The thing finished standing and the swamp went colder.
It wore fog for skin and ribs for a coat, bone shards hovering like they'd forgotten gravity. Light pulsed inside it—blue-white, heartbeat wrong. When it breathed, the mist breathed with it.
[Threat Detected: Mistbound Warden (B-Rank).]
[Note: Semi-intangible. Projects vocal lures. Vulnerability windows: core light (0.6s), rib seam (1.1s).]
"Love that math," I muttered. "Point-six seconds. Totally generous."
"Eyes on the monster" Hana said. Thread already in her fingers. "Do not chase voices."
"Voices?" Mikey asked, which is exactly when the fog said, in Mara's soft tired way, Ethan, be boring.
My chest tripped. Lightning Step tugged my bones like a dog that found the leash.
The Warden slid. Not walked—shifted. Its ribs flexed, opening and closing like a jaw that had never seen food. When the core brightened, the mist thickened and went glassy, hard edges cutting the air.
Jax edged left, blade out. "On my mark—"
The fog purred in Selene's voice, amused and close: Show me, reckless.
Perfect. Horny slideshow brain clocked in. I stuffed it in a box, sat on the lid.
Core pulse—there. Brightest bit, right of center. Knees itched.
Step.
The world popped—fizz in my bones—and I was there. Fangpiercer punched for light—
—and went through like the fog had lied to my face.
I jumped back.
Ribs snapped shut on the space where my arm used to be.
"Not now," Hana barked, already pulling a vial. "I'll dust him. When the outline sticks—then you hit."
She flicked a cloud of ground glass. It stuck to the air, sketched the currents, painted bones. The outline sharpened. Core pulsed again and the dust went solid for a blink.
"Now," Jax barked.
I moved.
[Lightning Step: 1/3]
[Cooldown: 2s]
[Bonus: +100% strike speed applied.]
Fangpiercer met the lit rib seam like we'd scheduled it.
[Fangpiercer Critical]
[Armor Penetration: 30%]
The Warden shrieked like a radio eating a fork. Cold slammed me backward. I hit water and it bit like dry ice on skin.
[Absolute Regeneration Activated][Trauma: frost burns (chest/arms). Cooldown: 4s.]
Red timer blinked. Four seconds of "don't be a moron" while my skin felt like brittle glass. Great. I was a snow globe now.
"Anchor!" Hana snapped.
Mikey planted. Dome bloomed, light skimming the swamp. The Warden's arm—fog pretending to be bone—swept down. It slammed the dome lip and rattled my teeth. Three seconds of safety. Timer ticked 3…2…1…
Heat rolled under my skin, thawing the knives.
[Absolute Regeneration Restored][Injury recovered: frost burns (chest/arms).]
"Left flank," Jax growled. "I'll drag."
He chopped the air. Grav Pull yanked the Warden a meter, ribs canting wrong. Core flared. Hana's dust lit, painting the solid patch.
Good patch. Favorite patch.
I slid off the dome, boots sucking muck, and Lightning Step begged.
"Wait for the—" Hana started.
Light. Now.
Step.
[Lightning Step: 1/3]
[Cooldown: 2s]
[Bonus: +100% strike speed applied.]
I was inside its chest before my shadow caught up. Fangpiercer rammed through bone, runes burning cold fire up my arm.
[Fangpiercer Critical]
[Armor Penetration: 30%]
The Warden tore sideways and took me with it. My shoulder clipped a bone pylon. Something popped in a way shoulders shouldn't.
[Absolute Regeneration Activated]
[Trauma: shoulder subluxation (R). Cooldown: 3s.]
I rolled under the water and came up choking, arm dead for two beats. The Warden's voice changed—Hana's, flat: Positions.
"Eat me," I spat. "Respectfully."
The timer bled out; heat snapped the joint back home.
[Absolute Regeneration Restored]
[Injury recovered: shoulder subluxation (R).]
Hana's line flashed, tethered a rib. She pulled; the dust warped, showing another flash of solid. "Brightest," she said. "There."
Mikey shoved forward, shield edge-up, bulldozing fog like a plow. Kid was terrified and still moving. Saint.
The Warden exhaled.
Cold slammed us to the knees, mist frosting the Lotus pads. My breath crystallized, dropped, shattered.
"Don't breathe heavy," Jax said. Hilarious, considering my lungs were suing me.
The core flared white.
Step.
[Lightning Step: 2/3]
[Cooldown: 2s]
[Bonus: +100% strike speed applied.]
The blink dumped me inside the rib ring. World narrowed to bone and the tiny window Hana bought me with thread and zero patience. Fangpiercer punched through like I'd bitten an ice cube in half.
[Fangpiercer Critical]
[Armor Penetration: 30%]
The Warden collapsed wrong. Not sliced—undone. Like I'd pulled a pin I wasn't supposed to see.
It screamed in my voice. Be boring, it mocked, bent and broken. My stomach rolled.
