The night sky was clear and full of stars. With no clouds in sight, the silver moonlight spilled freely across the land.
In the clearing, orange flames roared in the fire pit. The burning wood cracked and popped with sharp snaps.
The firelight stretched the shadows of the group sitting around the flames.
Liam poked the coals with a dagger, then propped up a makeshift grill. The skewered rabbit above the flames sizzled as fat dripped into the fire, sending up sparks and waves of savory aroma.
Despite the fatigue in his eyes, Gauss looked at the roast with a spark of anticipation.
This might be their final night in the dungeon.
If everything went as expected, they'd finish exploring the entire place by tomorrow.
So Lawrence suggested they take the evening to rest and celebrate—gather around the fire and enjoy a proper meal. Given how much they'd gained from this run, everyone was in pretty high spirits.
After a long day, hot food—especially juicy, fatty meat—was the best kind of comfort.
Unfortunately, the traps they'd set earlier only caught one rabbit, barely enough for everyone to get a taste.
Even though the timing of the suggestion felt off to Gauss—like cracking open the champagne at halftime—he hesitated only briefly before deciding not to spoil the mood.
Near the fire, the cleric apprentice Adrian sighed in admiration.
"Lawrence, you really know how to live."
The seasoning for the rabbit had been provided by young master Lawrence himself.
And good spices weren't cheap.
Even for adventurers like them, using seasoning wasn't something they did regularly.
"If you can't even enjoy decent food while you're alive, what's the point?" Lawrence waved dismissively.
Gauss gave him a side-eye.
That kind of line? Pretty much insulted half the people here by accident.
Most of them came from humble beginnings. Being able to eat at all was already a blessing, let alone enjoying gourmet meals.
Gauss's own original body certainly hadn't had that luxury.
Around the fire, everyone also had their own emergency rations, since one rabbit obviously wasn't enough for seven people—all with above-average appetites.
Gauss had coarse oatcakes, dried meat, and some meat paste.
He glanced around at what the others brought.
Only the half-orc warrior Zorc gave him pause.
The guy had really been eating nothing but black bread for days?
Just like always, Zorc waited for his boiled water to cool a bit, then dipped in the black bread and scarfed it down.
Gauss raised an eyebrow, genuinely puzzled.
With strength like his, even just the earnings from regular commissions should be enough to eat a bit better than this.
Besides, could black bread even provide enough nutrition?
Was it a preference thing? Or just poverty?
Do people really love black bread that much? Gauss couldn't imagine it.
But if it was due to being broke, then a capable adventurer like Zorc living like this was pretty unusual.
Zorc quickly finished his food.
"You want a biscuit?" Gauss nudged his food over to Zorc without making a fuss.
This wasn't random generosity.
Over the past few days in the dungeon, Zorc had instinctively positioned himself between Gauss and danger.
Sure, most threats hadn't actually been able to hurt Gauss thanks to his Mage Armor—but the gesture still counted.
"I'm good. My bread's enough." Zorc shook his head.
"Just take it."
Gauss had already noticed the bread bag next to Zorc was empty.
He handed over some extra oatcakes and meat strips.
"Exploration's almost over. These are just extras—nothing fancy."
Zorc hesitated, then wiped his hands on his shirt and accepted them.
"Alright. Thanks."
He tore the food into chunks and ate quietly.
Seeing Zorc finally accept the offer, Gauss felt relieved.
Others had tried offering food before, but Zorc had always stubbornly declined.
Maybe because it was the last night.
Maybe because Gauss's food didn't seem too valuable.
Either way, he finally accepted it.
"Are you strapped for cash?" Gauss asked in a low voice.
"Yeah." Zorc paused, then nodded. "I send all my money home. I've got over ten siblings. I'm the oldest."
"And once this dungeon run is over, I should be able to—"
"Wait, wait—don't finish that sentence." Gauss cut him off mid-thought, suddenly feeling a chill down his spine. "Let's talk about it after we make it out."
