He began weaving and dodging the water blades, his senses heightened. The attacks weren’t difficult to evade at first, but Yukha’s relentless pace wore him down. Each step closer to Yukha felt heavier, his energy steadily draining.

  I need conserve stamina, Finn thought. An idea flashed in his mind.

  Summoning a fire beside him, he poured his focus into it, expanding its size and intensity as fast as he could.

  He intended to create a burst of flame strong enough to generate a shockwave, launching him sideways to avoid the incoming water blade. The idea was simple: if his body was too tired or slow to react, the flame would force him to dodge. He planned to extinguish it quickly to avoid harming himself.

  But the result fell short. Instead of propelling him sideways, the force only managed to knock him off balance, sending him to the ground.

  Not strong enough yet, huh.

  Even so, it worked well enough. The unexpected fall allowed him to narrowly dodge the water blade, and he used the brief reprieve to scramble to his feet and close the distance to Yukha.

  "I win," Finn said between heavy breaths.

  Yukha lowered his greatsword, a mix of disbelief and irritation on his face. "What was that? Are you insane? You could’ve burned yourself alive!"

  "Relax. No burns, see?" Finn held out his arm, showing the untouched skin where the flames had brushed against him. "I discovered last night while draining my mana that I have some kind of resistance to fire. It doesn’t burn me unless it stays on my skin for too long."

  Yukha examined him closely, frowning. "You’re right. There’s no damage at all. That must explain why you came out unscathed after accidentally igniting your entire body during meditation last night."

  Finn grinned. "See? Pretty good use of fire, right? Using its force to dodge attacks."

  Yukha sighed, his tone begrudgingly impressed. "It’s clever, I’ll admit. But it’s still reckless. In a real fight, you could get yourself killed. Besides, all it did was knock you down. That’s hardly an effective dodge."

  "True for now," Finn admitted. "But if I can make the fire stronger and expand faster, I could use it to completely avoid attacks. My body might not be as fast as a close-combat fighter’s, but I’ll make my fire react fast enough to compensate."

  "Alright, but you’ll agree it’s not ready yet, right?" Yukha said. "I only stopped attacking because I was surprised by what you did. If I’d kept going, you’d have been too exhausted to keep up."

  "Fine," Finn sighed. "I accept my loss. You can help me fight the Shredder."

  Yukha nodded but didn’t let up. "Keep in mind, dodging its wind blades is only the beginning. The Shredder has another, more dangerous attack once you get close."

  Finn raised an eyebrow. "More dangerous than getting sliced by wind blades? How?"

  "You saw how it looks like a well, right?" Yukha began. "When you’re close enough, it starts pulling you in with a powerful suction. If you don’t have the strength to resist—and you don’t—it’ll drag you inside. The closer you get, the stronger the pull. And once you’re in, it’s over. Its insides are filled with countless small wind blades slicing in every direction. You can imagine what happens next."

  Finn shuddered. "That sounds even worse than the wind blades from a distance. Wouldn’t it be safer to attack it from range then?"

  "In theory, yes," Yukha said. "But its wind blades can intercept ranged attacks. You’d run out of mana long before you deal enough damage to kill it. My strength allows me to resist the pull long enough to strike it directly with my weapon. That’s how I handle it."

  "So what’s the plan for me? If I can’t fight it from range or up close, what do I do?" Finn asked, frustration creeping into his voice.

  "First, we deal with the floaters around it," Yukha said. "That’ll be your responsibility. Use the attacks you practiced yesterday to take them out. I’ll help with my ice attacks to ensure we finish them off quickly before they get too close."

  "But won’t the Shredder notice us and start attacking?" Finn asked, skeptical.

  "Not if we stay outside its detection range," Yukha explained. "It’s stationary—once it attaches itself to the ground, it can’t move. As long as we don’t attack it directly, it won’t react until we’re ready."

  "So the plan is for me to dodge its wind blades while getting close enough to trigger its suction attack?" Finn asked, his voice tinged with skepticism.

  "Exactly," Yukha replied. "Once you've triggered that, it will stop launching its wind blades at you or your attacks. That’s when you unleash everything you've got until it’s completely dead."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Finn frowned. "And what if I don’t kill it in time? Getting shredded inside doesn’t sound appealing."

  Yukha raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you just eager to face it alone? Now you’re second-guessing your abilities?"

  Finn sighed, catching on. "Ah, I see where this is going. You want me to kill it before it can swallow me up. That’s the real challenge, isn’t it?"

  "Exactly," Yukha said with a grin. "You need to learn to fight under pressure. The stakes will only get higher in future battles." He smirked. "But if you don’t manage, you can always scream my name at the top of your lungs—preferably while crying—and I’ll come save you."

  Finn chuckled despite himself. "Alright, that actually ticked me off a little. Good job with the provocation."

  "Just trying to light a fire under you," Yukha said with a smirk. Then, in a more serious tone, he added, "If you get hurt, don’t hesitate to use one of the health potions I gave you."

  "Got it," Finn replied.

  "Now, are you ready?"

  "Ready to prove I don’t need a babysitter? Absolutely," Finn said, grinning.

