Kyle was in a bad mood. He had gotten an order, and he hated orders. "Why can't they do this errand themselves?

He was being sent out on a fetch quest. He had been sent out on quests like this before but had always failed them. "And they dared to rub my failures in my face!"

The council had grudgingly decided to send him on this mission. They even said the only reason was that no one else was available. Then, they reiterated how important the mission was. Even days later, he felt a flare of anger: "Stuck up, bastards!"

Kyle was confident in his abilities. Towering at 6'6" with shoulders that could block a doorway, Kyle's hulking frame was as intimidating as his scowl. "much more of a man than those people who just sit on the council," he thought.

His hair was long and black, and, like his father, he had black eyes.

On the way to their destination a grim thought crossed his mind as Kyle glanced back to count heads. "I won't mind losing some of them," he thought. They had stuck him with three researchers to top things off, saying they would "Give a different perspective." He just wanted to finish this quest and rid himself of them.

At least the other six were reliable, following orders without question. Kyle had handpicked 6 men he knew could hold their own in battle. Of course, they were not as good as him, but what can you do? That was a high bar to meet.

"Finally," he muttered. After about a week of traveling, the large forest had opened up to the dark entrance, which was their goal.

Again, he questioned this "technology" that the researcher's guild had made. After all, it pointed inside. "I guess we'll be hauling back some scrap if even that is left."

"Set a camp up!" he barked. "We will go inside at first light." He glared at the researchers, their heads buried in their notebooks. "Useless."

As dawn broke, so did an apparent surge of stupidity. "For the last time, no," Kyle snapped. "I'm the one in charge, and I'm not getting chewed out because you got yourselves killed."

"Do you really think I want to go into a dungeon with you? Trust me, I'd rather be in a lab, but the guild expects results." The man was 5 foot 9 inches with flaming red hair and an equally impressive scowl.

Kyle usually didn't care to remember researchers' names, but this one had been a thorn in his side since the start. "Ezra," Kyle grunted, his patience thinning. "If you go in there with us, you will protect yourselves. Do I make myself clear?"

Ezra snorted, the word “Crystal” dripping with sarcasm as he locked eyes with Kyle.

No dungeon was a place to play bodyguard, least of all this one. Much stronger adventurers than Kyle had lost their lives here, and that was because this dungeon was different. "Of course, it had to be this one," he muttered, feeling his stomach tighten.

Kyle and the researchers knew everything about this dungeon, yet they insisted on halting progress to document every last detail.

After several grueling floors, they stepped into a dark, damp chamber. Rough stone lined the walls like a cave, and the smell of mildew was pervasive. Kyle let Ezra and the researchers lead, trying to teach them a lesson.

The researchers crossed the room's boundary, and immediately, a high-pitched humming started reverberating around the room. Ezra, whose face was halfway in his notebook, looked up, "Did I wander into the room?"

A high pitched whine started coming from ahead of them.

A chill ran down Ezra’s spine as his hair stood on end. He turned slowly, eyes darting to find the source of the sound.

There was nothing; the room was just shadows.

Then he saw a beam of light streaking erratically around the room, making the direction of the noise impossible to follow.

"A Fay," Ezra muttered, straining to follow its quick movements.

This creature wasn't too dangerous, not at first. It would slowly increase the pitch of its sound until it made its prey faint before feasting.

"Not this time," Ezra muttered. Though new to expeditions, he had invested heavily in his survival, unwilling to leave anything to chance.

He looked in his inventory. "Got it." He grabbed the small device and activated it.

Kyle enjoyed the squirming researchers. He would step in before they got eaten. "Maybe just a small nibble first," he thought with a quiet chuckle.

Then, Ezra did something unexpected. He started glowing. It looked like his skin was as bright as the sun.

Kyle's gaze dropped to Ezra's hand. "Of course," he spat. "A protective shield."

Ezra pressed the small stone, which pulsed briefly before his entire body lit up. A shimmering circle, five feet in diameter, expanded slowly outward from him.

Looking around, he tried to spot the other two researchers. They were huddled in a corner, tears streaming down their faces. "Get in here!" He screamed, his voice cutting through their panic.

They latched onto his voice and ran, almost bowling him over as they entered the safe space.

"Where's Kyle?" Ezra muttered, looking behind them and spotting him scowling just beyond the room's boundary.

