Valhallaâs Sinners set up near the fallen mural wall: their gear was arranged with militaristic order. Despite being content creators, their camp looked quite professional.
Vaeliraâs squad took a corner closer to the hallway entrance. Her dungeon aide did his best to satisfy the woman with every detail, even placing enchanted lanterns to perfectly light her tentâs angles for her future stream clips.
Diaz picked a cold, isolated patch of stone across the room and silently pitched his lone tent. His gear was black, spartan, military-style. No show. No team.
But now, they were truly done with the preparations.
Thus...
Three teams.
One dungeon.
The Hollow waited.
...
As the final gear was stowed, a tense silence hovered in the dungeonâs ancient ballroom.
It was time.
Kaiden, Diaz, and Vaelira converged at the center beneath a fractured crystal chandelier.
Diaz spoke first. "Letâs agree to keep things simple. I take point. You follow orders. I know this place best."
Vaelira raised a perfectly arched brow, lips already curling into a smirk as her mana camera buzzed behind her, recording every word for her ever-hungry viewers.
"Oh my~ Big, tall, silver rogue boy wants to play general?" she cooed. "Youâve seen one small area of the dungeon, darling. Letâs not pretend youâre some dungeon messiah because you tiptoed past a few ghouls."
Diazâs eyes turned colder, but he didnât react to the demeaning names Vaelira used on him. "Iâm level 25. Iâve been on over twenty clears, while this is only the second undertaking for you newbies. This shouldnât even be a conversation to be had."
"Wow~" Vaelira gasped with a great deal of theatrical mockery. "So shiny. So accomplished. But remind me... whereâs your team now? Oh, thatâs right. Theyâre buried in your previous dungeon clearâs dirt."
Diazâs face remained unreadable.
She leaned closer with her camera angling just right to catch the glint in her eye. "Youâre a rogue, Diaz. And we both know no one wants a rogue to lead. Youâre a slippery man, good at vanishing when things get ugly. Thatâs how you survived your twenty clears, I bet. And thatâs fine with me, Iâm not faulting your cowardice. But donât you dare expect me and Kaiden to hand over leadership of our precious comrades to someone whoâs designed to run the moment things go sideways."
Diaz opened his mouth to retort, but...
"Enough."
Kaidenâs voice came faster.
"Weâre wasting time with this nonsense."
He turned toward Diaz first. "Vaelira is right about one thing. Thereâs no world where I let you lead my team. You might be stronger, more experienced, and better suited to scouting, but that doesnât mean I trust you with our lives. If this were a regular team-up, maybe. But itâs not. Youâre a rogue who survived a massacre by being the one who didnât die. Thatâs not leadership. Thatâs self-preservation."
Diaz narrowed his eyes at him, but said nothing.
"If we canât agree on a single leader," Kaiden added, "then we default to council-based decisions. One from each group. Thatâs inefficient, but Iâd rather be slow than see myself dressing for the funeral of my lovers."
Vaelira smirked once she realized he was taking her side. Hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with self-satisfaction. "Well, well. I didnât expect you to take my side, Kaiden."
But instead of reciprocating the gesture, Kaiden turned toward her next.
And his eyes were colder than Diazâs ever had been.
"Youâre an A-rank awakened, Vaelira. Youâve got immense talent and potential. You could be a name that matters in the future."
The smugness on her face slowly began to peel away.
"But instead youâre out here peddling drama and stirring shit for clicks like a washed-up F-tier with nothing but a donation bar to her name."
Her lips parted.
But he spoke up before she could.
"I know you wonât listen to me, but Iâll say this nonetheless. You need to decide. Are you going to be a proper awakened combatant and lead your team seriously? Or are you going to keep pretending this is some stage play where your careless actions will lead to nothing troublesome, when in reality, they might cost someoneâs life?"
Silence.
Vaelira stared at him, the glow of her mana camera still humming behind her, quietly recording every inch of the moment. She wasnât doing a delayed stream like Kaiden, so all of his words have been recorded and broadcast.
Her glare was murderous. Not playful. Not performative. No wink to the chat this time.
Just pure venom. Kaiden had humiliated her.
But worse? Heâd struck a truth she couldnât deny.
- GoreFan44: Bro... Heâs goddamn right.
- Vaelira4Ever: STFU loser, dudeâs just being a condescending dick.
- Switch2Kaiden: Canât wait for his stream to start. This is pure cringe. I canât bear with it any longer.
- Vaelira4Ever: Fuck you too.
The moment Vaelira read those messages, her eyes flicked left.
[User has been banned.]
[User has been banned.]
She purged them without hesitation.
Her smile returned a moment later, but it was thinner. Tighter. Laced with strain.
"Council-based decisions it is then."
Kaiden didnât even acknowledge the change in her tone. He was already turning around.
"If thatâs settled, weâll handle this like professionals. We split into two teams. Valhallaâs Sinners will move independently. Weâre already five strong. Diaz, you should team up with Vaeliraâs squad to make another group of five."
Diaz frowned. "Splitting the group is plain reckless-"
"No, itâs the smart move," Kaiden interrupted. "We need to map out the area around the portal and test how the enemy is in this section of the dungeon. Itâs better to cover more ground with two active parties. Weâll regroup later with shared intel. The dungeon will break in only 3 weeksâ time, which in turn gives us a little over 2 weeks to get the job done before the association takes over and your guild fails."
Vaeliraâs expression soured.
This wasnât what she wanted.
She wanted friction.
She wanted overlap, chances to leech fame from the famed group and stir drama between clips of blood and battle.
Being sent off with the stone-faced, barely reacting Diaz, who wasnât a known awakened at all? It was a nightmare pairing.
But Kaiden didnât care for any words of objection she might offer.
He began walking away.
And just before stepping past the torchlight, he paused and spoke over his shoulder.
"But let me be clear about one thing. If anyone from your side starts sniffing around my group... Iâll take it as hostile behavior. Weâre mercenaries here to clear the dungeon, not to reveal all our secrets to you people."
A few beats passed.
"I donât care if youâre âjust filming,â or âare curious,â Iâll treat you like a spy."
He looked directly at Vaelira. "And I wonât hesitate to retaliate."
Vaeliraâs smile finally cracked in full.
Diaz said nothing, just watched Kaiden with those calculating silver eyes of his, unreadable as always.
And then, without another word...
Kaiden disappeared into the corridor with his team at his back, leaving the needless drama behind.
Only the Hollow waited ahead.
And it was far hungrier than any of them knew.
Furthermore... There was a good reason why Kaiden was adamant about splitting the groups.
It was time to test out their new abilities against the undead!