Chapter 1: The Dungeon Where Hope Began to Break

“Anoo… Tanma-san, do you have any new jobs for me today?”
My voice trembled slightly as I stood at the guild counter.

Tanma—brown-haired, green-eyed, impeccably dressed, adjusting her glasses with her usual strict grace—glanced at me with a tired exhale.

“Hold on, let me check.”

She scanned the quest board on her screen, then frowned.

“I’m sorry, Miyuki-san… It seems there’s nothing available for you today. And… without a party, are you really alright working like this?”

I forced a smile.
More than anything, I hated making her worry.

“I can do it. Even alone. I’ll take on any quest the guild gives me. I’ll get stronger—no matter what.”

Tanma sighed again, the kind of sigh only an old friend could make.

We had known each other since school. She always helped everyone—even when she pretended she didn’t have the time.

“Actually… I heard the Dog Wild Party is looking for one more member. I already recommended you.”

My eyes widened.

“Really!? Thank you, Tanma! You’re the best friend I could ever ask for!”

I leaned over the counter and hugged her tightly. She blushed and gently pushed up her glasses again, embarrassed but smiling.

A moment later, the doors of the guild swung open as the Dog Wild Party entered.

A blonde woman in high-grade adventurer gear stepped forward, blue eyes gleaming.

“So she’s our new member?”

I stiffened—expecting rejection.

Instead, her face lit up with genuine warmth.

“Welcome to the party, Hoshizora Miyuki. I’m Liliana Velestile. Nice to meet you.”

Beside her, a young man waved cheerfully.

“Kazuma Otoyaski. Striker and party leader. It’s a pleasure, Miyuki-san!”

Next to him, an elf girl with brown hair tied loosely just… stared at me.

Kazuma nudged her with his elbow.

She clicked her tongue softly.

“Tsubaki Onodera. Fine. Nice to meet you.”

Her attitude was sharp, but her aura was undeniably strong. She held her staff like it was an extension of her body.

Before I knew it, we were all sitting together at a restaurant.

Kazuma leaned back with his drink.
“Miyuki-chan, you still don’t have an official certificate from the Academy?”

“Not yet. That’s why all my quests are low-rank… and I’ve never even entered a proper dungeon.”

Kazuma sighed with sympathy.

“Well, our party isn’t complete today. There’s still one more member—Brian. He’s always late, but he’s reliable and keeps his promises.”

For the first time… I felt something warm. A feeling I hadn’t felt in years.

Belonging.

But the warmth shattered in an instant.

The restaurant doors burst open.

“It’s bad! It’s really bad!”
Brian stumbled in, panting, panic etched across his face.

Kazuma shot to his feet.
“Brian!? What happened!?”

“Bashim and his party… We lost contact with them. They’re gone. All of them!”

Kazuma’s face drained of color.

I didn’t know who Bashim was…
But it was clear he meant everything to Kazuma.

“Let’s go. Now!”

“Wait—shouldn’t we inform the guild first?” I asked, voice shaking.

Kazuma shook his head violently.
“No time! Bashim needs us!”

We ran—straight to Bashim’s last known location.

A dungeon.

Cold. Damp. Silent.

“Stay alert. We’re not alone,” Kazuma warned.

He was right.

A giant spider watched from the ceiling.
A Croc-type monster slithered through the drainage channels.
Shadows crept behind us with quiet hunger.

Liliana whispered, “Kazuma… Miyuki-chan is right. We should report this—”

“No turning back! Bashim needs us!”

A clatter rang out.

Everyone froze.

Kazuma yelled, “Tch—damn rat! You scared me!”

But the real horror arrived from the darkness ahead.

Shambling footsteps.

Ragged breathing.

Figures emerged into the torchlight.

And the world froze.

Bashim and his party…
Their flesh pale.
Eyes hollow.
Movements stiff and unnatural.

Undead.

Liliana gasped.
Tsubaki trembled.

Kazuma collapsed to his knees.

“B… Bashim…? Don’t do this. Please… you’re my friend.”

Brian’s voice darkened.

“It’s useless. He’s gone. All of them are gone.”

Kazuma turned.
“Brian, what are you—”

The man smirked.

Not Brian.

A Necromancer.

Using Brian’s corpse as a puppet.

“You were all so easy to deceive.”

Kazuma screamed and staggered backward—straight into the drainage canal.

The water erupted.

A Riftscale Crocodile lunged upward, jaws clamping around Kazuma’s torso.

“KAZUMA!”

His scream—his final scream—echoed through the dungeon as the monster bit down.

Blood sprayed.
His head disappeared between its jaws.

I covered my mouth, fighting back the urge to vomit.

Liliana and Tsubaki charged forward, striking down the undead Bashim’s team in a storm of magic and fury.

But more monsters awakened—

Silkrend Spiders dropped from above.
Goblin archers emerged from the tunnels.
Ogres stomped through the corridors, dragging boulders to crush us.

A blade-like thread slashed Liliana’s arm.

“<Health>!”

I pressed my glowing hands against her wound, healing her as fast as I could.

But the dungeon roared around us.

We ran.
No strategy.
No formation.
Just desperation.

A sharp whistle cut the air.

Sleeet.

A goblin arrow pierced my left leg.

Pain seared through me.

“Miyuki!”
“We can’t carry her!”
“We have to—”

“No! Leave me and you’ll die too…!”

The goblins raised their bows.
The ogre lifted a massive stone above its head.

Death was seconds away.

Someone… anyone… please help us. I don’t want to die here.

A heavy thud shook the ground.

A blur moved through the darkness—

Then a voice echoed, deep and calm.

“Stand back.”

A young man stepped forward, black hair flowing, golden eyes glowing like an ancient sun.

Clothes from another era.

Presence that didn’t belong to this world.

With a single strike, he kicked the ogre across the chamber, crushing it against the stone wall.

I stared in disbelief.

Who… who is he?

The monsters froze.

And the man with golden eyes turned toward us.