After clearing hundreds of skeletons, scavengers, and other monsters lurking in the dungeon, I was close to leveling up, and the boss tipped me over the edge.

  My health and mana recovered instantly, which was a welcome sight.

  Athos had also leveled up, while Lothras and Kara got closer to their next level as well.

  Lothras dropped his shield and leaned against the wall, his armor scorched and dented. Athos sat down heavily, his sword across his knees. Kara lowered her lute, looking exhausted.

  "That," she said, "was not something I expected out of a level 15 dungeon."

  "It’s either tuned to six players," Athos said, “or the whole thing is buffed for story reasons, and will be easier after the first clear.”

  “Or both,” I said, then looked at Lothras. “How’s your armor holding up?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Shield at 12%, armor pieces between 30 and 45.”

  Close call with that shield.

  “Looks like the dungeon continues,” Kara pointed out, her piercing blue eyes scanning a newly opened path right at the opposite end of the cavern.

  “Would have been too easy any other way,” Athos joked.

  I took a look at the drops of Admiral Theron. “Do we roll for the items?”

  Lothras got up and went closer to inspect our spoils of war.

  “It dropped two gold and forty silver coins,” he started, “a rare skill rune and a rare sword.”

  As this was not a raid, the primary loot distribution system wasn’t the auction-based one we had with the Woe of Riverhear. We could distribute the loot among ourselves however we wanted, or we could roll for it using the in-game dice system.

  I opened the system to check the loot's properties.

  It was a good skill, giving melee classes a much-needed ranged option.

  We then moved on to check the sword.

  A decent weapon for a Swashbuckler, increasing important attributes, giving attack speed, and it came with respectable power as well. However, it wasn’t much use to either of us, meaning the loot from dungeon bosses didn’t look to be biased towards the party composition.

  “I’ll skip on both,” Lothras said, much to the surprise of all of us.

  “Even on the skill?” Athos asked. “That’s a great skill for any melee fighter.”

  “Dungeon’s not over,” Lothras stated. “I’ll call dibs on something else at the end. You kids can have these.”

  He left it at that, returning to his corner to use his Repair Kits on his gear.

  “So, I’ll take the runes then, pay a share to all of you?” Athos asked.

  “I don’t mind if you just take it,” I said. “We’ll be questing together for quite a while, I’m sure everyone gets to have something by the end of it.”

  “Fine by me,” Kara said. “What about the weapon?”

  “Do you want it to give to Seraphina?” I asked.

  “Nah,” she waved her hand dismissively. “She has something much better by now.”

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  “Then we’ll sell and share profits.” Lothras looked back. “It's probably worth like 3 or 4 gold.”

  “Deal.”

  Everyone agreed on that before continuing into the darkness of the path ahead.

  The corridor stretched deep, darker than before, the stone walls closing in as if the dungeon itself was swallowing us whole.

  Lothras took point again, his torch casting long shadows that danced across ancient carvings.

  "The architecture's different here," Kara observed, her voice barely above a whisper. "Look at the stonework."

  She was right. The rough volcanic rock of the upper chambers had given way to precisely cut blocks, fitted together with military precision. Was this really just a burial site for House Trynd?

  We moved in formation: Lothras at the front, Athos and I flanking, Kara protected at the center. Our footsteps echoed despite our attempts at stealth.

  The first sign of trouble came from Lothras.

  "Movement ahead," he said, sword already drawn. "Multiple contacts."

  Three figures emerged from the shadows at the far end of the corridor. Unlike the Gravekeepers above, these weren't workers twisted by time and dark magic. They were soldiers.

  Their armor was corroded but intact, bearing the faded crest of House Trynd, and now I could make out the shapes on it as well: a ship's anchor crossed with a saber.

  Empty eye sockets burned with the same pale fire we'd seen in the Admiral, and rusted swords hung ready in their skeletal grips.

  "Lothras, pull," I called out.

  He was already moving. "Oath of Steel!"

  Silver light rippled across his armor as he charged forward, shield raised. The three skeletons turned toward him in unison, their movements unnervingly coordinated.

  I drew and fired. Piercing Shot punched through the leftmost skeleton's ribcage, staggering it.

  Athos was a blur beside me, closing the distance with Blade Rush, his sword carving a horizontal arc that sent bone fragments scattering across the stone floor.

  Kara's lute hummed to life. "Song of Valor!"

  The familiar surge of energy flooded through me as her buff took effect. My attack speed jumped, and suddenly the bow felt lighter in my hands.

  The skeletons fought back with surprising discipline.

  They didn't charge mindlessly like the Gravekeepers or the other skeletons we’d met; they advanced in formation, shields overlapping, swords probing for openings.

  But we were no ordinary party either.

  Lothras absorbed the blows and countered with Smite, holy fire erupting along his blade. Athos flanked right, Saltstone Edge carving through a skeleton's spine. I picked off the third with a rapid sequence of basic attacks, each arrow finding the gaps in its ancient armor.

  All of our enemies crumbled to dust.

  "They're more organized than the ones above," Athos noted, not even breathing hard.

  "Military training," Kara said. "These were actual soldiers, not gravediggers or militia. The deeper we go, the more dangerous they'll be."

  She wasn't wrong.

  The next chamber held six of them, including two with bows.

  "Ranged in the back," I called out. "I'll handle them."

  Lothras charged the melee group while Athos peeled off to intercept a flanker.

  I activated Leap Attack and launched myself over the front line, landing behind the archer formation with bow already drawn.

