After Michalis' intetle, he carefully collected the magical stones from the fallen silverbacks he had vanquished.

  As he pocketed the precious gems, a sense of triumph swelled within him.

  The others, who had watched the fight with bated breath, quickly rushed to his side, their faces alight with etion.

  "Well done, Michalis!" they cheered, him tless praises.

  Michalis basked in their admiration, feeling a swell of pride in his chest.

  "Michalis, that was an incredible dispy of your skill!" Cir excimed, patting him on the back, much to his etion.

  "Thank you” Michalis shyly replied.

  “Hmmf, you did mao show a bit of skill but……” Vasiliki’s words trailed, her eyes fixed on his wounds.

  “Tsk, here” Vasiliki said, digging through her dungeon bag before throwing something at him.

  Michalis hastily stretched his had to catch it, looking at his palm, he could see a potion bottle.

  “Is this for me?” Michalis asked, a bit taken aback by Vasiliki’s gesture.

  “Sigh, it’s hard to believe that you mao win with that brain of yours” Vasiliki replied.

  ‘Ugh, why t she just………Sigh, never mind. What does Draii think?’ Michalis thought, suppressing his itch to fight Vasiliki.

  Turning to Draichalis eagerly awaited his older brother’s verdi the fight.

  Draco's approval meant that he really did good, as he greatly respected his judgment.

  "Good job," Draco said, aowledging Michalis' efforts with a nod.

  "I'm sure oddess will also be pleased with your performance." Draco added.

  Upon hearing Draco's praise, Michalis felt the tension he hadn't even realized he was carrying dissipate from his body.

  Despite the immense pressure of being the first to attempt the challenge and the sheer difficulty of his oppos, he had aplished what he had set out to do.

  'Phew, that was intense,' Draco thought, the tension in his mind slowly dissipating.

  Draco let out a subtle sigh of relief, his gaze sweeping over Michalis.

  Watg Michalis battle had been both exhirating and worrisome.

  He had somewhat expected the fight to be challenging, but not to the extent he had just witnessed.

  Michalis had faced several near-death experiences during the frontation, and it had taken every ounce of his restraint not to intervene.

  Yet, somehow, the determined young boy had emerged victorious, filling Draco with a sense of pride but also a twinge of .

  'Did I set the difficulty too high?' Draco wondered, his brow furrowing slightly.

  The silverbacks Michalis had defeated were among the weakest challenges Draco had designed, and he couldn't help but worry if the others would be able to overe their own trials with the same tenacity and skill.

  He had given Michalis a weaker challenge, because he was the only one who had a big handicap on his magic skill, so he couldn’t dispy all that he had.

  Nikoos, who had been the exge, noticed Draco's pensive expression.

  "Is something b you?" he asked, his red eyes gleaming with curiosity.

  Draco offered Nikoos a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, just thinking about certain things," he replied, reag out to gently ruffle Nikoos' vibrant red hair.

  "By the way, it seems you're up . Are you feeling ready?" he asked, ging the topic.

  Nikoos' pointed ears perked and his lips stretched into a feral grin, his excitement palpable.

  "I am as ready as I'll ever be," he decred, his voice ced with anticipation.

  Draco was momentarily taken aback by Nikoos' eagerness, but he returhe smile, a hint of amusement dang in his eyes.

  "Alright, the's head to the floor," Dranounced, gaining the attention of the entire group.

  Without further dey, they set out towards the 12th floor, where Nikoos' oppo awaited.

  Draco had carefully chosen a difficult challenge for Nikoos, taking into at his strengths and weaknesses.

  Nikoos was a strength-focused fighter, wielding a brutal two-handed spiked maul – a on that possessed devastating attag power but was also heavy and cumbersome.

  While Nikoos had received a signifit boost to his stats, the i drawbacks of his on, such as slower attacks and vulnerability to fast-moving oppos, remained.

  Draco had also sidered Nikoos' transformation ability, which could potentially allow him to overe oppos strohan himself.

  Searg the upper and upper-middle floors, Draco had settled on an Infant Dragon as Nikoos' oppo.

  inally, he had inteo find a swift foe, but within the floors that he had chosen, he couldn't find any mohat would truly challenge Nikoos' mobility.

