Everyone had their new Classes—well, except Lily, whose "Water Dancer" looked suspiciously like her old temporary Class with a fresh coat of paint. That hadn't stopped her from beaming like Christmas had come early. They were still in the middle of comparing notes, trading jokes and jabs about their shiny new powers, when the System cut across them.

SYSTEM NOTICE Congratulations! All Classes Successfully Selected. Part Two of this Floor will start in 30 seconds.

"Thirty seconds? That's not long," Kai muttered, already tightening the straps on his vest.

"Part two?" Bell echoed, her bow sliding into her hand with practised ease.

Tarni was still grinning at his HUD, wiggling his fingers like he expected poison-tipped claws to appear. "Bet it's a team test. 'Teamwork makes the dreamwork,' right? System's been all about the group hugs lately."

"Less talking, more checking your pockets," Zane said, tugging the Alpha Wolf bracers snug on his forearms. "Everyone got their gear?"

A quick flurry of pat-downs, strap pulls, and weapon checks followed. Lily cinched her quiver tight, Bell adjusted her bowstring, and Kai gave his baseball bat a spin that was way too casual for the healer of the group. Tarni flipped his crude shortsword once, caught it by the blade, and kissed the hilt.

"Don't betray me now, mate," he whispered to the sword.

Zane rolled his eyes. "You're talking to your gear again?"

"Hey, teamwork," Tarni said, smirking. "Starts with me and stabby here."

The white walls around them dissolved before Zane could retort. The sterile glow of the Class selection room bled away, replaced with dazzling daylight. A soft wind brushed against their faces, carrying the scent of grass and open air.

They stood on a wide grassy plain, the hill beneath their boots sloping gently down in all directions. The horizon, an impossibly close haze, a perfect blue sky overhead with clouds drifting like lazy sails. It looked too perfect—like a painting made real.

Lily shaded her eyes, scanning the fields of grass. "Okay… this doesn't look ominous at all."

"Yeah," Zane muttered, fingers flexing around his weapon.

The wind shifted. The hilltop grass rippled like an ocean, each blade bending in the same direction. The sky dimmed—not sunset, but as if something vast had passed in front of the sun.

SYSTEM NOTICE Part Two Challenge: Trial of Endurance Enemy Wave Incoming. Objective: Survive until the Timer Expires. Time Limit: 15 minutes.

The ground beneath their boots thrummed with a low vibration. At first, it was faint—like distant thunder—but it grew quickly into a rolling drumbeat that shook their bones.

"Uh… guys?" Lily's voice was tight as she pointed down the slope.

The grass at the base of the hill flattened outward as dark shapes surged out of the shimmering horizon. Several of them, then Dozens—hulking silhouettes with glinting eyes and jagged weapons. Goblins.

"Of course," Tarni groaned. "It's always goblins. Why is it always goblins?"

Kai's bat lit with a soft blue glow as he spun it upright. "Not just goblins. There's something bigger back there."

"Great." Bell knocked an arrow and pulled her string taut, eyes narrowing. "Zane, you're on point. Tarni—flank. Lily, with me. Kai—stay close, don't get surrounded."

Zane drew a slow breath, feeling the Vanguard weight settle into his chest again. That grounded certainty—the iron promise that no matter what came up this hill, he would meet it head-on.

Zane stepped forward immediately, his shield arm tightening. His voice cut through the chaos.

"Defensive Stance!"

A faint glow rippled across his leather vest and Alpha Wolf armguard, his frame grounding itself like a boulder on the hill. The first goblin's jagged blade skittered uselessly against him, sparks flying. With a grunt, Zane shoved it back, then activated his other skill.

"Get behind me!"

Power surged down his arms, doubling the weight of his strikes. His Machete slammed down, cutting clean through a goblin's defence and sending the creature sprawling. For twelve seconds, he was an unstoppable wall, and he made every one of them count.

"Bell, fire over me!" he barked.

Bell already had her Boomstick Bow raised. Her first arrow whistled out, glowing faintly before detonating mid-pack, showering the goblins with explosive shrapnel. A follow-up arrow punched straight through a shield, piercing shot drilling through one goblin and into the next. She grinned fiercely, drawing again.

"Alright, let's crank this up—Say hello to my little friend!"

Her hands blurred, loosing a storm of arrows that tore into the wave, each one snapping with added piercing force. The slope below Zane was littered with twitching bodies within seconds.

