Team 1 POV

Adam's team was moving through the dungeon — the whole place had a heavy feeling of dread hanging in the air.

"This place is really spooky," Duke muttered.

"Don't tell me you're scared, Duke?" Drake said with a grin.

"N-No! I'm not scared of anything," Duke quickly replied, trying to sound calm.

Adam chuckled to himself. 'Yeah… he really doesn't like ghosts, does he?' he thought.

They walked through the forest for only a few minutes before their first hurdle appeared — pale wisps drifting into the field.

There were twenty-five of them in total, walking forward in tight formation with grace, like an army of well-trained knights.

They were all burning skeletons clad in ruined armor. Flames danced within their ribcages, and they wielded swords forged from molten steel.

"Crap," Drake muttered.

The skeletons moved in groups of five, surrounding the team from all sides as they emerged from the depths of the forest.

Their sockets were empty — only a pale blue flame burned within.

The team realized they were surrounded and knew they had to fight if they wanted to move forward.

"Okay guys, you know what to do," Drake said with confidence.

"Yeah, I've been itching for a fight anyway," Duke said, gripping the hilt of his sword.

Eve silently observed the battlefield, her eyes calm and calculating as she held her rapier tightly.

Finn was composed as well, confident that their team could handle this without much trouble. He tightened his grip on his sword, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Adam, too, was ready — he summoned his sword, which let out a low hum in response to his call.

His golden-yellow eyes gleamed as he charged toward the group of skeletons ahead.

The others saw him move and quickly followed, springing into action.

Drake faced his own group, unsheathing his greatsword as he charged.

The skeletons met his rush, their ruined armor clanking with every step.

Two of them lunged forward, swinging their swords down with pale blue flames flaring along the blades.

CLANG!

Drake blocked their strike effortlessly, then pushed them back with a single powerful swing.

Not giving them a chance to recover, he charged forward again — wind began swirling violently around his sword.

"Wind Slash!"

He swung, releasing a clean horizontal cut across the skeletons' midsections. The blow was fast and precise — the blue flames in their eyes flickered out as their bones collapsed to the ground.

The rest of the skeletons advanced, leaping toward him from every side, their swords aimed at his head, shoulders, and back.

Drake smirked. Wind still surged around him as he swung his sword in wide arcs.

"Wind Surge!"

Each swing unleashed a torrent of wind that pushed the skeletons back, halting their assault. Um

He lunged forward, driving his blade through one skeleton's chest and cutting it in half.

Then, spinning swiftly, he grabbed another by its arm and threw it into a second skeleton — the impact sent both stumbling to the ground.

Drake leapt into the air, wind condensing violently around his blade as he brought it down.

BOOM!

The strike landed, releasing a burst of compressed wind that ground their bones into dust, leaving only shattered armor and discarded swords behind.

"Phew, that was fun," Drake said, resting his greatsword on his shoulder as he admired his handiwork.

Meanwhile, Eve was on the move. Rather than waiting for the skeletons to attack, she took the initiative — planning to end the fight in just two moves.

She thrust her rapier forward and whispered,

"Eternal Freeze."

A torrent of icy wind surged from her blade, freezing the skeletons in place.

Then, with swift and graceful precision, she made several slashes — her sword cutting through their frozen bodies with ease, shattering them to pieces.

Eve quietly sheathed her rapier once more, saying nothing as she closed her eyes and let the cold wind brush across her face.

Finn faced his own group of skeletons, gripping his sword tightly as he prepared for their charge.

Lightning crackled across his body — in the next instant, he vanished like a flash of light, reappearing behind the skeletons and catching them completely off guard.

He moved again in a blur, his blade slicing cleanly through one of their necks. Silence followed — only the faint crackle of electricity echoed through the air.

Without giving them time to react, he struck again — another head fell to the ground, then another, and another. Within seconds, only one skeleton remained standing.

The last skeleton glanced around, realizing its comrades had already fallen, and then turned its burning gaze toward Finn.

It charged, flames surging along its sword as it swung down, aiming to cleave him in half. But Finn, moving faster than the eye could follow, ducked under the attack — the flaming blade cutting nothing but air.

With a swift counter, he slashed at the skeleton's legs, severing them instantly and sending it crashing to the ground. Lightning surged along his blade, sparks flaring brighter than before.

