The dungeon was just beneath the castle, like a labyrinth made out of ancient stone covered in moss, and forgotten echoes moved through the dungeon with ease. Torchlight flickered against walls lined with moss and the occasional trickle of water that seeped through cracks, creating a damp, musty atmosphere. Shadows danced around them in the corridors, playing tricks on their eyes.

Max didn’t like the air, it felt thick and metallic. Something like old coins left to tarnish in forgotten vaults under the earth. Each step echoed softly, as if the dungeon itself held its breath, waiting for the next intruder to disturb its timeless slumber. No one made a sound from them, they looked at the old, ancient walls of the dungeon, scanning their surroundings.

Only Max looked at his feet, the ground beneath was uneven, worn smooth by centuries of footsteps and the passage of unknown beings. Shadows lurked behind the far corners, suggesting hidden passages or waiting threats.

Karen fell down and started to cry.

“I want to go home!” she yelled, her tears coming down her face.

“Shushhh…” someone yelled at her. “We are in danger and you are telling everyone that we are here. Shut up and let us think.”

That did not help at all.

“I WANT H O M E.” now she was mad. “I studied for a year to pass the math exam and now we are here in danger. I want back.”

“The math exam! Of course!” Josh had forgotten all about it. “I knew something would come up, and I won’t be doing that stupid test.” he kept talking to himself, happy.

“What’s wrong with him?” Axel asked, pointing his finger at him.

“Why do you care shitface?!” Rowan punched him in the face, making his nose bleed.

“Ouch! You punched me in the -” and then he stood in shock, just below his sight, a small red bar appeared. In it, two white bolded letters “HP”.

“You must be fucking kidding me,” he said totally surprised by it.

“What? You didn’t expect a punch? Want another one?!” Rowan got close to his face.

Axel without any hint, slammed his head in Rowan’s face, making him go three steps back, shock on his face.

“You want to die fucker?!!” Rowan’s face got all red, he was ready to beat Axel until he pissed blood.

“NO! Look under, down…” Axel started showing in the air where he saw the HP bar. “Look down here.”

They all looked, and then they all saw.

“Is this some video game?” Lysa scratched her head, calm.

“Some type of system for su-”

“WE ARE IN A VIDEO GAME!” Josh yelled as loud as he could.

He and Rowan started jumping like little kids when they got too much candy just before sleep.

“If there is an HP bar, there also must be-” and there it was in the upper left corner,” inventory.”

They all saw it, they all opened it, a gift was there for everyone, except Max, his gift had been lost.

“That sucks, I didn’t get any starting gear. What does it say up there.”

Just under his name, there was more info.

Max

Class: Mage

Level: 1

HP: 100

Mana: 100

“Shitty stats,” he thought, “but I always loved playing mages in video games. I am so lucky!”

“I am a Paladin!!” Josh became even louder.

“What does my say, what does my say - - - “ Rowan kept looking around to find his class. “I am a Rogue! How cool is that?!”

“Idiots…” Lysa said under her breath. Just under her name said: Class: Cleric. “I’m given a support role,” tsk, “I can’t go anywhere without these bastards.”

“My class is Necromancer,” Karen said to Lysa, with no tears and no signs of them ever being there. “What’s yours?”

“Cleric and Necromancer, so cool, matches their personalities.” Axel thought for himself. Under his name said: Class: Ranger.

The 20 other students started talking around telling each other their classes, equipping gear, and thinking of what’s next.

“If you want to attack, a skills bar shows just above the HP you really have to look for it to see, I guess it becomes natural later on.” someone said and they all started doing random beginner skills on the Dungeon walls.

Max had only one skill on his bar: “Fireball.”

“This will be useful.”

* Name: Fireball (Level 1)

* Mana Cost: 10 mana points

* Damage: 15 fire damage (direct hit)

* Area of Effect: 5-meter radius

* Additional Effects: Targets hit may suffer from burning effect, dealing 5 fire damage per turn for 5 seconds unless extinguished

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“Okay, everyone! As your Paladin, I will lead.” Josh raised his hammer and shield to the sky, awaiting applause.