  The first skeleton turned, nocking an arrow with mechanical precision. Fast, but not fast enough.

  Burning Arrow caught it in the chest, flames spreading onto his comrade.

  -311!

  -40!

  -40!

  …

  The second archer loosed at me, and I sidestepped, the projectile hissing past my ear. My return shot took its skull clean off.

  -236!

  -40!

  …

  From across the chamber, I could hear Lothras trading blows with three skeletons at once, his shield ringing like a bell with each impact. Kara's Healing Notes wove through the chaos, keeping his health stable.

  Athos finished his opponent with a brutal Piercing Stab, then spun to assist Lothras. Together, they dismantled the remaining skeletons in seconds.

  "Everyone good?" I asked, rejoining the group.

  "Fine," Lothras said curtly. "Keep moving."

  The dungeon continued to test us. Around every corner, through every doorway, more of House Trynd's eternal garrison awaited. Footsoldiers, archers, and eventually, something new.

  The skeleton mage stood at the center of a circular chamber, surrounded by four Footsoldiers. Its robes were moth-eaten and faded, but the staff it carried pulsed with necrotic energy.

  "Caster first," Lothras ordered. "Bard, buffs."

  Kara rolled her eyes but obliged. “Sonet of Valor, Aria of Protection!”

  The secret ability “Double Cast” never ceased to amaze me.

  The Paladin charged, drawing the Footsoldiers' attention. The Bonecaster raised its staff, and a bolt of sickly green light streaked toward our tank.

  Lothras caught it on his shield, the impact sending sparks of dark energy cascading around him.

  -167!

  "That hurt," he admitted through gritted teeth. “I can’t block its magical attacks well!”

  I was already moving, circling wide to get a clear shot at the caster. Athos mirrored me on the opposite side, forcing the skeleton to split its attention.

  The Bonecaster made a choice. It turned toward me, staff crackling with another spell.

  Bad choice.

  I activated Nature's Howl and fired.

  Arrow after arrow slammed into the mage, each hit triggering the lifesteal effect even though I was still at full health. The skeleton staggered as its casting was interrupted.

  Athos seized the opening. Comet launched him into the air, and he came crashing down on the Bonecaster like a meteor, his blade cleaving through its skull and staff in a single devastating strike.

  -606!

  The Footsoldiers crumbled moments later, overwhelmed by Lothras's relentless assault and Kara’s Echo Strikes.

  "Good coordination," Kara said approvingly, looking at me. "You two work well together."

  "We've had practice," Athos replied with a slight smile, clearly referring to our tournament finals.

  Lothras said nothing, but I noticed him nod almost imperceptibly.

  We pressed deeper.

  The encounters grew more challenging: mixed groups of melee and ranged, casters supporting from behind magical barriers, even a pair of Trynd Champions at level 19 that forced us to use cooldowns we'd been saving.

  But with each fight, our rhythm improved.

  Lothras's callouts became sharper. Athos and I learned to anticipate each other's movements without verbal communication. Kara's buffs and heals arrived exactly when needed, never a moment too early or too late.

  We were becoming a team.

  After what felt like an hour of continuous combat, the corridor finally opened into something different.

  Another massive chamber stretched before us, easily fifty meters across. The ceiling vaulted upward into darkness, supported by pillars carved to resemble armored knights standing at attention. Torches lined the walls, burning with that same pale fire we were way too familiar with already, casting the room in an ethereal blue-white glow.

  And at the far end stood a door.

  It was enormous, at least four meters tall and three meters wide, made of solid stone and inscribed with the largest version of the Trynd crest we'd seen yet. The anchor and saber dominated the surface, surrounded by names carved in flowing script. Family members, I assumed.

  The honored dead.

  But it wasn't the door that made us stop.

  It was the guardians.

  Two stone statues flanked the entrance, each standing nearly three meters tall. They were carved in exquisite detail, depicting knights in full plate armor bearing the Trynd sigil on their breastplates.

  One held a tower shield and a wicked halberd, its blade curved like a crescent moon. The other gripped a two-handed greatsword, the weapon nearly as long as the statue was tall.

  Their stone faces were carved with expressions of anger and calmness, respectively.

  "Well," Kara said dryly, "I'm sure those are purely decorative."

  "They're going to come alive the moment we touch that door," Athos stated.

  "Obviously," Lothras agreed.

  I studied the statues, trying to gauge what we were about to face. "The one with the shield is definitely tankier, but likely also slower. The knight with that huge greatsword likely hits harder."

  "We should split them," Lothras said. "I’ll pull the halberdier. The three of you handle the swordsman."

  Athos frowned. "You sure you’ll be fine?"

  "I’m level 18," he pointed out. "If Kara buffs my defenses, I’ll have no trouble keeping aggro until you finish the other and join me."

  “It’s a plan, then.” I nodded.

  "We burn down the swordsman fast, then help you finish the other one,” Athos said.

  Kara smiled. "I'll keep heals on both of you. Lothras, call out if you need emergency support."

  "I won't need it," he said, but there was no arrogance in his voice this time. Just quiet confidence.

  We approached the door.

  Nothing happened.

  Athos reached out and pressed his palm against the stone surface.

  The moment his skin made contact, the chamber's temperature dropped. The torches flickered.

  And the statues began to move.

  Stone ground against stone as the guardians stirred to life. Cracks spread across their surfaces, revealing the same necrotic energy that animated the other undead, now pulsing through granite veins.

  Their eyes opened. Empty sockets filled with pale fire.

  Names appeared above their heads.