The forest howled.
Kael's breath hitched, he didn't waste a single moment.
He immediately dashed, grabbing Lunara and bolting as fast he possibly can.
He had to survive, He had to.
He couldn't waste his second chance at life.
He absolutely. Couldn't.
His leg—already torn through by an arrow—screamed in protest. Every nerve lit up like firecrackers, but he ran anyway, powered by nothing but adrenaline and raw survival instinct.
Arrows zipped through the trees, some he dodged by a hair, others he slapped out of the air with desperate precision.
He was in a pure flow state.
The boss door infront of them slammed shut with a heavy thud—locked.
Kael immediately switched directions without a second thought.
Veering towards the nearest tree, practically diving behind its thick trunk. An arrow sliced past, fast enough to clip a chunk of his black hair, embedding into the bark beside him with a vicious twang.
A rain of arrows followed, embedding the tree with sharp, lethal rhythm.
No one spoke. They couldn't.
There was no room for words—only survival.
Kael looked down at his leg. The arrow was buried deep, its wooden shaft slick with blood.
He exhaled, lips curling in frustration. His breathing picked up.
He tugged his shirt off with a grimace, revealing a lean, chiseled torso hardened from weeks of relentless grinding.
Lunara blinked, caught off guard.
She turned her head slightly, cheeks flushed.
"This'll hurt, but I can't die like this."
he muttered.
He bit down on his shirt, pulled a healing potion from his inventory, and gripped the arrow shaft with both hands.
One... two... three—
He yanked.
A flash of pain exploded in his vision.
His eyes rolled back for a split second. Nerves screamed. His hands trembled. But he stayed upright.
He blinked quickly as if starting to finally catch back vision, then immediately picked up the potion, flipping the top off with his thumb.
Then poured the potion directly onto the wound. The liquid hissed on contact, stitching muscle and sealing the bleeding.
It didn't numb the pain—but it stopped the damage from getting worse.
Lunara, stunned by the way he handled himself, finally found her voice.
"What now?"
Kael's eyes were steady. Focused.
"Survive," he said.
Then he moved.
He blurred forward, phasing through trees like a ghost.
Arrows tore through the air around him—but not one touched him. He timed his phasing just right, as the arrows flew at him, they went through him.
He phased through them, using the timing of his skill.
Now. Now. NOW.
He dashed once, onto a tree, jumping off of it he soared into the air, eyes locked on a grotesque creature—a twisted blend of goblin and ogre. It snarled and raised a bow.
He dashed again.
It shot an arrow.
He phased through it like it didn't matter.
The creature dropped the bow and started running realizing it didn't stand a chance but by then, it was already too late.
Kael was already on the ground right behind it.
His eyes no longer showed it's retinas.
With his third and final dash, with lighting timing, speed and precision.
Kael's blade swang.
One clean swipe.
The creature's head fell from its shoulders.
But it vanished in an instant—like mist.
He landed, crouched, panting.
The door didn't open.
Arrows still rained.
"An illusion...?" he muttered, heart sinking.
Lunara watched from the trunk, eyes wide.
"But only B-Rank bosses and up can use illusion magic. This is supposed to be C-Rank."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"We've been baited."
He ran a hand through his hair, scanning the treetops, the underbrush, the terrain. He could feel it now—everything was too perfect.
The way the forest repeated, the timing of the arrows, the wind.
"They're trying to kill us through exhaustion," Kael muttered.
"Make us fight illusions 'til we collapse."
His jaw clenched.
"Not today."
He stepped forward.
Lunara blinked. "Kael!—"
But he was already gone.
A gust of wind slammed into her as the trees bent from the force of his movement.
Kael zipped across the battlefield—phasing, slashing, phasing again.
Each illusion creature dropped in a single blow, evaporating into mist.
He cut down one. Two. Three. Six.
Ten.
His body blurred like a phantom. He was moving at speeds like never before.
So speed infact that Lunara could barely register his movements.
But it wasn't free.
Each movement drained him. He had already used all of his dashes, but was still continuing to push it's limits.
His leg throbbed. His vision swam. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
"Tch..." He coughed up blood, wiped it away, Then froze.
Something moved.
Something real.
Between the trees—a small figure, smaller than the rest.
Fast. Barely visible.
"Got you."
Kael spun and dashed. His blade already drawn, he launched off a tree trunk into the air like a cannon ball.
Arrows zipped past, but he didn't care.
He'd already locked on.
Below, the creature sprinted—barely two feet tall, green-skinned, and cloaked in dark shadows. It was no brute.
It was the mastermind.
The real boss.
Kael shifted mid-air, twisting his body, spinning and curling to unusual, unsafe angles, and descended with a final dash.
His body screamed in protest. His lungs burned, His eyes even started leaking with blood. His arms trembled—but his grip stayed tight.
~ Slash
Time slowed.
The creature turned—eyes widening.
Kael's blade met its neck in a flash of silver.
Schiinnk—
Kale dashed past Multiple trees, the slash rendering enough force to cut every surrounding tree down to the roots.
The bosses head detached cleanly, spinning in the air.
A geyser of black blood followed, spraying across the leaves.
Kael landed in a perfect stance—arm extended, sword dripping.
The dungeon went silent.
The arrows stopped.
Light spilled in from above.
Kael blinked once, then twice.
His vision darkened.
"...Hah...I won..."
He collapsed. Exhausted.
Lunara rushed forward just in time to catch him.
He was unconscious—his breathing shallow, arms limp, bloodied blade still in hand.
The dungeon shimmered and opened.
She stared down at him.
A smirk pulled at her lips.
"Heh..Show-off..."
—
Outside the Dungeon.
The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows over the rocky path outside Hollowshade. Lunara trudged forward, Kael slung across her back, his arm dangling lazily.
She carried him and all their loot without complaint, her breathing calm.
One thought echoed in her mind.
"I'm treating this man to a damn good dinner."
She looked at him—bloodied, beaten, unconscious...
And still somehow holding the cleanest damn battle pose she'd ever seen.
Her cheeks reddened again.
"...He deserves it."