Matteo Romano's Perspective
Honestly, Matteo was starting to doubt Alessio.
Since the start of the night, his friend had been repeating the same mantra, like a broken record: "The Black Tower is harder than any other game." Words spoken with the seriousness of a lawyer presenting irrefutable evidence. And yet, up until now, nothing backed up his claims.
It was already the fifth wave of goblins.Five times, the same noisy, stunted creatures armed with crude blades and jagged fangs. Only their numbers increased.Five times.
Alessio always marched to the front line, shield raised, axe swinging like it was an extension of his own body.
And the result had always been the same: a complete, one-sided massacre.
He and the girls Alessio had recruited hadn't even had the chance to do much against the creatures.
Matteo adjusted his glasses, studying the narrow tunnel like he was analyzing a circuit diagram.On one side, goblins charging in successive waves.On the other, Alessio intercepting every push, absorbing every blow, redistributing force like a perfectly calibrated gear.
"Strange…" he muttered to himself.
There was nothing "impossible" about this place.
Nothing like how Alessio had described the dungeon.On the contrary, it even felt trivial, easy.
The only thing breaking the monotony was the healer—Lumina, as she had introduced herself.From time to time, she would lift her hands and cast that bluish light over Alessio, like a field of regeneration.
But aside from that?The other two girls hardly had the chance to participate. Their arrows and spells looked more like decorative flourishes than decisive factors.
Matteo narrowed his eyes, watching Alessio split another goblin clean in half. The body hit the ground with a dull thud, and silence once again filled the corridor.
Matteo almost felt sorry for the ugly little thing.
Maybe he exaggerated, Matteo thought. Maybe the Tower isn't that cruel, and Alessio just wanted to brag.
It was a plausible hypothesis.If this were a report, he'd write:
Hypothesis A: The Black Tower really is merciless, but Alessio has some sort of pre-existing advantage masking the difficulty.
Hypothesis B: Alessio dramatized from the start, aiming to set a serious tone—or maybe just to impress the three girls.
Matteo snorted, almost laughing to himself.Wouldn't be the first time Alessio let his ego show.
Hadn't he always been hypercompetitive?
Still, something didn't add up.If it were this easy, why had other groups hesitated to enter? Shouldn't the dungeon's entrance have been crowded with players?And why did the girls—especially the redhead—look at Alessio like they were staring at some inexplicable phenomenon?
He scratched his chin, the metallic stench of goblin blood clinging to the air.The sensation was unsettling—not just because of the smell, but because the logic didn't check out.
And deep down, Matteo knew: when an equation doesn't balance, it means there are hidden variables.Unknown variables.
Though he didn't voice it, his eyes fixed on the shadows ahead of the tunnel.The gears were turning.And he had the strange feeling that, at any moment, the entire system could short-circuit.
The answer came quickly.
The narrow corridor opened into a wide chamber.The ceiling arched into an uneven dome, the oval space almost breathing, as if the walls pulsed in rhythm with the dungeon itself. Iron sconces held flickering torches, their dim flames barely pushing back the darkness at the edges.
It was a room built for battle.Matteo didn't need much logic to understand: this was a breakpoint in the dungeon's "algorithm." No more repetitive waves, but a bigger test. A system designed to check if the party deserved to move forward.
Before anyone could step inside, Alessio raised his arm, blocking the way.His amber eyes gleamed with resolve, and his voice came out firm, leaving no room for debate:
"Alright. This is the first sub-boss room."
Silence fell instantly. Even the redhead bit her lip, as if she knew those words changed everything.
Alessio continued:"I'll hold his aggro. While I'm keeping him busy, you hit him with everything you've got."
Matteo adjusted his glasses. The plan was simple, straightforward—almost a linear equation: one shield absorbing the force, four attack vectors applying pressure until the system collapsed.
But then came the variable.
"The only problem," Alessio went on, eyes locked on the darkness of the chamber, "is that when he's about to fall… he'll summon two dozen goblins. They'll attack anyone nearby, no distinction."
Matteo felt the hairs on his neck rise.Two dozen. Twenty-four.More than all the waves they had faced so far—on top of the sub-boss.
"When that happens, Matteo and Ember will use earth magic to protect you and Lumina."
The redhead arched a brow, caught off guard.Matteo also hesitated. Earth magic? He hadn't even tried that spell yet, and Alessio was already predicting a solid barrier against twenty-four enemies?A bold calculation… but possible.
Alessio, however, left no room for objection."Silent…" His gaze shifted to the Asian archer, the quietest of the group. "You'll be in charge of taking them down as fast as possible. Think you can handle it?"
Her narrow eyes flashed for an instant. She said nothing—just gave a short, firm nod.
A minimal gesture, but enough.
Matteo watched in silence.Even the redhead—who until now had met every order with sarcasm and jabs—kept her mouth shut. She only crossed her arms and nodded, as if, for the first time, accepting his leadership without resistance.
It was impressive.Somehow, Alessio wasn't just the wall of the group—he was the central gear aligning all the others.
Matteo drew a long breath, his thoughts lining up with the precision of a technical report:
Test 1: goblin hordes — Result: trivial.
Test 2: first sub-boss + mass summon.Now, they would finally discover whether this game was truly difficult.
He adjusted his glasses once more.And deep inside, he felt that strange mix of anxiety and curiosity—like an engineer about to power on a machine for the first time, waiting to see whether it explodes… or works.