Ignis' First Firesday of Harvestfall, 1442, Coralshade Cove Cavern.

Vaelith adjusted her cloak as the party entered the dimly lit cavern, her fins fluttering at the faint echo of their footsteps against the wet stone walls. The eerie blue glow from bioluminescent coral provided just enough light to guide their way. She tugged the leather strap of her satchel, anchoring her nerves with the reassuring weight of the book inside.

The damp air clung to her skin, and the faint hum of magic vibrated in her bones. Everything here—in this world—felt so real, so alive. She dreaded the eventual return to the other world. She pushed the thought aside.

Not the time for distractions!

Vaelith's heart raced, but she forced herself to focus. She glanced at Leoric, just one step ahead of her. He had his bow at the ready, his sharp eyes scanning the dark recesses ahead, ears flicking at the merest hint of noise. Kaelyn walked right beside her, twirling her staff idly as though the looming danger was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. At the front of the group, Elyssia moved with purpose, her metal-reinforced boots and gloves occasionally reflecting the faint light of the coral. Her posture exuded confidence. The tonfa in her fists glowed with ochre energy—proof her tanking stance was active.

Okay, if she's taking this seriously, then I really mustn't mess this up, either! Just stick to the same rules from earlier today; Always be casting, don't punt enemies away from Elyssia. If you pull aggro, don't run away, run to her. Telekinetic Blows for single target, Telekinetic Pulse for three or more targets.

The group came to an open chamber where pools of shallow water glistened under the faint glow of coral clusters. Suddenly, the pools rippled unnaturally, and from the depths emerged chitinous creatures with razor-sharp pincers—a pack of three coral crawlers.

Elyssia did not waste one second and dashed to the enemies, materialising right next to one of them while it was still in its spawning state. She opened the battle with an elbow strike, and the crawler reared back as her tonfa connected, its mandibles snapping wildly in the air before it lunged forward again. She then kicked at it, sending it crashing into one of its allies. "Alright folks, show me what you've got!"

The crawlers hissed as they regrouped around Elyssia, their mandibles snapping with sharp, metallic clicks. Those were not small critters—the crawlers' eyes were about chest-height compared to the four foot eight Sylvani. They would have no trouble landing hits on her face.

Vaelith nodded, her fins jerking upwards. She blinked behind the enemies, the crackling magic leaving a faint shimmer in her wake, like ripples on water. The familiar surge of power from her passive ability granted her a full stack of arcane charges. She immediately channelled a charged-up Telekinetic Pulse spell, bolstered by the consumed charges. The arcane energy surged through her fingertips in a way so natural it felt like breathing. Multiple waves of concussive energy crashed against all enemies around her. While the damage per target was not her best, Vaelith smiled proudly as she glanced at the counter under each enemy's health bar.

One… Two… Three stacks of arcane vulnerability!

With their increased health pool, dungeon monsters were much tougher than any enemies they had fought earlier in the day. Unlike earlier enemies, Vaelith felt it was worth to build up a full stack. Increasing all her damage by 15% sounded very nice, after all. So she focused on the spell best suited for the job and got to work.

As she channelled the spell a second time, Vaelith noticed Kaelyn quickly throwing two preemptive healing spells on Elyssia, Holy Shield and Prayer, the former wrapping Elyssia in a faint, golden barrier and the latter filling the cavern with a soft, bell-like chime. With a strong safety net of heals locked on the tank, the felinae then started shooting beams of burning light with her staff, targeting the crawlers one by one.

"One laser for you!" Kaelyn said, a glimmer of excitement in her voice. "One for you… and one for you, too!"

Kaelyn's laughter rang out, light and carefree. Vaelith envied her—the way she could laugh so easily, even here. She wanted the same ease, the same certainty, but she could not shake the weight of her own thoughts, the nagging feeling that she would never measure up. She was no Kaelyn. Not here, not anywhere. But she was glad to see their priest seemed back to her old, confident and playful self. After their conversation earlier in the day, she had been concerned about her.

Looks like I was worried for nothing?

Beside her, Leoric nocked and fired arrows in quick succession, focusing down on the crawler Elyssia had struck first. Every attack landed with precision, the creature's chitinous body cracking under the force behind each arrow. The crawler, legs churning, backpedalled frantically, flinging Leoric's arrows in a shower of sparks and snapping wood, before resuming its aggressive advance.

Unabated, the ranger kept launching arrows at the crawler, his eyes occasionally darting around, scanning for patrols or ambushes.

