Lexel took a deep breath.
The air didn't taste like the crisp morning breeze of the plains. It tasted of rot, damp stone, and the lingering, copper scent of violence that had happened centuries ago.
He opened his eyes, scanning the entrance to the Ruins of Flamasca.
Behind him, the three raid parties were conducting their final gear checks. Kael the Blonde Knight was polishing his shield, his casual demeanor replaced by professional focus. Cresty the Rising Star was whispering instructions to her rangers, her eyes darting around the perimeter. Journ the Warrior Giant stood like a monolith, checking the edge of his axe with a thumb thick as a sausage.
Anthierin stood by Lexel's side. She was trembling slightly, but her nose was twitching, sniffing the air like a bloodhound catching a scent.
"I can tell there is an ore in there," she whispered, her brow furrowing in concentration.
"You could?" asked Lexel, looking at the massive stone archway that marked the entrance.
The ruins were a skeleton of a bygone era. The rubble and broken statues whispered of a golden time that had long since passed. Vines choked the intricate carvings of the pillars, and the grand fountain in the courtyard now held only dark, stagnant water adorned with dead leaves and rotting branches.
"Yes," Anthierin nodded, tapping the side of her nose. "It's my skill. I can smell low-grade ore and metal deposits within a hundred meters. It's called [Metal Nose]."
Metal Nose? Lexel thought.
He pulled up the skill tree. Hovering in the orbit of the star was a locked node labeled [Pig Nose].
Metal Nose vs Pig Nose. I wonder if mine smells gold or just trouble.
"Alright," Lexel rolled his shoulders, the joints popping audibly in the quiet morning.
He walked past the cautious adventurers, stepping over the threshold of the ruins as if he owned the place. He didn't draw a weapon. He didn't raise a shield. He walked with the casual swagger of a landlord inspecting a tenant's messy apartment.
"Tch, what an amateur," whispered a voice from the back of the raid group. "Walking in front of the tank? He's got a death wish."
Lexel heard it, but he didn't care. The opinion of sheep meant nothing to the shepherd.
"Let's go, everyone!" Journ bellowed, lifting his massive one-handed axe. "Formation! Shields up, eyes forward!"
The raid party surged forward, the clanking of armor echoing off the stone walls.
Inside, the ruin was a crypt.
The main corridor was massive, a tunnel wide enough for ten men to walk abreast, but the oppressive darkness made it feel claustrophobic. The air was heavy with dark odors—mold, rust, and something feral. Moss covered the walls like a thick, green carpet, reclaiming the structure inch by inch.
They walked for five minutes in tense silence, the only light coming from the glowing gems on the mages' staves.
Suddenly, Cresty stopped.
"Watch out, everyone," she hissed, her voice cutting through the silence. "We got company."
Her eyes sharpened, the pupils dilating as her [Alert] skill pinged. She pointed her staff toward the end of the corridor, where the darkness seemed to be moving.
Skitter. Scratch. Snort.
From the shadows, red eyes appeared. Dozens of them. Then hundreds.
"Level 10s approaching!" Cresty shouted. "Be careful! The density is abnormal!"
"Prepare!" Kael shouted.
The Blonde Knight sprinted to the front, standing directly before Lexel. He slammed his massive tower shield into the cracked stone floor.
BOOM.
A wave of blue energy rippled out, solidifying into a barrier. Behind him, four other shield-bearers locked ranks, creating a wall of steel.
"Something's wrong!" Kael gritted his teeth. "Why are they so aggressive? Usually, they hesitate!"
From the darkness, the horde revealed itself. They were Rot-Tusk Boars—grotesque, mutated beasts with skin like hardened leather and tusks dripping with acidic saliva. They weren't just attacking; they were frothing at the mouth, driven by a frenzy that defied self-preservation.
"They are basically a horde now!" a ranger shouted, nocking an arrow.
"Looks like they are behaving rather differently," said Journ, stepping up beside the shield wall. "I will leave the defense to you, Kael."
"Just destroy them," Kael said with a smirk, bracing his shoulder against the shield as the first wave of boars impacted. CRASH. The shield wall held, but the sheer weight of the monsters made the ground tremble. "Tanks! With me! Hold the line!"
Then the knights formed a stratagem with Kael as the foundation. The shield wall became the anvil, and Journ became the hammer.
