Kaela pulled out a map and knelt beside the riverbank. Mist curled around her boots as she tapped a spot on the parchment.
"We're currently here," she said. "The dungeon is on the other side of that mountain. If we move at a steady pace, it should take about two hours to reach it. That leaves us six hours to clear it."
"Then let's get going," Rin said, adjusting his coat.
As they walked, Taro glanced at Kaela and smiled. "You're a really good leader, Kaela. I'm glad we picked you."
Kaela blinked, then flushed. "O-Oh. Really? T-Thank you."
Rin rolled his eyes. "Anyway... what are we gonna do about this cold? It's bad enough now. The dungeon's probably worse."
Kaela smirked. "You think I didn't prepare for that?"
She reached into her pouch and pulled out a tiny, ornate box.
Rin squinted. "Is this where you live, Lonely?"
"Shut up," she snapped. "Just watch."
She opened the lid—and with a soft flash, three thick coats unfolded from within.
"What the hell?" Taro gawked. "How'd you do that?"
"It's a magic artifact," Kaela replied smugly. "This box can store items up to a hundred times its size."
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Huh. You really did prepare everything."
---
An hour and a half passed. The mountain trail gave way to a narrow valley. Mist thickened around them, clinging to the trees like a silent warning.
Kaela came to a stop. "We made it—thirty minutes ahead of schedule."
She turned to them. "Are you both ready?"
"Of course," Taro said, cracking his knuckles.
Rin nodded. "Yeah."
They stepped into the dungeon. The air changed immediately—denser, colder. Shadows danced between ancient stone walls, and the mist hung lower, almost alive. Their breaths formed white puffs in the still air. Every step echoed like a whisper. Somewhere deeper in, there was the sound of distant scraping. Not constant—just enough to make them wonder if they'd imagined it.
Then, suddenly—crunch.
Bones began to rise from the ground. Skeletons, dragging rusted swords and axes, emerged in a loose horde. Their jaws clicked open.
"F… f… f-for… t-thh-e… K-king…" one hissed.
Kaela's eyes sharpened. "Get ready! Formation!"
But Rin didn't wait. He dashed forward, flames sparking in his hands.
"Hey!" Kaela shouted. "I'm the leader! Follow my—!"
Before she could finish, Rin had already smashed through the first few skeletons, bones shattering beneath his fists.
One of the shattered skeletons flailed wildly as it broke apart—its sword arcing toward Kaela. She barely dodged it, stumbling back.
Taro cursed. "Rin! Stop acting on your own—we're a team! You have to listen to the leader. This isn't a playground—it's a battlefield!"
Rin huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Let's keep moving. We can clear this in thirty minutes. These things are weak—I haven't even needed magic."
They continued, stepping over the shattered remains of skeletons.
Or so they thought.
A bony hand shot out—grabbing Rin's ankle.
He barely dodged the strike, twisting midair and catching the arm before it could grab him again. Flames erupted in his palm as he incinerated it.
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "Don't let your guard down!"
The skeletons that had fallen began rising again—bones clicking back into place, eyes glowing with eerie light.
"What the hell…?" Rin muttered.
Rin kept attacking
Kaela held up a hand. "Wait—stop attacking."
"What?"
"Think, Rin! You think you can burn them all? What if they just keep regenerating? We'll waste all our energy."
"Only one way to find out," Rin growled. His fists ignited as he charged again.
But no matter how many times they shattered the skeletons, the bones kept pulling themselves back together.
Taro gritted his teeth. "They're not stopping—and more of them keep coming! What do we do?"
Kaela's mind raced. Think, Kaela. If they won't die… there has to be a trick. Some kind of illusion? A controller?
Her eyes darted around. "These things… They might be puppets. Someone's controlling them."
Taro started scanning the area—and then he saw it. A skeleton, smaller than the others, crouched behind a jagged rock. Its bones shimmered faintly.
"There!" Taro shouted. "Behind the rock—something's off!"
Rin didn't hesitate. He leapt over and smashed through the rock—revealing a skeleton no taller than a child, trembling and pointing at him.
"A-a monster…!"
Rin smirked. "I'm the monster now, huh?"
With one fiery blow, he smashed its skull.
All at once, the other skeletons collapsed into stillness.
Kaela exhaled in relief. "Finally…"
Taro wiped his brow. "Good thinking, Kaela. If it weren't for you, we'd still be wasting energy fighting."
Kaela smiled faintly. "Ahem. Anyway, according to what Instructor Kobe said, C-rank dungeons have three or four trials before the final boss. That was the first."
She looked ahead into the growing mist.
"Which means… we've got two or three more to go."
---
To be continued...