Ney found himself once again in the eerie, abandoned streets of the dungeon that had imitated Lucria's appearance. A gust of wind blew between the buildings, carrying the oppressive silence of a ruined city. The grey, cloudy sky was still there, unbothered by the sunny weather of the outside world. In the distance, beyond the small alley, shadows ran along the walls, a clear indication of the presence of monsters.

With a sound similar to water being forcefully displaced, Cariene appeared next to Ney, daggers in hands. She quickly looked around before relaxing her pose and saying:

"And now, we're in the same dungeon. Did Jell explain to you the process by which adventuring parties stay together when crossing these dungeon gates?"

"She told us that, after forming a party, you'll always end up in the same version of the dungeon as your party members."

"That's right! Without that, you'll all end up in separate spaces and have to go through the dungeon alone. That's also the reason you won't come across other parties in here. So always remember to properly group up, yeah?"

Ney nodded, and the two of them began exploring this new labyrinth.

The young adventurer quickly realized the enormous difference in strength between himself and the guildmaster. While the former had to avoid and parry attacks until an opening formed, the latter could strike down her opponents faster than they could swing their weapons. She also had an ability that made her invisible, which she used to get rid of groups without them even noticing they were being taken down.

The enemies here were known as dustmen, partially-formed humanoids wielding various tools and weapons in combat. They walked around aimlessly, dragging their misshapen forms along the streets, mere shades of the people inhabiting the real city. While their weaponry was more varied than the tower's constructs, their tactics rarely went beyond rushing forward and trying to strike with whatever they held.

With Cariene's help, Ney collected a large number of dust bags, the item granting extra rewards in the dungeon. The two also defeated the boss, a shapeshifting mass of dust, in only a few seconds, entirely thanks to a well-placed backstab from the guildmaster.

After collecting the rewards and leaving the dungeon, Ney asked:

"Seeing you in action got me curious... what class are you?"

"I'm a Whisper, an advanced form of the Assassin class. I'm really bad at taking damage, but since I can turn invisible and take my opponents by surprise, that rarely matters."

"And since Jell is good at taking damage... you work very well together."

"You got that right! Well, I think we'd make a great team no matter what, we just happened to also have affinities for complementary roles. We had other party members with us, but I worked best with her, obviously."

Ney thought for a moment, then asked:

"An Abyss Warrior and a Whisper... those must be rare classes, right?"

"Well, they are rare in the sense that few people have them unlocked, since you need to clear some of the harder dungeons out there to get them, but they're available to anyone who does just that."

The more he learned about his teacher, the more impressed Ney was. That such a woman decided to go back to her hometown and pretend to be a completely ordinary adventurer boggled his mind.

"Well, thanks for telling me a bit more about you two. Shall we go back in?"

"When you're ready!"

Thanks to Cariene's help, Ney barely felt tired, even several runs in. He also collected far more rewards than what was achievable by himself thanks to the Whisper making short work of even large groups of dustmen. By the time they got hungry for lunch, the apprentice already had his full armor set.

While they ate, Ney went over the bonuses granted by his new gear. The weapon was useless to him, thanks to the work his dad had put on his current sword, but it also wasn't necessary to obtain the armor's set bonus. The rest granted better defensive stats than what he currently wore, at least when compared to the pieces he hadn't already swapped with drops from the previous day, and offered a sizeable chunk of SP on top. With this, he would be able to make us of more skills before needing a potion or some rest.

He had also reached level 9, getting him ever closer to his first set of Attribute Points. Seeing this, he asked:

"Should I try to level up one more time before meeting my future party? That way, I'll at least have some points to distribute and recover with my skill."

Cariene swallowed her bite, then answered:

"You still have a few days before the others get here, so that'd be a good way for you to spend them. I'll be busy, though, so you'll have to be going in solo."

Ney nodded, confident that wouldn't be a problem. He had run all of the city's dungeons by himself already, after all.

"Thank you again for your help today. This armor seems to be pretty powerful for its level."

"Yeah, it's a very common first goal for new adventurers. Like you pointed out, defenders tend to prefer the set from the tower, but more Skill Points is good for absolutely everyone, so there's no harm in going for it."

"In that case, I'll probably make the tower my next training ground. That way, I'll have the flexibility of two different gear sets."

Cariene silently agreed as she took a sip of water. Before they could move to a new topic, Jell sat at their table, next to her wife, and asked her:

"So, how's my student doing?"

"Pretty good. It's too early to say how much potential he has, and his special skill has yet to give him anything unexpected, but he's doing good progress."

Jell looked around, too shy to get intimate with Cariene in public, before finally asking:

"Does that mean you'll keep your promise?"