"Woah, what's that?" asked Lexel, watching the coordinated defense with genuine curiosity.
"We'll be safe with Kael holding down the fort and Journ with his party advancing the offense," Cresty explained, firing a bolt of fire over the shield wall. "It's standard raid doctrine. Control the choke point."
"Is that so?" Lexel muttered.
Then, the moment the horde was within reach of Journ's axe, the giant moved.
"HAAAA!"
Journ swung. His axe cleaved through the air with a terrifying whistle. It connected with the first boar, splitting its skull effortlessly. He didn't stop. He hacked away like he was traversing through a dense forest, turning monsters into meat with efficient, brutal strokes.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
The other adventurers lent a hand. Mages cast fireballs that scorched the boars' hides. Rangers fired arrows into eyes and throats. Spears poked through the gaps in Kael's shield wall, maiming the beasts that got too close.
It was a meat grinder. But it was messy.
"Shit!"
A scream broke the rhythm.
One of the boars, smaller and faster than the rest, leaped over the shield wall. It crashed into the backline, its tusk piercing the thigh of a young swordsman.
"Healer!" Kael shouted, not daring to turn around.
"[Light Heal]!" a priestess cried out from the rear, her hands glowing white. The wound knit together, but the formation was shaken.
The archers are of little use in this narrow path, Cresty thought, biting her lip. The ceiling is too low for arcing shots, and the frontline is too crowded. I can't provide much-needed offense support without risking hitting Journ.
The corridor was a chaotic mess of screaming men and squealing beasts.
"Is raiding always this crowded?" asked Lexel.
He was standing in the middle of the formation, looking bored. He watched a boar gnaw uselessly on Kael's shield, drool pooling on the floor.
"Sometimes," said Anthierin, taking a step back as a spray of blood landed near her boots. She gripped her hammer, her knuckles white. "How are you so calm in this situation! People are getting hurt!"
Lexel didn't answer immediately. He was sensing something else.
The aggression of the monsters... it wasn't natural.
He could feel their gaze. Even as Journ hacked them apart, the boars in the back weren't looking at the Tank. They weren't looking at the healers.
They were looking at him.
Their red eyes were locked onto Lexel with a mixture of primal fear and absolute hatred.
Ah, Lexel realized. This is the price of my trait... no... my Heritage.
To these creatures of darkness, the blood of a War God and a Zodiac Emperor shone like a beacon. They didn't just want to kill the humans; they wanted to snuff out the light that offended their existence.
They are rushing the formation because they are trying to get to me, Lexel thought. Inefficient.
Lexel stepped forward.
"Lexel?" Anthierin's gaze lingered on his back. "What are you doing?"
Lexel cracked his knuckles. Pop. Pop. Pop.
"This is taking too long," he muttered.
He walked past Anthierin. He walked past the healers. He walked right up to the shield wall where Kael was grunting with effort.
"Excuse me," Lexel said.
Before Kael could object, Lexel jumped.
He didn't vault gracefully like a ranger. He launched himself with the explosive power of a cannonball, clearing the shield wall and landing dead center in the middle of the monster horde.
"Lexel what are—" Cresty's voice cut out.
BANG.
It wasn't the sound of a punch. It was the sound of a localized atmospheric collapse.
Lexel's fist connected with the head of the lead boar.
There was no resistance. The Rank: S Strength didn't just break the bone; it atomized the target. The boar's head vanished in a mist of red vapor and bone shards. The shockwave of the impact rippled outward, knocking the three boars behind it onto their backs.
A blue window flickered in his vision.
[Daily Quest Complete][Reward: Small HP Potion]
Lexel stood up from his crouch. His fist was bloodied, steaming in the cool air of the ruin.
The corridor went silent.
Journ froze mid-swing. Kael lowered his shield an inch. Even the monsters seemed to pause, their primitive brains struggling to process the predator that had just landed among them.
One punch. That was all it took.
Lexel flicked the gore off his hand. He looked back at the stunned raid party, specifically at the giant warrior who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"Take the sidelines, Journ," said Lexel, his eyes glowing with the molten heat of the Scion.
He turned back to the hundreds of snarling beasts. A cruel, ecstatic grin spread across his face.
"I'm starting the death festival."