He only got one, from Rowan, and moments later, another one, from Axel holding his head because he got smacked by Rowan to applaud.

And so they went, following Axel prepared to attack. They didn’t follow him because he was their leader or something, more because they were afraid and he was the only idiot ready to go first into the darkness.

The torchlight flickered on the dungeon walls, and a growling sound in the darkness ahead made them all stop and freeze.

“W-what was that?” Josh didn’t look as brave as before.

“Maybe it was just the wind?” Axel responded.

They looked at him like he just said the dumbest thing ever because he did.

“If it’s just the wind, then you should have no problem going first.” Josh pushed him towards the darkness.

“You are the damn Paladin! Not me! Why should I go first?!” Axel yelled.

“Becaus-”

A small green face with a much larger nose came out of the dark. Its yellow eyes searched for prey, looking at each one of them. Then it yelled, it opened its huge mouth, and the big rotten teeth appeared out of nowhere.

“GOBLINS!!” someone yelled.

The fear struck them hard, they couldn’t move. Well one could, Max was already running away.

“I am not going to die here that’s for sure.” he thought to himself.

But then he heard someone yell: “Holy Strike!!!” and then the floor below him started to shake like an earthquake.

He stopped, trying to see in the dark what just happened.

“Maybe I should go back and check.”

He moved slowly, and the closer he came the louder it became. He could even recognize who yelled what.

“Divine Shield!”

“Lay on Hands!”

“Healing Light!!”

“Poison Dagger!!!!!”

“Piercing Arrow!”

“Life Drain!!”

The dust and the sounds finally settled when Max came back, no one even saw him running away, of course, it was like he wasn’t even there.

They were all celebrating, jumping, and giving each other high fives. Around them in a green pool of blood, were dead Goblins, around 30 of them, completely destroyed.

“That was easy, why were you so afraid guys?” Josh cleaned his hammer from the green blood. “Let’s continue, these fuckers are noobs.”

He picked up his shield again from the floor, put it on his left hand, and with the hammer on his right shoulder kept walking forward.

The rest of the journey was easy and simple. Josh led the way, more goblins came, and in the next 5 minutes they were already all dead and someone from the party leveled up.

“Another LvL Up! I am already LvL 5 now!” said Josh. “When am I getting new skills, cooler skills?” he wondered. He will be very disappointed when he realizes that he has to learn them and can’t just unlock them. “I guess the skill points are also good, put it all in damage.”

“Did I just hear you putting your skill points into damage?” Axel asked him.

“Yeah, why?” Josh asked.

“Because you are our TANK! You should use it to build up your HP and not your damage!!”

A huge swing with the hammer, hitting Axel right on top of his head. His HP dropped to 48.

“Healing Light!” Lysa cast her spell on Axel.

“Don’t hit one of us, Josh, we are a team and you made me use my Mana for no reason.”

“He should stop telling me what to do, and he won’t get hit.”

“S-she healed me. It feels sooo good.” Axel talked to himself while lying on the ground.

“Can you stand up?” someone tried to help Axel.

“They are all leveling up super fast because they actually do some damage, maybe I should do so as well?”

Max was level 2, just because of the shared XP they all shared in the party. He didn’t use his one spell, not even once.

“I mean fireball sounds very dangerous, I don’t want to burn someone.” he gave excuses to himself. “I don’t need to jump in, this is too easy for them.” Or something like: “YES MY MINIONS! KILL THEM ALL!” but that was just once before he cringed.

Before they realized they came to a giant door. The massive wooden door stood before them, a barrier of ancient oak, reinforced with iron bands. Its surface was covered with the carving of many crests, each representing a forgotten kingdom or a legendary hero. The crests stood there barely visible in the dim light, their once-vibrant colors now completely gone because of the passage of time, yet still they looked powerful covered in their former glory.

At the center of the door, a large iron ring hung heavily, begging to be pulled.

“Okay everyone we should heal and rest a little. It seems as if this is the final boss fight.” Axel shared his opinion with others.

