Things didn’t look good for us. We could hear its distant howling coming closer.

We were foolish.

“I’ll distract it! Keep running!”

Those were Viper’s final words before he turned his back on us and faced the monster on his own. He was the last tank in our group. I wanted to stay and help him, yet there was nothing we could do against it. We kept going, hoping to reach the exit before it was too late. We couldn’t let his sacrifice go to waste.

It wasn’t long before its roar echoed through the cavern once more.

Everything started when one of our guild’s members discovered a new dungeon nearby. Its presence was a complete enigma. We all knew there were no unexplored dungeons in the vicinity anymore. More importantly, there was no way we could miss one so close to our base. The only explanation we had was that its entrance had been revealed recently. Regardless of its mysterious and sudden appearance, we were thrilled to see what treasures awaited us inside.

Thirty-two of our guild members, including me, went into the dungeon to investigate. Two defenders, two healers, and four damage dealers were assigned to each party. It was standard practice for us.

As a druid, I had access to all sorts of abilities. From powerful nature based spells to protective physical skills, druids could even act as full-time healers. That said, it was the norm for us to make a choice and focus on only one of those paths to get the most out of them.

My duty for this mission was to heal and support my team. This wasn’t because I had chosen the path of a healer. In fact, staying at the back while making sure everyone else was in fighting condition wasn’t something I enjoyed that much. Quite the opposite, I preferred to be in the front lines as a damage dealer. Why did I end up in such a position then?

Simple.

We didn’t have enough healers.

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Despite knowing I needed to, I could never actually choose my path like I was supposed to. My indecision meant I wasn’t durable enough to act as a tank for my team, nor as strong as any of the damage dealers in my guild. Not even my healing could be considered efficient enough. None of these things mattered when I ventured on my own. Rather, being a jack-of-all-trades suited me quite well, but it proved to be troublesome when working in a team. Or at least, that’s what I thought at first.

That unusual mix of skills made me one of the guild’s wildcards. This meant that my role changed depending on the situation, and because of our annoying lack of healers, they assigned me to said position regularly.

Once inside the dungeon, we were met with an interesting scene. A large cavernous system with ceilings so high they faded into the darkness. The hallways, no doubt created by intelligent life, were full of shattered sculptures and tapestries that had seen better days.

The place was full of rooms, most of which were only protected by rotting pieces of wood and a few creatures that turned them into their new homes after the previous owners disappeared.

All the creatures we faced were nothing close to a threat. Even the weakest among us made quick work of them. Because of this, we only spent around an hour clearing the place. It was rather boring, but the loot had been generous up to that point. We couldn’t wait to see the treasures that awaited us in the final room. It was clear from the massive gates and the old warning scriptures that the boss of the dungeon awaited inside. There was no dungeon without a boss, after all.

We were doomed the moment we walked through those giant gates.

It attacked without provocation. The main party was killed before we could even get to our positions. We were still trying to understand what had happened when the culprit looked our way, preparing to strike once more. Its roar was enough to wake us from our stupor, and we immediately turned back and ran.

Our blood froze when we heard the creature following close.

One by one, my friends fell as we rushed through the halls trying to get to the exit. Some tried to stop or mislead it, others simply weren’t fast enough. There was nothing we could do for them. The damned thing killed everyone instantly, just like we did to its underlings earlier.

Only two of us remained after Viper died, and Ryme, who was my best friend and a fellow healer, suddenly stopped. I turned back to look at her, and she gave me a bitter smile.

“I guess this is it, Vylt. I’ll see you on the other side.”

I knew what she meant. The exit was still out of sight, and it was clear that we weren’t going to make it. There was no point in running anymore. We couldn’t honour our friends’ sacrifices, but if we were to fall, we’d at least do so while fighting.

I returned the smile and nodded silently. At that moment, we turned towards the monster and rushed forward to face death head on.