"Of course you're here," Melinda snapped, her voice sharp with derision.

  She glared at Elias, the surprise on her face quickly giving way to a look of thinly veiled contempt. Her focus locked onto him with the cold precision of someone sizing up a dull-witted servant who’d overstayed his welcome.

  “Excuse me?” Marco said, frowning, his tone laced with surprise and warning.

  Melinda flinched, turning to him with a confused, searching look, as if she'd only just remembered he was there. Her eyes widened slightly as awareness returned, and with visible effort, she pulled herself back from her tunnel vision.

  She closed her eyes and drew a steady breath, gathering herself before smoothing her expression back into composed elegance.

  "Oh, hello Marco. What a pleasant surprise to meet you here. How have you been? It’s been far too long since we last saw each other," Melinda said pleasantly, a graceful smile on her lips.

  The facade didn’t fool Elias for a second; he knew exactly what she was like. And judging by the thoughtful frown on Marco’s face, his friend wasn’t buying it either.

  "Hello… Melinda, right? It has been quite a while indeed. I hope your parents are doing well," Marco replied politely.

  Despite the courteous words, Elias could tell he was being guarded. His tone was clipped, drier than usual.

  "They're very well, thank you for asking. In fact, I’m sure they’d love to see you again. You should definitely come by the house sometime," Melinda said invitingly, even adding a wink.

  "Thank you for the invitation. I’ll keep it in mind," Marco replied, his tone flat.

  "Please do," Melinda said evenly after a pause, her brows drawing together as her mouth settled into a faint pout.

  As the silence stretched, John cleared his throat loudly, glancing between Melinda and Marco with a pointed look. The interruption snapped Melinda out of her mood, and her smile returned as if it had never left.

  "Oh, right. Where are my manners? Let me introduce you to my party!" she said, her earlier enthusiasm slipping back into place as she gestured to the two men beside her in turn. "This is John, an old friend. And this is Simmons—my parents hired him as a bodyguard, just in case we got in over our heads while dungeon delving. You know how parents are. Always worrying too much."

  She flashed Marco a knowing smile.

  "Though, since you were trained by your father, I’m sure you're more than capable. I doubt you’d ever need such precautions."

  "Nice to meet you, Marco," John said with his usual bright smile and an easygoing wave. Simmons only nodded in greeting, his stare still cold.

  "Nice to meet you. John, Simmons," Marco replied, offering a small smile to John and a polite nod to Simmons.

  Then, in a deceptively calm tone, he added, "I’d introduce Elias over here, but I get the feeling you all already know each other."

  "Indeed! In fact, you could say Elias and I are childhood friends. When I was very young, my parents recognized my potential as a future adventurer, so they hired trainers to build my foundation and teach me combat skills early on. Those trainers happened to be Elias’ parents, so we saw each other quite often back then. We even trained together in the beginning, but that had to stop once I outpaced him by too large a margin. A shame, really, but it was inevitable, given how talented I was and how he was… well, less so," Melinda said proudly.

  "That's one way to put it," Elias scoffed, incredulous.

  Melinda shot him a sideways glance, her eyes full of arrogance. The message was clear: she saw him as nothing more than jealous of her perceived superiority, bitter about being left behind.

  The truth was, Elias didn’t think she was all that talented as a fighter. Not compared to himself, or Marco, or Isabela. And from what he'd seen over the past few days of training, even Rebecca had more raw potential than Melinda ever had.

  "I'm more curious about how the two of you ended up together. It's honestly quite the unlikely pair. You never struck me as the type to help power-level others out of pity, Marco," Melinda said with a teasing lilt and a light giggle.

  Elias clenched his jaw at the backhanded insult and started to respond, but Marco beat him to it.

  "We're delving together with the intention of forming a party in the future. Why? Do you have a problem with that?" Marco asked, one eyebrow raised, a clear edge in his voice.