  The Infant Dragon, however, presented a different kind of challenge.

  Though not as agile as Draco had initially phe dragon's immense size, durability, and raould forikoos to rely on his transformation and strategic thinking to emerge victorious.

  As they desded the opening to the 12 floor , Draco couldn't help but wonder if he had struck the right baween difficulty and fairness for his familia.

  Michalis had mao overe his trial, but Draew that eadividual had their own urengths and weaknesses, and the challenges he had designed would test them in different ways.

  The group soon arrived at the entrao the trial area that Draco had set on 12th floor.

  Draco turo faikoos, his expression serious yet encing.

  "Alright, this is it. Nikoos, I know you're ready for this. But remember, your life es first” Draco warned again.

  He knew how difficult the fight was going to be for Nikoos, after-all he was the one who captured the infant Dragon.

  It wasn’t an easy feat but he had managed with the first stage of his transformation.

  Nikoos nodded, his eyes burning with determination.

  "Don’t worry Draii. I won’t lose, no I ’t lose. I will win aurn victorious” Nikoos fidently replied.

  Draco pced a reassuring hand on Nikoos' shoulder.

  "I have no doubt about that. Now, go and show oddess that you possess the making of a hero." with a savage smile on his lips.

  With a deep breath, Nikoos turned and stepped forward, his grip tightening around the hilt of his massive maul.

  The others watched with bated breath as he disappeared into the dimly lit chamber, ready to face his greatest challe.

  Draco watched his brother retreating form, his heart swelling with a mixture of pride and .

  ‘Return safe’ Draco thought, before pg his hand on the ground.

  He the a pulse of earth magito the enclosure, releasing the Infant dragon from its entrapment.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………

  The air in the dimly lit area was thick with a heavy, oppressive fog that obscured visibility, creating an uling atmosphere of uainty and unease.

  Nikoos gripped his massive, spiked maul tightly, his heart pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and apprehension as he cautiously navigated his way through the fog.

  Suddenly, a deep, guttural roar echoed through the chamber, sending a shiver down Nikoos' spine.

  A massive beast standing at a staggering 4.5 feet tall and around 4 meters ih, emerged from the mist, its long ned thick, elephant-like legs casting an imposing silhouette.

  Nikoos tightened his grip on his spiked maul, his muscles tensing and knuckles turning white as he prepared for the impending battle.

  Roar !!

  With a sudden roar, the infant dragon charged through the mist, its long neck shing out like a battering ram, aiming to sm into Nikoos with bone-crushing forbsp;

  Nikoos mao evade, narrowly avoiding the attack.

  The force of the Infant dragon’s charge was s that, the impact of the creature's head against the stone wall reverberating through the area.

  Nikoos heart nearly popped out of his chest upon witnessing its ridiculous strength, but he didn’t dwell on it for long.

  Immediately he scrambled on his feet to seize the opportunity preseo him.

  Nikoos swung his spiked maul with all his might, the spiked head colliding with the dragon's fnk.

  Thud !!

  The on ected with the infant dragon's tough hide, but the blow barely seemed tister.

  Uerred, the infant dragon whipped its head around, its jaws snapping at Nikoos, who barely mao evade the powerful bite.

  The dragon's movements were quite dexterous and uable, making it difficult for Nikoos to any signifit blows with his heavy on.

  The boy realized he o adjust his strategy.

  Seeing as his strength wasn’t enough to deal any signifit damage, Nikoos created some distaween them and activated his skill called ‘Feral Wolf Spirit’ for a boost.

  He immediately felt the primal essence of his inner beast surge within him, and with a mighty roar, his features began to shift.

  His eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed, and his body grew rger, more muscur, as his wolf like features became more defined.

  The dragon's attack was met with a flurry of savage strikes from Nikoos.

  He darted around the beast, using his enhanced speed and agility to his advantage.

  Each blow of his maul echoed through the chamber, but the dragon's thick hide deflected the majority of the hits.

  Frustrated, Nikoos attempted to find a ot, fog his attacks on the dragon's neck, joints and underbelly.

