After a moment of silence, the familiar sound of a system notification resounded.

[SYSTEM] Level Up! You have reached Level 5!

[STATUS]

Name: Ashira

Level: 5

Talent: Legendary – Eye of Chaos

Experience: 290 / 2400

[Stats]

Strength: 10

Agility: 19

Stamina: 25

Intelligence: 45

Chaos Energy: 960

HP: 300 / 300

Mana: 190 / 230

Unassigned Stat Points: 5

I looked at the notification with a slight smile. I wanted to immediately allocate my stat points, but I currently had a different problem to solve. I was completely splattered with the blood of the elite rat, and the sticky liquid was slowly drying on my skin and clothes. The smell of decay and metal filled my nostrils, and with every breath, a growing discomfort overwhelmed me. My stomach began to rebel, and nausea hit me with an unexpected force.

"Shit," I muttered, struggling to hold back the urge to vomit.

Darius glanced over and approached with a raised eyebrow, noticing my state. "Are you okay?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Not really," I replied, grimacing. "I feel like puking."

Without waiting for his response, I grabbed the edge of his garment and wiped my face, trying to remove the dried blood from my cheeks and forehead.

"Hey!" he called out in mock indignation, but he didn’t move away. "That’s the only outfit I have!"

"Come on, you're already mostly covered in blood anyway," I shot back dryly, feeling a bit better as the blood began to fade from my skin. "I promise, as soon as we get out of here, I’ll wash it for you."

Darius sighed theatrically, but seeing my relief, he smiled slightly. "Ready?" he asked, adjusting the dagger at his belt.

"Yeah, let’s go," I answered, though the nausea still tugged at me. Our footsteps once again echoed down the corridors.

Time passed quickly. After a dozen minutes of marching, interspersed with occasional skirmishes against smaller rats, we encountered another elite rat. This time, the battle went much more smoothly than before—with every encounter, our coordination and tactics became more finely tuned to our foes.

We managed to defeat another ten elite rats, and every subsequent fight felt increasingly straightforward. Through those hours of combat, our skills and experience grew with each passing moment. Hundreds of ordinary rats fell before our blades. We were no longer merely fighting—we were dominating. We knew exactly how to move, when to attack, and how to combine our abilities to shorten the duration of each battle. Our movements had become almost instinctive, and the chaotic energy flowed through me with far greater ease.

I was beginning to feel increasingly confident in controlling the flow of chaotic energy, and my ability to use it precisely improved with every fight. I learned how to adjust the intensity of the power to suit the situation, efficiently blending attacks with evasive maneuvers. Maneuvering amidst clashes with multiple opponents—which had once been a challenge—now felt almost natural.

Finally, after countless skirmishes and hours of marching, we reached a set of strange, enormous doors. Their surface was covered in ancient runes that pulsed with a faint, purple light, and from the cracks between the stones, a dense fog with a slightly metallic scent seeped out. The sight of those doors was unsettling, as if the very walls of the corridor were warning us about what lay beyond.

A powerful energy pulsed in the air, almost palpable. I could feel my body reacting to its presence, and the Eye of Chaos flared on its own, activating my analysis ability. The world around me dimmed, and streams of energy began to arrange themselves into intricate patterns, pulsing in rhythm with the beating heart of the power on the other side of the door.

I saw distorted, wild streams of energy penetrating the runes on the door; each one throbbed with an eerie, green light. In the center of this network of energy, I made out the outline of a massive silhouette—its contours blurred, yet clearly emanating an aura of destruction and primal fury. This wasn’t a controlled power but a wild, brutal force.

Darius looked at me with seriousness.

"What did you see?" he asked, his voice calm yet laced with tension.

I sighed, trying to gather my thoughts. "It’s... something enormous. It radiates a wild, primal energy." I paused for a moment before adding more quietly, "It’s probably the strongest creature in this gate."

Darius nodded as he gazed at the door. "We can’t go in there right now. We need to rest and regain our strength before we face it."

We sat against the wall, away from the doors, yet still feeling the tremendous power beating from beyond them. The silence was heavy, broken only by our steady breathing.

"What do you think is waiting for us in there?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Darius pondered for a moment. "Probably another rat, though it might be a bit stronger than the usual ones or even the elites."

I nodded. "We’ll try to use the same tactic we did with the elite rats. You’ll dish out as many superficial wounds as you can, and I’ll concentrate my chaotic energy to strike at the right moment. If we can repeat that maneuver, we should be able to weaken it quickly."

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Darius smiled slightly. "I like that plan. But..." he hesitated for a moment before adding more seriously, "those elite rats were fast. It was only after you reached level 7 that you were able to keep up with their attacks. And if the creature behind these doors is even faster...?"

I furrowed my brows, considering his words.

"You’re right. Even the elite rats were fast enough—and I could barely keep up with their attacks before I leveled up to 7. If this Rat King turns out to be even quicker, it’s going to be a huge problem."

I fell silent for a moment, but then suddenly remembered something important.

"Wait..." I whispered, staring at my hands. "I can use chaotic energy to enhance my physical abilities, just like I did during our fight."

Darius raised an eyebrow, a trace of amusement playing on his face.

"About time you remembered," he muttered with a slight smile. "How long did we have to wait?"

I looked at him in disbelief before snorting with irony.

"Of course, because it’s obviously better to wait until I remember on my own. It’s a miracle I didn’t die sooner," I shot back, rolling my eyes.

He shrugged as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I figured it was best if you figured it out for yourself. Besides, with me around, you don’t have to worry about dying here."

