Davick’s triumphant smile faded as he scanned the room, his eyes searching desperately for their Striker. Tybalt’s expression stayed grim, even as the notification of clearing the dungeon lingered in their minds. Kaiden’s gaze met Davick’s, and he shook his head, his eyes dropping in shame. Back on Earth, he’d been around death before—he’d seen his fair share—but this was different. This was the first time he’d watched someone die right in front of him, and the first time he was the cause.

Davick hurried to Kaiden’s side, his voice barely holding back desperation. “Did he…?”

Kaiden swallowed hard. “Yeah.” The word came out as a whisper, and Davick hung his head as he placed a hand on Kaiden’s shoulder. They wordlessly exchanged their anguish, heartache, and support. After a few moments of silence, Davick motined for Kaiden to follow

No longer hobbling, Kaiden reached the spot where Davick and tybalt killed the lich. In its place was now a portal and a treasure chest. Tybalt, who normally rushed to empty its contents into his dimensional bag, simply stood staring at it, motionless. The loss of Coren was hitting him too. Kaiden’s mind screamed to blame the noble for his inaction, his hesitation, but the truth was undeniable—Coren had acted on his own, probably realizing they needed the Caster’s magic more than his sword to end the fight. It was easier to reach a flying foe with Ice Shards, after all.

And once Coren had made that choice, it had been up to Kaiden, as the Bracer, to keep him safe. A duty he’d failed to fulfill.

This is my fault alone, Kaiden thought bitterly. He was certain Davick wouldn’t agree, which was why it was for the best that Davick hadn’t seen Coren’s final act of pushing Tybalt out of the way. If he had, there’s no telling what Davick would do to the man.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" Davick asked, nudging the chest with his foot, snapping Tybalt out of his daze.

"Yes, of course," Tybalt replied stiffly as he mechanically emptied the chest’s contents into his dimensional bag. When he finished, the trio stepped into the portal. Kaiden braced himself as the world around him twisted. A familiar wave of disorientation hit, his senses spinning like they had when he’d first entered the dungeon. Then, just as suddenly, the sensations stopped, and he found himself blinking in the bright sunlight outside.

Kaiden blinked, taking in his surroundings. They were standing on the west side of the dungeon near a large military camp bustling with activity. Soldiers moved around with a mixture of liveliness and solemnity, privates, corporals, and sergeants crossing paths as they coordinated various duties. The dungeon itself loomed on Kaiden’s right, the tall structure casting a long shadow over the camp, which was closer to town than he’d expected.

“Don’t just stand in the exit!” a voice barked. “Congratulations to all of you. Now, come here and report.”

Kaiden turned to see a sergeant with a broad mustache and brown hair, whom he didn’t recognize. Just then, another voice called out, one he did recognize. It was Sgt. Farron.

“Only three of you?” she asked.

Kaiden’s heart sank as he looked up, meeting her eyes. "I’m sorry, Sergeant," he said, his voice low. "We failed… I failed."

Sgt. Farron’s expression softened slightly, but she remained silent as the mustached sergeant spoke up. “Let me clear them real quick, Myra, and then they’re all yours.” She nodded and stepped back as they approached the table to give their official report.

Myra? Myra Farron, huh? Kaiden thought to himself.

Tybalt, as the party leader, went first. The sergeant gestured to the corporal beside him. “Hand over your dimensional bag,” he instructed. Tybalt complied, and the corporal began removing items one by one, cataloging them on a clipboard.

"Place your hand over the crystal and give your report," the sergeant said. A crystal ball, the dungeon’s standard lie detector, glowed faintly on the table. Tybalt rested his hand on the crystal ball and recounted the events of the dungeon including Coren’s death, and answered all follow-up questions, including the customary ones about whether he had concealed any loot. The crystal remained clear, verifying that he was telling the truth.

As the corporal finished logging the items, he leaned over and whispered something to the sergeant, whose brow furrowed. The corporal then handed him a scroll—a scroll Kaiden immediately recognized. It was from the first floor, an item they’d found in the treasure chest. Tybalt hadn’t allowed anyone to even touch it, so Kaiden still didn’t know what it was.

