Time to see if the draw was as sharp as it looked.
Frank stepped through the shimmer of the gate, a second behind Garna, his boots hitting the packed stone already dusted with ash. The air shifted quickly—hot, dry, and stifling. It wasn't the heat of a flame; it was the oppressive warmth of an oven you couldn't escape. Every breath felt like it scraped the back of his throat.
The tunnel was narrow, the walls pressing in on both sides, coated in soot and crumbling flecks of old carbon. An orange light glowed underfoot, with cracks spiderwebbing along the stone floor, each one pulsing as if something beneath was still trying to breathe.
He adjusted his grip on his new blade. The hilt fit cleanly in his palm—lighter, faster. Nothing flashy, but it moved as if it wanted to follow muscle memory he hadn't yet earned.
Tace led them through the first bend without a word; he didn't need to talk. Garna was a step behind him, her greatsword slung across her back, shoulders squared as if she were ready to take on the entire dungeon. Mik kept to the right edge, his body half-turned as he walked, twin daggers already drawn. Auri brought up the rear, shortbow in hand, three arrows notched loosely between her fingers.
Frank positioned himself just behind Garna—supporting her but close enough to cover a flank if needed.
The walls crackled.
Faintly, like a spark rolling beneath the surface.
Mik froze.
Two fingers up.
Everyone stopped.
Tace dropped into a low crouch. Auri shifted her stance. Frank mirrored Garna, angling his body with his left leg back.
Cracks split open in the floor three paces ahead. Not wide—just enough.
Then they came.
Lava-crawlers—small, fast, their legs twitching with ember sparks. Their bodies glowed from within, segmented like beetles but jagged at the edges. Their mouths clicked open with ember snaps, releasing puffs of hot air.
Three. Then five. Then seven.
They charged.
Garna stepped forward and roared, the sound echoing off the tunnel walls as she slammed her sword into the floor. The force cracked a line clean through the center tile, causing the crawlers to flinch.
Frank moved to the right, low to the ground, his blade drawn tight across his chest. Auri's arrow blurred past his shoulder—thump! One crawler dropped mid-lunge.
The first wave hit.
One crawler leapt straight for Garna. She turned her body into the strike, letting it slam against her left arm. Her sword followed, wide and brutal, cleaving two in half mid-air.
Mik vanished.
Then he reappeared mid-roll, low and fast, sliding under a crawler's leap and driving both daggers into its core. Ember burst forth like a cough of fire as it fell.
Frank didn't hesitate. One crawler came at him—low and straight. He stepped left, let it overshoot, then pivoted tightly and drove the blade upward through its underside. The cut was clean, with no resistance. The crawler twitched once and split open.
Another burst from a crack in the floor just ahead. He crouched, ducked under the arc of a glowing leg, and jammed the blade forward into its neck seam. Two quick turns. Done.
The tunnel glowed brighter with every dead crawler.
Then the second wave hit.
Seven more crawlers clustered toward Garna and Frank's zone. The heat rose again—short flashes of ember sprayed across armor and pack cloth. Frank felt a sizzle on his shoulder, minor but sharp. He didn't break his stance.
Garna swung in a wide arc, forcing the cluster back. Frank stayed tight to her side—no flair, no wasted movement. Every strike was precise and direct. He didn't chase; he countered.
Tace's hand flicked up from the center—two fingers, then down.
Rotation signal.
They moved without hesitation.
The team shifted left—tight and controlled—herding the crawlers into a narrowing bend. Mik looped around the rear, pushing with feints. Auri took the high ground on a broken slab of tunnel wall and let arrows fall with surgical precision.
Thwip. One down.
Thwip. The second crawler flipped backward in a shower of sparks.
Frank saw the third rear up, and Tace moved first—his spear flicked out in a feigned thrust. The crawler instinctively shifted to counter.
Frank was already there.
He stepped forward and drove his blade into the exposed throat.
One movement. One breath.
『XP Gained: +24』
『Stat Points Earned: +2』
『Progress to Level 4: 89/100』
The last crawler fell to Mik's blade.
Silence settled, broken only by the slow sound of crackling stone and ash drifting from the deeper vent veins.
Tace glanced over his shoulder, his face unreadable. "We push. The boss room's another level down."
No looks. No questions.
Everyone moved.
They descended in silence, boots crunching on soot and splintered stone. The tunnel curved tighter, the heat intensifying with every step. Veins of orange light pulsed along the cracked walls, spreading wider like arteries beneath dying skin. Garna's sword scraped once against the low ceiling. No one spoke.
