The forest's canopy thickened, casting elongated shadows as the group pressed forward. The silence was unsettling, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves underfoot. Lily, ever vigilant, spotted a group of Kobolds through the trees as she came to a complete stop with her fist in the air to single everybody else to stop moving. She activated her Rapid Appraisal skill, her eyes narrowing as information flooded her vision.

Enemy Detected Composition:

10 Kobolds: Levels 3–5

2 Elite Kobolds: Level 6

1 Kobold Leader: Level 7

Lily very carefully retreated until she was back with the others

"We've got company—thirteen kobolds ahead, including elites and a leader," Lily whispered, her voice tense.

Zane tightened his grip on his machete. "Positions, everyone. This won't be a walk in the park."

The group swiftly took cover behind the dense foliage, preparing for the impending confrontation.

The Battle Commences

The kobolds emerged, their K-9 eyes gleaming with malice. The leader, distinguishable by his ornate armour and imposing stature, barked orders in a guttural tongue. As the group of Kobolds walked between the hiding humans, Zane dropped his hand in the attack signal. Without hesitation, Bell nocked an arrow and released it, her Piercing Shot skill allowing it to strike through the first kobold's makeshift shield, embedding deep into its chest. The creature collapsed with a shriek.

Tarni vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind a kobold and delivering a lethal Back Stab, his crude hobgoblin short sword finding its mark.

Kai stood ready, his hands glowing faintly as he prepared to heal any injuries. Lily, utilising her Group Snare skill, immobilised a cluster of kobolds, giving Zane the opportunity to charge in.

"Defensive Stance!" Zane shouted, his form bracing as he absorbed incoming blows, his leather vest deflecting minor attacks.

The elite kobolds retaliated viciously.

One hurled a clay lantern overhead—A cone of burning oil ignited the underbrush in front of the group's cover, singeing the edges of their refuge and sending a wave of acrid smoke rolling through the trees.

The second elite moved in tandem with a comrade, both raising their heavy mining picks. With twin snarls, they slammed them into the ground—The forest floor trembled violently. Kai lost his footing and hit the dirt hard.

"Kai!" Zane shouted, shoving forward to cover his son as a kobold lunged.

Kai gritted his teeth, rolling to his knees. His hands glowed a faint gold as he cast Group Heal, releasing a pulse of soothing magic. A shimmering wave spread outward, mending bruises and closing cuts across the team.

Across the battlefield, the kobold leader rose to full height, eyes glowing, and drew a gleaming bow.

Lily pointed at the kobold leader, yelling, "That's a Power Shot!"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Time seemed to slow.

Bell's eyes locked onto the glowing arrow aimed at her chest. It shimmered with raw energy—packed with death and precision. The half-second flight stretched into long, breathless moments. Every point in her Dexterity—plus the extra her bow granted—screamed into action. She ducked low and rolled, the arrow grazing her arm and slamming into a tree fifteen meters behind her.

It exploded in a blinding flash. Bark and splinters peppered her back.

She sprang to her feet, wincing but alive.

"I'm fine!" she called out.

She answered with her own Powered Shot, the arrow glowing red with stored energy. It slammed into a cluster of kobolds and exploded on impact, blasting two into smoking chunks. An elite nearby stumbled, momentarily stunned by the shockwave.

"Target down!" Bell shouted, already nocking another arrow.

Lily saw the opening. She raised her short bow and loosed—her arrow slicing clean through the elite's armour thanks to its +1 Penetration. The kobold collapsed, gurgling.

Tarni slipped through the smoke like a shadow. A snared kobold never saw him coming—Back Stab—down it went. On his way out of the group he slit the neck of a kobold that was trying to line up it's own bow on lily. Freed from needing to dodge Lily fired her bow again, catching a Kobold that had turned to flee in the back of the head.

The leader, seeing all his minions going down, growled and turned to flee.

"Not so fast," Zane roared, charging in. The Kobold Leader dropped his bow and drew a wicked-looking blade with spikes on one edge. Zane activated Defensive Stance, deflecting two desperate strikes with his machete. The two warriors circled each other as they traded blows. Zane was losing ground and was just starting to think he had bitten off more than he could chew when Lily's snare locked the Kobold Leader in place for just ½ a second, but it was enough for Bell's arrow to hit the leader's leg. Zane deflected the Kobold weapon skywards, allowing Tarni to lunge in low with a brutal cut to the ribs. Causing the Kobold leader to howl to the sky in pain. As Zane found the perfect opening, he moved in for the final blow and brought the machete down hard.

The kobold leader dropped, lifeless.

Aftermath

The forest went still again.

Only the faint crackle of lingering flames and the heavy panting of everyone could be heard. The battlefield was littered with the remains of their enemies—already fading into black smoke that twisted downwards to be sucked into the ground.

The group gathered, bruised but intact.

Kai exhaled. "That was intense."

"But we held our own," Lily added, scanning for more threats.

Zane nodded, pride glinting in his eyes. "We make a good team."

As the team started picking over the battlefield for anything useful, a message shimmered into view before all five of them:

Dungeon Progress: 50/50 Monsters Defeated

Congratulations! You have finished the First Floor.

You Get Nothing! It's the first floor. … Kidding.

🎒 You have unlocked Bags of Holding in the loot drop table.

…

Because I'm not a complete drongo, I will inform you of the next Dungeon Level reward: 🛠️ Crafting Skill Set added to Skill Tree

There were immediate groans.

"Oh, now the damn system thinks it's a stand-up comic," Tarni muttered.

Zane rolled his eyes. "Bloody great. What's next, loot crates with dad jokes?"

Before anyone else could add their sarcasm, another notification appeared:

60 seconds until you will be ejected from the dungeon. (You might want to be wippity snap about any loot you have not found yet.)

Everyone froze.

Then the entire group burst into motion, scrambling across the battlefield.

"Look at this!" "I got something!" "Cool, more coins!"

The frantic scramble yielded a handful of copper coins, some battered weapon, and—miraculously—a small leather pouch with magic pulsing faintly across its surface.

A Bag of Holding. The first of its kind.

Just as Zane went to look inside it, the countdown hit zero.

The world lurched.

They blinked and stumbled as they were unceremoniously dumped back into the black tunnel of the Cube. The late afternoon sun streamed through the entrance, casting long golden rays over their soot- and blood-streaked faces.

Back in their own backyard. For now.

They had cleared the first floor.

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