With a rumbling crack, the doors slammed shut, vibrating with glowing glyphs before a reverberating bang occurred; the exit and route of escape vanished.

    Ryuji''s black eyes darted across the battlefield before snapping back to the turtle. His body became a blur, and he stopped right in front of the creature.

    "Hah!"

    An explosion of smoke engulfed the room as a cut appeared on the turtle''s shell. Before it could turn its head towards Ryuji, who rolled under its head, his axe clipping its shell with a brutal blow, the damage causing it to stumble slightly.

    "Come on, I''m not done yet!"

    Ryuji''s body ducked under its snapping jaws once more. He twisted the axe and chopped the scaly feet, leaving a large gaping wound with thick blood oozing from the grey flesh, leading to the turtle''s loud cry.

    With a rapid movement, its head slammed the chin of Ryuji, sending him airborne, the fluttering of his limbs blocking his chest with his garnet-bladed axe.

    The turtle''s eyes narrowed before lifting its front leg and stomping down on Ryuji''s chest, the impact blowing the air from his lungs.

    "Urgh..."

    Ryuji smashed into the ground, a crater forming beneath his body, while a loud cracking of bones sounded. His arms dangled at his side while his spine felt bruised. The turtle''s other foot slammed into his legs, crushing his bones under the immense force of the creature.

    "Hah... haha... hoh~,"

    Ryuji''s eyes closed for a moment, the pain actually causing him to black out, feeling a moment of intense pain. Forced to lean on the head of his axe and drag himself up, the turtle and Ryuji watched each other intently.

    ''Hahaha...!''

    Ryuji felt the crunching of bones and the tearing of muscles. Although he felt like shit, Ryuji never expected this amount of power or such a thrill as he felt his blood pumping, trying to heal the wounds.

    "Watching you destroy my body makes me want to crush you so badly."

    With its neck swaying like a whip, the turtle moved its head, ready to strike like a scorpion''s tail. Ryuji''s face frowned with a savage smile as he waited for the attack.

    "I will enjoy tearing that skull from your body."

    Her legs fluttered before she leapt into the air above Ryuji and crashed into the turtle''s head like a bolt of gold lightning. Her feet stomped on the blade''s counterweight, sinking deeper into the gash like a knife through tofu.

    Yumiko''s clawed hand gripped the black crystal protruding from the turtle''s forehead while her other hand grasped at the skin. Sinking into her claws, she let out a fierce roar.

    "ROAR!!"

    "RROOAARRR!!"

    Her and the turtle''s voices clashed for a moment, and her body spun and flew like a dart. It twisted in the air before falling with the turtle''s neck.

    A spurt of blood oozed from the turtle''s forehead. The black gemstone tore from its flesh while Erika leapt into the air and caught Yumiko''s body, dropping onto the stone pillar. Their bodies rolled, covered in smoke and dust.

    "Phew... phew."

    The turtle''s body slumped to the ground, causing the dungeon to rumble as Ryuji slowly dragged his body towards them. His legs and arms were in such a bloody mess that he could only walk using his axe as support.

    He would have died if he wasn''t used to suffering injuries and fighting his mother in his old world, where most foes were powerful enough to kill him in one blow.

    ''Although I have become a lot stronger than I was when I first arrived on this planet, I''m still not powerful enough to fight large opponents with such recklessness unless I limit my Rage Points to the very limit.''

    "Thanks, Yumiko~ and Erika. You two are the best." He smiled and kissed her bloody cheek before kissing Erika''s.

    "Are you okay? You seem a little injured?"

    "I''m fine... Yumiko, Erika, can you still fight? Or shall we wait a little?"

    "I''m fine; the corpses still need to be dismantled, anyway." Erika shrugged.

    "Ah! Don''t get injured so easily next time! Otherwise, you will worry us." Yumiko sighed in relief.

    "It''s amazing... we levelled up again, and it feels so easy to cut through their flesh now."

    "True... I didn''t even realise because my ears popped, haha."

    —Level Up