"Oh. Okay." Zorc blinked, confused but obedient.
The short, hushed exchange went unnoticed by the others who were focused on roasting rabbit.
Gauss finished eating and leaned toward the fire for warmth, thinking back over the past few days.
It was the fifth day since they'd entered the dungeon.
He'd killed 68 monsters in that time—about 13 to 14 per day.
Didn't sound like a lot, but considering there were seven people in the group, it was a pretty solid number.
He couldn't expect teammates to just leave monsters for him to land the killing blow.
It wasn't realistic—and even if they wanted to, monsters weren't exactly cooperative punching bags.
So all things considered, Gauss was pretty satisfied.
More importantly, the kills were consistent.
Compared to running all over the place to find targets, this was a way more efficient grind.
Wake up, wash, eat, gear up, enter the dungeon. Repeat.
It was boring and mentally draining, but if it meant steady progress, he could endure it.
Shame this run was nearly over.
No telling when the next chance like this would come.
Exploring an ancient, untouched ruin like this wasn't an everyday opportunity.
After everyone got a small piece of roast rabbit, dinner wrapped up.
One by one, they headed back to their tents.
Gauss added a few logs to the fire—it was his turn for first watch.
"WHUMP!"
The flames roared higher with the fresh wood.
…
"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!"
The sound of something massive rolling echoed louder and louder from behind.
"CLATTER CLATTER!"
The frantic sound of synchronized running footsteps bounced off the stone walls.
In the narrow tunnel, Gauss and the others sprinted at full speed, sweat flying from their skin and splashing onto the ground.
"Yep. Shouldn't have let Lawrence throw a 'halfway victory party' yesterday. And definitely shouldn't have asked Zorc about money."
Soaked in sweat, Gauss kept running.
The morning had gone smoothly—until they entered a narrow downhill tunnel.
Not long in, a hidden mechanism triggered, and a massive boulder—two meters in diameter—dropped behind them and began rolling at terrifying speed.
With gravity on its side, it chased them relentlessly.
If anyone tripped, they'd be flattened.
"Do you see the next exit?!"
The slope felt endless.
The boulder's pressure wrung every ounce of energy out of them.
"It's close!" Zorc, in front, had spotted light at the end.
"Run faster!!"
At the rear, Lawrence yelled, regret oozing from every word.
He'd thought the back was safe. Now it was the most dangerous spot.
As the light grew larger, the group gave one last burst of speed.
"BOOM!!"
Just as they dove out of the tunnel, the boulder followed—smashing past and scattering debris.
It was a close call. One second slower and they'd be paste.
They hadn't expected the first near-death moment of the dungeon to be caused by a rock.
"THUD!"
The giant boulder dropped into a round pit at the room's center.
"CLUNK!!"
Behind them, a heavy stone door slammed shut—cutting off the path they came from.
But they were used to that by now.
This wasn't the first time it happened.
Now came the real question:
What monster was waiting for them this time?
The group, still gasping on the ground, began to notice something was off.
The ceiling here was absurdly high—at least ten meters.
And the space was huge, more like a plaza than a room.
"Something's wrong. Stay alert!"
Their tension instantly returned.
This place was nothing like the others.
"RUMBLE..."
As they scrambled to their feet, the ground shook.
They braced themselves on hands and knees to stay upright.
All eyes turned toward the source of the vibration.
From the far wall, a stone cage slowly pushed out from the rock.
"CRACK!!"
The cage shattered like an eggshell, and from within, the grinding of armor echoed.
A towering figure stepped out of the shadows.
It was humanoid, but enormous—at least two and a half meters tall, covered in dark chitinous armor that glinted like steel.
Four scythe-like forelimbs, and two powerful hind legs.
Its head was shaped like a monstrous mantis, with glowing red compound eyes and jagged mandibles.
"Thri-kreen Mantisfolk!!"
Lawrence's eyes widened in horror.