  Yukha laughed heartily. "Alright then. Let’s see what you’re made of. Let’s go."

  Before heading out, they cleaned up their campsite. Supplies and belongings were stored in their inventories, and Yukha refilled the hole they’d used as a makeshift bath with soil. As for the scorched patch of earth caused by Finn’s earlier fire, there wasn’t much they could do. Finn winced at the sight, silently hoping the realm's creator wouldn't hold a grudge.

  Their journey to the target location began at a brisk pace. Finn noticed that his stamina had noticeably improved—likely due to both his rising Strength attribute and his body adjusting to the demands of constant exertion. He wasn’t nearly as winded as he had been yesterday.

  The route was straightforward, pinned on the map they had marked the previous day. The increasingly strong gusts of wind also served as a natural guide. Along the way, they encountered scattered floaters, which Finn found easier to defeat now that his Fire affinity had grown stronger. Their bodies, which once seemed resistant, now crumbled quickly under the force of his flames.

  Finally, they reached their destination. The swirling barrier of wind loomed ahead, a violent curtain of gusts encasing their targets. They entered it until they reached the calm center, taking cover behind the same rock they had used for reconnaissance the day before.

  "There are nearly a hundred floaters surrounding it," Yukha observed, scanning the scene with his sharp Perception.

  Finn peered out cautiously, trying to count but losing track after fifteen. He trusted Yukha's assessment; it didn’t matter how many there were—they had to eliminate them all anyway.

  "I’ll take care of the ones closest to the Shredder," Yukha instructed. "You handle the ones on the outer edge. We can’t afford to alert it before we’re ready. Stay at this distance and don’t move any closer until I say so."

  "Got it," Finn replied, his voice steady.

  "Alright, let’s begin," Yukha said.

  "Hold on," Finn interrupted, raising a hand. "I need to grab something from the shop first."

  Without waiting for a reply, he quickly navigated the system, selecting an item he had carefully scouted earlier. Once purchased, it disappeared into his inventory—a piece of equipment he knew would be crucial later.

  "Alright, I’m ready now," Finn said.

  Yukha nodded, his expression focused. The both of them emerged from behind the rock like predators ready to ambush their prey, Yukha moving to the left and Finn to the right.

  Finn wasted no time. He summoned a small flame, feeding it with mana to quickly increase its size and intensity. Once it reached its peak, he compressed it into a dense, bullet-like form. Adding a fiery tail to boost its speed, he spun the projectile in tight rotations to generate even more force. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he sent it flying.

  The fiery missile streaked through the air, targeting the floaters on the farthest edges of the Shredder's perimeter. It arced in a wide rotation, systematically eliminating the scattered monsters without drawing attention to the main target. One after another in quick succession.

  It was like a single shot popping multiple balloons at a carnival. Each floater it struck left behind a brief, flickering flame before their bodies fully dispersed into the air.

  There was something new this time, a sensation Finn hadn't experienced before. It was as if he could feel the flame itself—its path, its resistance, even the moment it connected with its targets. It felt like part of his senses had transferred into the flame, giving him a vivid awareness of its movements.

  He also sensed the space around the flame as it traveled: the air currents pushing against it, the swirling wind fighting to extinguish it. This heightened connection made controlling the flame significantly easier, almost instinctive.

  Finn couldn’t keep an exact count, but he estimated that about twenty floaters had been taken down before the flame finally lost its firepower. But even before it faded completely, he was already preparing another.

  The moment he sensed the first flame's effectiveness diminishing, he extinguished it himself and sent the second flame he had been forming to take over seamlessly. The transition was smooth, almost like passing a baton in a race.

  If he could summon two of these fire bullets simultaneously, the process would have been even faster. But maintaining control over one while preparing the next—and managing the small flame hovering above him—was already pushing his limits. For now, sequential attacks would have to do.

  Yukha, on the other hand, employed a very different approach. He summoned small orbs of water, shaped them into sharp, pointed shards, froze them midair, and launched them toward the creatures.

  Unlike Finn’s single, concentrated assault, Yukha’s method was a barrage. Dozens of ice shards rained down on multiple targets at once. Each shard exploded upon impact, sending bursts of mist into the air. The swirling mist threatened to obscure their vision, but Yukha quickly dissipated it by extinguishing the remaining ice shards before it could become a problem.

  At the center of the chaos, the Shredder remained eerily calm. Its well-like body opened and closed in a steady rhythm, oblivious to the destruction happening around it. The grass around it swayed gently, drawn inward and pushed outward by the creature’s suction and release.

  The contrast between its tranquility and the chaotic battle around it made Finn chuckle softly. He didn’t know why, but there was something oddly amusing about the scene. He quickly stifled the laugh, hoping Yukha wouldn’t notice and think he’d lost his mind.

  After a few minutes of relentless fire, ice, and wind swirling together like a natural disaster, the field finally fell silent.

  "I think that’s all of them," Finn said, scanning the area.

  "You can tell now?" Yukha asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Yeah. I can… feel it. It’s like there are no small presences left—just the big one in the center," Finn replied.

  "Looks like your Perception’s improved again," Yukha said with an approving nod.

  "So, do we take on the Shredder now?"