Right on the other side of the monsters, Elyssia was a blur of motion, intercepting attack with her tonfa, punishing enemies with devastating counter-attacks, as she flowed from one type of attack to the next. Elbow strikes followed by palm strikes and full-body tackles, repeating as fluidly as if she was following some perfectly-well mastered dancing steps.

Vaelith cast another pulse, but a flicker of doubt crept in as she watched her friend calculated and deliberate strikes.

Could I ever move like that? Could I ever be like her?

Elyssia noticed her watching, met her gaze and grinned at her, apparently entirely untroubled by all the dodging, counter-attacking, and punching she was doing.

Watching her friend tank so effortlessly, it was hard not to feel inspired. Vaelith then noticed how the ochre energy turned a fiery shade of red, her weapons coated in flames. Elyssia seemed entirely unharmed by the flames covering her forearms and feet.

That's her damage-dealing stance, isn't? She must be confident in her threat lead over the rest of us.

Vaelith's feet shifted on the uneven ground, and the weight of the grimoire at her hips anchored her. Here, she felt solid and filled with confidence and purpose, in direct opposition to how she had felt outside of the game. She shook the grim memories of the real world away and smiled back at Elyssia, her cheeks reddening as she kept unleashing pulses back to back, watching as the vulnerability stacks increased steadily.

With each application of the debuff, the crawlers shimmered with a brighter shade of coppery-red energy, their movements slightly sluggish and erratic. She released another wave of magic, feeling the modest drain on her mana reserves. She still had plenty of mana—running empty was not a concern for her yet. Instead, she focused on the thrill of the power rushing through her. Mana pulsed through her like air filling her lungs, a life-giving force that made her feel completely whole, a sense of belonging she had never known before.

After the fifth barrage of spells, Vaelith's debuff had finally reached its maximum value, and the first crawler fell to Leoric's arrow.

Immediately, Vaelith changed to her single-target rotation, and sent volleys of arcane projectiles against the remain crawlers. With the first volley, she felt the arcane charges building, a tangible warmth spreading through her, and the second volley devoured those charges, empowering each missile with a potent, crackling energy. The second crawler's destruction was swift and brutal, its form reduced to twisted metal under the unrelenting attack.

The final crawler's life was almost gone, a mere sliver remaining, when Kaelyn's spell hit its mark with impeccable timing. A column of light—her Holy Light spell—claimed the killing blow. The crawler evaporated in a cloud of white particles.

Vaelith's hand trembled for a moment before she steadied it. So easy to destroy something, to make it disappear forever. She glanced at her grimoire, the lingering glow of her last spell fading.

We did well, right? This was like a textbook encounter.

Elyssia dusted her sleeves off, then considered her party members for a moment. Finally, she shrugged. "Guess I'll start doing double-pulls from now on—they didn't even break through Kaelyn's shield."

Vaelith raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Double-pull..?"

The sylvani tucked some of her green hair behind her pointed ear as she nodded. "Next time, I won't stop at one group," she said with a glint in her eye. "I'll scoop up a few more on the way. The bigger the fight, the faster we clear. So run along with me until I stop somewhere. Take pot shots as we go if you have instant cast abilities or spells you can use on the go, and trust me—I've got this."

Vaelith thought for a moment. "I was told not to use it—my only instant cast has knock-back on it…"

"Don't worry about that. Knock-back's perfect. It'll help, actually!" Elyssia beamed at her. "Let me hit them once first, but blink ahead of me, and when I run past you, just punt them behind. They'll catch up eventually, but this way, they won't be nipping at heels the whole way."

Perfect, really? Okay…

Vaelith blinked, her fins twitching nervously. Orion and Ryssa were pretty clear Telekinetic Blast was a forbidden spell, almost never used in party situations… Could she really use it without messing something up? Looking at Elyssia's confident grin, she wondered about the wisdom of such a course of action. But she knew better than to doubt in her best friend's expertise.

"Okay, I got it."

Leoric glanced over his shoulder at his quiver of arrows and seemed to consider his options. "Probably best I switch to multi-target attacks too, then."

"I don't really have any of those myself," Kaelyn grumbled, tapping her staff against the ground. "Unless you count Reflective Light, which, you know, requires the tank to actually get hit."

