Chapter 131 – The Complete Gearwork.

The departure through the southern gate of the Iron Cauldron Outpost took place promptly at six in the morning.

This time, Diana did not walk the red-dirt trails alone.

At the head of the formation, Kael held the Volcanic Shield with the heavy, resolute strides of someone who no longer felt the slightest ache in his mended arm. On the flanks, Rhea moved with the effortless grace of her 109 Agility, and Seraphina carried her silver grimoire open with all three ancestral pages active. Aurelia-Elysia held the rear with her glowing Mana Crystal Staff, while Zarek brought up the back of the group, hands behind his neck and both lunar swords across his back.

Their destination was the Valley of Broken Cauldrons (Level 48-52), a deep chasm of reddish rock where the border's heaviest beasts fed on pools of mineral grease.

When Diana had hunted those rifts in previous days with only Boran for support, bringing down a single Level 44 creature had demanded desperate dodges, burned mana, and grueling physical strain.

With the full squad and Zarek's presence on the shock line, the reality of combat shifted completely.

The first pack emerged at the mouth of the gorge: four Alpha Iron Boars (Level 48), four meters in length, charging in line with iron tusks leveled for the charge.

The Arcane Greed Faction's response was instantaneous.

Kael took two steps forward and drove his shield into the rock:

UNSHAKABLE STANCE + IRON TAUNT!

The vanguard drew the brunt of the two boars on the left. Kael's mountain of 930 HP absorbed the impact of four tons of meat and iron without yielding an inch, and the heavy dragon armor's passive reflected 35% of direct thermal damage right back into the monsters' snouts.

Zarek intercepted the other two boars on the right.

The arachnid demon fired cables of Moon Steel Silk from his four secondary arms, binding the beasts' hind legs, while his swords whirled through the air with [Ascendant Fury], severing the creatures' tendons before they could even reach Kael's line.

Seraphina struck the third page of her grimoire:

Summoning: Level 38 Crystal Serpent!

A colossal serpent of pure quartz materialized on the flank, coiling its stone body around the neck of one of the fallen boars and pinning the beast's jaws to the ground.

Aurelia-Elysia raised her staff with her 870 MP points:

ORB OF BLINDING LIGHT + DOUBLE BARRIER!

The lilac glow blinded the monsters for three seconds, while defensive domes enveloped Kael and Zarek in the very same instant.

Rhea blinked through [Phantom Step]. The wolf girl appeared in midair above the stunned beasts' eyes and drove her Dragon Daggers into their cranial cavities in rapid critical strikes of +50% damage.

And Diana, operating from the secure center of the formation with 201 Intelligence, concluded the battle by firing two concentrated beams of [Obsidian Horns' Igneous Focus] and a sweeping arc of [Greed's Flame].

The four Level 48 boars were eliminated in under three minutes flat.

Not a single member suffered a scratch. Diana's mana expenditure did not exceed two hundred points.

***

The advance continued for four more hours down to the chasm's depths.

In the bed of a molten tallow lake, the squad encountered the rift's most perilous quarry: a Rift King Manticore (Level 52 - Area Boss) with five thousand hit points, accompanied by an Ancient Acid Fat Centipede (Level 50).

Diana activated her supreme class skill:

GREED COMMAND - WILL OF THE SOVEREIGN!

The golden light of the more than thirty gold coins in the vault washed over every squad member with +20% TO ALL ATTRIBUTES.

The Strength of Kael and Zarek exploded. Rhea's Agility soared to 130 POINTS. Diana's Intelligence reached 241 INTELLIGENCE POINTS.

The coordination of the six combatants became a slaughtering engine:

Kael and Seraphina's Titan pinned the King Manticore to the earth, Zarek severed the centipede's legs with his steel web, Aurelia held the barriers unwavering, Rhea cut off the boss's acid tail, and Diana unleashed an [Orb of the Arcane Storm] alongside two [Arcane Ice Lances] boosted by 241 Intelligence straight into the Level 52 monster's heart.

Both colossal beasts collapsed dead upon the red gravel in a burst of sparks and ash.

