You know, I still need to figure out how these items work, especially the [Twin Daggers]...

My armor is decent, I checked with Tulod, and apparently, at some point, he gained the ability to see the health bar of monsters. I can't see why they'd hide these details for later levels when it's very important. What I have figured out though is that regardless of health, attacks to what'd usually be vital points are just as lethal regardless of how much health they have. [Endurance] is probably a good stat to raise, but so is [Speed].

Since I'm a thief I should focus more on [Speed] and [Agility]. Something's been telling me that if I don't get faster, I'll be in for a world of trouble. More importantly, I have to remember that I'm not actually a Thief. If I die, I have a feeling that Anaphiel will give me another random Class. 

Ugh! This is all so frustratingly complicated! I wonder if changes ever get made to this thing, like in a game! 

No point thinking about it though, Anaphiel will surely nag me about it the next time she decides to show herself to me. 

"I can make quite a bit from this, can't I?" Speaking to myself, I carefully analyze a glowing green gem, sitting on top of the Goblin corpses. Monsters have certain components in them that can be collected and sold for money outside of dungeons. In the case of Goblins, they have green gems inside of them that are used for things outside of my realm of knowledge. My knowledge only extends as far as knowing that there are certain classes that can use their corpses and parts as materials for potions and more.

"Hey, Roshia!" Zaiden calls out, beckoning me over to him. We'll probably collect all of the parts from the corpses when we're finished here.

When I reach him, Zaiden has a hopeful smile on his face. "You've gotten new skills by now, right?" He asks eagerly. I figured that it had something to do with that. Zaiden's been excited to know when my skill will come into play. "Yep, I got three skills from the goblins I killed," I answer, gaining an expected cheer from Zaiden.

"Alright!" He clenches his fist in approval. "What were they?! You took out archers, so it's probably something that'll help your perception or reaction, right?" Woah. That sentence kind of caught me off guard—I didn't think that Zaiden could be so perceptive. This swordsman has displayed the troupe of being overly eccentric so I'd assumed that he'd also be a bit absentminded too. He really doesn't fit that stereotype at all.

"[Danger Sense], [Eagle Eye], and [Ranged Weapon Mastery]. I think these are going to be pretty useful, especially [Danger Sense]." [Danger Sense] is a skill that I can judge just by name. I haven't checked its description but as a Thief, this should come in handy.

"Yep, those seem like they'll help you out a lot, you're so lucky!." Zaiden compliments, swinging his sword to the side. Blood flies off of the blade, staining the grass beside him.

"You've got some great skills indeed, dear," Remarks Jade, who's sitting down on top of a massive rock between some trees. "But, you should probably focus on gaining skills from the foot grunts. Those Goblins typically have skills that relate to knife combat. There are also [Goblin Mages], who we have yet to come across. Since this is only a [Green Dungeon], they won't appear as much as you'd hope."

Jade is very good at explaining things too. Her [Intelligence] stat is the second highest out of the entire party, Tulod obviously having the most. I'm pretty sure my [Intelligence] will go up on its own if I keep learning all of these new things!

Tulod unexpectedly interrupts our conversation. "All of you should get ready, I can hear more Goblins coming." I guess now is a good time for me to test out my own skill. I couldn't hear anything, but without even looking at the description of [Danger Sense], I have a feeling that it should warn me of their approach—if my guess is correct, that is.

"[Danger Sense]!" Activating the skill as though it's something natural to me, I'm stunned by the function of the ability! Red dots begin to appear in my vision, and my mind becomes aware of the enemies all around me. Anything that is a threat to me within an uncertain distance. They only appear as dots from a greater distance, but as they grow closer, my senses display them as a more Goblin-like figure.

"Woah, I can see 20 Goblins headed this way. And—?" Something stands out, a great distance away from us. It's kind of just a smothered light that looks like it's miles away, but it's clearly present. I shouldn't stress about it now, though, there are more important matters to attend to.

Tulod bangs his shield down in front of us in preparation. "Roshia, [Ranged Weapon Mastery] should be a passive ability that you don't need to activate. If you've collected things from those archers, then you should have Bows and Arrows in your inventory, right?" Tulod questions me while eyes remain trained in front of him.

"Of course, why do you ask?" I respond, preparing my two daggers. Tulod then continues, "I'd like you to train your marksmanship skills." Tulod reveals.