"Lightning Strike!"

His sword descended, and a burst of blinding lightning obliterated the skeleton in an instant.

Dust filled the air as Finn exhaled, standing tall once more, his eyes calmly observing the aftermath. He had wiped out his enemies without even using his full strength.

___

Duke was up next. Water began swirling around his hands, forming a small glowing orb. He charged toward the incoming skeletons and hurled the orb straight at them.

The orb exploded midair, releasing a torrent of water that drenched the skeletons completely.

Seizing the opportunity, Duke's sword lit up — shining so brightly it illuminated the dark dungeon. The beam of light extended, forming a blade twice the size of his normal sword.

While the skeletons were still recovering from the first attack, Duke dashed in and swung horizontally.

SLASH!

The radiant blade cut through the skeletons cleanly, their bodies splitting apart before disintegrating entirely — even their armor and weapons vanished into particles of light.

Light affinity was a natural weakness against these creatures, so it was easy for Duke to finish them off.

As the dust settled, the glow of his sword dimmed, returning to its normal form. He sheathed it with a satisfied nod.

___

Then it was Adam's turn.

Violet mana surged along his sword as he made a single, effortless swing. He didn't even need to move closer — his space affinity extended the slash far beyond physical reach.

A thin, glowing line appeared across the skeletons' bodies.

For a brief moment, there was silence.

Then — ice began to spread rapidly from within their forms, freezing them solid in an instant. Cracks formed, splintering across the frozen surface until the ice shattered into countless fragments.

The shards broke again and again until there was nothing left — not even dust.

By combining his space and ice affinities, Adam had created a new technique, and it worked flawlessly.

He sheathed his sword, exhaling softly as he turned to face his team with a calm, firm gaze.

"Okay, let's move on," he said.

"Damn, that was cool," Drake said with a grin.

"As expected from Adam," Duke added proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Hm… impressive," Eve remarked, her eyes still fixed on Adam.

Finn remained silent, though there was a subtle shift in his expression — something unreadable, almost like curiosity mixed with contemplation

Then suddenly, Adam's instincts flared — a cold, suffocating feeling washed over him, as if death itself was right around the corner.

He didn't know what was happening, but his body moved on instinct.

"[Partial Transformation]"

Dark scales began forming across his skin, encasing him in a protective layer of armor just in time.

CLANG!

A dark blade struck his neck — but instead of cutting through, it bounced harmlessly off the hardened scales.

Adam immediately turned, swiping his hand through the air to grab whoever attacked him, but the figure had already vanished into the shadows.

"What's happening!?" he shouted in distress.

His team turned at the sound of his voice, their senses heightening as dread began to fill the air. Something unseen — something dangerous — was moving around them.

"Duke! Use your light!" Eve shouted, recalling that these kinds of monsters were vulnerable to light-based attacks.

Duke nodded quickly. He formed a glowing orb of light in his palm and sent it floating high into the air. The orb illuminated the entire area, pushing back the darkness — and finally revealing the attackers.

Six shadowy figures stood among the trees, humanoid in shape with unnaturally long, thin limbs and glowing yellow eyes. Their bodies seemed to melt into the darkness, as if they were part of it.

They were Shadow Assassins — monsters that thrived in the dark, ambushing their prey silently and striking from behind.

But now that they were exposed, their advantage was gone.

Without hesitation, Duke extended his hand, summoning six beams of radiant light that shot toward the wraiths. Each beam pierced through a shadow's chest, and one by one, the assassins let out a shrill hiss before dissolving into wisps of light.

"That was close," Duke muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Yeah… too close," Adam said, rubbing the side of his neck where the blade had struck. "A second slower and I'd be dead."

Then, from afar, a new figure emerged.

It stood at seven and a half feet tall, radiating an aura of pure death. A spectral warrior clad in tattered armor, its presence alone made the air grow heavy. In its hands, it wielded a massive, cracked black greatsword that pulsed with dark energy.

The aura it released was unmistakably that of a C-rank monster, and even from this distance, it made the entire team feel a chill of fear run down their spines.

Without wasting a single moment, the Phantom Knight swung its blade through the air — and from that motion, a dark crescent arc of energy shot toward the team, tearing through the mist as it came.

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