The air changed the moment they stepped through the safe zone's barrier and onto Floor B4.
The stone was gone.
Now it was wood.
Twisted, wet, and dark as midnight bark. The entire tunnel had transformed—walls and ceiling curved like the inside of a tree, but stretched unnaturally long, like a ribcage of something that had never been meant to live underground.
The air reeked of sap and iron.
Thane felt his boots stick slightly to the floor with each step.
Sova muttered, "Why does it smell like blood?"
"Because it is," Mira said.
She pointed.
A single, crimson drop rolled slowly down the wall—seeping from a hairline crack in the bark.
The roots bled.
The girls took point again.
Seren's sword gleamed in the false-light.
Sova had switched to short knives, holstered at her hips—her bow too cumbersome in the cramped corridors.
Mira's staff glowed softer now, like even it knew to be quiet here.
Thane walked behind them as always.
Silent.
Observing.
The first creature came from above.
A Barkjaw, hanging upside down from the ceiling like a growth. It uncurled as they passed beneath, mouth full of thorned teeth, limbs like sharpened roots.
Seren reacted fast—blade up, shoulder block, knockback slash.
Sova dove and sliced the legs.
Mira cast a pulse of Force Break that cracked the creature's midsection.
It shrieked and dissolved into sap and bone.
"Better," Thane murmured.
Seren turned, caught his expression.
"What?"
"You're getting faster."
She blinked.
"Thanks... I think."
But the dungeon wasn't done.
The roots began to move.
First slowly. Then with intent.
By the time they reached the second chamber, the entire floor shifted beneath them. The roots pulsed like veins, and the hallway behind them sealed shut.
Forward or die.
The chamber itself was circular, and the light here came from flowers—glowing red blossoms that opened with a slow hiss.
Each one pulsed like a heartbeat.
And then—
They launched.
Spore darts.
Seren raised her sword as a shield.
Mira chanted a deflecting veil.
Sova tried to duck—one dart clipped her leg.
She cursed, stumbled.
Thane stepped forward for the first time.
He didn't cast immediately.
He walked.
Into the field of flowers.
The darts fired again—but none touched him.
He moved like the flame—unpredictable, fluid.
Then he raised his hand.
Flame Arc.
It swept through the flowers in a wide ring—setting petals ablaze, cutting stems, igniting spore sacs before they could burst.
The whole chamber caught fire in seconds.
The others shielded their eyes.
When the smoke cleared, Thane stood alone in the center.
The flowers were gone.
Only ash remained.
Mira coughed.
Sova limped to her feet, jaw clenched.
Seren stepped beside Thane, eyes narrowed.
"You've been holding back."
He didn't answer.
"You could've done that four floors ago."
Still nothing.
Mira looked between them, hesitating.
"Why haven't you?"
Thane looked at her then.
"Because you were strong enough."
And that was all he said.
They didn't speak much after that.
But they didn't look at him the same way either.
When they reached the stairwell to B5, the safe zone was smaller this time—cramped, warm, humming with low tension.
They took shifts eating and resting.
Seren sat with her back to the wall, arms crossed.
Sova cleaned her leg, wincing with every pass of the cloth.
Mira stared at Thane.
"Where did you learn magic like that?" she asked quietly.
He poked the fire with a stick.
"Underground."
"Before the dungeon?"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
She opened her mouth to ask more.
But stopped.
She'd seen enough to know he wasn't lying.
Or if he was… it wasn't the kind of lie you pushed.
Later, when the others slept, Thane opened his screen.
📈 Level: 4
🧪 EXP: 4 / 160
🎯 Stat Points: 1
📜 Meteor Blueprint Progress: 2.1%
He placed the new point into Intelligence.
His mana rose to 60.
He didn't smile.
He didn't sleep.
He just whispered:
"Deeper."