The air thickened with every step.
The corridor narrowed again—its walls damp, streaked with dark moss and old mineral trails. The torches struggled against the deepening dark, their flames coughing weak orange light onto cracked stone.
No one spoke.
Garet walked ahead, sword resting on his shoulder. He wasn't rushing anymore. His swagger had shrunk into something taut—measured.
Elise moved beside him, her staff angled higher now. Whether that tension came from the dungeon... or from Leon's summon trailing behind them, she didn't say.
Leon stayed a pace back. Silent. Calm. Calculating.
His Zombie Mage drifted at his side, its cloak whispering along the stone, blue eyes scanning every crevice and alcove.
Every step forward meant stronger enemies.
That's what he wanted.
That's what he was counting on.
A sound echoed up ahead.
Stone shifting. Slow. Heavy.
Everyone stopped.
Leon listened.
Another step. Closer now. Intentional.
The shadows ahead flexed with movement—too large for goblins, too solid.
Then—something stepped into view.
The Elite Emerges
It dwarfed the others.
Thick, scarred limbs. Armor—not cloth scraps or bone, but dented, real metal. Its eyes glinted beneath a cracked helm, yellow and focused. Not hungry.
Calculating.
A crude breastplate clung to its torso, pitted with age but intact. In its grip: a massive, rust-edged axe. The blade still held dried blood.
The Goblin Elite.
Leon didn't blink.
He stepped forward slightly, letting the others assess it first.
This wasn't a test anymore.
This was a fight.
A real one.
The creature raised its axe. Sparks hissed as it scraped the blade along the stone.
Then—without a sound—it charged.
Chaos Unleashed
"That's—" Garet stammered, already backing up. "That's not an F-Rank!"
The goblin surged forward, faster than it should've been. The axe swept up, then down.
A blur of metal and air.
Garet dove sideways. The axe slammed into the floor with the force of a siege weapon. Stone cracked. Dust blasted upward. Shards of broken tile burst outward like shrapnel.
His sword spun from his grip, clattering across the floor.
He hit hard.
Elise flinched, backing up, her heel scraping stone. Her hands trembled around her staff, trying to summon a barrier—but the words stumbled.
Leon didn't move.
The air around his summon shifted. Mana gathered fast.
He opened his mouth to issue the command—
Then Garet turned.
And ran.
"What—" Leon blinked, caught mid-step.
"We're dead if we stay!" Garet shouted, voice cracking under panic. "That thing'll kill us!"
He lunged for Elise, grabbing her wrist.
She hesitated.
She looked at Leon.
At the summon standing ready.
At the creature charging.
Then she turned.
And ran.
The Break
They disappeared into the dark.
No hesitation.
No plan.
Just gone.
Leon stood alone.
The Goblin Elite stopped mid-charge—just for a moment. Its head tilted.
It understood.
The others had fled.
Only one remained.
Leon.
It grinned.
Its grip on the axe tightened.
Then it came.
Reaction
The corridor warped around the noise.
Boots slammed against stone. The monster's steps cracked the floor with each movement. The axe rose again.
Leon didn't retreat.
He stepped to the side—one pivot, fast and clean.
The axe crashed down beside him, carving a crater into the floor. Debris exploded.
Leon dropped to a crouch, ears ringing.
He didn't flinch.
He looked up.
"Fire."
The First Strike
The Zombie Mage didn't hesitate.
Mana flared from its hand—a condensed bolt of blue light launched into the Elite's shoulder.
Impact.
A hiss of burning flesh.
The goblin recoiled—snarled—but didn't fall.
It stepped forward again, already lifting the axe for another strike.
Leon clicked his tongue.
"Again."
The second bolt slammed into its chest.
Still no knockback.
Still advancing.
The Elite wasn't just stronger.
It was resistant.
Holding the Line
Leon moved, flanking right. The corridor wasn't wide enough to dodge far, but enough to angle.
"Circle. Stay left. Kite it."
The Zombie Mage adjusted without hesitation, maintaining distance, its cloak sweeping around the edge of the corridor.
The Goblin Elite followed—its focus sharp now.
Its target had changed.
This wasn't prey.
It was a duel.
It came again, faster now—less reckless, more exact. It swung low.
Leon ducked.
Stone whistled above his head.
The zombie fired again.
A direct hit to the neck.
The monster snarled but kept coming. Blood now.
Visible.
Dark. Real.
Leon tracked its footwork.
Its weight shifted before each strike.
Its blade angle changed based on position.
This wasn't some dumb brute.
It was trained.
Internal Pivot
He didn't ask why they ran.
He didn't need to.
The moment they left, it answered everything.
Garet had cracked first.
Elise followed.
They had never trusted him. They tolerated him.
Until they saw something stronger.
Something they feared.
And they ran.
That told Leon everything he needed to know.
He didn't care.
They would never have lasted.
He was better without them.
Counterstrike
The goblin reared back, axe raised high.
Leon shouted over the rising hum of mana, "Intercept it—aim high!"
The zombie lifted both hands, energy burning hot between its fingers.
It launched twin bolts—parallel arcs.
One missed wide on purpose.
The second clipped the goblin's eye.
It screamed.
A burst of uncontrolled fury.
It staggered back, swinging blindly now.
Leon pressed the advantage.
"Right side—knee!"
Another bolt struck the joint.
The Elite dropped to one knee, howling.
"Chest."
Last bolt—center mass.
Impact.
The goblin hit the floor with a roar of agony and steel.
Then it didn't move again.
Silence Returns
The dungeon held its breath.
Leon stood alone in the corridor, dust settling around him. His Zombie Mage stood at his side, its flickering glow the only light now that the torches behind them had gone out.
The axe lay embedded in stone.
The Elite's body—twisted. Still.
He didn't smile.
He didn't gloat.
He simply watched the darkness ahead.
Waiting.
[System Notification: Goblin Elite defeated. EXP +120][Zombie Mage leveled up → Rank F+ (90%)][New Trait Acquired: Battle Instinct (Passive) – Faster Reaction to Incoming Hostiles]
Leon exhaled slowly.
He reached up and brushed stone dust from his shoulder.
Then he walked forward.
He didn't look back.