Sera walked through the rebuilding streets of Mythal, Lily and Mira beside her. The city still bore the scars of Tiamat’s attack, but none of them were looking at the destruction today.

They were looking for a dungeon.

Sera glanced down at the sword hanging at her waist. The blade was unfamiliar. Beautiful. Too clean. She’d fought so long with her old sword that carrying something new still felt strange in her hand.

"We’re all Level 70," Mira said.

"Yes," Sera agreed.

Mira grinned. "Kai’s already seventy-one."

Lily sighed. "You didn’t have to remind us."

"I’m motivating you."

"You’re competing," Sera said.

"Same thing."

Lily looked between them. "Then let’s stop talking about it and find a dungeon."

"Agreed," Sera said, smiling.

They kept walking without any particular destination, exploring the outskirts of the city on foot. Sera felt the air distort ahead of them and stopped.

"Wait."

Mira nearly walked into her. "What?"

Sera pointed. The empty street rippled, space bending inward above the road.

BOOM.

A massive dungeon gate formed.

[B-Rank Dungeon Found.]

[Dungeon: Skyfall Citadel.]

Mira’s eyes lit up. "Perfect."

"B-Rank," Lily confirmed, studying the gate.

Sera gripped her sword. "Then let’s see how far we can get."

Mira lifted her hammer. "All the way."

"That’s the idea," Sera said, smiling.

As they approached the entrance, Sera drew her new weapon, the Dawn Valkyrie. It was lighter than her previous sword, not fragile, just perfectly balanced. She swung once.

SHING!

A golden arc sliced through the air, traveling several meters before fading.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Mira whistled. "You didn’t even put much mana into that."

"I barely used any," Sera said, studying the blade.

"Try again," Lily said.

Sera raised the sword and channeled more mana this time, golden light gathering along the edge. She swung.

BOOM!

A larger crescent tore through the empty street, leaving a long scar in the stone.

"That’s definitely stronger," Mira said.

Sera rotated the sword in her hand, feeling its weight shift subtly as she moved, helping one strike flow naturally into the next. She understood its nature immediately.

"It rewards consecutive attacks," she said.

Lily nodded. "That fits you."

"I thought the same thing."

Sera turned to her shield next, the Aegis of the First Dawn, larger than her old one but somehow lighter.

Mira tapped it. TONG. "Solid."

Sera raised it, and a faint golden barrier spread across its surface. Mira punched it.

BOOM!

The shield absorbed the impact, and instead of simply holding, golden light gathered along its edges, storing the force. Sera threw it, spinning through the air, and the stored energy released when it struck a nearby stone pillar.

BOOM!

The pillar shattered, and the shield curved back around, landing squarely in her hand.

Mira grinned. "I definitely like that."

"So do I," Sera said.

Lily brought out her own new weapon, the Astral Longbow, thin and elegant in a way that felt almost unnatural. She drew the string, a single arrow forming.

"How many?" Sera asked.

"Let’s find out."

She released it.

WHOOSH!

One arrow flew forward. Then—

SHING!

It split into seven, each one curving in a different direction, one circling a building, another rising, two dropping low, three sweeping sideways, all seven striking separate targets in the distance.

Sera blinked. "Seven."

"The bow can divide the shot without losing control," Lily said, watching the fragments return to her as light.

"That’s dangerous."

"That’s the point."

She nocked another arrow, and several Spirit Archers appeared around them, clearer than before, their bows larger, their movements synchronized in a way Sera hadn’t seen. One fired, then another immediately after, the shots overlapping perfectly.

"Your summons got stronger too," Mira said.

"The bow seems to resonate with them," Lily said.

Mira stepped forward with her own weapon, the Titanheart Maul, planting it against the ground.

"You’re actually going to fight with that?" Sera asked.

Mira looked offended. "What else would I do with it?"

She lifted it and swung.

BOOOOOOM!

The ground caved inward, the shockwave traveling through Sera’s boots. Mira looked down at the weapon, glowing faintly.

"Interesting."

"What?" Sera asked.

"It stored the impact." Mira flexed her fingers. "My armor’s doing something similar."

She let a heavy training construct near the entrance strike her.

BOOM!

Her armor absorbed it, a faint glow spreading across her chest. Another strike landed.

BOOM!

More energy accumulated, and Mira’s grin widened.

"You’re collecting the force," Sera said, understanding.

"Exactly."

Mira swung the maul.

BOOM!

The stored force erupted outward, a shockwave tearing across the ground.

"The longer I fight," she said, watching the hammer’s glow, "the harder I hit."

Sera thought about it. That had always been how Mira fought. The new equipment simply pushed the same idea further than her body alone ever could have.

