The air shimmered, and in an instant, the Legion's team found themselves standing in front of the massive guild building.
A guild member who had been leaning casually against the doorway jerked upright, eyes wide.
"Holy—what?!" he blurted, before quickly snapping into a salute. "Captain, sir!"
The team exchanged glances, just as surprised that the orb had actually worked. Riya stared at her now-empty hand as the artifact faded from existence.
Without wasting time, they stepped through the guild's grand doors, the lively atmosphere of Raiders buzzing around them. A few passing by nodded in recognition of the team, acknowledging their status with respectful bows before continuing on their way.
They ascended the wide, towering staircase, heading toward the Guild Master's office.
Inside the Guild Master's Office
A firm knock echoed against the thick wooden door.
"Come in." The voice inside was casual, almost lazy. As they entered, the Guild Master raised an eyebrow at their unexpected arrival.
"Did you forget to tell me something?" He smirked, clearly amused.
The Captain stepped forward. "Actually, Master, we just got back."
The Guild Master's smirk faded. "That was fast… What happened?" His posture shifted, now fully attentive.
"We encountered a new magic beast. And… we found something else."
The Guild Master leaned forward. "A new item? Don't keep me waiting—where is it? What does it do?"
Riya pulled out the three remaining orbs, placing them on the desk. Riya explained, "These orbs can teleport a group or individual anywhere they wish to go... It's S Rank sir."
A breathless pause. Then—
"This is incredible!"
The Guild Master's chair creaked as he shot to his feet, eyes locked onto the glowing spheres. "You've all surpassed my expectations." He exhaled sharply, already thinking ahead. "There's much to do. I'll call for you in the coming days—enjoy your rest for now."
The Master's lifted joy seemed to drop for a moment "One Thing though... Keep this a secret for now"
As the team exited, the Guild Master wastes no time and calls his secretary.
"Yes, Master?" the secretary ready for orders.
""Gather all the Guild Masters this evening. Tell them… I have news about the 31st." As the call ended, his gaze drifted to the remaining orbs, their glow was steady. Yet something about them gnawed at him.
———
Dungeon – Floors 6th-9th
The next few floors passed in a blur of steel and magic. Kin's voice narrated his thoughts as the group carved through monsters with ease.
"The 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th floors felt beyond easy. Fighting together, we cover each other's weaknesses, and I'm gaining XP fast. Even Seya is starting to open up—giving me tips on how to chain my attacks with her fire magic. I should be excited, but…"
His gaze lingered on the descending passage ahead. "The 10th floor… I still remember what happened last time."
A heavy silence settled over them as they approached the threshold.
"The real trouble starts here. It's not the deepest we've gone but stay sharp—these things are about to get relentless," Flex warns.
Kin looks down at his daggers "This time... I won't hesitate"
Stepping onto the 10th floor, the shift was immediate. The air grew thick, not crushing, but heavy enough to notice—a constant, unseen force pressing against their skin. The magic here was different, more concentrated, a reminder that the easy descent was over. The floors above had been little more than a warm-up, but now? Now, the dungeon was done holding back.
And standing in their path, as if to drive that point home, was an ogre. Kin's breath raised.
Darkness. The past, or maybe a dream. The first ogre. It's blood on his hands. The weight of the blade. The silence after.
The silence.
—
Move.
Kin's eyes dulled as if he was under a trance, bolting forward, full speed.
"Kin?!" Flex's voice sounded distant. Unimportant.
The ogre didn't even move. Too slow. Kin's daggers flash. One clean strike—decapitation. Quietness absorbed their surroundings. The others stared, stunned. Kin's eyes seem to snap back into consciousness.
"…I don't know what that was," Ceru breathed, "but that was amazing! You didn't tell us you could move like that, Kin!"
Kin, disorientated, his voice dull, "yea..."
Flex grins. Clapping him on the shoulder. "Save some for the rest of us, will you?"
The group chuckled, but the moment felt oddly hollow. Kin barely registered the words. His mind was elsewhere.
The room was different this time. The long banquet table, once overflowing with extravagant dishes, was bare. The scent of roasted meats and spiced wine had been replaced by parchment and candle smoke. This wasn't a gathering of indulgence—it was a meeting of consequence.
A Guild Master, the same one who had once cared more for his meals than meetings, leaned back in his chair with an exaggerated sigh. "So, what? No feast this time?"
The Master of the Legion's Guild, expression intense, ignored the comment.
"We need to talk."
The air shifted. The sceptical Guild Master, arms crossed, leaned forward. "About the 31st, I assume? Your Raiders returned already?"
"Yes." The Legion's Guild Master speaking frankly.
The sceptical Guild Master studied him carefully. "Then tell me— I mean us what they found?"