I rolled my eyes again, ignoring his confidence, and focused on something more important. I opened my status screen to analyze the changes after the recent battles.

[SYSTEM]

Name: Ashira

Level: 7

Talent: Legendary – Eye of Chaos

Experience: 1200 / 9200

[Stats]

Strength: 12

Agility: 23

Stamina: 27

Intelligence: 51

HP: 320 / 320

Mana: 220 / 260

Chaos Energy: 900

Unassigned Stat Points: 15

I gazed at my stats, pondering the best way to distribute the points I’d earned. After a moment of thought, I made my decision.

"Alright, I’ll invest 7 points in Agility, 5 in Stamina, and 3 in Intelligence," I murmured to myself, confirming my choice.

Agility should help me keep up with the swift attacks of the monsters, while extra stamina would boost my HP, giving me a greater margin for error if something went wrong. Intelligence would increase my mana pool, allowing me to sustain my intense attacks for longer.

* * *

After two, maybe three hours of rest—once our strength was fully restored—we stood before the massive doors. The air was thick with tension, and my heart pounded in my chest like a hammer. I knew that what awaited us on the other side would not be an ordinary fight.

"Ready?" Darius asked, glancing at me with a slight upward curl at the corner of his mouth, though tension lurked in his eyes.

"Always," I replied, not taking my eyes off the doors.

The doors creaked open with a groan, revealing a passage leading into an enormous, cylindrical hall. The stench of decay and old blood struck us with full force, filling our lungs with a metallic reek. The echoes of our footsteps reverberated off the damp, stone walls, while the purple light of the runes danced across surfaces dusted with the remnants of long-forgotten battles.

At the very center of the hall, a mound of skeletons rose up. Broken bones and skulls formed a macabre heap, atop which rested a massive rat—larger than any we had seen before.

[SYSTEM]

Boss of the Gate: Rat King – Level 10

His body shone with greasy, gray fur, lacerated by scars and deformities, as if every wound were a testament to brutal clashes. Red eyes blazed in the dim light, and green, toxic saliva dripped from his snout, hissing as it fell onto the bones beneath him. His claws, long and sharp as daggers, rhythmically scraped against the bones, producing a terrifying, metallic sound that drilled into my ears. A thick, muscular tail moved slowly with an unsettling grace, poised for a lightning-fast strike.

The Rat King lifted his head and glared at us. His roar tore through the silence, echoing off the walls and filling the hall with a bone-chilling sound. A wave of raw, wild energy slammed into me. I knew this wouldn’t be a stroll in the park.

Darius summoned his sword, the blade materializing in his hand with a quiet, metallic ring. His eyes narrowed, fixed on the beast

I activated my talent. My left eye burst into an intense, purple light, and the chaotic energy began pulsating through my hair. I focused it, allowing it to flow through my muscles, bones, and skin. A warming sensation spread from my fingertips to my shoulders, strengthening every fiber of my body.

My body felt lighter, my movements smoother, and my senses sharpened to their limits. Every breath deepened, every heartbeat grew stronger.

Darius struck first. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from my sight, his shadow swiftly gliding across the floor. His sword flashed in the dim light as he closed in on the beast with incredible speed.

The Rat King reacted immediately. His tail sliced through the air with a terrifying hiss, aiming straight at Darius. However, Darius managed to evade at the last second, rolling across the ground. His sword cut into the creature’s skin, leaving a shallow wound.

The monster roared furiously. I seized that moment to concentrate the chaotic energy in my hands. It pulsed beneath my skin, ready to be unleashed. I moved to the side, searching for a favorable position.

But the Rat King had no intention of making things easy for us. From his snout, a stream of venomous substance shot out, forcing me to lurch away abruptly. When the liquid hit the ground, it immediately began to corrode the stones, releasing a biting odor.

"One hit like that, and I wouldn’t be in this world anymore," I thought, feeling my heart race and a cold sweat break out along my neck as I realized how close I had come to death.

Darius attacked again, trying to inflict further wounds, but the beast was faster than we expected. Its tail whipped through the air with unbelievable speed, targeting Darius’s side. At the last second, however, Darius managed to block the attack with his sword. The impact was so powerful that even with the block, he was thrown several meters away, landing with a heavy thud.

I activated Basic Energy Analysis. The world around me slowed, and the energy lines of the Rat King became more distinct. I focused on his weak points. I condensed the energy into a thin needle, just as I had done before, and threw it toward one of the wounds inflicted by Darius.

The needle sped toward the beast, aiming at one of the wounds Darius had caused. However, the Rat King caught sight of the flash of energy at the very last moment. He roared in fury and jerked to the side, completely evading my attack. The needle struck empty space, shattering against the stone floor with a soft crack. The monster turned its blazing eyes upon me, and I felt an icy shiver run down my spine. Before I could react, the Rat King let out a terrifying roar that exploded in my head like a blast. In an instant, he vanished from the spot where he had stood, reappearing right in front of me. His tail gleamed in the air, launching an attack with a speed I hadn’t expected.

Instinctively, I raised my arms, trying to shield myself. Moments later, I felt a powerful blow that shook my entire body. The force of the impact tossed me around like a rag doll, and the world blurred into a smeared streak. Flickering shadows danced before my eyes, and then, with a deafening crash, my back slammed against a stone wall. Pain shot through me from my neck down to my lower spine, and the air was brutally forced out of my lungs. I felt the edges of my vision darken as a dull, booming sound resonated in my head.