Open Chamber,

The open chamber blazed with chaos.

Class Caelis held formation as wave after wave of goblins surged toward them, snarling and shrieking. Metal clashed, wind howled, and bursts of magic lit the stone walls like flashes of lightning.

Frontline fighters stood firm — Maera's gauntlets gleamed as her claws tore through flesh; Ron's black spear swept arcs of fire through the air; Lia danced like wind itself, her white sword singing through the madness.

Behind them, mages launched volleys of mana bolts and flame spheres. Every spell carved brief moments of breathing space before the next wave pressed in.

Then—five goblins broke through the chaos, bounding toward a cluster of students too slow to react. Their claws gleamed, their yellow eyes wide with bloodlust.

But before the creatures could strike—

WHUUM—!

A dome of runes shimmered into existence before the students, glowing a vivid yellow-orange. The sigils pulsed, humming with dense magical energy. The goblins' claws hit the barrier and bounced off, sparks scattering like fireflies.

From behind it, a calm, steady voice echoed—

"Not on my watch."

Selene Raynhart stepped forward, the glow of her barrier reflecting in her pale eyes.

She wielded her new staff, an exquisite relic of midnight-hued wood veined with silver runes that glimmered like living threads of moonlight. The crystal set at its head shimmered through shifting colors—crimson, violet, gold—pulsing with stored mana.

She raised it once, channeling focus.

The staff contracted smoothly, compressing into a wand that thrummed in her grasp.

Her hand moved like lightning.

One, two, three, four, five—five glowing symbols spun into being before her, traced in the air with flawless precision.

"Second Circle Magic: Explosive Runes."

The glowing glyphs shot forward, piercing through the rune-shield as if it were mist. They struck each goblin squarely—one on the forehead, one across the chest, one at the throat—

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

A series of controlled detonations lit the field in a blinding flash. When the smoke cleared, only five headless goblin corpses hit the ground with dull thuds, their blood hissing where it met the heat.

Selene exhaled softly, wand still steady. "That's five down," she murmured, already turning toward the next wave.

.

.

.

Lia's boots scraped the stone as two goblins lunged for her, their crude blades flashing.

Her grip tightened on her white sword, its edge shimmering faintly with a green aura.

"Wind Butterfly: Elegant Speed."

She vanished.

A blur of white and green cut between the creatures—two swift arcs of light slicing the air before the goblins even realized she had moved.

Both fell, bodies crumpling in unison, and Lia exhaled softly.

But as she turned toward the next wave, a flicker of movement caught her eye—

The same two goblins were rising again.

"What the—?" she muttered, stepping back in disbelief. Their wounds closed, flesh knitting together as a strange yellow-green glow pulsed across their skin.

Her gaze snapped past them—

There, at the center of the chaos, surrounded by snarling goblins and guarded by two massive tribe leaders, stood an old goblin.

Wrinkled, hunched, its skin dark and shriveled like dried bark. But its eyes burned with eerie intelligence.

In its gnarled hands, a staff pressed into the ground—its shaft carved from black wood, and set into its head was a pulsing green stone, alive with rhythmic light.

The stone throbbed faster—every pulse spreading faint threads of blue-white energy into the ground.

The same hue crawled along the dirt beneath Lia's feet.

Her eyes widened. "No way…"

And then she shouted, voice cutting through the battlefield—

"Guys! The goblin mage is doing something—it's healing them! Or reviving them!"

"What?!" Maera's voice snapped from the front line, disbelief mixing with fury.

Selene's spell faltered mid-cast as she turned. "Revival? That's… that's impossible—"

Jax blinked, his guns lowering slightly. "Wait, revival? Isn't that, like—high-tier stuff?!"

Selene nodded quickly, her tone sharp and incredulous. "For humans, yes. Only upper-circle mages can even attempt partial revival. Monsters shouldn't even be capable—except in high-ranked dungeons!"

Jax frowned, his gaze darting around the cavern. "Yeah, but this is an E-rank dungeon, right? How the hell is he—"

Lia cut in, her voice urgent. "He's using the dungeon's mana flow! That green stone on his staff—it's channeling the dungeon's energy directly into the corpses!"

Ron gritted his teeth, his black spear crackling faintly as he stepped forward. "That explains why their numbers never went down… we weren't killing them."

Jax clicked both triggers, twirling his guns once with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Then we just gotta blow up the old goblin, huh?"

Ron's jaw set as his eyes locked onto the mage at the far end of the cavern. The two leader goblins loomed protectively beside it, and dense mana rippled around them like a storm.

He exhaled.

"Yeah…" His grip tightened on his spear. "But it won't be easy."

The battlefield had turned into chaos—shrieking goblins clawing forward, steel clashing, and mana crackling through the air.

Class Caelis stood firm in their formation, blades flashing and spells flying, but the endless tide refused to thin.

Maera slammed her gauntlet into another goblin's chest, sending it flying before she exhaled sharply, irritation flashing in her eyes.

"They're weak…" she muttered, ducking under a crude blade and tearing another goblin apart with her claws, "but with them reviving again and again… they'll wear us down."

Her wolf-like ears twitched, catching the snarls surrounding her. Her dark purplish-black hair swayed as a red aura began to coil around her, flaring like wildfire.

Her olive-green, beast-like eyes narrowed to slits.

"Fine then…" she growled, digging one foot into the dirt.

"Let's clear the board."

Her claws extended—gleaming metal laced with mana.

"Wolf Fang: Ripping Cyclone."

She spun on one foot, her red aura exploding outward in a whirling storm.

Each rotation lashed with feral precision, claws cutting through goblin flesh and bone like paper. The spinning motion drew them in, slicing deeper and deeper until the shrieks stopped abruptly.

When the motion ceased, Maera landed in a crouch, claws dripping and breath steady.

