With that, they walked toward the gate.
Frank stood behind Kota, one hand resting on the flat of his blade. The dungeon gate pulsed like a cracked lens, light bleeding at the edges as it sealed behind them. The team adjusted their gear in silence. Four others, all strangers. He hadn't given them his real name. On paper, he was "F. Hagan"—support-class melee, F-rank, here to assist.
The air hit first: warm, wet, and heavy on the lungs. The tunnel walls appeared grown rather than built—pale orange with streaks of red, like something organic had hardened into shape. A faint hum rolled through the surface beneath their boots, not quite sound, but more like pressure, as if the place were breathing.
Frank kept his sword sheathed and slid a Vital Surge potion into his side holster—just one for now. The rest were packed tightly, evenly spaced, and ready for quick grabs. He adjusted the tension strap on his glove and tapped the corner of his interface. A minimap flickered into view—half-complete, with terrain labeled "unstable" and paths curving in too many directions. There were side chambers and one main shaft twisting downward.
"Stay tight," Kota said, his voice low but clear. He carried a reinforced steel shield nearly as wide as his torso. "We're not here for a clear. Just pressure mapping and field data. Two hours in, max."
Eliya, the healer, barely nodded. She looked pale under the blue glow of her charm light, her grip on the mana baton nervous—too high, too stiff. Riva adjusted the leather strap across her back and rolled her neck. Dual blades, lightweight armor. She moved as if she were already calculating kill angles. Torin didn't speak; the bow on his back was clean and well-kept as he watched the corners.
Frank remained silent, moving when they moved.
The first ten minutes were quiet, marked only by steps on damp ground. The tunnels narrowed and opened in strange bursts, the walls slick in places and cracked in others. Riva pointed to a ceiling line—webbing, burned at the edges.
"Last party came through with fire," she said. "Didn't last long."
The hum in the walls deepened.
Torin lifted a hand. "Movement."
Kota raised his shield.
Frank stepped back and shifted left.
Then it broke—fast rustling and skittering from two angles. The tunnel erupted with bodies: Tunnel Crawlers—six-legged, needle-long legs and mandibles the size of carving knives. They moved in a blur, hugging the walls and slicing forward in sudden jabs.
Kota blocked two attackers with his shield. Riva darted in to slice low. Torin's first arrow whistled past Frank's shoulder and pinned one of the creatures to the wall with a wet snap.
Two more leapt over the line.
Frank raised his blade. One landed hard in front of him, while the second launched toward his side. He stepped left, quick, making a tight turn. His foot slid slightly but held. The first thrust found a soft joint—just behind the crawler's right claw. The blade punched in cleanly, and the creature spasmed, its legs flailing.
The second came in mid-pivot. Frank ducked low, rolled, and came up inside the swing. His blade cut upward into the under-jaw. Another spasm, then stillness.
The third tried to retreat, but Frank didn't let it. He stepped in, blade pulled back, and thrust at center mass. Crack. Collapse.
Silence.
『+3 XP – Tunnel Crawler (Tier F)』
『+3 XP – Tunnel Crawler (Tier F)』
『+3 XP – Tunnel Crawler (Tier F)』
『+3 Stat Points Awarded』
『Current Progress: 23/100 XP』
Frank stood still, breathing through his nose as the others stared.
Kota lowered his shield. "Didn't think you could fight."
Frank shrugged. "Me neither."
Riva snorted. "That footwork wasn't support-level."
Eliya was still catching her breath.
Torin muttered, "Clean hits."
Frank knelt to check the corpses. He collected two venom sacs and one solid chitin shard, tucking them into his dimensional inventory.
Slots used: 9 out of 30.
"Let's move," Kota said. "We don't linger here."
The team pushed deeper into the tunnel. The air grew thicker and warmer, and the hum became higher-pitched, no longer just background noise.
Riva slowed at a fork and crouched near a discoloration on the floor. She scraped two fingers across the surface and sniffed. "Sac acid. We're close."
Frank checked his map again. The heat signature ahead pulsed red.
The next room curved sharply to the left. He tightened his grip on the sword; no one needed to say what came next.