"Out!" Hana snapped.
I tried to Step and Lightning told me no—strict aunt mode. Cooldown blinking red. Two seconds. One. I dove instead. Bone raked my back in cold kisses, carving shallow lines.
[Absolute Regeneration Activated]
[Trauma: superficial lacerations (back). Cooldown: 2s.]
Face-first into swamp. Tasted like rotting tea bags someone had farted on. Timer ticked out. Heat surged, ironing my skin flat again.
[Absolute Regeneration Restored]
[Injury recovered: superficial lacerations (back).]
Behind me, Jax finally did the smart thing—slashed the dust bag wide open. Hana's glitter spilled everywhere, clinging to the fog and mapping the Warden's last real piece: a shrinking spine of light with ribs closing around it.
We dogpiled it.
Mikey slammed Anchor, dome locking the thing in place. Jax chopped the air, Grav Pull dragging the light spine against a pylon. I went low, only trick I'm good at, and shoved Fangpiercer straight through the spine before it could borrow another voice.
The light went out.
The Warden collapsed like a lung deflating. Fog puddled on the ground, crawling away like it was embarrassed.
[Target Defeated: Mistbound Warden (B-Rank).]
[EXP Gained: 1,200]
The swamp exhaled.
Then the part I still wasn't used to happened.
A chest. Out of nowhere. Bloomed from fog right where the core died—dry wood in a place that's never been dry, iron bands that didn't rust. It plopped onto a Lotus pad with a happy little thunk, like ta-da, dungeon prize.
Mikey gawked. "Chests don't spawn in sweeps."
"Yeah," Jax said slow. "They don't."
Hana didn't look at the chest. She looked at me.
I looked at the chest too, because eye contact is incriminating. The system coughed politely.
[Loot Acquired: Warden's Echo Band (Unique).]
Effect: All EXP gained x2. All physical damage dealt x2.Special: Retroactive session bonus applied.Binding Signature: Ethan Cross.
Something cool hugged my wrist. I glanced down. A thin band of pale metal had just claimed me. Or maybe the other way around. It pulsed once with my heartbeat, then went quiet, smug as hell.
"Uh," I said.
Mikey blinked, mouth half open. "Did the chest just… skip the chest and give it to you?"
"It's a magic trick," I said. "I do kids' birthdays. Balloon animals, wristbands that double your murder stats."
The system wasn't done.
[Session Recalculation Complete.]
[EXP Gained: +1,200 (retroactive).]
[Level Up → 10]
Stat Points +5
[Level Up → 11]
Stat Points +5
[Level Progress: 524 / 1100]
Two level dings in a row. Stat points stacked like coupons.
Jax's eyebrows tried to escape his face. "Did you just—"
"Swamp gas," I said. "Makes noises. Don't worry about it."
Jax barked a laugh, still grinning. "We watched you solo half the hounds, stab that brute like it owed you money, and now this. You're telling me you're still an F-rank?"
"Hey, F-rank pride," I said. "We don't get fancy abilities. We get luck. And a strong commitment to bad life choices."
Mikey frowned, still wide-eyed. "Except you don't get hurt. Not really. That hound ripped your arm and you just—closed it. Like nothing."
"Good genes," I said. "Mom drank a lot of milk. Calcium's wild."
Hana didn't laugh. She never does when she's busy thinking. Her gaze was sharp as wire. "And sometimes we see you blur. Not dodge. Disappear. Then reappear stabbing faster than lightning."
"Uh—acrobatics?" I said. "I took a class once. Lots of stretching. Very flexible. Should've seen my downward dog."
Her face didn't move, but I swear I heard her filing me under liar, probable hazard.
"Look," I said, raising both hands. "I'm not hiding some noble bloodline. I'm not an awakened prodigy. I'm just—lucky. Really, really stupidly lucky."
Jax snorted. "Lucky. Sure. Lucky enough to clear an A-rank solo when guilds get mulched on those. Sounds less like luck and more like a fairy tale."
"Hey, sometimes the dungeon just… trips. Bad footing. Happens to the best of us."
"Or," Jax leaned in, grin crooked, "you're hiding more than bad jokes. So where's the loot, Ethan?"
I made up something fast. "Figures. First time loot shows up near me and it poofs. Same story with my bank account, my dating life, my shoes—everything vanishes."
"Bullshit," Jax said, pointing at the chest. "Loot doesn't just vanish. Where's the rest of it?"
"Yeah," Mikey added, quieter but firmer. "Normally we'd all split. But it—there wasn't even time. You didn't touch it."
I held up both hands. "Exactly! You saw me. No sleight of hand, no loot ninja routine. Chest popped, and then—poof. Band on my wrist. I'm as confused as you are."
Not confused. Panicking. Because the truth? My Item Box had slurped it all the second the system recognized me. Neat little logs only I could see. If I admitted that, they'd either dissect me or rent me out to Central.
Can't show them the inventory. Can't show anyone. That's the line.