Elyssia looked at Kaelyn with a remorseful smile. "Sorry, the former would work better on a tank who just takes the hits, like Kohana. Or, you know, if I mess up or pull so much I lose track of all attacks... It's bound to happen, once we start pulling big enough! Anyway, many enemies will start using unavoidable attack spells later. Your shield spells and return damage passive will come in handy at that point."

The group went further in, and true to her word, Elyssia darted ahead when she spotted a first pack of crabs blocking the way ahead. The swarm of crustaceans trailed behind her like a tide of snapping claws and gnashing teeth. Vaelith blinked forward. Her feet slid effortlessly across the slick stone floor as she landed in a crouch, the motion seamless. She grinned, exhilarated. The arcane energy coursed through her, a wild, exhilarating rush that drowned out everything else. Here, there were no limits, no walls—only the pure, unrelenting thrill of being alive. This was her. This was what she was supposed to feel like.

She waited for Elyssia to run past her. Vaelith's fingers hovered over her grimoire, her spell poised to strike. For a second, doubt crept into her mind. What if she missed? What if she ruined everything? But as soon as Elyssia dashed past her, Vaelith released her fully charged Telekinetic Blast with a flick of her wrist, flinging the chasing swarm of enemies far behind. Kaelyn muttered a prayer under her breath, her magic weaving between the chaos to keep them all standing.

Got them!

Elyssia and Vaelith repeated the same pattern for the next group. All said, the sylvani gathered not two, but three groups of enemies, a total of ten monsters. The resulting fight featured a veritable mess of pincers, claws, teeth and needles, all attacking her. But Elyssia's expression betrayed no hint of fear or worry. She truly was the master here, and this was just another Thursday to her.

Soon, countless arrows and waves of telekinetic energy rained on the enemies. But then Kaelyn's shield broke. When it shattered, the air filled with a deafening hum. Golden light erupted in a blinding wave, sending the swarm reeling and leaving glowing trails where the energy scorched their chitinous shells.

I was beginning to think she would never get hit by anything, but looks like ten enemies is enough to challenge her reflexes.

Despite the significantly large number of monsters, Vaelith's mana remained steady. Just like the previous battle, she chain-cast Telekinetic Pulse five times, bringing her stacks of vulnerability to the maximum. Seeing her spells hit ten enemies just as easily as it had three boosted her confidence. The ebb and flow of arcane charges and the constant build up of vulnerabilities made her feel alive, powerful, like she finally belonged. She could not let that slip away—not when it felt so fleeting.

She angled herself to throw a Telekinetic Lance when Kaelyn's second shield shattered. The holy light erupted, a searing wave of energy that sent the remaining enemies flying like leaves in a hurricane, the air crackling with residual power. As the last enemy dissolved into motes of light, Vaelith's shoulders sagged. The fight was over, but the lingering power coursed through her, a bittersweet thrill leaving her breathless and exhilarated, the taste of victory and exhaustion both on her tongue. The following silence felt heavier than the chaos, a reminder of how quickly this world could shift between both states.

Kaelyn winced, gripping her staff tighter. "Okay, time out, time out! Between both fights, I'm out of mana. This was a lot of lasers!"

Leoric, Kaelyn and Elyssia found flat, dry rocks and sat themselves down. But Vaelith smiled and got to work.

It might be break time for the others, but this was her time to shine. She started by setting her invisible ritual table and got to work. Remembering Kaelyn's earlier reactions to her summoned food, she decided to experiment again.

Cats' tongues are extra heat-sensitive. I wonder if this applies to felinae? Something with no bubbles. She didn't seem to have a taste for it.

She summoned a glass of warm honeyed water, making sure to keep the temperature only slightly above room-temperature.

She slowly levitated the glass in front of Kaelyn. "Here, try this. I made something special just for you."

Kaelyn eyed the floating drink suspiciously. Gingerly, she cupped the glass with both hands, as if she was afraid to spill or break it by picking it up. She sniffed at it, and then brought the glass to her lips, still clearly wary.

She took the tinest sip. "Oh, this is sweet…"

"You like it?"

She drank more of the honey-watered and gave Vaelith a silent thumbs up of approval.

"Say, Vaelith… I don't suppose we could try some of your famous raspberry swirls?" Leoric asked, watching the exchange.

"Sure, let me conjure up a platter."

Elyssia raised an eyebrow. "Famous swirls?"

"Mhm. Allegedly, she impressed the cooking guild with them in Zephyrdale."