Cariene giggled, then answered:

"Yes, it does. I'm all yours for the next few days."

Despite her wife's shy demeanor and flushed cheeks, the guildmaster leaned in and dropped a kiss on her lips, causing her to almost start steaming. Ney had trouble reconciling the image he had of this strict teacher with what was happening in front of him, but he figured that people acted different with those they loved. His own parents also showed new sides of themselves when they were together, after all.

With his two mentors acting all lovey-dovey in public, however, Ney finally asked a question he had been keeping in for the past few days:

"So... is it common for adventurers to form couples together?"

Cariene tapped a finger on her lips for a few seconds before answering:

"Not really. The vast majority of adventurers who are married have people doing something else as their partner, and of the couples like ours out there, only a minority are in the same party."

Ney was stunned for a moment, then asked:

"Wouldn't you want to adventure with the one you love?"

Jell took the initiative to provide an explanation:

"It might seem that way at first, but not everyone works well with everyone else. Even within a couple, someone might just not have the skills or classes to complement their partner. It's also a common issue for adventuring troubles to become marital troubles in those relationships, with several high-profile marriages having fallen apart in the past because of that. There are a lot of good reasons to not adventure with the person you love."

Cariene nodded along with the explanation, then added:

"And while the proximity and emotions that come from adventuring can lead to romantic bonds forming within a party, these concerns usually mean people don't get together, or split up as a party before forming a couple. Not always, though, as you can see."

Ney took a sip of water before asking:

"So what's different about your couple in particular?"

Both women shrugged simultaneously, but it's Cariene who spoke:

"Honestly? Probably luck. Like yeah, when we got together, we had long talks about the risks we were taking, and we promised each other that no matter what, we'd get through everything together... but we also just never got hit with anything major as a party. No struggle with clearing dungeons that bled into our personal relationships, no little feuds that required us to pick sides, no hard ethical dilemmas without any right answer to disagree about... I want to believe that we'd have kept our promise even through those, but I don't actually know."

Hearing the discomfort in Cariene's voice, Jell grabbed her arm and invited her to rest her head on her shoulder before saying:

"No point in worrying about hypotheticals. Things worked out for us, and that's what matters."

She then turned towards Ney and concluded:

"That about covers it, I think. Keep all that in mind if you ever fall for another adventurer."

Velia quickly flashed through Ney's mind, but he chased her away with a shake of his head. It did seem like his best option was to forget entirely about her and to socialize with non-adventurers living in Lucria. He'd have to get used to the city though, and ideally get properly established as an adventurer. Now wasn't the best time to worry about his romantic life.

He let out a sigh and shrugged, going back to his meal as his two mentors leaned against one another.

The oversized construct swung its sword down, Ney effortlessly avoiding it before riposting with a [Power Strike]. The boss' moving parts ground to a halt, and with one last screech, it fell to the floor, the crashing sound of metal hitting stone echoing through the room.

Ney wiped his brow and let out a sigh of relief. Despite having repeatedly cleared the Ey-Tzi-Er Tower over the last few days, he still always found himself struggling against the bosses he encountered. Although he was now significantly better at reading their movements and predicting their attacks, he still had to remain fully focused during the battles to not make mistakes.

As the echoes made room for silence, a wave of information entered Ney's mind:

Level Up!

You have reached level 10!

+5 Attribute Points!
From now on, you will be granted additional points every time you level up. You may spend them freely to improve your Attributes.

Class Proficiency Unlocked!
From now on, whenever you gain experience points, you will gain an equal amount of Proficiency in your equipped class. At certain Proficiency thresholds, you will be granted new skills. Gaining sufficient proficiency also allows you to unbind a class' skills, making them available to use on other classes.

Ney nodded, satisfied by his progress. Now that he had Attribute Points, [Enhanced Class Change] could finally provide some benefits. He was also excited at the prospect of "unbinding" skills, but Jell had taught her students that doing so required a ridiculous amount of experience, far outside the scope of what could be achieved by adventurers still busy figuring out their role in their party and unlocking more powerful classes.

As he walked to the rewards room, Ney assigned his Attribute Points, splitting them between his Strength and Vitality. He felt a wave of pity towards everyone else, realizing how lucky he was to not have to already be making permanent decisions.

Finally, as he entered the room, he was greeted by a crystal rather than the usual treasure chest. He quickly frowned as he whispered:

"Crystal... So I'm getting a class or skill this time. Let's see what this low-level dungeon has in store."

He made no attempt to suppress the smile gripped to his lips as he slammed his hand on the reward. Among the usual materials and pieces of gear, a fragment of the message stood out like a lighthouse on a moonless night:

Reward granted!

Class unlocked: Ey-Tzi-Er Knight Construct.