Only then did the Legion's Guild Master reach into his coat and place the orb on the wooden table. The room darkened slightly as its glow pulsed, the unnatural radiance casting long shadows across the gathered faces. A suspense touches the room.
Finally, one of the Guild Masters spoke. "What… is that?"
The Legion's Guild Master's fingers drummed against the wood. "It allows instantaneous travel. A person or an entire group—anywhere in the world."
The murmurs rippled, growing into a roar of voices.
"This will change everything—"
"Nobles will pay a fortune for this!"
"Supply chains, emergency extractions—"
The sceptical Guild Master remained silent; eyes locked onto the orb. After a moment, he spoke, voice balanced.
"You've never given me a reason not to trust you," he admitted. "But something like this… I'd like my appraiser to examine it. If that's alright."
A faint smile toyed at the Legion's Guild Master's lips. "By all means." His hand gestured toward the orbs.
Sometime later...
The room was deathly quiet.
The appraiser stood over the orb, hands hovering inches above its surface. Threads of golden magic wove through the air, circling the item like a living thing. His eyes flickered with arcane light, his expression frozen somewhere between awe and disbelief.
The sceptical Guild Master frowned. "Well? What do you see?"
The appraiser didn't answer.
His breathing was slow, deliberate—like he was afraid of what he was witnessing. His fingers twitched as more sigils flared to life around the orb, scanning, deciphering. The glow remained constant. Too constant.
"…This isn't possible," he finally whispered.
The sceptical Guild Master leaned in. "Explain."
The appraiser took a shaky breath. His mouth opened—then closed. He exhaled sharply, shaking his head before forcing out two words.
"It's S-rank."
The room exploded.
Chairs scraped against the floor. Voices overlapped in disbelief. Even the sceptical Guild Master, usually composed, shot to his feet.
"S-rank?! You're sure?!"
"There's no mistake?"
One of the older Guild Masters—one who had seen many dungeon cycles—ran a hand through his hair, his voice strained with disbelief.
"…S-rank artifacts appear once every hundred years." He turned to the Legion's Guild Master, his gaze sharp.
The Legion's Guild Master nods. "Yes, you make a great point, however."
he then showed the 2 other orbs "Out of the handful of monsters my team defeated, each one dropped one of these S-rank orbs"
their breaths held for a moment.
The Legion's Guild Master let the weight of his words settle before his gaze swept across the room.
"And now, I ask you all of you. Will you join in the first-ever joint guild raid?"
The tension snapped. Voices surged. The air hummed with energy—this was history in the making.
"YES!" The response was unanimous, a chorus of conviction.
And then, the declaration:
"Then gear your strongest members for the 31st!"
Steel sang and magic howled, a storm of destruction as Kin, Ceru, Seya, and Flex wove through the chaos, cutting down the final wave of monsters with ruthless precision. The last beast lurched, its glowing eyes flickering like a dying star before snuffing out completely, its body crumbling into the dust of the fallen.
Flex cracked his neck, exhaling. "That's the last of them." He glanced at Kin, studying him for a moment. "You make it look effortless."
Kin wiped the blood off his daggers. "Thanks, I trained hard for it."
Flex nodded a hint of respect in his voice. "Yeah… I can tell."
Ceru abruptly points ahead. "I think that's the entrance to the 11th floor."
"Okay, great! Everyone follow my lead," Flex says as they step inside.
Kin inhaled deeply, the air thick with damp stone and the faint scent of moss. The 11th floor. His first time stepping into its depths. At level 22, he should feel invincible—his strength, his skill, everything told him there was nothing here he couldn't cut down. And yet, unease coiled around him.
"I know I can handle what's ahead… so why do I feel so anxious?"
The passage ahead yawned open, its entrance darker than the rest of the dungeon. Unlike the stark, lifeless stone of the previous floors, the 11th had something different—faint patches of moss clinging to the corners, dampening the air with a subtle, earthy scent. It wasn't much, but in a place where every floor had been nothing but cold, dead rock, it felt... wrong.
Seya's voice cut through his thoughts. "Up ahead."
Flex nodded. "Ceru, give me and Kin a speed and strength boost."
"On it!" she declared, weaving her hands through the air.
The moment the magic surged through him, Kin's body lightened—his muscles hummed with energy, his reflexes sharper. The change was instant.
Then—the air shifted.
The walls seemed to breathe as countless eyes gleamed in the darkness. Shadows stirred. A horde of half-alligator half-human monsters spilled forth, their claws scraping against the dungeon stone.
"So many?!" Kin tensed
The power from the buff surges through him. "I feel so light."
Flex looks at him eagerly. "Ready, Kin?"
They lunged at the same time.
Kin twisted past claws and fangs, his daggers cutting cleanly through their skin. His speed was unreal, his movements instinctive. One monster barely had time to react before his blade found its throat.
