The sky broke, and a wyvern descended from the mists. This one was massive, far larger than any Kaiden had encountered before. Its sheer size rivaled General Thorne's drake, though at first glance, Kaiden almost mistook it for one. But the winged forelimbs left no doubt—this was a wyvern.

It was slate gray, its hide as rough as weathered stone, with two jagged horns protruding from its head—a feature Kaiden hadn’t seen on any wyvern until now.

“Greater wyvern,” Zinnia said, her voice calm but weighted, as if answering Kaiden’s unspoken question. “They’re only found in Platinum-grade dungeons and up.”

Before Kaiden could respond, the beast was already upon them, diving toward the Caster with breathtaking speed. Zinnia raised her staff, a massive bolt of lightning crackling through the air toward the wyvern. The attack struck true but barely slowed the creature’s descent.

“Get back!” Zinnia yelled, diving out of its path.

Kaiden didn’t need to be told twice. He jumped back, raising both shields, his instincts screaming at him to protect himself from what was coming. The beast hit the ground with a thundering crash, its talons gouging the earth as it moved—not toward Zinnia, but toward him.

Kaiden braced himself. Fuck! he cursed internally, his pulse pounding in his ears. He wasn’t confident in the slightest about taking an attack from something that probably weighed several tons. There was nowhere to run, and even if he had any attack abilities, what good would they do against something like this? His only hope lay in the shields the swordsman had given him, shields he prayed were tougher than they looked.

The wyvern charged, horns poised to gore, but just before the impact, another lightning bolt ripped across its flank. The beast bellowed in pain, its momentum faltering as it twisted its head sharply to face Zinnia, smoke rising from its scorched hide.

Kaiden exhaled a shaky breath of relief—too soon.

As the wyvern turned its entire body this time, its enormous tail lashed out in a wide arc, slamming into Kaiden like a battering ram. The impact sent him hurtling into the cavern wall with a bone-jarring crash, the breath driven from his lungs. Dazed, he slumped to the ground, his shields clattering beside him as stars danced in his vision.

Potion, Kaiden thought, his mind racing as he struggled to regain his bearings. His midsection throbbed with the most intense physical pain he had ever experienced, every shallow breath sending sharp, jagged stabs through his ribs. He tried to steady himself, but his arms trembled under the effort. Something was very wrong inside. Severe internal injuries, he realized grimly. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, a metallic tang coating his tongue as he forced himself upright against the wall.

That’s right, he thought bitterly, no one gave me any potions.

He glanced down at his health bar, his vision blurring slightly from the movement. His heart sank. The wyvern’s tail strike had taken 90% of his health! He wasn’t even sure if it had been a deliberate attack or just the brute force of the beast’s casual movement. Either way, it had nearly killed him.

Thankfully, his Regeneration skill was still working. A faint, almost imperceptible warmth hummed through his body. It was slow, painfully slow, but it was there, ticking away in the background. A blessing, but would it be enough? Regeneration was passive, and there was no way to speed it up. It would do its job at its own steady, unhurried pace, leaving him vulnerable in the meantime.

Kaiden shifted, trying to assess the rest of his injuries, hoping Zinnia could keep the beast away. Pain lanced up his left arm as soon as he moved, sharp and unrelenting. It was definitely broken at the forearm. The force of the impact, coupled with the shield slamming into him, had done the damage. His right arm had fared slightly better—bruised and swollen, but still functional. He clenched and unclenched his hand, testing it. At least that was something. He placed a hand on his chest and cast Healing Touch.

His health bar flickered, ticking up by a single percentage point. A tiny grin tugged at his lips despite the agony. His health wasn’t dropping. He could heal through this, slow as it was, if Zinnia could just manage to take down the wyvern. He finally lifted his head to see how she was faring.

The sight of the wyvern collapsing into a lifeless heap filled his vision. The massive creature crashed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud, its wings sprawled uselessly around it. Kaiden blinked in disbelief. She’d done it. Zinnia had actually taken the thing down.

He barely had time to process what he was seeing before Zinnia was running toward him, her face a mix of worry and determination. A healing potion appeared in her hand as she skidded to a stop in front of him, her free hand bracing his shoulder.

“Thank Oros you’re okay,” she said, breathless but relieved. Without hesitation, she uncorked the potion and poured half of it over his head, the liquid cool as it dripped down his face and soaked into his body. A tingling warmth followed, spreading through his body as the healing magic worked its way into him.

Kaiden exhaled shakily, the pain in his midsection easing slightly as the potion began to take effect. “Okay is a bit of a stretch,” he muttered, his voice hoarse, “but I’m still breathing, so I’ll take it.”

Zinnia’s lips quirked into a faint smile, but the concern didn’t leave her eyes as she carefully checked him over. “You scared the hell out of me,” she said softly.

Then her expression turned serious. “Sorry,” she said, her voice tinged with disappointment. “I was careless. I didn’t realize the boss was resistant to magical attacks. That’s why I had to switch.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Switch?” Kaiden repeated, his tone questioning. He squinted at her form, his vision sharpening as he took in the changes. The mage robes and staff were gone, replaced with fitted scale armor and a short sword resting in a scabbard at her waist.

“I’m not a Caster,” Zinnia admitted simply.

Kaiden blinked. “That’s right…” The memory clicked into place—her conversation with Ashkar outside the dungeon entrance when they were assigning roles. “You said you were a Striker before.”

Zinnia nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I did. I only use the Caster class when I have to, but I’m a Striker through and through.”

