Suri had changed.

  Not in power—though that was certainly part of it—but in attitude. Something inside her had been unleashed, and now she reveled in it like a storm given a human form.

  “[Lightning Bolt]!”

  “[Lightning Bolt]!”

  Boom.

  “[Lightning—Bolt!]”

  Her laughter echoed across the sandstone cavern, bouncing off dunes and broken pillars like the crackle of an overcharged thunderhead. Illusion-lightning crawled over her skin, coiling around her arms and flickering across her eyes, painting her in shifting blue-white arcs. None of it was real, but to the lizardmen watching from the shadows?

  She was death incarnate.

  A living tempest.

  Even those who hidden well that had crept forward—hiding in patches of cracked stone—froze the moment her gaze slid toward them. Their legs trembled. Their claws curled against the sand. Some hissed in warning, but none dared move.

  Kana squinted at the sight. “She just keeps on spamming it.”

  Boris hefted his unused spear with a tired groan. “You shouldn’t have let her learn that skill. I still haven’t used my spear in this dungeon.”

  Another crack split the air as Suri launched another bolt at a distant lizardman who had attempted to run. The creature exploded into motes of mana before it even hit the ground.

  “[Lightning Bolt]!” she shouted again, grinning widely, her illusion flaring so bright Kana had to shield her eyes.

  Leo stared at her, concerned creeping into his voice. “Are you… still not running low on mana?”

  Suri puffed her chest out even further. Lightning spiraled dramatically around her torso—again, an illusion, but convincing enough to make Boris back up a step.

  “My mana is fine,” Suri declared. “I can probably end this dungeon with just me.” She swung her staff like a general commanding an army of storms. “Fear me! For I am—”

  Crack. “—LIGHTNING ITSELF!”

  Kana pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is getting out of hand.”

  Boris muttered. “This is your fault in the first place.”

  Behind them, Kier sat on the warm desert floor, elbows resting on his knees. Sweat mixed with sand on his brow, but his expression was disturbingly calm—as though he’d passed the threshold of shock hours ago.

  He watched Suri unleash another bolt, the cavern flashing blue.

  He yawned and blinked lazily. “Nothing surprises me with you kids anymore.”

  Another lizardman screamed in the distance before turning into a puff of golden particles.

  Suri planted her staff proudly into the sand, lightning illusions snapping around her like the wings of a storm-born dragon.

  “Onward!” she shouted. “Let us purge this place!”

  Kana rubbed her forehead. Boris sighed. Leo looked resigned. And Kier just leaned back on his hands.

  The dungeon had become less of a challenge…

  and more of a stage for Suri’s dramatic lightning rampage.

  …

  Unlike Suri’s feverish energy from the past few days—an energy born from discovering the glory of her newly learned [Lightning Bolt]—she now looked utterly deflated. The girl was sprawled across Boris and Leo, snoring softly, her limbs hanging like those of a puppet whose strings had been cut. It was as if the very spark that had made her so obnoxiously alive had been gifted to the sky and never returned.

  Outside the carriage, the winter evening pressed in from all directions. Frost clung stubbornly to the wooden frames, making each window shimmer faintly in the moonlight. The wheels groaned as they rolled over frozen soil, and every breath inside the carriage puffed out in faint clouds. The cold seeped through cloaks, boots, and even the blankets piled atop the sleeping trio.

  Kana alone remained awake.

  Her eyes burned—not with fatigue, but with the thrill of progress. A week of relentless dungeon raids had pushed her forward in leaps. Two whole levels. Just a little more… Level 30 was close. She hugged her notebook to her chest, biting back the grin that wanted to break free.

  But the excitement soured slightly. A week had passed in the blink of an eye. They had to return to the academy. They weren’t even able to visit the Saltrain Village though they were planning to visit probably before the second year enrollment.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  She sighed, letting her forehead rest against the cold carriage wall. The thought of their village—snow-dusted roofs, warm fires, familiar faces—drifted just within reach, then slipped away like smoke.

  A violent jolt shook the carriage.

  The wheels slammed against a large stone buried under the frost. The whole carriage lurched, sending blankets flying, weapons clattering, and waking the resting students in a frantic burst of movement.

  Leo shot upright, eyes wide.

  Boris grabbed his spear with the reflex of a man expecting ambush.

  Suri let out a startled yelp that turned into incoherent mumbling before she flopped back down.

  Kana snorted. She couldn’t help it. Their synchronized panic was too perfect.

  Suri blinked at Kana’s notebook. “Wha… you scribbling again?” She rubbed her eyes, smearing a bit of dried drool across her cheek.

  “I’m thinking about that coin storage establishment idea,” Kana said, tapping her quill against the page. “It might be our best bet to get rich quickly.”

  Leo frowned, still half-asleep. “Coin storage establishment?”

  Kana narrowed her eyes in mock secrecy. “I’m not going to tell you yet. But… I’ve hit a problem.”

  She flipped the page, showing a rough diagram. “I need a special parchment—something immune to duplication skills or anything similar. If even one person with a talent for copying finds it… the entire idea falls apart.”

  Is someone already doing it with the coin? Kana dropped the thought for now.

  Leo stretched, spine cracking loudly, and groaned. “Then you should check the Research Laboratory Academy. They’ve got all kinds of weird, experimental stuff. Dangerous stuff. A lot of it looks useless until it isn’t.” He pointed a finger at her. “Like that voice-enhancing stone. Looks like a pebble, apparently it can shatter glass if you cough too close to it.”

