The next morning, Ava slept for 10 hours. Dirk also slept longer than normal. He woke up earlier than Ava, but decided to stay until she woke up herself.

There were two reasons for this. The first was that he didn't mind the relaxation. Just laying there in silence alone with his thoughts wasn't always so bad.

The second reason though was that Ava had rolled over at some point in the night, basically putting herself on top of him. She used him as a body pillow and a source of body heat. Since Dirk didn't wish to disturb her, he let it be. He definitely wasn't remaining there because he enjoyed it.

Definitely not.

"Hmm..."

Eventually, Ava finally woke up. Upon opening her eyes, she immediately saw Dirk's face. She quickly realized what she was doing.

But she didn't move. She just closed her eyes again and shifted her body, getting cozier.

Dirk gawked a tiny bit as wasn't sure what to say. So for a little while, he just remained silent. But at some point, he noticed that he couldn't feel his arm. He let out a breath before breaking the silence.

"Ava."

"Hm?"

Ava looked at him, her chin on his chest.

"I can't feel my arm."

"Hm? Oh! S-sorry."

Ava let out a sheepish smile before lifting her body. Dirk also sat up, and his arm dangled by his side. He sat there for a minute as blood flowed back into his limb, making it tingle before finally gaining control.

"That's better."

Dirk chuckled a bit as he clenched his fist. He then turned to Ava who was watching him with shiny eyes. They looked at each other for a while.

"...Are you ready for today?"

Eventually, Dirk asked. Ava nodded.

"Yea. I'm well rested."

"I hope so. You used my arm as a pillow."

"Hehe, it was very comfortable."

Ava chuckled mischievously. Dirk rolled his eyes with a smile before finally crawling out of the tent.

The two spent the next few hours getting ready. Dirk went out and caught a skink to eat while Ava broke down their tent. After cooking and eating, the two took their time gearing up. Dirk did a check on every one of his weapons. After thinking for a while, he set aside his bow and arrows.

His bow had become mostly useless after they started facing the stronger skinks. It usually wouldn't pierce their hide and if it did, it would do minor damage. Since the king they were going to fight was even stronger, the bow would just be an extra item to carry.

So Dirk set it with the rest of the items that he didn't plan on bringing. This included the tents and the loot bag. Everything except for their gear would be left behind.

After searching around the haven, Dirk eventually found a nice hiding spot. He set all the extra items here. As for the loot bag, he decided to bury that just outside of the haven. When that was done, Dirk and Ava were set.

It was now a bit past noon. The sun was already high in the sky and cooking the ground below it. Dirk and Ava met roiling heat waves when they stepped outside, but neither minded it as they began walking.

The haven they were at was only several miles away from the king's hall which was stationed at the edge of the dungeon. Because of that, it only took the duo a few hours to arrive. Along the way, they fought off around a dozen skinks, using them to refresh themselves and get their bodies adjusted. Dirk could tell that Ava was nervous as she fought, but over time her jitters lightened up.

With that, the two gradually came upon another structure. It was a cave with a black maw for an entrance. It looked like the entrance to the dungeon, with the same barrier of murky black film. Dirk carefully walked up to it.

"...This is it. Let's go."

Dirk had already hardened his mind and committed to this, so he didn't hesitate to walk in. Ava grabbed his hand as the two pushed through the black film.

After a feeling of suspension, they two stumbled forward. What met their eyes was a large cave.

The cave was about 100 meters long and 50 meters wide, stretching in front of the duo like the road to doom. At the end of the 100 meters were two large doors. These doors were pitch black, not unlike the black barrier they walked through the get in here. The only difference were the slight designs on the black doors depicting grand dragons and the thrones of kings.

Other than the doors, Dirk could immediately see 3 enemies. These enemies were skinks, only, they were quite a bit larger than the ones outside. On all fours they stood almost 5 feet tall, and their claws were longer, sharper, and stronger. Upon entering, these three skinks flipped around to the two invaders, looking at them with overbearing eyes.

Dirk didn't immediately rush to fight though. Instead, he looked behind him. He could see the black barrier that they passed through. Thinking, Dirk took Ava's hand and walked back through the barrier. She didn't question him and followed.

Sure enough, Dirk quickly felt the crunch of dead dirt beneath his feet. He smiled as the sun beamed down upon his body.

"So it's only an interlude. That's good."

He nodded. It looked like upon entering the king's hall, one wasn't immediately thrown into the main battle. There was a small appetizer beforehand, one that they could freely enter and exit. Once one stepped through those black doors though, that was it. Dirk knew that's where the life or death battle lay.

With that, he walked back in. They went face to face with those three skinks once more. This time, Dirk moved to fight, as did Ava. The two rushed forward, and the skinks opened their mouths.

*Screech!*

The three let out sharp screams that reverberated through the cave. They scurried over toward Dirk and Ava with surprisingly fast movements. Dirk was surprised as one of the skinks charged him, its throat glowing orange and mouth opening up.

A second one was doing the same thing, both aiming at Dirk who was in the front. Seeing this, he didn't raise anything to block. Instead, he heard a soft shout.

"I got it."

Ava spoke as she stood in front of him. The next moment, a thick water wall was created in front of them. Of course, this water wall was much stronger than normal. These skinks were larger and likely had stronger magic attacks. Ava knew how to compensate despite not having seen their power.

Without suspense, the two skinks let their flames out. Scorching red fire bellowed at Ava's water wall like an erupting volcano. Ava frowned as her water wall was rapidly consumed, filling the air with a fog.

"Wall!"

Ava shouted as flames tore at her water barrier. The next second, a thick stone wall was created in front of her. The flames rapidly broke past her water wall and then hit this stone wall. They couldn't break through it though, merely heating the surface.

With that, the flames ended. Dirk put his hand on Ava's shoulder.

