“Aers yous one…?” Like a muffled sentence through a rusty pipe, it spoke. The barely intelligible intonation didn’t help either. Despite it, nobody seemed to react until, “I’s senses yous…” The black knight’s helmet snapped onto Han, crusting off black flakes off the neck armor.

  It was impossible. He’s fully cloaked, then the bridge seemingly started vibrating, “HANMAAAA!” It screeched; the deafening shout didn’t compare to the vibrating metallic noise that emitted from its armor caused by the scream’s utter volume.

  “Fuck…” Han wasn’t the only one feeling it in his bones. Berdrogh knelt down to distribute the force by a minimal amount. They marched forwards and the black knight had braced itself for a battle. It was deceptively big; as Han was approaching the lanky knight, it was over 3 meters tall. Its large hump, or rather, horrid posture, made its long arm nearly drag across the ground. The blade in its stomach didn’t help whatsoever.

  In a single step it crossed the distance of multiple meters, and its outstretched arm hovered over the abyss for a split moment. Impromptu, Berdrogh had to ready his shield at the sudden and visceral strike. The black knight’s fist landed straight into his shield with a loud metallic twang that didn’t leave the cave’s echoey atmosphere for more than a couple seconds. If it weren’t for Berdrogh’s quick reaction, he’d be dead. There was no time to celebrate.

  Then another arrived, and another, and another. Berdrogh stood his ground, yet couldn’t stop himself from inching backwards from the sheer force that every blow carried. The shield scrapped against the slick wet stone bridge, though Berdrogh probably couldn’t hear that even if he tried. However, it stopped; a short howl managed to grab its relentless attention. As the horrific black knight turned its body towards the black wolf; Berdrogh wasn’t letting it go scot-free.

  Han knew he had to switch his position back and immediately started gunning towards it. It tried to intercept him with its skinny body, attempting to engage like he did before. Its leg left the ground and crash-landed before Han. However, the other never left the ground. Berdrogh had aimed a powerful strike right at its left knee; the battle-axe crumbled the nimble knee and even the foot was facing the other way.

  However, the black knight was unbothered. The bridge shook as it collapsed, even sliding for multiple feet, only to then sit up facing the ranged members of the party. Its eyeless helmet darted to its legs as if in grief; multiple arrows flew over Berdrogh, interrupting its imaginary funeral.

  Then, straight above it, a large blue magic circle appeared, showering it with blue light, and then it was barraged with dagger-sized icicles. They dinked and indented its unmoving body. Han quickly shut out any noise; he could already hear the air circling inside its armor, ready to burst. The screech scattered any projectiles that were in the air. Berdrogh ignored its pause and rushed forward.

  Yet, before Han could even blink, a large sword landed right in front of his snout, creating a gash in the stone bridge. It had ripped out the sword and, on the way, sliced its own stomach completely. Then spun around, crumbling whatever was left of the armor and targeting Han.

  “Putridis disgracus!” It screamed, hammering the two-meter greatsword into the bridge again. Using it to gain some distance with a legless hop. Han didn’t wait for it to get any closer and ran backwards.

  “FALL, YOU FOUL BEING!” Berdrogh’s scream reached Han. He was mid-air and shieldless at that. The 2-meter-tall behemoth managed to run up its back, nicking its helmet on the way. Then stood between Han and the pitiful yet menacing approaching monster. A barrage of heavy-hitting arrows started, making it sound like a cannon was firing at it. The onslaught made whatever was left of its body jolt.

  “Mughv—!!” Lionel shouted, his mask tilted to the side as he bit into his staff. He ran towards it, akin to a maniac with his hands covered in flames. He slid on the wet stone bridge, firing multiple flaming spells towards it, yet that wasn’t enough to detract its unusual focus off of Han.

  Everything dimmed as Berdrogh shielded him. A light lit up whatever he could see with a familiar tinge of blue. He was way too eager and peeked behind the shield. Something pierced right through the black knight’s chest. It crashed into the ground. Its sword falling short of Berdrogh’s position.

  The rain kept falling as the silence ensued. Everyone darted around to each other while Han went up to the monster. Its back was covered in arrows where only the fletchings peeked out of its black armor. Whatever black leather it had was charred, and more importantly, it had a hole in its chest. And of a radius that he could jump through at that.

  So that’s what damage in the back meant.

  —Thunk!

  Berdrogh embedded his battle-axe into the black knight’s helmet, slightly startling Han.

  “W-What was that?” Juuka asks, her words clearly directed at Lionel. Han turns to her, as she was surprisingly helping Kanade walk by having her arm over her shoulder.

  “Shuight.” He says through his teeth, trying once more after taking the staff out of his mouth and fixing his mask, “Shut it. It’s a new playstyle I thought of.” Han was quick to guess that he’s going some kind of melee build; however, wizards were forced to use their staves for a while in the early-game.