  The blunt reply only made Melinda raise an eyebrow of her own and tilt her head slightly, as if confused by his reaction.

  John, meanwhile, devolved into a fit of coughing that dragged on until Melinda turned and gave him a glare sharp enough to shut him up. Once his coughing subsided into strained silence, she cleared her throat and turned back to Marco.

  "There’s no problem, Marco. No problem at all. You’re a grown man and more than capable of making your own choices. I just think you might not fully understand all the options available to you. Any party would be lucky to have someone as strong as you. There’s no reason for you to settle on the first choice that comes along," Melinda said, her tone calm and matter-of-fact. "I’m just looking out for you, since you’re new around here and all."

  "How kind of you… Though, let me guess—you also happen to think your party is the best option for me to join," Marco deadpanned.

  "As a matter of fact, yes. That’s exactly what I think. Of course, we’re not the only good option, even though this is a fairly small town, but I believe you’d come to realize that we are, by far, the best," Melinda said primly.

  "Oh, really? How so?" Marco asked, rolling his eyes.

  Melinda gave no sign of noticing and continued speaking, undaunted.

  "Well, first of all, John and I are the same age as you, and from what I can tell, we're the only new adventurers in this dungeon with any real talent. Well, besides you, of course," Melinda said. "Most of the others don’t even perfect their foundation before reaching Beginner rank, or never trained their combat skills properly."

  She turned her nose up at Elias and added, voice sharp with disdain, "In any case, we’re a far better option than the weakest adventurer in the dungeon."

  "Alright, that’s it!" Elias snapped, finally fed up with Melinda’s backhanded insults. "Who the hell are you calling weak? Just because you were born with high attributes, you think you’re better than everyone else? What a joke!"

  "The only joke here is you thinking you should be an adventurer in the first place," Melinda shot back. "Worse, you’re trying to weasel your way into the party of someone who actually has a future, just so they can carry you through the dungeon. Would you have even made it this far without Marco? I really, really doubt it."

  "Alright, that’s enough. Come on, Elias, let’s get out of here," Marco said, the annoyance in his voice unmistakable.

  "Please, just keep what I said in mind, Marco," Melinda relented with a sigh. "I just think it would be a shame to see your potential wasted by joining people who have no hope of keeping up with you. All that’s going to happen if you go that route is they’ll drag you down. Or worse, they’ll just—"

  "You know what, Melinda? Let me tell you something," Marco cut in, his voice heated.

  "If I thought joining your party was in any way a better option than teaming up with Elias, I might’ve taken what you said seriously. But the truth is, you overestimate yourself. A lot. I’ve seen real talent while traveling with my dad, and you’re definitely not it. Even if you were, I still wouldn’t want to party up with you. Actually, I don’t think anyone would. Not with someone who treats others the way you do. I’ve seen how you talk to your own party members when you think no one’s watching."

  "Suit yourself. But don’t come running back to me when you realize I was right," Melinda said darkly, her teeth clenched. "It’ll be too late to regret your words then."

  Her composure had unraveled steadily as Marco spoke, the polite smile fading from her face until nothing was left but simmering fury. Elias couldn’t remember ever seeing her this upset. She looked ready to swear bloody revenge for the audacity of being spoken to like that.

  Without another word, Marco and Elias moved to gather their things at the base of the fig tree, preparing to leave the glade.

  All the while, Melinda glared at them with murder in her eyes. Elias, notably, felt like most of that venom was directed at him. For some reason, she seemed to blame him for everything, which struck him as deeply unfair. He wasn’t the one who’d pissed her off.

  John, on the other hand, looked painfully awkward standing beside her. He kept glancing away whenever Elias met his eyes, occasionally flashing an embarrassed smile that only made his discomfort more obvious.

  In contrast, Simmons showed no reaction at all. He simply watched the two of them with cold, steady eyes, like he was expecting a fight to break out at any moment.

