It wasn't an overly complicated plan. It was common sense that such plans failed more often than they succeeded, no matter how brilliant they were. The more things that could go wrong, the worse.

  Vincent's plan only had two steps, both extremely important. Meaning, if they messed up one step, the second wouldn't be worth anything either, but at least there were only two steps. Hard to screw up, in theory.

  "Shoot an arrow there and another there," Vincent said, pointing. "Don't ask questions, just trust me and shoot."

  Maybe she didn't trust him much, but she did shoot without asking questions. Two arrows stuck into different ends of the room. Two more arrows, to be exact. Because one had ended up in the wall after bouncing off the giant lizard's scales, and Vincent had seen something important, something that could turn the tide. At that moment, the arrow had redirected the electricity the creature emitted. So what Vincent intended was to burn it with its own fire, but that was just step one.

  "Here, you son of a bitch, come get me!"

  Vincent challenged the monster, not without fear, but the important thing was to overcome the fear. No one could emerge unscathed without feeling fear. The giant lizard dug its paws with huge, sharp claws into the ground, into the earth. It threw its head back and started charging electricity. Yes, it was obvious, because with each second it became brighter, more intense. A storm of electricity waiting to explode.

  Vincent put his shield forward. He went flying a second later, crashing against the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of his lungs. But it didn't matter; he hadn't expected to withstand it. The shield had served its sole purpose: deflecting the electricity towards one of Tara's arrows. From there, it flew to the other two arrows, turning the power of the electricity against the creature itself and creating a sort of prison. Just like when Vincent received direct shocks, the creature was clearly unable to move. He had recovered in seconds. Surely the giant lizard would too, but the point was not to give it time to recover.

  "Ayame, the floor, come on!"

  He didn't explain himself very well in the heat of the moment. However, the vampire needed no further explanation, needed to hear no more. She leaped ten meters above the giant lizard, brushing the ceiling, and then fell with the force of a meteor. She struck the enemy directly, although that wasn't her true target. The blow smashed the lizard into the ground forcefully. That, plus the momentum of the jump and the strength of a vampire—even one who had lost quite a bit of blood recently—shattered the floor, and the three of them fell. No, the four of them.

  It was difficult to maneuver in the air, practically impossible, without help. But the same went for the giant lizard, and that thing had no help. So Vincent and his companions wasted no time. They pounced on the bastard. He kept hitting it everywhere, with his sword and with his shield, whose edges were almost just as sharp. Tara shot arrow after arrow, with great precision, skill, and speed. And Ayame continued to enjoy herself. Continued demonstrating the raw strength with which she had slammed the creature through the floor in the first place.

  "However, no, Ayame. Turn into a bat and go ahead."

  "What? Why?"

  "Just go ahead and make a spike with your blood. Or improvise."

  Ayame nodded immediately, but it took her a few more seconds to reach a decision. She obeyed, or rather, trusted him, flying down quickly. Vincent couldn't help wondering if it wasn't uncomfortable to change her form so drastically, and on top of that, into a bat, a rat with wings. It might be part of being a vampire, period, but that didn't mean she had to like it. He was supposed to be holding a hammer and hitting an anvil in a dusty shop until he couldn't work anymore, after all. And here he was.

  As they fell, while Ayame made preparations, Vincent and Tara continued attacking, however futile it was. However, he indicated to Tara that they should concentrate their attacks on a single point, on the chest. Even if the attacks didn't do much, he hoped to weaken that point enough for the spike to pierce the son of a bitch and finish him off for good. The two of them would survive the fall without problems. They would have a good cushion to start with. The beast roared, writhed, tried to finish him off. Bite by bite, claw swipe by claw swipe, shock by shock. Without result, always.

  And then they reached the end of the tunnel.

  "Great, die you son of a bitch!"

  Vincent jumped away, planting his boots on the slippery body of the creature to use it as a springboard. In mid-air, he grabbed Tara's arm and pulled her back, to safety. And as for the target, the spike accurately pierced it through from one side to the other. The monster threw its head back, roared. There was no pain there, no fear. But it was obvious it was different from the roars so far. Obvious the beast could feel its own death. Nothing extraordinary was needed. It was right here, right in front of them, after all.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  HP restored. Level Up. 2 stat points.

  Vincent let out a triumphant roar. He couldn't help it. They had won. They had definitely won. And thanks to him, on top of that. Not thanks to his strength or skill, but because he had been the first to see what needed to be seen. It was a cool plan. Still, he didn't care about the nature of the contribution, only that he had made a difference. Again.