On the flank, Tarni blurred into motion. One moment he was there, the next a shadow. A goblin blinked, confused, before the crude short sword punched between its ribs. Back Stab—a guaranteed critical. Tarni leaned close to the dying creature, whispering cheerfully,

"G'day mate. And goodbye."

He kicked it free and melted back into the chaos, weaving through like a ghost. Another goblin raised a weapon, then hesitated mid-swing as Tarni's aura washed over it. No need to worry, mate… The goblin blinked uncertainly, lowering its blade as trust flickered where none should exist.

"That's more like it," Tarni said with a grin, plunging his sword in without hesitation.

Behind them, Kai planted his bat in the turf like it was a staff. A warm blue light pulsed outward—Group Heal—washing over Zane and Bell as their scratches sealed shut. When one goblin slipped past and slashed his arm, Kai didn't flinch, using Targeted Healing to close the wound with a glow of golden-white energy.

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"Stay sharp!" he called, his tone half-drill sergeant, half-battle medic. "Dad, don't overextend. Mum, keep their backline burning. Tarni… stop talking to them and kill them!"

"Oi, this one likes me," Tarni shot back, but his blade was already dripping.

Lily raised her bow, then exhaled and whispered,

"Group Snare."

A ripple of watery light spread out, entangling a cluster of goblins mid-charge. They froze, legs bound in shimmering tendrils, long enough for Bell's next explosive arrow to land square in the middle of them. The detonation ripped through the snared mob, showering the hill with ash and smoke.

Not missing a beat, Lily pivoted, her movements suddenly fluid—too fluid, her steps almost a dance. She spun low and swept her bow like a staff across a goblin's knee, the strike glowing faintly. Rain-Forged Grace left a trail of water-light, sizzling against the goblin's flesh like acid.

"Water dancer, huh?" she said under her breath, twirling back into stance. "Yeah. Feels a bit stronger."

Zane smashed another goblin aside, planting his shield to anchor the line. Bell and Lily volleyed shafts over him, while Tarni sowed havoc in the blind spots. Kai's magic pulsed like a heartbeat, keeping the frontline steady.

For a few frantic minutes, it worked. Goblins fell in droves, their charge blunted by teamwork sharper than any blade.

Then, down the slope, the ground rumbled. A heavier shape pushed through the lesser mobs—towering, tusked, and clutching a cleaver longer than Zane was tall.

The last goblin of the first rush crumpled at Zane's feet, Machete embedded deep in its chest. He yanked it free with a grunt, scanning the smoky slope below.

"Anyone else hear that?" Bell asked, her bow still raised.

The air shimmered again—another ripple across the field—and this time a fresh swarm boiled out. Not goblins, but leaner, faster shapes. Snarling, hissing, their skin stretched taut over wiry frames.

"Kobolds," Lily breathed. Her Rapid Appraisal flickered across her vision. "Smaller hit points, but faster and—oh, great—they've got fire bombs."

Sure enough, the first wave of kobolds scampered up the hill, hurling crude clay pots filled with burning pitch.

"Spread out!" Kai barked.

One pot shattered where Bell had been standing half a second earlier, flames licking across the grass. She darted sideways, loosing a piercing arrow that ripped through the bomber's chest before it could throw again.

"Basic powered Shot!" she shouted, slamming another arrow into the dirt at the kobolds' feet. Mana crackled, and the ground buckled into an explosion. Three kobolds were caught mid-leap,

The one just outside the explosion radius began screeching as Lily's water-forged arrows shot through them moments later.

"Cheers, Mum," Lily said, spinning on her heel to catch another one across the jaw with her glowing bow stave.

Tarni, meanwhile, was practically in his element.

"Finally, something small enough for me to stab properly."

He darted into the fray, vanishing into the chaos. A kobold shrieked as his Back Stab drove into its spine. Another turned, teeth bared—only to falter as Tarni's aura pressed into it.

"No need to worry, mate. We're all friends here."

The kobold blinked, disoriented. Tarni gave it a cheeky pat on the shoulder before opening its throat with one clean slash.

"See?" he called over the noise. "Making friends is easy!"

"Your idea of friendship is disturbing," Kai shot back, sweeping his bat in a circle. Healing energy pulsed outward again, Group Heal shoring up the burns he and Zane had taken from a near-miss with one of the fire bombs.

Zane gritted his teeth, bracing as another bomber lobbed a pot straight at him. He stepped into his skill.

"Defensive Stance!"

The pot shattered across his armguard, fire washing over him but failing to bite deep. With a roar, he surged forward, Machete cleaving through the bomber's chest.