With a deep breath, Josh grasped the ring and pulled. The door creaked open with a groan, the sound vibrating through the dungeon’s stone corridors like the moan of a long-forgotten beast. The gap widened, revealing a narrow wooden bridge that was held by two fraying ropes, stretching across an abyss that seemed to plunge into endless darkness. The faint glint of spikes at the bottom hinted at the certain death that awaited any who fell.

Axel’s mouth also creaked wide open with a groan.

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!!?” he screamed.

Josh just lifted his hammer, and it made him shut up and hide behind Lysa.

On the other side of the bridge, the walls were covered by flickering torches, and in the midst of it, stood a huge goblin boss. His skin was covered with scars. Equipped in leather armor, he held a massive axe that seemed to pulse with dark energy.

The goblin boss let out a thunderous roar, shaking the very walls of the dungeon. His voice echoed through the dungeon, promising a brutal fight to anyone who dared to cross the bridge.

The bridge swayed slightly because of the roar, the ropes creaking ominously under the strain. Each step would need to be carefully measured, for one misstep would send them plummeting to their doom. The stakes were clear: Defeat the goblin boss or face the abyss below.

“Let’s go, guys! We’re going to destroy this fucker!” Josh was too confident. “Everyone follow me!” he raised his hammer in the sky, his eyes closed because of the moment. “I am their savior.” he thought to himself.

A couple of steps in front, he stepped on the wooden bridge, looked the goblin boss straight in the face, raised his hammer as a threat, and said: “You’re going down motherfucker!”

That of course didn’t scare the goblin boss who looked as confused as everyone else behind Josh.

“Does he think he is in a movie or something?” Karen looked confused.

“What if more goblins come behind us? someone asked.

“I could stay and watch?” Max spoke up, and everyone turned and looked at him.

“Yo, Max I didn’t even notice you. Sure you can, cover our backs and we will take on the boss.” Rowan slapped him on his back.

Max looked at how Josh, Karen, Lysa, Rowan, and Axel were the first to cross the bridge. It looked safe enough for everyone else to pass as well. The problem was that as soon as they crossed the bridge, the goblin boss started shouting in some unknown language, and the fight started.

Everyone else rushed to cross the bridge, Max looked at them, feeling safe. When he ran back at the start there were no goblins back there, he knew if he stayed there he would be safe and nothing was going to happen to him. But there was still something bothering him, he didn’t use his skill even once.

Moments before they arrived at the big door, he picked up a small wand of a goblin. Maybe he could use it from here and help them fight the boss, the room was big enough and he was a mage after all, what could go wrong? The wand looked alright, a twisted branch and runes that glowed faintly seemed functional.

He focused his mind, channeling his mana through the wand. A small flame flickered to life at the wand’s tip, growing steadily as he poured more energy into it. The fireball became larger, crackling with raw power, but Max knew this cast needed more than just force; it needed precision.

“FIREBALL! !”

The fireball shot forward, passing everyone on the bridge, some of them noticed the giant fireball passing by them. But Max didn’t know that this wand of his he picked up, was broken. The broken wand’s enchantments caused it to veer left, then right, and for a moment it seemed like it might hit someone on the bridge. Luther ducked bellowed it making everyone stop on the bridge.

“What the fuck was that? Are they behind us?!” all of them on the bridge turned behind to see what was going on, all they could see was Max’s horrified face with a wand in his hand that looked clearly broken now.

With a searing hiss, the fireball struck the rope, its intense heat instantly igniting the aged fibers. Flames raced along the length of the rope devouring it with alarming speed. The bridge lurched, one side sagging as the burning rope weakened.

Everyone on the bridge screamed in confusion, anger, and fear, as the ground beneath them began to shift. Their panicked cries mingled with the crackle of flames.

In mere moments, the rope gave way completely, snapping with a final, fiery burst. The bridge was titled violently, dumping its occupants into the abyss below. The cries of his classmates echoed off the walls until they were swallowed by the void.

Max stood at the doorway, breathless. Josh heard the screams and turned around, Max threw the broken wand into the abyss before he could see it.

“YOU MONSTER!!!” Josh yelled!