The transport cart rumbled along the forest road, wheels creaking over roots and stones.

I sat alone in the back, the only passenger, watching the Eastern Forest slip past through the open rear.

The driver was an Academy guard, middle-aged, scarred. He hadn't spoken since we'd left, and I was grateful for the silence. It gave me time to think.

Review everything you've learned this week.

Emma's mana circulation training.

The combat training with Kyle and Sira. Two modes of operation.

The equipment improvements.

Everything I need to survive is in my head. Just need to use it correctly.

The forest began to change.

The healthy oaks and pines gave way to twisted, gnarled trees with bare branches reaching toward the sky like skeletal fingers.

The underbrush grew sparse, then disappeared entirely. The birdsong that had accompanied us for the first hour faded to silence.

The air grew colder.

Mist crept between the trees, thick and gray, clinging to everything. The temperature dropped enough that I could see my breath.

The cart slowed as the forest opened into a clearing.

And there it was.

Blackwood Crypt

The structure rose from the rocky ground like a broken tooth, weathered stone covered in moss and lichen.

The entrance was a dark stone archway, maybe ten feet tall, covered in faded runes I couldn't read.

The cart stopped.

"End of the line," the driver said, his first words of the journey.

I climbed down, grabbing my pack and checking my equipment one final time.

And saw three figures waited near the entrance.

Instructor Aldwin stood with his arms crossed, flanked by two other officials I didn't recognize, one a woman with gray-streaked hair and official Academy robes, the other a younger man who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

Aldwin's gaze tracked me as I approached. "Raith."

"Sir."

"Timer starts the moment you cross that threshold," he said, gesturing to the dark archway. "Core stone is in the deepest chamber. It's just a standard dungeon layout, you'll know it when you see it. Six hours. Questions?"

"No, sir."

The woman stepped forward, holding out a wax-sealed leather pouch. "Emergency flare. Use it only if you're dying. It will summon the extraction team immediately, but activation constitutes automatic failure. Understood?"

I took the pouch, feeling its weight. "Understood."

She stepped back without another word.

Aldwin studied me for a long moment. No dramatic speeches. No encouragement. Just professional assessment.

"Six hours," he repeated. "Make them count."

I nodded and turned toward the entrance.

My boots struck stone as I passed beneath the archway. The temperature dropped immediately, the mist-heavy forest air replaced by something cold and stale.

Behind me, I heard the grinding of stone on stone.

I spun around...

The entrance was closing. A massive stone door descending from above, cutting off the pale daylight.

The door slammed shut with a boom that echoed through the corridor.

Darkness swallowed everything.

I stood frozen, heart hammering, listening to the echo fade.

Then... silence.

I fumbled for my lantern with shaking hands, finding the flint, striking once, twice.

The wick caught.

Warm orange light pushed back the darkness, revealing the space around me.

And I found myself standing in a long corridor carved from dark stone. The walls were lined with alcoves each containing skeletal remains.

Some sat slumped against the back walls. Others lay crumpled on the floor. All wore the remnants of ancient armor, rusted weapons still clutched in bony hands.

A necromantic dungeon?

I raised the lantern higher, examining the corridor. It stretched maybe fifty meters before turning left. No side passages. No obvious traps.

Just the alcoves and their silent occupants.

I activated Debug Vision.

[ENTITY: Skeletal Remains - Dormant]

Status: Inactive

I scanned the floor, looking for pressure plates, tripwires, magical triggers, anything that might activate whatever mechanism controlled these skeletons.

But there weren't any for the moment.

And I started moving forward, placing my weight slowly, watching for any response from the alcoves.

Five meters. Ten. Fifteen.

Nothing happened.

The skeletons remained still, empty eye sockets staring at nothing.

My confidence grew slightly. Maybe these were just decoration?

Then my boot pressed down slightly harder than intended.

Click!

The sound was soft, almost inaudible, but in the silence it was deafening.

Fuck—!

Suddenly... I heard it, the grinding stone.

I spun, raising my lantern and sword, and saw.

The skeletons were moving.

Slowly at first, joints creaking, bones scraping against stone. Then faster. Weapons lifting. Empty sockets turning toward me.

Four of them stepped out of their alcoves, two on each side of the corridor, blocking my path forward and back.

[Entity Analysis]

entity_id: "skeleton_warrior_L01"type: "undead"hp: 45/45threat_level: "low"

attributes: { weakness_01: "cranial_destruction" weakness_02: "fire" weakness_03: "structural_collapse" bone_durability: 45/100}

The first skeleton charged, its rusted sword raised high.

I sidestepped, bringing my own sword up to parry.

Metal rang against metal. The impact cracked the skeleton's blade.

While it was off-balance, I activated Debug Vision, focusing on its structure.

[EDIT: Skeleton_01 - Bone Durability -30%]

The skeleton's ribcage shimmered faintly. I drove my sword forward, aiming for the center mass.

And... the blade punched through ribs that crumbled like dried clay. The skeleton collapsed, bones clattering across the stone floor.

One down.

The second skeleton lunged from my left, its spear thrusting toward my ribs. I twisted away, the point scraping across my leather armor with a screech.

The skeleton recovered, thrusting again.

I dodged backward, my mind racing.

The floor beneath the skeleton was stone. I focused on the area around its feet.

The skeleton's next step slid forward uncontrollably. It stumbled, bones rattling, trying to regain balance.

I brought my sword down hard on its skull.

The bone shattered. The skeleton collapsed in a heap.

Two down. Two remaining.

But they were working together now, the third and fourth advancing side by side, weapons ready, not giving me an opening.

I backed up, my shoulders nearly hitting the corridor wall.

The third skeleton swung its axe in a wide horizontal arc. I ducked, feeling the rusted blade pass inches above my head.

The fourth jabbed with its sword, forcing me to twist away.

The axe came back, a return swing.

I raised my sword to block. The impact drove me back, my boots sliding on the dusty stone.

Then I focused on the air around both skeletons simultaneously.

The change was subtle but immediate. The skeletons' movements became sluggish, like they were moving through water instead of air. Their weapons swung slower. Their steps dragged.

I surged forward, driving my sword through the third skeleton's ribcage and then pivoting to bring the blade around in a horizontal slash that caught the fourth skeleton's neck.

Bone cracked. The skull separated, tumbling across the floor.

Both skeletons collapsed.

I stood there breathing, sword still raised, waiting for more movement.

Nothing.

Just the four piles of bones and armor, motionless on the dusty floor.

MP: 82/82 —> 62/82

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