At first, their eyes widened in shock when they saw him standing there, his shadow stretching long against the dim glow of the moss and crystals clinging to the walls.

For a moment, none of them spoke. They just stood there, breathing heavily, measuring him.

Then, almost at once, their expressions softened, the tension easing from their shoulders.

They relaxed after realizing he wasn't raising his weapon or charging toward them.

To them, he must have looked harmless—a lone player, calm and composed, just another traveler in the dungeon's depths.

They had no idea.

Riley didn't relax. His dagger was still in his inventory, but he kept his guard up, ready to attack at anytime.

The three players consisted of two men and one young woman, perhaps around his age or a little older.

Their clothes and armor were mismatched—clearly cobbled together from common gear drops.

Their breathing was still ragged, as though they had only just escaped something. Their faces carried the faint trace of fear, but now that they saw him, they wore forced smiles.

"Hey," one of them said, raising his hand slightly as though to show he meant no harm. His voice carried a faint tremor, betraying his unease. "Didn't expect to see anyone down here."

Riley tilted his head but said nothing. His gaze swept over them—measuring, calculating.

The second player stepped forward, his hands slightly raised.

"Don't worry, we're not looking for trouble. Just… trying to get out of this damn tunnel alive." He chuckled weakly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

The third, the tallest of the group, remained silent. His eyes darted between Riley and the surrounding tunnels, as though checking if someone else was lurking nearby.

Riley didn't move. He simply studied them in silence.

The air hung heavy, filled only by their ragged breaths and the faint drip of water echoing from somewhere in the distance.

Riley's eyes flashed with a strange glint, though the three players standing across from him didn't notice.

To them, he was nothing more than another survivor wandering through the dungeon's maze-like passage.

But to Riley, their sudden appearance was far more significant than chance.

'I didn't think I'd meet them again…' he thought, his expression kept carefully neutral. 'The three who were my teammates in my past life.'

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Fate truly had a twisted sense of humor.

In that past life, he remembered their first meeting vividly—it had happened under nearly the same circumstances.

He had been running desperately then, trying to escape the terrifying control of Bree.

Just when he believed he'd finally been cornered, they had appeared. Emerging from the side path just as they had now, panting and shocked to see him.

Back then, he had hurriedly explained his situation, leaving out the details of Bree's horrifying talent but making it clear he was being hunted.

They listened, exchanged quick looks, and then suggested the idea of teaming up.

To him—desperate, wounded, and naive—it had seemed like salvation. A glimmer of light in the darkness.

And in the beginning, it had worked. The team was efficient. He fought alongside them, shared drops, and guarded their backs.

He began to believe, foolishly, that he had found real allies.

But that illusion shattered when they revealed their true intent.

It hadn't mattered how much he had trusted them. It hadn't mattered how much he had bled for their sake.

In the end, he was only ever a "spare point" to them—a convenient extra they could use when the time came.

They tried to kill him, cornering him with their blades and spells.

He barely escaped, wounded and betrayed, only to stumble into Bree again… which was when he eventually died and was forcefully logged out.

The memory soured his chest like bile. But staring at them now, in this new life, Riley was surprised.

He didn't feel the boiling anger he thought he would. He wasn't trembling with rage, wasn't eager to cut them down where they stood.

Instead, a calm detachment rested over him. He was… curious.

Curious to see how things would play out if he didn't act the same way. If he simply observed.

The corners of his lips curled upward ever so slightly.

The taller one among them—dark-haired, with broad shoulders and a cocky grin—suddenly chuckled. "What's up with your status, man? It keeps showing question marks."

Riley's eyes widened a fraction. 'I… almost forgot about that.'

And here he was, without even his disguise active, standing in front of three people from his past with nothing but question marks hanging over his head.

He smoothed his expression quickly, pretending ignorance. "Really? Must be some kind of glitch in the game."

The tall one blinked, then laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, maybe. Wouldn't be the first bug I've seen in here."

