spoiler(corrected)

"Let's go back." -Without even thinking about it, Tsubaki started to go back without the others saying anything, after all, they weren't that crazy to face such a monster.

As they walked back, Mark double-checked for monsters, but when he saw a large red dot approaching them, his pupils shrunk, he realized unfortunately that he wasn't the only one who had spotted an enemy.

'ROOOOAR!'

A deep roar echoed through the walls of the maze as heavy footsteps began to be heard more and more, sending shivers down the spine of the others.

"RUN!" -Aware that the monster had detected them, they began to run at full force, not bothering to make a sound.

The group was running as fast as they could, but unfortunately for them, the monster's footsteps were becoming more distinct, which meant that the distance between them was starting to close.

"We have to get back to that room, the monsters can't get in there!" -Shouted Tsubaki, as she cut down a monster that was blocking her way.

"Are you crazy!? It's suicide!" -Shouted Rakka angrily.

"What do you choose, a monster that can easily kill us or a group of monsters that we can at least fight!" -Shouted Mark, looking into her eyes.

Hearing Mark's words, Rikka didn't know how to answer. All two cases were dangerous, but when she thought about facing a vryzon, all doubts disappeared.

"I see, turn left at the next fork." -Accepting the proposal, Rikka could only guide them to the room.

The group was lucky enough because when they all managed to turn left, shortly after in the corridor they were in, a pillar of fire burned everything in its path. Looking at the scene behind them, the group increased their speed, even more, not wanting to be the prey of those flames.

Afterward, the group was forced to make several turns, so as not to go down long corridors, thus giving the monster a chance to burn them with its flames, but this lengthened the road making them more tired.

"As soon as we turn, there will be a long corridor connecting to the room!" -Hearing Rikka's words, everyone felt their energy rise.

As they turned, they began to run as fast as they could down the long corridor, when the monster finally caught up with them as well.

'GRAAA!'

Turning to look at the monster, Mark was surprised that it resembled the Rathian from the Monster Hunter series he had played, but when he saw it gaping its jaws and charging the flames inside, all surprise disappeared, being replaced by urgency.

Realizing that he would not have enough time to get to the room before the monster spewed its flames, he launched 'flashbang', as it showed its full power in tight places. The blow seemed to have an effect, as the monster closed its eyes and moved its head in annoyance, but recovered quickly enough by releasing its flames.

Unfortunately for the vryzon, the delay that Mark caused, was enough to allow everyone to enter the room while avoiding its flames, but for the group, there was no letup. The moment they entered the room, a large number of spartoi with various weapons made of bones began to charge them.

"Those who can attack or defend stay ahead, mages stay behind!" -With Tsubaki's words, everyone got into position.

Seeing the skeletal monsters, Mark knew it would be a difficult battle, so he immediately drank a pain resistance potion. Mark decided to stay together with the group of mages and provided as much support as he could to those who were most in danger.

The group was holding up well, but the kill rate was too slow due to the disparity in numbers. The enemies were more than twice their size, and although Tsubaki, Cruz, and the other level 4, could handle more than one enemy, the rest of the level 3, had to be at least two to kill just one spartoi, plus counting the previous fatigue, the vanguard was taking more and more injuries.

"I-I can't resist!"

A member of the Loki Familia, using a heavy shield, was pushed back, falling to the ground, allowing a spartoi with a scimitar to pass him and head towards the mages who were providing support, but the monster had to dodge quickly, as lightning was about to strike it.

The shots didn't stop, but the spartoi avoided them because of its agility, managing to get closer each time. Seeing that it was impossible to hit it from afar, Mark quickly ran towards the monster and then jumped and hit it full force with his sword, with the increased weight and electricity flowing on the blade, to cause as much damage as possible.

'Clank!

The sound of clashing metal echoed through the room, but the monster seemed completely unharmed. Just before Mark hit it, the monster used its scimitar to protect itself and because of the force behind the blow, the monster was moved several meters away.

'I knew this was going to be difficult.' -Thought Mark as he felt his hand shake from the impact.

Before Mark could make the next move, the monster quickly charged at him trying to pierce the saber into his head. Quickly dodging, Mark still suffered a cut on his cheek but tried to fight back, only to be blocked.

Now that they were close, he tried to hit it with an 'electric dart', but the monster dodged by jumping back and charged again. The spartoi tried to cut him down, but Mark protected himself with his sword, though due to the monster's power, his guard was destroyed, allowing the spartoi to have a chance to attack him.