***

The brutal disparity between the squad's levels (Level 37) and the slain monsters (Level 48 to 52), multiplied by Diana's [Absolute Hunger (+20% EXP)] and [Possessor's Aura (+15% EXP)] passives, unleashed a monumental deluge of experience that set everyone's interfaces ablaze in black gold for nearly ten seconds:

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[HISTORIC SQUAD EVOLUTION!]

- DIANA HAS REACHED LEVEL 45! (2 Levels Gained!)

- RHEA HAS REACHED THE MILESTONE OF LEVEL 40! (3 Levels Gained!)

- KAEL HAS REACHED THE MILESTONE OF LEVEL 40! (3 Levels Gained!)

- AURELIA-ELYSIA HAS REACHED THE MILESTONE OF LEVEL 40! (3 Levels Gained!)

- SERAPHINA HAS REACHED LEVEL 42! (2 Levels Gained!)

[COMMANDER'S LOOT ACTIVATED (+30% BONUS)]

- Direct Sector Coins: +40 pure Silver Coins!

- Legendary Items: 1x King Manticore Heart (Level 52) + 8x Alpha Iron Tusks.

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***

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[COMPLETE ATTRIBUTE ALLOCATION]

- Kael (Level 40): 15 Free Points -> +9 Vitality (88 -> 97 VIT -> HP reaches a colossal 1,020 HP POINTS!), +6 Strength (58 -> 64 STR).

- Aurelia-Elysia (Level 40): 15 Free Points -> +9 Intelligence (87 -> 96 INT +6 Mantle = 102 INT!), +6 Wisdom (57 -> 63 WIS). (MP reaches an even 1,000 MP POINTS!)

- Rhea (Level 40): 15 Free Points -> +9 Agility (101 -> 110 AGI +8 Gear = 118 AGI!), +6 Strength (53 -> 59 STR). (HP: 270 / MP: 70)

- Seraphina (Level 42): 10 Free Points -> +6 Intelligence (81 -> 87 INT), +4 Wisdom (49 -> 53 WIS). (MP reaches 1,370 MP POINTS!)

- Diana (Level 45 - Commander of Greed): 10 Free Points + Class Passives (+6 INT, +4 PER, +2 WIS) -> +6 Free Intelligence (181 + 6 + 6 = 193 INT! + 20 from Crown = 213 INT!), +4 Vitality (65 -> 69 VIT -> HP reaches 690 POINTS!), +4 Perception (84 + 4 = 88 PER!), +2 Wisdom (38 + 2 = 40 WIS!). (MP reaches a monumental 1,580 MP POINTS!)

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

***

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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]

Previous Balance: 457 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze.

Cauldron Valley Spoils (+30% Bonus): +40 Silver Coins!

[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 497 SILVER COINS AND 50 BRONZE (49,750 Bronze / 49.75 GOLD COINS!)]

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Four hundred and ninety-seven silver coins stored in the faction vault. Nearly Fifty pure Gold Coins.

Diana stood at Level 45 with 213 Intelligence and over fifteen hundred mana points.

Rhea, Kael, and Aurelia-Elysia crossed the supreme milestone of Level 40:

Kael had broken through the 1,020 hit points barrier, becoming an impenetrable bastion of volcanic steel. Aurelia had achieved 102 Intelligence and a thousand mana points. Rhea moved with 118 Agility.

Kael stared down at his iron gauntlets in the ravine's dust, laughing loudly in pure ecstasy:

“One thousand and twenty health... Commander, I have more health than a Second Circle dungeon boss!”

Aurelia-Elysia spun her staff in the air, cheeks flushed with joy, while Rhea sheathed her dragon daggers and pressed up against Diana's left arm, a proud, sharp smile on her lips.

Zarek sheathed both moon swords across his back, surveying the Level 40 squad with a low whistle of military admiration:

“You level up like starving demons. With this kind of shock power, we're going to tear through that arena on Monday like a scythe through wheat.”

Diana stowed the Level 52 King Manticore Core into her dimensional pouch and looked out toward the valley horizon.

Only five levels remained until Level 50.