The dungeon core didn’t wait for even a second longer. It was enraged. It immediately shot out a ray of dark red plasma at the group.

The ray was so strong that even though Helios blocked it with his shield, the shield was melting where it was hit! This shield that was able to safely block so many things, including James’s Razorice saw, was now melting from a single attack.

The dungeon core didn’t stop at that, it kept firing plasma rays as soon as it could charge them. Every two seconds, the group was forced to dodge or die. The rays that were dodged were hitting the walls, melting even the walls of the room.

The rays were very quick, hitting almost instantaneously. The only way they could be dodged was by noticing the brief accumulation of mana before they were shot, which betrayed their direction.

But with the high stakes, their bodies full of adrenaline were able to dodge every single one.

“Is this it? If we just dodge the rays we’ll be fine. It’s almost like a fun little game.” James said mockingly.

After the three of them got the hang of dodging the plasma, they started attacking.

“Let’s focus all our attacks on one single spot. That way we can crack this crystal once and for all.” James proposed, immediately launching an ice bolt at the crystal. It didn’t do any damage at all. He might as well have thrown a pebble at it.

Meanwhile, Helios was throwing his sword with all his might, and then using his magic to fly his sword back to him, only to throw it back again. Each throw of the sword had so much power behind it that it would create a huge boom, breaking the sonic barrier. And while it did damage the crystal, it wasn't much damage at all compared to the insane amount of health it had.

Lunaris, a scholar at heart, was intrigued by the dungeon core’s technique and decided to copy it. She was throwing out plasma rays at the exact same spot Helios was hitting with his sword. While her rays were much weaker than the core's, she was able to throw them out quickly while dodging. The technique's precision and speed were useful in the current circumstances.

The core's attacks were powerful and intimidating, but seeing as they were able to successfully dodge each and every single one, James's worries quickly changed. If he didn’t hurry and contribute, he wouldn't get much xp!

But his spells didn't have much effect. His most lethal skill, the Razorice Saw, wasn't suited to dealing with a god damn crystal of all things.

He had an idea, but it would cost a lot of mana. But what was even worse, it would be very mentally demanding. Just thinking about doing this reminded him of the same apprehension he got before doing push-ups or doing math homework.

But that’s exactly why he was in this god forsaken dungeon in the first place. He needed to push himself. James knew that this is what progress is all about, doing tough things that you don’t like, that’s how you evolve. But no matter how much he repeated these thoughts, he still had to beat his lazy nature into submission every time he had to push himself.

Being in a life and death battle was a great motivator though. Perhaps that was why he foolishly sought the most dangerous training methods, jumping in with minimal preparation. Only in these circumstances was his laziness subdued.

James started casting Mana Drain. This spell alone was incredibly annoying to use, he had to not only keep it channeled, but to mentally follow the drained mana and purify it in his mana core. All while dodging the bloody rays.

But James didn't stop there. While channeling Mana Drain with his left hand, he used his right hand to cast an ice bolt.

“So ice bolt won’t do it, huh? The god damn crystal thinks it's tough, huh?” James grinned with a crazed look. Ice had been useful to him over the past few days. It was useless now because it the crystal’s defenses were much higher than the ice bolt’s offensive potential.

But that only meant that he had to increase the ice’s power.

While still channeling Mana Drain in his left hand, James started creating a new spell with his right.

He used the ice bolt as the nucleus. Then he covered the ice bolt with an earth bolt, and then the earth bolt was covered in a fire bolt. The ice was the strongest part, the nucleus. The earth protected the ice from the fire. And the fire added the much needed attack power.

The finishing touch was the air bolt, which would only be added right before launching the entire spell, since the air would react with the fire and make it hard to control, as well as multiplying the speed of the projectile.

[Skill unlocked: Magmafrost Bullet]

The multi-tasking was strenuous, but it was also a surprisingly familiar feeling for him. Perhaps the years of playing video games, browsing the internet and watching tv shows simultaneously weren’t a complete waste of time.

The Magmafrost Bullet cost a lot of mana, but James also infuced it with his Darkness, using up his entire mana pool. It was pointless to keep his Mana shield activated since being hit by just one ray would mean certain death, shield or no shield. So he was able to use all his Darkness essence offensively.

While keeping his Mana Drain attack going with his left hand, James spun and threw the Magmafrost Bullet with as much strength as he could muster.

Both Helios and Lunaris stopped their attacks for a second to look at James. They had to keep dodging the plasma rays, but they didn’t resume their attacks for several seconds, impressed and shocked by James’s display of power. Helios gave him a thumbs up, while Lunaris smiled warmly. But the reactions were brief, they had to keep dodging the plasma rays.

The bullet did quite a bit of damage, the equivalent of a dozen of Helios’s sword attacks.

But the difference in levels between them and the dungeon core was just too great. They’d have to keep attacking for a lot longer since its defenses and HP were so high.