Ney's bewildered expression hadn't faded when he appeared back in the tower's lobby, his mind desperately trying to process what had just happened.

Isn't that... a monster's class!?

Gusts of wind blew down from the high peaks of the Adenar mountains, rushing past the Black Knight while singing melodies not meant for human ears. Several enchantments layered within the armor protected its wearer from the cold and the thin atmosphere, allowing him to keep on climbing unimpeded.

He grabbed some monster baits designed to attract wyverns and threw them out. He only had three left, leading him to wonder if the sightings were merely unfounded rumors. He stopped and took a look around, just in case.

He was currently in a valley, between peaks too steep to climb. The winds constantly lifted snow up, severely restricting visibility. Under these conditions, it could simply be the case that a flying monster wouldn't risk coming out of its lair.

As the Black Knight sighed, wondering if he was better off coming back later, a shadow cast across the powder snow caught his eye. He grabbed his sword and rushed towards the bait he had just thrown out, reaching the area in time to see a large winged creature hunched over the food, preparing to take flight again. Without hesitating, the knight threw a [Provoke] at it, followed by a [Compel Assault], ensuring the monster would fight him. The wyvern rushed forward, forgetting about its plans to run with the food, attempting to trample the strange black shape that enraged it so much.

The Black Knight avoided the attack and attempted a counterattack, but his sword barely scratched the monster's scales.

4 damage inflicted.

Sure enough, he wasn't going to pierce the defense of a level 78, 1-star monster like that. Normally, it would take a full party matching the creature's level to defeat it. Thankfully, he wasn't normal.

Dodging another charge from the wyvern, the Black Knight activated his trump card:

End's Rage activated. All stats increased by 200%. Ability to distinguish between living beings suppressed, all living creatures are now perceived as enemies. Desire to fight amplified. Immunity granted to effects: Bind, Seal, Berserk.

The effect would last until the Black Knight ran out of possible targets, or until he was made unable to fight by one of the many effects the skill didn't make him immune to, at which point he would become stunned and entirely unable to keep on fighting.

As his sight tinged red and the wyvern before him became nothing more than a featureless blob, the knight unleashed a roar worthy of a beast on the hunt. Grabbing his sword with both hands, he dashed forward, making use of the additional speed granted to him by his skill to close the distance with his target. He dodged teeth, fangs and wings all while lacerating the creature's flesh, each new cut contributing to the growing pools of crimson now dotting the landscape.

As his body savagely fought, reveling in the pleasure of combat, the Black Knight could only sigh inwardly. He hated the way he acted while under the effect of [End's Rage], but the skill bypassed all of his inhibitions on top of amplifying the thrill that came from clashing against powerful enemies. Laughing maniacally while covered in monster blood, he was yet again reminded of his primary reason to never work with others.

Despite being a Legendary skill, [End's Rage] was extremely difficult to properly work around in a team, on top of turning its user into little more than another monster, even if only temporarily. The Black Knight kept everyone at arm's length, worried that new allies would get scared and turn on him.

Like they did.

Memories flashed through his mind. The people of his hometown, their eyes filled with fear and disdain. His former party members, spitting on the ground before walking away. His fiancée, throwing her engagement ring at him before running off.

With a loud crunch, his sword pierced through the wyvern's neck. Using his momentum and body weight, the knight completed a circular motion, decapitating the creature. As blood sprayed everywhere, he reminded himself that this was all in the past. Before he became the Dark Knight. Before he embraced solitude.

He looked up at the monster he had just defeated, still standing, and grinned. He could take down one-star monsters solo, keeping the rewards entirely to himself. Why share with allies?

As doubts crept up his mind, he remembered the gazes.

As the wyvern's carcass fell, the effect of [End's Rage] expired. The Black Knight fell to his knees, unable to move.

Armor effect: Stun Resistance activated. Duration of status "Stunned" reduced by 98%.

He let out a sigh of relief, glad to be able to move again. As he approached the body, it started disintegrating, startling him. He took a few steps back, wondering if this was a prelude to something worse showing up, but the monster simply vanished, leaving behind a golden key inlaid with decorative silver filament.

The Black Knight picked it up, flipping it a few times between his fingers. He looked around, trying to find anything that could hint at the origin of this unusual behavior, but found nothing. While it was possible for monsters to escape dungeons that hadn't been cleared in too long, they stopped acting like the ones still inside, meaning their bodies wouldn't disappear upon death.

As the knight rubbed the key, he took another look around and, seeing no obvious door or portal, turned back and began his descent. He resented the fact that the wyvern hadn't let him collect any materials from its body, but the reward token he now held hinted at a much larger mystery he was sure to be involved in solving.