The tension shifted. Kaiden and Zinnia both perked up at the mention, their curiosity piqued. Kaiden’s mind raced—loot? He’d already been wondering about the spoils one could expect from a Diamond-grade dungeon, but he hadn’t expected the topic to come up now.

Ashkar sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as if he were dealing with unruly children. “Of course, it’s about loot,” he muttered. “Alright, let’s hear it. What’s your problem?”

The mercenary crossed his arms, his gaze steady. “We need to decide how it’s split. Now, before we step foot in there.”

Zinnia tilted her head, her smile morphing into a grin that bordered on mischievous. “I agree with the merc. I, too, was going to bring this up,” she said.

Kaiden swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure if this was his moment to speak up or if it was safer to stay quiet. Either way, the prospect of treasure had suddenly become a delicate matter for this hastily thrown-together party of strangers.

Ashkar crossed his arms, his expression steely as he spoke. “There is one item I must have from the dungeon boss. it’s the only item I’m interested in.”

For a moment, greed flickered in everyone’s eyes. Kaiden could feel the tension rise as the words hung in the air, but it quickly dissipated when Ashkar finished speaking.

“Everything else will be decided by contribution and then split evenly after.”

“I thought you only wanted one item,” the mercenary said.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give everything else up. If we have to separate, then you can keep what you find.”

The mercenary tilted his head, considering the offer. After a moment, he nodded. “Very well. Those are better terms than I thought you’d give anyway.”

Ashkar grunted in response, his face betraying nothing.

Zinnia, however, broke the silence. “I don’t mind letting you have it,” she said, her voice light but edged with curiosity, “but I want to know what it is.”

Ashkar’s sharp glare snapped to her. His voice grew cold. “You might be too tempted to fight me for it if you did. A fight you would lose.”

Zinnia didn’t flinch, her gaze locking with his. “You know my business, Ash,” she said evenly. “This is information too good to pass up.”

“That’s exactly why I refuse,” Ashkar shot back. “Because I do know your business.”

For the first time since Kaiden had met her, Zinnia frowned. It wasn’t a look of defeat but of frustration, her determination still unshaken. “This was the whole purpose of me showing up here,” she said, her voice firm. “If the spoils are unattainable, then I must verify what it is.”

Ashkar’s expression darkened, his voice low and dangerous. “You should back down, witch.”

Zinnia scoffed, the corners of her mouth curving upward. “You’ve got me confused with my sister. I’m no witch,” she said, the grin spreading across her face as she rubbed her hands like a greedy merchant. “And I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

Ashkar’s eyes narrowed as he stared her down. Kaiden could see the gears turning in his head, weighing options he didn’t share aloud. Again, Kaiden wondered who Zinnia really was. She didn’t seem to fear Ashkar in the slightest, and that alone was enough to set her apart. Was she just as powerful as he was? The thought unsettled him. And what was that talk about witches?

Ashkar finally relented, his tone clipped. “Perhaps we can discuss this further... but later. We must proceed quickly. If Thorne gets it before I do, this was all for nothing.”

Thorne! The mention of the general’s name made Kaiden’s eyes widen momentarily. He had almost forgotten—that was why he was here in the first place. He’d followed Thorne, trying to uncover his movements, and now they were in the same dungeon. But what did Ashkar mean when he said Thorne could get the item—whatever it was—before him?

Was this not an instanced dungeon? Was it possible to run into the general here?

These questions raced through Kaiden’s mind in the span of a few seconds, his thoughts spiraling faster than he could control. Then, Zinnia’s voice snapped him back to the present.

“Gladly!” Zinnia said, her wide smile returning in full force. “Shall we, then?”

The mercenary, silent up until now, shook his head as he watched the exchange with what Kaiden could only interpret as weary resignation. Surely, Kaiden thought, the mercenary must share at least one of his own thoughts: These two aren’t part of our world. We’re not even in the same league.

Kaiden’s thought back to the mercenary being effortlessly defeated by Ashkar. It had been a one-sided affair, and now Kaiden had a creeping suspicion that Zinnia could probably do the same to him if she wanted. A shiver ran down his spine as he tightened the straps on his borrowed gear.

Ashkar barked his final order, breaking the tension. “Alright, let’s go.”

The impromptu party moved through the forest toward the valley, their steps crunching softly on the leaves and grass. No one spoke, and the only sounds came from the occasional birdcall or the wind rustling through the trees. It all felt so real—too real. For a moment, Kaiden could almost forget he was in a dungeon.

That fragile sense of calm shattered with a roar.

Kaiden froze. The sound was guttural and powerful, coming from a creature he couldn’t immediately place. His heart started hammering in his chest as panic began to creep in. Whatever monsters were in this dungeon could kill him without a second thought.

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“Take the rear,” Ashkar ordered sharply, glancing at Zinnia. She nodded, unfazed by the sound, her demeanor calm and collected, as if a roaring monster were an everyday occurrence. Kaiden, however, felt his throat go dry.

The mercenary and Ashkar moved ahead, forming the frontline as they approached the source of the roar. Kaiden noticed something about their movements: Ashkar never pushed ahead of the mercenary. He stayed even with him or slightly behind, never showing his back to the Defender.

Zinnia was the opposite. She hovered near Kaiden, sometimes walking beside him or just ahead as if guarding him—or keeping an eye on him. Not that he didn’t appreciate it, but a long-gone sense of fragility began to return.

Then Kaiden saw it.

A bear lumbered out of the clearing, its sheer size staggering. It was as large as a polar bear but with a grassy coat of fur that acted somewhat like camouflage.

“Hmm, greenbears,” Zinnia said casually, her tone almost bored as she observed the massive creature. Kaiden glanced at her in disbelief. How could she be so calm? He’d never heard of greenbears, but the name was obvious—and fitting.