James kept using Mana Drain to replenish his mana while also very slightly damaging the dungeon core with it as well. When he had enough mana, he would cast Magmafrost Bullet, and then he’d wait for his mana to replenish again while dodging the plasma rays.

They kept attacking and dodging for what felt like an eternity. Luckily, that was the crystal's most powerful spell, so they were able to comfortably predict and react to its attacks. But that didn't make it any less exhausting.

After what must've been at least half an hour, there wasn’t a single muscle in James's and Lunaris's bodies that wasn’t sore. Just how many damned rays did they dodge? Helios was fine though, to him this was just a mild workout.

"I told you that you should work out." Helios snickered playfully. Helios was hoping that this display of his stamina would motivate James to stop being a glass cannon mage who completely neglected his physical attributes.

James had gotten the hang of multi-tasking by keeping Mana Drain active, but he was beyond exhausted, both mentally and physically.

[Mana Drain has reached level 10. Amount of mana drained has increased. Damage slightly increased]

[Magmafrost Bullet has reached level 5. Projectile speed increased. Mana usage decreased. Damage increased]

The fight was definitely a worthwhile experience, there’s nothing like the risk of death every two seconds to keep you motivated.

They were really lucky though, if the dungeon core had had another attack, the outcome might've been entirely different. Perhaps if it were at full power it could have thrown something else at them, but throwing the incredibly powerful plasma rays at them every two seconds was all it could handle in its state.

In a last, desperate attempt, the dungeon core called all the monsters that existed within the dungeon to attack the group.

But this riff-raff was just free xp at this point. Although fighting them while dodging the rays would definitely increase the risk of getting blasted by a ray. So it wasn’t an entirely useless move by the dungeon core.

“You take care of them, James. Get that xp mate!” Helios grinned while continuing the onslaught against the dungeon core.

James reoriented his Mana Drain towards the demons and skeletons that were swarming. While keeping the Mana Drain up, he was able to redirect all the drained mana towards creating a Razorice Saw, even more powerful than the one before.

This time he couldn’t afford to let the saw fly wildly throughout the room though, his friends couldn’t dodge the saw and the plasma rays at the same time.

The monsters were already attacking him. He had to dodge their attacks, but he still didn't release the Saw.

He waited until he had poured three times his entire mana pool into refining the ice, making it as sharp and tough as possible. Then he chugged a potion to immediately replenish it, and he put all his mana into making the Saw spin at a hundred thousand rotations per minute.

He then used one hand to steadily control the flight of the Saw, which was so sharp and tough that it split the nearby monsters in half as soon as it touched them.

He kept the Mana Drain up until his mana was full again. Some of the weaker skeletons died from a few seconds of exposure to his Mana Drain alone. That's how much stronger he was from leveling up. Skeletons that gave him so much trouble not long ago now died instantly.

Then he released his Mana Drain and used both of his hands to control the Saw, using some mana to increase its flying speed. It flew across the room at great speeds since he was using mana to push it along, and yet it remained fully under his control.

Soon, all the monsters that flooded the room were dead. The dungeon core didn’t spare a single one, they kept coming in and throwing themselves at James, hoping to at least distract him for a single second so he could die from the plasma ray.

But it was of no use, the Saw immediately took care of any and all monsters that were dumb enough to try to come close to him.

[You have reached level 36]

From the many dozens of trash mobs he was able to gain 6 levels, which was almost like a final gift from the dungeon. James almost wanted to say thanks, but it was currently trying to blast his head off.

He then activated Mana Drain and started attacking the dungeon core again.

After a few minutes, a loud crack was heard. After which more and more cracks soon rang out.

At long last, it was finally over. The dungeon core shattered, using its last moments of existence to shout expletives at them. The fight felt more like a marathon and a dance than a boss fight. If not for the absolutely devastating rays shooting at them every two seconds, it could've even been fun.

[You have reached level 57]

“Jesus Christ, is this real? Am I seeing things? Twenty one whole levels?” James was absolutely ecstatic. This was a huge jump in power. He'd have more mana, which would recharge quicker, and his spells would be much stronger!

He tried to jump out of sheer joy, but his body was way too exhausted, so he had to lie down instead. Focusing all his efforts into leveling magic alone had its drawbacks apparently. In comparison, Helios looked like he barely broke a sweat.

“Aye, I told you, mate! I told you I knew a way you could level up really quickly.” Helios started laughing heartily, truly not tired at all.

“This was worth it after all. I’m so happy for you, James! You’re now many times stronger than when we came here.” Lunaris said with a smile, barely able to get the words out. She was so exhausted that she had to lie down as well.

Helios, being full of energy, was able to walk around and explore what was left of the room after it was blasted by thousands of rays. It was a miracle there was anything left of the room at all.

“And what do we have here?” As Helios moved on to inspect the adjacent rooms, he found a hidden button, which opened a door he hadn't noticed before.

When he came back to his friends, he was holding something shiny in his hand.

“Loot!” James excitedly exclaimed.