The pain was unbearable.
Melina couldn't breathe.
There was blood in her mouth — the metallic taste mixed with earth and dust. One arm no longer responded. The other trembled, trying to move the body that now weighed like stone. Beside her, the sound of breaking bones. Above her, the darkened sky and that scream. The scream. So sharp and distorted it made her heart ache just to hear it.
— Evaluation failed. Level difference too high. Reading impossible.
The message was still engraved in the back of her eyes. Even now, she couldn't forget.
Not the sound of flesh being torn apart.
Not the desperate look of the tank who had screamed with all his might:
— RUN OR DIE!!
But there was nowhere left to run.
A few weeks earlier…
The crowd roared in the courtyard of the Hunter Academy.
Instructors called names one by one, handing out the golden badges that marked the end of training.
Melina was among them — eyes bright, heart racing.
— Melina, Class: Evaluator.
A brief silence fell. Some students hid their smiles. Others sighed in disappointment.
Evaluators. The weakest class. The most useless.
They had no combat techniques, no offensive magic, no summoned shields.
Their only role was... to observe. To analyze. To judge.
Eyes in a battle they could never touch.
But for Melina, this was the beginning of a dream.
She took her badge and smiled, even as she noticed the twisted looks.
"Even if my class can't fight... I'll help my team. I'll protect them however I can."
The Entry Portal to World 1 — Apex was an imposing circular structure, wrapped in shimmering energy.
All newly graduated hunters began their journey there.
Earth had become uninhabitable in many regions. Deserted cities, collapsed ecosystems, monsters running wild.
But the Dungeon Worlds were a new beginning.
So far, seven worlds had been discovered.
And each one... was three times more dangerous than the last.
Apex was the only world where humanity had built stable cities, with organized guilds and trade routes.
But even there, danger lurked beyond the walls.
Melina stepped into the portal, clutching her evaluation staff tightly.
And when her feet touched Apex's soil...
She held her breath.
A field of blue flowers stretched as far as the eye could see, with golden mountains in the distance. Winged birds crossed the sky, and deer-like creatures ran free.
The beauty was alive. Magical.
— "It's more beautiful than anything I saw on Earth…"
A few days later, Melina joined a small expedition group.
They needed someone to assess the value of items retrieved from battles and classify fallen monsters.
That was her job.
The group had six members:
Griegor — the leader. Serious and experienced.
Sela and Runn — combat mages.
Tannor — the healer and riler (floor climb coordinator).
Tayk — the tank.
Dars — swift and agile warrior.
And finally, Melina, the Evaluator.
Their relationship was polite, but distant.
In battle, Melina played her role: analyzed monsters, identified weaknesses, warned about mutations.
But no one really listened.
No one respected her.
— "Evaluators don't kill monsters. They just get in the way."
— "If something goes wrong, she'll be the first to die."
She heard it all. But never gave up.
After four successful missions in Apex, the group felt confident.
It was time to climb.
To the Second World: Atreus.
Many feared that step.
Climbing meant facing fiercer monsters.
The worlds not only increased in danger — their rules changed too.
In Apex, monsters were predictable.
In Atreus... they were wild.
Still, the group pressed on.
Led by Griegor and authorized by Tannor, the riler.
Upon crossing the second portal, the air grew dense.
Atreus was covered in a dark, silent forest.
The trees seemed to whisper.
The ground was layered in leaves that made no sound when stepped on.
Melina tried a few evaluations on the first monsters, but patterns had changed.
What was once common, now ranked as "weak."
What was elite... was now "standard."
Still, through strength and strategy, the group advanced. Until…
The air cracked.
A rift opened in the sky.
A purple portal, pulsing like a dark heart.
Tannor's eyes widened.
— "That's not good…"
— "It's a downward portal!" — Runn shouted. — "A monster is descending from an upper world!!"
Melina felt her body freeze.
From the portal, a shadow took form…
A colossal bat, with ruby eyes and wings that covered the sky.
She activated her ability.
Her eye glowed blue.
— Evaluation Activated.
— …
— …
— Evaluation failed. Level difference too high. Reading impossible.
Melina fell to her knees.
— "I… I can't analyze it…"
Griegor stepped forward with his sword in hand.
— "Stay behind me!"
In a blink, a slash.
The sound of flesh being torn.
Griegor's body… was split in two.
— "NO!" — Sela screamed, launching a fire orb.
Runn conjured a water spear.
The spells exploded against the monster's body.
It… smiled.
In the next instant, both mages' heads rolled to the ground.
Tannor screamed and raised a healing barrier.
— "RUN, MELINA!!"
The bat unleashed a deafening screech.
The barrier cracked.
And Tannor's head… exploded.
The tank looked at Melina, eyes full of despair.
— "RUN OR DIE!!!"
He charged the monster.
But was tossed aside like a rag doll…
Straight into Melina.
The impact was brutal.
She heard bones breaking.
One arm. Two ribs.
And then… everything went black.
End of Chapter 1