ult was overwhelming efficiency.
[MIDNIGHT PROTOCOL ACTIVE]
[TIME REMAINING: 75:00]
By the time Alex reached the boss chamber, he'd barely expended any energy. The team had handled the dungeon's mobs while he'd Shadow Stepped directly to the critical points.
[BOSS DETECTED: THE SHATTERED KING]
[LEVEL: 35]
The boss was a massive armored figure, its form crackling with unstable energy. It was designed to be nearly impossible for a normal party—the kind of challenge that required hours of coordinated assault.
Alex ended it in minutes.
[VOID STRIKE]
[VOID STRIKE]
[VOID STRIKE]
The Shattered King fell before it could adapt to his attacks.
[DUNGEON CLEAR]
[FRAGMENT ACQUIRED]
[EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 34%]
[LEVEL UP!]
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 23]
They exited the dungeon before the midnight power faded, emerging into the pre-dawn light with minimal casualties.
"That was... efficient," Derek observed.
"Your way works," Alex admitted to Maya. "Thank you."
"We're a team. That's what teams do."
Two more levels. 34% evolution progress.
The System's corruption continued, but Alex was adapting to it. The glitches became predictable, the distortions manageable. He was learning to exist with his own degradation.
[SYSTEM INTEGRITY: 82%]
Two weeks until Stage 3. Maybe less.
He needed two more fragments. Two more dungeons.
The race continued.