A bead of sweat trickled down Kaiden’s face as he hid behind the tree. He mentally cursed himself for his carelessness. One thing was certain—there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to that man, and now he’d caught his attention after the man had so effortlessly cut down some renowned mercenary.

As the swordsman called out to him, Kaiden decided it was best not to provoke him further. After a few tense moments, he stepped out from the trees with his hands raised in submission, silently praying to Oros that he wouldn’t be killed.

The swordsman asked who he was, but before Kaiden could say anything, another voice chimed in. A woman appeared out of nowhere, and Kaiden’s jaw dropped. Literally out of nowhere, he thought. She was a very attractive brunette with freckles. She gave the swordsman pause, her tone so casual it held no fear. Kaiden blinked. He’d never seen this woman in his life.

The woman—Zinnia, as she just named herself—seemed to be a big deal too, judging by the swordsman’s expression. Kaiden stood there, hands still raised, feeling way in over his head. He was at the mercy of two people who could probably end him in an instant.

Zinnia spoke next. “And I know you, of course, Ashkar Gal—”

“Just call me Ash,” the swordsman interrupted sharply.

“Okay, Ash,” Zinnia replied with a smirk. “I bet it was you who took my divinator.”

What’s the hell’s a divinator? Kaiden thought.

Ash shrugged noncommittally and, with a nod toward Kaiden, said, “And him?”

“He’s with me.” Zinnia said.

Ashkar glared skeptically. “He is?”

“I am?” Kaiden blurted,

Ashkar frowned, his piercing gaze shifting between the two of them.

Zinnia chuckled softly. “Go on, Ash. I’m not here to get in your way. Leave him to me,” she said, nodding in Kaiden’s direction.

Kaiden gulped audibly, his throat dry. Ash stared at him for a moment longer before sighing. “Fine.” He sheathed his sword and walked over to the shimmering dungeon door.

Zinnia stepped closer to Kaiden, her expression lightening into an amused smile. “You can put your hands down now,” she said.

“Oh, right,” Kaiden muttered, lowering his arms awkwardly.

Zinnia looked him over, her eyes glinting with curiosity. There was something predatory in the way she studied him, as if she were weighing his worth. “I’m sure you’ve got some questions for me,” she said, her voice smooth, “but I’ve got some for you too.”

Kaiden nodded, still unsure what she could possibly want. “Okay, sure.”

Before Zinnia could say anything, Ash’s voice rang out again. “Actually, hold on you two.”

Kaiden’s stomach dropped as he watched the swordsman grimace and walk back toward them. What now?

Ashkar strode back toward Kaiden and Zinnia, stepping over the groaning mercenary, who was now chugging a potion with shaking hands. He ignored the man entirely, fixing his sharp gaze on Zinnia.

“You’re here for the dungeon too, right?” Ashkar asked bluntly.

Zinnia nodded, tilting her head as if gauging his intent.

Ash’s expression didn’t shift. “You got anyone else coming?”

Zinnia pursed her lips. “You don’t mean to tell me this dungeon isn’t soloable, do you?”

“Go see for yourself,” Ash replied with a shrug.

The two of them moved toward the glowing doorway without another word, and Kaiden found himself trailing after them. He knew he had no real option to run—he bet both of them could easily catch him. But that wasn’t the only reason he followed. He was curious, and he wanted a closer look at the door.

Kaiden’s breath caught as they approached. There was no question about it—this was a Dungeon of Opportunity. He could feel the power radiating off the door. The shimmer drew his eye, and the surface gleamed and sparkled like crystal or glass. No, wait. This wasn’t crystal. It was diamond!

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“Diamond...” he whispered to himself.

A Diamond-grade dungeon. Kaiden’s stomach churned at the thought. He’d just barely survived a Wood-grade dungeon. And these two were casually discussing soloing a Diamond-grade one?

Zinnia pulled her hand away from the door, looking thoughtful. “So, what’re you proposing?”

“We all go in together,” Ashkar said flatly, motioning with his arm to include Kaiden.

Kaiden’s jaw dropped. I’m sorry, what?!

Zinnia raised an eyebrow. “Him too?” she asked, pointing a finger at the mercenary still sprawled on the ground, now trying to sit upright.

“Yeah, we need four,” Ashkar replied. “Good thing I didn’t kill him.”

Zinnia tapped her chin, considering. “I don’t think we should take the private.”

Ashkar shrugged. “I don’t care if he goes or not. But can you get someone else here in time before the timer runs out? I’ve never seen a timer this short before.”

Zinnia frowned, clearly unhappy. “Fine. I’ll keep him safe.”

Kaiden felt like things were progressing way too fast now. Was I just volunteered to run a Diamond-grade dungeon?