  Marco and Elias left the glade through the side opposite Melinda’s group, just in case she snapped and actually tried to attack them. It wasn’t likely, but she seemed angry enough to make it a real possibility, and with Simmons around, they didn’t want to take any chances.

  Dealing with Melinda and John in a fight wouldn’t be much of a problem—especially now that Elias’ attributes were at a decent level and he had Marco at his side. But the older man was a different story. He looked like a veteran adventurer, not a newbie like the rest of them. And something about his expressionless stare made Elias uneasy.

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  Elias kept glancing back toward the glade as he and Marco made their way through the jungle in silence. He watched the fig tree shrink in the distance, only relaxing once it finally disappeared behind the thick vegetation. With each step, the tension began to ease from his shoulders, especially after he was able to release some of it on the first monster they encountered.

  Putting his new levels in Charisma to good use, Elias started to reflect on what had just happened, and was surprised by how upset he felt, deep down. He’d never truly expected Melinda to change, but part of him had still hoped she might see him differently now that his body had improved, even if only begrudgingly.

  He realized it wasn’t just about proving people like her wrong. He wanted them to know they were wrong. He wanted them to admit it—to acknowledge him.

  That thought made him stop in his tracks, his mind grinding to a halt as his fists clenched at his sides.

  After years of frustration and anger, he finally understood why it always stung so much when people dismissed him as weak, or untalented, or lazy. Deep down, he felt like he’d failed—failed to live up to the dream he’d clung to for so long. The dream of becoming a great adventurer, admired and beloved, like the heroes in dungeon stories.

  And now that he saw it clearly, it felt... vain.

  No matter what he did, some people would never like him, and there was nothing he could do to change that. He could never please everyone, and every moment spent trying was a moment wasted. Elias understood that now. More importantly, he understood that the real problem was the desire itself—the need for external validation.

  The need to be acknowledged was the line between pride and humility.

  So, he made his decision: he would let go. Let go of the need to be admired. Let go of the craving to be accepted. He refused to walk the same path as Melinda.

  From now on, he would improve himself for his own sake, so he could pursue his dream of exploring the dungeon and uncovering the wonders hidden within.

  "I'm sorry for what happened back there, man," Marco said suddenly, pulling Elias from his thoughts.

  "Don’t worry about it. I’ve known that girl for years—I know what she’s like better than anyone," Elias replied with a humorless chuckle. "I’m just glad you had my back. I really appreciate it."

  "Don’t mention it," Marco said with a relieved smile. "And don’t take anything Melinda said to heart, alright? She has no idea what she’s talking about. You’re one of the best fighters I’ve seen anywhere near our age."

  "Thanks!" Elias said, flashing a bright smile. "Actually, how do you even know each other? You’re pretty new around here, and from what she said, you even know her parents?"

  "Well, here’s the thing... We—my father and I—actually came to this town because Melinda’s parents hired him as their trainer. They wanted help breaking through the bottleneck to Master rank," Marco said, scratching the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable. "I told you before that my dad was strong, but I didn’t really say how strong. I don’t like talking about it, but I figured you’d find out eventually anyway, so... I’ll just say it. He’s a peak Master rank adventurer."

  Elias’s jaw dropped. His mind went blank for a moment as he tried to process what he’d just heard.

  Master rank adventurers were already incredibly powerful, with attributes above level 60. But peak Masters were in a league of their own. Their attributes had all reached level 80, the cap for that rank.

  A person’s attribute power increased by roughly ten percent with each level. For example, if someone with a perfect foundation could lift 400 kilograms at level 10, then at level 11, that same person would be able to lift around 440 kilograms.

  It might not sound like much at first, but that’s just a single level increase. As the levels climb higher, the gap increases exponentially.

  Master rank adventurers had attributes between level 60 and 80, and even the weakest among them could run faster than the speed of sound. A level 60 Master was more than a hundred times stronger in every aspect than they had been at level 10, and a peak Master was nearly a thousand times more powerful.