The next moment happened so fast it almost felt unreal.

The mercenary moved first, dropping the shield and diving straight at the bear with precision and speed Kaiden could barely follow. Twin blades flashed as the man delivered a flurry of lightning-fast stabs into the bear’s exposed side, each strike finding its mark. The beast bellowed in pain, staggering, and then collapsed. Its massive body began to dissolve into pink mist, a process so sudden that Kaiden barely had time to process what he’d seen.

Ashkar didn’t even glance at the fallen creature. His eyes were already scanning the forest ahead, focused on something deeper within the trees.

Then the ground trembled.

A dozen more bears emerged from the shadows, their verdant fur glowing faintly in the filtered sunlight. This time, the air grew heavy with tension as the creatures fanned out, their glowing eyes locked on the group.

“More?” Zinnia said as she actually brought up a hand to cover a yawn.

Kaiden swallowed hard, gripping the bucklers strapped to his arms. What was he even doing here?

The twelve monsters charged as one, a wall of fur, claws, and primal rage hurtling toward the group. Ashkar and the mercenary moved to meet them without hesitation, their precision and efficiency honed through years Kaiden could only guess at.

While the mercenary’s skills were impressive, it became clear almost immediately that he was leagues below Ashkar. For every greenbear the mercenary took down with multiple strikes, Ashkar felled two with a single, devastating blow each time. His sword was a blur of motion, cleaving through the beasts as if they were paper. Yet, for all his skill, Ashkar was careful to never expose his back to the mercenary. Kaiden remembered Ashkar’s earlier words—he didn’t trust the man—and here was proof.

Kaiden could hardly believe what he was seeing. The sheer number of monsters and the speed at which they were dispatched was staggering. When Kaiden had completed Camp Thorne Dungeon, his entire party of four had taken minutes to bring down a group half this size. It had been a brutal fight, one filled with desperate attacks and barely dodged claws. Yet Ashkar finished this battle in less than thirty seconds, and it hadn’t even seemed like a challenge.

Watching it unfold put everything into perspective for Kaiden. He felt that familiar sinking sensation in his gut—a reminder of just how weak he really was compared to these people.

Ashkar wiped his blade clean, his golden eyes scanning the surroundings as though he could already see something in the distance. “We’re going to pick up the pace from here,” he announced, his tone sharp and commanding. “I can’t let Thorne get to the boss before me.”

The mercenary, unfazed, shrugged and walked back to retrieve the shield he’d dropped during the fight. He hefted it with one arm, one blade still in his other hand, prepared for another fight.

“Fine by me,” Zinnia said with a nonchalant smile, twirling her staff lazily before letting it rest against her shoulder.

Ashkar’s gaze shifted to Kaiden, pinning him in place. “Just keep him alive,” he said, his tone flat but firm.

Zinnia turned her head toward Kaiden, her smile widening in that way Kaiden was beginning to find unnerving. “My pleasure,” she said, her words laced with a teasing undertone.

Before Kaiden could even formulate a response, Ashkar turned and broke into a jog, the others following suit. Zinnia jogged effortlessly in her robes, keeping her usual light and casual demeanor, while the mercenary set and maintained a steady pace just ahead of Ashkar.

Kaiden had no choice but to fall into line, his bucklers awkwardly bouncing against his arms as he moved. There wasn’t even time to protest or process what had just happened—he simply followed, his thoughts drifting once again to the ever-present weight of his weakness.

Just like back on Earth, he thought bitterly, I’m weak.

The realization stung more here than it had back home. Back there, it had been a constant—an inescapable truth he’d grown numb to. But here, he was supposed to have been reborn. He practically had a new body and a new lease on life. He had felt strong, and all the training he had gone through had made him even stronger.

Then he met these people, and they put into stark perspective that he wasn’t, in fact, strong. If he were, he wouldn’t have been dragged into this dungeon against his will. He was at their mercy. He could only sigh at his weakness.

As he jogged with the group, the pace quickened. His Regeneration ability was kept active and helped heal any exhaustion or muscle strain. Ashkar kept looking back every few minutes and was almost surprised every time to see that Kaiden was keeping pace. Kaiden couldn’t help the small grin that crept up on his face as he silently thanked Sergeant Farron for her torturous PT sessions.

Now, instead of weakness, there was something else. A spark of determination began to grow alongside his doubt. Yes, he was weak now, but this was a possibility to change that. If he could survive, this could be his chance to grow stronger. Being here, in a dungeon of this grade could be a huge boon to his growth. As far as he knew, no one at his rank had an opportunity like this.

He couldn’t help but wonder—was power leveling a thing in this world? The thought sent a flicker of hope through him, and for the first time since entering this nightmare, he allowed himself to consider that maybe, just maybe, he could walk out of this stronger than ever.

The group finally made it to the first wall of the valley. Up close, it loomed around three or four stories high. But there was no need to scale the walls, because right in front of the wall shimmered a portal. This was the entrance to the inside.

Ashkar said, “After you, merc.”

The mercenary nodded and proceeded through the portal, followed by Ashkar and then Zinnia.

Kaiden licked his lips in determination as he approached the portal. He decided to check his status to see where he was starting on how much he could improve from there:

Kaiden Hayward

Age: 26

Class: Health Weaver (Common) Level 1

Skills / Abilities

Regeneration: Level 2 (Passive)

Mindforge: Level 2 (Passive)

Arcane Vision: Level 2 (Active)

Healing Touch: Level 1

Cure Poison: Level 1

Attributes

Strength: 0 {0%}

Dexterity: 10 {0%}

Constitution: 20 {0%}

Mana: 200 / 200 {0%}

Mana Regeneration: 30 {15%}

A fire began to grow within Kaiden as he stepped through.