Kyle stepped out of the Guild with Bella, the afternoon sun hitting his face. He stopped dead when he saw it—a sleek, shiny pink car parked right outside. It looked like something out of a dream, all curves and polish, way too fancy for a slum kid like him."Is that... yours?" he asked, eyes wide.Bella smirked, twirling a key around her finger. "Yep. Pretty, right? Come on, hop in."He hesitated. "I don't wanna mess it up. This thing's worth more than my life."She laughed, opening the passenger door. "You won't. Just don't bleed on the seats, okay?"He climbed in, sinking into the soft leather. It smelled clean, like flowers and money. His hands hovered, afraid to touch anything. Bella slid into the driver's seat, hit the ignition, and the car purred to life. They peeled away from the Guild, the ride smooth as glass.He stared out the window, watching buildings blur by—shops, people, streets he'd never bothered with before. "Never been in a car this nice," he said, half to himself.

Katherine paced the Guild lobby, her face twisted with frustration as she checked the clock for the fifth time. "Where the hell is he?" she muttered, scanning the entrance doors again. Several Guild members gave her a wide berth, recognizing the dangerous glint in her eyes. Bella leaned against the wall nearby, scrolling through her phone with mild interest. "Relax. He'll show up." "Relax?" Katherine snapped. "This was his chance to prove himself useful, and he's nowhere to be found. I knew we couldn't trust a slum rat." As the words left her mouth, the lobby fell silent. The Guildmaster had arrived, her sharp heels making no sound as she crossed the room. Despite her small stature, everyone straightened up, conversations dying mid-sentence. "Good morning," she said, her voice cutting through the silence. Her eyes scanned the gathered Hunters, taking inventory. "Is everyone ready?" Heads nodded around the room. The Guildmaster continued her survey, brow furrowing slightly. "Wher

Kyle ran through the city, his new suit getting soaked with sweat. He'd asked for directions at the Guild, and now headed north as fast as he could."Stupid," he muttered to himself. "One chance to prove yourself and you blow it."The city thinned out around him, buildings giving way to open countryside. His lungs burned, but he kept pushing. According to the Guild member, the dungeon had appeared in the hills just beyond the northern farms.After an hour of running, he spotted it—a dark crack in the hillside, surrounded by trampled grass and boot prints. The entrance wasn't impressive, just a narrow opening in the rock, but the air around it felt wrong somehow.He stopped to catch his breath, hands on his knees. The Guild team had a head start of hours. They could be deep inside by now."Should've checked my phone," he grumbled, straightening up. "Should've been here."He approached the entrance slowly, scanning the area. No one was around—no Guild members, no monsters, nothing. Just

They retreated to a relatively intact room deep within one of the abandoned buildings. Kyle barricaded the door with a heavy cabinet, while the girl slumped against the wall, clutching her injured side."We should be safe here, at least for now," Kyle said, scanning the dusty space. Light filtered through cracks in the boarded windows.The girl watched him warily, her hand never straying far from her weapon. "Who are you anyway?""Name's Kyle. I'm from the Tiger Guild," he replied, settling down across from her. "And you?"She hesitated before answering. "Franca." She gestured at the ruins around them. "This was my home."Kyle's eyes widened. "You lived here? How is that possible? This is a dungeon that just appeared a few days ago."She shook her head, confusion written across her face. "Dungeon? This city has been here for generations. I was born here." Her expression darkened. "And I watched it fall three years ago when that thing arrived.""What thing?" "We never saw it clearly.

Vivian moved through the ruined city, the unconscious Franca slung over her shoulder. The girl was strangely resistant to the infection, a curiosity Vivian couldn't wait to explore further—or maybe the boss would know what made her special. She glanced back, ensuring Kyle wasn't following, then refocused on the looming tower ahead. Suddenly, a blast of fire erupted nearby, missing her by inches and scorching the cracked pavement where she'd been a second before. The heat washed over her face. She stopped, annoyance flickering in her eyes. She looked down from her rooftop perch. Standing in the street below was a group of Hunters. Four serious-looking A-ranks, their gear practical and worn, and leading them, a petite woman radiating calm authority. The Guildmaster from the Hunters Guild. "Tch. This is inconvenient," Vivian muttered. Her orders were clear: don't kill the main Hunter teams if possible, just let them walk into the trap. But these weren't weaklings she could just outru