The day stretched thin inside the bunker.

Lucen sat cross-legged on the cot, flipping a coin between his fingers. The room smelled faintly of cold metal and antiseptic, not exactly cozy. The hum of ventilation carried on, a monotonous drone that pressed against his skull.

He flipped the coin higher, caught it again, watching the glint of dull brass tumble through the air.

'This is hell. Not the fire-and-brimstone kind. Worse. The kind where nothing happens, where silence eats at you until you'd welcome a monster tearing the ceiling open.'

The coin spun again, caught.

Down the hall, Varik's voice echoed, low and even, speaking into one of the comms. Lucen didn't catch the words, but the cadence was unmistakable: steady, clipped, authoritative. The kind of tone people listened to without arguing.

Lucen smirked faintly. "Top ten strongest, babysitting a guy on a cot. Bet that's not what the world thinks you do with your free time."

He tossed the coin again.

The bunker shuddered.

Not much, just a subtle vibration underfoot, like a truck had rolled past outside. But Lucen's head snapped up immediately, the coin landing in his palm with a soft slap.

[Warning: Unstable Dungeon Break Detected]

[Location: 4.2 km — Surface Layer, Sector 7]

The system's text burned faintly in his vision.

Lucen grinned. "Finally."

The alarm blared a moment later, a harsh, mechanical screech that cut through the air, red warning lights flooding the hallway.

Varik was already moving. He appeared in the doorway like a shadow given weight, sword strapped in place, his eyes steady.

"You're with me," Varik said.

Lucen hopped off the cot, rolling his shoulders. "Thought you'd never ask."

—

The surface greeted them with chaos.

Concrete barriers lined the streets, already buckling. Smoke curled up from ruptured asphalt. The sky was dim with storm clouds that hadn't been there before, unnatural, twisting in concentric spirals above a single point on the horizon.

And from that point, the break bled.

Lucen could see it, shimmering like cracked glass in the air, a jagged fissure where light poured through in sickening pulses. Shadows writhed within, pressing forward like eager hands.

Soldiers were already in retreat, their shouts drowned by the roar of something massive emerging.

Varik strode forward without hesitation.

Lucen followed, smirking. "I don't think they need us here. Looks like the locals have it handled."

Another building cracked, stone crumbling, as a claw the size of a truck punched through. The soldiers scattered like ants.

Lucen whistled low. "Never mind. Guess they do need us."

Varik said nothing, but the weight of his presence sharpened. He moved like the eye of a storm, calm, steady, inevitable.

Lucen flexed his hands, mana prickling at his fingertips. The system pulsed in response:

[New Objective: Survive Dungeon Break Encounter]

[Optional Objective: Defeat Dungeon Boss]

'Optional. Cute.' Lucen smirked, tilting his head toward the rift. 'Like I'm not going to.'

—

The monster pulled free of the break at last, a hulking thing of sinew and obsidian plates, easily thirty feet tall, with molten light spilling from cracks along its body. Its maw opened, a guttural roar splitting the air, rattling windows.

The soldiers broke. Screams filled the air as they ran.

Varik unsheathed his sword in a single, fluid motion. The sound was soft, metal sliding free, but it carried louder than the roars.

Lucen rolled his neck, smirking. "You take the left leg, I'll take the right eye?"

Varik's gaze flicked sideways. "Stay close."

"Aw. You do care."

Varik didn't answer. He simply moved, crossing the distance in a blur. The ground cracked under his boots, sword flashing upward in an arc that bit deep into the monster's armored thigh. Molten ichor sprayed, sizzling against the asphalt.

The beast roared again, stumbling.

Lucen didn't wait. Mana thrummed in his chest, spiraling outward, condensing into a spear of blinding white. He hurled it upward, the air hissed as it split, the spear slamming into the monster's face. One of its eyes burst in a spray of molten fluid.

The system chimed faintly.

[Critical Hit]

[Damage Dealt: 9,420]

Lucen smirked. 'Not bad for holding back.'

The beast thrashed, claws swiping through buildings like paper. Dust and rubble rained down. Lucen ducked under falling concrete, heart hammering in rhythm with the system's pulse.

Varik didn't flinch. He vaulted up the monster's arm, sword carving another line through its armored hide, sparks cascading around him.

Lucen let out a low laugh. "Showoff."

He planted his hand against the cracked pavement, channeling mana. Light pulsed beneath the ground, erupting upward in a cascade of spears that shredded through the monster's torso.