"It's nothing much…"

Moments later, Vaelith floated a tray around the makeshift camp, drinking a glass of honeyed water of her own. Leoric greedily picked a handful of swirls. He devoured the first one in two bites. Watching him eagerly dig in, the tension of the fight faded away from Vaelith's shoulders.

He gave her a sly grin, crumbs clinging on his cheeks. "If raspberry swirls are the consequence of getting hurt," Leoric said, crumbs sticking to his face, "I might have to stop dodging entirely. Call it a tactical pastry manoeuvre."

Elyssia chuckled as she nibbled at a swirl of her own. She nodded in approval at the pastry, then looked up at the rest of the group. "Alright, we all good to go?"

"Un segundo!" Kaelyn interjected. She stood up and walked up to the platter of swirls and grabbed another. "Okay, I have something to munch on for the trip. We can go."

Elyssia rolled her eyes and set off for the next part of the dungeon. Vaelith chuckled as she hopped off her floating chair and returned to Kaelyn's side.

The group ventured onwards; the air growing colder as the tunnel narrowed, the comforting glow of coral replaced by shadows stretching endlessly. The hum of waves deepened, resonating like a heartbeat in the stone, steady and ominous. Vaelith tightened her grip on her grimoire, the faint echo of Elyssia's measured steps grounding her nerves.

The sylvani glanced toward the tunnel ahead, her eyes narrowing. "I think we're due for the first mini-boss encounter now."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

A few steps later, a massive, sinuous serpent surged out of a pool of water. Luminescent scales covered its body, and it had a maw lined with needle-like teeth. The monster—a Tidewatch serpent, according to their interface—slithered menacingly from a crevice, its glowing eyes fixed on the party.

"Spread out!" Elyssia said. "Watch its movement. It should have clear tells for all its attacks. Be quick on your feet if it aims anything at you!"

The serpent lashed out, its tail whipping toward their tank. She parried it just at the right time, and delivered a powerful counter-kick, but still the blow sent her flying backwards, the impact ringing out through her arms.

Vaelith blinked to a safe spot, a short distance to the right. The sudden surge of her charges filled her with confidence. She immediately unloaded a volley of Telekinetic Blows on the Serpent. The multiple hits drew the monster's attention, and it coiled tightly, preparing to strike.

"Out of the way! It's a line attack! Dodge to the side!" Elyssia shouted.

Okay, so even if she has aggro, it still picks targets for its special attacks…

Vaelith saw the attack coming, the serpent rushing forward like a spear. She used her second charge to blink out of harm's way and retaliated with another fully charge volley. The projectiles hammered at the serpent's massive head, knocking it sideways, slamming into the cavern wall with a resounding crack.

"Good job!" Leoric's shout of triumph filled the chamber as his arrows rained down on the stunned creature. Kaelyn followed up with her usual application of preemptive healing spells on Elyssia. The sylvani dashed to the serpent and danced around its vicious strikes. Instead of focusing on parrying or using her damage stance, Elyssia seemed to favour her tanking stance and focusing on evasion against the giant creature.

Vaelith regretted how repetitive her current spell kit was against a single target. The damage potency per second was unbeatable, but simply casting Telekinetic Blows back to back the lacked the moment-to-moment nuanced decision-making she craved.

At least, the boss having special attack patterns meant she could not simply fall into a monotonous routine of channelling the same spell over and over until the battle would be over. More than once, she had to blink out of the way of charges targeted at her, or to step away from exploding giant balls of water. She had to interrupt her spells multiple times during the battle to reposition out of its attacks range.

The designers probably kept the damage rotation simple because they wanted the players to focus on the boss and the battle instead?

Distracted by her analysis of MMO design decisions, Vaelith blinked out of the way of an attack, only to immediately get targeted by a second one. Now familiar with the boss' attack timing, she released her charged-up volley of Telekinetic Blows. As soon as the last projectile flew from her hand, she attempted to blink again, but the spell was still on cooldown. A flash of yellow light covered her body. "Run!" she heard Leoric screaming at her.

Panicked, she hesitated, her heart pounding in her chest, unsure which way to flee. The hesitation, a mere breath held too long, cost her everything; the serpent's tail rammed into the mage, and the force of the blow knocked her off her feet, the air leaving her lungs in a painful gasp. She hit the muddy ground hard, rolling until she hits a rocky wall, her right side submerged in a shallow pool of water. Her vision swam as she scrambled to get back on her feet. She hurt all over, her health critically low.

If it wasn't for Kaelyn's fast thinking and shielding me before the attacker, I would have been a goner.

