— Smallters? What are you doing here? Can’t you see how hard it’s raining? — asked the elderly woman, opening the door to let him in.

— Good afternoon, ma’am. I urgently need to speak with your son — he said, stepping inside and leaving his boots outside.

— Did something happen? — she asked, worried.

— No, just a message from Bob about the upcoming mining schedule — he reassured her with an awkward smile.

— You’re still going to keep that job? Even after what happened yesterday? — she asked, concerned.

— It’s not just up to me, ma’am. I need the money to survive. Besides, it was our fault for being stubborn.

— Oh, don’t say that! The blame lies with that Bob fellow, who didn’t do his job as the boss.

— I don’t think that’s… — he muttered as he saw his work partner approaching. — Ah, there you are. Are you feeling better?

— Yeah. Those adventurer potions are really something. Who would've thought a liquid could heal you completely? — he said, smiling.

— Wipe that smile off your face — his mother said, pulling his ear. — You nearly gave me a heart attack yesterday. And those potions weren’t all that great. You both just fainted from fear and got a few scratches that won’t even leave a scar.

— I just came to deliver Bob’s message… and also wanted us to personally thank the adventurers for saving us from all that mess.

— All right. I’ll just grab my coat, have a seat — she said, walking down the hallway toward her bedroom, pointing to the couch.

— So, young man? Do you know when you'll be going back to work? — she asked, slowly following him to the couch.

— We should be returning the day after tomorrow. Since our mining site was completely destroyed by the spiders, we’ll be heading to another cave in the forest. It’s unexplored, so Knight Jonathan will be joining us — he replied, sitting down.

— That sounds dangerous. Sometimes I’m scared to let my son work, especially in this kind of job, you know? It’s honest work, but still...

— I understand, ma’am. But being a miner isn’t as dangerous as it seems. Even though what happened yesterday hurt the profession’s reputation, encountering monsters is practically impossible — he explained, looking at the rain falling outside. — And there’s also the lighting issue. With the right lighting in those caves, it’s almost impossible for any creature to hide in there.

— I hope so, because after yesterday, seeing my son go off to work will make me uneasy and worried.

— There’s nothing to worry about, ma’am. Like I said, it was our mistake. We won’t make the same reckless decision again.

— I’m ready, let’s go — the young man said, emerging from the hallway as he finished putting on his coat.

— Well then, goodbye, ma’am — Smallters said, standing up and heading for the door.

The two of them then walked along the sides of the houses, trying to stay as dry as possible under the falling rain.

— What did Bob want? — the young man asked, curious.

— The day after tomorrow, we’ll be surveying a new cave to start mining. He asked me to let you know you need to be up by five sharp, at the village gates.

— That early?

— The earlier we leave and find the cave, the faster — and safer — our return will be.

— Got it... — he replied, running across the muddy path and stopping in front of the church.

At Payton’s house, the girl lay on her bed, reading some book while listening to the rain. Soon, she heard knocking on the window. It was Catarina, with an irritated expression.

— Catarina?

— Can I come in? — she asked, soaked.

— Can you? — Payton replied, confused, opening the window.

— Thanks — Catarina said, jumping inside.

— What do you want here? — Payton asked, closing the window.

— I’m no longer friends with Liz. And by extension, not with Carla or Sarah either — she said, sitting on the chair beside the nightstand.

— What? Why? — Payton asked, confused, sitting up on the bed.

— Because of an argument involving you — Catarina replied with a sigh. — Even if you didn’t know, I’ve been arguing with Liz since that incident about how you’re treated. She still has that childish mindset from when we were younger. I decided to leave that little group, and now I’m on my own, because I finally realized my actions weren’t right and that it’s wrong to treat you that way without even having a real con— — she stopped, noticing Payton’s blank expression, tears streaming down her face as if she were in a trance. — Payton? A-are you okay?

— Y-yeah — she replied, wiping her tears. — I just… I don’t know, I expected anything but this — she said, smiling.

— I know it took four years for this to happen, but I hope you can forgive me. And maybe the others too, at least until they realize what they’ve done.

— It’s okay… But what happened? How did the argument start?

— It’s a long story... — she sighed, getting ready to tell everything from the beginning.