The beast reeled, stumbling, molten blood spilling into the street like lava.

[HP Remaining: 62%]

Lucen clicked his tongue. "Tough bastard."

Varik landed beside him, sword dripping with ichor. His voice was even, steady despite the chaos. "You're holding back again."

Lucen grinned, teeth flashing. "So are you."

Another roar split the air, but weaker now, ragged. The monster staggered, turning its ruined face toward them.

Lucen's grin widened. 'Alright then. Let's finish this.'

He reached deeper. Mana surged, brighter, hotter, more dangerous than he'd dared show anyone else. It poured into his veins like fire, the air warping around him.

The system flared:

[Warning: Mana Output Exceeding Safe Limits]

'Yeah, yeah. Spare me the lecture.'

The spear he formed this time was massive, three times his size, humming with destructive energy. The glow bathed the ruined street in white.

Varik didn't move to stop him. He just stood, watching, measuring.

Lucen hurled the spear with a grunt. The ground cratered beneath his feet from the force, dust exploding outward. The spear tore through the monster's chest, erupting out the other side in a cataclysm of light.

The creature froze mid-roar.

Then it collapsed, shaking the earth with its fall, molten ichor spilling across the street like rivers of fire.

The system chimed.

[Dungeon Boss Defeated]

[XP Gained: +18,000]

[Optional Objective Complete]

Lucen let out a long breath, shoulders trembling faintly. 'Hell of a workout.'

He turned to Varik, smirk still in place despite the faint ache in his chest. "So. Breakfast, training, apocalypse. What's next on today's agenda?"

Varik slid his sword back into its sheath. His face betrayed nothing.

But his eyes… his eyes lingered. Watching. Measuring.

—

The soldiers, or what remained of them, began creeping back once the dust settled. A few wore expressions of shock, awe, fear, the kind reserved for legends.

One of them, trembling, started toward Varik. "S-sir, what the hell just—"

The soldier caught sight of Lucen, standing with casual smirk and faint smoke curling off his gloves. His words choked off in his throat.

Another man muttered, "That's… that's him? He was with Varik?"

But when their gazes flicked toward Varik again, all hesitation evaporated. The name alone carried weight, enough that no one pressed further.

Varik gave a single nod. That was all. The soldiers backed off, retreating, whispers carrying with them.

Lucen stretched his arms overhead, yawning. "Guess that's our cue. Lead the way, boss."

Varik turned, already walking back toward the bunker.

Lucen followed, smirk tugging wider. 'He didn't call me out. Not yet. But he saw. And that silence of his? That's worse than shouting.'

He shoved his hands in his pockets, falling into step beside him.

'This is gonna be interesting.'

—

The walk back was long, quiet, and sticky with the smell of burning asphalt.

Lucen jammed his hands deeper into his coat pockets, boots crunching over loose rubble and glass.

The city behind them still smoked where the boss had gone down, whole blocks gutted by molten ichor. Every so often, the ground rumbled faintly as some half-collapsed wall finally gave way.

'We left it standing. Barely. Wonder how long until the papers spin that one.'

Varik strode a half-step ahead, like always. Upright, calm, sword at his hip like it was just another tool, not something that had split monsters in half not fifteen minutes ago.

The man's clothes weren't even dirty, no soot, no scorch marks. Lucen hated that about him.

He smirked faintly. "You know, I think you're trying to make me look bad. You could at least pretend you broke a sweat."

Varik didn't slow. "I wasn't the one throwing mana like a beacon."

Lucen clicked his tongue. "Beacon, huh? More like a firework. Admit it, you liked the show."

For the first time since they left the battlefield, Varik glanced sideways. The look was flat, but the silence that followed was heavy enough to press against Lucen's ribs.

'There it is. He saw. He always sees.'

The bunker entrance yawned ahead, a reinforced steel hatch cut into the hillside. Soldiers at the perimeter straightened immediately when Varik approached, saluting without hesitation.

Their eyes flicked once to Lucen, then back down again, like they weren't sure what they'd just witnessed.

Varik said nothing, simply descended the narrow stairwell inside. Lucen followed, humming faintly to fill the silence.

The air grew cooler as they went down, the hum of generators echoing faintly through the reinforced corridors.

By the time they reached the main common room, Lucen's smirk had dimmed. He dropped onto the nearest bench, stretching out like he owned the place. The metal surface groaned under his weight.

Varik remained standing, arms crossed. His gaze lingered on Lucen like the man was a puzzle with one piece still hidden under the box flap.