The serpent's glowing eyes fixed on her, and for a heartbeat, she froze, terror clawing at her chest. It targeted her for another attack. She stood on slippery ground, hurt, and still out of charges of blink.

"Watch out!" Leoric called out as he pelleted the serpent with arrows.

Vaelith slipped on wet rocks and fell face-first to the ground again.

Should I just crawl out of the way? I'll never make it in time! Holy Shield has a long cooldown, so Kaelyn can't save me this time!

Suddenly, the serpent shrieked in surprise as a bright and loud flash of light exploded right between its eyes.

Kaelyn laughed and taunted it. "Blinded by my beauty, are ya?"

Was that Flash…?

A spell for healers to steal aggro for a few seconds. But more importantly, temporarily blinded the enemy, trashing their accuracy.

Elyssia dashed next to Vaelith and offered her a hand up.

"Took the tank buster there, Vaelith! When you dodge, avoid going that close to the boss."

Vaelith accepted her hand, stood herself up and shook some mud off her brand-new robes.

Tank buster was the colloquial name for attacks balanced to be a threat to tanks. The damage they dealt was such, players were meant to use their tanking cooldown against them. In some rare cases, you could interrupt, silence, or outrun the attack instead. And depending on the battle, there was sometimes a special gimmick to deal with the special attack. For example, hiding behind a wall.

The attack Vaelith had taken to the face was nothing that special. It was a simple point-blank attack, and the best way to handle it was to move or stay back.

Elyssia quickly dashed back to the enemy. "You can stop running, Kaelyn. Let me re-establish aggro!" she shouted at Kaelyn. The priestess had things well under control. She had kept the serpent distracted, running around the battlefield while it chased her.

Once Elyssia re-established control of the fight, things went back to normal. Vaelith kept stepping out, dodging or blinking out of the various attacks going after her. She kept a steady flow of Telekinetic Blows on the serpent, but no longer took the risk of finishing a spell cast before dodging away.

Like I was saying, this is probably why my damage rotation is this simple… Focus on the boss, Vaelith.

Leoric nodded at her with calming reassurance whenever she appeared next to him or if he rolled out of an attack into her corner of the battlefield. The job to defeat the serpent rested mostly on their shoulders. Elyssia's damage was usually very impressive for a tank, but it was mostly a result of her counter-attack ability, which she could not use against most of the serpent's special moves, magical abilities, or tank busters.

Vaelith grinned, her confidence growing as the serpent finally fell, its luminescent scales dimming. They had done it—their first dungeon boss. Sure, it was only a mid-boss, but it still felt like a huge milestone to her.

Of course, I'm the only one who messed up. But at least I didn't cost us the run…

The team had her back, and that mattered more than perfection. Elyssia's grin and Kaelyn's teasing replayed in her mind, a warmth spreading in her chest.

"Thanks for the two saves, Kaeyn."

"De nada," she winked.

Leoric and Elyssia opened the treasure chest that spawned in the boss' arena. The reward for killing the sea serpent was some chain-mail armour.

Vaelith tilted her head. "But none of us use medium armour…?"

"Remember, we can change class," Leoric said. "If anyone plans to switch class to something like a cleric or captain…"

"Dark knight and brute also wear medium armour," added Elyssia. "We could keep gift it to Kohana, too."

Vaelith thought about what to do, then suggested, "How about we give it to Kaelyn, as repayment for covering the party registration fee?"

"Sure. She can always put it up for sale," Elyssia said, nodding to Kaelyn. "All yours."

"Oh? Sure, let me just toss it in my pack."

Elyssia turned to Vaelith. "Don't worry. You get some personal reward at the end of the dungeon. Unlike what you find in the chest, the personal reward is always something customised to your current class. The extra loot from each boss is gravy, not the main course."

So the party moved on. Beyond the sea serpent, the enemies changed from sea life to pirates and their guard dogs, just like Kaelyn had predicted. They might have looked like people of the various playable species, but they were clearly behaving the same way as any other monsters in a video game dungeon—they ran straight for the tank, followed aggro rules, and attacked until death, never running away or using strategy.

The next mid-boss was a two-headed guard dog, an unholy mix of Cerberus and hellhound. Each head radiated a distinct menace: the left exhaled streams of fire that scorched the stone floor, while the right spewed noxious gas that clung to the air, leaving trails of acrid smoke. The beast moved with terrifying speed, dashing across the battlefield in erratic bursts, its clawed feet scraping against the stone and sending sparks flying. Each attack seemed designed to leave the group scrambling for safety.

