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."

With the turtle's strike, Ryuji's body sprang like a coiled spring. His body twisted to avoid the blow of the turtle by a hair's breadth. Forced to grasp his black axe, twisting its glinting blade as he poured all his rage into this one life-reaping strike.

****

Meanwhile, Erika's bloody state took on the two male lizardmen, her sword held in a defensive position.

As she watched their huge scimitars approaching, her blades tilted with a solid blade of shimmering steel that flicked the moment their blades would strike. The blades tore through their vulnerable necks, sending glimmers of steel dancing across the dungeon floor.

Her body rolled before jumping back and off the raised stone and onto the altar, dodging the female lizardman's enraged and burning eyes.

'What is that turtle's skin made of?'

She couldn't understand as she watched Ryuji take a blast to the chest, his body flung in the air and flopping on the floor like a ragged doll. Her body fluttered across the battlefield like a rose caught in a storm, twisting and avoiding the blades of the females, joining up with Yumiko.

The moment a copper blade slipped down, a death knell aimed at the soft white neck of Yumiko. A flicker of steel diverted the blade before a beautiful face lunged past. Her attack penetrated one female with her dagger, the grim and deadly blades pulling the blood and flesh with each repeated stab.

Another female slashed at her but missed and only cut Erika's thigh once more, prompting a slight flinch before the blade of Yumiko's devastating fist penetrated the female's throat.

'Ugh, these things are not getting any easier...'

"Haa... thanks Yumiko.... Haa..."

"You too... Nn, where is Ryuji?"

Yumiko asked Erika as they killed the enemies they fought, turning their heads to Ryuji, who continued fighting the enormous turtle.

His body stood straight, a bastion of brutality, while his black and red axe shone with a bloody aura. The blade pulled back. His eyes were transfixed on the turtle's body as if peering into its soul.

"Look!" Erika pointed.

Her face looked stunned as Ryuji's axe flashed like a crimson and obsidian spectre that crashed upon the neck of the turtle. Which caused an explosion of force, tearing the grey exposed neck, a spray of dark blood spurting from the injury. Yet despite the brutal cut leaving a thick dent in its neck, it didn't die.

'Was he hiding his power this whole time? He doesn't act like it, though...' Erika thought, before shaking her head. 'Who knows how someone like him thinks?'

"Come on! It's not dead!" Yumiko shouted as she began dashing like a cheetah.

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.

"Well, it seems fighting giant monsters is harder than I thought..." Ryuji whispered, but the fact its attacks could cause such heavy damage with Ryuji's grit made him realise that C-Rank dungeons were more dangerous than he gave them credit for.

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.

His black eyes slowly regained their blue irises and pupils, the black leaking as if it was ink draining from his sclera. The massive wound in his chest slowly closed as Ryuji breathed, his chest rising and falling.

'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.

"Hah, I can't move much, so I'll stay here and recover. So it's best not to make any more dangerous battles." Ryuji said as he leaned against the pillar.

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

Erika rolled her eyes before beginning to dismantle the corpses; although she lacked a tool, her sharp blades made quick work of the enemy corpses.

"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