The sergeant grabbed the scroll, his eyes narrowing as he most likely read a pop-up notification in his mind. He looked up, his gaze hardening as he turned to Tybalt.

"Care to explain this?" the sergeant said, holding up the scroll. Tybalt’s mouth opened, but the words seemed to die on his tongue, his shoulders sagging. Kaiden’s heart skipped a beat—What was that? he thought, watching Tybalt’s sudden silence in confusion. Sgt. Farron raised an eyebrow, while Davick, growing uneasy, spoke up.

“What’s going on, Tybalt?” Davick demanded.

The sergeant turned to Kaiden and Davick. "You two weren’t aware of this?”

They shook their heads, and Tybalt mumbled, "They didn’t know." The crystal remained clear, confirming his statement. The sergeant’s gaze sharpened.

“Let me get this straight—you lost a party member to petrification while you had a scroll of Undue Petrification in your possession?”

"What?!" Davick and Kaiden blurted out in shock.

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Davick’s face twisted in rage, and he took a step forward. “You filthy fu—”

Before he could finish, Sgt. Farron stepped in front of him, placing a firm hand on his chest. Her eyes leveled with his. “Don’t,” she said, her voice low and serious. The intensity of her gaze stopped Davick in his tracks as Kaiden’s mind raced, his own anger boiling under the surface.

Tybalt had the scroll to save Coren but said nothing. Kaiden’s fists clenched, but Farron shot him the same warning look, holding him back with nothing more than her steady stare.

The sergeant continued his questioning, his tone heavy with disappointment. "You know you have absolute authority to use any dungeon drop if necessary, correct?”

“Yes,” Tybalt whispered, his voice barely audible.

Of course, everyone knew this—it had been covered in their training. Kaiden hadn’t even considered that such a scroll was among their possessions. He’d assumed that defeating the Lich was the only way to break the petrification. Now, he’d never know if that would have even worked.

The sergeant shook his head. “This is a serious oversight. This matter will have to go up the chain. Corporal, escort him to the MPs,” he ordered. The corporal nodded, coming around the table to take Tybalt by the arm and lead him away.

"Now," the sergeant said, turning back to Kaiden and Davick, "your reports."

Davick stepped forward first, recounting his version of events and verifying he hadn’t known about the scroll. When it was Kaiden’s turn, he hesitated, half-expecting he’d be led away by the MPs too, his failure to save Coren weighing heavily on him. While his anger at Tybalt burned, he still held himself responsible. Scroll or not, he still could’ve saved Coren if he had made better choices. He underestimated the dungeon, and that had cost Coren his life.

After his report, the sergeant directed Kaiden and Davick to a separate area to drop off their gear and pointed out the medical tent nearby. But by now, enough time had passed that Kaiden’s leg was already fully healed, and Davick was in decent shape, so they didn’t need it.

"Walk with me, boys," Sgt. Farron said, gesturing for them to follow as she led them toward a gate at the far end of camp, the one leading into the town. Just before they reached it, she stopped and turned to them.

“You both did well,” she said, her voice softer than usual. “You should be proud of yourselves.”

Kaiden felt a pang at her words. Pride wasn’t what he felt after what had happened, but he listened as she continued.

“Don’t blame yourselves. You did the best you could.” Kaiden opened his mouth to respond, but Farron cut him off with a quick, light chop to the head—firm but more like a sibling’s playful swat than a rebuke.

“There’s a lot you’ll still have to learn about dungeons,” she said. “Even someone like me still has things to learn. What happened to Coren was unfortunate, and maybe, if you could go back, you’d do things differently. But you can’t think like that.”

She had shifted into full lecture mode, her gaze stern. “There will be countless times you’ll think, I coulda done this, or I shoulda done that. Well, don’t let yourself. That kind of thinking’ll eat you alive. You’re going to make mistakes, and people will die. That’s the reality of dungeons. But you learn from that. You can’t hang on to what-ifs. Do you understand?”

Kaiden and Davick nodded, but Farron’s tone sharpened as she asked again, “I said, do you understand?”

“Yes, Sergeant!” they replied in unison.