Elyssia held her ground in her tanking stance, her tonfa spinning defensively as she intercepted the beast's relentless strikes. "Watch its heads!" she called out over the chaos, her voice steady despite the intensity of the fight. "The glowing one's about to attack! Fire or poison—read it and move!"

The group split apart as a wave of fire shot across the battlefield, the searing heat palpable even from a distance. Vaelith blinked to safety just as the flames consumed her previous position, the acrid tang of burning stone filling the air. No sooner had the fire subsided than the beast spun, its poison-laden jaws snapping open to unleash a choking green fog that quickly covered half the chamber. Kaelyn chanted a quick Prayer and cast Holy Shield over herself, the golden barrier gleaming faintly through the murk.

"This thing doesn't stay still!" Leoric shouted, his voice strained as he loosed an arrow with Vital Shot toward the fire-breathing head. The arrow struck one eye, and the beast howled in rage, giving the group a brief respite to reposition.

"Keep moving and watch the heads!" Elyssia said, her tone sharp but encouraging. She sidestepped a swipe of the beast's claws, countering with a forceful strike that sent it stumbling sideways. Midway through the battle, she added, "When you see both heads glowing, the only safe area is the edges on either side of the arena—get there, fast!"

Vaelith struggled to keep her footing on the uneven ground, her charges of blink unable to keep up with the amount of dodging she had to do. The constant movement was exhausting, but the strategy worked. Slowly but surely, the group whittled away at the guard dog's health, dodging its devastating attacks with increasing precision.

Once the boss neared death, it let out its fiercest howl so far. The sound-wave pushed everyone back and dealt unavoidable damage to everyone in the party. "Last phase of the fight, it's a healer's check! It'll keep hitting us with that howl attack every few seconds. Kaelyn, you just have to keep out-healing it!"

Kaelyn nodded and kept her Regen spell on everyone from that point, distributing her Holy Shield, Prayer or Cures to keep everyone up. "I can only spam cures for so long! You got to finish it, fast!"

Vaelith knew that for healers, the rule of Always Be Casting only applied for their damage rotation. Unlike damage classes, the healing classes could easily burn through their mana reserves if they used their spells back to back. Kaelyn's mana would soon reach its limit if she had to keep healing four players non-stop!

It's on me and Leoric to finish this thing off quickly, then!

She redoubled her efforts, spending as little time moving as possible, throwing countless telekinetic projectiles at the hound while Leoric peppered it with arrows.

When the beast finally collapsed, its bodies dissolving into motes of light, the tension in the chamber gave way to a collective exhale. Vaelith bent over her grimoire, steadying herself as the familiar glow of victory filled the space. She let out a sigh of relief. This time, she had stayed outside of every avoidable attack.

This was a net improvement over my first boss battle!

She noticed how Kaelyn's health bar was critically low, a sliver away from empty. Near the end of the battle, the healer had shifted her focus entirely to throwing cures on Vaelith and Leoric, barely healing herself at all. It was a risky, deliberate choice—prioritising the group's damage-dealers over her own survival. Vaelith assumed Kaelyn thought losing either of them would have doomed the fight altogether.

If the battle had lasted a few seconds longer, Kaelyn would have been down for the count. Vaelith could not stop herself from glancing at the felinae, who stood panting but still grinning, her staff resting on her shoulder like it had been no big deal. But it was a big deal. Beneath all that humour and snark, Vaelith saw something she had not expected—a quiet determination and the steady makings of a hero. Kaelyn would never admit it out loud, but she was more than the comic relief she often pretended to be.

The realisation warmed something in Vaelith, made her feel the smallest bit more secure. They had her back—not just Elyssia or Leoric, but Kaelyn too. And maybe, if she worked hard enough, she could return the favour someday.

Elyssia opened the boss' treasure chest and pulled out a striking red-and-green gi. The colours split vertically down the centre. Elyssia claimed it without hesitation—no one else in the group wore cloth armour with melee-focused attributes. She grinned as she swiftly changed into the new garment, despite the toll the fight had taken. Vivid embroidery of two wolf heads howling beneath a full moon adorned the back. "Looks good on me, doesn't it?" she said with a teasing smile, her confidence undimmed.

Vaelith could not help but smile, though her legs still felt like jelly from the fight. "I think you earned it."

