"Boss… isn't this thing way too strong for just a Level 2?" Iron Bear asked, sweating nervously as he glanced back at Nitish.
"Of course it is," Nitish replied calmly. "This is Hell Mode. Monsters here are far more powerful than their normal counterparts."
"Bear, I need you at the front. Do exactly as I say.Sparky, your job is to keep healing Bear—non-stop.The rest of you, stay sharp. Any carelessness, and if you die—I'm not taking responsibility."
The four of them nodded hesitantly, following orders half-heartedly. As they advanced cautiously, the massive rat noticed them. With a shriek, it lunged straight at Iron Bear.
Startled, Bear instinctively raised his shield.
"NO!" Nitish shouted, but before he could give more instructions, the metal rat slammed into Bear, sending him flying several meters. His health dropped by 25% in a single blow.
Nitish had chosen Bear for one specific reason—he hadn't used a single attribute point yet. Before entering the dungeon, Nitish had instructed him to put all his points into Endurance.
That's why Bear's HP was now a whopping 360.
"Damn… that's terrifying damage," someone muttered.
Everyone was stressed and on edge.
But Nitish kept his cool and barked another command:"Bear! Stop just blocking—start dodging! If you keep tanking everything, you'll drop fast!"
Hearing that, Bear began moving with more agility, dodging and weaving while only blocking when absolutely necessary.
"Sparky!" Nitish signaled, and Sparky immediately began chanting healing spells, restoring Bear's lost HP little by little.
At the same time, White Jade stepped forward and drew his massive two-handed sword. With a battle cry, he activated his Berserker class skill: Twirl Slash.
–20 HP
"…Only twenty?!" Jade nearly cried. That same skill usually dealt at least 40 damage to regular monsters. But here, in Hell Mode, it barely scratched the metal rat.
Before Jade could even finish sulking—
–60 HP
A sudden blast of dark energy struck the rat. Everyone turned in surprise.
"Whoa… that was Aaryan's attack!"
The four new recruits all had the same thought:"He really is a pro…"
But Aaryan himself didn't share their awe. In fact, he looked disappointed.
Not because his attack dealt too much damage—But because… it didn't deal nearly enough.
He had equipped both a Bronze-ranked staff and Bronze-ranked gloves, and even used his special class skill, Dark Shot… and yet, only 60 damage?
Still, thanks to steady teamwork and coordinated strikes, the group had managed to whittle the rat's HP down by 70% in just a few minutes.
Suddenly, Nitish swung his sword in Sparky's direction—
PANG!
Sparky's eyes widened in shock.He turned to see that Nitish had just deflected an incoming arrow aimed straight at him.
"STAY ALERT, ALL OF YOU!" Nitish shouted, his tone turning deadly serious.
This was exactly what he had been worried about—The hidden threat of this dungeon.
Dark Archers.
These monsters stayed concealed in the shadows, hidden behind trees, attacking from a distance.They were one of the key reasons reaching the dungeon boss was so difficult.
Without wasting a second, Nitish darted toward a nearby tree and used his skill, Harakiri Slash, slicing it clean through—
BOOM!The tree crashed to the ground, and a dark shadowy figure leapt out, trying to escape.
Nitish immediately chased it down and struck it with his Chop skill.
At the same time, Aaryan fired a Dark Shot, hitting the fleeing enemy directly.
AWHOOOOOOOOO!
The monster howled in pain.
Dark Archer (Level 2)HP: 370 / 510
Nitish's incredible speed and reflexes left his teammates stunned.
How the hell was a Level 1 player this fast? This sharp?
But Aaryan just smiled. He knew his friend better than anyone—this was Nitish's true self.
With their focus locked on the Dark Archer, Nitish and Aaryan coordinated attacks, while Bear and White Jade continued handling the Metal Rat. Meanwhile, the Summoner—Blue Gem—called forth Fire Spirits to protect Sparky from any more surprise attacks.
And then, after about five minutes of coordinated effort—
Dark Archer (Level 2) has been killed.You have gained 290 EXP!
Metal Rat (Level 2) has been killed.You have gained 200 EXP!
Nitish, naturally, received much less EXP than the others—he was still a higher-level player compared to most of them.
Still, the rest of the team was ecstatic.
It was the first time they'd taken down monsters this powerful.
