The boss zone didn't explode into chaos the moment we crossed the threshold.
That should have been my first warning.
The clearing was too perfect—too round, too clean. The land beneath our boots was smooth, etched with spirals where wind had carved the ground over centuries, maybe longer. No debris. No corpses. No signs of recent battles.
It felt staged.
Like a hunting ground prepared in advance.
My Survival Instinct went feral.
Not a sharp warning. Not a spike.
A sustained, full-body alarm.
Every nerve in my body screamed at once, my heartbeat stuttering so hard it felt like my ribs were trying to escape.
Danger.
Overwhelming danger.
You are already dead, you just haven't realized it yet.
I slowed without meaning to.
"Hold," I muttered.
Lenna stopped instantly. Alfred mirrored her. Arial almost walked into my back.
We stood there, listening.
Nothing.
No growls. No movement. No life signatures.
Just silence so thick it pressed against my ears.
"…Augustus?" Alfred asked quietly. "What is it?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But something's wrong. Really wrong."
Lenna scanned the clearing, eyes sharp, posture loose but ready. "Formation holds. Move carefully."
We advanced.
Five steps.
Ten.
The pressure didn't fade.
It intensified.
Then Arial froze.
Not stiffened—froze, like time itself had caught her mid-step.
Her face went pale so fast it scared me. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Her fingers trembled like she was holding onto something invisible.
"Arial?" I whispered.
Her eyes finally focused.
"…We're surrounded."
The wind answered her.
It didn't roar back to life. It rose, slow and deliberate, like a predator standing after letting prey wander too deep.
The air warped.
Shapes bled into existence—first vague, then sharp.
Hounds.
On rocks.
In trees.
Standing on compressed air like gravity was optional.
Yellow eyes ignited one by one until the clearing was ringed in predatory light.
A hundred.
At least.
Then the wind split.
Something stepped forward, and the atmosphere bent around it instinctively.
Bigger. Leaner. Smarter.
Fur flowing like a living storm, each breath drawing the wind inward. A rotating crown of razor-thin air blades hovered behind its shoulders, humming with restrained violence.
The Gale Hound.
my appraisal forced reality into my vision whether I wanted it or not.
---
BOSS MONSTER: Gale Hound
TYPE: Beast
STAGE: 1 (Low)
PATH: Higher Wind Canine
Authority – 11
STR – 399
AGI – 472
INT – 420
Luck – 40
Charm – 35
SKILLS:
Gale Obscurity, S
Gale Steps, S
Wind Blades, AAA
Leadership, A (Passive)
Summoning Howl, A
Wind Cannon, A
Wind Casting, A
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY: Wind
---
Every Stat nearly 400.
That number alone made my chest feel hollow.
Around him, the hounds lowered their bodies in perfect synchronization.
An army.
Lenna didn't flinch.
Alfred exhaled slowly, grounding himself.
Arial's grip tightened on my sleeve, knuckles white.
And for the first time since entering this dungeon, I felt something cold and heavy settle in my gut.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Hopelessness.
The quiet certainty that this was where we were meant to die.
My legs moved anyway.
Ironhowl vibrated in my hand—thin, defiant, stubborn.
I took a deep breath.
"Alright," I murmured. "Then we die fighting."
I took a step forward—
And the world flashed.
A shimmering barrier slammed into existence around us, silver-gold light blooming outward in a perfect dome.
The wind hit it.
Stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
I blinked, stunned.
"…What?"
I turned.
Lenna stood behind me, calm as ever. Three talismans floated above her palm—ancient, radiant, humming with power so dense it made my teeth ache.
"Defensive array," she said simply.
The hounds reacted instantly.
Over a hundred jaws opened at once.
WIND CANNON.
The clearing detonated.
Compressed air slammed into the barrier from every direction, shockwaves ripping trenches through the land. The impact made my bones vibrate.
I braced instinctively.
but, The barrier didn't ripple.
Didn't bend.
Didn't even acknowledge the attack.
I stared. "…That's illegal."
I tried to appraise the talismans.
---
> INSUFFICIENT AUTHORITY
TARGET CANNOT BE APPRAISED
---
Of course.
Lenna raised the second talisman.
The temperature plummeted.
Frost exploded outward from the barrier, spreading like a living thing. Wind crystallized mid-motion. Hounds froze mid-leap, mid-roar, mid-attack.
In seconds, the clearing was filled with statues of ice and compressed storm.
I exhaled shakily. "We're… alive."
CRACK.
CRACK—CRACK.
Eight—no, ten hounds broke free.
Late-stage elites.
The Gale Hound stepped forward, wind shredding the ice around him like paper.
Panic hit all of us at once.
Except Lenna.
She didn't rush. Didn't hesitate.
She activated the third talisman.
The sky split.
Lightning didn't fall—it appeared.
Dozens of arrows made of pure lightning screamed forward faster than sound.
There was no impact.
No resistance.
The elite hounds simply ceased to exist.
The Gale Hound staggered, snarling—then collapsed as the final arrow pierced straight through his skull.
Silence fell.
The barrier faded.
Frozen hounds shattered into glittering fragments.
I stood there, shaking.
Alive.
"…Why," I demanded hoarsely, "didn't you tell me about the talismans?"
Lenna looked at me.
Unapologetic. Calm.
"I wanted to see," she said, "who would give in to despair—and who would fight anyway."
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Internally, I cursed her ancestors, her descendants, and her entire strategic philosophy.
Then something felt wrong.
No System chime.
No confirmation.
No mission update.
My objective—
Not complete.
My Survival Instinct exploded again.
"Iron Guard!"
Metallic aura snapped around me as Arial instinctively layered a defensive spell over it.
A heartbeat later—
Wind Blades.
Invisible, precise, lethal.
Dozens of them screamed toward us from every direction.
Not wild.
Not furious.
Controlled.
The Gale Hound's body was missing.
The real fight— Had just started.