Items, just like players, had a level associated with them. In this dungeon, loot would have the equivalent power to level sixteen high-quality crafted piece of gear, with a level fifteen requirement to wear it. Compared to Elyssia's level one starter tunic, the gi provided double—if not triple—the attributes and armour rating. It also offered trace amount of fire and poison resistance. A nice touch, but most likely there for flavour than actual performance.

Elyssia explained. "The designers are always afraid to give low-level gear like this any kind of powerful perk, because they don't want to accidentally outperform higher-level equipment."

The chamber laying beyond the gate protected by the guard dog opened into a sprawling cavern. By all appearances, they were now in some dilapidated smuggler's den. Wooden crates stacked precariously high formed makeshift walls, barrels of inert gunpowder spilled their contents across the damp stone floor, and a decrepit pirate ship sat moored in an underground pool.

At the ship's prow stood the final boss: a pirate captain. His flintlock pistol glinted under the flickering torchlight, and his cutlass gleamed as he casually ran a thumb along its edge. His hat, oversized and feathered, tilted slightly as he smirked at the group. Around him, ghostly pirates milled about—translucent figures manning cannons or sharpening their spectral swords.

"Y'arr late to the plunder, aren't ye?" he growled, his voice a thunderous boom that echoed through the cavern. "No matter. Captain Mordain will handle you lot. Ye'll find no treasure here, only death."

Elyssia rolled her shoulders, stepping forward as her tonfa ignited with ochre energy. "Let's make this quick. Vaelith, monitor those cannons—Leoric, call out any adds. Kaelyn, shield me and I'll dash in. I'll handle Mordain."

The captain wasted no time. He raised his pistol and fired, the crack of gunpowder deafening in the enclosed space. Elyssia dashed forward, her tonfa deflecting the shot in a flash of sparks. Mordain met her charge with a wide swing of his cutlass, their weapons colliding in a flurry of blows that sent shockwaves through the air.

Vaelith blinked to a better vantage point, one where she could keep an eye on the cannons and the boss. Already, ghostly pirates emerged from below deck, heading for the cannons lining at both ends of the combat area. "Adds incoming!" she shouted, immediately launching Telekinetic Blows at the nearest one. The ghost staggered under the force but pressed on, its spectral hands gripping the cannon's fuse.

Leoric followed up with a flurry of arrows, taking out one pirate before it could load its cannon. "I'll cover the left side!" he called. "Vaelith, keep the right clear!"

"Got it!" Vaelith's voice wavered slightly, but her hands moved with precision. She focused on a group of adds converging on another cannon, sending them flying with a push from her Telekinetic Blast. The burst of arcane energy scattered the ghosts, but she knew they would not stay down for long.

Mordain laughed, his voice a booming challenge. "Ye think ye can handle me crew? Then have at it!" He slammed his cutlass into the ground, and a shockwave of spectral energy rippled outward. Elyssia braced herself, her tanking stance absorbing most of the blast, but Kaelyn winced as the edges of the shockwave hit her.

"I'm fine!" Kaelyn yelled, renewing the Holy Shield spell on Elyssia. "Just focus on him!"

Elyssia surged forward, her strikes unrelenting. Mordain parried with practiced ease, his movements fluid despite the weight of his weapon. When she least expected it, he fired his pistol, forcing Elyssia to reposition.

Meanwhile, the cannons roared to life. One ghost had slipped past Vaelith's barrage and fired, the shot slamming into the ground near Kaelyn. The impact sent rocks and hot shrapnels flying, tearing into Kaelyn's skin. She threw a Prayer to heal herself.

"Vaelith!" Kaelyn called, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"I've got it!" Vaelith blinked closer to the cannon, unleashing a flurry of projectiles at the ghostly pirate. The apparition dissolved into motes of light, but not before another cannonball loaded itself, this time aimed squarely at Leoric.

The archer rolled just in time, his ears flattening against his head. "They're getting faster! Focus them down, Vaelith—I'll keep Mordain distracted when I can."

Back at the centre of the battlefield, Mordain's movements became more erratic. "Enough games!" he roared, his pistol glowing with spectral fire. He fired into the air, and flaming bullets rained down across the cavern. Elyssia's tanking stance glowing as it absorbed part of the unavoidable damage..

"Stay mobile!" she shouted. "Vaelith, Leoric—take out those cannons or we're toast!"