†

†

[Jonathan]

I remember it like it was yesterday, when I turned fourteen and joined my first raid — the first of many. I remember the people I met that day, their ambitions, flaws, and goals.

We were about to enter a dungeon filled with zombies and skeletons, and every ounce of caution was crucial for each team member. On the first few floors, everything went as expected: the monsters came at us on instinct, trying to kill us, and we took them down right after.

There was a very beautiful woman on our team. Her name was Elsa. She was a brown-skinned woman with curly hair who possessed a consciousness core — a true combat strategist. At the time, she was twenty-three years old. She didn’t seem to belong to the lower class, nor to a noble house, but gave the impression of living a stable life. She said she had two children — one aged four, the other two.

Her beauty caught the attention of all the men — including me, even though I was just a hormone-fueled teenager. Besides that, Elsa was friendly and communicative, respected by everyone. That influence made everyone follow her commands without question, which was a great help during missions.

That specific type of dungeon, known as the “Endless Hell Dungeon,” or EHD, required high-level adventurers. It was a structure made of countless floors, many still unexplored and possibly inhabited by creatures never seen on the surface. Unlike most dungeons, which were generally confined spaces, the EHD was gigantic, as if it had been crafted specifically to house those aberrations.

The raid I was part of had no special mission or artifact to recover. It was merely a training exercise. I saw that incursion as a learning opportunity — a chance to better understand the world of hunters, adventurers, and explorers.

On the seventh floor, things started to change. The atmosphere turned more sinister. There were no torches lighting the path, and we had to rely on the fire mages’ spells to see. We descended toward the eighth and final level of the dungeon. Until that point, everything had gone smoothly — except for the absolute silence. There was no sign of creatures.

Each step down quickened my heartbeat. I was a naïve teenager eager to stand out, so I volunteered to be the first to go down, in front of the other fifteen team members.

What I saw upon reaching the eighth floor was completely different from the previous ones. There was swampy green water up to our shins, and a cyan glow lit the entire area. It was hauntingly beautiful, with ruined structures — houses, maybe even the remains of an underground city overtaken by water.

We walked on in awe but also confusion. It seemed unlikely that there would be zombies — and indeed, there was no sign of life. Elsa tried to analyze the situation using her core, but even she couldn’t get any clear answers.

Then everything happened.

In a matter of seconds, just as we were about to leave, something supernatural occurred. That’s the best word I can use to describe the horror that followed.

In the blink of an eye, before we could even regroup into battle positions, metallic spikes burst from the ground toward our chests. Elsa, acting purely on instinct, jumped in front of me. She couldn’t stop me from being struck, but she did save my life.

Fourteen people were killed in under five seconds.

The adrenaline kept me from feeling the pain or processing the tragedy unfolding before me. I cut through the spike with my sword and ran, even with a gaping hole between my rib and waist.

Before I climbed the stairs, I looked back one last time and saw Elsa’s face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her body lay lifeless. All the spikes had been programmed to kill — each one piercing straight through the victims’ hearts.

As I fled, I heard a cry for help. It was a boy, about sixteen or seventeen, terrified and bleeding heavily. Without thinking, I returned to the water, fearing another trap, and rescued him.

Even in his weakened state, he used his last bit of strength to heal me and purge a poisoning I didn’t even know I had. The poison from the spikes atrophied bones, caused blindness, deafness, and eventually stole one’s voice.

His voice faltering, he told me there was no way to save him. With his final breath, he asked me to kill him.

I was only fourteen. I had killed monsters, but never a human being. A tear rolled down his cheek as I, crying, prepared to cut his throat. I didn’t know how much a person could suffer in a death like that. Whether or not he would still be conscious after the decapitation — I had no idea.

But I did it anyway. With a precise slash to the neck, I severed his head.

I fell to my knees beside the body, sobbing for everyone who had been wiped out without even understanding why. But then I heard footsteps coming from the water. I grabbed my sword and took a defensive stance.

What emerged from the next steps was indescribable. It looked like a ragged man, but his eyes glowed with a white, dense light — like smoke. He was smiling as I backed away, trying to gain more space to fight.

Then he spoke:

— I’m the one who did all of this. Do you really think a sword can kill me?

