The week that followed was a blur.
Kael found himself in a rhythm, something dangerously close to routine: wake up, throw on whatever gear didn't stink of monster blood, dash out of the door with half-tied boots, and sprint through the crowded streets of sephel straight to Lunara's inn.
From there, the days were all the same.
Clear five—sometimes six—dungeons.
Collect the loot.
Drag their aching bodies back into town just as the sunset turned the cobblestones gold.
Rinse. Repeat.
It wasn't glamorous, but by the gods, it was effective.
In just seven days, Kael's level skyrocketed to 55.
A number he'd only dreamed of hitting. His experience bar now looked like a straight, horizontal mountain that he was actively climbing, he could almost feel the cusp of a second prestige teasing him every time he blinked.
He hadn't told his parents. Not a word.
They still thought he was hovering in the low 20s, struggling his way up.
Better to surprise them when I'm invincible, he thought.
And today… today was going to be the day he made another leap.
"I'm reaching level 60 today without a doubt."
---
He took off running before the sun had fully broken over the rooftops.
The streets of sephel were starting to come alive again, merchants shouting as they unfurled their wares, the scent of fresh bread mixing with the smell of dust and horse manure. Kael barely noticed any of it.
Every step was faster than the last. Every dodge through a throng of pedestrians was an instinctive blur. People cursed as he whisked by, but their voices never reached him.
At level 55, his body was different. Faster. Sharper. He could feel every joint and muscle working like a perfect machine.
"If this is what 55 feels like," he thought,
"then what about 100? I can't even picture it. Must be like being made of pure lightning."
The excitement burned through him like a fever.
---
He skidded to a stop in front of the little inn. Right on time.
The door opened.
Lunara stepped out.
And for a moment, the world went silent.
Her hood was deep crimson, streaked with two narrow green stripes that ran down the sleeves. A half-mask hugged her lower face, making her look like a rogue straight out of some legendary bounty poster.
Her bow, polished to a dark shine, hung over her back. A quiver of arrows rattled softly at her hip with every step, and two slim daggers hugged her thighs in fitted holsters.
Kael had seen her like this every day for the past week. So why, today of all days, did his face heat up?
He looked away sharply.
Lunara tilted her head, catching his reaction immediately.
"You good?"
Kael forced himself to meet her gaze, smiled, then pointed his thumb towards himself.
"Never been better."
---
As they walked, Kael noticed something else strange.
She was closer than usual. Not enough to bump shoulders, but… close enough that if he drifted a little, they'd brush.
"You got enough sleep?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"Nah," she replied, voice muffled behind the mask.
"Oh? Why not?"
"Hangover."
Kael blinked.
For a second, an image crashed through his mind: Lunara, surrounded by grinning, nameless men, clinking glasses, laughing, leaning close, lips brushing lips—
He shook it out of his head so fast he nearly tripped on a cobblestone.
"...Right," he said, trying not to let his voice tighten.
---
They reached their destination not long after: a C-rank dungeon.
Considering they cleared an A rank dungeon a few days ago, they only chose this one because it was a quest,since it's worth was somehow bigger than an A+ rank dungeon.
And Unlike the stone towers and cave mazes they were used to, this one was infamous. The Adventurers' Guild called it Hollowshade.
A graveyard for beginners.
Over a hundred rookie adventurers had met their end here, cut down by monsters or swallowed by the boss before they could ever raise a shield.
Kael wasn't worried, though. Not anymore.
"Ready?" he asked, hand resting on his blade.
"Always," Lunara replied, pulling back her hood.
---
The first floors went by like a dream.
Monster after monster fell under their combined onslaught.
Kael's dash was a blur of steel and precise movement; Lunara's arrows were so sharp and fast that their targets barely had time to scream.
By the time they stood at the final gate, the pair were barely out of breath.
"This dungeon… doesn't seem that bad," Lunara said, brushing a strand of silver hair from her eyes.
Kael nodded. "Weird, right? No wonder rookies keep underestimating this place."
>Shit did I jinx it?
---
The gate opened.
And in the space of a single heartbeat, Kael knew they had made...
A fatal mistake.
---
The boss room was not a room at all.
It was a forest.
Trees stretched endlessly into the mist, leaves dripping with moisture. The air was heavy with the smell of moss and earth. Birds shrieked from somewhere far above.
But most importantly—
It was huge.
Bigger than any boss chamber Kael had ever stepped foot in.
The scale made his heart pound.
He didn't even get a chance to process it before instinct screamed in his skull.
"MOVE!"
---
He dashed.
One hand shot out, shoving Lunara to the ground just as something whistled through the air.
Pain exploded through his leg.
Kael hit the ground hard, breath punched out of him.
He blinked down at his thigh—and saw the arrow.
A thick, black-shafted arrow, buried halfway to the fletching, blood already soaking his pants.
His entire leg went numb.
---
Lunara's voice cracked in panic.
"Kael!"
But Kael barely heard her.
His eyes were locked ahead, scanning the treeline.
And that's when he saw them.
Dozens of shapes moving between the shadows of the trees. Silent. Patient. Predators waiting for the kill.
---
This wasn't a regular boss fight.
This was warfare.
---
A single thought slammed into him.
We underestimated this place.
---
Kael forced himself up, gritting his teeth as fire ripped through his leg.
The entire room—the forest, the endless mist, the hidden archers—blurred together, but one thing was clear:
They weren't fighting a single boss.
They were in IT'S territory now.
And he was already bleeding out.