Before they entered the dungeon, they took a moment to crouch beneath the shade of a makeshift tent made by the soldiers stationed there. The desert winds howled faintly behind them, carrying grains of sand.

  Asha broke the silence. “We should go over our roles.”

  “My class is [Swordsman],” said the man beside the client Lady—lean, sun-darkened, and always scanning the horizon. “I’ll take the front line. I can hold them back and deal decent damage.”

  The Lady beside him gave a short nod, “I’m a [Mage]. Variant of Lightning affinity. I can cast fast and strike hard, but I need time and space.”

  The others began to speak in turn.

  Opel shifted his massive shield onto his back. “Class is [Paladin] my role is main tank. I don’t move fast, and they can't move me. Get behind me for any dangerous attack and stay there. My skill [Divine Protection] also provides additional protection.”

  Kana tightened the wrappings on her bow arm. “I’ll stay in the backline with Asha and Suri. I’ll cover you from a distance—and guard them if anything slips through.”

  “I’m quite capable of using daggers as well.” She continued as she unsheathed fast one of the daggers in her hips.

  That earned a slight glance from Boris, who stood a few paces back, arms crossed. “I’m also in the front line class [Spearman]. I’m a decent damage dealer.”

  Suri introduced herself next, “Class is [Illusionist]. My main role is scouting using my Illusions. I can mask us, even provide distraction to the enemy..”

  That caught their attention. The Lady and the [Swordsman] exchanged glances.

  Asha introduced herself last, “[Mage]. Variant of Ice. I can slow down the enemy and help the frontline using my skills as an additional shield.”

  Their plan was simple, do their role according to their skills.

  ….

  Kana adjusted the party window the moment they stepped through the dungeon’s threshold. Names vanished one by one—Asha, Opel, even the swordsman’s, and the Lady. Only Boris and Suri remained.

  She wasn’t planning to explain why they gained more level-up notifications flashed whenever they were with her.

  And oddly enough, she was the party leader again.

  Why is it always me? Kana frowned. Was it the system defaulting to the highest level? Or something else?

  She dismissed the thought. Not now.

  Their client, the cloaked woman who hadn’t shared her name, appeared in the party list as Maya, and her sword-bearing guard as Ris. They didn’t say a word, but the system betrayed their identities before Kana removed them too.

  A waste of EXP, sure. But secrets had their price.

  The air grew hotter as they moved forward—unnaturally so. The dungeon mirrored a dead plain of sun-blasted sand, fractured stone, and ruins that hinted at civilizations long since gone. Yet the light here was bright, almost like daylight, though no sun hung overhead.

  “Nothing here,” Suri muttered, her illusion already sweeping the field. She swayed slightly, head tilted like she was listening to something only she could hear. “It’s empty.”

  Maya stepped forward. “We’ve been here before. We didn’t clear it.”

  She gestured across the barren terrain.

  “They’re underground.”

  The [Swordsman], picked up a rock, and flung it across the sand. It hit the ground with a dull thunk.

  Then the earth moved.

  The sand convulsed as a dozen, then two dozen, black shapes burst from below. Massive Black Scorpions, their armored shells glinting like obsidian, emerged with grinding clicks. Their tails arched high, some nearly two stories tall.

  “They’re Black Scorpions,” the [Swordsman] spat, drawing his weapon. “Brace!”

  “I’ll take the right flank,” Boris said quietly, stepping forward. He tapped the butt of his spear against the ground, drawing the monsters’ attention with a rhythm like a battle drum. He didn’t wait for approval.

  The swordsman moved to intercept him—only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Opel.

  “Let him,” Opel said. “Trust me. He’s capable.”

  The [Swordsman] hesitated… then turned to face the incoming horde.

  The scorpions charged.

  A blur of yellow light flared over the team.

  [Divine Protection]

  The spell settled over them like warm sunlight—brief but potent. Kana felt the surge of HP increase though it didn't help the pain in her head.

  The first scorpion struck.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Opel met it with his shield, his boots grinding into the sand. The swordsman dashed past him, blades aimed not at the creatures’ massive torsos, but at their joints. Crippling precision.

  Asha’s staff swept sideways, summoning a towering wall of jagged ice. The creatures slowed, claws scraping, and she struck again—[Ice Shard], targeting their limbs as they approached.

  Suri stood at the rear, her hands weaving a delicate pattern in the air.

  An enormous orc shimmered into existence beside them—one of her illusions. Towering, snarling, armed with a great club. The Black Scorpions took the bait. Several diverted, stabbing at the phantom with their tails, distracted.

  Kana knelt behind them all, her bow already drawn. Her eyes tracked the flanks, watching for stragglers or any that slipped past the front.

  She wouldn’t fire unless she had to. But her fingers were ready.

  …….

  A minute into the battle, the hooded lady raised her staff.

  Lightning gathered around her in a heartbeat—crackling, twisting, alive. The air turned electric as her voice rang out.

