The next thirty hours were a blur of combat.
They hit every high-density monster zone within a six-hour radius of Grayhollow. Dire wolves, corrupted bears, a nest of razor-hawks that nearly killed Finn before Lyra's perfect shot saved him. They cleared two small dungeons in rapid succession, Nero's XP climbing steadily.
But carefully. So carefully. He used his Debug Mode constantly—that was passive, cost nothing. But he avoided his active abilities unless absolutely necessary.
When a corrupted ogre appeared and Kade was in danger, Nero used System Crash. Five Corruption points. It was definitely worth it. When they were surrounded by a dire bear pack, he used Critical Exploit to guarantee kills. Three Corruption points. Necessary.
Each use was calculated. Each point of Corruption spent hurt, knowing he was climbing toward one hundred.
```
[CORRUPTION: 59 → 67/100]
```
But he was leveling.
```
[LEVEL 11 → 12] (+6 hours)
[LEVEL 12 → 13] (+12 hours)
[LEVEL 13 → 14] (+18 hours)
```
The party barely slept. They ate while walking. Healed on the move. Pushed themselves to the edge of exhaustion and then past it.
Lyra's arrows never missed. Finn appeared and disappeared like a ghost. Kade was an immovable wall that somehow kept them all alive through sheer stubborn refusal to fall.
And Nero? Nero fought. Not with glitch powers, but with actual skill. Every lesson Lyra taught, every coordination drill with Kade, every tactical insight from Finn—he used all of it.
His sword work improved. His movement became fluid. His decision-making sharpened.
He was becoming a real adventurer.
```
[PARTY SYNERGY: 45%]
[COORDINATION BONUS: +12% combat effectiveness]
[TRUST LEVEL: MAXIMUM]
```
Twenty-four hours in, they collapsed in a forest clearing, too exhausted to make it back to town.
"Status check," Lyra said, her voice hoarse.
"Level 14," Nero reported. "Eighty-seven percent to fifteen. Corruption at sixty-seven percent. Running low on stamina potions."
"I'm out of arrows," Lyra said. "Been reusing what I can salvage, but we need to resupply."
"My daggers are getting dull," Finn added. "And I'm pretty sure I pulled something in my shoulder during that hawk fight."
"I'm fine," Kade said.
They all looked at him.
"Okay, I'm exhausted, my shield has a crack in it, and I can't feel my left arm. But I'm *fine*."
"We need rest," Lyra decided. "Real rest. Four hours minimum. Then we push for that last level and head back to prepare."
"Twenty-three hours until the Arbiter," Finn said, checking the sky. "Time's tight."
"We'll make it," Kade said with confidence that Nero almost believed.
They set a watch rotation. Finn first, then Lyra, then Kade. Nero was exempted—they needed him at full capacity.
But as Nero lay there, staring at stars through tree branches, sleep wouldn't come.
Twenty-three hours. One more level. Then we face something that can erase me from reality itself. And my friends are going to stand with me anyway.
"I don't deserve them." he thought.
"Stop thinking so loud," Kade mumbled from his sleeping roll a few feet away. "I can hear your existential crisis from here."
"How—"
"Connection, remember? I can feel when you're spiraling." Kade rolled over to face him. "We're going to win, Nero. I know you don't believe it yet, but we are."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I've seen what we can do when we fight together. Three Debuggers that should've killed us? We won. This Arbiter thing is scary, sure. But so are we when we need to be."
Nero wanted to argue. Wanted to point out all the logical reasons they were probably going to fail.
But Kade's certainty was infectious. And more than that—Nero realized he *wanted* to believe.
"Get some sleep," Kade said. "Tomorrow we finish this grind, then we show the System what happens when it messes with Vanguard."
"You know the System is a fundamental force of reality, right? It's not a person we can intimidate."
"Then we'll intimidate it fundamentally." Kade grinned in the darkness. "Now sleep. That's an order from your tank."
Despite everything, Nero smiled and closed his eyes.
Four hours later, they woke and moved again.
—
The final push to Level 15 came from a corrupted dungeon they probably shouldn't have attempted.
"Silver-rank," Lyra said, studying the entrance. "Recommended Level 18 to 22."
"We're all around that level except Nero," Kade said. "And he's close enough that the XP will be massive."
"It's also incredibly dangerous," Finn pointed out.
"When has that ever stopped us?" Kade was already checking his gear. "Besides, we don't have time for safe. We need that last level, and we need it now."
They entered. The dungeon was a nightmare—corrupted elementals, shadow creatures that phased through physical attacks, and a mini-boss that was essentially three bosses fused into one abomination.
Nero burned through his Corruption budget. System Crash to disable the shadow creatures. Critical Exploit to find weaknesses in the fusion boss. Force Patch to rewrite a collapsing floor before it killed them all.
```
[CORRUPTION: 67 → 79/100]
```
Dangerously high. But they were winning.
The final boss—a corrupted storm elemental that wielded lightning like weapons—nearly killed Finn. Would have, if Nero hadn't used System Crash at the critical moment to disable its ultimate attack.
```
[CORRUPTION: 79 → 84/100]
```
But they won.
```
[CORRUPTED DUNGEON CLEARED]
[MASSIVE XP GAIN]
[+2,400 XP]
[LEVEL UP! You are now LEVEL 15!]
[MILESTONE REACHED]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED]
[ROLLBACK PROTOCOL: AVAILABLE]
```
Nero collapsed against a wall, his whole body shaking. Level 15. He'd done it.
But his Corruption sat at 84/100.
Sixteen points from Terminal Event.
"Worth it?" Kade asked, extending a hand to pull him up.
"Ask me after we survive tomorrow."
They emerged from the dungeon to find the sun setting. Their two days of grinding were over.
Tomorrow, the Arbiter would arrive.
"Home," Lyra said tiredly. "We clean up, resupply, and plan our final strategy."
They walked back to Grayhollow in silence, too exhausted for words.
But as they approached the town gates, Nero's system pinged.
```
[ARBITER ARRIVAL TIME: 8 hours]
[FINAL PREPARATIONS RECOMMENDED]
[LAST CHANCE TO FLEE]
[Will you run?]
[Or will you fight?]
```
Nero looked at his party—at Kade's determined expression, Finn's calculating eyes, Lyra's focused intensity.
"We fight," he said aloud.
The system seemed to pause.
```
[ACKNOWLEDGED]
[Good luck, Nero Cross]
[You're going to need it]
```