"Seya!" Flex barked.
A pulse of fire erupted beneath the remaining beasts. Flames devoured them, their screeches swallowed by the inferno.
In moments, it was over.
"That was nice, Seya!" Flex called over his shoulder.
"You too, Ceru! Those buffs—almost felt unfair," he added with a grin.
Kin flexed his fingers, his body still heightened by the remnants of magic. "Yeah… felt like I was cutting through leaves."
Ceru smirked, crossing her arms. "Of course you would! Buffs are sort of my specialty." her pride on full display.
Kin checked his stats. A 30-point boost to strength and agility—no wonder he felt unstoppable. But as quickly as it had come, the surge of power faded. He exhaled sharply. "It doesn't last very long."
Ceru, still indulging in her own pride, snaps, "Kin, you may not know this, but buffs eat up a ridiculous amount of mana! It's impressive to hold a buff for even half a minute!"
"Really?" Kin glanced at her.
Flex nods. "Yeah. Only a few mages in the world can hold buffs for over a minute, and those are high-ranking elite members of the most prestigious guilds. Anyway…" he stretches. "We better move before more show up."
Kin's eyes scout across his teammates—moving together, covering each other without hesitation. It was just like before. Just like with Shinoh. "I wonder how he's doing?"
The dungeon's entrance towering ahead, the usual chatter of Raiders and merchants blending into the background as Shinoh pushed through the crowd. His pace was brisk, his thoughts even faster. He hadn't seen Kin in days—not since the dungeon breakout. His mother was worried sick. So why hadn't Kin come home?
Shinoh reached the gatekeeper, barely pausing before asking, "Has Kin gotten out yet?"
Shinoh walks up to the dungeon gatekeeper.
"Has Kin gotten out yet?" he asks.
The gatekeeper shakes her head. "No. I did hear a word from the chief on the 5th—he said that his guards saw Kin leaving with a party, rather enthusiastically, deeper into the dungeon."
The words struck Shinoh like cold steel sliding between his ribs.
"What?" His voice came out sharper than intended. "He… went deeper?"
The gatekeeper gave a small shrug. "Yeah."
A strange pressure built in Shinoh's chest—like something was pressing down, making it harder to breathe. Kin had barely crawled out of the last raid alive, and now he was back inside? Just like that?
His jaw tensed. His nails bit into his palms. "Damn it, Kin. Your mother was relieved to know you were alive, and you just—" He forced a slow breath through his nose. Standing here wouldn't change anything.
He pivoted on his heel. "I have to find him and ask him myself."
The sun hung low, casting golden light over the training yard behind the village. Dust swirled beneath hurried footsteps as a boy no older than seven swung a battered wooden sword, his tiny hands gripping the handle with fierce determination.
Each swing was clumsy but relentless, the dull thud of wood slicing through empty air filling the quiet. His expression was tight, focused—like he was battling an enemy only he could see.
Shinoh, approaching curiously, asks, "What game are you playing?"
Kin straightened, puffing out his chest. "I'm not playing. I'm training." He lifted his sword again, eyes fixated. "Real Raiders have to be ready for anything!"
Shinoh's eyes lit up. "Oh, cool! My dad used to be a Raider when he was young!"
Kin froze mid-swing. His arms locked in place for half a second before he spun around, wide-eyed. "No way! That's super cool!" His excitement bubbled over as he quickly added, "Wanna pla— I mean, train with me?"
Shinoh smiles back. "Yeah!"
The two boys clashed, their laughter mixing with the clack of wood hitting wood. The golden sunlight stretched their shadows across the park, trees swaying gently above them.
The memory lingered as Kin's name on the gatekeeper's lips, the weight of those words had remained pressed against Shinoh's ribs. Back in the present, his resolve had only hardened.
"Anyone willing to take me to the 5th floor?" Shinoh called out, scanning the gathered Raiders.
A man with a scar over his brow sized him up, arms crossed. "Your level?"
"Level 2," Shinoh admitted. He caught their sceptical glances and quickly added, "I'll pay! I just need to find someone."
One of them scoffed. "Yeah? Then it'll cost you one gold."
Shinoh's throat caught mid-breath. "One g—" He coughed, struggling to clear his throat before forcing the words out. "One gold?! That's—" His voice rasped from the sudden shock. Expensive, sure, but to them, he was just a liability.
The Raider shrugged. "You think we're gonna drag some newbie through a dungeon for free? We're already dealing with enough already."
He wasn't just buying passage—he was asking them to take on extra risk. The price made sense.
"...Fine. I'll pay."
"Here." He flicked the gold coin toward them, and one of the Raiders caught it effortlessly. Without another word, he turned to face the dungeon's gaping maw. He didn't need to say anything. He was going in, no matter what.