]
"Clean," Toma said.
They kept moving.
---
The next few fights were fast. Precise.
Yuuya moved like someone who expected to win. Not just hoping. He dodged before enemies even committed to a strike. He countered in perfect rhythm.
> [Skill Acquired: Tempo Step Lv. 1 - Boosts reaction time when fighting multiple enemies.]
By the time they hit the inner ring of the dungeon, his shirt was torn, his knuckles swollen, and his pack was filled with salvage.
He was also Level 16.
Toma leaned against a tombstone, panting. "Tell me again how you're still ranked F?"
Yuuya was quiet. Then: "Because they can't see what I see."
---
The boss chamber was different this time.
A massive grave, cracked open. Something inside twitched. Then it stood.
> [Dungeon Boss: Remnant Bone-King - Level 18 - Phase One Initiated]
It was ten feet tall. Armor made of welded bone and rusted chains. It didn't speak. Just pointed. And skeletons rose from the ground.
> [Enemies Summoned: 8 - Bone Minions - Level 10-12]
Toma cursed. "Tell me you got a plan."
Yuuya stepped forward.
Patted Toma, smiled and said
"I am the plan."
He launched forward.
His new skills danced together.
> [Tempo Step + Echo Counter + Reflex Copy]
He weaved through the minions like water, each movement borrowed, adjusted, and perfected. The first four fell before they landed a hit.
Then the Bone-King moved.
Massive. Fast.
It brought down a two-handed blade with enough force to crack stone.
Yuuya slid under it, kicked the leg out from beneath the boss, and slammed his poker directly into the ribcage.
> [CRITICAL - Chest Fracture - Bone Integrity -12%]
The boss roared.
> [Phase Two Initiated - Bone Reformation Active]
Chains shot out. One wrapped around his arm.
> [-34 HP]
Yuuya yanked it toward him. Used it.
> [New Technique Copied - Chain Grapple Lv. 1]
He pulled himself into the air, flipped, and kicked the skull clean off the nearest minion.
> [Level Up: 17]
Toma joined the fray, throwing a knife that embedded into the boss's eye socket.
"NOW!"
Yuuya struck with both hands, full force.
> [Final Hit Landed - Core Shattered]
> [Boss Defeated - Dungeon Sealed] [EXP Gained: 228] [Level Up: 18]
> [Trait Gained: Bone-Break Rhythm - Increased damage to skeletal enemies +8%]
> [Loot Acquired: Bone-King Core, Soulsteel Fragment, Chain Technique Scroll]
---
They emerged to nightfall.
Toma collapsed near the edge of the registry, wheezing. "We deserve food. A bath. A week off."
Yuuya sat next to him, grinning.
> [Level 18 Reached] [Skill Set Expanded: Chain Grapple Lv. 1, Tempo Step Lv. 1, Echo Counter Lv. 2, Adaptive Grit, True Learning - 68%]
He looked at his hands. Still shaking from the fight.
Still hungry.
Not for food.
For more.
Toma groaned. "So. Same time tomorrow?"
Yuuya nodded.
"Yeah. Tomorrow we grind again."
---
He walked back to the outcamp alone. The night wind cold, the world quiet. But inside him, the system pulsed. Stats. Experience. Patterns. Growth.
This wasn't just about clearing dungeons anymore.
It was about control.
Not over monsters.
Over himself.
And tomorrow...
They still wouldn't call him anything but F-rank.
But soon?
They'd run out of letters to cage him.