Hana's eyes narrowed like she was threading me straight into memory. "Strange. Very strange. Things don't just choose carriers in front of witnesses."
Jax folded his arms, still grinning but not friendly anymore. "Feels more like good luck wrapped in bullshit."
Mikey glanced between us, nervous. "I mean… he did save us. Twice. Maybe the swamp just… likes him?"
"Yeah," I said quickly, latching onto that. "See? Swamp crush. Very romantic. Totally explainable."
Hana didn't buy it. She didn't argue, either. Just watched.
I grinned too wide. If I had good luck, do you think I'd still live in the slums with Mrs. Dobrev threatening to stab me over rent? Trust me. I'm nobody.
They didn't believe me. Not really. But nobody pushed harder. Hunters respect lies if they're tidy enough.
The system blinked in the corner, smug as ever.
[Fog-Mire Annex — Ring 2 Cleared (2/5).]
[Ambient Hazard ↓ 8% for 15m. Miasma density recovering.]
[Nearest Rings: 3 (C–B), 4 (B).]
I blinked back. "Hold up—Ring two? Did we… skip one?"
[Log Review: Ring 1 clearance unregistered. Estimated overlap during entry combat.]
[Note: Unstable ring boundaries detected.]
"Cool," I whispered. "Rings that do math wrong. Super relaxing."
[Note: Carrier approaching Level 20. Job Selection available at threshold.]
My stomach slid south. "Oh, good. Career counseling from the murder pop-up system. Exactly what my anxiety ordered."
Nobody heard. Thank god.
Fangpiercer hummed against the band like the two were already best friends. Me? I suddenly felt like the only sober guy at a cursed party—with the floor plan changing under my feet.
The chest still sat there, wagging its tail. Jax, being Jax, kicked it open. Inside: vials of resin nestled in straw, a shard of white bone etched with mist runes, and a pouch that jingled like payday.
[Loot Acquired: Crystal Fog Vial (Rare) x3.]
[Loot Acquired: Mist-Etched Rib (Rare Component).]
[Loot Acquired: District Scrip (1,200 credits).]
I stared at my stat screen hovering subtly behind my eyes like a guilt halo. At the word LUCK with three question marks sitting there like a smug cat.
"Okay," I said under my breath. "That's broken."
"You say something?" Mikey asked, breath still jittering from the fight.
"I said my boots are broken. Which is still true." I cleared my throat. "How about we split the loot, and I don't make fun of Jax's haircut for a whole day."
Jax rubbed his head. "I know a guy who cuts my hair for free, so shut up."
"Thought so," I said.
We harvested the rest. Hana worked like a surgeon with a deadline. Jax coiled rope with hands that wouldn't stop shaking. Mikey glanced at me every ten seconds like I was a new animal. I pretended not to notice.
The fog ring's blue tint faded to ordinary sick white. The mist stopped breathing my name. Good. I don't like being on first-name basis with weather.
The system popped another polite note, because it loves timing.
[Status Window]
Name: Ethan Cross
Level: 11
HP: 180 / 180
MP: 0 / 0
Strength: 42
Agility: 39
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 5
Luck: ???
Skills:
— Absolute Regeneration (SSS-Rank)
— Lightning Step (SSS-Rank)
Equipment:
— Fangpiercer (A-Rank, Bound)
— Warden's Echo Band (Unique, Bound): EXP x2, Physical Damage x2
[Stat Points Available: 15]
I stared and did not grin. Out loud, I said, "We should move. Fog's going to pull in again. And I'd prefer not to be here if it grows another personality."
Hana's eyes lingered on the band one more heartbeat. "Agreed. One more ring, then out."
"Copy," Jax said. "Mikey, water check. Ethan…" he waved vaguely at my whole everything. "Do whatever you do. The blink thing. The stab thing."
"Professional terms," I said. "Love it."
We started toward the next pylon set. The swamp tried to trip us out of habit. I let Lightning Step tug and told it no. Be boring. Sexy optional.
The band pulsed again, a quiet thrum against my skin—twice the damage, twice the EXP, twice the attention I could not afford. My brain did a budget. Rent, food, boots that didn't cry crossing a puddle. Maybe even a jacket that didn't look like I'd wrestled a blender.
And then the other math walked in: second SSS skill from sex; Fangpiercer dropping into my hand like fate; now a Unique that decided I owned it before I touched it. The kind of luck that didn't happen without strings.
"Don't look at it like that," Hana said softly beside me.
"Like what?"
"Like it put a mark on you." She didn't meet my eyes. "Gear like that makes friends. And enemies."
"Great," I said. "I'm very popular."
"Mm." She watched the fog like it might decide to stand again.
"The swamp breathed. My band hummed. Fangpiercer whispered its little cold hum up my arm. The city felt a thousand miles away.
Rent didn't care about SSS-rank.
But if the dungeon kept handing me cheat codes, maybe rent would have to start caring about me.