  He paused.

  “Just… be careful. I heard people get injured there all the time. Random explosions, unstable artifacts—stuff like that.”

  Kana tucked her quill behind her ear. The cold bit harder against her fingertips, but she hardly noticed.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, determination settling into her tone. “I’ll pay them a visit.”

  Outside, the winter wind howled against the carriage canvas like a restless beast.

  Inside, the group slowly settled again.

  But Kana didn’t sleep.

  The journey back to the academy would be long—but for the first time, it felt like every mile carried her toward something far greater than a dungeon.

  ……

  Kier and Leo dropped them off at the central district, the heart of the capital. Winter air nipped at exposed skin, but the citizens had long grown accustomed to the cold. Cloaks flapped, merchants shouted prices, and chimneys exhaled coils of white smoke into the pale midday sky. Life moved with its usual rhythm—steady, unbothered, lively.

  It was the weekend, a perfect time for wandering the stalls, and Kana’s mood lifted instantly. She scanned the rows of vendors with bright eyes; her hands nearly shook with anticipation.

  She wanted souvenirs this time. Snacks or wooden toys.

  A knitted scarf or two for the kids back at the orphanage. They still had a day to spare.

  Suri, on the other hand, had already been caught by a passing display of patterned cloaks shimmering with frost-thread embroidery.

  “We don’t have much time,” Kana reminded her.

  “Just one piece of cloth,” Suri pleaded dramatically, hands clasped together. “One! Then we’ll get your snacks and everything. Promise.”

  Kana groaned, eyes softening. “Fine… just one.”

  They slipped into the flow of the busy street. People brushed past them—bakers delivering warm pastries, adventurers showing off trophies, children chasing each other through patches of slush. It was peaceful. Familiar. Comfortingly loud.

  Until the light dimmed.

  A shadow swallowed them whole.

  Kana’s [High Awareness] flared. Instinct screaming.

  Her spine straightened. Her breath hitched.

  —Move.

  A massive blade cleaved through the air toward her. Too large. Too heavy. Too fast. It cut the space in front of her like a falling meteor.

  Time slowed down. The world slowed into stretched frames.

  Her heartbeat thundered in her ears—one deafening boom. Her muscles screamed.

  She couldn’t avoid it. But she could meet it. She raised her forearm, instinctive, desperate. The impact hit her like a mountain collapsing. Her vision flashed white.

  Then—

  She was in mid-air.

  The force threw her across the street, smashing her through a stall. Wood splintered. Fruit burst around her in sprays of color. She hit the ground with a sound like breaking stone, and for a moment her body refused to obey her.

  Warm blood spilled past her lips.

  If there hadn’t been a wall supporting her half-crumpled form, she would have slumped fully to the ground.

  Her mind reeled.

  What… what kind of strength…? That wasn’t human. I’m still alive. Right?

  [Lightning Bolt]

  [Cleave]

  Suri and Boris retaliated like instinct-driven beasts. Lightning cracked. Spear screamed. Their combined attack should have carved through any normal foe.

  But the man didn’t even flinch.

  Light flickered across his skin—thin, fleeting, like scales of hardened air. Kana recognized it instantly.

  Adam. The resemblance. The defensive shimmer.

  [Toughness] skill.

  But this one… was stronger. Much stronger. The man continued his slow, terrible advance toward Kana.

  Then the guards appeared—armor clanging, shields raised, swords drawn.

  “Stop! What do you think you’re doing attacking someone in the middle of the day!?” a guard barked, voice trembling with anger.

  The massive man pointed at Kana, his expression chillingly calm. “That girl is dangerous. My skill [Danger Detection] marked her. [Threat level: Extreme]. She must be eliminated.”

  “Hold on,” another guard said, stepping closer and squinting. “Wait—Guildmaster? Is that you? The adventurer branch guildmaster?”

  The man stepped into the faint beam of sunlight breaking through the winter clouds.

  He was enormous—larger even than Boris or Adam.

  A wall of muscle, wrapped in a winter coat dusted with frost. Grey streaks ran through his cropped hair and thick beard. He held a weapon—if it could be called that. A massive slab of metal, taller than he was. Blunt. No edge. More like the remains of a demolished tower than a sword. But his left arm… was missing.

  “I am,” he said. “Ruvel, guildmaster of this adventurer’s guild branch.”

  Suri sprinted to Kana’s side and knelt beside her, panicking. “What are you doing!? We’re students from the academy!”

  She shoved her identification and gold badge toward the nearest guard with shaking hands.

  The guard’s eyes widened. Shock flickered across his face. He straightened immediately, clearing his throat.

  “They’re academy students,” he announced firmly to Ruvel. “Guildmaster, we need an explanation. You need to come with us.”

  The winter wind cut sharply between the buildings, and the street—so loud moments before—fell into a stunned hush. Ruvel was confused for a moment, his dark brown eyes lingered to Kana as he followed the guards.

  Kana’s vision blurred at the edges.

  Her heartbeat thudded painfully.

  Her fingers trembled as she pressed them to her ribs.

  But even through the pain, thought echoed:

  Why did his skill mark me as dangerous?

  I didn't do anything.

  What kind of level did he reach to achieve such monstrous strength?