"Get behind me!" he thundered, armour glowing as the boost surged through his frame again. He ploughed down the hill like a battering ram, smashing kobolds aside and buying his team precious breathing room.

Bell took full advantage, firing volley after volley into the packed ranks. Lily mirrored her, twin streams of explosive flame and liquid water weaving destruction through the kobold line.

Kai shouted over the chaos, "Keep them off balance—we've almost got this wave!"

The kobolds, vicious as they were, couldn't match the group's coordinated ferocity. Between Zane's wall, Tarni's knives, Bell's explosive rain, Lily's watery grace, and Kai's unshakable healing, the second wave began to falter.

The last kobold tried to retreat—only to stumble straight into one of Lily's lingering snares. Bell's arrow pinned it to the ground, and the battlefield fell eerily silent again.

Everyone was panting now, sweat dripping, grass smouldering around them.

Tarni flicked blood from his blade with an exaggerated sigh. "You know, for a floor about 'teamwork,' I'm doing about eighty percent of the work here."

"Mate," Zane said, leaning down with one hand on his knee, "you nearly got set on fire twice."

"Details," Tarni said cheerfully.

But even as the banter sparked, the ground gave a low, thrumming rumble again. This time it wasn't more kobolds. The air pressed heavy, like a storm about to break.

Bell swallowed hard, her bow half-raised. "Uh… anyone else get the feeling the boss is about to clock in?"

The rumble grew into a full quake, making the hill tremble beneath their boots. Cracks split the grassy ground, light searing out of them like molten fire.

"Uh," Tarni said, eyes wide, "I don't think this is more kobolds."

The hilltop burst apart in a shower of dirt and smoke. A monstrous shape clawed its way free—a hulking, four-armed troll, each arm dragging a weapon cobbled together from stone, iron, and bone. Its skin shimmered with a greasy green sheen, eyes burning like coals.

Floor Guardian Spawned: Troll Warmonger Objective: Survive Timer: 5:59

"Oh, come on!" Tarni shouted. "Six minutes? That's the worst deadline I've ever had!"

The troll bellowed, charging up the slope.

"Defensive Stance!" Zane roared, planting himself squarely in its path. The troll's first swing smashed into his guard, force rattling his bones but holding. "Kai! Gonna need you early!"

"I'm already on it!" Kai's hand flared as he touched Zane's arm, a cool wave of Targeted Healing numbing the ache in his muscles.

This time the troll swung his club, this time at Lily—only for water to surge up around her limbs as she twisted into a flowing spin.

"Rain-Forged Grace!" Her bow cracked against the troll's knuckles, water sizzling like acid where it struck. The beast howled, staggering back.

Bell seized the opening. "Say hello to my little friend!"

Her bow hummed, unleashing a storm of arrows in rapid succession. Each arrow slammed into the troll's hide with piercing and explosive force added by her bow, driving it back step by step.

Tarni had already disappeared into the troll's shadow.

"Back Stab!" His blade buried itself between the beast's ribs, a critical hit that made the troll lurch sideways.

"Oi, ugly!" Tarni called as he dodged away. "I've met door-to-door salesmen scarier than you!"

The troll snarled, ignoring him and swinging back toward Zane.

"Fine, don't laugh at my jokes," Tarni muttered, circling again.

The battle raged in a brutal rhythm—Zane taking the brunt, Kai keeping the front line on their feet, Lily and Bell punishing from range, Tarni darting in like a viper.

But then a system's message scrolled across their vision.

Time Remaining: 0:30

"What?!" Bell gasped, losing another arrow. "We're not even close to finishing it!"

"Keep pushing!" Zane grunted, locking the troll's clubs with his shield.

Lily spun water into a lashing whip, carving deep across its chest. "If we hit it harder, maybe—"

The timer hit zero.

Objective Complete: Survive Time Expired. Guardian Withdrawn.

The troll let out a final, thunderous roar—then dissolved into shards of glowing crystal, vanishing like smoke on the wind.

Everyone froze, weapons raised, panting hard.

"…Did we just win?" Tarni asked cautiously.

Zane lowered his axe, chest heaving. "No. We survived."

Kai let out a shaky laugh, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Not sure I like that distinction."

Lily kicked at the scorched earth where the troll had been. "I was this close to testing whether water whips can strangle giants."

"Save it for next time," Bell said grimly, though she couldn't hide her relieved grin.

Tarni sheathed his blade with a flourish. "Well, good news is—we all lived. Bad news is—I don't think the System's done with us yet."

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