Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

Bam!

-454,800! -272,880! -40,000! -40,000! -40,000!

The explosion of spells slammed directly into the [Danger Gorilla], flames, lightning, and frozen shards crashing into its massive body all at once.

Karl narrowed his eyes as he watched the damage numbers appear.

'Damn… [Lunar Beam] is actually becoming outdated.'

That thought would have sounded insane to him not too long ago.

A legendary-rank skill becoming obsolete?

Karl never imagined he'd ever think that.

And yet, when he compared it properly, the truth was impossible to ignore.

[Lunar Beam] required charging time.

It locked him in place. It had no status effects.

And even at full charge, the damage simply didn't compare anymore.

[Permafrost Crystals] alone could deal the same amount of damage per crystal as an entire second of [Lunar Beam] hitting the target.

And that was without any charge time.

Without positioning issues.

With a cooldown that was laughably short in comparison.

Using [Lunar Beam] in the middle of a fast-paced fight was honestly a liability now.

'I really hope the next evolution saves it,' Karl thought, his gaze fixed on the gorilla. 'Otherwise there's just no point using it anymore.'

He wasn't worried yet.

Legendary skills evolving into mythical ones usually received absurd upgrades.

Still, until that happened, [Lunar Beam] was staying unused.

The [Danger Gorilla], for its part, didn't even attempt to dodge the spells.

Its movements were slow. Not clumsy, but heavy.

Every motion it made felt like pure strength being forced forward without finesse.

It clearly sacrificed speed and agility in exchange for raw power.

And just as Karl expected… None of the status effects triggered.

No [Slowness]. No secondary effects.

'Immune,' Karl concluded calmly. 'Makes sense.'

A creature built like this, especially one created specifically as the witch's toy, would obviously have resistances.

Fwoosh!

The gorilla suddenly lunged forward, its massive fists smashing into the ground where Karl had been standing.

The impact cracked the stone floor, sending debris flying.

Karl twisted his body and dodged just in time.

But then—

Danger Swipe!

The gorilla's arm shot out sideways, faster than its previous attacks.

Karl's eyes widened slightly.

'Too fast.'

BAM!

-7,893! -2,374!

The hit sent him flying.

His body smashed into the wall behind him with a heavy impact, the shock rattling his bones.

But even then… Karl didn't panic.

The All-Powerful Magic Barrier absorbed the majority of the damage, cracks spreading across its surface but holding firm.

Karl rolled as he hit the ground and quickly pushed himself back up.

'Even without the barrier, I probably would've survived,' he thought calmly.

The [Dweller Boots] didn't just increase agility. They boosted his constitution by 1,500.

That alone made his body far tougher than it had any right to be for a mage.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Karl raised his staff again.

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

Once more, he ignored [Lunar Beam] entirely.

Charging it would take too long, and this monster wasn't giving him that luxury.

The spells crashed down again, dealing close to another million damage in total.

The gorilla roared, its body shaking under the barrage.

But before Karl could take a breath—

Fwoosh!

The [Danger Gorilla] suddenly leapt into the air.

Its massive body blocked out part of the light above the clearing.

Karl's eyes widened.

'That's bad.'

BOOM!

The gorilla slammed both fists into the ground with terrifying force.

A massive shockwave erupted outward, tearing through the clearing in all directions.

Karl tried to jump. But it was useless. The shockwave was too fast and far too wide for him to dodge it.

BAM!

The force slammed into him, throwing him off balance.

Ding!

[You have been stunned.]

Karl's vision blurred for a brief moment as he was now stuck in place.

Even if it hit his barrier, the status effect still triggered.

'Damn it,' he thought, frustrated. 'I should've used the walls.'

He wasn't used to using [Dweller Boots] in battle though, meaning that though he could have possibly avoided, there was a risk to it.

And before he could recover, the gorilla was already in front of him.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Its fists hammered against the barrier relentlessly. Each hit dealt around 3,500 damage.

The barrier shattered almost instantly. Less than a second later, the protective layer exploded into fragments of light.

Karl was exposed.

Danger Swipe!

The gorilla lifted its massive arm, muscles bulging as it prepared to strike again.

Karl locked eyes with the incoming attack.

