"How are these Stone Grunts leveling up?"

Marcus frowned as the thought slipped out loud. If he had not possessed Insight, he probably would never have noticed the change at all, and that realization sent a chill of excitement through him. A hidden mechanic inside the dungeon meant opportunity, and opportunity meant rewards.

He eliminated the newly respawned level forty-three Stone Grunts with ease but resisted the urge to move on. Instead, he stayed where he was, watching carefully, waiting to see what would happen next.

Ten minutes later, the Grunts reformed from scattered fragments of stone. Marcus immediately activated Insight.

—

Level forty-four. Health: 9,000.

—

"Ha."

A grin spread across his face. Finally, a lead worth following. He cut them down again without hesitation and settled in to wait for another respawn, his earlier frustration with the maze rapidly transforming into anticipation.

The pattern continued.

Level forty-five.

Level forty-six.

Level forty-seven.

Every time he wiped them out, they returned stronger than before. Their durability increased steadily, yet their numbers remained manageable. His Sea Demon Soul absorbed the pressure effortlessly, drawing all the aggro while Marcus and his pets dismantled the enemies from safety. Whenever Hundred Phantom Strike triggered a critical hit, nearly a third of a Grunt’s health vanished in a single devastating blow.

After clearing the level forty-seven wave, Marcus glanced at his status window.

Level 37, 97% experience.

’Just one more round.’

At this rate, all the time he had wasted wandering through the maze would be completely recovered. Even better, the Stone Grunts had stopped being stingy with rewards once they began leveling. Equipment finally started dropping at a satisfying pace. Ignoring the usual piles of worthless white gear, Marcus had already collected six pieces of level forty blue equipment and even a low-tier golden item.

Not bad for what had started as a dead end.

He gathered the latest loot, feeling increasingly pleased with himself, and prepared to wait for another respawn. Then the system notification suddenly rang out.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, you have killed Stone Grunts ten levels above you, enraging the Stone Grunt Squad Leaders of Mystic Turtle’s Tomb Level One. They are coming to gangbang you.]

Marcus blinked.

"Gangbang?"

He stared at the message in disbelief.

"Seriously? That’s the wording they chose?"

He shook his head and snorted. "Even more shameless than me."

Before he could complain further, the four massive stone statues at the center of the hall began to glow. Blue, green, red, and black light radiated outward, bathing the chamber in shifting colors. A deep rumble echoed through the floor as cracks of energy spread across the statues’ surfaces. Slowly, heavily, the figures moved.

"Oh crap."

So this was the trigger.

Marcus reacted instantly. Buffs refreshed. Commands issued. Pets repositioned. The relaxed grinding atmosphere vanished, replaced by sharp combat focus.

"Desperate Strike!"

The moment the statues fully awakened and stepped down from their pedestals, Marcus and Pebble launched their opening attack. Two blazing strikes slammed into the black-robed statue holding a staff.

–15,000.

–12,000.

Critical hits enhanced by five layers of pressure. The damage numbers exploded across the air.

"Go!"

Marcus drove his pets forward while switching weapons mid-charge to the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword, the mythic artifact gleaming with restrained power. At the same time, he activated Insight.

—

Black Stone Sorcerer: Level 47, mid-tier Silver Boss.

Health: 5,000/32,000.

The highest-ranking statue on Level One of Mystic Turtle’s Tomb, entrusted by the Armored Turtle Champion to guard the entrance to Level Two. Specializes in summoning and debuffs.

—

A level forty-seven Silver boss would terrify most players below level forty. To Marcus, however, the remaining five thousand health looked like an invitation.

’Perfect.’

"Dragon-Roar Critical Strike!"

He surged forward, sword poised for a flawless finishing blow. His movement flowed naturally, every step balanced between aggression and control. The stance looked fierce yet elegant, the kind of attack that deserved spectators and applause. Marcus even felt a brief surge of self-satisfaction, imagining the reaction if anyone had been there to witness it.

Then reality intervened.

