No Retreat, Only Risk

"I don't get it," Axel said, his voice edged with frustration. "Why do you still want to follow me?

You know I'm headed straight for the guy who gave you that nightmare and left you in a panic. If you're that scared of the wolves, why not just… leave the dungeon?"

Rael's expression didn't waver. "Trust me," he replied, his tone calm but firm. "If it were possible to reach the entrance and escape, I'd have done it already. I have the means, I could've escaped the False Ranker and made it out."

"Then why didn't you?" Axel asked with skepticism in his tone.

"Because," Rael said, "this dungeon… it's a Guardian's Domain."

Axel froze. His mouth opened, but for a moment, no words came out. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "A Guardian… You mean this dungeon has a boss monster?"

Rael nodded, his shoulders sagging under the weight of the confirmation. "Yes," he said quietly. "Unfortunately, it does. And I believe that's exactly what the False Ranker is after."

"Shit." Axel spat the word, the sharp sound echoing faintly off the distance. His hand clenched into a fist at his side as a wave of frustration swept over him. Of all the possibilities, this was the worst-case scenario.

Low-level dungeons, E and D ranks, weren't supposed to have bosses. When they did, those rare instances were classified as Guardian's Domains. The difficulty spike was infamous, especially the boss monsters, whose strength often far exceeded the expected level of the dungeon.

No one wanted to end up in one of these death traps. For low-rank Awakeners, encountering a Guardian's Domain was practically a death sentence.

The mortality rate was staggering, not just because of the bosses themselves, but because of the dungeon's unique, merciless design: the exit sealed the moment anyone stepped inside. No one could leave unless the boss monster was defeated.

Axel's mind raced, a storm of curses rising and falling. 'Shit!' he thought again, the word reverberating through his skull like a drumbeat.

The realization hit him hard, stealing the air from his lungs. He'd planned to press on into the dungeon knowing the False Ranker was here, a C-rank, at least, whose strength far outstripped his own.

Axel's confidence in his Ability was what made him decide to move forward. But the real safety net had always been the same: if things went south, he could run.

Now that plan was dead on arrival. A Guardian's Domain meant no retreat. No second chances. Either the boss monster fell, or he did.

Axel exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. His heart was pounding in his chest, but there was no point in panicking. He was already in it, and the only way out was through.

As Axel mulled over the grim reality of their situation, Rael broke the silence, cutting into his thoughts. "So... do you agree?"

Axel turned, fixing him with a hard glare. The frustration bubbling inside him, already ignited by the revelation of the Guardian's Domain, now flared dangerously close to anger. He took a deep breath, forcing his mind to steady, before responding.

"I said no. Didn't you hear me? You'll just end up slowing me down like dead weight." His tone was clipped, final.

Without waiting for a reply, Axel turned on his heel and began walking, his mind already running calculations on how to deal with the mess ahead. But Rael wasn't ready to back down.

"Wait, hear me out."

Axel slowed but didn't stop, casting Rael a sharp glance from the corner of his eye.

Rael seized the moment. "You've seen my stats. I shared my system information with you, so you know I'm not weak. I even have an A-rank ability. I won't hold you back. I can fight, provide support… do whatever you need. Look, I know how I acted earlier," he admitted, his voice dropping slightly.

"It wasn't my proudest moment. But that was just... a temporary lapse. Shock. Trauma. It won't happen again. I swear, I can be useful."

Axel opened his mouth, the rejection already forming, but Rael quickly cut in again.

"And besides, if you let me follow you and guarantee my safety out of this dungeon, I'll pay you. One million credits."

Axel froze mid-step. The words hung in the air for a moment before he slowly turned back, his brow raised. "One million?" he echoed, more to himself than to Rael. His mouth hung open for a brief second, caught in the surprise.

That was no small offer. One million credits was life-changing money, especially for someone like Axel, who had been scraping by.

His suspicions about Rael being some spoiled, upper-class kid seemed more plausible now than ever. Only someone from a wealthy background could throw around a figure like that without hesitation.

'Big fish, huh?'

The corners of his lips twitched briefly as the thought passed through his mind, but his expression quickly hardened again. He schooled his features into indifference and snorted, turning his gaze back to Rael.

"One million?" he scoffed. "Do you think that's enough to buy your life? After the way you were bawling earlier, I figured you'd value it a little higher than that."

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Axel's face as he shook his head and turned to leave once more. He'd barely taken a step when Rael's voice called out, louder this time.

"Wait!" There was a brief pause, then: "F... five million!"

Rael could see it clearly, Axel was milking this situation for all it was worth. But there was no room to argue. Rael knew the truth of it: his life was hanging by a thread, and he wasn't confident he could survive this dungeon alone.

Axel stopped dead in his tracks.

Five million credits.

Even he, as composed as he tried to be, couldn't keep his face from betraying the slight widening of his eyes. Slowly, deliberately, he turned back to Rael.

The corners of his lips curled upward ever so slightly. Not quite a smile, but the expression of someone who was suddenly far more interested than they'd care to admit.

"Now, you're starting to sound serious," Axel said, his voice lower and slower than before.

---

A short while later, Axel and Rael were crouched flat atop a small hill-like elevation. Thick bushes and large boulders surrounded them, creating an ideal hiding spot from the vast plain that stretched out ahead.

The terrain offered them a perfect vantage point, concealing them while they observed the scene unfolding below.

Rael held a mechanical device resembling a compact telescope, pressing it to his eye as he scanned the distant plain. The device gleamed faintly under the sunlight, an advanced piece of gear that contrasted sharply with the primal chaos it was observing.

"What's the situation?" Axel asked, his tone calm but expectant.

"Mm…" Rael muttered, still focused on the scene. "They're locked in. The boss monster looks tough, it's holding off the assault pretty well."

"Let me see," Axel said, stretching a hand toward him. Without hesitation, Rael passed over the telescope.

Axel adjusted the device to his eye, and his vision sharpened, zooming in on the battle raging in the distance. What he saw confirmed Rael's report but added layers of intrigue.

A swarm of mutated dire wolves filled the plain, their snarls and howls echoing faintly even at this distance. The pack was massive, their sleek, sinewy forms darting with unnerving speed as they launched relentless attacks on a single, towering figure in their midst.

The lone monster stood out immediately. It resembled the wolves in shape, but its size dwarfed the rest of the pack. Its thick, snow-white fur glowed faintly in the dungeon's ambient light, a stark contrast to its crimson claws, long and wickedly sharp.

Twin red horns jutted upward from its head, giving it an air of authority and menace. Even from this distance, Axel could see its ferocious features and unyielding posture.

There was no mistaking it, this was the dungeon's boss monster. What made the scene strange, however, was the pack's behavior. These mutated dire wolves were supposed to be the boss's subordinate monsters, yet here they were, attacking it with unbridled ferocity.

Axel's expression didn't shift. He wasn't surprised; he already had an idea of why this was happening. But still, something about the situation felt off.

"Something doesn't add up," he murmured, keeping the telescope pressed to his eye as he continued to observe. "The boss is holding its ground, sure. Right now, the fight's in a stalemate. But… why isn't he joining in?"

Axel shifted the telescope slightly, his vision locking onto a figure standing at the edge of the battlefield. The figure was hooded, their silhouette obscured in the distance. They stood still, eerily detached, as though the chaos around them were nothing more than a performance put on for their benefit.