Mission: Eliminate the Invaders

Noah's Crystal Core had already been sent to the boss chamber. However, to his surprise, it was no longer visible, which sparked his curiosity.

But the system quickly responded, clearing his doubts:

[Due to the appearance of a Mini-Boss in the dungeon, the core will remain hidden until the Mini-Boss is defeated.]

Noah loved the update. His security had increased considerably. Now, enemies could only destroy his core if they managed to kill the Carrion Zombie.

Upon creating the new monster, a window with detailed information appeared. He already knew most of it — after all, it was his own creation. However, one detail caught his attention: the Carrion Zombie was classified as a level 4 monster, one tier above the Demon Rat.

"System, what does this level mean? How does it work?" Noah asked, curious.

[In the world of dungeons, monsters are ranked by threat levels. This classification is based on various factors: physical strength, resistance, special or magical abilities, intelligence, coordination capacity, and overall danger to humans.Humans use a magic called [Evaluate] to measure a monster's strength based on these parameters.]

Noah was surprised. So that's where the dungeon monster levels came from...

But he didn't let that distract him for long. His focus now shifted to another issue: the invaders.

He switched his vision to the dungeon's entrance, where he saw four people cautiously entering.

"So, you're the ones who'll test my newest creation... that is, if you can even reach it," Noah murmured in his mind with a confident smile.

Ding!

A bell rang in his mind, cutting off his thoughts.

[Mission: Eliminate the invading adventurers]

[Reward: Possession]

The notification appeared before his eyes in a vivid interface.

"A mission?" Noah briefly reviewed the details and chuckled. "I was going to do that anyway."

He had no idea what the reward called Possession meant… but he would certainly find out.

The adventurers entered the dungeon cautiously.

"A hallway..." Daren, the group's leader, muttered. "Stay alert. There are probably traps around here."

"Guys, is no one going to talk about that squirrel?" Elisa exclaimed, still shaken. Her eyes darted from corner to corner suspiciously. "Seriously, that thing was not normal!"

But no one responded. The group simply moved forward.

Just as Daren was about to take another step, Melissa shouted:

"Wait, Daren! Look at those holes in the wall... it's probably a trap," she said, adjusting her glasses with a quick, precise touch.

Daren nodded seriously. He raised his large, sturdy shield and positioned himself at the front.

"Everyone behind me. Single file."

With their bodies close together, they formed a single line behind the shield bearer. Tense, steady footsteps echoed down the corridor until...

Clack!

A click echoed in the air. Arrows were suddenly fired in sequence from holes in the walls — a swarm of projectiles launched at them, all intercepted by Daren's heavy shield.

With precision and composure, the group crossed the trap unharmed.

Noah, observing everything from the dungeon core, sighed disdainfully.

"Tsk... that arrow trap is way too easy to bypass."

The group continued down the hallway, exchanging tense words. Their anxiety was obvious — they had never entered an unknown dungeon without support from other parties. However, the promise of keeping all the rewards to themselves was too tempting to resist.

As they walked, they reached a quiet and dark area of the tunnel where Noah had prepared a hidden spike trap. On the ground was a pressure-sensitive brick as the trigger — but the group walked past it, unaware, and no one stepped on it.

Noah watched carefully, ready to see his trap spring into action... but nothing happened.

That's when the squirrel, sneaky as a shadow, appeared atop a pillar. With agile and calculated movements, it pulled out a small shuriken made of bone and threw it precisely at the brick.

Clack!

The blade hit its mark, pressing the brick down.

CRASH!

Suddenly, spikes shot violently from the ground. The group had almost left the trap area — but not quite. One of the spikes grazed the archer's arm.

"Rafael!" Melissa shouted, running to him.

Rafael fell back, gasping, eyes fixed on the spikes that had burst from the floor like murderous lances. By mere seconds, they had narrowly escaped being skewered.

Melissa looked around, confused, as blood began to flow from Rafael's injured arm.

"This doesn't make sense... we didn't step on anything. How was this trap triggered?"