"Train my skills? I didn't know that I could do that..." I helplessly admit, unaware that you could level up your skills just by using them. 

Jade steps up to explain, "Of course, similarly to how you gain [EXP] from fighting and killing enemies, your skills gain [EXP] from being used. There is also an alternative of distributing points to the skill, but most people try not to do that." Fair enough, but there's an issue with that. I've never even had the option to distribute my own points before. Maybe I'll get them in the future. There might be something I'm missing.

Annoyingly enough though, Tulod's senses were so much better than my own. [Danger Sense] lets me know more specific details sure, but he was aware of the approach of enemies before all of us. We have a long way to go, for sure. But why were his senses so great at such a low level in the first place?

Moments later, the crowd of Goblins finally arrived. I've kept my [Danger Sense] on, understanding that it might be more useful to level it up while I can. It doesn't appear to have a limit on how long I can use it, meaning if I adapted and kept this skill on 24/7, I'd be able to level it up in no time! As long as there's no danger nearby, then I won't need to worry about anything anyway! The dots won't even disrupt my vision!

"Hey, Tulod. I want to try something different." Zaiden steps up beside Tulod, his sword pointing forward. "I think that Roshia and I should charge forward, you protect Jade." Tulod gives Zaiden a nod, oddly enough. He must feel that Zaiden and I can handle this without his protection. I can't argue with the party leader, so I'll go along with whatever he has planned. I hope this doesn't kill me.

Zaiden and I step ahead of Tulod, preparing our weapons. I've switched out my Twin Daggers for a bow and arrow collected from the Goblin Archers I'd killed before. "Alright, Roshia." Zaiden nudges his head my way. "I'll let you start us off." 

Without needing to say more, I understood what he was expecting of me. "Right." I nod my head, drawing the string of the bow back. I activate [Eagle Eye].

[Eagle Eye] combined with [Danger Sense] is an amazing combination. [Eagle Eye] has improved my vision, allowing me to see better. Putting that in conjunction with [Danger Sense] is the equivalent of ESP in a video game! Locking on to my target feels natural to me. I've never wielded a bow before, yet I feel like this is a weapon that comes to me more naturally than my daggers.

I take aim at the charging group of Goblins. They've come a long way to die, how sad for them.

Releasing the string, the arrow fires out masterfully, rocketing across the sky at the approaching Goblins that'd eventually come into our line of sight. The arrow strikes a Goblin through its eye, sending it to the ground! "Now, come on!" Zaiden dashes ahead, leaving me a bit stunned by how quickly he charged into danger. My surprise is temporary, however, as I'm quick to follow after him.

With his weapon hanging low to the ground, a thump following each step, Zaiden approaches the group of Goblins, Roshia's arrows following overhead. There are 19 Goblins left after the first one that Roshia killed, and these two will need to pull this off with no assistance! Granted, Jade is off in the background ready to assist when it's necessary!

Zaiden lifts and swings his weapon down onto the head of an unprotected Goblin. His weapon cleaves right through it like butter, splitting the Goblin into two pieces. Meanwhile, one of Roshia's arrows has struck a Goblin in the torso to the side of Zaiden who he swiftly swings his weapon around at to behead. "Phew!" Zaiden's pretty excited to have a marksman watching his back. That may have ended badly if Roshia wasn't with him.

Zaiden kneels down as he hears footsteps, finding that Roshia is coming up behind him. Leaping off of his shoulders, Roshia unleashes an arrow down into the skull of a Goblin a bit ahead of Zaiden. 

Meanwhile, Zaiden has swung his weapon in front of him, though it seems that all of the targets are out of reach. He has to act quickly before Roshia lands, so he does! "[Blade Extension]!" Zaiden's blade extends out suddenly, stretching out to a length of around 10 meters. The Goblins stagger back at the display of his skill, but they don't have enough time to properly react to his attack. 

The body parts of multiple Goblins are flung into the air, blood spraying Roshia as she lands down on the ground, maintaining her position to let Zaiden run ahead of her with his weapon.

✦ [Zaiden Morrison & Roshia Qinlen] Skill Acquired: Synergy (Level 1) ✦

Both Roshia and Zaiden are surprised by the acquisition of this skill but do not have the time to comment on it. Admittedly, it now felt a lot easier for the two of them to work together. Before they'd been getting lucky with their team combinations but now it felt more fluent.