  And that was just the difference in raw attributes. It didn’t even account for the incredibly powerful Skills and equipment they wielded, or the countless other advantages that came with reaching such a high rank.

  Transitioning between ranks became increasingly difficult the further one progressed, with each advancement requiring greater effort and more complex conditions. Reaching the Master ranks was the mark of the truly powerful and gifted, and countless people plateaued at the peak of Expert rank, unable to move forward. Even discovering the requirements to advance could be a challenge in itself.

  Elias didn’t even know what was needed to transition from Beginner to Novice rank, and that was only the first major bottleneck in advancement. All he knew was that reaching the Beginner rank required touching a Monument at a surface Temple with all your attributes at level 10.

  "When we first arrived, my dad and I were invited to dinner at Melinda’s house. That’s when I met her and her parents," Marco said after a pause, continuing his explanation. "Honestly, they all seemed nice enough at the time. Melinda was polite and even offered to let me join her party since I didn’t know anyone in town."

  He shrugged.

  "I turned her down, of course, but that was mostly because I didn’t want to split the exp. I just wanted to hit level 10 as fast as possible. This is actually the first time I’ve seen her since then. Needless to say, watching her act like that today was a surprise."

  "Tell me about it," Elias said with a scoff. "She used to be nice and polite with me at first too. Took me years to realize it was all an act. Though... I like to think maybe she wasn’t so bad when we first met. We were both really young, after all."

  "Yeah, that girl’s a narcissist through and through," Marco said.

  Elias gave a somber nod of agreement.

  "You know, I used to have a crush on Melinda when I was younger," Elias said with a self-deprecating grin.

  Marco burst out laughing.

  "No way!" he exclaimed, disbelief written all over his face.

  The next few minutes crawled by for Elias as Marco mocked him mercilessly, the compassion he’d shown earlier all but forgotten. Elias protested, insisting that Melinda hadn’t been so bad back then—but his words fell on deaf ears.

  Their ruckus was loud enough to attract more monsters than usual to their location, which, while annoying, sparked a few ideas in Elias’s mind about how to farm exp more efficiently. Still, he decided to save those experiments for another day.

  Since it had taken so long to reach the core area of the zone in the first place, the pair began making their way back to the clearing soon after leaving the glade. This time, Elias took the lead in showing Marco how to slip through the jungle foliage rather than forcing a path through it. Their pace increased so much that Marco even complained about not having learned the method sooner, claiming he could’ve gained exp far more efficiently if he had.

  As they trekked through the jungle, they also adjusted their strategy for handling monsters. With Elias now walking ahead, he took on the responsibility of dealing with most of the creatures they encountered. But whenever they ran into something too large or tough for him to handle alone, Marco stepped in without hesitation.

  In this way, they made quick progress through the dense terrain. By the time they reached the clearing, Elias had even earned enough exp to raise his Charisma by another level.

  Congratulations! Your Charisma is now level 7.

  All in all, Elias found that dungeon delving with a friend was a far more enjoyable experience than doing it alone. It didn’t necessarily make things easier, as there weren’t any particularly dangerous monsters in the newbie zone, but having someone to talk to made the day feel a lot less boring.

  Even better, since Marco had already hit the level 10 cap, Elias got to keep all the experience from the monsters they defeated. That allowed him to level up twice in a single day, and he was already well on his way to raising his Charisma a third time.

  By the time they reached the clearing, Elias was putting an inordinate amount of effort into keeping his back straight and his feet from dragging. He was exhausted, physically and mentally, but he didn’t want Marco to notice. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to think he hadn’t enjoyed their time together.

  Still, when he glanced over, he couldn’t help but smirk. Marco was clearly on his last legs too, doing a poor job of pretending otherwise.

  They were both so tired that they skipped dinner at the clearing entirely and headed straight for the dungeon exit, exchanging quick goodbyes before parting ways.

  As Elias walked home, he firmed his resolve once again. He would reach the Beginner rank, or at least get close, before Marco returned from his trip. That way, they could officially form a party and start delving together for real.

