Not enough.
Still not enough.
Looking back at the monsters she had slain, the blonde girl's eyes held not a hint of mercy—only frustration and disappointment.
Deep in the Dungeon, no human voice could be heard.
To most people, this place was hell. But to her, it was where she chased her wish.
Yet even here, she could feel it clearly: this still wasn't enough.
"I haven't improved much… compared to the others."
Her emotions were tangled.
There was the joy of seeing her companions grow stronger one after another… and the bitterness of being the only one still standing in the same place.
Many had told her she'd made great progress, but she knew her own growth wasn't enough—far from enough. She had plenty of complaints about her pace, wishing desperately she could grow faster.
"If you push yourself any harder, your balance will collapse."
"!?"
Startled by the sudden voice, the girl instantly retreated and raised her guard.
But when she saw the familiar figure, she hesitated for a moment.
"It's you."
She dropped her stance.
Before she could even react, the figure appeared right in front of her and drove a kick straight toward her abdomen.
"Thud!"
Caught by surprise, she barely managed to block with the flat of her sword. But the sheer force behind the kick was too much to withstand, sending her body flying backward.
She twisted mid-air, planting her feet against the wall to stop the impact.
But when she glanced back—there was no one there.
Gone!?
Shocked, her stance loosened just a little.
And in that split second, a violent gust swept in from her side. The target was the same—her abdomen.
"Thud!"
"G–gh!"
The heavy impact landed cleanly this time, the dull thud merging with her choking gasp.
She flew back like a rag doll, landing even harder than before, crashing onto the ground.
"—Pff!"
A mouthful of blood burst from her lips, her breath collapsing to almost nothing.
Just two strikes—only two—and a girl as strong as a Lv.6 legend had been reduced to this state.
"Hurts? Is your head a little clearer now?"
Curled over from the pain, she couldn't muster an ounce of strength. The agony in her stomach made it impossible even to stand when the other person approached.
"So… painful..."
Her trembling voice barely escaped her lips. The pain drowned out all thought.
"Hah…"
The figure approached step by step, crouching before her twisted expression.
"If I don't give you something strong enough, will your head just keep repeating it—'Not enough, not enough, still not enough'?"
How do you know?
Gritting through the pain, the girl raised her head, eyes wide in shock—as if demanding why the other person understood exactly what she'd been thinking.
The newcomer only sighed, unable to understand why she would look so surprised.
"So, is it really that hard to guess what you're thinking?"
"You used to live with the Black Dragon as your sole target. What you always wanted was to slay it and avenge your parents. You believed the Black Dragon was your destroyer, and your obsession with that created an actual Skill. So now that your parents' deaths overshadow that hatred, wouldn't you behave exactly the same way if it meant seeing your parents again?"
"Your obsessions are really easy to read, 'Sword Princess'."
With just those few lines, the visitor had dissected the girl's difficult personality with painful accuracy. Honestly, anyone listening would understand just how troublesome she truly was.
To turn hatred into a literal Skill—this kind of obsession wasn't something ordinary people could compare to.
Sometimes such obsession could open the door to extraordinary possibilities. But most of the time, it was just a massive problem.
"At times like this, if I don't beat some sense into you, there's no way you'll listen, right?"
The girl bit down on her lip, refusing to speak.
"This job was originally for Vice Captain Riveria. But she's also swamped right now—handling Lefiya, and dealing with Filvis, who's about to join the Loki Familia. So your priority got downgraded."
A faint sting of bitterness surfaced in the girl's chest.
She knew she sometimes went overboard. But she also knew that when she really crossed the line, Riveria would always shake her awake. Because of that, she'd started acting more recklessly—because she trusted Riveria would always pull her back.
But learning Riveria was too busy to keep an eye on her now… it left her strangely uneasy. Almost like her own mother had been taken away.
The visitor teased, voice dripping with mockery:
"Jealous? You're old enough, and you're still jealous over something like this? Riveria doesn't belong to just one person. She can't devote all her time to you. You know that better than anyone."
The girl turned her head aside, the sourness in her chest even stronger than the pain in her abdomen.
"So? Has that overheated brain of yours cooled down yet?"
The voice left no room for vague answers.
"…Ah."
The girl gave a reluctant nod. Such emotion was rare for her.
The visitor didn't comment further—just continued speaking.
"Listen carefully, Sword Princess."
"Right now, your foundation is unstable. The reason you're so emotionally erratic is because you've earned your ticket to Lv.7. You know very well that only as a Lv.7 will you qualify to see your parents again. That's why you're pushing yourself this hard."
Of course she knew. That was why she'd been driving herself so relentlessly, doing everything she could to gather the ability values needed to reach Lv.7.
The visitor smiled lightly, reaching out to turn the girl's face back toward them.
"I understand what you're thinking. If all you want is to see your parents one last time… then I wouldn't object to you destroying yourself in the process."
With those quiet words, the visitor stood up and began walking deeper into the Dungeon.
"H—hey! Hey!"
Realizing something was wrong in those words, the girl shot upright.
"Wait!"
"—ngh…"
Her abdomen throbbed violently, but she forced herself to stand anyway, chasing after the figure.
She had to confirm what they meant.