The next morning, Kairo returned to the Adventurers' Guild.
Near the quest board, he spotted two familiar figures waving at him.
Eric and Kaya.
Eric's grin was as wide as ever. "Kairo! Finally! We've been waiting for you!"
Kairo blinked, surprised. "Waiting? For me?"
"Of course." Eric slapped him on the shoulder, the impact making Kairo stumble forward a step. "We're going on a quest together, right?"
Kairo paused. They hadn't discussed that. But seeing them again eased a loneliness that had been gnawing at him.
"…Sure," Kairo said. "Let's go."
Eric's grin widened. "That's the spirit!"
They approached Serin's counter together.
Serin raised her brows when she saw them. "Got together already? I'm glad to see you three still working as a team."
Eric draped his arm around Kairo's shoulder. "We're buddies now."
Kairo shifted under the weight, uncomfortable with the familiarity but not pulling away.
Serin smiled knowingly and rummaged through her quest parchments. "Then I have just the thing for you."
She handed them a sheet marked with a black seal. "It's a Greysteel Ore Collection Quest. Greysteel's used for armour forging, and we're running low. Bring as much as you can; you'll be paid by weight."
Kaya leaned closer, reading over Eric's shoulder.
Serin paused. "But be careful. The fifth floor's boss was killed ten days ago. It could respawn at any time. You'll find Greysteel on the sixth and seventh floors."
Serin said. "With Eric in your team, I think you'll be fine. Just don't get careless."
Eric folded the parchment, tucking it into his belt. "We'll manage."
In dungeons, not every floor has a boss; it varies for each dungeon. For the Sun City dungeon, the first floor boss was found on the 5th floor. And every normal monster in the dungeon would respawn within a few days after its death, but boss monsters would take more than 10 days.
Adventurers have recently explored up to 51 floors in Sun City dungeon and detected a boss on the 52nd floor, for which a large party is getting ready to raid.
They accepted the quest and left for the dungeon.
...
By noon, they arrived at the dungeon.
As they descended through the first few floors, the familiar monsters posed no threat. Beast rabbits scattered at their approach. A lone kobold fell to Eric's blade before it could even raise its weapon.
But when they reached the fifth floor, everything changed.
The entire floor resembled a graveyard, littered with shattered tombstones and bone dust. Even the air smelled of rot.
Kaya shivered, clutching her staff. "This place feels wrong."
"It is," Eric said, scanning the shadows. "Stay close."
A dry clatter echoed, skeletal warriors emerged from the dark, their hollow eyes burning with faint red light. Rusted swords dragged across stone as they advanced.
Kairo dashed forward before anyone else could react, slashing swiftly. The first skeleton's head split from its body; another's ribcage shattered from a stab.
"Nice moves!" Eric called. "But they're undead!"
Kairo froze, watching the bones twitch and pull themselves together. The headless skeleton bent down, grabbed its skull, and pressed it back onto its spine.
Eric lifted his shield. "Their weakness is their core, in its chest. You have to break that to kill them."
A glowing orb pulsed faintly behind the ribcage of the nearest skeleton.
Kairo nodded, darting forward again. His blade drove through bone, shattering glowing cores one by one. The skeletons dissolved into light, their remains crumbling to ash.
Kairo caught his breath. "For a fifth floor, they're weak once you know how to kill them."
Eric chuckled. "Yeah. If it's just one or two."
He turned, sword raised, pointing deeper into the darkness.
Dozens of skeletons were rising from the shadowed ground, bones cracking in unison.
Kaya took a step back. "There's so many…"
Eric's grin returned. "Kaya, stay behind us. This'll be fun."
He looked at Kairo. "Let's see who kills the most."
Kairo didn't reply; he was already gone, a streak of light.
Eric groaned. "Cheater!"
Kairo moved like lightning. Every [Sonic] step blurred his outline; each strike shattered another glowing core. Bones exploded outward, scattering across the floor.