Frank kept his pace steady behind Tace. The air shifted—a pulse too regular to be natural.
Then the tunnel opened.
The chamber was massive—circular and high-domed, with a blackened floor warped and fractured in every direction. Melted stone lined the edges like spilled wax. At the center, a glowing pit flickered deep red, veins spiraling out from it like a broken sun etched into the earth.
Frank's eyes darted around the chamber, quickly assessing ledge points, fallback zones, and potential cover. There wasn't much to work with.
Tace raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
The pit pulsed ominously.
Then it erupted.
Molten rock surged upward with a deafening roar as something massive pulled itself free from the core. Slabs of emberstone shifted, connecting at the joints, while burning muscle wove together from flame and heat. Two lidless, white-hot eyes blinked open.
A Lava Golem.
It slammed a molten fist into the floor.
Frank staggered back as the shockwave rippled through the air. Mik cursed as a burning chunk of debris broke off and grazed his shoulder. He dropped to one knee, hissing through his teeth, but managed to stay upright.
"Positions!" Tace barked.
Auri didn't hesitate. She broke right, climbing the sloped edge of the chamber toward a narrow outcrop, her bow already drawn. Garna stepped left, planting her feet firmly, blade raised, back straight. Frank mirrored her stance to anchor the gap.
The golem turned.
Its body groaned as it shifted—stone grinding against stone. The glow around its joints intensified.
Then it charged.
Frank darted left while Garna braced herself to meet it head-on.
The impact shook the room. She held her ground, her feet rooted deep, blade absorbing the force along its flat edge. The ground cracked beneath her. Auri loosed two arrows—both striking the golem's upper joints. One lodged in place, while the other bounced off
Frank dropped low and rolled forward. The heat washed over him like stepping into a forge. He came up beneath the golem's left flank, angled right, and drove his blade into the glowing seam behind its knee.
The blade hissed.
Not deep, but enough. The leg buckled slightly.
The golem roared.
It turned and swung a massive backhand. Frank slid beneath it, dirt and heat flying behind him. Mik dashed in from the opposite side, twin daggers slipping between the plates near the shoulder. One blade dug in, and molten ichor sprayed. Mik pushed off and vanished again.
The creature staggered, then slammed both fists into the ground.
The floor screamed.
Steam vents exploded along the edges of the chamber, sending pillars of white fog hissing upward and blanketing part of the field.
Auri lost her line of sight. Tace raised a hand, turned sharply, and moved toward the far left.
"Drive the flank!"
Garna roared and advanced. Her sword met the golem's side with a deep, echoing clang. Sparks and heat burst outward. Tace slid in behind her, spear low, and drove it clean into a weakened seam under the arm.
The golem reeled, armor cracking along its ribcage.
Frank didn't hesitate.
He moved fast.
Ducking a trailing arm, he stepped over a steaming crack, angled in along the exposed leg seam, and stabbed deep.
The core reaction made the ground shake.
『Piercing Fang Activated』
Frank felt the shift in grip and the pulse in his wrist. He slashed twice more, then drove the blade straight into the fissure along the thigh.
The golem shrieked—louder this time, its body struggling to hold its form.
Cracks spread across its chest.
"Now!" Tace shouted.
Garna pivoted, putting her full weight behind the flat of her blade. She staggered the creature, forcing it to lurch sideways.
Frank saw the window open.
He ran.
His boots slipped on the slick stone, the heat biting at his legs, but he didn't stop.
One step. Another.
He kicked off the cracked thigh, pulled himself up with one hand gripping a fractured plate, and drove his sword into the molten glow at its chest—straight into the core.
The sword sank in deep.
Then everything went still.
『Boss Defeated: Lava Golem (E-Rank)』
『XP Gained: +76』
『Stat Points Earned: +4』
『Level Up: Lv.4』
『Current Progress: 65/150』
『Piercing Fang Proficiency +4%』
The golem trembled once.
Then it collapsed.
Chunks of half-melted rock crumbled outward. The body cracked, glowing white-hot before dimming into ember.
Steam hissed across the room. The heat lifted slowly, the air shifting from blistering to breathable.
Tace lowered his spear. "Clear."
Garna stepped back, her blade resting against her shoulder. Mik checked his shoulder and wiped his dagger clean. Auri dropped from her perch, her bow already slung across her back.
Frank said nothing.
He pulled the sword free, sheathed it slowly, and turned toward the next tunnel.
Behind him, the golem's corpse was already fading into slag.