“People can have multiple classes?” Kaiden asked. He already knew the answer from his training, but the way Zinnia seamlessly switched intrigued him, and he wanted more detail.

“Of course, you can,” Zinnia said, raising an eyebrow as if the answer should have been obvious. “Didn’t they teach you that in training? Everyone can have up to four classes, so you could theoretically cover every role in the Art of Four.”

Kaiden’s eyes widened as the explanation sunk in. “That... makes sense,” he admitted, his mind racing. “So, do all divers have multiple classes?”

Zinnia shook her head. “Some do, but most don’t. It’s usually better to focus on mastering one class than spreading yourself too thin. But,” she added with a shrug, “it can help in a pinch, like today, when we’re short a specific role for the dungeon.”

Kaiden nodded thoughtfully, digesting her words. Then he noticed something surprising—the pain in his midsection had almost entirely subsided. A quick check of his health bar confirmed it: he was already sitting at 82%. He stared in disbelief. “That was some potion!” he muttered, half to himself. And she only used half of it.

“Can you stand?” Zinnia asked, tilting her head.

Kaiden tested his balance and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, pushing himself to his feet and brushing away the dust and dirt clinging to his clothes. To his relief, his legs held steady, and the pain was manageable now. His arm was completely healed as well.

Zinnia snapped her fingers, and with a faint shimmer of light, her scale armor vanished, replaced by her mage robes. Her staff materialized in her hand as if it had never been gone. “This,” she said, gesturing to herself, “is why Casters don’t make good frontliners.”

Kaiden tilted his head. “If Striker is your main class, why change back to Caster?”

Zinnia’s expression softened, and she gave him a knowing look. “Because you’re here,” she said simply. “Let’s just say my Striker class is stealth-focused. When I’m a mage, I can draw enemies to me more easily, leaving you to stay out of the thick of it.”

Kaiden’s chest tightened at her words. “Thanks,” he said, his voice quieter than usual. He hadn’t realized just how much effort she was putting into looking out for him.

Zinnia shrugged, her tone shifting back to its usual playful lilt. “Think nothing of it,” she said. “We still need you, and we can’t have you dying on us so soon.”

“You mean, can’t have me dying at all… right?” Kaiden asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

A mischievous glint flickered in Zinnia’s eyes as her grin widened, but she didn’t respond.

Kaiden swallowed hard, his nerves tightening. Zinnia’s playful demeanor was deeply unsettling, leaving him with no idea whether she was joking—or entirely serious.

Zinnia crossed her arms, studying Kaiden thoughtfully. “Anyway, I’m surprised you survived a hit like that.”

Kaiden let out a small chuckle. “It’s thanks to these shields, really.” He walked over and retrieved the two bucklers from where they had fallen. Turning them over in his hands, he was surprised to see that neither showed so much as a scratch or a dent. His eyebrows shot up in astonishment. These shields really are something, he thought.

Zinnia’s gaze lingered on the bucklers. “Hmm,” she murmured. “Even still, a hit like that should’ve killed most people outright from the sheer force alone or after a few seconds of internal bleeding.”

She wasn’t wrong, Kaiden realized. As he put a hand to his torso, he activated Healing Touch again, feeling the familiar warmth spread through him. “I’m tougher than I look,” he said with a faint smirk.

Regeneration had undoubtedly played a critical role. The passive ability not only provided a flat boost of 20 to his constitution but also kept his injuries from worsening and prevented his body from succumbing to internal bleeding. Combined with Healing Touch, which steadily nudged his health upward bit by bit, it had kept him alive. And then there was the buff from Ashkar, pushing his constitution to 30 with an additional 5% increase. Would I be dead without that buff? he wondered grimly.

Kaiden suppressed a shudder as his thoughts shifted to the potion Zinnia had used on him. Its potency wasn’t just in its strength—it was how fast it worked. The healing potions they had used back in the Camp Thorne dungeon didn’t even compare. Those potions were effective, sure, but he was certain they couldn’t have handled the kind of catastrophic injuries he’d suffered. And even if they could, they wouldn’t have worked nearly as quickly—or with just a single dose.

He brought up his status to take another look:

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: 30 {5%}

Mana: 175 / 200 {0%}

Mana Regeneration: 30 {15%}

Just how strong was that potion? The thought lingered as he brought up his status screen to check his stats and current health.

His health bar stood at 97% now, steadily climbing as Healing Touch worked. He looked at his Conditions page as well:

Condition:

* Health: 97%

* Stamina: 99%

* Mind: Steady

* Buffs: +10 (+5%) Constitution

* Debuffs: None

* Other: Stasis Veil

“That potion you used,” Kaiden asked, glancing up at Zinnia. “What was it?”

Zinnia smirked, her expression hovering somewhere between pride and mystery. “Oh, just a little something procured from The Perennial Petal,” she said casually. “And let me tell you—those don’t come cheap.”

“How expensive?” Kaiden echoed, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. She couldn’t mean...

Zinnia’s grin widened, sharp and mischievous like a Cheshire cat. “Let’s just say you’ll need to compensate me for using such exclusive merchandise on you. But don’t worry about the price right now. After all, what’s a few coins compared to your health? Or your life?”

Kaiden coughed, his expression a mix of disbelief and exasperation. “Wait... Are you saying I have to pay for that potion?”

Instead of answering Kaiden, Zinnia’s grin only widened until she shifted her attention to the horizon. Her eyes narrowed, focused on two figures rapidly approaching. “They’ve arrived,” she said.

Kaiden followed her gaze and spotted the swordsman and the mercenary sprinting toward them.

That was fast!