Vaelith's mind was racing, trying to figure what was the most urgent target to down, but she could not hesitate now. She blinked toward another cannon. Another fully charged Telekinetic Blast scattered the ghosts manning it. Sweat dripped down her brow as she built up her arcane charges with a volley of Telekinetic Blows, finally silencing the adds on her side.

"Left side's clear!" Leoric called, launching a Vital Shot at Mordain's head. The captain moved, and the arrow sank into his shoulder. Mordain staggered, his spectral glow dimming slightly.

Elyssia seized the opening. With a shout, she shifted into her damage stance, her tonfa blazing with fiery energy. Her strikes came faster, harder, forcing Mordain back step by step.

"Vaelith!" Elyssia yelled. "Burn him down—now!"

Vaelith nodded, her hands trembling. A surge of arcane energy flowed through her, and she unleashed more fully charged Telekinetic Blows against the leader. The impact hit Mordain square in the chest, throwing him against the ship's prow.

The captain coughed, his spectral form flickering. "Ye've bested me crew, but ye'll not escape with me treasure!" With a final, defiant roar, he raised his cutlass high—but before he could strike, Leoric's arrow found its mark, piercing his heart. Mordain froze, his glowing eyes dimming as his body crumbled into ash.

The cavern fell silent, save for the distant crash of waves. A chest materialised where Mordain had stood, its ornate carvings glinting faintly in the dim light. Vaelith slumped against the cavern wall, her breath coming in gasps. She felt drained, but as she watched her team celebrate, a small smile crept across her face.

"First clear!" Kaelyn said with a cheer, collapsing onto a nearby rock.

Elyssia knelt, brushing a hand over the chest's lid before lifting it. Inside lay an assortment of rewards. A pair of white martial artist pants—shitabaki—for her. A new cloak that increase maximum mana and regeneration for Kaelyn, a quiver that increased attack speed for Leoric. And finally, a small jar of magical silver ink for Vaelith.

Kaelyn gave her a worried look. "Wow, the game really shafted you? Ink?"

"Magic ink! It's how my weapon upgrades. That's actually great; I haven't seen one of those since earlier this morning!"

After everyone finished with their gear upgrade, Elyssia turned to face the group, her expression serious but not unkind. "That was a good dry run. You all did well. But…"

Vaelith, who had just returned her grimoire to her satchel, raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"You're holding back," Elyssia said bluntly. "You're all playing by the book—by rules drilled into you. That's good enough to beat most content, but if you want to excel, you need to think beyond those guidelines."

Kaelyn raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Elyssia gestured to Vaelith. "Vaelith, your Telekinetic Blast spell—it's powerful. It's your strongest single-target and area of effect, and you hold back. Use it on cooldown."

Vaelith blinked, her fins drooping slightly. "I dodn't want to punt enemies away from you—"

Elyssia shook her head. "Even if you did, I'd just Dash after them, wherever you tossed them. Or if I'm feeling lazy, I'll wait until they came back. But you can also aim for walls. Or throw them off ledges. You don't need to be afraid of messing up my tanking—I'll adapt to whatever you do."

The martial artist turned to the others. "And that goes for all of you. Use your best abilities freely. Trust your teammates to adjust. Kaelyn, use Sanctuary as an attack spell. It hits hard if the enemies are inside your bubble's range when you use it. Leoric, I know I don't really give you time to put down traps before the fight, but you can still throw them near me mid-battle. I'll just move and make the enemies step into them."

Leoric crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Won't you get hit by the effect too?"

"Trust me to handle that," Elyssia said, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "You're wasting half of class potential because you're thinking of traps as preparation. You can use them like any other ability, and they're often better damage per ability over your arrows."

Elyssia started walking back to the entrance. "Alright, let's leave and reset the instance. Show me what you can really do next time."

Vaelith looked down at her newly improved grimoire, a flicker of determination lighting her gaze. Blast on cooldown? She had made the same calculation earlier in the day when she looked at the math—it was stronger than even her Telekinetic Blows.

Despite the fact Elyssia just gave her permission to knock enemies away, she recalled another aspect of the spell. If the enemies couldn't move, the force translated to extra damage instead. Binding them was one way to attain this, and she could perhaps learn to time her attack with Leoric's special arrow. But there was more than one way to trigger the bonus damage, as she had discovered on the crab boss…

She looked up, noticing the group had outpaced her during her musings. She was about to blink next to them to catch up, but she realised something about her spell. She smiled as an idea crept into her mind. It was merely a possibility, but if this worked, it would be too good to be true.

Next run, I'll show everyone what I can do.

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