She left her doubts for later — the bleeding from Rafael's arm was too intense to ignore. She placed her hands over the wound and chanted firmly:

"Heal!"

A green and pure glow emanated from her hands, enveloping the wound. Slowly, the flesh closed, and the bleeding stopped.

"Hey, that's cheating... CHEATING!" Noah shouted, furious as he watched the scene from above, spying on the invading group.

The rest of the group wore grim expressions. The tension was palpable.

"Daren, are you sure we should keep going?" Melissa asked, still kneeling beside Rafael.

Daren felt the weight of responsibility. He knew his decision would determine everyone's fate.

"It was just a scratch," he replied firmly, trying to reassure them. "We'll be more careful next time."

He stood up.

"I'll scout ahead down the corridor. I'll be back soon."

"I'll go with you!" Elisa said quickly, but Daren shook his head calmly.

"You should stay here and protect the others until Melissa finishes healing Rafael."

Elisa hesitated, but obeyed. Daren moved down the corridor. When he looked back, he saw Elisa watching him with concern. Her lips moved as if she said something, but he couldn't hear it.

That's when Daren noticed something strange. As he looked at the floor, a dense, gray mist was spreading. Gas. He tried to cover his nose, but it was too late — he had already inhaled too much before realizing the danger.

Suddenly, Elisa's voice rang out firmly:

"Oh spirits of the wind, hear my call and lend me your power!"

A gust of wind tore through the corridor, completely dispersing the poisonous gas.

Elisa ran to Daren, worried.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

Daren coughed a few times, trying to catch his breath, and nodded.

"That was careless of me... Thank you, Elisa."

When he held her hand in gratitude, Elisa blushed slightly. Her usually firm expression softened with a hint of shyness, making her look even more beautiful.

Once the group recovered, they decided to continue exploring the dungeon. After overcoming the traps, they stood before a large stone door.

"Should we go in?" Elisa asked, glancing at the others.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Daren, shield and sword at the ready, pushed the door open. As it creaked, he was met with a violent sword slash.

A skeleton, hidden beside the entrance, attacked as soon as it sensed movement. Its blade struck Daren's shield head-on, producing a loud metallic clang that echoed through the chamber.

The entire group reacted immediately, forming a combat stance.

Melissa adjusted her glasses quickly and muttered:

"Evaluate!"

Her eyes glowed blue, and floating information appeared next to the skeleton. Some of the data was unreadable, but the most important detail was clear:

[Level 2]

"A level 2 skeleton. Nothing unusual. We can handle it," she said firmly.

From above, Noah watched and raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"That's it, kid... never doubted you," he muttered with a proud smirk as he watched the fight.

Daren exchanged blows with the skeleton, holding firm with his shield. The group's archer had already prepared an arrow, aiming carefully. With a sharp whistle, the arrow flew and struck the creature's head, forcing it to stagger back.

Daren didn't waste time. He advanced with precision and delivered a strike that knocked the enemy's sword away. The skeleton collapsed. In one swift, brutal move, Daren raised his foot and crushed the creature's skull with a single stomp, ending the fight.

"Don't let your guard down!" Daren shouted firmly.

Before the group could even catch their breath, more creatures emerged from the shadows. Another skeleton charged straight at Daren, who raised his shield just in time to block the attack.

Rafael, ready to assist, was caught off guard by a mutant spider that rapidly descended the wall, stopping right in front of him.

"What the...?!" he exclaimed, jumping back with wide eyes.

Wasting no time, Rafael pulled out three arrows and began firing in rapid succession. The spider retaliated, spitting webs to pin him to the wall.

Melissa, watching the battle closely, turned to Elisa, only to notice her face twisted in disgust.

"Elisa?" she called, concerned.

Then Melissa saw it too.

Two grotesque, staggering zombies were slowly advancing toward them. Their tattered clothes, rotting flesh, and empty eyes sent a chill down her spine.

Melissa's eyes glowed blue as she muttered:

"All level 2 creatures..." she narrowed her eyes, analyzing the situation. "That confirms it. This must be a class D dungeon... and the boss is probably level 3."