“Uh… I’m sorry, but I can’t just go with you,” Kaiden stammered, his voice shaking. “I have orders.”

Ashkar rolled his eyes. “Fuck your orders,” he said dismissively as he grabbed the mercenary by the ankle and started dragging him toward the dungeon door.

Zinnia clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “I’ll call in a favor,” she said to Kaiden with an air of finality. “You’ll be fine.”

Kaiden stared at her, unsure what that even meant. Could he even trust her? Probably not, but it didn’t seem like he had much choice. But still, he needed to try harder to get out of this.

“There’s a base full of much stronger Dungeoneers than me!” Kaiden protested, his voice rising. “Sergeants, even a colonel! They’d all be better choices!”

Ashkar released the mercenary’s foot at the door and turned to face Kaiden with a smirk. “Military can’t just leave to do a D-O-D at the drop of a hat,” he said, crossing his arms. “And besides, they don’t dive with civilians.”

Kaiden pointed to himself. “But I’m military!”

Ashkar’s grin widened. “Yeah, but you’re right here. And you don’t have a choice.”

Zinnia stepped closer, her voice softening slightly. “Look, I’ll make sure you stay safe,” she said, her hazel eyes locking onto his.

Kaiden gave her a weak, unconvincing smile. It wasn’t much, but it was something. He just hoped he’d live to regret this decision.

Ashkar clapped his hands together, breaking the tense silence. “Alright, Art of Four. Let’s sort this out. What can you do?” He directed the question at Zinnia.

“I’m a Striker,” she replied, “but I can switch to Caster if you insist. I’m guessing you’re not budging on that role.”

“Correct,” Ashkar said, giving her an approving nod. With the swords he carried, it was obvious he was a Caster, but Zinnia seemed to know more about the man than just the weapons he carried.

Switch to Caster? Kaiden thought. You can just do that?

Ashkar then reached into his inventory, pulling out a large, battered shield that looked extremely heavy. Without ceremony, he dropped it in front of the mercenary, who was still nursing his wounds.

“You’re the Defender,” Ash said, his voice cold. “No way I’m trusting you at my back.”

The mercenary groaned, picking up the shield. “Seriously? I’m a Striker.”

“Not now, you’re not.”

Zinnia raised an eyebrow. “Sure this’ll work?”

“Yeah,” Ashkar said, his confidence unwavering. “No restrictions on enchanted items, thankfully. D-O-Ds are usually good about that.”

Zinnia shrugged, that was good enough for her.

Ashkar then turned to Kaiden. “That leaves you as our Bracer.”

Kaiden almost chuckled at the inevitability of it. Even in this hastily cobbled-together group, he was relegated to Bracer without a choice. Sure, he was already a Bracer with a healing class and probably the only role where he might have a chance of surviving, but it would’ve been nice to have some agency for once.

Ashkar’s eyes seemed focused on an invisible screen, mumbling something about enchanted healing items, when Kaiden said out loud, “I have a healing class.”

Ashkar froze mid-motion, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “Well, look at that. It’s like you were meant to join us.”

Zinnia’s hazel eyes narrowed slightly as she gave Kaiden a strange look. “You’ve just graduated, but you already have a healing class? I didn’t think they handed out classes here.”

Kaiden mentally cursed himself. He wasn’t supposed to reveal his class, not before a dungeon run anyway. But wait—he’d already completed one. The restriction shouldn’t matter now, right? Still, something about Zinnia made him hesitate to share too much.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” Kaiden said carefully.

Thankfully, Zinnia didn’t press further, only letting out a thoughtful “hmm” as she stepped back.

Meanwhile, Ashkar hauled the mercenary to his feet. “Alright, palm on the door.”

The mercenary hesitated, glancing toward his wyvern. “Wait, what about my wyvern?”

Ashkar’s expression didn’t change. “It’ll figure it out. After a while, it’ll fly off to… somewhere.” He shrugged. “And judging by how it didn’t react to seeing you cut down, it’s not a true companion, but a borrowed mount. Besides, I know you see what’s inside.”

The mercenary didn’t argue further, placing his palm on the door while chugging another health potion—his third by Kaiden’s count.

Ash turned to the rest of the group. “Alright, everyone. Palms up.”

Kaiden stepped forward hesitantly, laying his hand on the shimmering surface. Warmth spread through his palm, and then a glowing notification appeared before his eyes:

Conditions met. Do you wish to proceed and enter the Dungeon of Opportunity Mooregrave’s Hollow? Warning: Dungeoneer rank too low and not recommended. Death extremely likely. Proceed with maximum caution.

Kaiden grimaced. Nothing like the threat of death to keep you on your toes. With a deep breath, he mentally answered yes—and the world lurched.

End of Book 1