The captain tries to steady himself, gripping his warped sword. "Damn it! Don't just stand there—attack! All of you!"

Three remaining men charge at once, desperation overriding fear. Fireballs, wind blades, and lightning surge toward Alix in unison—lighting up the cavern in chaotic flashes.

Alix doesn't move. He simply raises his hand.

The spells hang midair—frozen. Then, with a quiet snap of his fingers, they reverse, surging back toward their casters with twice the force.

The explosion is instant. The cavern shakes, and when the light fades, only the captain remains—his armor scorched, his men reduced to ash.

He staggers back, trembling. "M-monster… w-what are you?"

Alix finally stops walking. His expression doesn't change, but his eyes—sharp, inhuman—lock onto the captain's trembling form. "You said you've been guarding the herb," he says quietly. "Show me where it is."

The man shakes his head frantically. "I—I can't—"

Alix steps closer. Each footfall echoes like a hammer against the man's heart. "You can," he says softly. "Or you'll join your men."

The captain drops to his knees, panic overriding pride. "I'll show you! I'll show you—just don't kill me!"

The human scrambles to his feet, running toward a narrow path hidden behind a cluster of glowing stones. "It's—it's through here! The herb's growing right ahead!"

Alix follows silently, his presence looming behind him like death itself.

The tunnel opens into a smaller chamber—softly illuminated by a patch of radiant plants. Silver leaves glimmer in the blue light, roots pulsing faintly with mana. The Elder Vain.

The captain turns, trying to force a weak smile. "Th-there, see? I told you! Now, please—"

Alix's hand moves before he can finish.

A faint sound—like shattering glass—echoes through the chamber. The man freezes, eyes wide, before collapsing, lifeless. His soul essence fades into motes of light.

Alix kneels, plucks one of the glowing herbs, and tucks it carefully into a vial. "Let's go," he says quietly.

Zevran hovers beside him, wings fluttering lightly. "Are we going to continue and clear this dungeon, master?"

Alix glances toward the tunnel leading deeper underground, where the faint pulse of mana grows denser. "Since we're already here," he says evenly, "might as well do that."

They press onward, the glow of the mineral veins fading into dim, cold blue as they descend. Time passes slowly—one twisting corridor after another, empty chambers filled with scattered bones and broken relics. Eventually, after an hour of silent exploration, they arrive before a massive gate of black stone. Its surface is carved with runes that shimmer faintly with deathly energy.

Mero whistles softly. "Well, that looks like a boss room."

Alix places a hand against the gate. A pulse of mana flows out—cracks spider across the stone—and with a deep rumble, the gate splits open.

A wave of chill air rolls out, thick with decay and mana so old it feels heavy. Inside, the chamber stretches wide and circular, its floor lined with ancient coffins and rusted armor. At the far end, a throne of bones rises from the ground. Upon it sits the boss—an undead warrior with a high tier armor, eyes burning with ghostly violet fire.

It stands slowly, gripping a massive halberd etched with crimson runes. The air trembles with its presence.

Zevran narrows his eyes. "Peak-level Tier 6," he mutters. "Strong enough for most… but not for us."

Alix turns his gaze toward Mero. "Mero, can you fight? I want to see how you fight."

Mero said with a dejected face, his form flickering faintly like smoke. "Ah, I wish I could, but I'm still recovering my strength. After all, I've been asleep for who knows how long."

Zevran's wings twitch, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Then let me fight, master."

Alix meets his gaze for a moment, then nods once. "Go ahead."

Zevran's grin widens. "Gladly."

He steps forward, his body glowing with wind and earth mana. The ground cracks beneath his feet as his form begins to expand—scales ripple over his skin, wings unfurl with a gust of wind that sends dust and bones scattering.

In seconds, his true form fills the chamber—a colossal dragon, his scales reflecting the faint blue glow of the room. His wings stretch, and the ground shudders beneath his weight.

