Kael's Perspective
Silence.
Kael knew that.
Even while standing still, hidden within the warm mist of the waterfall that fell like a veil over his hooded form, the Dungeon never stayed quiet. It never did.
Cold droplets struck his bare back like the metronome of the underground world. The water carried traces of crystalline dust—tiny particles of condensed mana from the surroundings. It wrapped around him, connected him… and disturbed him.
That feeling had returned.
It wasn't a voice. It wasn't a vision or a revelation.
It was the ground—vibrating.
It was the air—pressing in.
As if something deep within the Dungeon—perhaps its very will—was… irritated. Or waiting.
Kael opened his eyes.
He hadn't heard any words. But his chest was heavy. His breathing had quickened without him noticing.
"Something's coming," he thought. "Something bad."
Riveria's Perspective
Riveria Ljos Alf's staff struck the ground with a measured firmness as she walked through the bustling market stalls of Rivira. Around her, life carried on in its usual chaos: adventurers arguing over loot, merchants chattering non-stop, and the familiar air thick with sweat and steam from the city's makeshift quarters on the middle floor.
But her eyes weren't on them.
They were on the sky.
Or more precisely, on the flow of mana above—shifting like a disturbed spiderweb.
"Did you feel it?" she asked, without turning.
A young adventurer followed her, glancing around with slight concern.
"The magic surge...? Yeah… a few minutes ago. It felt like a sudden pull. I thought it was a fight in another sector."
Riveria shook her head—gently, but firmly.
"Not a fight. This is coming from the floor itself. The mana's erratic. It's moving like something is pushing it from within, not from the surface."
She touched two fingers to her temple, closing her eyes briefly. A crack had been discovered earlier in the northern zone of the floor… and now this.
"Lefiya."
The young elf stepped forward, still slightly surprised.
"Yes, Lady Riveria."
"I want you to investigate the anomaly in the north. Take two of the new recruits. We trained them for this. It'll be a good test—but I want your eyes there, not theirs. Something's off."
"A trap?" Lefiya asked, a hint of unease in her voice.
"I don't know yet," Riveria replied. "But my instincts say this isn't a coincidence. And I can't leave the town unattended—not with how things are going."
Kael's Perspective
Kael was already dressed. His worn cloak covered his entire body. The sword he'd purchased was strapped to his side, and his muscles were tense, like the strings of an out-of-tune lute.
He couldn't stay still.
The mana around him was buzzing. The Dungeon air had grown heavier. The atmosphere… had intent.
And then he saw them.
Lefiya Viridis.
Kael recognized her instantly. Not from witnessing her fight the Goliath—but from memories. The kind he wasn't supposed to have, yet they lingered like scars burned into his mind. He knew her story. He knew how she moved. How she fought. What she feared.
And there she was, marching north with two rookies—right toward where everything seemed to be going wrong.
"This can't be a coincidence."
He followed.
Not because he wanted to. Not because it was his problem.
But his heart pounded too hard. His legs moved on their own. He knew—with that strange, silent certainty that the Dungeon planted in his gut.
Lefiya's Perspective
The hole in the wall was recent. The edges were still warm.
One of the rookies, Arwin, conjured a small orb of light and tossed it into the darkness. It illuminated a creature curled on the ground. A small wyvern, panting, with visible wounds. It was covered in dried blood.
"Wounded by another monster...?" asked the other rookie, Narell, aiming his spear.
"Looks inactive. Not hostile," Lefiya said, though her voice trembled slightly.
She had learned that monsters didn't fake it.
And that was her mistake—because everything happened at once.
The wyvern lifted its head. Its eyes glowed with a monstrous light—and it lunged.
Arwin couldn't dodge in time. A slash sent him flying into the rock with a bloodcurdling scream.
Narell tried to hold the monster off, but a sudden charge threw him several meters away. Lefiya barely had time to begin her chant when the creature turned on her, fast as a thunderclap.
"No... I can't..." she gasped, her voice cut off by fear.
The chant faltered. The energy dissolved.
She was frozen.
"Someone…!"
She screamed within her mind.
And then—a hooded figure burst through the breach at terrifying speed.
Kael didn't hesitate. He couldn't.
The monster turned to him. It was faster than he expected.
He took a slash to the side—deep—but he didn't stop.
He jumped. His sword sliced diagonally, forcing the wyvern to recoil.
"You, elf!" Kael shouted, his face still hidden. "Chant. Now!"
Lefiya looked at him as if he were a ghost. Her voice still shook.
"Do it! You can!"
The words weren't gentle—but they were true.
She nodded, took a deep breath, and began.
The chant flowed out like a familiar melody as Kael stood between her and the beast. He blocked the creature's attacks with desperate, brutishly effective swings of his sword.
When Lefiya finished, the spell descended upon the monster with devastating fury.
Silence.
Then—smoke.
And a lifeless body.
Kael, breathing hard, knelt down and took out the two potions he still carried. One for Arwin. One for Narell.
Both were breathing.
Lefiya approached—but before she could say a word, Kael was already walking away.
"Wait!" she called.
But there was no response.
The hooded figure didn't stop, didn't even glance back. He simply vanished into the Dungeon mist as quickly as he had appeared.
Kael's Perspective
Exhausted but recovering thanks to his naturally high regeneration, Kael returned to Rivira. Just as he was about to enter, he noticed the group of rookies he had seen when he first arrived in the town—walking past him, leaving—with the sinister man leading them out.
"Now? Right when everything seems to be going wrong on the floor?"
Even though logic told him to stay out of it, he decided to follow them. He felt certain: if he didn't, those rookies would die.
As he trailed behind, he didn't realize the path they were taking was nearly the same one he always used to return to the waterfall.
Dix's Perspective
Dix stared at the map, freshly marked. A red cross over the north. Another over sector 18.
"Everything's falling into place," he muttered.
A chained creature behind him let out a low growl. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural hue.
"The phenomenon took the bait. It's moving. Just as we planned."
A dry laugh escaped his throat.
"Now… let the hunt begin."