"I got the one that didn't spit fire. You pick the one on the far right. We go together in 3."

With those instructions, he counted. When he hit zero, he and Ava rushed out from behind the wall. Ava quickly spotted a skink on the right, while Dirk eyed the skink that didn't spit fire which was in the center. As for the extra one on the left, he had plans for it too.

Ava was quick to engage in battle, her axe chopping down at her target. However, the skink was agile, and it could dodge her attacks. Ava had a hard time landing hits. Her axe was powerful, but it was worth nothing if she couldn't land a hit.

Instead, the skink actually attacked her, swiping with its long claws. Ava was startled as the claws scraped her armor, leaving discolored streaks along the metal. She continuously dodged for a while. This caused her to realize that she couldn't take these enemies lightly.

She activated the anima in her body, drawing out more strength. While she couldn't deliberately activate anima like Dirk's ability, she could expend more energy and utilize her muscles to a greater degree, achieving the same effect but with lesser results.

After doing this, Ava's senses became sharper, her body lighter. Her reactions were exceptional as she dodged a claw swipe and countered with a swing of her axe. This time, her axe flew much faster, arriving in front of the skink before it could dodge.

*Splat!*

Chunks of flesh flew as her axe tore through the skink, almost severing a limb. The skink screamed as it backed away, much more vigilant.

But Ava remained right on top of it. She flipped the table and went on the offensive, her axe moving at unnatural speeds. It didn't take long for several gashes to open up on the skink's body.

This caused Ava to frown even more though. Normally, a skink would have been obliterated after only a few of her chops. But this one took several, and it had barely been mortally wounded. Their bodily strength and toughness were at a whole other level.

And Ava's consumption of energy wasn't light. Maintaining this speed and strength put high stress on her body while sapping at her energy. It only took a few minutes for fatigue to build.

By that time though, her battle was decided. She gradually relaxed her body as the skink got weaker and weaker. Finally, with one last chop the skink was killed. Ava let out a breath before turning her head.

What she saw surprised her. Dirk was singlehandedly fighting off the other two skinks. He would chop at one with his hand axe before wielding his spear like a javelin, throwing it at the other before rushing over and stabbing with his knife. It was a beautiful series of movements that transferred the blades of his weapons from one body to another, continuously wounding both.

His agility was unmatched, able to dodge all the claw swipes and return his own blows. He would even punch and kick, not hesitant to use everything at his disposal when the situation called for it. Compared to him, Ava's fight was crude and brutish.

It wasn't long after Ava killed her skink that Dirk killed his two. With a spear to the eye and an axe to the head, both dropped dead to the floor, blood seeping from a dozen wounds all over their body. Amazingly enough, all of their wounds were either around vital areas or joints. None of Dirk's attacks had been anywhere wasteful like the abdomen or back.

However, although his fight looked easy, it took plenty of energy. Dirk took long and deep breaths as he calmed himself. To match the speed and strength of these skinks wasn't easy. It was only his enhanced body, stamina, and skillful use of anima that allowed him to conserve energy.

"So? How was it?"

Dirk turned to Ava after a few seconds. He was asking about the fight. If it was too difficult, then fighting the king wouldn't be a good idea.

Ava just put up a thumb though.

"It was good! It took more effort than usual, but that's not a bad thing. With my brawn and your skill, we can handle harder."

"...Let's hope you're right."

Dirk sighed as he approached the doors. These were the doors to the actual king's hall. Once inside, they would have to kill the king, or be killed instead. If they died, they would evaporate into nothingness, not even their parents knowing what happened. Such a thing would be incredibly tragic, a fate Dirk would never resign himself to.

But he knew that the previous battle was a good taste for what was to come. Those skinks were only weaker than the king. The king wouldn't be much stronger than them. If those skinks were at the lowest end of Rank 4, then the king was probably right at the middle of Rank 4, maybe just below it.

Dirk himself was at the peak of Rank 3. It wouldn't be long until he completed his blood destruction. Already he was experiencing large boosts to his stamina and recovery ability. This was the perk from completing blood destruction. After fighting and waiting a few minutes, he was already capable of fighting again. This recovery ability was what let him fight those lesser skinks on the outside so easily, lasting through an entire day of battle. Once the process was done, he would experience yet another jump in his endurance.

Dirk and Ava waited outside the doors, taking their time to recover. During this time, Dirk went and harvested the mana crystals from those three skinks. They were larger and packed to the brim with fiery mana, obviously a higher grade than the ones they had been collecting. After that, he rested at Ava's side.

It was only when an hour passed that they finally stood up, fully rejuvenated. Dirk would take no chances and decided to give things time even after he was fully recovered.

With the previous warmup and full recovery, it could be said that they were in tip-top shape. Along with certain pieces of insurance Dirk had, he walked toward the doors with confidence. There was no turning back, and he would throw everything he had at this battle.

Dirk and Ava held hands as they arrived in front of the doors. With their free hands, they pushed forward. The black doors creaked open with a loud rumbling that seemed to disturb the hall after a long time.

Upon opening the door, the two immediately felt a strong aura wash over them. Dirk could feel the strength of his enemy through this aura. It was overbearing and savage, seemingly undefeatable. But Dirk knew that it wasn't. He could feel that behind this savagery, there was a limit. Dirk could see this limit, and he instantly made a judgment. It would be a tough battle, but not an impossible one.

And that was all he needed.

Dirk walked into the king's hall, his aura pushing away the savage pressure of the king with the ruthless steps of a cold killer. Nothing could faze him as he met his enemy.

The doors closed behind them, signifying the start of this battle. As they did so, back in the cave, there was an invisible pair of eyes that watched the two enter the king's hall. When the doors finally shut, these eyes curved as if they were smiling before disappearing into the darkness.