Kael crouched beside the fallen ogre.
Its massive body slumped like a collapsed mountain. The air still trembled with the residual echoes of their battle, and the heavy scent of blood and burnt leather hung thick.
His hands, still trembling from adrenaline, moved fast as he whipped open his UI and summoned his backpack from storage with a flick of his fingers.
The satchel materialized in a shimmer of light, flopping onto the stone floor beside the boss's corpse. Kael didn't waste time.
He opened it and began shoveling the loot in without ceremony. Potions, silver pieces, a rare item or two—his sharp eyes flickered as he mentally cataloged everything.
Behind him, the elf girl stood staring at the remains, seemingly frozen.
"You're not gonna help?" He muttered without looking.
"Bosses drop loot?" She asked, genuine confusion in her tone.
Kael blinked.
He turned his head to look at her, squinting. "What do you mean... of course they do. You thought we were just fighting for honor or something?"
She looked away, a bit embarrassed.
"I've never fought a dungeon boss before. I usually just do field hunts or gathering quests."
Kael exhaled. She was older than him by the looks of it—slightly taller, definitely more put together than the average low-rank adventurer—and yet she didn't even know something this basic?
"E-rank and higher dungeons always drop loot. Didn't anyone tell you that?"
"No.." she mumbled.
He stood up, dusting off his pants, then faced her fully. Her silver-white hair was a bit mussed and similar to his, and a streak of dried blood decorated her cheek like war paint.
But she wasn't out of breath. Despite her inexperience, she had moved like a seasoned fighter.
"What level are you?" He asked suddenly.
She hesitated. "...20."
His heart skipped.
Level 20?
That was the lowest he'd ever heard for someone her age.
Most adventurers started grinding hard after registering, and even slackers hit level 30 within a year.
Kael had prestige'd once already. And she... she'd barely scratched the surface.
"You don't level?" He asked, genuinely baffled.
She shook her head, arms crossed.
"Only do quests every now and then. Mostly hunting rabbits, gathering herbs, occasional escort jobs."
Kael blinked again. The gears in his head turned slowly.
"Then why join my party?" He asked.
"You don't seem like the dungeon-clearing type."
She looked him dead in the eye, as if the answer were obvious.
"Because you're the only person at the Adventurers Guild that was close to my level."
Kael froze.
The words pierced deeper than he expected, like a dagger sliding into his ribs.
So that was it.
She didn't think he was strong. She just thought he was weak enough to match her.
That was the only reason she picked him.
He chuckled dryly, eyes narrowing.
So all that hype about clearing an F-rank dungeon solo, and she still saw him as a safe bet. Not a partner. Not someone to trust her back with. Just the weakest looking dude in the room.
His jaw tightened.
But he sighed. He did need a party member.
Even if it's messed up, the truth cannot be changed.
Bezel was unreliable, Seki was... weird. And now he was stepping into dungeons solo for the first time ever and fighting bosses that wouldn't go down with his clever footwork alone.
He needed someone who could stand beside him in a real fight.
And despite her weird logic, the elf girl had proven herself. That shot through the dwinki's skull? The way she danced around the ogre like she was born with a bow in her hand?
She had something. Raw, untapped maybe. But something.
He brought up his UI again.
A blue-white pane floated into the air between them, the digital request hovering like a sheet of glass.
[Party Invite: Accept?]
The girl raised her brows slightly, then nodded and tapped the air.
[Request Accepted.]
A soft chime echoed in both their ears.
Just like that, she was official.
A flicker of data passed through their UI systems, syncing party status. Kael could now see her health, mana, status effects.
And somewhere in her interface.
his info would now show up too.
He exhaled slowly. "Welcome to the team, then."
"Thanks,"she said, brushing hair from her eyes. Then after a pause: "You never told me your name."
"Kael."
"I'm Lunara."
They stood in silence for a moment longer, both processing the shift in their dynamic. A real party now. Allies.
Comrades?
Kael looked back to the loot pile. There were still some things left: a shining ring with a faint red gem embedded, a curved fang probably worth a few silver, a boss key fragment shimmering faintly.
He picked up the ring and turned it over in his hand. A basic enhancement ring, nothing special, but good for someone with lower stats.
"You should take this," He said, handing it over.
She blinked. "Why?"
"You're level 20. You need it more than me."
She hesitated again. "...Thanks."
Then, perhaps out of awkwardness, she added, "You fought really well back there. That was... intense."
Kael chuckled and scratched his neck. "Yeah, same to you. I didn't think we'd pull it off without a healer."
"I have some healing spells," she said. "Just... never used them in a boss fight."
He smirked.
"You better start getting used to it."
She rolled her eyes but smiled faintly.
---
They walked through the now-vacant dungeon corridors, footsteps echoing against the cold stone floor. The lights embedded in the walls flickered as if sensing their departure. Kael took the lead, blade still drawn, just in case any late-spawned monsters showed up. Lunara followed, her bow lowered but ready.
As they approached the dungeon exit, Kael noticed something in his peripheral UI. A message blinking.
[New Party Bonus Unlocked: Shared XP Boost +5%]
Nice.
He looked at Lunara. She was humming quietly under her breath, eyes scanning the walls like she hadn't walked through a place like this in a long time. Or ever.
She caught him looking and tilted her head. "What?"
"Nothing," He said, smirking. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"How long you'll last before you quit."
She scowled. "Rude."
"Kidding," He said. Then after a beat, more softly,"I think we might actually make this work."
As they stepped out into the dying light of the evening sky, Kael glanced at his interface again.
The XP bar still shimmered from the boss kill, and in bold white text, his level blinked across the top:
[Level: 28]
Higher than he'd ever reached before. Even before his first prestige.
He looked up at the dusky sky, lips curling into a grin.
"Things," he murmured to himself again. "are truly starting to get interesting."