  Because he had always deserved to be here in Runehaven. He had always been worthy. He deserved it much more than 90% of the students. He had desired it with a fervor bordering on madness day after day, year after year. And 90% of those brats, privileged and capricious, had seen entering Runehaven as something to be taken for granted. Because of the family they were born into. They couldn't even imagine the burning obsession that had driven him, that had brought him here.

  The giant lizard's body dissolved, leaving behind only a blue stone. There was a rune written on it. What did it say? Well, he had no idea. Vincent couldn't read runes. Ayame seemed to know what it said or what to do with it, however. She drew something in the air. The rune itself on the stone, perhaps. And then, a door formed out of nowhere.

  A door to where? For what? It was funny to think like that after killing a giant lizard that spat electricity. But it was a bit unsettling.

  "You did well. Better than well. I'm exhausted. Let's go!"

  Then, Vincent realized. If someone asked him why it had taken so long, he would blame the adrenaline, which wasn't entirely false.

  "Wait, so that door already leads outside?"

  "Yes, didn't you know?" Ayame asked.

  "Well, I read that other exits would open upon defeating dungeon bosses. But the books were somewhat scarce on details."

  "Really? All the books in your village? How strange."

  And now, Tara knew he came from a village.

  Great.

  Not that he was ashamed or anything like that, of course, but with few exceptions, combat classes usually lived in cities. And it was rare, though not impossible, for a Knight or any other combat class to come from an NPC family. So Tara knowing wasn't exactly dangerous, just unpleasant. There were many people who made rash judgments, and Vincent didn't need more headaches. He thought about pointing this out to Ayame, but the damage was already done.

  Besides, he didn't think Tara would use the information against him. Maybe he was being an asshole, but she seemed like a good girl. She would have left them to run for it much earlier otherwise, for starters.

  "Yes, well, whatever," Ayame continued. "It's true, this runestone is used to open a door. Each boss or mini-boss drops one of them, and you just need to keep them to be able to return, starting from the same place, the next day. They are, well, like a checkpoint."

  Vincent nodded. Okay, that made sense and was convenient. He approached the door. Ayame tilted her head in response.

  "Don't you want to continue?"

  "Not today," he replied without a second thought. "I'm just exhausted."

  Ayame shrugged.

  "Well, as you wish, we've done well so far. Again tomorrow."

  "Yes, tomorrow," Vincent murmured.

  "Sure," Tara said, "the sooner the better."

  The three passed through the door. On the other side was a clearing in the middle of the forest. When they turned around, the door had disappeared. Not a single stone remained, not even a small piece of wood. As if they had imagined the whole little adventure. But the ultimate proof was in what they had gained, of course. But the runestone meant tangible proof that would show it wasn't just words. That they, the fucking first years, had achieved it. They had conquered a dungeon. Perhaps the smallest and fastest group ever to have done so. Well, he was getting a bit carried away. His adrenaline was through the roof. He was exhausted, euphoric.

  "The exit point is convenient," Vincent said. "No one who could see us."

  "Certainly," Tara said. "Well, it's been a pleasure working with you. Our paths diverge here. Until tomorrow."

  "Yes, until tomorrow," Vincent said.

  Ayame dismissed her with a nod. Nothing more. Tara didn't seem offended. Though maybe she was too tired for that.

  When Tara disappeared among the trees, Ayame practically threw herself at him, giving him a half-hug.

  "Feeling better?"

  "Yes," he admitted. "I feel fucking great."

  "I'm glad. See? You're as good as the others. Better, even."

  She had known him for only a few days, but she already knew exactly what to say to make him feel better. Well, he wasn't a difficult person to know, he supposed. Like a fucking open book.

  Not about everything. Not about everything, but many things show on my face.

  They started the walk back to their room. Vincent was already looking forward to taking off his armor and taking a shower. He stank of blood and guts, not to mention the hot water would do wonders for his bruises.

  "Do you like Tara?" Ayame asked.

  For a moment, Vincent thought the question was going somewhere strange. Just for a moment, he pushed the silly thoughts out of his head and answered like a normal person.

  "Well, she seems like a good person and worked well with us."

  "Yes, without her arrows it would have been harder to finish off that stupid lizard. Besides, she's an archer. She covers our weak spots well."

  "What do you mean?"

  "That we both fight at close range, me even more so."

  "Ah, well yes, that's true."

  "We could use an archer, but it's up to you. I don't care if she becomes part of the team or not. Think about it."

  Vincent made a stupid gesture, as if he were going to put his hands in his pockets. Only he couldn't, of course, because the armor didn't have pockets. He felt tremendously stupid, but at least it was unlikely Ayame had noticed.

  "Well, I don't know what to tell you."

  Ayame shrugged.

  "Just think about it. I didn't say you have to decide now."

  "Yeah, I'll think about it carefully."

  "Alright."