Chapter 29: An Unexpected Decision

Chapter 29: An Unexpected Decision

POV: Rem

Why now? Why did this have to happen just as we got here?

Rem silently watched the approaching dark wolves, her gaze fixed on them. Her hand was already on her sword’s hilt, but only one question echoed in her mind — why? Why at this very moment?

She knew exactly what this was. Everything was clear.

From the information she had learned in the guild, she understood: when a dungeon senses a threat, it panics. And when it panics, it unleashes every monster it can create. A massive wave of creatures, seemingly endless. It’s a self-preservation instinct. And the scariest part — during these moments, the dungeon doesn’t limit the ranks.

“They’ll all be Rank 4… because this is a Rank 4 dungeon.”

They were coming — dozens, hundreds, and this was only the first wave. Such waves would continue for days. Day after day, until the dungeon exhausted its resources. All that time, monsters would keep appearing, tireless, fearless.

Once those beasts break through — and they will break through, that was certain — a massacre would begin. There were simply too few people here. And it wasn’t even about numbers — it was about quality.

Rem looked around.

Along the wall stood adventurers — strong, focused, ready for battle. Most bore C-rank badges. That meant they were at least Rank 3, and many of them were Rank 4. Their auras left no doubt — these were experienced fighters.

One group stood out — a few people with B-rank tags. They weren’t just standing around: they were giving orders, coordinating movement, maintaining order. Their leader — a tall man with a heavy sword strapped to his back — caught her attention. Rem looked closer.

“Level 165. Rank 5.”

Good. But not enough.

These fighters were strong and skilled, but there weren’t nearly enough of them. Rem recalled a line from a guild report:

“In case of a mass breakout of Rank 4 monsters, the response must include at least several hundred Rank 5 adventurers, dozens of Rank 6, and preferably a few Rank 7 teams. The danger lies in the numbers, not the strength of each individual foe.”

With these adventurers, they’d last a few hours at best. Once their resources ran out, they’d have nothing left to keep fighting. Arrows were ineffective without skills — especially against monsters like these. And close combat would quickly exhaust even the most resilient. It would be a grueling slaughter.

“We need to come up with something,” Rem thought, clenching her teeth.

“I’m not dying here because of some lunatics or religious fanatics.”

She reached forward. Down at the base of the wall, magic circles flared to life. One after another — three glowing circles from which massive figures emerged.

Golems.

They straightened up and took positions, ready to meet the enemy. Each stood over five meters tall, and every step they took sent a heavy echo through the air.

“That’ll do for now. Three Rank 5 golems,” Rem noted mentally. “I can summon five more… but I need to conserve mana. Damn. If only I had more mana…”

The wolves closed in. And in that moment, the adventurers moved.

Hundreds of arrows sliced through the air, followed by a storm of magical attacks — fireballs, ice and stone arrows, blinding lightning bolts. The spells struck the approaching monsters with deafening force. The waves of attacks didn’t let up for a second — these were seasoned fighters. They maintained the tempo, never losing rhythm, never breaking the pressure.

Ten, fifteen seconds passed. Over half the wolves were destroyed. Their bodies simply vanished, as if they had never existed — not even magic stones remained.

Monsters summoned like this by the dungeon were useless for loot. No trophies, no magic crystals. Their sole purpose was to eliminate the threat. The only reward for adventurers was experience points.

A few dozen wolves broke through the magical barrage and drew closer to the wall.

That’s when the golems moved.

Despite their size, they moved surprisingly fast. Each strike sent monsters flying, crushed bodies, shattered bones. Some wolves died instantly, others with a bone-chilling howl.

One wolf managed to break through. A powerful leap — and it reached the top of the wall.

One of the adventurers reacted instantly. A swing of the sword — and the monster fell dead, unable to strike.

The blade flashed. A single strike — and the wolf was cleaved in two. No hesitation. No danger.

These adventurers were experienced. A lone Rank 4 monster posed no threat to them.

The first wave — annihilated.

“How many more golems can you summon?” a voice asked from the side.

It was Sherial.

“I have enough mana for five more Rank 5 golems,” Rem replied curtly. “Summoning Rank 4 or lower would be pointless. They’d just be crushed.”

“I see...” Sherial tightened her grip on her bow. “I can probably handle six, maybe seven more waves myself. After that, I’ll be out of mana.”

She looked down from the top of the wall. The battlefield below remained eerily calm, but the silence only made things more ominous.

“The next wave will be larger,” Rem said, staring into the distance. “And more will break through.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But we don’t have a choice. We’ll do everything we can,” Sherial nodded.

Rem silently looked out over the field beyond the wall.

“Soon the second wave will arrive… At this rate, most ranged fighters will be out of mana. That means no more long-range support. We’ll be forced into close combat. And with that many monsters…”

She clenched her teeth.

“After a few waves, we’ll all be dead.”

Rem glanced down at her golems. The stone giants stood motionless like statues, but each one was ready to spring into battle at any moment.

“If only I could summon more… But each one costs me ten thousand mana. And my mana recovers so slowly…”

She pressed her lips together, then turned around.

Her gaze settled on the person she had been considering inviting into her party.