Kota took point, shield raised. The tunnel narrowed, the curve ahead bending just enough to block the line of sight. The light from Eliya's charm flickered off slick, ribbed walls. Frank stayed second to last, just in front of Torin, his sword angled low and steady.
The air smelled sharp—sour metal and old bile.
Riva whispered, "Bio-chamber ahead."
The space opened without warning. One moment, they were in a tight tunnel; the next, they dropped into a wide, circular room. The floor was covered in webbed resin, stretched taut like skin and pulsing. The walls breathed in and out, slow and wet. Everything was tinged orange-red, like meat under firelight.
In the center stood the boss.
It didn't move at first, just crouched—its shell blending into the wall behind it. Then the eyes caught the light: six of them, pale and glowing faint green.
It unfolded slowly, legs cracking as it rose. A Shellback Spitter. Big—almost the size of a horse but lower to the ground. Its carapace was heavy, layered like forged metal plates, and its rear thorax flexed like a loaded spring.
Kota barked, "Move now!"
The team split.
The first glob of acid spat forward, hitting the spot where Kota had just stood. The resin floor hissed as it burned a crater into the ground. Eliya flinched, backpedaling quickly. Riva dashed wide to the left. Torin had already drawn his weapon.
Frank didn't move yet; he watched.
The Shellback turned, its legs clicking as it shifted targets.
Kota charged, shield raised. The boss met him with a rush of clawed forelimbs, slamming against the metal with enough force to shake the room. Kota held his ground, his boots grinding deep into the sticky floor.
Torin fired—one, two, three shots. The arrows glanced off the shell and shattered.
"No good," Torin muttered.
Riva struck next, slicing across the back leg. Sparks flew, but no blood. Her second strike found a gap—a shallow wound that made the beast twist. It opened its mouth wide, its rear flexing again.
Acid.
Frank moved.
He grabbed a used potion bottle from his belt. It was empty and lightweight.
The Shellback aimed, its torso rearing and throat glowing.
Frank hurled the bottle fast and low.
The projectile hit just under the jaw—not hard, but sharp enough to tilt the angle. The acid missed, splashing against the wall and floor to the left. Riva rolled under it, coming up breathing hard but unburned.
"Thanks!" she yelled.
Eliya's voice was tight. "I'm almost dry!"
Frank looked back. Her hands glowed weakly, and sweat streamed down her face.
Kota was breathing heavily. His shield was dented, and his arm shook from blocking the weight and venom shock.
Riva's left arm was red, her sleeve melting, but she didn't complain.
Frank reached for his pouch and pulled out three potions.
"Catch!"
He threw one to Eliya, one to Riva, and one to Kota.
All three caught them, hesitating for half a second before drinking.
Kota's breathing eased, Riva's arm stopped bleeding, and Eliya's glow steadied.
Torin fired again, this time aiming for the eye. The boss jerked, hit, and the arrow partially penetrated. It screamed, a dry, scraping noise that made the walls shudder.
Kota seized the opportunity and slammed his shield forward, pushing the monster off balance. Riva followed with two quick cuts along the inside of its leg joint.
The creature twitched, then dropped.
『XP Gain: +12 – Assist Kill: Shellback Spitter (Tier E)』
『+4 Stat Points Awarded』
『Current Progress: 35/100 XP』
Frank stood still, his chest rising and falling. His sword was clean; he hadn't landed a kill, but the bottle throw, the potion toss, and the positioning all counted.
He opened his panel quietly and assigned points:
+2 Agility.
+2 Perception.
+3 Strength already spent from earlier.
10 total points now used.
Eliya sank to one knee, rubbing her hands. "I thought I was done."
"You weren't," Frank replied.
Torin looked at him. "Where'd you get those potions?"
"Trade contact," Frank said. "Same as last time."
"Keep trading."
Kota walked toward the far end of the room and peeled back a section of the wall with the edge of his shield. Another tunnel curved downward.
"Next one's close," he said.
Frank drank from his water bottle, noting the cold, metallic aftertaste. The map blinked again, showing heat trails in motion. Something bigger was ahead.
He stepped after them.