The undead warrior lets out a roar, swinging its halberd upward. Waves of dark energy explode across the room.

Zevran only grins. "Cute."

With a single beat of his wings, he vanishes—appearing behind the boss in a blur of wind. His tail sweeps across the floor, smashing coffins to dust and sending the undead flying into the far wall.

The impact shakes the entire chamber. Bones rain down from the ceiling.

Zevran chuckles, lowering his head until his golden eyes meet the undead's hollow gaze as it struggles to rise. "Not bad," he says with a sharp grin. "You must've been pretty strong when you were alive."

The boss snarls, slamming its weapon into the ground. Black spikes erupt upward, racing toward the dragon's chest. Zevran exhales, a gust of compressed wind shredding the spikes midair. He steps forward, claws crushing the ground beneath him.

"Try harder," he taunts.

The undead charges, halberd glowing blood-red as it slashes through the air. The blow connects with Zevran's neck—only for the blade to snap in two.

He lifts one claw—massive, glowing with dense earth mana—and slams it down. The ground cracks like glass, and the boss is buried under the impact, bones and armor crumbling.

But it doesn't end there. The undead's shattered form begins to glow, pulling energy from the chamber, reconstructing itself in desperation.

Zevran watches in amusement. "Regenerating?"

He opens his maw. Green light gathers at the back of his throat—a dense sphere of swirling wind and earth mana.

"Let's see you regenerate after this."

The beam that follows shakes the entire floor. Wind screams, tearing through stone and bone alike, leaving a deep trench across the floor. When the light fades, nothing remains of the boss but ashes and a cracked halberd fragment.

----

After that, a flash of light engulfs them.

When it fades, Alix, Zevran, and Mero find themselves standing in a vast chamber lined with ancient pillars. The air is thick with mana and shimmering mist. Strange runes pulse faintly across the walls.

It doesn't take long. Every undead creature that appear, is erased in moments. Zevran toys with some; Alix, and Mero watches, Mero offering an occasional sarcastic comment, though the faint glow in his eyes shows he's absorbing the ambient energy to restore his strength.

After less than an hour, silence returns. The last enemy fades into dust, and a golden light pulses from the far end of the chamber. The gate to the boss room opens massive, ornate, and carved with ancient runes of reward.

Inside is no monster, only treasure.

The room shines with mountains of gold coins, scattered artifacts, and clusters of glowing mana stones. Ancient weapons lean against the walls, their blades humming faintly with forgotten power.

Mero whistles, floating above the treasure. "Now this is what I like to see. A proper reward."

Zevran folds his arms, unimpressed. "I prefer a good fight over gold."

Alix steps forward. He raises a hand.

A soft ripple of mana flows outward. In an instant, everything—coins, stones, artifacts—vanishes into the air, absorbed neatly into his storage space. The room falls silent again, empty save for faint echoes.

"Done," Alix says simply.

Before anyone can respond, a blinding light swallows them.

—

When the light fades, they find themselves standing outside, under the open sky. The dungeon gate behind them glows dimly, its surface covered in faint cracks.

Zevran stretches his wings. "We're… outside?"

But they're not alone. All around them, adventurers—both human and monster—blink in confusion, having been teleported out as well. Groups whisper and shout in surprise.

A beastman with crimson fur growls, "What the hell just happened?!"

A human mage beside him shouts back, "We were inside the floor 3! How are we out here?!"

The murmurs spread quickly until one voice cuts through the noise. "Wait!" a woman yells, pointing toward the dungeon entrance. "If we all got teleported out… that means someone cleared the dungeon!"

The words hang heavy in the air.

A tense silence follows—then chaos.

"What?! After all these years?!"

"Impossible! No one's cleared this place in decades!"

"It must've been the monsters!"

"Don't be stupid—it's obviously the humans!"

A nearby adventurer mutters, "Now that it's cleared, we'll have to wait a week before reentry."

Another groans. "A week?! Damn it, whoever cleared it just ruined our runs!"