My Charity System made me too OP-Chapter 312: Limit Reached

The monastery's air was filled with the low resonance hum of ancient Shell Pulse training, as if the walls themselves whispered lessons to those who'd survived this far.

A few hours later, the same Elder Ant—garbed in spiraling robes of obsidian silk—returned.

"You did not die. That is something," she said, her antennae flicking thoughtfully. "When your level and foundation rise again, return to this place. The Fourth Layer of Shell Reverb awaits—the Absolute Return."

Leon looked up at her. "How many have mastered it?"

"Few. Most fail the first three. Only the broken can carry the weight of the fourth."

He nodded slowly. "I'll be back. Stronger."

The Elder Ant's mandibles clicked once in approval. "Then heal. And climb."

"For now, you have reached your limit," the Elder said before turning and leaving.

Leon lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. I haven't even accessed my true trump card yet, he thought bitterly.

He was referring to his World Destroyer: Berserker class—its Tandav Form, an unstable, apocalyptic state that drew from pure destructive intent. With it, he believed he could crush another ten ranks easily. But there was a cost… a steep one.

The last time he used it, it had been during a world-level boss raid. He still remembered the chaos, the loss of control. He had nearly killed Roman, with his undead nature, barely survived—yet even then, Leon pushede him on the edge of collapse.

The Tandav skill drew upon destruction itself, born of a primal shard from none other than Progenitor Lord Shiva. Even though it was just a fragment—0.1% of the true Intent of Destruction—it was overwhelming. Nothing could counter it unless someone possessed a higher-tier law to match or surpass it.

Because of that terrifying experience, Leon had sealed off that class. The World Destroyer: Berserker was powerful, yes—but without proper mastery, it didn't just break enemies. It broke the user too.

I need control, Leon thought. Without it… I'm just a walking weapon pointed at my own allies.

As the warning from the Elder Ant lingered in his mind, Leon gathered his thoughts, eyes steady and determined. The path forward was clear—he couldn't afford to face stronger Shell Reverb battles or use his berserker powers until he evolved further.

That meant one thing: leveling up.

"We'll shift focus to dungeon raids," Leon said, addressing the team as they regrouped in their inn suite. "No more Rank fights until I hit Tier VII."

Milim grinned, flexing her fingers. "Finally, some dungeon crawling!"

Roselia nodded. "It'll be safer. And you need the levels, not more scars."

Naval leaned against the window. "We'll need to clear high-yield dungeon sectors—rare monster zones, mutated fields, Rift-Bloom caverns."

Leon opened a Rift Map projected from his crystal badge. "We'll hit the Triple-Core Nest, the Whispering Vault, and maybe the Culling Depths if time allows. I'm at 580. We need to push to 601."

Roman clapped his hands together. "Then what are we waiting for?"

With the plan in place, they packed their gear, reinforced their weapons, and departed at dawn.

***

The entrance to the Triple-Core Nest loomed like the gaping maw of a colossal fossilized serpent—jagged stone "teeth" surrounding a descending tunnel of spiraling rock. Deep within the twisted caverns, three volatile mana cores pulsed in rhythm like the beating heart of an ancient beast. This place was infamous among high-level Ascenders for its chaotic energy and mutation-heavy monsters.

Leon's party stood before the gate, torches flickering in the dense fog.

"We'll need full coordination. This dungeon adapts to our mana signatures," Leon said, glancing at each member. "Roselia and Naval, support formation. Roman, you're up front with me. Milim, you're on strike duty. Liliana—spotter and control."

Liliana raised her staff with a silent nod. "I'll monitor spatial anomalies."

With a surge of mana, the stone gates groaned open.

Inside, the group encountered an onslaught of crawling beasts—Mana Leeches—pale, limbless creatures that pulsed with core-draining abilities. Their jaws vibrated with soundwaves that dulled spellcasting.

Naval took point, her daggers flashing. "They're fast—but soft!"

Leon spun through the swarm, using Shell Reverb to redirect the force of leech lunges, turning them into rebounds that launched him forward. Milim screamed with laughter, diving into the fray and releasing bursts of wild, chaotic energy—disrupting their synchronized hive pattern.

Roselia invoked radiant waves of cleansing fire, searing the parasites before they could latch onto the team's mana pool.

"Wave One—down," Liliana said, scanning ahead with her sight enhancement rune.

The team entered a vast chamber glowing with mutated Rift Blooms—bio-magical flora with explosive seed-pods and pheromone-based illusions.

"This is where people go insane," Roman muttered, tightening his grip on his greatsword.

Leon pointed toward the three largest Rift Bloom clusters. "Those are psychic anchors. Take them down fast or we'll start hallucinating."

Milim darted toward one, only to be caught mid-air by a tendril. Roselia burned it with searing chains of flame, while Roman cut a path through twitching vines. Naval leapt across a chasm to plant explosive runes on a second cluster.

Leon activated Shell Reverb and surged into the largest flower, letting its energy attacks slam into him. He stored every ounce of impact, then blasted the entire core apart in one concussive echo-blast that echoed through the cave.

The field dimmed, the flowers withered.

Milim landed, covered in slime. "That was fun."

At the deepest level, the Triple-Core awaited.

Three pulsing orbs—each representing a different aspect of mana: Chaos, Stasis, and Decay—floated above a chasm ringed with bone-like roots. Guarding them was the dungeon boss: The Triform Warden, a serpentine amalgam of stone, flesh, and light, wielding one attack type from each core.

"Split up and pull aggro," Leon shouted. "It adapts if you let it focus!"

The team spread out, with Milim launching chaotic detonations to bait the Chaos Core, while Liliana and Roselia used barrier layering to dull the Stasis Core. Naval flickered between shadows, striking the Decay Core with disruptive stabs.

Leon danced around the Warden's attacks, using Shell Reverb to absorb and reflect bursts of corrupted elemental force. Every time he took a hit, he returned it with double the impact—until the Warden was visibly faltering.

"Now!" he roared.

Roman leapt, cleaving one of the Warden's three heads with a brutal downward strike while Roselia sealed the Stasis Core with a cleansing sigil. Milim punched the Chaos Core directly, shattering it into a firework of mana shards.

With a final synchronized blast from the team, the Decay Core overloaded—and the Warden imploded.