  [Thunder Strike]

  The sky split open. A bolt of searing blue light exploded downward, crashing into the sand in front of Opel and the [Swordsman]. A shockwave rippled outward, hurling dust and heat.

  The skill had an AOE effect. Three Black Scorpions screamed—if such a sound could be called a scream. Two of them collapsed instantly, blackened like coal and twitching. The third reared back, spasming, legs locking in place. Stunned.

  The [Swordsman] didn’t waste the opening. He was already moving—his sword flared with a skill of its own, biting deep into the stunned scorpion’s underbelly.

  Kana, from the rear, didn’t look at that fight.

  Her eyes were on something else.

  There—off to the side, half-buried in sand—stood a single Black Scorpion. It hadn’t moved since the others emerged. It didn’t charge. Didn’t join the fray. It watched.

  It’s... commanding?

  Her breath slowed. She pulled an arrow from her quiver.

  The shaft looked the same as all the others. But something in her chest tugged, that sixth sense she barely understood now humming through her fingertips. Ignoring the pain in her head, she nocked it, aimed—not at the body, but the small head—and released.

  The bowstring snapped with a sharper twang than usual. The arrow hissed through the air more so than before.

  The distant scorpion twitched. Its eyes flared. It tried to move—

  Too late.

  The arrow buried itself through its skull, punching clean through to the base of its spine. The creature collapsed sideways, twitching once before going still.

  Kana blinked. She could feel the shot was heavily influenced by her passive skill, [Trueshot]

  That was... different. She lowered her bow, heartbeat steady, gaze still scanning.

  The rhythm of the enemy broke.

  The Black Scorpions, once terrifyingly synchronized—striking in perfect arcs—suddenly faltered. Their formation collapsed like a poorly stacked deck of cards. They swung their massive tails without direction, lashing sand and shadow alike. Some even struck each other. Suri’s illusions, once useful distractions, now became chaos incarnate. The Black Scorpions snapped at phantom enemies, confused, panicked.

  Kana’s arrow had done more than kill. It had shattered command.

  Above them, thunder cracked again—raw and sudden. Another bolt from the hooded lady tore through the sky, hammering into a scorpion mid-lunge. It exploded in sparks and broken limbs.

  One by one, the monsters fell. Ten. Twelve. Fifteen.

  Then only the sound of shifting sand and the hiss of scorched carapace remained.

  Someone pointed.

  All eyes turned.

  Boris stood alone at the far flank.

  A battlefield of his own making surrounded him—a crescent of broken bodies and twitching limbs. Dust clung to his cloak. His spear gleamed with purple blood as he drove it through the skull of another scorpion with brutal efficiency.

  He wasn’t retreating.

  He wasn’t calling for help.

  He was winning on his own.

  ……

  Towering Andel walked ahead, flanked by Toby, Roy, and Leo, through the stone corridor of the boys' dormitory. Morning sunlight had barely touched the windows.

  He stopped at a worn wooden door and knocked five times with the back of his knuckles. It was quite a loud knock.

  The door creaked open.

  A bleary-eyed boy peeked out, dressed in a wrinkled tunic. His hair stuck out in odd directions. “For god sake, why are you knocking so loud this early?” he mumbled.

  Then his gaze slid upward.

  He froze when he saw Andel—taller than most door frames—and Leo beside him, whose noble lineage was impossible to mistake.

  His eyes landed on their copper band except for Leo. The boy straightened instantly, the sarcasm drained from his tone. “Oh. You’re here for Boris?”

  “That’s right,” Toby said. “Is he in?”

  “He’s still asleep.” He stepped back and pointed behind him. “Help yourself.” Then, muttering something about needing to relieve himself, the boy shuffled away as if fleeing.

  Andel pushed the door open, grinning. “Boris!” he bellowed, “Rise and shine!”

  No response.

  The room was dark, quiet, and slightly messy—papers on the desk, training gear piled in the corner. On the bed, Boris lay wrapped in a blanket, face turned away, undisturbed.

  Roy crossed his arms. “Looks like the rumors were true. The trio really are heavy sleepers.”

  Andel tilted his head, eyes sparkling. “You know what I’m thinking?”

  The others blinked at him.

  “Cold. Water,” Andel said, tapping his temple.

  Leo hesitated. “What if he gets mad?”

  “If I say it’s good for muscle recovery, he’ll forgive us.” Andel flashed a wide grin and turned.

  Minutes later, Andel returned with a wooden bucket full of water, easily grabbed in one arm as if it weighed nothing.

  They moved carefully.

  The blanket was folded back.

  The pillow was gently removed.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Leo muttered but he was curious. Looking forward to seeing the funny reaction of Boris.

  “Here we go!” Andel said, lifting the bucket.

  He tipped it.

  A splash, sharp and sudden.

  The water hit the bed—and passed through nothing.

  Boris dissolved into the air like mist, as if he were never there. A shimmer. A puff. Gone.

  A long pause.

  “…Did I just kill him?” Andel asked, peering under the bed with exaggerated caution.

  There was nothing.