"...Alright," Mira's voice finally came, quiet but clear, shattering Nael's last shred of hope. "I'll join you."
"..." A hollow, cold certainty flooded the void the hope had left behind.
'I've been replaced by a perfectly optimized team of Epic-class holders,' Nael thought, the analysis automatic, a defense mechanism against the sting. 'Of course I have. It's the logical choice. I only have a Common Class, after all...'
"Hmm..."
A low sound escaped him... a soft, breathy exhalation that twisted his lips into something that was not a smile. It was the grimace of a man finally accepting a bitter truth.
From inside the room, he heard the unfamiliar man's voice, satisfied. "Good. You've made the right choice."
Brennon's voice followed, warm and triumphant. "Welcome to the team, Mira. You won't regret it."
The sounds of their congratulations were like salt in a wound Nael hadn't even known was there. He took a deep, steadying breath, pushing himself off the wall. He straightened his shoulders, the motion feeling mechanical now.
There was nothing left for him here.
He turned and walked silently back the way he came, his footsteps making no sound. He didn't look back. No, he couldn't look back. Because...
'...'
The ascension crystal carried him down. He walked through the sterile lobby and out into the morning light, the sun feeling strangely distant.
He sighed, the weight of his new reality settling on him.
'I guess I'll have to go with plan-'
"Please!"
Just then, a commotion at the hospital's main entrance caught his eye.
A boy, maybe fourteen years old, with ragged, dirty clothes and a face smudged with grime, was trying to shoulder his way past the hospital guards. On his back was a girl, slightly younger, her face flushed with fever, her breathing a ragged, worrying sound.
"Please! My sister! She's burning up!" the boy pleaded, his voice cracking with desperation.
One of the guards, a large man with a bored, contemptuous expression, shoved the boy back roughly. "Scram, street rat! We don't treat people like you here. You'll just track filth inside."
"Argh!" The boy stumbled, off-balance from the weight on his back. He was about to fall and crush his sister beneath him when a hand shot out, grabbing his arm and steadying him firmly.
"You ok?" Nael asked as he righted the boy, then turned his gaze to the guard. He gave the man a flat, cold look that made the guard's sneer falter for a fraction of a second before he looked away, muttering about 'more trouble'.
Nael turned his attention to the panting, terrified boy. "Follow me," he said, his voice low and calm.
The boy shook his head wildly, tears of frustration welling in his eyes. "N-no! I-I can't! M-my sister, sh-she is sick, I need to get her inside! I have to save her!"
"I know," Nael said, his voice still unnervingly steady. He reached into his pouch, his fingers closing around the familiar weight of his remaining coins. He pulled out a handful, a total of fifty silver crowns, and pressed them into the boy's grimy hand. Then he took the basket of sun-apples he had bought for Mira and gave it to him.
The boy stared at the big fortune in his palm, his eyes wide with disbelief and suspicion.
"Listen carefully," Nael instructed, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Use ten of these to wash up and buy clean clothes for both of you. Do it first. Then come back. If they still won't let you in..." He nodded toward the basket. "...Eat the apples. They might be able to cure her if it's not that serious. But even if that's not enough, take the remaining money and go to the Heroes' Herbs Apothecary on Red Oak Street. Tell them you need a basic healing skill used. Thirty crowns will cover it if you mention the name Nael."
The boy stared at him, then at the money, then back at Nael, utterly speechless. He was trying to process the sudden, staggering turn of events.
Nael didn't wait for thanks or questions. He had given his solution. He turned and walked away, leaving the stunned boy standing there with a small fortune and a chance to save his sister.
It was an impulsive, illogical decision. He had just given away a significant portion of his survival fund. But as he walked away from the hospital, the cold hollow in his chest felt a little less empty.
'Haha, I need to stop being so foolish.'
He had been so focused on his own perceived misfortune, a Common class, a lost friend, eviction, that he had forgotten a fundamental truth.
There were countless people in this city, in this world, in situations far more dire than his.
There were people fighting just to see the next sunrise, to save a loved one with no resources and no hope. He still had his health, his knowledge, and a chance, however slim, to change his fate.
He had to be grateful for what he got.
He had to believe that his class, this mysterious Investor, held a power he hadn't yet unlocked.
And the perfect opportunity to discover it, to force it to reveal its secrets, lay in the crucible of the dungeon exam.
But the plan had changed. Mira was gone, swept into the orbit of the elite. He had no connections, no reputation, and a class that invited scorn. No party would willingly take a Common-grade Investor like him.
There was only one path forward now. Only one choice.
A faint, determined light flickered in his hazel eyes, replacing the earlier cold realization. He looked toward the city's outskirts, where the entrance to the tutorial dungeon awaited.
'I guess...'
'I'll go solo.'