Farron’s stern expression softened again into a tiny smile, a genuine smile that took Kaiden by surprise. It suited her, and she even chuckled slightly before continuing. “Good. Now, here you go.”

Farron reached her empty hand into the air, making a subtle grabbing motion, as though pulling something from thin air. She produced two coin pouches and handed one to each of them. Kaiden’s eyes widened in amazement—This must be the Inventory ability! he thought.

“Here’s your pay for everything up until now,” she said. “Enjoy the city, but make sure you’re back by Friday. That’s when we’ll be handling the graduation ceremony, and you’ll get your orders then.”

Farron shooed them off, though her eyes still held a hint of warmth. “Good. Now get out of here—you both stink. There’s a bathhouse in town.”

“Thank you, Sergeant,” they said in unison.

She waved them off, adding, “It’s not like I’m paying you. I’m just the messenger.”

Kaiden smiled slightly. “No, Sergeant—I mean, thank you. For everything. For all the training.”

Farron smiled warmly, a glint of pride in her eyes. “Don’t mention it. Maybe we’ll run into each other again.” With a final nod, she turned and headed back toward the camp, likely preparing for her next batch of students.

“The woman of my dreams,” Davick said, grinning. “Even when she’s not kicking me in the face.”

Kaiden chuckled, watching Sgt. Farron walk away, but then his gaze shifted to the dungeon itself. Now that they were out, he felt a pang of curiosity. Activating his Arcane Vision, he decided to give the structure a closer look. With all the focus on surviving, he hadn’t thought to do this before they’d entered, but now seemed as good a time as any. Who knows what I’ll see, he thought, sneaking a glance at Davick, who was predictably still watching Farron’s retreating form.

Under his Arcane Vision, however, the dungeon looked… ordinary. Kaiden frowned. He’d expected something—traces of energy, glowing runes, any indication that the structure was more than just a stone building. “Huh,” he muttered, a bit disappointed. Maybe his Arcane Vision wasn’t at a high enough level yet, or maybe the real dungeon was just the door.

He moved his gaze higher until it reached the rooftop. Searching for any clues, he scanned until his eyes froze on a figure standing atop the building. His Arcane Vision picked up swirling, powerful magic outlining a shape that looked distinctly human, covered in complex runes. He squinted, unable to tell if it was a man or a woman. But when he blinked and deactivated his ability, the figure wasn’t there. Rubbing his eyes, Kaiden reactivated Arcane Vision, but the rooftop was empty.

“Let’s go, man,” Davick said, clapping a hand on Kaiden’s shoulder. “What’re you looking at?”

“Uh… just the dungeon,” Kaiden replied, glancing back. Had he imagined it? No, he was certain of what he’d seen, yet there was no trace of the figure now. But there was no use thinking about it. “Hey you didn’t happen to see anything up on the roof, did you?”

“On the roof? Why the hell would I be looking there?”

“Never mind.”

“I wasn’t close with Coren,” Davick said, his voice low, anger flickering in his eyes as he spoke, “but he didn’t deserve that. I hope that bastard noble pays dearly for this. But all we can do is move on. It’s out of our hands now.” He probably figured what Kaiden was seeing on the roof was an image of Coren.

Kaiden glanced at him, unsure how to respond. His thoughts churned with guilt, anger, and the weight of responsibility, but all he could manage was a quiet, “Right.”

Davick’s expression shifted, his anger fading as he seemed to realize the need to cut the tension. He forced a small, somber smile. “He won’t be forgotten. But let’s head into town, yeah?”

Kaiden nodded, his jaw tightening as he tried to put on a strong front. “Sure.”

As they started walking, the hollow feeling in Kaiden’s chest lingered, refusing to dissipate. This wasn’t a feeling he ever wanted to grow accustomed to. He clenched his fists at his sides. I need to get stronger, he vowed silently.

“So what do you wanna do first?”

“How about some food?” Kaiden said.

“I was thinking more along the lines of a bath,” Davick said, grinning.

“Then why’d you even ask? Wait... don’t tell me that just because Sgt. Farron—”

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s go!” Davick nudged Kaiden toward the gate and the duo headed into town.