It was still dark when I left my house. Most of the residents of the city were still asleep, and it took me a few minutes before I reached the central plaza.

I saw Claire's figure sitting on a bench, waiting for my arrival.

The moment she saw me, she stood up and approached me.

She seemed a bit excited.

'Miss Claire, are you afraid of spiders?' I politely asked. 'Not really,' she answered.

Today, we are gonna clear Arachnia’s Cavern; it's a level 30 dungeon filled with spider-like monsters,' I continued.

We then stepped on the Gate, and I chanted, 'Transfer: Arachnia’s Cavern.'

We found ourselves at the entrance of a dark cavern filled with webs.

"Before we enter, Miss Claire, I want to ask you a couple of things," I said.

"First, don’t use Bless or any skill while I’m fighting the monsters, or they will attack you," I stated.

She nodded in reply.

"Second, stay close behind me while exploring the dungeon, and keep your distance while I’m fighting," I added.

"Next, please accept the trading request," I continued.

As she clicked the confirm button on the trade, a white cloak appeared in her hand – the Cloak of Tranquil, a rare drop from killing Cyclops.

Its ability lowers the user's aggro by 50%, increases the user's vitality by 20 points, and grants the user a rare skill Moment of Courage while equipped.

It’s a skill that allows the user to avoid instant death once a day and grants invincibility for a few seconds while decreasing the user's offensive capability to nothing.

She was confused for a moment as she looked at the item's stats.

"Why would you give me something this valuable?" Claire asked. "It’s a gift, and you need this item to clear this dungeon safely," I said.

"Lastly, I want you to keep everything that will happen here a secret," I added.

"Ah… Sure, Asriel, and thanks for this pretty cloak," she happily said as she equipped the cloak.

"It suits you perfectly," I uttered. "Really?" she excitedly answered.

As we entered the dungeon, we found ourselves inside a dark cave filled with mineral deposits.

Several crystals illuminated the cave-like fireflies on a moonless night.

Walking past several stalagmites, monsters started appearing.

I spotted several Cave Spider level 25, using Dash plus Sword Thrust, I closed the gap between me and the monsters.

Then I followed it with a consecutive Quick Slash.

A flurry of slashes enveloped the monsters, defeating them before they could even spew a single web.

I looked back and saw Claire a bit surprised.

"What’s that skill?" she curiously asked. "It’s Quick Slash, a level 30 skill of the Warrior Class.

You can use it consecutively five times," I murmured.

Her eyes quickly lit up.

"I see, so the professor was right that your skill wasn’t that of an E or F rank adventurer," she said.

She was about to say something when several Cave Spiders started attacking us.

I went ahead and defeated them.

It was about an hour since we started exploring the cave.

We took a break beside a rock formation, and Claire then handed me a sandwich.

I took a big bite, and a familiar flavor gushed into my mouth.

It was a fried Sand Fowl sandwich with added mayonnaise and ketchup.

For a second, I thought the sandwich vanished from thin air. Claire handed me my second sandwich and a cup of coffee.

"Don’t worry, I made a lot," she said. "Is it that tasty?" she asked.

"I would eat this any time of the day," I said while munching the sandwich. Claire looked happy as she ate her sandwich.

After our tasty break, we continued exploring deeper into the cave.

A few moments later, we found ourselves in a wide space deep in the cave.

Cave Spiders started falling from the ceiling of the cave, and we were surrounded.

I quickly grabbed Claire around the waist as I cleared the Cave Spiders blocking our exit. I asked Claire to stay put while I cleared the hordes of Cave Spider.

A few minutes passed, and the area fell silent.

Claire approached me, looking worried, and quickly cast Bless.

Although Cave Spiders weren't much of a threat, their webs had a slow debuff that, if not careful, could tangle and immobilize you.

At least 20 Cave Spiders fell by my sword.

We took a short break, allowing my HP to regenerate to full.

It was almost noon when we reached the Boss Room.

Arachnia, a level 30 Dungeon Boss, was a monstrous creature with a half-human, half-spider figure.