  The creature's movements were slower than him, but its sheer size, weight, reach, strength and defence more than made up for it.

  Thump !

  Nikoos narrowly avoided a crushing stomp, the dragon's massive foot crag the stone floor where he oood.

  Darting around the dragon's relentless attacks, Nikoos soon found a weakhat he could exploit.

  He noticed that the upper part on's ned lower underbelly, while incredibly strong, seemed to be vulnerable spots.

  The joints on its legs were too thick for his maul to do any critical damage.

  Gripping his maul with both hands, he waited for the right moment when the dragon stretched its neck.

  He evaded and swung the spiked head of his maul directly at the dragon's neck.

  The impact was brutal, and the drago out a shriek of pain, its movements being more erratibsp;

  Nikoos pressed his advantage, unleashing a flurry of strikes, eae aimed at the dragon's ned underbelly – the areas he had identified as most vulnerable.

  The battle tihe misty room eg with the sounds of metal colliding with bohe dragon's roars, and Nikoos' savage growls as he unleashed his attacks with feral ferocity.

  Despite the dragon's size and toughness, Nikoos' skill and ferocity began to wear it down.

  Sensing an opportunity, Nikoos feinted a strike to the dragon's neck, only to ge direid-swing and bring the maul down on the charging creature's leg.

  The impact was devastating, and one of the dragon's leg buckled, causing it to stumble and temporarily lose its bance.

  Sensing another opportunity, Nikoos leapt onto the dragon's back, using his cws to g to the creature's hide.

  He then began raining down blows, targeting its skull.

  The dragon thrashed and wildly twisted around, trying to dislodge its attacker, but Nikoos held on, his strong desire to win fueling his as.

  As the battle raged on, Nikoos began to tire, his enharength and speed slowly waning.

  Soon his grip began weakening and he was forced to jump off the Infant dragons back as it crash heavily on the ground.

  Seeing that his oppo was exhausted and lying on the ground, Nikoos let his guard down.

  He wasn’t expeg a sudden ter from the dragon as it had signifitly been weakehis proved to be a terrible a mistake.

  The dragon, sensing its oppo's vulnerability, unched a desperate charge, its neapping forward in a lightning-fast strike.

  Nikoos caught off guard, the dragon's jaws cmped down on his arm brace, elig a pained cry.

  Gritting his teeth against the agony, Nikoos swung his maul with the strength he could muster, smming the spiked head into the dragon's eye.

  The beast recoiled, releasing its grip, and Nikoos tumbled to the ground, clutg his injured arm.

  The dragon thrashed wildly, its wounded eye oozing a red, viscous fluid.

  Nikoos khat he couldn’t prolong the battle with his injured arm, so he seized the opportunity, and summoned every ounce of his remaining strength to deal a devastating blow.

  With a savage roar, he charged forward, his maul raised high with both hands, and be jumped up, ign all the pain.

  His maul crashed down with all his might, shattering the dragon's neck, and the infant drago out a final, agonized roar before colpsing to the ground, its life force ebbing away.

  Nikoos stood over the defeated dragon, his chest heaving, his wolf-like features slowly fading back to his normal appearanbsp;

  He had emerged victorious, but not without cost.

  His armor was dented, his arm was broken and bleeding, and he could feel the ache of the bruises across his body.

  As the adrenaline began to wear off, Nikoos took a moment to catch his breath, his gaze fixed on the fallen dragon.

  He khat this was only the beginning, that there would be many more battles to e, but for now, he had proven his mettle, emerging from the fog-shrouded room as the victor.

  Draediately rushed towards him to che his arm, the others following behind in .

  “Niko, are you ok?” Dimitra asked, searg his body for any other injuries.

  “Haha, I will live” Nikoos replied, letting out a weak ugh.

  ‘Phew’ Draco sighed in relief after iing Nikoos injured arm.

  Nikoos arm hadn't pletely shatter uhe dragons bite, but his bone was severely fractured.

  His arm brace had taken the brunt of the damage, saving his arm.

  He just o remove the metal fragments lodged in Nikoos skihe bone fragments in his arm before using his heal spell, then apply a cast for Nikoos to recover smoothly.