Lys stood frozen in the middle of the main street, eyes scanning the growing crowd. More injured adventurers kept appearing every minute.
A woman in her thirties limped past, supported by two younger adventurers, her leather vest torn open across the chest with deep claw marks visible underneath. Blood dripped onto the dirt road with every step.
Nearby, another adventurer sat on a wooden crate, face pale and sweaty, as another one was pressing a torn piece of cloth against a nasty gash on her thigh. The blood had already soaked through the makeshift bandage.
Their gear, on the other hand, looked like it had been through hell: ripped leather, broken straps, and dents in metal pieces that shouldn't be there from normal forest beasts. But it wasn't just the injuries. Their faces told a different story. Eyes wide and unfocused, hands shaking even when they tried to stay still. They looked like people who had seen something that broke the normal rules of the world.
Suddenly seeing all of this, Lys's priorities twisted. He had been planning to head straight to the outer settlement to find Tresta, but now that didn't feel right. He needed more information first.
So, taking a deep breath, he turned and walked toward the guild door.
Just as he pushed open the guild door, the noise inside hit him like a wave. It wasn't full panic, but the controlled kind of chaos that came right before everything fell apart.
Staff members moved quickly between the new desks, carrying papers and medical supplies. Pell stood behind the main counter, speaking rapidly to three adventurers at once while handing out something that looked like potions and bandages. In the far corner, two of the injured women from outside were already sitting on benches as guild staff were cleaning their wounds and wrapping them tightly.
Lys weaved through the crowd, heart beating faster. Even though this change was sudden, he already had an idea of what might have happened.
He spotted Vessa and Rhuvia standing near the side wall. A female adventurer in torn armor stood in front of them, still breathing hard, sweat and dirt covering her face.
Lys moved closer to them, staying just behind a group of listeners so he could hear clearly.
"....it was a death knight," the woman said, her voice was low but urgent. "I'm sure of it. Tall, heavy black armor covered in old runes, eyes glowing bright red. And three dire wolves were running with it like they were following orders. We didn't even think about fighting. We just turned and ran. The others… they just weren't fast enough."
A heavy silence followed her words. The silence itself indicated how serious the situation was now.
Vessa's face remained mostly calm, but Lys noticed how her hands tightened at her sides. She turned to Rhuvia.
"Those are lower-floor monsters, Rhuvia," Vessa said flatly, her voice carrying across the suddenly quieter hall.
The words spread like cold water. A young female adventurer standing nearby, with a fresh cut across her cheek, couldn't hold back.
"Huh…? Lower-floor monsters?" she repeated, voice rising sharply. "Does that mean the rumor is true? There really is a dungeon in our Gaiya Forest? Is a dungeon break going to happen here, too?"
The entire guild hall shifted its attention toward Vessa and Rhuvia, eager to hear her answer. All of the conversations that were happening in the hall died mid-sentence. Heads turned. People stopped what they were doing.
The noise didn't turn into shouting or panic, but it became quieter in a wrong, heavy way. Eyes moved toward Vessa and Rhuvia. Some adventurers gripped their weapons tighter without realizing it.
Lys felt a chill run down his spine. 'Death Knight!' Even he knew what that meant from the stories and Lys's original knowledge that had come with this body.
But as far as he knew, those things were supposed to stay deep underground, guarding the lowest floors of great dungeons. So, if one had already reached the surface…it could only mean…
He thought about Elara and Mira waiting at home, about the outer settlement's helpless people, and this village's thin walls. If a dungeon break really occurs now, then it isn't wrong to assume a lot of people are going to die, and his loved ones could be among them, too.
That thought ran a shiver down his spine.
Rhuvia's expression changed for just a split second. Though not with fear or surprise.
But with a cold, focused look, she was now recalculating plans at lightning speed in her mind. Then she glanced at Vessa.
"Vessa," Rhuvia said quietly, though the hall was now silent enough that many people could hear, "looks like we might just have to speed things up. Things aren't looking so well."
Lys stood among the tense crowd, fists clenched at his sides, as he heard that.
Rhuvia's words confirmed only one thing. That the dungeon wasn't waiting; it was already reaching out, and the village had almost no time left to prepare.