This time Sage didn't aim at the beast; he aimed at the ceiling above it.

"Level 2 Fire Spell — Falling Flame!"

The incantation rolled off his tongue like an incantation of doom as he conjured a magic circle above the boss, not in front of him, because circles weren't fixed; they were anchored to mana points and willpower.

The glyph expanded midair with layered rings rotating in opposite directions while runes ignited one after another like stars coming to life.

Then the circle erupted.

WHOOOOM!

Fire didn't shoot forward, it rained down thickly like molten orange spears crashing from above onto both the boss and the stone surrounding it with repeated impacts.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Flames splashed against its armor, rolling like liquid fire that clung to cracks and forced it to slow down.

For the first time, Sage noticed hesitation, not emotional hesitation but mechanical, as the boss adjusted its movement pattern to navigate around this new environmental hazard.

"Good," Sage whispered as adrenaline surged through him. "Adapt. Step where I want you to step."

He retreated across the platforms, leading the boss toward the mana river. The boss pursued him relentlessly, smashing stone with every movement and creating tremors that threatened to throw Sage off balance.

But Sage didn't run; he used wind to control his positioning, nudging himself sideways at the last moment and allowing the boss to destroy the terrain behind him. It was a strategy that transformed the battlefield into something ugly yet advantageous.

Finally, Sage stopped near the edge of the river. The mana liquid pulsed faintly, glowing like a slow heartbeat.

Turning to face his foe, he raised his hand and spoke with grim determination, the kind of focus that only comes when you accept your mortality.

"Level 2 Wind Spell — Compression Burst."

A circle formed low and wide, thick with stabilizing runes. When it snapped into place, air pressure detonated outward in a violent shockwave.

BOOOOO!

The blast slammed into the boss's legs, forcing it to stumble as its massive frame pitched forward.

Sage seized the moment.

"Level 2 Lightning Spell — Chain Crack!"

The circle formed with jagged edges, runes sparking like shattered glass as lightning leapt from his hand in a branching web.

KRA-KRA-KRA- KOOOM!

Instead of targeting armor, Sage aimed for the glowing crimson veins visible beneath cracks in its surface. When electricity struck, it crawled inward, drawn toward those mana-rich pathways like a predator following blood scent.

The boss shrieked, a violent sound akin to stone screaming, and lunged again in one last desperate motion, claw swinging toward Sage's head.

Sage's eyes widened. His mana pool screamed at him for more energy. Yet his body moved on instinct. He threw himself sideways with a boost from wind magic just as the claw slammed into the stone where his head had been moments before, splintering it with a deafening bang that sent shards flying.

Rolling onto one knee, he noticed how close the boss had come to the mana river due to its momentum.

A smile crept across his face.

"Fall," he whispered as he slammed his palm into the ground.

"Level 2 Fire Spell — Scorch Line!"

A magic circle formed along the stone beneath the boss, long and rectangular, as runes ignited like fuses. Then a line of flame erupted upward like a burning wall.

WHOOOOM!

Instinctively recoiling from danger, the boss stepped back, exactly where Sage wanted it to go. Its foot hit the fractured edge of the platform.

With a heavy crash that felt inevitable, the boss fell into the mana river.

SSSSSSSSSSHHHH!

Steam exploded violently upward as blinding mist filled the chamber. The mana liquid reacted like both acid and fuel, eating through armor while igniting internal energy veins within its body.

The boss thrashed violently, its claws scraping against the edge of the platform as it struggled to escape. Sage stepped forward through the swirling steam, blood smeared across his face and a cold determination in his eyes.

"Level 2 Wind Spell — Anchor Gust!"

A dense spiral circle materialized before the boss, and a powerful gust of compressed air slammed downwards, pinning its head and shoulders beneath the force of the mana current.

BOOM!

The creature's thrashing began to slow. Sage raised his hand, channeling the last remnants of his lightning mana into one final spell. The glyph formed slowly, too slowly, as exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

"Level 2 Lightning Spell — Final Needle."

The glyph condensed into a single sharp point of light, resembling a needle forged from thunder itself.

"Die."

KRA-KOOOOOM!

The bolt shot forth, piercing an exposed vein on the boss's body. It convulsed violently once before going still, steam curling around its lifeless form like a funeral shroud.

Sage stood there for what felt like an eternity, breathing heavily as if he had just surfaced from deep water.

Then his knees buckled. He collapsed onto the stone with a rough thud, laughter bubbling up in quiet bursts, not because anything was funny, but simply because he was alive; sometimes that was all the universe offered as a joke.

At the far end of the chamber, something pulsed faintly.

The core.

It was a crystalline structure embedded in a natural dais, glowing with layered internal light like a heart made of mana and glass.

Sage dragged himself toward it with great effort; each movement sent fresh waves of pain coursing through his body. When his fingers finally brushed against its surface, the dungeon seemed to shudder as if acknowledging his authority.

[Dungeon Core contact confirmed.]

[System authority overriding native control.]

[Dungeon assimilation in progress.]

Light surged inward rather than outward, as though seizing and rewriting the very essence of the dungeon itself.

The oppressive pressure that had been weighing down on him eased slightly. Sage slumped beside the core, tilting his face toward the ceiling and breathing shallowly.

With trembling fingers, he reached into his satchel and pulled out his notebook. He opened it to a blank page and began to write carefully while blood dried on his knuckles.

"Dungeons are not nests. They are systems."

He closed the book and let his head rest against the cold stone as he stared into the darkness above him.

This was only the first challenge, and there were two more to face ahead.

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