For a moment, the field was clear.

But before their eyes, the same goblins she had torn apart began twitching—greenish-yellow light crawling across their wounds as they stood again, eyes blank and soulless.

From afar, the old goblin mage let out a hoarse, gleeful laugh.

"Kehheheheh…!"

Maera clenched her teeth, red aura flickering around her. "We need to have a plan," she hissed.

Before anyone could reply, Jax vaulted into the air, both pistols glowing bright blue.

His grin was reckless and wide. "I got one!"

As he descended, he spun his body in midair, channeling mana through his weapons.

"Spellshooter's Arsenal : Hexstorm Rush!"

A continuous torrent of blue bullets sprayed outward—ripping through goblins, leaving smoldering holes across the battlefield. The mana recoil made his arms tremble, but he kept firing.

A few stray shots zipped toward the students—

A yellow-orange rune barrier flared into existence just in time, intercepting them with a dull thud.

"Hey, dumbass!" Selene snapped, lowering her wand, her deep blue eyes glaring.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Jax landed, still grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Selene!!" He stuck his tongue out playfully—then his face straightened, serious for once.

"Anyway… I can end this."

His pistols began to hum faintly with rising mana pressure. "If I charge up Incinerate, I can blow that old bastard to ash."

He paused, loading another mana capsule into his gun. "But while charging, I'll be wide open. I can't fight back. Someone needs to keep the goblins—and those two leaders—off me."

Lia stepped forward, her white sword shimmering with wind mana. "I'll take the X-tribe leader."

Maera cracked her knuckles, her claws glowing faintly red. "Then I'll handle the Circle-tribe one."

Her gaze flicked to Ron. "You lead the defense here. Make sure none of them touch Jax while he charges."

Ron nodded once, gripping his spear tightly. "Got it."

The others tightened their formation, their mana flaring in unison.

Jax smirked, rolling his shoulders, the twin pistols humming with raw power. "Perfect," he muttered, the grin returning to his face.

"Let's make this count."

Jax rolled out his twin guns, crossing his arms in a wide, dramatic pose before lowering into a stance—flashy, almost cocky, yet unmistakably focused.

Mana began to coil around him like heat waves, pulsing from his core into the twin barrels.

He inhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.

The guns thrummed—red light spilling from their seams, brighter with each heartbeat.

This time, he wasn't charging for five seconds.

He doubled it.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Seven.

By the tenth second, both muzzles glowed blinding crimson, the air around him warping with heat.

Jax grinned. "I'm ready."

Maera's voice rang out, sharp and sure. "Begin!"

Jax broke into a sprint—boots pounding the earth as goblins surged to meet him.

Their snarls grew louder—until a streak of black cut through their formation.

A flaming black spear impaled one of the goblins, sending it flying back in a burst of mana.

Ron landed beside him, spear raised.

"Go, bro. I'll take care of this."

Jax smirked and nodded, his focus never breaking as he kept moving forward.

From behind, spellfire and arrows rained—the class clearing his path as he ran through the storm of battle.

One goblin lunged at his back—its crude blade raised.

But before it could strike, a blur of green light flashed past.

"Gale Stride Arts: Fleetstep Veil."

Col appeared like a phantom, his short swords flashing. The goblin's head separated cleanly, falling before its body even realized it was dead.

He vanished again, wind swirling in his wake.

Jax kept running, his mana pressure peaking. The old goblin mage, seeing him approach, froze—fear creeping across its wrinkled, scarred face.

Then came the X-Tribe Leader, charging forward—only to be kicked aside by Lia in a flash of white wind.

"I'll handle this one!" she shouted, dragging the beast away.

On the other side, as the Circle-Tribe Leader lunged at Jax, Maera intercepted with a feral grin. Her claws gleamed red as she slashed across its chest.

"You're coming with me!"

The goblin mage screamed, slamming his staff into the ground.

"Keihhhk!!!"

A green light flared—and another goblin leaped from behind, its jagged blade slicing into Jax's leg.

He stumbled, body twisting as his balance broke.

For an instant, everything slowed.

His pupils dilated. Breath vanished.

"Convergent Stillpoint."

Mana and focus collapsed inward—everything outside his target fading to silence. The roar of battle, the pain in his leg, the chaos—all gone.

Only the mage remained.

Hanging mid-fall, Jax exhaled softly. Both pistols leveled perfectly at the target.

Bang. Bang.

"Spellshooter's Arsenal: Incinerate."

Two bead-sized bullets burst from the muzzles, trailing threads of red light.

Mid-flight, they twisted together—merging into a single orb, glowing like a miniature sun. The sphere grew, pulsing brighter, heavier—until it filled the air with searing energy.

Time resumed.

Jax's lips curved into a grin. "Jackpot."

The blazing sphere streaked toward the goblin mage—but two goblins dove in front of him, shields raised.

"Oh, hell no—!" Jax muttered.

Before the explosion could burst prematurely, a black arrow whistled through the air and struck the orb mid-flight.

The light dimmed—flaring into dark red flame. The sphere phased through the two goblins like a ghost, ignoring their bodies entirely.

Jax blinked, following its trail—then spotted Drevin in the distance, panting, his bow still raised.

"Nightstalk Arrow: Shadow Assist…" Drevin muttered, lowering the string with serious yet tired expression.

The orb brightened again—returning to brilliant red.

Then it hit.

The goblin mage tried to raise a shield—cracks spidered instantly across it—

BOOM.

The explosion ripped through the center of the battlefield, a wave of crimson and black fire swallowing the mage and everything nearby. The shockwave blasted dust and wind across the open chamber, sending goblins flying like rag dolls.

Jax landed hard on one knee, smoke curling from his guns.

He looked up through the haze, exhaling sharply.

"...And that's how you drop the curtain."

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