[Level 2]

[Objective:]

1. Kill Level One Beasts: 46/50

2. Kill Level Two Beasts: 2/3

[Time Remaining: 28 Minutes 35 Seconds]

Luke was breathing slightly heavily as he stood amidst the corpses of more than seven wolves he had hunted in a single battle.

Most of his time had been spent traversing the forest in search of worthy prey.

It wasn’t that the forest lacked beasts. There were plenty of them.

The problem was that most weren’t ranked highly enough to catch his interest.

He wasn’t here to hunt for fun.

Well... he did enjoy hunting.

But his priority was conserving his energy for the beasts that actually mattered.

With enough time invested, he eventually began encountering monsters that traveled in packs, allowing him to deal with multiple targets at once.

Now, only four Level One beasts and a single Level Two beast remained before he could clear the floor.

He had even spotted several Level Two beasts that could be hunted safely to complete the challenge.

However...

He wasn’t going to do that.

His goal was to leave this place for now.

Why?

Because the system enforced a mandatory break between floors.

If he cleared the level today, he would be forced to wait at least two days before returning.

And in this place, two days translated to nearly two months.

Two months that Synthia would have to spend alone.

’Am I getting a little too emotional about her?’ he wondered.

After a moment, he shrugged.

Maybe.

But he could also call it repaying a favor.

After all, she had entrusted him with a gift as precious as the Lunar Pearl.

Cracking his neck and stretching his arms, Luke decided to clean himself up a little before returning.

The last thing he wanted was for someone to spot him covered in blood and grime and mistake him for some kind of humanoid monster.

Thankfully, he carried enough water to wash his face, hands, and feet. Afterward, he wiped them dry with a few sheets of tissue paper.

Once he was done, Luke took one final look around the forest.

If he could, he would have taken the wolf pelts and sold them to Gary.

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to leave empty-handed.

"Transfer."

.....

"Are you sure?" Dalia asked.

Ginna nodded.

"Yes, dear. You can have it."

As she spoke, she extended a small pouch of toras toward her daughter.

"I have enough to live comfortably until the next two rotations."

Dalia’s expression tightened with concern.

"But Mother... you earned those. It’s your hard work that brought you this money. Don’t spend it all on us."

Ginna gently cupped her daughter’s cheek.

"Whatever belongs to me belongs to you as well."

A warm smile appeared on her face.

"I don’t have many things left to spend money on. But you and your mate are still in the prime of your lives."

Dalia smiled faintly.

"But you’ve finally started taking care of yourself too."

Her eyes softened.

"I even noticed that you recently bought one of those fragrance sprays from Tony’s shop."

Ginna blushed faintly at that.

"He just convinced me to buy it."

Dalia chuckled.

"It’s okay, Mother. You should spend your money on things that make you happy."

Ginna nodded.

"I understand, but this much is still extra. I don’t need it, so keep it."

Dalia bit her lower lip as her mother gently pushed the small pouch into her hand.

After a brief pause, she finally relented.

"Okay, I’ll take it. But if you ever need anything, promise you’ll let me know."

Ginna’s smile softened.

"I will."

Then she waved her hand toward the door.

"Now go help Lex. It’s time for his bath."

Dalia nodded and rose from her seat.

A moment later, she stepped out of the room and headed toward her own.

Things had been difficult for them lately.

Just yesterday, Dalia had paid the rotation fees, wiping out nearly all of her savings in the process.

For some reason, her mother had found out about it.

And now, today...

Ginna had handed her ten toras, enough to cover their expenses for the next few days.

But what about the next rotation fees?

That was a problem she would have to start thinking about soon.

Lost in thought, Dalia made her way to her room and pushed the door open.

The sight that greeted her immediately made her freeze.

"Lex?"

Her mate was walking.

Not only that, he was doing so without a crutch.

His movements were still unsteady, and he clearly struggled to keep his balance, but he was walking nonetheless.

He stayed close to the wall as he moved across the room, yet he wasn’t using it for support.

He was doing it on his own.

"Just give me a few more moments," he said.

Sweat poured down his forehead, and his vest was completely drenched.

Dalia could see how much pain he was in, yet he stubbornly kept pushing himself forward.

Concern filled her eyes.

Clutching the pouch tightly in her hand, she watched him struggle against the limitations that had bound him for so long.

His wound might have healed, but Luke had warned them that the internal injuries would still need time to fully recover.

And then, just as she feared...

"Ah!"

"Lex!"

Dalia rushed forward.

She barely reached him in time, catching him before he could collapse to the floor.

Carefully supporting his weight, she helped him down until he was sitting safely on the ground.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" she asked. "Can’t you rest for a few more days?"

After everything they had endured, patience was all that was needed now.

If he simply allowed his body to recover naturally, he would soon be back to full health.

But forcing himself like this could undo all that progress.

Lex lowered his head.

"You wouldn’t understand, Dalia..."

He shook it slowly before muttering,

"...how difficult this is for me."

Dalia remained silent as she listened to him.

"There was a time when I constantly called Luke useless. A burden."

A bitter smile appeared on Lex’s face.

"I asked Father more than once to throw him out of the house so he’d be forced to earn his own living."

He lowered his gaze.

"And now... I’m in the same position he was."

His voice grew quieter.

"Yet no one tells me to work. No one complains. Especially the one person who has every reason to take advantage of this situation and get back at me."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

"Somehow, that hurts more than it should."

He looked down at his trembling hands.

"Right now, I feel like a burden to my family. All I do is eat, sleep, and repeat the same cycle."

Dalia felt her heart twist painfully.

Seeing Lex like this was difficult.

She understood exactly why he felt this way.

This wasn’t Caleb.

Lex wasn’t someone who stayed at home because he was lazy or unwilling to work.

He wanted to be out there.

He wanted to hunt.

He wanted to provide for his family and stand on his own feet again.

The problem was that his body simply wasn’t capable of doing that yet.

Clenching her fist, Dalia made a decision, ’I need to help him...even if I have to beg Luke for it.’

••••••••

A/N:- I can already sense people hating if Luke actually helped Lex. But considering everything has happened so far, Luke putting a complete blind eye feels out of character. Well, you wouldn’t be disappointed by the development.