Another one, a slimmer man with pale skin and tired eyes, tilted his head. "Still, weird. Haven't seen it happen to anyone else yet…"

But before he could push the issue, the taller man leaned forward slightly, his grin widening. "Yeah, but then… what's your level?"

Riley's eyes narrowed just a little. He held their gazes calmly before answering. "Six."

The reaction was immediate.

The three stiffened, their eyes going wide as they glanced at each other in disbelief. For a second, the dark passage filled with their quickened breaths.

"Level… six?" the shorter one muttered, voice almost breaking. "That's—no way. You're lying."

But Riley's expression remained perfectly neutral.

The taller one among them was the first to break the silence. His lips curled into a smile, his tone casual but laced with something deeper.

"Well… since you're level six, that means you're pretty weak, right? We were thinking… why don't you team up with us?"

The words were almost identical.

Riley's eyes flickered with something strange, an almost imperceptible glint, and he found himself standing frozen for a heartbeat.

Deja vu struck him like a lightning bolt. He had heard this exact line before. The taller one had been the first to suggest it back then, too.

For a moment, he didn't answer. He simply stared at them, his thoughts twisting in on themselves.

"…Deja vu," Riley murmured under his breath.

He hadn't expected the same turn of events. It was too uncanny.

Riley's lips curled faintly at the memory, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

And now… here they were again, repeating the same script.

He almost wanted to laugh.

But instead, he shook his head slowly, his voice calm, decisive.

"…No."

The taller man blinked, his expression faltering. "What? Why not? I mean, it's not like you would lose anything—"

"I'm sorry for turn down your offer, but…" Riley interrupted, his tone sharp and cold. "I don't need a team."

The weight of his words sank into the air like an immovable stone.

A heavy silence followed.

The pale one clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed, but didn't press the matter.

The woman simply tilted her head, studying him with unreadable eyes.

The tall man let out a forced chuckle, lifting his hands in a mock gesture of surrender.

"Alright, man, suit yourself. We just thought we'd offer."

Their tone was light, but their eyes said something else entirely.

Riley gave a small nod, as if satisfied. He stepped forward, his boots crunching softly against the dirt floor as he walked past them without another glance.

His pace was unhurried, calm, like a predator that knew there was no need to rush.

But the instant his back turned, the air shifted.

The faint sound of feet sliding across the ground. A subtle hiss of breath. The glint of sharpened hostility in the corners of their eyes.

Riley's instincts screamed.

His lips tugged into a smirk.

He spun around just as they lunged.

The tall one was the first to close in, his long legs propelling him forward with speed.

His hand shot out, aiming to grab Riley's shoulder while his other hand glowed faintly with the light of an activated skill.

His face twisted into something ugly, confident that Riley was caught off guard.

But before his hand could even reach, Riley's own moved.

Fast.

His fingers clamped around the man's skull with unyielding force, his grip like an iron vice.

The tall one's eyes bulged in shock. He barely managed to gasp before Riley slammed him down.

Boom!

The ground cracked beneath the impact, dust spraying into the air.

The man's body twitched once, then evaporated instantly, his form breaking down into countless tiny white particles that shimmered faintly before vanishing completely.

The other two froze for a split second, horror flashing across their faces.

"Y-you—!" the pale one stammered, before roaring in desperation.

His skin darkened rapidly, shifting into a stony texture as his talent activated. Muscles bulged beneath the newly hardened skin, veins popping as he charged forward with reckless abandon.

But Riley didn't even flinch.

He met the charge head-on, his fist already drawing back.

When it slammed forward, it tore through the dense skin like it was paper. His knuckles crashed into the man's abdomen, the sheer force of the blow caving it inward.

A strangled cry escaped the pale one's throat. His eyes rolled back as his body disintegrated, evaporating into the same white particles as his companion.

Riley didn't even blink.

The woman stood frozen, her face pale as shock consumed her. Her body trembled, her lips parting to stammer out words of surrender.

"W-wait! I—"

But Riley didn't let her finish.

His fist lashed out in a blur.

Her face exploded under the force of his punch, and her body shattered into white fragments, dissolving into nothingness.

The silence that followed was absolute.