Anger flared within him. "Happy now? Then help us or the guild leader will hear about this."

Ezra watched as Kyle grunted and tapped the air, summoning his lance without even bothering to don his armor.

Then, he saw him almost lethargically step into the boundary and stab with his lance. With one flick, the light beam froze at the end of the sharp point.

The little creature was made of light and crystal. It cracked and then shattered into dark smoke.

Ezra deactivated his shield. "If I didn't need this promotion, then I wouldn't be here," he looked down at the other two researchers who had insisted on going along. "Some learning experience this is." He sighed a long, suffering breath before following behind Kyle.

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On the next floor, Kyle's lips curled into a rare smirk. "This is more like it, a Worril." The creature in this room was a wolf-like creature but red. It had a pair of grotesque arms sticking from its sides. Each hand was raised skyward and had what looked like beating hearts grasped in its fingers.

Kyle looked back at the others as he walked closer. "This one is all mine. Don't interfere."

Kyle mentally went into his inventory and selected his armor, which he never wore until it was time for battle. He didn't really need it; the armor was just there to help stop the pain.

The armor matched the Worril's bright red color, each piece large enough to cover his whole body. He held a large shield that rested on the ground with his left arm, and as he thought it, a five-foot lance dropped into his right.

Even though he was a tank, Kyle knew he could finish something like this.

Without hesitation, he discarded his shield and charged at the creature.

Kyle, crossing the boundary line to the room, made the creature react by raising its two arms higher into the air; one of the hearts started leaking a dark cloud around its body, and the other created a swirling dark energy manifesting into the shape of a spike.

"So, you've got a shield, huh?" Kyle shouted, driving his lance into it.

A fissure ran across the dark shield.

The Worril unleashed its second spell,

The dark spike shot toward Kyle's chest, its edges glinting with deadly intent.

It hit.

And shattered into countless fragments that dissolved into the shadows around them.

A grin spread wider across Kyle's face.

"That's all you've got?" Kyle roared, driving his lance forward.

This time, the shield completely shattered, and the lance, with its momentum, continued into the heart that had created the shield.

The Worril emitted a guttural, grinding shriek as its remaining arm glowed with swirling red-black energy.

Kyle's eyes narrowed at the glowing heart. Without hesitation, he snatched it with his free hand.

"Not today," he growled, gripping the pulsing organ. It throbbed warmly, syncing with the beat of his own heart.

He squeezed. At first, it felt like the heart resisted, but all at once, it exploded into dark smoke.

The Worril growled.

Then lunged.

Kyle's grin widened. With a single motion, he caught the lunging Worril in midair, impaled it on his lance, and slammed it into the stone floor.

The Worril let out a yelp as it tried to lift its body and failed. Then Kyle started punching it, releasing small amounts of black smoke until it finally dissolved into nothing.

Kyle put away his weapon and armor, turning to his group with a smug grin. "All done, you can follow now." He was happy to see Ezra's mortified look.

"All muscle, no brains," Ezra thought, biting back the words. The brutal display drove home just how far adventuring was from the meticulous world of research. He hadn't wanted to come along, but his boss, the head of the researchers' guild, had asked him to. "Did he know that Kyle was this volatile?" he wondered.

"In the end, it doesn't matter," Ezra thought. We will find the anomaly this time. I hope it survived." For as long as Ezra could remember, his guild had hunted anomalies. These strange remnants of the past held the key to lost technologies, many of which they'd already reverse-engineered into groundbreaking advancements.

"If we can prove the Augor's Lens works, we'll push the world into a new era," Ezra murmured, glancing at Kyle. "Assuming he doesn't destroy it first."

Ezra studied his map. The anomaly was marked five hundred feet below, "five floors down." The dungeon ended after three floors. Unease crept into his thoughts. Where could it be?

Glancing at the boss, Ezra saw Kyle and his soldiers locked in combat with a monstrous, skeletal lizard. The creature lunged, its teeth grinding as its tail whipped like a tree.

"We must find it." This anomaly was the largest they had seen so far, which is why they forced Ezra to go on this mission. This was by far Ezra's most important job yet. "I will not fail."

On the next floor, Ezra found himself writing in every detail. His kind of people didn't usually go into dungeons, and as best as they could tell adventurers to note every detail, they always seemed to miss something, like the ancient writing around the treasure room. Ezra directed the other two researchers to scatter and catalog everything.

