I had no choice.

  With a snap of my wrist, I flung one of my throwing axes.

  The crude weapon spun through the air, embedding itself into the goblin's eye socket with a wet squelch. The creature let out a strangled gurgle before dropping like a sack of stones.

  Two down.

  But the elite goblin was already moving.

  It rushed toward Elise, its jagged bde raised high. She barely managed to lift her shield in time, the impact forcing her back. The force alone was enough to send her stumbling—her tired body unable to brace properly.

  I grit my teeth.

  Damn it.

  I reached for another axe, but two goblins were already on me.

  One swung a club, aiming for my ribs—I twisted just enough to avoid a full hit, but the impact still sent pain fring through my side. The other goblin used the opening to ssh at my leg, the dagger slicing into my thigh.

  I hissed in pain.

  Not deep—but enough to slow me down.

  I didn't let them push further.

  Before they could press the attack, I threw my st axe.

  The weapon buried itself into one goblin's throat, silencing its shrieks instantly.

  One left.

  I barely had time to react before it lunged at me again, dagger fshing toward my chest.

  But then—a blur of movement.

  Elise, despite her exhaustion, smmed her shield into the goblin's side, sending it sprawling. Without missing a beat, she followed up—her mace coming down like a hammer, crushing the goblin's skull into the stone floor.

  And then, only one remained.

  The elite goblin.

  It realized too te—it was alone.

  Elise and I, bruised, battered, and barely standing, locked eyes with it.

  The goblin hesitated.

  I smirked, gripping my st remaining weapon—a crude, chipped hatchet.

  Elise stepped forward, shield raised, her breathing heavy but her determination unshaken.

  The goblin took a step back.

  Then another.

  And then—it turned and ran.

  Not a chance.

  Elise lunged, ramming her shield into its back, sending it sprawling onto the dungeon floor.

  I didn't wait.

  Before it could recover, I swung.

  The hatchet cleaved through flesh and bone, embedding itself into the back of its skull.

  A single twitch.

  And then stillness.

  For a long moment, neither of us moved.

  The only sound was our ragged breathing, the distant echo of dripping water, and the soft glow of the dungeon crystals.

  Elise finally exhaled, colpsing onto one knee. "I swear… I’m starting to hate this pce."

  I let out a breathless chuckle, using the wall for support. My body was beyond exhausted. "Yeah… but at least we're not dead."

  She gave me a tired gre. "That's your standard for success now?"

  I grinned. "If it works, yep"

  She groaned, dropping onto her back, staring up at the vast cavern ceiling above.

  I didn't bme her.

  Even in victory, we were still just two exhausted, armorless idiots with crude weapons, barely surviving in a pce that wanted to kill us.

  But we survived.

  And in the end, that was all that mattered.

  Even with our bodies battered, our muscles aching, and our breaths ragged from the st fight, we forced ourselves to push forward. The dungeon wasn't a pce to rest.

  As we moved deeper, the cavern widened, the ceiling stretching so high that the faint blue glow of dungeon crystals barely touched it.

  Shadows flickered along the uneven stone walls, cast by the eerie light. Distant echoes of dripping water created an unsettling rhythm, mixing with the faint skittering of unseen creatures.

  And then, we heard it.

  The familiar snarls. The scrape of metal on stone.

  More goblins.

  But something felt different this time.

  Elise and I exchanged a look, silently acknowledging the exhaustion weighing us down. But neither of us suggested retreat. Instead, she rolled her shoulders, adjusting her grip on her shield and mace, while I flexed my fingers around my crude hatchet, feeling the rough wood of the handle dig into my palm.

  Then, from the darkness, they emerged.

  A group of eight goblins.

  Most of them were the usual filth-covered creatures, their yellowed teeth bared in malicious grins, but two among them stood taller—elite goblins, cd in mismatched armor, gripping better weapons than we had.

  Elise exhaled sharply. "More of them."

  I smirked despite the fatigue. "At least it's not that many this time."

  She shot me a tired gre. "That joke is not funny one bit."

  The goblins didn't care for our banter.

  With a chorus of guttural shrieks, they charged.

  Elise moved first, her exhaustion forgotten the moment battle instincts took over.

  A goblin lunged, its rusted bde aimed at her throat.

  She didn't dodge.

  Instead, she stepped into the attack, raising her shield and letting the sword cng against it. The impact barely even pushed her back.

  I blinked. That's new.

  Before the goblin could recover, she countered—her mace swinging in a brutal arc.

  The weapon collided with the creature's ribs, and something crunched.

  The goblin was sent flying.

  Not just knocked back—a full, ragdoll-like unch through the air before it smashed against the cave wall, leaving a streak of green blood as it slid down, twitching before going still.

  Even Elise seemed surprised.

  She stared at her weapon, her blue eyes widening. "What the—?"

  But there was no time to process.

  Another goblin lunged at her side.

  She barely turned in time, but instead of dodging, she brought up her shield with unnatural ease, smashing it into the goblin's face.

  It flipped backward.

  I wasn't faring any worse.

  One goblin tried to rush me from the side.

  I didn't move back.

  Instead, I swung my battle axe.

  The moment the bde met flesh, I felt it.