Absolutely. Here's the next chapter of Infinite Cleanse, continuing directly from Chapter 4 i
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Takumi didn't sleep.
He rarely did, not since arriving in this world. Sleep was inefficient, vulnerable. But more than that—it was disorderly. There were no dreams he trusted, no rhythm in unconsciousness. Just chaos.
He sat cross-legged, awake through the night, watching the lines of parchment scrolls beside him, breathing slowly, listening to Lisette's uneven snores as she slept atop her pile of notes like a cat draped over kindling.
Her boots were still untied.
He considered fixing them.
Then thought better of it.
---
When she stirred, the torches were nearly burnt out. The room had shifted slightly—he could tell. The stones in the ceiling had rotated no more than a few centimeters. Just enough to be wrong.
Lisette stretched, hair now in even more of a frizz than before, and blinked at him.
"Still up?"
Takumi gave a single nod.
"You know you're allowed to rest, right?" she asked. "Like, biologically?"
"I'll sleep at Level 20."
Lisette frowned. "That's… an arbitrary milestone."
"No," he replied calmly. "It's mathematically efficient. Five increments of four. It balances with my Mental Load thresholds."
"Your what?"
Takumi didn't answer. Instead, he stood, brushing off nonexistent dust from his tunic. Then he looked at her—really looked.
"Your spellcasting form," he said.
Lisette blinked. "What about it?"
"It's flawed."
"Rude."
"Your footwork is uneven. You breathe at the wrong cadence when charging. You rotate your runes clockwise even when casting polar spells."
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yes," he said.
Then he turned and walked down the hallway.
Lisette followed him, grumbling.
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The next chamber was circular. A dome of stone, with natural columns spiraling like ribs toward the ceiling. It was a combat ring—he could feel it.
Two monsters waited at the far end: armored insectoids, eight limbs each, scythe-like claws, mandibles clacking in anticipation.
Lisette pulled out her grimoire, muttering a warm-up spell.
Takumi moved to stop her.
"No," he said. "Let me."
"You sure? Those things are nasty. Acid blood, I think."
"I need to level. Three more."
Lisette stepped back.
"Alright, Mr. Obsession."
---
The monsters lunged in tandem.
Takumi moved like water poured into a mold.
The first blade came down. He sidestepped with exact precision—no wasted movement—and drove a heel into the creature's chest. It snapped backward, screeching.
The second creature tried to flank him.
He counted every step.
One. Two. Three—pivot—four.
He spun and crushed the creature's leg joint with the heel of his palm. It fell. He twisted its head between his knees, using leverage instead of strength, and snapped its neck.
All within five seconds.
Lisette blinked.
"…Okay, yeah, you're horrifying."
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> [Insectoid Pair defeated. +3 Levels.]
[Current Level: 20]
[New Skill Gained: Kinetic Correction Lv. 1]
"You automatically adjust attacks or dodges to achieve perfect geometry."
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Takumi exhaled.
Relief passed through his bones like a warm tide.
Twenty.
Finally.
He opened his Stats Menu for the first time since arriving.
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> Name: Takumi Arata
Level: 20
Stat Points Unassigned: 200
Mental Load: 47%
Skills:
– [Perfect Execution Lv. 2]
– [Structured Mind Lv. 1]
– [Cleansing Strike Lv. 1]
– [Kinetic Correction Lv. 1]
Special: Infinite Leveling Path — Locked Branches: 5
---
"Wait," Lisette said, walking closer. "You're still not assigning your stat points?"
"I will. In fives."
"…Why?"
"It feels wrong otherwise."
Lisette stared at him for a long time. "That's your reason? That it feels wrong?"
Takumi's fingers twitched.
He didn't answer.
---
Later, they entered a new corridor—longer, tighter, the torches growing sparser. The air had changed.
Lisette walked ahead now, holding her spellbook like a shield. "Let me handle the next one," she said. "I need to practice."
Takumi hesitated.
He didn't like this.
"Just… don't move too much," he said.
"I need to move. That's how evocation magic works."
"Then move symmetrically."
Lisette blinked. "You are so exhausting."
---
The creature came out of the wall like it had been part of it. A golem, but wrong—dripping with ooze, moss-covered, eyes glowing too bright. A dungeon-grown elemental.
Lisette shouted something he couldn't make out.
Her hands danced—three sigils, fast, imperfect. The first circle faltered. The second overcharged.
The third blew up backward, pushing her off her feet.
Takumi screamed—not in fear, but in mental pain.
> [Mental Load +15%]
The light, the angle, the imbalance. The circle wasn't closed. It was dirty magic. It was crooked.
He snapped.
---
He crossed the room in a blur.
Tackled the golem. Slid beneath its arm. Struck once—center mass.
Then twice, again, adjusting the angle.
Then again—until the rune behind its core aligned.
Only then did he finish it with a palm strike to the heartstone.
---
> [Elemental Golem defeated. +3 Levels]
[Current Level: 23]
[Mental Load stabilized.]
---
Lisette groaned from the floor. "Ugh… okay, I'll admit that was my fault."
Takumi said nothing.
He stood in the silence, breathing hard, fists clenched.
Then he turned.
"You cannot cast like that again."
Lisette blinked. "What?"
"Your geometry was incorrect. Your third sigil broke its arc. You mispronounced the second syllable. And your stance was uncentered."
"I was being attacked by a moss monster, Takumi!"
"Excuses don't correct failure."
She stared at him, mouth half-open.
Then slowly closed her book.
"…You know, most people would just say 'be careful.'"
Takumi didn't reply.
He just looked away.
---
That night, as Lisette laid by the fire and mumbled to herself with frustration, Takumi organized her spell scrolls while she slept. He aligned each one by length, width, margin, and ink density.
He didn't need to.
But he couldn't not.
And when it was done—
He sat back.
And finally, he slept.
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🔹 End of Chapter 5