The team staggered into the barren ground beyond the village boundary, lungs heaving, sweat streaked with soot, and hearts still hammering from the death-chase.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Only the crackle of flames and the distant rumble of collapsing huts filled the silence. The goblin village—once a warren of crude huts and shrieking green vermin—was now nothing more than a scorched ruin, bathed in fire and smoke.
Kane dropped his axe into the dirt and braced himself on his knees. His side throbbed from where the Hobgoblin's blade had dug deep, but the pain was distant compared to the weight in his chest.
They had been seconds away from being wiped out.
"...Too close," he muttered, voice low. "We almost died back there."
Elysia hurried to Reina's side the instant they stopped moving. The little girl was pale from exhaustion but still clung to Rabbit's fur, her small hands trembling.
"Reina—did any of the fireballs hit you? Any burns, scratches?" Elysia's voice cracked as she turned the child's arms gently, scanning her skin for injury.
Reina shook her head softly, eyes wide but calm. "I'm not hurt, Sister Elysia. I was scared… but Rabbit carried me fast."
Elysia exhaled shakily, pulling Reina into her arms. Relief washed over her face, a warmth breaking through the soot and ash. "Thank the heavens… you're safe."
Kane's shoulders loosened at the sight. Whatever else had been lost in the firestorm, his sister was alive. That was all that mattered.
Once everyone had caught their breath, Kane rose to his feet again. His gaze lingered on the inferno behind them. The Goblin Shaman's death-skill had obliterated its own home in a suicidal curse. A whole settlement of monsters reduced to blackened rubble.
But Kane's instincts pressed against the edge of exhaustion. In dungeons, destruction didn't always mean nothing was left behind.
"I'm going back in," he announced, slinging his axe over his shoulder.
Maya blinked. "You're mad. It's still burning."
"Fire doesn't erase loot. If that Shaman had gear or enchanted items, we need it. This much destruction—there will be something worth it."
No one argued. They all knew Kane wasn't wrong.
Picking his way through collapsed huts and molten timbers, Kane found what he was looking for. Amidst the ash and twisted wood, glowing fragments shimmered with system-stability—loot that had resisted annihilation.
One by one, Kane pulled them free.
Shaman's Equipment (Cursed Totem-Staff) – a warped blackwood staff bound with bone charms, faintly pulsing with lingering fire mana.
Hobgoblin's Tower Shield – heavy iron, scorched but intact, with a strange resilience aura.
Ashen Pendant of Resilience – a small amulet that radiated faint heat resistance.
Spellbook Fragment: Fireball Barrage (Confined Variant) – pages glowing with unstable crimson glyphs.
Kane's eyes lingered on the last. The spell was incomplete, warped by the Shaman's suicidal invocation.
System Prompt:
[Fireball Barrage – Confined Version]
Casts 5 Fireballs by default. The caster can increase the number of fireballs by supplying more mana.
Warning: Going beyond 20 may be fatal.
Kane exhaled slowly. Dangerous, but powerful.
He carried the loot back to the group. The moment the twins touched the spellbook, something strange happened—mana threads shimmered between them. Both girls gasped softly.
"They… learned it together?" Elysia murmured, astonished.
Kane nodded grimly. "Then it belongs to them. But they'll need training before they try pushing it past the safe limit."
Just as Kane handed over the loot, the familiar system chime resonated.
[Main Objective Complete – Clear Floor 5]
Reward: +10,000 EXP, Loot Preservation.
[Emergency Quest: Outrunning Death]
Objective: Escape the Fireball Barrage alive.
Status: Success.
Rewards:–
Title: Death Runner (Agility +5%, Movement Speed +7%, temporary stamina recovery boost when under pursuit).
– Boots of Emberstride (Epic – leaves a faint trail of fire when sprinting, immune to fire terrain damage).
You have gained 10,000 EXP.
Level Up!
Kane – Level 22.
Allies – Level 24.
Reina – Level 25.
Reina gasped as her body glowed faintly, her small frame enveloped in radiant threads of light.
[Profession Quest Unlocked: Child of Fate]
"A path opens to those who stand at the crossroads of ruin and hope."
Kane's chest tightened with pride—and unease. His little sister was stepping into a destiny that even the system recognized.