Behind him, Eric crashed through the undead lines, his shield glowing as he shouted, "[Shield Bash]!" The impact sent waves of bone scattering like dust. He followed through with a sweeping arc that cleaved three skeletons at once.
Kaya stayed behind, trembling but alert, clutching her staff as if it were her life. When a skeleton broke through the line and lunged at her, she swung her staff wildly, cracking its skull. The core remained intact.
"Kaya!" Eric spun, but Kairo was faster.
[Sonic] carried him across the distance. His blade pierced the skeleton's chest, shattering the core. It dissolved before Kaya's eyes.
She exhaled shakily. "Thank you."
Kairo nodded once, then turned back to the fight.
Minutes turned to chaos. The ground was littered with dissolving skeletons.
Finally, only one undead remained.
Eric charged, "That one's mine!"
Kairo raised his hand slightly, muttered "[Gravitas]," and the skeleton was pulled toward him violently. His blade pierced through its chest.
Eric stopped mid-run, groaning. "For Level 2, you're too good at this."
Kairo just smirked faintly.
A notification flashed before his eyes.
[250XP Gained]
Quest Completed – Kill 50 Low-Level Monsters
Rewards: 500 XP, [Healing Potion ×1], [Mana Potion ×1], +10 Free Attribute Points
New Quests Available:
– Kill 100 Low-Level Monsters
– Kill 1 Boss-Level Monster
Boss-level monster? Kairo thought. I'm only Level 2…
He distributed his new points: five to Strength, five to Magic.
Then they continued deeper.
At the end of the floor, they found a massive chamber, the boss's lair. The ceiling stretched high above them, supported by cracked pillars.
But it was empty.
"The boss hasn't respawned yet," Eric said, relief in his voice.
At the far end of the chamber, a stairway descended deeper to the sixth floor.
They took it.
...
The sixth floor was darker. The stone walls glistened with moisture, glowing fungi pulsing faintly along the edges.
Water dripped steadily from above, each drop echoing.
Eric whispered, "This floor's home to Shadow Wolves. They move through the shadows. Be careful."
Kaya stayed in the middle. Eric took the front; Kairo guarded the rear.
Then, from nowhere, a dark shape burst from the wall's shadow. A Shadow Wolf lunged, jaws clamping around Kairo's arm.
Pain shot through him. Kairo gritted his teeth, stabbed downward, and the beast dissolved into smoke.
Blood seeped through his sleeve.
Kaya ran forward. "Kairo!" She pressed her hands over his arm, murmuring "[Cure Wounds]."
Warm light spread across his skin. The bite marks faded.
"I'm fine," Kairo said, exhaling.
They moved deeper. Shadows twitched on the walls, each one could be a wolf. They struck from anywhere: ground, walls, cracks, even reflections in puddles.
Eric's blade cut arcs of light, while Kairo used [Sonic] to kill the monsters.
When the shadows finally stilled, they found veins of Greysteel Ore embedded in the rock.
"Bingo," Eric said.
They began mining, chipping ore into their packs. The work was slow, tedious. Each strike rang through the floor.
After filling their pouches, they pressed on, finding more deposits and fighting through new waves of shadow wolves.
But then—
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Kairo's grip tightened around his sword.
Four silhouettes emerged from the tunnel, on careful look, it was adventurers. But their eyes, their stance… it wasn't friendly.
Eric's tone dropped low. "Kairo… stay sharp."
One of the men stepped forward, tall, smug, his armour gleaming silver-blue. The insignia on his chest was unmistakable, the Heaven Clan crest.
Eric whispered, "I know that man. The one in front is Gary. He's from the Heaven Clan."
Kairo's eyes darkened instantly.
He clenched his fist around his sword hilt. Heaven Clan.
The same clan tied to the Summoning Scrolls.
He was ready to step forward, but Eric stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Don't do anything stupid. Gary's Level 8," he whispered.