  The thought alone made his heart flutter. He couldn’t wait.

  *******

  Isabela continued to surprise Elias, doggedly persevering through yet another grueling training session.

  He had expected her to start flagging by now—maybe even give up after a week or two—but there was no sign of that happening. She had been pushing herself for nearly two weeks straight, and it filled his heart with pride. She was showing a resilience he hadn’t realized she had.

  "So you finally leveled your Charisma, huh? Did something happen?" Vivian asked, raising an eyebrow after training.

  "I just felt like it was falling too far behind my other attributes, so I decided to level it up a bit," Elias replied with an eye-roll.

  "It’s not a bad choice, to be honest. That attribute is a lot more important than most people give it credit for. In fact, some would argue it's the most important attribute overall. That being said, it’ll be pretty much useless to you in the short term. Not only does it take forever to train the normal way, but it won’t even make you any stronger right now."

  She gave him a playful wink.

  "So… we’re not going to be training it just yet. We’ll wait until we start perfecting your foundation for real. I’ve got a little something planned to train that particular attribute quickly when the time comes."

  Elias let out a huge breath of relief, like he’d just been granted a stay of execution. He really, really hadn’t wanted to train his Charisma the hard way. The process was time-consuming, tedious, and mind-numbingly boring. In fact, he resolved then and there not to even think about whatever plan Vivian had in mind for it.

  Whatever would come, would come—but more importantly, it would come another day.

  "You know… something interesting did happen in the dungeon yesterday," Elias said to Vivian as they made their way back to the house.

  "Oh, really? What?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

  Elias told her about his plan to form a party with Marco and Rebecca once they all reached the Beginner rank. Vivian didn’t seem surprised, though she did raise an eyebrow when he mentioned that he and Marco had already completed their first dungeon delve together the day before. He made a point of emphasizing that both his friends had already leveled all their attributes to ten, and that Marco had already left to perfect his foundation.

  "And you want to reach the Beginner rank before he returns. Is that it?" Vivian asked, giving him a knowing smile.

  "Yes," Elias admitted with a sheepish chuckle, a little embarrassed at being seen through so easily.

  "Oh, don’t be like that, Eli. I know my own son," Vivian said with a warm laugh, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "And I get it. You don’t want to be left behind. But what do you plan to do about it? Pause your foundation training just to rush through leveling all your attributes to ten?"

  "Well," Elias began, wincing, "yeah, pretty much. Come on, please? I’m pretty sure I’ve already got the hang of limit testing. If I can perfect my foundation before Marco gets back, we can start delving into the Beginner zone together."

  "Fine," Vivian said.

  "Really?" Elias blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Vivian to relent so easily—he’d stayed up all night preparing arguments to plead his case.

  "Yes, Eli, really," she said with a chuckle. "I know how much forming a party with your friends means to you, and I doubt you’ll find someone as suitable as Marco anytime soon. I liked that Rebecca girl too—she seems nice. Sure, she’s still far behind when it comes to fighting skills, but with some effort, she can catch up."

  "So, here’s what we’ll do," Vivian said, her tone firm. "Starting tomorrow, just focus on leveling all your attributes to the cap. Once you’re done, I’ll take you to the Thermal Duality Temple in the Journeyman Zone to perfect your foundation."

  Elias’s jaw dropped, his eyes widening in disbelief.

  "Yes, Eli, we’re going to that temple," Vivian confirmed with a chuckle. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but there’s no point keeping it a secret anymore—it’ll be obvious once I start preparing for the trip. Anyway, we leave in two weeks. Make sure you’re ready by then. You’ll need to level at least one attribute per day, but I think you’ll manage."

  With a beaming smile, Elias promised he’d hit the level cap well before the deadline. His heart pounded with excitement at the challenge ahead, and at the thought of finally visiting the mysterious temple he’d heard about for years.