'If that hits me… it probably won't kill me,' he calculated. 'But the damage might stun me again.'

And that would be enough to end him.

So instead of backing away… Karl turned around.

He faced the maze wall behind him.

And finally, he used the boots properly.

He lifted his legs and planted them against the wall.

Instantly, the spider-like spikes emerged from the soles of the [Dweller Boots], digging deep into the stone.

Fwoosh!

Karl shot upward.

The gorilla's swipe passed harmlessly beneath him, smashing into the wall instead.

Cracks spread across the stone as chunks fell to the ground.

Karl climbed higher, avoiding another punch that barely missed his legs.

Ten seconds. That was all he had. But ten seconds were enough.

Once he was out of reach, Karl kicked off the wall and launched himself back into the air.

Mid-jump, he twisted his body, staff already pointed downward.

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

-454,800! -272,880! -40,000! -40,000! -40,000!

The spells detonated directly against the gorilla's head and upper body.

This time, the [Danger Gorilla] couldn't endure it.

Its legs buckled. Its massive body trembled.

Then—

BAM!

It collapsed face-first into the ground, shaking the entire clearing.

Karl landed lightly a moment later.

"Phew," he let out with a grin.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Danger Gorilla (Level 50 Legendary-Rank Unique Boss)"]

[You have gained 500,000 experience points!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 42 + Level 43!]

[You have gained 10 points in all attributes, and 10 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 34 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 436 Lives!]

---

The familiar rush of power flowed through Karl's body. Two levels at once.

He exhaled slowly, enjoying the sensation.

Hand of Oblivion!

The spectral hand burst from his staff and plunged into the gorilla's corpse.

But this time… Nothing happened.

No additional Evolution Points nor any Lives.

Karl blinked. Then he grinned.

'I guess it dropped an item instead.'

Sure enough, something shimmered near the corpse.

Actually… two things.

Karl stepped closer, crouching slightly as he examined them.

And the moment he saw the panels—

'Oh shit… jackpot.'

He checked the first item.

---

[Danger Gorilla Gloves (Legendary): Warrior/Sentinel/Tank-type equipment. +9,000 Strength. Requirement: Level 50.]

---

Karl raised an eyebrow.

These gloves didn't have anything to them except for the immense strength they gave, and that made perfect sense.

These were gloves. An accessory. They didn't replace a weapon slot.

A warrior could equip these and still wield a sword, axe, or hammer without restriction.

Which meant one thing: pure, massive stat gain.

An extra 9,000 strength on top of everything else.

For any strength-based class, these gloves were insane.

Even Karl, as a mage, recognized their value instantly.

And then… He looked at the second item.

---

[Gorilla Frenzy Potion (Mythical): Multiplies current strength by 10x for 30 minutes. Requirement: Level 50.]

---

"Damn," Karl muttered under his breath. This one was ridiculous.

Completely useless to him. But absolutely game-breaking for the right person.

A tenfold increase in strength. For thirty minutes.

'If a level 100 warrior uses this…' Karl thought, eyes narrowing slightly, 'they could probably bulldoze almost anything.'

He'd never seen anything like it. And that alone made him suspect something.

'This might be a unique item,' he realized. 'Or at least close to it.'

Either way, it was priceless.

Even if he couldn't use it himself, there was no way he'd ever throw it away.

He stored both items carefully in his inventory, noting that he still had some space left.

Then he straightened and looked ahead.

[Interesting~ But if you struggled so much against my second toy, then I have nothing to worry about~]

Karl smirked faintly.

Fwoosh!

The dark vines blocking the entrance to the [Danger Tower] finally withdrew, slithering back into the ground.

The path forward was open. Karl knew exactly why the witch hadn't simply sealed him inside the clearing.

[Gods Ascension] followed strict rules.

One couldn't put someone an unavoidable death loop or stun-lock them.

If she broke those rules… The punishment from higher beings would be far worse than anything Karl could do.

Still, none of that mattered now. Karl's gaze locked onto the [Danger Tower], and a wide grin spread across his face.

'Perfect,' he thought. 'Now I can finally test what I wanted to do.'

Instead of walking toward the gate—

Karl looked up. Straight at the tower's walls.

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