The moment the beasts committed forward, a dozen humans rushed around their sides. Spears jabbed into ribs and armpits. Blades hacked at hamstrings.

For the first time, one of the apes roared in pain instead of savage fury.

Taigi did not wish to become a leader like Varek, staying away from danger even when he had the strength to help. As such, the woman took a deep breath, braced her heart, and drew her sword before jumping into the fray, fighting alongside her allies.

But even so, the evolved primates were not about to admit defeat.

A monster spun, smashing two flanking warriors aside with one brutal sweep of its arm. Another stomped forward and crushed a spear haft beneath its heel, ripping the weapon from the wielder's hands.

Shields shuddered under every single blow, while their wielders felt the air knocked out of their lungs just from holding the shield.

The disparity in strength was far too wide between the men and monsters.

Several were knocked flat.

One man screamed as a bone-plated fist slammed into his side, sending him tumbling.

Another shield-bearer hit the ground with a wet cough. A flanker stumbled back with a broken spear. Blood began painting the dirt.

Nyx, Luna, and Aria all sent Kaiden the same look.

A very pointed look.

The kind that said: 'Really? Level ten monsters? On day one?'

Aria tilted her head at him. "We started with level ones."

Luna nodded. "And in an F-tier dungeon."

Nyx shrugged helplessly. "We literally trained on baby mobs. You tossed them into the deep end."

Kaiden didn't look the slightest bit guilty.

Not even close.

He didn't flinch from their words. He just watched the chaos ahead and spoke with calm certainty.

"They don't have time for baby steps."

Alice blinked. Bastet and Calypso grinned; the two monster queens loved their man's attitude.

Kaiden continued, tone blunt but not cruel. "The gap in strength between us and them right now is astronomical, and it's only going to get worse if they crawl forward at a beginner's pace while we continue ramping up our speed of growth as we've done until now."

The expressions of the two monster girls deepened, while Alice joined in as Kaiden explained, "I'm level 46 now, and their strength at level 1 is useless to me. Similarly, the time I'm level 100, what good would a level 50 soldier be? They'd never be able to keep up. Never be useful. They'd just become weight I'm forced to carry."

Aria frowned softly. She was in full agreement and did not think her boyfriend to be cruel; she just felt bad for the poor natives. They were liberated from Varek's cruel tyranny mere days ago, and here they were, shedding blood while fighting monsters much stronger than them. "In your example, couldn't they take care of the enemy's armies while we fight the strong combatants?"

Kaiden let out a low chuckle at Aria's question, turning toward his Moon Valkyrie with that look he only ever gave her, warm, teasing, yet incredibly full of affection all at once.

"Your class's main strength, my beautiful moon?" he asked.

Aria's cheeks colored immediately. "Y-You shouldn't flirt in the middle of a dangerous dungeon, Kai,"

"Shouldn't or mustn't?"

"… Shouldn't," Aria blushed cutely, happy she was called something akin to a pet name. Bastet was his tanned kitten, Luna his cheeky gremlin, and Nyx his space babe. The Moon Valkyrie knew it was only a matter of time before the newcomer, Calypso, got a name as well.

She desperately wanted Kaiden to give her a name like that as well, yet he didn't until now. However, she knew it shouldn't be forced, so she waited and waited, hoping not to be outdone at least by the demoness. It seems her patience finally bore fruit. 'My beautiful moon…' she whispered inwardly with butterflies in her stomach.

"Khm!" Luna coughed into her palm with a grin of her own, amused at her friend's lack of concentration. This prompted Aria to remember she was asked a question. The Moon Valkyrie sighed. "… Obliterating enemies from range is my specialty..."

Kaiden nodded. "Right. And Bastet?"

Aria exhaled again, already seeing where he was going. "Burning enemies from range."

"Exactly." Kaiden lifted a hand and pointed around their group. "I could say the same for most of us. We all have strong area attacks. Maybe not Calypso, she's our melee specialist. But the rest? If a big army comes at us, we'll wipe them out naturally just by fighting their elites. They'll get caught in our spells whether we aim for them or not, becoming useless casualties."

Aria hesitated, then nodded, accepting the truth in that.

"And that's if the enemy even brings an army," Kaiden continued. "What if it's a single monster? A boss? A strong awakened human?"

He gestured toward the bronze-skinned Dungeon-Born ahead of them.

"In fights like that, they won't even slow the enemy down. They'll just die. They'll get erased before they can do anything. I need them strong. Strong enough not to become a useless casualty when I call upon them."

Nyx nodded. "We understand that, Kai, and you're completely right. I think Aria just felt bad for them, seeing how much they're struggling on their first undertaking with you as their boss."

"They should be struggling, that's the whole point. I didn't accept them to become their babysitter; I'm not running a charity over here. I took a risk on these people, letting them into my home, letting them live in the same space I house my family. So, yes, I expect them to struggle, to bleed, to suffer losses. Growth only happens when you're forced to reach beyond what you think you can handle. This is the only way."

Kaiden's gaze softened just a fraction, out of respect for the blood being shed ahead.

"They chose this," he reminded quietly. "All of them."

"I laid out their options. Support roles. Workers. Crafters. Farmers. Safe positions."

He looked toward the warriors fighting with everything they had with a proud expression on his face.

"And they rejected all of that. They chose combat. They chose danger. They chose to stand and fight under us. And they know exactly what that means."

Aria nodded with a second sigh, accepting that her man was completely right. "… Yeah. They saw you crush Varek, brutalize their invincible boss before their eyes. They know what kind of man you are, and how strong you can be."

Bastet whispered, "They knew this path wasn't going to be gentle."

"Exactly." Kaiden's tone remained steady. "These aren't prisoners being forced into war. They're warriors who demanded the right to fight."

Ahead, Taigi slid under a monster's arm, her blade biting into its belly. Blood sprayed. She pressed the attack with every ounce of will she had.

Her people followed, emboldened by their captain throwing herself into the storm.

And Kaiden watched them the way a blacksmith watches metal in a forge.

No pity.

No softness.

But with full investment.

"They wanted strength," he said. "I'm giving them the fastest road to reach it."

There was a major difference between their previous tyrant and their new leader.

Unlike Varek, Kaiden wasn't sending them to die for his own benefit.

He was forcing them to rise.

The difference was stark, and it showed in the resolute expressions of the warriors. They desperately wanted to grow stronger and did not show even a single sign of wanting to run.

'Heroes in the making…' Kaiden thought inwardly, already having the vision of these people once they've reached the potential he saw in them.

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