This beast boasted incredible mobility, capable of expelling webs and poison that inflicted abnormal statuses, causing damage over time.

Leaving Claire in a safe corner, I lured Arachnia to the opposite side.

The monster lunged at me with incredible speed, its front legs unleashing a flurry of attacks.

Fortunately, I had switched to a new steel sword upon entering the boss room.

I narrowly dodged Arachnia’s attacks due to its high agility.

After landing several blows on the monster, its HP dropped below half.

Arachnia started traversing the sidewalls, spewing poison as I jumped midair to avoid one of its slashes.

However, I was hit by the poison spit, and my HP began plummeting due to the percentage-based damage-over-time effect called Toxic.

Glancing at my current health, I realized I only had a minute to defeat Arachnia, which still had about 30 percent HP.

I tried my best to land a blow, but every time Arachnia retreated to the walls and resumed its relentless assault.

With half a minute left before my HP reached zero, I prepared to equip Kaleidoscope.

However, Arachnia suddenly became surrounded by white light threads and was pinned to the ground.

This unexpected turn of events was the result of Bind, one of Claire's Healer Class support skills.

Without a second thought, I equipped myself with Kaleidoscope.

The glass-looking sword was engulfed in crimson flames as I unleashed Phoenix Slash, a level 45 skill of the Warrior class.

The monster was cleaved in half, and in an instant, Arachnia’s body was consumed by flames.

I swiftly accessed my inventory to retrieve an elixir and dispel the debuff.

However, before I could grab the elixir, my body was engulfed in a golden light, Holy Light level 25, one of the most potent skills of Healers that has the ability to dispel any negative status.

I had been a breath away from my HP dropping to zero.

Claire rushed toward me, casting Bless, her face filled with worry and tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

To reassure her, I quickly informed her about one of my items, the Necklace of Endurance, a bound item that instantly heals me to full HP but can be used only once.

It was a gift received at the end of the Hollow Earth Online Beta Test and a significant reason why I could afford to be reckless at times.

She took a deep breath and playfully punched my chest.

After a few moments, we began examining the boss drops. Among them were about a hundred gold coins and several items, the most notable being the Sphere Staff, a staff that enhances healing effects, cast range, and allows a single-targeted spell to become an AOE; White Snow , an uncommon armor that negates abnormal statuses and increases the user's HP by 30 percent; and Swift Staff , a staff that enables instant casting on offensive spells that are 10 levels below the user.

I let Claire take possession of the Sphere Staff and White Snow.

Although she hesitated initially, after some convincing, she eventually accepted the items.

The gold drop was evenly divided between the two of us, and I stored most of the items and materials in my inventory.

Subsequently, we headed towards the Transport Gate near the entrance of Arachnia’s Cavern.

By the time we arrived at the central plaza, night had fallen. Upon surveying the surroundings, I noticed my mom seated on a bench near the plaza’s fountain.

A woman sat beside her, and Claire began running towards them.

It was Claire’s mom, and I realized that Claire must have sought her permission and informed her that I would be accompanying her. Claire’s mom, Evelyn Ashfall, happened to be my mom’s best friend, and I had seen her in pictures and heard stories about her on several occasions.

"Good evening, Miss Evelyn. I'm Asriel Sanchez, Claire’s classmate," I uttered, providing a brief self-introduction to Claire’s mom.

She greeted me warmly and expressed gratitude for helping her daughter and ensuring her safety.

After bidding farewell, I informed my mom that I intended to buy takeout from Bellflower’s Diner before heading home, considering she might not have had the chance to cook dinner because of me.

While walking towards Bellflower’s Diner, my mom suddenly remarked, "Evelyn’s daughter is quite beautiful, isn’t she?" Without hesitation, I agreed, and my mom chuckled at my almost red face as we continued walking.

Reflecting on the recent encounter, I realized I had nearly wasted the Necklace of Endurance due to Arachnia’s unexpected poison attack and increased mobility.

The last time I faced that monster, its health dropped from 50 percent to zero in a few seconds.

I made a mental note to be more cautious in the future as I opened the diner’s door right in front of me.