The next morning, golden rays filtered into their rooms at The Hearthlight Inn, and Kazuki was the first to rise.

  He stood by the window, watching the bustling street below. The memories of yesterday’s goblin fight still lingered — the fear, the thrill, the rage. But today… it would be different. Bigger. A D-rank dungeon had appeared on the outskirts of town, and the guild had sent out word for adventurers to investigate.

  Kazuki tightened the straps on his jacket, slid his plain dagger into its sheath, and left his room. He found Elara and Garron already downstairs, breakfast half-eaten.

  “You’re up early,” Garron said between bites.

  “Couldn’t sleep much,” Kazuki replied, grabbing a piece of bread. “We’re taking the dungeon quest today.”

  Elara flinched, nearly choking on her drink. “T-Today?! Are you sure we’re ready?”

  “No,” Kazuki said flatly, “but we have to be.”

  ---

  At the Adventurers’ Guild, the kind receptionist greeted them warmly. “Ah, Kazuki, Elara, Garron. Taking on a dungeon so soon?”

  Kazuki nodded. “We’re ready.”

  The receptionist paused, concern flickering in her eyes. “The reports say it’s an older ruin. Mostly goblins and beasts, but… there have been strange mana fluctuations too.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “We’ll be careful,” Garron assured her.

  She handed them the official dungeon permit. “Then may the goddess watch over you.”

  ---

  By midday, they stood at the mouth of the dungeon — a collapsed stone temple half-sunken into the earth, overgrown with moss. Jagged stone arches formed the entrance, beyond which only darkness waited.

  Kazuki stepped forward, torch in hand. “Stay close. No heroics. Watch each other’s backs.”

  Elara gulped. Garron gripped his sword tightly.

  They descended.

  ---

  Inside, the dungeon was damp and chilling. The smell of mold and old blood hung in the air. Their footsteps echoed through narrow corridors as they faced wave after wave of monsters.

  First it was goblins—weak but numerous. Then giant rats, slime beasts, even a rock ogre that Garron managed to take down with a well-aimed strike to its knee.

  But Kazuki—he was changing.

  Every fight, his dagger moved faster, his reaction sharper. He began dodging before enemies even attacked.

  “Kazuki!” Elara cried, as he lunged forward, slicing through three goblins in one spin. “How are you moving like that?!”

  “I don’t know,” Kazuki panted. “It’s like… my body’s learning. On its own.”

  But the real shift came deeper into the dungeon.

  They entered a wide chamber. Cracked murals lined the walls. And at the center… a strange statue of a humanoid spider-beast, crouched, its multiple red eyes still glowing.

  Suddenly, the statue moved.

  No—it was alive.

  ---

  The Spider Warden, an E-rank elite monster, shrieked and lunged at them with inhuman speed. Its blade-like limbs slashed the air, almost impossible to follow.

  Kazuki tried to block but was thrown back, skidding across the ground.

  “Too fast—!” he hissed.

  Garron charged. “We’ll take it together!”

  But even with their combined strength, the creature was overwhelming. Kazuki’s instincts screamed louder with every blow. Then… something clicked.

  The world slowed.

  He could see the pattern in the spider’s movements — not just reacting, but predicting.

  [You have unlocked the Passive Skill: Instinct]

  — Enhances combat awareness and predicts fast movements for effective counterattacks.

  Kazuki’s eyes widened. He gritted his teeth, twisted, and drove his dagger into the spider’s neck mid-lunge.

  It screeched and fell apart.

  “I… I saw everything,” he gasped. “Before it even moved.”

  “That was incredible,” Garron said, limping toward him.

  Elara ran to them, casting healing magic as best she could. “You both got hurt—please sit still!”

  Kazuki’s arms trembled. Something inside him was rising. Magic. Power. A fireball ignited in his palm—unintended.

  He stared at it.

  “Magic…?”

  Elara’s jaw dropped. “You’re using fire magic?! Without casting?”

  More monsters awaited in the next room.

  Kazuki took a shaky breath and stood.

  “This dungeon’s only getting harder,” he said. “And I think… I’m only just waking up.”