Seeing the incoming saber, Mark rolled just in time, dodging the blade that was aimed at him. He tried to create space between them, firing his spells, but the monster's agility denied him, which is why they always ended up in close combat.

'clank!' 'clank!' 'clank!'

The clashes of swords continued to follow one another, but Mark continued to be at a disadvantage. Every time he clashed the weapons, he felt his whole body trembling, plus the monster was faster than him, so his body started to have several cuts from which blood was coming out, weakening him. He had hoped that 'flashbang' would have some effect, but since the monster was a skeleton, it had no effect. 'Intent' also had no effect, due to the disparity in strength.

Mark tried hard to move away or get closer to the others, but the monster denied him, blocking his way each time. For the first time, he felt the breath of the dead on his neck fighting a monster.

He had fought many enemies and the strongest was the one he defeated on the 10th floor, although it was a difficult fight, there were moments when he could catch his breath, plus the monster was big, so he had many more points to hit, but the monster in front of him was completely different. An undead that never gets tired, with strength and speed that surpassed him in every aspect, with a body the size of a person and the ability to handle a weapon so well, it made him deadly.

'Clank!

The sparks caused by the clash of weapons were reflected in Mark's grey eyes, which unlike usual, were full of life, even though there were several cuts on his body and his breathing was heavy, he was smiling excitedly. The sounds were of the clashes of the others had become dull, by now in his eyes everything had become shadows, all he could see was the monster in front of him and the trajectory of the saber and the pain he felt, only played the role of stimulation.

'More! I can do MORE!'

Mark's whole body screamed to continue, even the smallest of cells, screamed to continue the fight. The sound of metal clashing, skin being torn, the heat of blood pumping wildly through his body, was giving him a feeling of euphoria, which overcame the fear he was feeling making him feel more alive than ever.

The reason Mark felt this way was because both his body and mind were growing exponentially. 'Limit Break' had never been an ability meant only for stat growth, it was something more, it allowed a person to overcome their weaknesses, destroying any limitations they might have.

'Clank!

For the first time, he had managed to parry the spartoi's blow without flinching. At that point he began his counterattack, the speed with which he swung his sword increased, even managing to carve through the monster's bones. His eyes were moving wildly trying to spot weak points and without noticing it, his movements had improved as he continued to watch how the spartoi fought.

If there was one thing 'golem heart' gave him besides corruption, it was improved cognitive and memorization skills. It would be no joke to say that Mark could perfectly copy someone's movements after seeing them only once.

The blows kept coming, but now it was Mark who had the advantage, and even if he couldn't land any decisive blows, he was able to hold his own against a level 4 monster. He had now learned the monster's movements and was able to dodge the saber with millimetric precision or deflect them, using his opponent's strength.

This feat was incredible, but there was a problem. Mark had been traveling in the maze for a long time and having to run away from the vryzon, had diminished his stamina, then he provided the others with support with his magic, and now he was fighting a monster stronger than him, a human in that condition couldn't maintain such a pace.

'swing'

"!"

After swinging his sword, due to fatigue, he put too much strength into it, and when the monster dodged the blow, his entire posture was unbalanced to the side, and now the scimitar of the spartoi was directed towards his neck.

'Like I'm going to die now!' -Because of his posture, it was impossible to dodge, so he used his free arm as a shield.

Perhaps his subconscious had picked up on the danger, so the 'golem heart' skill activated automatically, but unlike usual, where all traces of heat disappeared, he felt like flames burning in his heart. The heat was overwhelming, but at the same time it gave him a feeling of serenity, so he didn't try to stop the heat and let it explode.

It felt as if flames were spreading through his body, giving him a surge of energy, and in the arm, he was using as a shield, a change happened that he had been longing for. The aura in his arm that was usually ethereal manifested into reality.

Everything happened in less than the blink of an eye. The scimitar collided with the aura and even though it had greatly diminished the power of the attack, it was still cut. Afterward, the blade managed to cut through the armor and dig into the flesh but failed to cut through the bone.

"Mark get down!"

Before he could take advantage of the opportunity of the blade locked in his arm, he heard a voice he was now used to, so he didn't hesitate and crouched down, and shortly after a huge blade passed over him, cutting through the skeleton's head.

title: Aura manifestation