  “Phuu…! What a battle. A break we shall have.” Berdrogh took out his battle-axe from the fading corpse and followed Han. Juuka, on the other hand, laid Kanade down against the bridge’s railing and accompanied Lionel to loot the corpse.

  The whole place seemed to be connected to the abyss they saw from the 10th floor onwards. Though there wasn’t any sign of the mana crystals that would signal it as such, there was no other explanation for the water that trickled down like mist at intervals. To note, the lamps didn’t seem to be bothered by the mist at all; every single one kept dancing undisturbed. Kanade seemed to have noticed them as well, prompting a question.

  “Could I use the lamps to cook food?” She muttered to the standing Berdrogh.

  “These?” He pointed at the lamps, then stuck his hand directly into the flame. “Hehe, they’re not real… somewhat. They give off light, nothing much.”

  “Mm.” She nods and couldn’t help but glance at Juuka and Lionel. “Why do they keep doing that…? I’ve never really asked one.” Han’s ears perked up after inferring what she meant.

  “Uh, it’s one of the things that the chosen can do... whatever that is.” He paused for a moment and quickly remembered. “Hell, there’s even a myth that a couple adventurers returned back to town after dying. Though, haven’t seen one do that myself. Ah,” Berdrogh glanced back at Kanade seemingly with a new topic in mind.

  “So, are you afraid of heights? This will be a tad rough if you are.” He peeked over the stone railing. “To be fair, I haven’t gotten used to it as well…”

  Han’s eyes bulged at what he gathered, ignoring the latter; their realism was absurd. What he had described was a small chance of two variables happening. Same beginner city respawn location and the person, whether out of content or laziness, not changing their avatar’s appearance.

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  “Not really, I…” She shakily stood up. “Always land on my feet.” That comment suddenly interrupted Han’s short-winded conniption, making him lose the train of thought.

  No pun intended?

  “I get it. I get it.” Berdrogh chuckled after being slower on the uptake than Han. Though, he couldn’t blame him, both of them weren’t expecting her response to be that.

  There was no reason to overthink that issue, so Han focused on the present and thought of another. The black knight’s scream was forcefully etched into his memory. It somehow knew of Pochirin’s origin, and they didn’t seem to hear it either. This really tied a knot in Han’s stomach. Nonetheless, his eyes finally focused on the red notification, but before that he glanced at the weirdos. Kanade, Berdrogh, Juuka, Pochirin, and Lionel.

  This… this is what a party is… isn’t it?

  [FORMIDABLE ENEMY FELLED]

  [3466 EXP GRANTED]

  He waved the notification off with an imaginary swipe. Despite the big number, only Han managed to get enough for a level. Becoming same the level as Pochirin. Level 16.

  “Alright! Let’s move.” Lionel grabbed their attention and started moving slowly without them.

  “We’ve got some road ahead of us… 9 floors. I can’t wait to go home.” Berdrogh muttered, “Do you have someone waiting for ya back home?” The quick change in topic caught both of them off guard.

  “Wouldn’t call it home…“

  It’s a piece of shit, that’s what it is.

  “But, yes. A good friend.” Kanade answered vaguely. Which was understandable. If they were to find out that she lives with Lilliane or Li as she goes in the guild. There was a non-zero chance they would know him or her. Confusing.

  “Wish you two luck.” He didn’t pursue further questions and jotted the dot on the conclusion.

  “I… I feel like you’re misunderstanding.” She tried explaining.

  “Old bastard.” Han subconsciously said his words, as usual, were half-barks.

  “Pooch is right, am I not?” Ignoring whatever Berdrogh attempted to say, all of them noticed Juuka’s shoulder jitter as she snickered in the front. “Hm? Anything funny happening over there?”

  “Ah…” She turned around and glanced at Han, then back to Berdrogh while barely keeping the smile contained. In a split moment, Han caught on.

  She’s… not about to?!

  “He called you… old…” She snickered but didn’t finish the sentence. Whether to save face or because it was too funny. Whatever the reason was, bless her heart. A thick hand ruffled his head and brought him out of the illusion of gratitude.

  “You don’t have to rub it in. Eh, Pooch?”

  I’m never talking again.

  After that scene they have been rather quiet, focused even. And for a good reason. Both Han and Kanade dart their heads to one of the bridges above and leftward to theirs. Amidst a dozens or so bridges, a gleeful laugh helped them pinpoint it.

  “There’s someone on that bridge!” Kanade shouts, quickly pointing in an accurate direction. Berdrogh’s first instinct was to hoist his shield for Lionel, as he was already muttering a spell. Han couldn’t do much as multiple arrows flew straight at them. Unless.

  ? Oblivious howl ?