Current Stats (Lvl 21):
Strength: 120
Agility: 107
Endurance: 118
Perception: 97
Intelligence: 93
Level 22 Boost (+5 to all stats from Profession + Natural Boost):
Strength: 125
Agility: 112
Endurance: 123
Perception: 102
Intelligence: 98
Free Stat Points: 11
Kane allocated them carefully, ensuring every stat crossed the symbolic 100 threshold and balanced his growth:
+2 Strength → 127
+2 Agility → 114
+2 Endurance → 125
+2 Perception → 104
+3 Intelligence → 101
Final Stats (Level 22):
Strength: 127
Agility: 114
Endurance: 125
Perception: 104
Intelligence: 101
For the first time, every aspect of Kane's power had broken past 100. His body thrummed with newfound vigor—his strikes heavier, his reflexes sharper, his endurance ironclad, his awareness sharper, and his mind clearer.
The Death Runner title pulsed faintly in his status, its strange energy flowing through his muscles like coiled springs ready to burst.
Kane clenched his fists and looked at the scorched horizon one last time. They had cheated death. They had claimed victory. And for the first time in the dungeon, Kane felt the weight of something larger stirring around them.
But for now, they had survived.
The flames of the goblin village still smoldered behind them as Kane's party set up a small camp on the outskirts of the ruined zone. The air was heavy with smoke, yet here at the edge of the burnt land, a faint breeze carried enough clean air for them to breathe freely.
Kane unpacked the preserved rations from his storage, distributing them among the weary team. Rabbit and the toy soldiers stood guard while Elysia carefully prepared a safe spot for Reina to sit and eat.
For the first time since the fireball chase, silence settled—not the suffocating silence of fear, but the fragile calm of survival.
As Reina chewed slowly, her eyes glazed for a moment, and then a gentle glow surrounded her small frame. Everyone froze as system runes appeared faintly in the air around her like threads of starlight.
[Profession Quest Unlocked: Child of Fate]"Some are born to walk the edge of destiny. Others are chosen to bend it. Your path is guided by fortune, but your choices will decide whether that luck blossoms into hope or curdles into tragedy."
Requirement: Reach Level 25. Survive against insurmountable odds.Reward: Awakening of the Luck Attribute as a primary stat. Unlocks passive influence over probability and chance-based outcomes.
Kane's breath caught.
"Luck… as a stat?" he muttered. He had seen hidden stats before—factors like charm, resistance, even leadership—but Luck was beyond rare. Most thought it was just a myth whispered among adventurers.
The system clarified further:
[Hint: The Child of Fate's Luck stat will not function like ordinary attributes.]– Luck can sway probability in combat, loot discovery, and even in surviving lethal situations.– However, Luck is unstable; excessive reliance may cause backlashes or unpredictable twists.– The stronger Reina becomes, the wider the radius of her luck influence.
Reina tilted her head innocently. "Brother… it says I'm lucky! Is that good?"
Kane forced a smile even as his heart ached at her innocence. "Yes, Reina. Very good. It means the world itself will try to keep you safe. But it also means we need to protect you even more."
Elysia brushed a hand through Reina's hair, her expression somewhere between awe and unease. "A child blessed by fate… I've only heard such things in fairy tales."
Kane said nothing more, but his mind was racing. If the system itself acknowledges her as a Child of Fate, then she's not just important—she's pivotal.
The group ate in silence, savoring what little peace they could before the next trial. The twins whispered excitedly over the Fireball Barrage spellbook, Maya and Lena already imagining how their combined casting could devastate enemies. The fighters inspected the Hobgoblin shield, debating who could best use it, while one of the speed specialists marveled at the Wolf Fang Necklace hanging proudly around his neck.
It was a rare moment of normalcy. For a heartbeat, they weren't survivors clawing through a deathtrap—they were just comrades sharing food, laughter, and wary smiles.
But then, as the last flames of the village burned low, the system intruded again.
[Floor 6 – Final Trial Ahead]Warning: The next descent leads to the heart of the dungeon.
Final Boss Encounter Detected.Threat Assessment: DANGER LEVEL
Bosses Revealed:– Goblin Chieftain (Level 29)– Wolf Alpha Lord (Level 29)
Estimated Power: Exceeds standard scaling for this dungeon tier.Survival odds reduced by 37% compared to expected averages.
The team's chatter died instantly as the glowing notification hovered in their vision.
"Level twenty-nine?!" Maya's voice cracked. "That's almost 5 levels higher than us!"
"And two bosses at once," Elysia added grimly. "This isn't a fight. It's a slaughter waiting to happen."
Kane's expression hardened as he stared at the words. His grip tightened around his axe until the leather creaked.
Two enemies, each stronger than anything they had faced so far. And Reina's quest had just marked her as someone fate itself revolved around.
For the first time, Kane wondered if this dungeon wasn't just a challenge—but a test designed to see if they could defy destiny itself.