A challenge rating 1 monster—an elite threat for their seven-man team.
Gauss swallowed.
Even from a distance, the creature's pressure was overwhelming.
They weren't facing a beast.
They were being hunted.
Suddenly, the mantisfolk crouched.
Its long, insect-like legs bent at unnatural angles, then—
BOOM.
It launched forward.
Each leap slammed against the stone floor like cannon fire.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In just a few rapid bounds, it crossed the room in a blur, landing with deadly grace atop the massive stone boulder it had chased them in with.
From its elevated position, it glared down at the seven of them, those cold, glowing red eyes devoid of any emotion—only intent.
"Be ready!" Gauss barked.
Weapons came out. The team spread into formation—melee up front, ranged in back. No one needed to be told this thing was on a whole different level.
Its towering size, its speed, the force behind every step—it was a predator. A walking weapon.
A killing machine.
From the rear line, the ranger apprentice Bianca drew her bowstring back with a practiced snap.
FWOOM!
An arrow blurred through the air like a black streak, its speed nearly twice that of a normal shot thanks to her skill buff.
But just before impact, the mantisfolk's knees dipped slightly—and in a blink, it sidestepped.
SWISH!
The arrow missed, scraping past its shoulder and shattering against the far wall.
Not a scratch.
Gauss swallowed hard.
The thing wasn't just fast—it was reactive.
That arrow had been faster than most people could track. If it dodged that, it could dodge a lot more.
And it wasn't over.
"It's coming!"
Gauss noticed the mantisfolk lowering its stance again. He didn't even finish the warning before it sprang forward, moving with terrifying acceleration.
The team moved instinctively—frontline bracing, rearline backing up into firing positions.
BOOM!
The creature landed right where they'd been standing just seconds earlier, shaking the stone floor on impact.
The air seemed to shudder with the blow.
The warriors—Liam and Zorc—gritted their teeth, raising shields.
Their hands trembled slightly, but they didn't break formation.
"Damn thing—!" Liam cursed under his breath as he stepped forward to draw aggro.
The mantisfolk's attention locked on him immediately.
It vanished in a blur.
Then—
WHAM!
One of its scythe-arms knocked Liam's shield aside like it was nothing.
SLASH!
The other came down fast, carving into his chestplate.
"URGH!"
Liam flew backward, crashing to the ground and rolling several feet before slamming into the wall.
He coughed blood, face pale.
One hit. One hit had taken their frontline tank out of the fight.
"Magic Missile!"
Gauss didn't hesitate. He'd finally locked onto the creature mid-lunge, and fired from his bone wand.
A blue bolt of force exploded from the wand tip, screeching through the air like a bullet.
The mantisfolk flinched—sensing danger—and twisted its body, throwing a forearm in front of the blast.
CLANG!
The bolt struck. Even deflected, the impact sent the mantisfolk stumbling back.
It dropped to a knee, claws scraping against the floor for balance.
Still not a clean hit. It had swatted the blast aside mid-air with its claw.
BOOM!
The explosion echoed through the room—but the mantisfolk was already moving again, retreating a few steps.
Gauss narrowed his eyes.
Its arms are strong, but not unbreakable. That last parry had left its limb shaking—probably bruised, maybe fractured.
It can't keep tanking those forever.
But... it also wasn't going to stand still.
By now, the others had regrouped. The cleric rushed over to help Liam, while the remaining members fanned out to support Gauss.
They couldn't let this thing keep picking them off.
"Chill Touch!"
Lawrence fired a blue, ghostly skeletal hand across the battlefield, aiming to snare the creature's injured limb.
But the mantisfolk leapt backward, just barely dodging the spectral grab.
Even with all its power, it was agile—dangerously so.
And still, its eyes never left Gauss.
It had locked onto him as the true threat.
It knows.
Gauss could feel it. This monster had instincts—it had judged him to be the biggest danger.
And it was probably right.
But knowing that didn't make facing it any easier.