Safe zones inside the dungeon were rare—usually, you'd only find them in human cities on the 5th, 15th, and 25th floors. But every now and then, Raiders stumbled upon one in the wild, marked by clusters of green crystals. I'd heard stories of these places being packed with a few dozen Raiders; warriors eager for a moment's respite.
Tonight, though, we were alone.
We had decided to set up camp, letting exhaustion settle as the soft glow of the crystals bathed our surroundings in the warm light. A quiet night's rest in a place like this was a rare luxury—we weren't about to waste it. Seya was already asleep beside the fireplace, her breathing blending with the crackle of the flames."
For a while, no one spoke. The warmth, the quiet—it was enough. Ceru poked at the fire with a stick, watching the embers shift. Then, out of nowhere—
"Kin? Do you ever get lonely?"
Ceru's voice was light, almost absentminded, but something about it made the air feel heavier.
Flex glanced at her. "Ceru?"
"Sorry, I'm just curious."
Kin watched the flames flicker, feeling the fire's warmth on his face. It was a welcome contrast to the dungeon's usual chill, which always clung to his clothes no matter how far they travelled. He exhaled. "It's fine. I don't mind... No, not really." He tossed another piece of wood into the fire, sparks flaring before fading into embers.
That's a lie.
The thought surfaced before he could shove it down, unbidden, whispering in the back of his mind.
"... What about you?" he asked, shifting the conversation away from himself.
"Me?" Ceru tilted her head, then grinned. "Hmm, not when I've got this handsome devil with me!" She grabbed Flex's arm and shook him playfully.
"Hey, cut it out," Flex murmured, his voice fond despite the words.
"Oh, come on. It's no secret," she teased, nudging him.
Kin blinked. He hadn't really thought about it before, but… now that he did, their closeness was obvious. He must have looked confused because Flex chuckled, shaking his head.
"We're married."
"Yep! Five years now," Ceru added, wrapping her arm around Flex's neck and leaning against him, her smile warm and easy.
Kin stared at them for a beat, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Huh. I just thought you raided together."
Flex smirked. "You're young, right?"
"Eighteen," Kin said, straightening up a little.
Flex let out a low whistle. "First year in the dungeon, huh? Damn. That's impressive." He laced his fingers through Ceru's. "Took us three years before we even dared touch the 10th floor."
Kin chuckled. "I don't blame you."
A brief silence settled between them, as they look toward the fire flickering softly.
"Ah, right," Flex muttered after a moment. "Almost forgot what I was gonna say." He stretched, then shot Kin a knowing look. "When you find your first love, believe me—your world's gonna change. Sparks flying, magic spells being cast all around you… something like that."
Ceru giggled, squeezing his arm. "You see!?" digging her heads through Flex's hair.
Flex yawned, lying back. "Anyway, it's gonna be a long day tomorrow. Time for sleep."
Kin and Ceru followed suit, the fire's warmth lulling them into rest.
The Next Day
The path ahead stretched into dim uncertainty, its edges uneven, carved by time rather than design. Moss clung to the rough stone in scattered patches, their deep green softened by the eerie blue glow of the crystal lights embedded in the cavern walls. The air was cool, carrying a faint dampness, as if the stone itself breathed in the silence. Tiny droplets collected on the ceiling, slipping free only to shatter soundlessly against the floor below.
Flex raised a hand, bringing the group to a halt. His voice low "Every hundred meters, Seya, use Detection. We need to know what's ahead before it knows about us." Seya gave a sharp nod, already focusing.
Flex turned to Creu—
"I'll handle the enhancements," Ceru cut in, her tone smooth, almost casual, as a soft glow flickered to life around her fingertips. Flex gave her a subtle smile before continuing. "Kin, you and I take the front. If anything jumps us, we stop it before it reaches the others."
Kin nodded, "understood."
They moved forward.
The silence grew heavier. The cavern walls felt like they were pressing in, shadows shifting in the flickering blue light. Then—movement. Quick, unnatural. Shapes blurred just beyond the glow, their outlines jagged and wrong.
The team intimidated. The creatures weren't familiar. Their forms twisted in and out of sight, too fast, too unpredictable.
A flicker of memory. Kin's breath caught. The way they moved—shadows weaving, the erratic slithering between the walls—he had seen this before. His mind snapped back to the records.
His heart hammered against his ribs. "They're weak to water!"
Flex didn't delay. "Seya!"
A torrent erupted forward. Water crashed into the abyss, the blue glow fracturing through the spray, turning the cavern into a storm of shifting light. flooding the space and swallowing the dark...
The guilds had assembled, the air thick electric with anticipation, their strongest raiders gathered like a Tsunami crashing on the mountain side. Seven guilds, each with their own elite members, crowded the cavernous space. Some had three, others four, and one had only a lone representative—an unfamiliar figure, draped in bandages, his eyes covered in stark white cloth. He wasn't recognized by anyone, his presence more of a riddle than a person.
Itzu stood at the centre, surveying the others, his hands crossed. "Alright, who's leading this expedition?"
Tank, towering and as immobile as a mountain in his full armour, only shrugged. His silent gesture carried weight.
Itzu's eyes narrowed, and he turned to Tank, exasperated. "I wasn't asking you, Tank."