  He howled at the arrows. Sadly, it didn’t redirect them or have any visible effect. Kanade was the first one to strike back; her silent arrows whizzed through the air, landing straight into the monster’s head. As she was ready to fire another one, wind blew past them as Juuka had fired hers. It brushed against the air, piercing the wind, and landed straight into the stone bridge. Shattering off a large piece and leaving the arrow fully embedded.

  Then, a thin blue beam lit up the surrounding area. It obliterated the rain droplets around it and pierced the accomplice before flying off into the abyss, never to be seen. Han followed the beam’s afterimage as it came from the tip of Lionel’s staff. He was left a tad stunned. Everything happened in mere seconds. The encounter was finished as he just watched. They continued walking but were missing someone. He scoffed. At least he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

  Juuka quickly hermitted again; her obvious shift in posture was caught by Han as both of them were momentarily left behind. It didn’t take long for Kanade to notice Han wasn’t by her side. Seeing both of them slugging after them, since Han wasn’t that down in the dumps he visibly saw her priority shift.

  “Your form is uneven. The power you have… could use some precision.” She said, and without needing for her to add anything, Juuka went into position. Her feet hip-width apart with an exaggerated tilt to aid her dominant right hand. Han wasn’t a big expert on archery, so he couldn’t really point out any glaring mistakes.

  “Ah, you need an arrow drawn. I can’t tell a lot without your muscles contracting.” She added. Han quickly noted that they had yet to receive any harsh comments from Lionel. A bit further up ahead, he happened to be leaning against the bridge’s railing, doing something in the menu. That seemed to count as a pass to mess around by the overlord.

  “Need target practice? My and I—what the hell…?” Berdrogh proudly patted the front of his shield only to be surprised when the rightward corner had been cleanly sliced off. Although it had shaved off barely an inch, the shield’s integrity shouldn’t have been impacted that much.

  “Must’ve been that boss, with that gnarly sword pull out.” Juuka commented, loosening up her bowstring during it. Then, went back into position when Kanade turned around and came up to her.

  “H-How long am I supposed to hold this…?” She asked after a good couple of seconds, and in that full-force drawback stance, her arms started to shake a few beforehand. Until Berdrogh threw a thumbs up from behind his shield from roughly 20 yards or so.

  “What did he show me…?” With a shaking voice, Juuka asked without losing focus.

  “Go—” Kanade’s word, despite being short, managed to be cut off from the loud snapback the string held. The arrow whizzed through the air and did so for quite some time until landing onto the bridge as it lost to the wind resistance eventually.

  “H-Hey!?” Han quickly glanced back at Juuka; Kanade slipped behind her and drew the string for her. As if molding, Juuka flowed into the position Kanade was trying to show. Han couldn’t help but notice Kanade being on her tippy toes. Nonetheless, Juuka fit into the mold given by Kanade. Han couldn’t tell the difference; maybe the hips were slightly more outwardly tilted, and her legs were barely closer together. The changes were minute; however, it didn’t mean she would be more precise.

  “Okay, okay… I get it.” She drew the bow herself. Her two draw fingers shook with the resistance they were feeling. Her whole body stiffened upon doing so, only to instantly let go. A slight breeze managed to reach Han’s fur.

  The arrow fully landed in the middle of the shield with, just based on the thunk it did, an absurdly powerful hit. Despite hitting the shield, the arrow tip stuck in ever-so-slightly, allowing it to remain mid-air.

  “I did it!” She smiled whilst Kanade and Han just watched the shield. Kanade’s eyes were evidently surprised. Berdrogh peeked over his shield and took the arrow out. With it in hand, he paced to them. Clearly a lecture forming in his mind.

  “Girl, I’ve been a big target for nearly two decades. I’ve never felt such pushback from… an arrow. And this?” He brushed his finger over the tiny dent that the arrowhead left. “My shield’s made from twenty layers of steel…”

  “But the boss managed to do this,” She ran her fingers through the cut at the corner of the thick shield. ”My little dent isn’t that impressive.” Han thought so as well, not that her arrow hits weren’t devastating; he’s simply seen high-level archers do more.

  “Take it as you will. My point still stands.” He lifted his free arm in defense. Juuka gently pointed with her chin towards Lionel, who was moments away from saying something; so she moved ahead first. Shortly after, they took the back and went further into the dungeon.

  “Are you okay with the damage? Isn’t it expensive?” Kanade glanced at his shield that was strapped to his left arm. Berdrogh’s eyes watched Kanade; the words seemed to have taken a bit to travel.

  “Ah, yes.” He lifted it up, “Rarely do I get multiple expeditions with the same one. At least my status helps with buying more at a cheaper price.”

  Cheaper price… how much does he even earn?

  Before Han could guess, “Look at this!” Juuka said, grabbing their attention.