Alisar.

He stood a bit farther back, near the inner part of the wall. There was no battle-hardened look on his face. Fear was clearly visible in his eyes.

Of course — it was natural. He wasn’t a soldier. He wasn’t a killer.

He had only recently become an adventurer.

For now.

“Sherial, I’ll be gone for fifteen to twenty minutes,” Rem said, stepping aside.

“Okay… but where are you going?” Sherial asked, surprised.

“I have an idea. I want to see if I can use it,” Rem replied and turned. “Alisar, come with me.”

She quickly started descending the wall. Alisar didn’t ask any questions and followed her.

Once on the ground, Rem looked around. Her eyes quickly found the largest tent nearby. She headed straight for it.

A girl stood at the entrance. Young, probably sixteen or seventeen.

“Is this your tent?” Rem asked.

“Yes… I mean no… It belongs to our group,” the girl replied, her voice trembling slightly.

“Can we use it?” Rem asked calmly, but firmly.

“Yes… no… Why do you need it?” the girl asked again, clearly nervous.

“It’s urgent,” Rem said.

“O-okay… Just… please don’t touch anything,” the girl stammered.

Rem quickly entered the tent. Alisar followed, and as soon as he stepped inside, she dropped the flap and closed the entrance.

“Activate your skill. Quickly,” she whispered, looking him in the eye.

“You need a potion?” he asked.

“No, not that. Activate your other skill. Take me to that room,” she said firmly.

“Okay.”

He reached out, and she immediately grabbed his hand.

A moment later, they disappeared from the tent and appeared in the familiar space Rem had seen before — the training room. A light floor, neutral walls, and the white sky beyond the windows.

“Let’s wait here for a bit,” she said.

Alisar nodded silently and remained beside her.

“Just relax. You said time moves faster here, right?” she asked.

“Yes. Time flows much faster here.”

“How much faster?” she pressed.

“Well… I’m not exactly sure,” he admitted. “But I think it’s more than a hundred times.”

“More than a hundred…” Rem repeated thoughtfully. “Good.”

She looked at her interface to check her mana recovery. It was progressing at a normal pace.

“Can you tell me more about this skill of yours?” she asked, watching him intently.

“Sure,” he nodded.

“You can stay here indefinitely?”

“Yes,” he began, but then hesitated. “No…”

“What do you mean, yes and no?” she asked, puzzled.

“Well,” he scratched his head, searching for words, “I can stay here as long as I want… unless I fall asleep. Once I do, this place kicks me out.”

“So you can stay here indefinitely — as long as you’re awake…” Rem repeated to herself. “But if you fall asleep, it ends.”

She recalled the moment when Sherial had ended up here alone. She had stayed in the room for hours while Alisar briefly returned to the real world. Everything had gone smoothly then.

“Okay,” Rem said, turning her gaze to him. “Go back to the tent. Then come back here in a couple of minutes. No longer than that.”

“Got it,” Alisar nodded, and his figure vanished.

Rem was left alone. She clenched her fists and looked up at the ceiling of the training room.

“If this works the way I think it will… we might actually survive this,” she thought, feeling her determination awaken once more.

Several hours passed — or so it felt. Her mana was nearly fully restored. Almost… just a little more to go.

“Alright… calm down,” she thought. “When he comes back — what if he forgot? No… Time flows so much faster here. Maybe not even two minutes have passed out there yet. Even better. The faster time flows here, the more chances we have.”

And soon, Alisar reappeared in the room.

“Alright. Take me back,” she said, rising to her feet. “Back to the tent.”

He nodded. They touched hands — and vanished from the training room.

Back in the tent. The air once again felt heavy, tense. The sounds of voices outside the thin fabric reminded her — time was running out.

“Stay here. Don’t take a single step outside,” she threw over her shoulder and, without waiting for a reply, rushed out.

Rem quickly headed back toward the wall, to the stairs leading up.

She climbed and scanned the area. Calm. The next wave hadn’t started yet.

“Good. I made it.”

“Sherial, second wave hasn’t started yet?” she asked as she approached.

“Not yet,” Sherial replied. “You’re back fast. Barely ten minutes passed. What’s your plan?”

“You’ll see,” Rem said, and extended her hand forward.

Magic circles flared up below the wall, and one by one, eight massive golems emerged — each at least five meters tall. They lined up neatly beside the three already standing.

Now there were eleven.

“Wait... I thought you only had mana left for five more,” Sherial said, surprised. “You said you couldn’t summon any more.”

“Let’s just say… my idea worked,” Rem answered with a faint smile.

“Well then, I’m heading back down,” she added.

“Wait. The wave could start any moment. Better stay here,” Sherial said, concerned.

“I need to keep summoning. Without that, we won’t hold,” Rem replied calmly.

Sherial frowned.

“But you’re out of mana… aren’t you?”

“I found a way to recover it quickly,” Rem said, smiling faintly.

“A way?.. What kind of way?” Sherial asked, clearly intrigued.

“I’ll explain later,” Rem said shortly and, wasting no time, descended the wall again. She headed confidently back toward the tent — where Alisar was waiting.