Their excitement reached an all-time high.
Nitish moved toward the corpses and began collecting the dropped loot.His eyes lit up the moment he saw something shining amongst the normal items.
It was a Bronze-grade chest armor.
Jin Chestplate (Bronze-Ranked)(Level 1)Defense: 35Endurance: +5Durability: 31 / 31
Nitish was impressed by the chestplate's stats. Without hesitation, he handed it over to Bear.
"Here, take this. It'll help you take less damage," Nitish said casually, as if it was no big deal.
But his team didn't take it so lightly.Everyone—except Aaryan—was stunned by this simple gesture.
Any other player—especially a leader—would've kept such a valuable item for themselves. But Nitish didn't think twice. He handed over a bronze-ranked item just like that.
And this wasn't even a permanent party, like those formed by official guilds. They were a temporary team, thrown together by circumstance. There was no obligation for him to give away anything rare.And yet, Nitish did.
That one moment quietly earned him deep respect from the rest of the group.
Bear took the chestplate with trembling hands. He didn't even have a single common-ranked item before this… and now suddenly, Nitish had gifted him a bronze-tier armor!
"Thank you, boss," Bear said, his voice full of gratitude.
After that, the group pressed forward.
As they progressed deeper into the dungeon, the number of Metal Rats increased significantly. Soon, the monsters began attacking in coordinated groups.
At first, it was overwhelming.The sheer number of enemies made it hard to keep up.
But slowly, everyone began gaining combat experience. And the one who surprised Nitish the most—was Bear.
His growth was phenomenal.After just a few fights, Bear had already learned how to dodge, block, and even how to draw aggro—all the skills of a proper tank.
Soon, most of the team had leveled up to Level 2.Aaryan was still at Level 3, but on the verge of hitting Level 4.
Nitish himself had also reached Level 2.
He allocated his four attribute points as follows:+2 to Agility, +1 to Endurance, and +1 to Strength.
But the battle wasn't slowing down.
The number of rats swarming them became so overwhelming that Nitish finally had to step in and fight alongside his team.
And that's when everything changed.
Until now, the others had only seen Nitish fighting the Dark Archers, where Aaryan's damage output had seemed more impressive.But now, after his level up—Nitish joined the fray against the rats.
And his team was shocked speechless.
In seconds, their leader went from being a mysterious, seemingly reserved fighter… to an unstoppable force.
-50 HP, -50 HP, -50 HP, -70 HP
With each precise strike, rats fell like paper dolls.
They weren't just surprised—they were starting to feel something else.
Fear.
Everyone was completely stunned by Nitish's monstrous damage.None of them could understand how or when he had become so powerful.
Only Aaryan wasn't surprised—he knew exactly who Nitish was.This was the same guy who had taken down Captain Boulder, an elite-level monster, all by himself.
With Nitish now fighting alongside them, the party made quick work of the remaining Metal Rats and even managed to kill another Dark Archer.
Once they collected the loot, Nitish turned to the group.
"Let's move forward. The boss is just ahead."
As soon as he said that, the other four immediately stood at attention and responded with a burst of enthusiasm:
"Yes, boss! Whatever you say!"
"We're ready, boss! Let's go!"
"That damage you dealt to those rats… Damn, that was awesome, boss!"
Nitish and Aaryan exchanged confused looks.
Just a while ago, these same people weren't even willing to acknowledge Nitish as the leader, and now they were calling him "Boss" with glowing respect.
Still, they pushed onward through the dense forest.
Before long, Nitish suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
They had arrived.
Right at the center of the dark forest, surrounded by trees twisted into a natural circle, stood a large arena of sorts.And in the middle of that clearing was a creature unlike anything they'd faced yet.
A massive rat, nearly the size of a small car, crouched silently in the clearing.
Its fur shimmered with a silvery sheen.Its claws were unnaturally long—like twisted knives—and its tail stretched nearly three meters, ending in a razor-sharp point like a sword blade.
Surrounding the beast were twelve Metal Rats—each one an elite monster in its own right.
The sight was terrifying.
"How… how are we supposed to beat that?" Aaryan asked nervously, his voice barely above a whisper.
Nitish didn't blink.
He stepped forward, eyes locked on the monster, and smiled calmly.
"We'll beat it," he said."No matter what... we will bring it down."