Mana: 5690 / 7000 → 5023 / 7000

Though Lily couldn't see her exact mana, she could feel the emptiness creep in, that faint tug inside her core that warned she was burning through it too fast. Maintaining a temporary spirit beast—especially when ranks were between Low 1-star to Low 2-star—was costly. And somehow, she had even managed to summon the High 2-star beast, the spirit-formed bear. After taking on spirit form, it dropped to a Low 2-star, but even then, the strain it put on her was huge: 250 mana per minute.

Low 1-star – 0.5 mana/min

Mid 1-star – 1 mana/min

High 1-star – 12.5 mana/min

Peak 1-star – 50 mana/min

Low 2-star – 250 mana/min

{1/4 of the XP that Leo gains killing same-ranked beasts}

The Rock Ox had been backing away—until it noticed them.

They were weak.

So weak that even the spirit bear could only carve shallow scratches into its stone-plated hide. That realization made the Ox snort sharply, eyes hardening. Without hesitation, it started firing stone bullets in a rapid, ear-thudding volley from the one intact horn. Pebbles hardened into projectiles blurred through the air, breaking through the charging spirits one after another. Even those who reached the Ox barely made it flinch—it simply stomped them flat as if crushing leaves under its hooves.

Lily didn't even get a full minute to gauge how fast her mana would drain before most of the spirits shattered under the onslaught. Worse, spirit constructs normally had some resistance to physical attacks, yet the Ox's strikes were that brutal. In fact, being a spirit was likely what saved the Treant; the incorporeal buffering softened the damage enough for it to get back up.

It limped toward her, bark creaking, and immediately began casting healing magic. A faint green glow seeped across its splintered form.

Mana: 5023 / 7000 → 4250 / 7000

Repairing the whole body had cost Lily nearly a thousand units. If the Treant had died outright, reviving it would have drained more than four times as much.

Meanwhile, the Ox was truly furious—partly because its horn had broken, partly because of whatever drug fueled its frenzy, and partly… because it had flinched earlier at the sight of weaker foes. Its breath steamed in harsh gusts, scraping against the stone dust in the air.

A cold shiver crawled down Lily's spine.

"Treant!" she shouted, voice tight. "Use my mana we block it while we put some distance between us!"

The Treant dipped its head in acknowledgement. Thick, reinforced roots burst from the torn earth once more, writhing forward to bind the Ox. This time, they managed to coil around its legs and torso. The Ox strained against them with a crackling groan, then snapped its head toward Lily and resumed firing stone bullets in a furious barrage.

Mana: 4250 / 7000 → 4120 / 7000 → 4001 / 7000

As expected, the reinforced roots devoured her mana—more than a hundred units per second.

Lily activated her wind mobility skill in a rush of cool air swirling around her boots and darted sideways, sprinting into the denser part of the terrain. She could hear the thudding impacts behind her as the Treant intercepted the bullets with its spirit-hardened body.

Mana: 3730 / 7000 → 3510 / 7000 → 3295 / 7000 → 2990 / 7000 → 2521 / 7000

"Oh no—my mana is draining way too fast!" she breathed, panic brushing her voice. She couldn't see the numbers, but the feel of her emptying mana pool was unmistakable.

The roots were the main gluttons, the Treant reinforcing them relentlessly while also patching the gaping holes in its bark-body with frequent healing bursts.

But just then—she felt it.

"W-what's this…?" Lily blinked, momentarily dazed, a strange ripple of energy brushing against the inside of her mind. The sensation snapped her back to focus almost instantly.

"A new… skill?" Her eyes widened. "Wait—this might actually work against that beast!"She pivoted sharply, springing up to a nearby tree branch. The bark scraped her palms lightly as she landed, crouched, watching the Ox from above. It was already 10s of dozens of meters away, thrashing against the bindings.

That was when she noticed something else—her mana pool felt fuller and newfound strength coursing through her veins.

"Did Lunaria level up…?" she murmured, barely getting the words out when the sky abruptly dimmed.

Darkness rolled in.

Swirling black clouds coiled into existence as if ripped from another realm, circling tightly above the Rock Ox. The epicentre sat directly above its head, a whirlpool of mana thick enough to make the air vibrate in her lungs.

Sensing the concentrated mana gathering overhead, the Ox panicked. It bellowed, unleashing a burst of raw strength that shattered the reinforced roots in a spray of dust and snapped earth. It barely had time to take a single step before—

Crackle—BOOOOM!

A thick lance of black lightning speared down from the churning clouds and slammed into its body with an impact that rattled the branches beneath Lily's feet.

But that was only the beginning.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!

Lightning bolts—large, small, jagged, spiralling—crashed down in rapid succession from the overhead circular formation of clouds. The forest lit up in violent flashes, each strike tearing soil apart and charring trees into skeletal black husks. Dust exploded outward in rolling waves. The ground erupted with crater after crater.

And the largest bolts struck directly on top of the Ox, burying it under blinding, merciless force.

Lily turned her head just in time to see the one responsible—Lunaria.

The spirit wolf now stood a towering seven to eight meters tall. Her once bluish glow had deepened into a darker, almost blackish shade. The most striking change was the half-meter horn thrusting from her forehead, crackling faintly with residual electricity.

Miho clung to Lunaria's translucent fur, trembling violently—eyes unfocused, as if she had glimpsed something beyond mortal understanding.

As the dust finally settled, the devastation revealed itself. Scorched earth stretched in every direction, smoke rising from shattered stumps and uprooted vegetation. Clusters of small and large craters marked the battlefield.

At the centre lay the Rock Ox—alive.

But not truly alive.

Its once-impenetrable stone armor had fractured, crumbled, and disintegrated like brittle graphite. Chunks of it had fallen away completely, exposing the soft reddish skin beneath. The creature gasped raggedly, trembling, eyes wide and filled with a horrified clarity—as if realizing far too late the price of its earlier arrogance. Even the eyes were back to normal.

Above it, the clouds began to converge once more. Lunaria was preparing another heavenly strike.

"Wait!" Lily called out, raising a hand.

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