Their fight went on for a while, Roshia continuing to provide support to Zaiden while he rushes ahead and takes down the majority of the Goblin grunts.

Sometime later, I'm just slouched against a tree, catching my breath and examining all of the items that I'd collected. "That was amazing!" Tulod is talking to the two of us, fascinated by our showcase. "I've heard that the [Synergy] skill exists, but I had no idea that the two of you had what it took to unlock it on your first try!" The baldheaded tanker praises. 

"You don't say..." Zaiden is staring at me skeptically. "How did we do that, exactly?" If this were a comic I'd be able to see the thought bubble popping out over his head.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure myself," I answer honestly, everything kind of happened so fluently, I don't know how we managed to do that in the first place. "It was pretty cool though, right?!" Lifting my hand into the air, Zaiden doesn't hesitate to slap his against mine. "Hell yeah, it was!" Sharing a high-five, we're both grinning as though it's Christmas morning.

Once we've taken everything we need, Jade burns the remains of the Goblin corpses. We couldn't haul all of them out of here and we didn't want them to just sit there or else they might attract some other enemies in the dungeon. "You know, I'm curious about something." I begin to speak, turning my eyes over to Jade who is nearest to me. Her ears perk in sport.

"As far as we know, these dungeons can just keep going further and further. Their size is so massive that there might actually be another way to get in, right?" I question, only for Jade to shake her head.

"Of course not, it's impossible for more than one gateway to a single Dungeon to exist. It's never been recorded in the last 10 years, though many things related to dungeons and the [System] are left unknown to us still." Jade explains carefully, poking a finger up in front of herself like she's trying to confirm that she has my attention.

Even though it's been 10 years since the first [Gate] opened and humanity received the [Awakener System], there are still things that they don't know about it. For example, the system is prone to updates. The System is currently still at [Version 1]. The conditions for reaching the next version aren't known, nor is there concrete evidence to suggest that it can grow to a higher version.

What is clear is that if these theories are correct then humanity will undergo another major change if an update does happen.

Now it's time for me to address the elephant in the room.

"Jade, I've been seeing something ever since I got that [Danger Sense] skill." I have to get this off my chest. "Some distance away, there's a small dot. As far as I know, we should've killed anything that holds ill intent towards us with that group of Goblins just now." 

Pointing in the direction that I've been seeing the dot, Jade stares as hard as she can. "I can't see what it is, you don't have to strain yourself." Stopping her halfway, I confirm that not even I, with the [Eagle Eye] skill, have been able to see what exactly it is. This is my first time openly acknowledging it though—!!!

"Tulod!" I yell, my hand reaching out and grabbing Jade by the arm almost out of pure reflex. The red dot that was ever so miniature suddenly grew massively in size! It clouded my entire vision, so much so that I needed to disable [Danger Sense]. And when I did, I could clearly see a humanoid figure approaching from the distance at a speed that covered what should've been an impossible distance in only a few short seconds.

Tulod activates one of his skills, and everyone is suddenly teleported together, gathered behind Tulod. His shield is slammed down in front of us, the entrance to the Dungeon behind us. Before any of us had time to fully grasp the situation, Tulod lets out a grunt as I feel a powerful gust of wind blow through his shield, cracks appearing on it. 

It damaged Tulod's shield with a single hit?! What is this thing?! Behind the shield, I can see the robed figure in the air with a white parasol slamming down on top of it. To do that much damage with a mere umbrella is out of this world!

Tulod's massive frame and shield are sent flying back into us, pushing everyone through the dungeon's portal and back to Fadena. 

When we land, everyone is confused but we're quickly able to identify the threat before us. The robed humanoid follows us through the portal slowly, the parasol resting over their shoulder. Pushing past the front of their robe, I recognize the sight of white thigh-high boots, something I'd have never imagined I'd see a person wear outside of conventions or fashion showcases.

Damn, this makes me feel like an old man. I guess these clothes must be normal now, right? "Your reaction speed is just as quick as I thought it'd be." The robed figure speaks, revealing the voice of a girl. I can't help but hear a hint of overconfidence behind her words, the tone being nothing short of condescending. 

"Are you guys seeing this...?" Jade is staring with a fearful face, seeing something that we aren't. Right! Status Windows!