I asked why he had done it. Why all that slaughter?

— Just as killing monsters means nothing to you, killing humans means nothing to me. Besides, I wanted to congratulate you on surviving the attack.

I was stunned, unsure if what I was seeing was real.

— You will die in the most painful and agonizing way possible, boy. Be ready.

And with a laugh, he vanished, as the lights on the final level went out.

Every raid I joined after that day was traumatizing. I started living in constant expectation of death — and nearly died many times. That’s why I gave up this life at twenty-nine, when I met Philipe during my final raid — the one I promised myself would be the last.

Maybe our meeting in that infernal place was destined all along.

†

†

— Rain makes us think deeply about so many things, doesn’t it? — Philipe asked Jonathan.

— Yeah... a lot of things... — he replied, lost in thought.

At Sarah’s house, Carla was arguing with her friend about what was right and wrong, and which side she should choose to support: the right one, regardless of the opinions of adults or even the children, or the wrong one, which would end up dividing her friendships.

— If you do that, you’ll end up regretting it — Sarah warned.

— After the way she acted today, I’m more certain than ever about which side to take.

— She’s always been hot-tempered, ever since we were little. How did you expect her to react?

— She doesn’t care about any of us. What she likes is having control over us.

— Are you serious?

— Look at you. Catarina was right about you always defending her.

— Get out of my house.

— With pleasure. You’re just as miserable as she is. I pity you — she said, opening the door. — I hope you realize soon just how irrational you're being.

She slammed the door behind her, leaving the other girl overwhelmed with anger and doubt, questioning her own choices.

At the church, the young workers were thanking Tate for rescuing them and for eliminating the monsters that had lived there.

— There’s no need to thank us. We felt it was our duty to help you — Tate replied with a friendly smile. — But I think today’s a good day for everyone to stay home, get some sleep, or do something productive in this cold — he added, guiding them to the door.

When he opened it, he found Beta holding a thermos of coffee. The boy, clearly embarrassed, stepped in without waiting for an invitation.

— You really are obsessed with adventurers, huh? — Tate remarked with a slight smile, closing the door after the miners.

— I just thought you might want some coffee in this cold, you know? — Beta said, scratching his head, flustered.

— Dereck! Ferry! Beta brought coffee! — Tate called from the base of the stairs.

— There’s something I wanted to ask Dereck.

— Well, I don’t think he’s in the mood to talk right now. Maybe I can answer your question. Go ahead — Tate said, sitting on the bed.

— Is it possible to have four cores from both classes in one body? — he asked, watching as the man’s expression changed, which scared him. — M-maybe I should just go home...

— Don’t be afraid — Tate reassured him with a relaxed smile. — You just caught me off guard with that question. It got me thinking. I don’t think I’ve ever considered that possibility.

— It’s possible — Ferry confirmed, descending the stairs.

— Really!? How!?

— Wipe that silly grin off your face. I said it’s possible, not that it’s easy. You’ve barely cleared the impurities from your core, let alone have more than one.

— Still, how do I do it?

— First off, you can only have three cores. Four is completely impossible unless you’re a mage or have my ability. And then there’s the matter of training and developing the other two cores.

— Developing?

— When you're born, a core forms biologically in the center of your chest. But you can create others, which anchor to different parts of the body — she explained, opening the thermos. — The magic core flows into the bloodstream, becoming part of the whole body; the consciousness core settles in the brain; the strength core goes into the muscles; and the perception core in the eyes.

— Okay, but you still didn’t answer my question — he said, impatiently.

— Through training, you idiot. Reading books and absorbing knowledge prepares the brain for the emergence of the consciousness core. Training your aim at long range, learning to analyze your surroundings, studying animal behavior and predicting their movements... all of that helps form the perception core.

— I wouldn’t recommend trying. In all my twenty-eight years, I’ve never even heard a rumor of someone doing that. Technically, it’s impossible — Tate advised. — Focus on your strength core. In the end, it’s the best one to develop.

— Alright... — he replied, thoughtful. — Ferry.

— Yes? — she replied, taking a sip of coffee.

— How do I know which rune might be dangerous for me? How can I tell one that suits my body from one that could kill me?