Chapter 15 - Chapter 15 - The Last Push to Level Five

The cave entrance loomed before them like a cracked stone mouth, faint threads of pale-blue light leaking from within. Vines hung over the opening, gently swaying in the breeze as if warning anyone foolish enough to step inside. Dot clicked nervously on Aria's shoulder.Echo pressed close to Sofia's legs.Lumi's glow dimmed to a soft, worried flicker. Aria exhaled dramatically."Well… we found it. Yay us. Looks totally safe in there. Definitely zero nightmares." Sofia whispered, "It feels… cold." Riley stared into the darkness. This was where the chest had been last time.Where a rookie party wiped over and over trying to brute force their way in.Where someone had discovered a rare staff by sheer luck. Where everything had gone differently in his first life. Not this time. He turned back to his sisters."We're not going in yet." Aria blinked. "Uh, Riley? We're literally here." "I know. And that's the problem." Riley folded his arms. "We're level four." "Yeah?" Aria tilted her head. "So is everyone else right now." "And the boss inside that cave is not level four." Sofia swallowed. "You mean… it's stronger?" Riley nodded."It's early-game—but it's still a guardian. It can wipe low-level players if they go in unprepared." Aria raised a brow. "Okay but… we're prepared. We bought potions. We have traps. Dot is lethal. I'm lethal. We're solid!" Dot puffed herself up proudly.Echo made a soft encouraging chirp. Riley shook his head. "Our next abilities unlock at level five. For all of us. And they're big ones."He pointed at each sibling in turn."You get Shockwire. Sofia gets a shield spell. I get my first power shot. Together? That makes the fight fair." Aria opened her mouth—closed it—opened it again. "…Fine," she admitted. "That… actually makes sense." Sofia nodded quietly. "I'd rather be safe than risk losing our Spirits." Riley smiled faintly. "Exactly. One level. That's all we need." Aria clapped her hands. "Alright then. Let's beat up nature until it gives us XP." Sofia sighed. "Aria…" "What? Nature deserves it!" They moved back into the forest clearing just before the ridge, where weak monsters spawned continuously. Riley scanned the surroundings. Mushcap clusters bobbing near rocks Sproutlings waddling in uneven circles Berry Slimes bouncing harmlessly A pair of bark wolves prowling the treeline Perfect grinding spot. "Alright," Riley said. "Let's spread out. Keep each other in line-of-sight. Call out if you need help." Aria cracked her knuckles."Oh, we're absolutely going to destroy these mushrooms." Dot clicked eagerly.Echo swished her tail.Lumi bounced once, glowing with determination. "Let's go!" Aria shouted. And they charged. Three mushcaps waddled toward them, their tiny arms raised. Aria dove forward, fists swinging. "FLURRY COMBO, LET'S G—!" She punched a mushcap's entire head off in the first hit. Riley yelled, "Aria—stop overkill punching the tutorial!" "NO SUCH THING!" Dot leapt from her shoulder, webbing a mushcap's legs, then body-slammed it repeatedly like a tiny eight-legged wrestler. Echo darted beside Sofia, tail glowing softly.She struck a mushcap with a quick bite—gentle but effective. Riley fired a Spirit Shot, hitting a sproutling in the kneecap. It squealed like a deflating balloon and fell over. Aria pumped her fist. "One fight down! XP rolling in baby!" +27 EXPYour Spirit has gained experience. Sofia smiled. "This is… kind of fun." "Kind of?" Aria gasped. "Sofia, this is AMAZING." Riley shook his head affectionately. The work out continued They fought: Berry slimes Aria claimed they were "gross jelly nightmares" Sproutlings Sofia kept apologising whenever she hit one Bark wolves, Riley coached Lumi to dodge A hidden mini-horde of shroomlings that surprised Aria, causing a VERY LOUD SCREAM "That wasn't a scream, that was a battle cry!" — Aria, still screaming. Lumi's glow occasionally distracted enemies, giving Riley easy shots. Echo's speed made her a natural little striker. Dot… well, Dot was Dot. She chomped everything. Webbed everything. Wrestled everything. The XP notifications trickled in.+19 EXP+22 EXP+40 EXP — Bonus Chain Kill!3 coins 6 coins3 coins One more fight.Two more.Another. Sofia wiped her brow. "How close… are we?" Riley checked his interface. "Three more kills." Aria cracked her knuckles. "Then let's make them big ones." Two bark wolves prowled from the trees, snarling low. Aria grinned. "Perfect." "Aria—wait, don't—" She charged. "ARIA!" Too late. The wolves lunged— —and Dot launched first, webbing one across the snout. Echo zipped past the second, distracting it with darting movements. Riley fired a rapid Spirit Shot—Then another—Then another— Sofia raised her hand, firing a Light Bolt that clipped a wolf's ear. Aria slammed into the webbed wolf, fists flying. "TAKE! MY! COMBO!" Three punches.The mushcap combo looked cute.This?This was violent. The first wolf collapsed.The second tried to flee—Echo cut it off with a quick nip, Lumi's glow disorienting it long enough for Riley to land the finishing shot. The system chimed— SYSTEM: YOUR PARTY HAS REACHED LEVEL 5! Aria screamed.Sofia gasped.Riley grinned. Then— Lumi has learned: GUIDING GLOW (Passive)Dot has learned: VENOM BITEEcho has learned: LIGHT STEP (Passive) And the players: Riley has learned: TWIN PIERCESofia has learned: GLOWSHIELDAria has learned: SHOCKWIRE LINE Aria fist-pumped. "WE ARE ACTUALLY GODS NOW." Sofia squealed happily. "Echo is faster!" Riley nodded. "This changes everything. Now we're ready." Lumi glowed like a tiny lantern of pride.Dot clicked triumphantly.Echo gave a soft elegant bark. They'd done it. The group tested out there new abilities Riley fired a quick sequence: Shot.Shot.Twin Pierce— Two arrows shot out in a perfect line, piercing a berry slime AND a mushcap behind it. Aria jumped. "Okay, THAT was sexy." Sofia raised her hand. "Let me try mine!" She summoned a soft, shimmering barrier around Echo—A golden bubble that hummed with warmth. Aria whistled. "Sofia, you're a literal guardian angel." Sofia blushed deeply. Aria slapped her gauntlets together. "MY TURN." She dashed forward, dropping a faint glowing wire between two rocks— Shockwire Line deployed. A sproutling wandered near it—Crossed it—ZAPPED— Aria cheered."I HAVE ACHIEVED PEAK TECHNOLOGY!" Riley smiled at them both. "Alright," he said softly. "Let's finish prepping. Then we head inside." The twins nodded.Echo stood tall.Dot vibrated with murderous energy.Lumi shimmered gently. They gathered their drops, reorganised their inventories, shared stat boosts, and drank a quick stamina potion each. Then… They turned back to the cave. It loomed even darker now.Even deeper.Even more unknown. Sofia whispered, "Are we really ready?" Riley's eyes hardened. "Yes. Now we are." Aria grinned fiercely. "Let's go get rich." Together, with their Spirits glowing beside them, they stepped toward the cave once more— Stronger.Smarter.Ready. The boss awaited.