From a forty-five degree angle ahead, twenty blazing lances appeared in perfect formation and swept across all four statues simultaneously, detonating in a violent explosion.

"Wyvern Explosive Lance!"

Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna had just unleashed her newly learned skill for the first time.

–2,300.

–4,300.

–2,100.

–4,200.

Normal hits mixed with critical strikes, and the total damage nearly matched Marcus’s Desperate Strike.

Marcus stared, momentarily stunned by Lyanna’s heroic figure and overwhelming performance.

Someone else noticed his reaction too.

Vixen Queen Camillo pursed her beautiful red lips in visible dissatisfaction. Her expression carried a dangerous charm capable of making anyone lose focus. With graceful elegance, she lifted her hand and released a pink blade aura infused with a faint peach blossom fragrance. The attack swept across the statues at the same forty-five degree angle, slicing cleanly through all four targets and carving deep scars into the stone wall behind them.

–1,300.

–1,200.

–1,100.

–1,300.

Horizontal Slash, Peach Blossom Demon Blade.

Another newly learned skill.

Marcus could only watch in amazement. The raw strength of Divine Beast level pets truly lived up to their reputation. Camillo’s magic damage consistently exceeded one thousand per strike, and unlike Lyanna’s powerful but cooldown-limited attack, Camillo’s slash carried no cooldown at all.

She really was worthy of the title Vixen Queen. With proper equipment from the Phantom Peach Grove, her combat potential would probably become terrifying.

Before Marcus could even reach the Black Stone Sorcerer, Lyanna’s explosion followed by Camillo’s elegant strike finished the job. The boss had barely taken two steps off its pedestal before collapsing back into shattered rubble.

The poor Sorcerer had not even cast a single spell.

Marcus fared only slightly better.

His perfectly timed Dragon-Roar Critical Strike sliced through empty air, completely missing its target.

His grand finishing move died before it ever had the chance to exist.

’Embarrassing.’

Before he could recover his dignity, a roaring storm erupted behind him. Goldie unleashed Dark Storm, a swirling mass of black energy that slammed into the remaining three statues, dealing 900 damage to each and forcing them backward.

Ranged attackers really had it easy.

Marcus sighed internally. As a melee fighter, he still needed to close distance while his pets casually destroyed enemies from afar with absurd area attacks.

"Kill!"

He issued the command and turned with Pebble toward the nearest enemy, a red-robed statue clutching a staff.

"Gangbang me?"

He snorted.

"Gangbang this."

"I’m the real gangbang expert here. I’m the shameless one."

Ganging up on enemies alongside his pets was practically his trademark. Ambush tactics were his specialty. If the dungeon wanted to overwhelm him with numbers, then it would learn exactly what overwhelming pressure felt like in return.

No, not overwhelming, butchery.

The Red Stone Sorcerer unleashed a hurried area attack that struck Marcus and Pebble for 260 and 350 damage respectively, but by then they were already upon it like hunting wolves.

"Triple Surge!"

Their blades struck together in relentless succession, each impact chipping away chunks of stone. The Sorcerer staggered, losing health rapidly before a stun effect triggered, freezing it helplessly in place.

"Hundred Phantom Strike!"

Marcus did not hesitate. The remaining two statues closed in, less than three meters away, just in time to be engulfed by the expanding storm of phantom strikes. His pets followed immediately, unleashing continuous waves of magic that hammered all three bosses simultaneously.

Marcus activated Insight again while fighting.

—

Red Stone Sorcerer: Level 47, mid-tier Silver Boss.

Health: 5,000/28,000.

Specializes in intermediate magic attacks.

Blue Stone Axe Warrior: Level 47, mid-tier Silver Boss.

Health: 28,500/35,000.

Balanced offense and defense with advanced warrior techniques.

Green Stone Shield Knight: Level 47, mid-tier Silver Boss.

Health: 30,400/40,000.

Highly defensive knight capable of healing and buffing allies. Exceptional durability.

—

Marcus’s eyes sharpened as he read the data.