"Are... Are you serious?!" Zaiden's fear quickly becomes just as clear as Jade's. Tulod is the only one maintaining semi-visible composure. "You!" Zaiden suddenly shouts at the woman, preparing his blade beside him with a trembling hand. "You're an [Unranked Awakener], aren't you?!"

The only way for someone to have a window like this is if they aren't registered with the [Awakener Association].

The woman beneath the robes becomes a giggling fit at our party's franticness. "Yes, you're absolutely correct! I'm a [Unranked] from the [Frosthood Guild]!" I feel like I've heard this name, it sends a chill down my spine just thinking about it, even though I've never had an experience with them before.

Tulod is the one who steps up to explain what the guild is. "The Frosthood Guild is an [Unlisted Guild], consisting of mysterious [Unranked] individuals with varying abilities. Because they aren't registered with the [Awakener Association], we can't examine the details of their abilities or even their name."

"Tulod Hazewhirl." The woman speaks to Tulod directly, pointing the parasol in his direction. "Our superiors have decided that you are fit to be recruited into Frosthood, your potential as a Tank is nearly unmatched." Tulod is obviously shocked by the rash declaration.

"Of course, I'd never join you, crazy bitch." Tulod's words are much harsher than anything I've ever heard from him. "Most of you [Unranked] bastards are psychopaths who act because of your own selfishness." During their conversation, the rest of us have begun to ready our weapons. My Twin Daggers have been equipped into my hands, I can't use a bow and arrow against this individual. If she's as powerful as I've been led to believe she is, then I need something that'll deal real damage.

Without saying a word, Zaiden and I dash around Tulod who is still in the middle of speaking to the woman, hopefully distracting her. I approach her right and Zaiden goes for her left. Nonetheless, even though we've come at her with our top speeds, it feels like it's all hopeless...

And as it turns out, it is hopeless.

I swing one of my daggers up at her head, and at the same time, Zaiden swings his sword down at her left shoulder, probably trying to stop her from using that arm. It was a good plan... if only it worked. The woman doesn't move in the slightest, but I can't even make contact with her!

With both of our bodies shaking, Zaiden and I press onward as hard as we can, but our weapons don't actually make contact with her skin in the slightest. "What- ?!" The words haven't even fully left my mouth before an invisible force launches me away, the woman simply snapped her finger and I was launched away. The pain is almost unbearable, I've been sent flying through a tree, feeling that my bones would shatter at any moment if it weren't for the armor I had on. 

Looking up, I can see Zaiden swinging his weapon at a speed that I didn't think he could muster. It's my first time seeing a fight between two Awakeners, but I can tell that the robed woman is lazily swinging her arm at Zaiden, aiming to smack him away in a sluggish motion. Despite how sluggish it may appear, the speed of each swing is overwhelming, even to me.

In actuality, the battle has barely even lasted several seconds before Zaiden is sent flying too, his back slamming against a rock some distance away. Am I seriously this powerless?! No, it's not that I'm powerless, this woman is just too powerful! 

If not for Jade casting [Fire Heal] on the two of us, we'd have been completely immobilized. "Looks like there's another irritating person among you guys, huh?" The woman speaks, her finger scratching beneath the hood that conceals her face. 

A blur passes right by Tulod. The robed woman is suddenly standing behind Jade who widens her eyes in response. She tries to turn around, but a hand seizes her face before she can do more than that. "Go to sleep, lady." A light glows from the woman's hand, and Jade's expression turns into an exhausted one. Eventually, Jade loses her consciousness entirely and falls to the ground, leaving Tulod as the only one still standing.

"So, are you prepared to join hands with us, Mr. Hazewhirl?" The woman questions him again, tapping the tip of her parasol against the ground in front of her patiently. Sweat is running down Tulod's face, likely over the fact that the entirety of our party was wiped out in less than a minute. 

I see Zaiden start standing up, his hand still on his weapon. I've got my hands on my daggers too, the two of us were healed by Jade before that woman got to her.

The [Synergy] skill has let the two of us communicate without words, and while the woman is focusing on Tulod, Zaiden and I rush in for a second time. This time, Zaiden uses two of his skills.

