They rested for eight hours.
There was no sense of day or night inside the tunnels, no sky to dim, no warmth to fade, but exhaustion made the decision for them, so they decided to sleep. Everyone did their watch duty in turns, quiet and uneventful, with Raul as the lone exception. No one argued that he needed the rest more than anyone.
When they woke again, the fatigue was gone.
Bodies felt lighter, minds clearer. Raul rolled his shoulders once, then twice, testing himself before straightening. The injury at his side was gone, skin smooth beneath the armor as if nothing had ever happened.
With that, they moved on.
The tunnels stretched endlessly, twisting and branching without warning. Now and then, a lone stoneback wandered into their path. Those fights were brief, almost routine. No need for Mina's undead most of the time. Steel and coordination were more than enough.
Still, Mina didn't like relying on them most of the time.
When they stopped to regroup, she stepped aside and raised another corpse, the familiar drain washing over her as necromantic mana took hold. The stoneback twitched, rose, and settled into obedient stillness.
She contracted it immediately, then sent it back into her subspace.
___________________________
Undead Contract (2/5):
1. Undead Stoneback Lizard — Soldier
2. Undead Stoneback Lizard — Soldier
___________________________
"…It feels weird," Mina muttered.
A thought crossed her mind. Can I name them?
She focused, reached out, and a new option opened.
Choose a name for your Soldier-rank Undead Stoneback Lizard.
"Umm…how about?" She glanced ahead, then smiled faintly. "Rook and Tank."
___________________________
Undead Contract (2/5):
1. Rook (Undead Stoneback Lizard) — Soldier
2. Tank (Undead Stoneback Lizard) — Soldier
___________________________
"Perfect," she said under her breath. "That's way easier."
The drain lingered, raising a Peak-level Soldier still wasn't easy, but nothing pressed them. No ambushes. No roars echo through the stone. With time to recover while moving, her mana slowly stabilized.
Arin kept track of everyone's condition as they advanced.
For a long while, they found nothing.
Then the tunnel ended.
It opened into a wide chamber, far larger than the one before. When they peeked in, Arin felt his jaw tighten. Stonebacks, a lot of them. Nine, scattered across the cavern floor.
And that wasn't the worst part.
Eggs.
Dozens of them. At least fifty, clustered carefully along the stone, warmth and faint life pulsing beneath hardened shells.
An incubation chamber.
Mina lowered her voice. "What should we do?"
Arin didn't answer immediately. He studied the layout, the spacing, the way the stonebacks positioned themselves, protective without even realizing it.
"…Too dangerous," he said finally. "We pull back. Mark it for now, remember it, but not today."
Victor nodded instantly. Raul didn't even hesitate.
Nine was too many.
They withdrew without incident, choosing another route. Two hours later, the tunnel opened again, this chamber smaller, familiar in shape.
Four stonebacks.
Arin's eyes sharpened. "Let's do this quick and clean."
The plan was simple.
Rook and Tank would take two. Arin and Victor are one. Mina and Raul were the last.
The moment they stepped in, it began.
Rook and Tank charged first, undead bodies slamming into stoneback hides with brutal force, claws locking, weight crashing together. One stoneback roared, only for Tank to drive it into the wall, holding it there as Rook tore into its flank.
Arin moved in sync with Victor, no words needed. Victor drew the stoneback's attention, Midnight Thunder crashing against its plated shoulder instead of the skull. The impact rang through the chamber, but the beast only staggered, claws tearing gouges into the stone as it held its ground.
It snapped at Victor, jaws slamming shut a breath too late.
Arin struck from the side, blade grinding as it forced its way between overlapping plates. The cut wasn't deep enough, but it hurt. The stoneback twisted instinctively, muscles bunching as it tried to turn on him.
That hesitation was all Victor needed.
Midnight Thunder rose again and came down with a brutal, bone-splintering crack. The first blow cracked the skull. The second crushed it. The stoneback shuddered once, legs giving out beneath its own weight, before it collapsed in a heap of broken scale and blood, finally still.
On the other side, Raul didn't rush.
He stayed light on his feet, Midnight Whistles flashing just enough to keep the stoneback's eyes on him. The creature lunged, claws screeching against stone as it tried to pin him down. Raul slipped past the swing, but the tail caught him anyway, forcing him back a step.
"Too wide," he muttered, and then raised his voice. "Again."
He baited it, cutting shallow, irritating lines across its flank. Not to kill, just to make it angry.
Behind him, Mina tightened her grip on the spear. Her heart hammered against her ribs, shield raised instinctively as the stoneback reared and slammed forward. For a second, her footing slipped on the uneven stone, and she almost missed the opening entirely.
"Now," Raul snapped.
She moved.
The thrust wasn't perfect. The spear struck scale first, skidding instead of piercing cleanly. The stoneback roared, twisting violently, nearly knocking the weapon from her hands.
Mina gritted her teeth and pushed.
The point found a gap. Bone cracked. The spear drove in deep, but the stoneback didn't fall; it thrashed, tail whipping, claws scraping as it tried to tear itself free.
Raul was already there.
Midnight Whistles flashed, severing tendons at the legs. The creature collapsed with a thunderous crash, convulsed once, and finally went still.
Mina staggered back, breathing hard, hands shaking around the spear.
It was dead.
Silence returned.
Mina froze.
Something shifted inside her, warm and sharp. Her breath caught.
Mina finally awakened her first regular skill- Basic Spear Mastery.
"…I got it," she whispered.
She looked down at the spear in her hands, gripping it tighter. "I finally got it."
Arin didn't waste time. He opened her status window immediately.
___________________________
Subordinate: Mina
Core Talent: Necromancy
Rank: Soldier (5%)
Talent Skills: Raise Undead, Undead Contract (2/5)
Regular Skills: Basic Spear Mastery
-----------
Undead Contract (2/5):
1. Rook (Undead Stoneback Lizard) — Soldier
2. Tank (Undead Stoneback Lizard) — Soldier
Upgrade: Locked (Unlock with 100 Lord Coins)
___________________________
Arin had been saving.
Three hundred and eighty Lord Coins, more than enough.
"Unlock," he commanded.
100 Lord Coins consumed. Subordinate Mina's Upgrade Panel unlocked.
___________________________
Upgrade Panel (Mina)
1) Upgrade Rank to Captain — 1000 Lord Coins
2) Upgrade Skill: Basic Spear Mastery > Advanced Spear Mastery — 100 Lord Coins
Current Lord Coins: 280
___________________________
He selected her basic spear mastery skill to upgrade it.
Do you want to upgrade your subordinate Mina's skill: Basic Spear Mastery into Advanced Spear Mastery?
Confirm (Y/N)
Yes.
Command confirmed. Skill has been upgraded. 100 Lord Coins consumed.
___________________________
Upgrade Panel (Mina)
1) Upgrade Rank to Captain — 1000 Lord Coins
2) Upgrade Skill: Advanced Spear Mastery > Spear Form— 200 Lord Coins
Current Lord Coins: 180
___________________________
"How do you feel?" Arin asked.
Mina blinked, then laughed softly. "Wow… so this is your Core Talent?" She tightened her grip on the spear. "I barely learned the basics, and now, it's like I've been training for years. It just… fits."
She looked genuinely amazed. "This feels incredible."
Arin smiled.
If only I could use it on myself, he thought. But them getting stronger is me getting stronger.
And if that meant he could one day afford to be lazy, once this world stopped trying to kill them, then so be it.
Though deep down, he knew the truth.
This world, not trying to kill anyone? That was rarer than finding a pearl in the ocean.