They stepped through the gate together, and Sera felt the change immediately. The dungeon wasn’t a normal underground space at all. It was a gigantic floating fortress, broken towers hanging upside down, stone platforms drifting through a vast blue-gray sky, fragments of buildings falling constantly, some vanishing before they hit anything, others crashing into distant platforms.

Mira looked up. "Sky dungeon."

"Skyfall Citadel," Lily confirmed.

"Even better."

"Why?" Sera asked.

Mira raised her hammer. "Everything is floating."

Sera sighed. "That doesn’t answer my question."

"It means there’s more stuff to hit."

Lily laughed quietly.

Monsters emerged almost immediately.

[Skybound Knight — Level 62.]

[Storm Harpy — Level 63.]

Sera charged first. A Knight swung, and she blocked.

CLANG!

The shield barely moved. She twisted her wrist, catching the weapon and redirecting it, then stepped inside its guard. Her sword flashed.

SHING!

The Dawn Valkyrie cut clean through its armor, and she struck again, then again, each successful hit flowing naturally into the next, the Knight never finding an opening. She finished with a golden slash.

BOOM!

Several Storm Harpies dove toward them, and Lily didn’t move, simply drawing and releasing, one arrow becoming seven, spreading across the sky. One harpy dodged, and the arrow curved to follow. Another dove, and a second arrow arced upward to intercept.

"They’re following their movements," Sera said, watching.

"The bow helps me maintain control after release," Lily said, already summoning her archers, who fired in perfect unison, filling the sky with arrows the harpies had nowhere to escape.

More monsters closed in. Mira charged, letting several hits land against her armor without dodging.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The armor glowed brighter with each impact, and she laughed. "That’s enough."

She planted her foot, tensing fully, the maul rising.

"Titan Breaker."

BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave threw the monsters clean across the platform, several crashing into each other mid-air.

Sera smiled. "You really enjoy that."

Mira glanced back. "You don’t?"

"Sometimes," Sera admitted, raising her sword.

"Both of you are violent," Lily said.

"You’re an archer," Mira pointed out.

"Exactly."

The next wave was bigger, and Sera noticed something important as it unfolded. Their equipment made each of them stronger individually. Their teamwork made it dangerous in a completely different way.

A monster slipped past Lily’s arrows, and Sera’s shield was already there.

CLANG!

She blocked it, and Mira stepped through the opening immediately.

BOOM!

Her hammer launched it backward, and Lily’s arrow was already waiting where it landed.

THUNK!

Nobody called out a plan. Nobody needed to. They’d fought together too many times for that.

We’re getting stronger, Sera thought. Not just individually. Together.

The dungeon shifted without warning, the floating platforms beginning to drift, gravity reversing. Sera’s feet left the ground entirely.

"Whoa!"

Lily caught a floating piece of stone with one hand, steadying herself. Mira simply grabbed a nearby pillar. Sera activated her shield, the Aegis projecting a golden platform beneath her feet.

Mira looked over. "Useful."

"I know."

Lily fired an arrow into a distant platform, marking it. "That one’s stable."

Sera led them across, Mira jumping and landing with a heavy thud, Sera following behind, Lily crossing the gap in a single Astral Step.

They kept moving deeper. More Level 62 to 64 monsters appeared, and the fights got harder each time, but they kept advancing. Sera felt the exhaustion setting in, not overwhelming, just enough to remind her Level 70 wasn’t the ceiling.

"How close?" she asked.

Lily checked their position. "Almost halfway."

Mira looked toward the enormous fortress rising ahead of them. "Then we’re doing fine."

Sera nodded, and then—

BOOM.

Something crashed into the fortress structure, the entire floating platform shaking beneath their feet.

Sera raised her shield instinctively. A second roar followed, far deeper than the first.

Lily slowly drew an arrow. Mira raised her hammer. Sera gripped Dawn Valkyrie tighter.

"That wasn’t a Level 63," she said.

"No," Lily agreed.

Mira smiled. "Good."

They reached a massive gate a while later, ancient carvings of winged creatures worked into its surface. Sera placed a hand against the stone, and it trembled.

BOOM.

Something struck the other side, dust falling from overhead.

She looked back at the others. Lily had her bow already drawn. Mira gripped her hammer with both hands. Sera drew Dawn Valkyrie slowly, golden light spreading across the blade.

"Ready?"

"Yes," Lily said, smiling.

"I’ve been ready," Mira said, grinning.

Sera pushed the gate open. Darkness waited beyond it, something enormous moving in the depths.

Her grip tightened.

We’ve only reached halfway.

The gate opened wider, and a massive shadow filled the passage ahead.

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