Zaiden uses both [Blade Extension] and [Quickstab], causing his blade to stretch out far faster than before. In fact, I believe that this woman might've been caught off guard beneath that cloak of hers. During this time, I've closed the distance between the two of us with my own speed, stabbing one of my blades out at the back of her head. We've got her!

The world around us becomes a crimson red; the portrait frame of our scene has become completely changed.

A wave of energy is released by the woman, visible to even the naked eye. Before our attacks can actually reach her, both of us are sent flying away, even Tulod falls victim to the sudden pressure. He slams his shield into the ground, trying to stop himself from being thrown away. The wind is blowing mercilessly. Jade's body is blown my way and I manage to catch her by the arm, stopping her from being flung off to who knows where.

A bright red beam pierces the sky during the display of power. It feels so overwhelming that my body becoming weaker just from trying to withstand its power. My body trembles as red eyes pierce through the darkness of the hood. 

"Enough games. You will come with us, or you and your friends will die here and I'll throw your corpses back into the dungeon to make it look like an unfortunate accident." The seriousness in her voice was bone-chilling. 

Each step the woman takes toward Tulod unleashes a powerful gust of wind that pushes me further away, both of my daggers flying off deeper into the forest. I grit my teeth together, holding on to the unconscious Jade with all my might.

"Ugghh!" I scream, trying to fight against the overwhelming pressure. It became sharp, leaving cuts across my skin and clothing, all with the wind alone.

This is hopeless! This is unfair, there's nothing we can do against her! This is so unfair!

"You're just as enthusiastic as I thought you were." My train of thought is cut off by a familiar voice. 

In front of me, I see short red hair being blown, a woman in a suit standing there. There is a black katana with purple markings held in her right hand.

The wind around the area is suddenly divided, warping around. I've never seen anything like this, but if I had to make an unpolished comparison, the air looked like a smeared mirror. The once rough winds turned into normal breezes, despite the trees around us still suffering from their overwhelming force. I look over and see that Zaiden and Tulod are fine as well.

The robed woman has had her hood thrown off, revealing a noble-looking young woman with red eyes and hair. She looks young, probably a few years younger than me. Her hair is tied together by bands on both sides of her head, forging a pigtail-like appearance. The person in front of me finally turns to look my way, a face that I can't forget presenting me with a smile and a wink. 

It's Toy! Toy Cesta from the Awakener Association! "You look even cuter with cuts on you, don't you?" Behind Toy, the woman has flown through the air, preparing to swing the parasol down on top of her. From what I've seen, that thing isn't a normal item, but a weapon capable of destroying shields!

"Want to see something cool? I'll bet you've never seen anything like it." Toy asks, and then I can see the clear dismay in the eyes of the descending woman as she is suddenly suspended in motion, unable to descend further. It's like something has wrapped around her body, encapsulating her on the spot.

"You're probably too low of a level to fully see my skills." Toy speaks to me before turning her attention back to the woman behind her. "You're a bit disappointing though, Mind Khussa. Especially for one of the [Red Witches]." Toy is speaking to the woman named 'Mind' as though she's familiar with her. Is she seriously that reputable? Judging by that look on Tulod and Zaiden's faces, I'm guessing so.

"Roshia, meet 'The Wind', Mind Khussa. She's a [B-Rank] Awakener, and one of my sisters; a [Red Witch]."

In the middle of my confusion, the woman named Mind begrudgingly gives Toy her own introduction. "You shouldn't be here, 'Princess'." Hearing Toy be called 'Princess' definitely doesn't sound right. There's nothing royal about her other than this unnatural power she's showcasing. "[Mother] will hear about this, you bitch!" Mind rants, suspended in the air helplessly. To think that Toy is able to keep someone so powerful held up like this, even after we were all handled so effortlessly.

Suddenly, the wind becomes even more powerful than before, but Toy keeps a confident smile on her face.

Breaking free of whatever was restraining her, I can see the terrain around us shifting. "I guess I should give you an explanation, shouldn't I?" As Mind floats in the sky above us, Toy recklessly faces me again. "You must want to know about the [Red Witches], right?" 

As Toy speaks, a breeze blows by. Mind unleashes the attack that she'd relentlessly been preparing above us, and my vision goes black...

Coffi

Thanks for reading. I hope that the action scenes for this are good reads. This chapter is meant to be more of an introductory to the big shots, giving a display of what they can really do early on! Don't worry though, I won't be shafting anybody's growth!