Halden did not make a ceremony out of it.
He stood at the front of the hall, hands clasped behind his back, gaze sweeping across the class.
"You are permitted to use familiars during dungeon entries."
A ripple of surprise passed through the room.
He continued evenly.
"If you are not certain of control, do not summon them. A dungeon does not forgive hesitation."
That was all.
No encouragement.
No warning beyond that.
Rei leaned toward Cain as they stepped out of the hall.
"Thinking of bringing yours?"
Cain adjusted the strap on his glove.
"…Yes."
Liora glanced back once but said nothing.
Aera looked thoughtful. "I've never used mine in enclosed spaces."
"Then don't," Liora said calmly. "We don't need variables."
They entered the Guild annex again.
Registration.
Card imprint.
Permission granted.
Floor 53.
The air was different from the slime levels.
Drier.
Thicker with the scent of old wood and iron.
The corridor ahead was no longer smooth stone. Wooden barricades reinforced sections of the walls. Torch brackets flickered with dim orange flame.
Civilized decay.
Goblins.
They advanced in formation.
Two steps in, Cain tilted his head slightly.
"Come out."
His shadow rippled.
At first, it seemed like nothing more than torchlight distortion.
Then a thin black shape peeled from his feet and slid across the stone like spilled ink.
A small cat-like form emerged from the darkness, silent, featureless except for faint silver eyes.
It didn't make a sound.
It simply moved.
Rei watched for half a second.
"…Convenient."
Cain didn't answer.
The shadow-cat slipped ahead, flattening itself along the wall before vanishing into a darker stretch of corridor.
A moment later—
It reappeared, pausing.
Cain shifted.
Left.
A spear thrust burst from behind a wooden crate where he had been about to step.
He cut downward immediately.
The goblin scout shrieked as his blade split its skull.
Three more shapes rushed from the side passage.
Small.
Lean.
Yellow-eyed.
"Front!" Rei barked.
Rei met the first goblin head-on.
Its crude shield absorbed the initial strike, but Rei adjusted quickly, angling his blade to slide past the rim and slice into exposed thigh.
Liora's wind mana sliced cleanly across another goblin's wrist before it could raise its dagger.
Cain stepped forward—
Quick Step activated instinctively.
His second step landed faster than the first, closing the gap unnaturally.
He drove his blade through the goblin's chest before it could retreat.
The fourth goblin tried to circle behind Aera.
The shadow-cat lunged first—not attacking, but leaping directly into its path.
The goblin hesitated just long enough.
Cain turned and cut it down.
Silence returned to the corridor.
Rei exhaled slowly. "These are smarter than slimes."
"They coordinate," Liora said. "Watch the flanks."
Aera swallowed and nodded.
They pressed deeper.
The dungeon layout shifted into a wider chamber reinforced with crude wooden structures.
Torches burned unevenly.
Footsteps echoed from above.
The shadow-cat flowed upward along the wall and vanished into a darker beam.
Then—
It dropped back down sharply.
Cain moved immediately.
"Right."
A shield goblin burst from a side tunnel, followed by two spear-wielders.
The shield goblin slammed forward, attempting to break formation.
Rei absorbed the impact, boots sliding across stone.
Cain stepped behind the shield bearer and struck low, severing its ankle.
Liora's wind edge sliced through a spear shaft mid-thrust.
Aera lifted her hand, mana flowing gently.
"Stabilize," she murmured—not healing, but reinforcing Rei's strained arm muscles for a brief second.
The remaining goblin lunged wildly.
Cain parried, but the creature twisted unexpectedly, dagger grazing his sleeve.
The cut was shallow.
But deliberate.
Not mindless.
He finished it with a clean horizontal strike.
The chamber fell still.
Rei leaned against the shield goblin's discarded barrier and laughed quietly.
"This feels better."
"Don't get careless," Liora said.
A faint shimmer crossed Rei's vision.
Level Up
Level 34
He blinked.
"…About time."
Aera's expression tightened as her own status window flickered briefly.
Level Up
Level 28
Small steps.
Cain felt the dungeon differently now.
The mana pressure was subtle, but heavier than before.
Not oppressive.
Observing.
They cleared two more chambers without serious injury.
Coordination improved.
Rei adapted to shield breaks faster.
Liora controlled battlefield spacing precisely.
Aera's mana flow steadied.
Cain moved when needed.
The shadow-cat remained near walls and ceilings, a quiet second set of eyes.
At the far end of the corridor, a thicker wooden gate stood reinforced with iron bands.
A boss door.
Rei rested his blade over his shoulder again.
"Thoughts?"
Liora studied the mana density around the gate.
"It's higher than the slimes."
Aera glanced at her guild card instinctively.
Cain's shadow pooled slightly thicker near the base of the door.
The cat form rose briefly, staring at the seam.
Still.
Silent.
Cain looked at the others.
"Not today."
Rei exhaled through his nose but nodded.
"Next entry."
They stepped back.
Guild cards activated.
Light enveloped them.
The dungeon dissolved.
Back in the Guild annex hall, the air felt thinner.
Lighter.
Rei stretched his neck.
"Floor 53 cleared."
Liora adjusted her gloves.
"We advance slowly."
Aera looked down at her guild card, then at Cain.
His shadow returned fully to his feet, indistinguishable from ordinary darkness.
But for a moment—
Just a moment—
It felt slightly deeper than before.
The dungeon had teeth.
And they had only brushed them.
---