Hana saw a quick notice.

Skill point available.

The Academy’'s lessons had been detailed. The skill point could either be used to unlock a basic No Class Skill now, or saved for later and used on a different class’ skill.

"Don't," Jinyoung interrupted her thoughts.

"I was just curious." Hana looked at the three No Class skills that had unlocked for her at level 2. They were the most basic skills available to every Player. By the time she was Cyrus or Jinyoung's level, she'd have 10 skill points. It didn't seem like such a big deal to use three of them now.

"I know, but you'll need the skill points later. Guilds and clans ask you how many skill points you have when you apply."

Of course, she thought. In the early years, players would routinely unlock the No Class Skills. But after a few years, they started looking specifically for players who had all 10 skill points. Then they started only looking at players with 10 skill points.

"You'll be fine. Most cadets save their skill points until after graduation. That's part of the whole program."

Hana smiled and nodded. After the excitement of the moment passed, Hana settled back into the rhythm of the team's movement. She'd learned enough at the Academy to know that teamwork was the most important thing inside a dungeon. But Johann's tone earlier... He wasn't afraid of the mid-boss. More than likely, the team would see signs of it far before they encountered it. No, his voice wasn't that of fear. It was a concern.

The undead were about 80 meters beyond the stairwell, behind a bend in the hallway that would give the team a good opportunity to sneak up and get close to their opponents. And just beyond them were the final set of stairs that would lead them down to the platform proper.

But the closer they got, the worse the state of the station. The walls were showing signs of degradation and damage. Jinyoung looked back. Peering past Johann, he could barely make out Hana carefully making her way through.

"Careful. The corruption is thick up here," Cyrus whispered.

Corruption. Everyone had theories of what caused it, but its effects were plain to see. It caused rot in organic material, driving away organisms and warping plant life in the vicinity. And after prolonged exposure, it could degrade steel and concrete. It appeared most frequently in the immediate area of a break. But in areas like this where the corruption was sporadic, it was a sign that a mid-boss was near.

The team stacked up at the corner and Seah took up a spot closer to the front. Johann would stay in the rear and provide cover fire while the others moved in for close combat. Hana looked grim but determined while Cyrus... neither he nor Jinyoung had spoken a word to each other since earlier.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Now."

Seah exploded around the corner and pumped her legs as quickly as she could. The undead were at least 40 meters away and spotted her immediately. She heard Hana sprinting right behind her with Cyrus close as well.

image [https://i.imgur.com/Ga6sj0Q.jpeg]

THWISH!

An arrow blew past her and buried itself in the closest undead. Seah was close enough to count the five of them. She cut a heavy arc crushing the skull of the first undead who barely had time to put up their sword in defense. Just next to her, Hana took an undead’s sword strike on her shield, deflected it, and smashed through its ribs with the flat of her sword. Seah turned to look for the others when she saw it.

It must have been returning from a patrol. It was 20 meters out from her current position, far enough that Johann hadn’t spotted it yet either. An undead archer, already drawing back on its bow.

Shit!

At this range, the archer would get two or three shots off before anyone got close enough to hit it. If the team was lucky, it would miss one or two of its shots... if they were lucky. She only had one shot.

Seah planted her lead foot and held her breath. She drew her hand across her thigh, grabbed a dagger and flicked it forward all in one motion. The dagger spun through the air and tracing an almost perfect arc.

Almost. She realized too late that the dagger wouldn't hit its mark. And now she was standing still. An easy target.

Seah saw the undead stretch the bowstring back and watched as the arrow came up, nearly at eye level. That's when she felt it. It started like a whisper behind her ear. The telltale sign of a skill being activated.

Jinyoung shifted the weight to the balls of his feet. The mana had already shifted and was ready to propel him faster than any human could possibly move just as he pushed off his feet. He had already drawn his sword back so when the [dash] carried him forward, he was already swinging, cutting straight through the bow, bowstring, and then the undead's head.

Seah exhaled. Partly of relief, but mostly out of guilt. She should've made that shot and if she had just taken a second longer to aim, she would have.

Cyrus brought his blade around and cut straight through the remaining undead, scattering its bones across the floor while Johann caught up with the rest of the team.

“Everyone okay?”

Seah smiled at Jinyoung and nodded. Cyrus looked away.

“We should move on. The corruption here looks like it’s rotted the columns and-”

As if to answer for itself, the subway columns crumbled. A little at first, then all at once with a roar as the ceiling came crashing down.

“Move!”

Hana dove forward to avoid being crushed by a ton of cement and steel. Jinyoung moved quickly to secure his sister and then move them both to the next floor down.

“This way!”

The others quickly made their way to the stairwell while the entire subway station shook until the rumbling finally stopped.

Johann picked himself up off the bottom of the stairs. “Everyone here?”

Four voices grunted out from the darkness while everyone waited for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. Johann's eyes were able to pick out the details of their surroundings and confirm they’d made it to the subway platform. Then he looked back at the stairs and confirmed what he already knew.

The stairs were covered in rubble. It’d take days to clear a way up assuming that the upper floors were still intact.

“Guys. We have a problem.”