After scouring the room, Ezra fell in step behind Kyle. "Isn't it odd?" he said as they walked down the last stairs.

Hmmm?" Kyle grunted, barely sparing him a glance.

"Isn't it odd that the dungeon ends on the next floor? Everything points to the mud wall, but has anyone ever gone through it?"

Kyle paused mid-step and turned to look at him. "No, I don't find it odd. The dungeon ends here. We just fought the boss and cleared the treasury. Why would there be more?"

Ezra looked at the scowling man. “Doesn't it spark your curiosity to see what is beyond it?”

This made Kyle turn red with anger. "We risk our lives every damn day for you. All of you stay in the city where it's safe and even send us out on your errands. But this is MY expedition, and I'm not wading through mud for anyone."

Ezra sighed, rolling his eyes. "Exactly why the guild leaders share power. If it were up to adventurers, we'd all live in a fortress by now."

Kyle turned and trudged down the stairs, stopping again before Ezra nearly collided with him. "You said you'd lead," Ezra grumbled, barely stopping in time. "At least go all the way down the stairs."

Kyle wasn't moving, so Ezra squeezed around him when he saw it. It was a large room with a river running through it. The room had no sound until he took the last step to floor level. His senses exploded with the smell of fresh water and the sound of rapids.

"Incredible," Ezra muttered, watching the quick-moving water rush by. Then, something else on the far side caught his eye. "A staircase!" he said. Ezra pulled out his map. "Two more floors; we found a new part of the dungeon!"

Kyle felt a chill down his spine. He had been here before, and this was where he'd lost his friend. And now, the dungeon had changed once again. His heart raced, his mind screamed at him to run, and his breath quickened.

The memory of his friend flickered and vanished, replaced by a sharp surge of anger. He could feel the others watching him, mocking him. He just knew it. Straightening up, he snapped, his voice harsh. "What is this? What did you do?"

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "What did I do? How could I have done anything?"

Kyle shoved past Ezra, his gaze darting over the unfamiliar surroundings. "Everything is different," Kyle didn't see anything that looked similar; even the breeze felt strange now as if muttering his name.

"There is no way I could forget, mud so much mud," Kyle remembered being so full of curiosity that he had wadded into the mud to try getting through, but then he got stuck and had to have his friends pull him out when a silver monster had latched onto one of them.

Fear twisted in Kyle's gut as he remembered the piercing scream his friend had let out before all too quickly growing silent.

Shaking his head, he forced himself forward. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the river as though to ground himself in the reality of the situation.

Kyle froze, his foot sinking into the liquid. It looked like water, but as he stepped, it flowed around his foot like it didn't exist. The earthy scent hit his nose, and he stepped back, his leg glowing faintly blue where the liquid had touched.

Upon seeing the puzzled expression, Ezra dashed forward and took his own step into the water. An electric buzzing sensation ran through his leg wherever the ethereal water touched. "No way! Here?"

"Blood of the gods," he whispered as if afraid he might scare it away. Then he pulled out a vial to fill it with the ethereal liquid. “Get over here,” he said to the other two researchers.

They just stared at him, clearly confused. Ezra's heart skipped a beat at their lack of understanding. "It makes sense they wouldn't know," he muttered, shaking his head. But urgency pushed him forward, ushering them to join him as they cautiously approached and filled their vials.

The buzzing sensation eventually faded, breaking the silence long enough for Kyle to snap them back into focus. "Move forward," he ordered, his voice carrying the weight of authority.

Kyle put on his armor, pulling out his shield and lance as they continued deeper. He had taken up almost the entire stairway before, but now he was blocking the entire passage as he continued downwards.

Ezra was practically buzzing with excitement, unable to hide his grin. "Even if we don't find the anomaly, this is enough to get me that promotion."

Ezra froze, a shiver running down his spine as Kyle turned toward him, his face hardening. For the first time, the large man's gaze met his, intense and unwavering. "Stay back if you don't want to die."

Ezra swallowed hard, the words cutting through his excitement like a cold wind. The death rate in dungeons was notoriously high, and in unexplored ones, it was even worse. This dungeon was known for its greed, and Kyle's warning suddenly felt all too real.