Michi, standing nearby, mimicked Itzu's stance with a cocky grin that bordered on narcissism. "Obviously, it's gonna be me" his hand sweeping confidently through the air as if the role was already his by birthright. His eyes were shut in smug self-assurance.
"Who made you king of the castle, huh?" Itzu cuts in, stepping right into his space, their foreheads colliding.
Michi's face twitched into a competitive grin, and without missing a beat, he shoved his head into Itzu's, pushing back slightly. "Huh? What's that, rockhead?" he retorted, not an inch of surrender in his stance.
The two of them stayed locked in their back-and-forth, "Rockhead? huh?" Itzu snapped, his voice a mix of defiance and amusement.
Tank, his massive form the embodiment of restraint, scratched the side of his helmet before, with the precision of a tectonic shift, sweeping both of them apart—one on each side. His armoured arms moved with a fluidity that was unnerving, the separation between Itzu and Michi as effortless as though pushing two unruly children apart.
Neither Itzu nor Michi even seemed to notice Tank's intervention, their eyes still locked in a death grip of stubbornness, the distance between them growing only because Tank had forced it.
The Captain's voice broke through the chaos, his tone calm and clear: "Let's split into two groups with two leaders. Any volunteers?"
"I'll bite" Kireo said.
He strode forward, hands in his pockets—not with laziness, but with the kind of effortless cool that made it impossible to ignore him. His gaze barely lifted, but somehow, it commanded attention.
The Captain gave a short nod, as if expecting this. "Alright. I'll be the other."
With that settled, all eyes turned toward the dungeon's entrance. Excitement buzzed in the air, thick with tension, rivalry, and the undeniable sense that things were about to get very, very interesting.
Shinoh's pulse thrummed steadily in his chest as the last of the monsters crumpled to the ground. His fellow raiders, efficient in their work, sheathed their weapons, the quiet hum of the dungeon floor slowly settling. The man who struck the final blow wiped his blade clean. "That should be it," he said, his tone carrying the weariness of a job well done.
They turned the corner, and the 5th city stretched out before them—more a sprawling town than a city, its entrance marked by a long, straight pathway led into the heart of the city, the ground surrounded beneath it covered by shimmering blue crystals, their glow soft, like a thousand stars nestled beneath the earth. The town itself was simple—no towering spires or ornate facades. Instead, modest stone buildings lined the streets, well-maintained but lacking extravagant flourishes. Despite its size, it had a comforting, grounded feel, as though it existed solely for purpose rather than spectacle.
His feet stepping through the threshold into the city's core. His thoughts scattered like a thousand droplets of water splintering against a glass, each one bringing him back to the gatekeeper's words.
"If you're foolish enough to try your luck on the 5th floor, you'll need to know this." Her voice had been a steady current in his thoughts, unshaken as she handed him the iron emblem. "Kin was held here. Look for the mark, that's where the chief will be."
The emblem's glow was faint, but it was enough—a beacon in the dark. He knew this was the path. Without faltering, he moved deeper into the city, his boots reverberating across the city's streets.
The receptionist's desk was a seamless extension of the space—polished, practical, and without ornamentation. The entire room mirrored this efficiency, its walls reinforced with precisely cut stone, smooth but bearing faint traces of tools that had shaped them. Soft, embedded lighting cast a muted glow, stark against the deep, clean lines of the architecture. Nothing here was excessive.
Shinoh approached it with deliberate calm, but his voice cracked the silence as he said, "I need to speak with the chief."
From the corridor, a figure stepped forward, his silhouette cutting clean against the measured light. He was broad-shouldered, standing with the kind of presence that made the space feel smaller around him. His cloak settled more like armor than fabric, hanging with deliberate stillness. His eyes, sharp and penetrating, focused on Shinoh.
"Why the rush?" His voice was like a distant rumble.
Shinoh didn't flinch. "I'm looking for Kin."
The chief's face shifted, his features tightening as if a veil had been lifted. "Kin?" A pause. "A level 14 who fell from the 1st to the 10th floor... and returned here alone?"
Shinoh's response was immediate. "yes"
The chief studied Shinoh with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. "My guards saw the raiders he left with. They tend to work the 12th or 13th floors." He paused, his eyes flicking to Shinoh's stature, reading between the lines. "We don't just let anyone go past the 5th."
Shinoh's expression darkened, but his voice remained even. "Thank you." He started to turn, but the chief's voice stopped him dead. "I can't let you go any deeper." The words struck with quiet finality, as if he had read Shinoh's mind.
The chief's gaze maintained on his eyes.
"Nobody under Level 10 passes the 5th." Shinoh's jaw tightened slightly, but his stance never shifted. "Look. Even with the most experienced raiders going with you, it would be extremely dangerous." The Chief continued "And past the 9th? You may as well be signing your own death warrant."
Shinoh didn't flinch, his pulse steadying. His eyes met the chiefs with a quiet ferocity, unyielding and certain. "I understand," he said calmly. "I'm going back."
The chief looked him over, his mouth set in a hard line. "You'd be better off waiting here."
A flicker of something passed through Shinoh's expression—determination calcified into certainty. "No... I'll be back when I'm Level 10."
With those final words, Shinoh turned, his every step echoing in the silence as he moved away. The chief watched him go, his mouth slightly widened, as though caught in a moment of indecision. But Shinoh didn't look back.
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