Chapter 250: Class: Lifeweaver [Minor Mend] [Rank: Uncommon] [Level: Max] [Details: Channel restorative energy to heal a single target for a moderate amount of health. Healing scales with Mana. +100% Healing Effect.] [Purify] [Rank: Epic] [Level: Max] [Details: Cleanse a target of all standard negative status effects and has a 10% chance to remove high-tier debuffs and advanced curses. Restores a moderate amount of health upon successful cleansing. Moderate cooldown. +50% Additional Healing] Staring at the two skills flashing before his eyes, both now displaying the coveted "Max" level indicator, a sigh escaped Moon’s lips despite the achievement. "Although I figured this was the case when I first saw them, it’s still somewhat disheartening," Moon muttered under his breath. Just as he’d predicted earlier, Mara’s skills had already been fully evolved through her own progression before he copied them. That meant there was no possibility for variation or evolution. He was locked into the exact same skill development she’d achieved, with no opportunity to explore a different pathway. At least, the efficiency was convenient for saving lives on evolution costs. And having two fully mastered healing skills was undeniably useful. Moon turned his attention to Mirage, who stood patiently nearby. "Mirage, I’m going to return you to my Beast Taming Space now, alright? I need to exit this gate and return to the main chamber before the others finish their battles. I need the extra S-rank kills to complete my evolution tasks. Can’t let the others claim the remaining beasts." Mirage neighed softly in understanding, stepping closer to rub his neck affectionately against Moon’s face. The gesture was gentle, trusting, showing the deep bond they’d formed through shared life and death battles and time spent together. Moon smiled at the affectionate contact, running his hand along Mirage’s mane one final time. With a thought, he activated [Beastmaster] and recalled Mirage to the Beast Taming Space. The nightmare vanished, returning to the pocket dimension where he would rest and recover. Moon took a moment to assess his own condition. Although he’d spent considerable time deliberately fighting against the Bellywig while training his healing skills rather than ending the battle quickly, he still believed he should be able to exit before most of his teammates. The training session had been worthwhile, but it had consumed time that others were spending on combat. Based on his careful observations of everyone during the earlier fight against the beast horde, Moon had developed assessments of their relative combat speeds and capabilities. He believed the fastest person to finish their gate battle amongst the team would likely be Kael. The pyromancer possessed exceptional offensive power and his fire magic could quickly overwhelm even S-rank opponents in the right matchup. Especially so, since his target was estimated to be a hydra. Second would possibly be Caleb, despite his berserker class’s reckless nature. His ability to convert damage taken into escalating offensive power created a loop that could end battles quickly once he built sufficient momentum. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦 With the right items, runes and potions, Caleb could overwhelm the S-Rank beast if he played his cards right. As for the rest of the team, they would probably achieve roughly similar completion times, each facing their own struggles against S-rank threats with varying degrees of difficulty based on matchup advantages. The longest to finish would most likely be one of the twins, Cain or Abel. While their synchronized fighting style was effective when both operated together, being separated meant each one lost a considerable portion of their ’true’ power. And honestly, Moon acknowledged grimly, the chances of everyone surviving their individual battles weren’t guaranteed. The probability of the entire team emerging alive was less than half at best. S-rank beasts in solo combat were known to kill awakeners. That was their purpose, their nature. Some of his teammates might not make it out at all. But Moon pushed that consideration aside. He had his own objectives to focus on, his own survival to ensure, his own evolution requirements to complete. Sentiment was a luxury he couldn’t afford in a trial specifically designed to claim lives. ♢♢♢♢ Moon appeared back in the main cavern hall, the blue gate’s surface rippling one final time before beginning to collapse behind him. His eyes landed on Mara, who stood waiting exactly where they’d left her, waiting for whoever emerged first to help them in fighting the remaining gates. Moon began walking toward her, his gaze sweeping across the remaining gates as he approached. His own gate had completely vanished now, fully closed after his successful clear. Seven other gates were not available, indicating that battles were still ongoing inside. Though they hadn’t finished yet, the fact that the gates had yet to spawn was a good sign. It meant his teammates were still alive, still fighting. "Let’s go," Moon stated without preamble as he reached Mara’s position. "We don’t have time to waste. We need to clear the gate containing Nina immediately." The reasoning behind prioritizing Nina’s gate over the remaining one was straightforward. Moon wanted to attempt using his newly mastered [Purify] skill alongside Mara’s identical ability in a combined effort to free Nina from whatever bindings held her as a gate guardian. Two cleansing spells cast simultaneously might have better odds of breaking through whatever penalty the trial had imposed. If they could successfully free her and restore her humanity, that would be the optimal outcome. It would give them back their ninth team member and potentially provide crucial information about the trial’s penalty. If they couldn’t...Then they would do what needed to be done. There were no other viable options. Mara simply nodded without speaking, her expression neutral, almost blank. She began walking alongside Moon toward Nina’s gate. Moon glanced at her from the corner of his eye as they walked, his instincts prickling with unease. He could feel that Mara was acting strangely, her demeanor subtly off in ways he couldn’t quite articulate or pin down. Something about her body language, and her silence felt wrong. But he couldn’t place his finger on what exactly had changed. The two of them stepped into the portal together, their bodies disappearing at once.