The morning after the party came quietly.
Lyon felt calmer in the early autumn light. Streets that had been full of music and laughter the night before were now slow and peaceful, cafés opening their doors while the smell of fresh bread drifted through the air again.
Phong gathered everyone in the motel lobby.
Dominic was still stretching sleep out of his shoulders.
Janet had already finished one cup of coffee.
Jake and Jack looked suspiciously well-rested for people who had stayed out dancing.
Alex leaned comfortably against Phong's shoulder.
Séline and Camille waited patiently, curious why he had called everyone together.
Phong looked at the two French girls.
"Can you take us somewhere first?" he asked.
"Before we go sightseeing again."
Camille tilted her head.
"Where?"
Phong answered simply.
"The graveyard."
Séline froze for a beat.
Camille's smile faded.
They understood at once.
The cemetery sat on a quiet hill overlooking the city.
Old stone markers.
Iron gates.
Rows of autumn leaves scattered along the paths.
Lyon had many old cemeteries, but this one held a few newer graves.
Divers.
Friends of Séline and Camille.
Members of their old team.
The walk through the cemetery was quiet.
No jokes.
No rushing.
They stopped in front of several simple headstones set side by side.
Séline stood still for a moment.
She had not expected this.
Camille looked at Phong.
"You didn't have to do this."
He shrugged.
"They were your friends."
"They were divers."
"That's enough."
The honesty of it landed harder than any dramatic speech could have.
Alex stood beside him with her hands in her coat pockets.
She tried very hard to look solemn.
Then after a few seconds she leaned toward Séline and stage-whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Considerate."
"That's the guy I fell for."
Dominic snorted quietly.
Séline shook her head, amused despite herself.
"You know, Alex…"
"If you ever dump him…"
She pointed at Phong.
"We might steal him."
Camille nodded.
"Absolutely."
Alex crossed her arms with full drama.
"You can try."
Then she smirked.
"But you'll have to fight me first."
That broke the heaviness at once.
Even in a cemetery, laughter came back.
The dead were remembered not only with sadness, but with the warmth that meant they had not been forgotten.
Back at the motel, one member of the group had been left behind on purpose.
Rico.
The raccoon had crashed magnificently after the previous night's caffeine rampage.
He was sprawled on one of the motel beds like a tiny furry corpse, the wooden treant armor still partly wrapped around him.
Which was good.
Because overnight, he had become famous.
French social media had exploded with videos from the party.
The raccoon yanking down three pairs of pants.
The tiny warrior raccoon suddenly turning into a walking wooden armor suit.
The clips were already trending.
Theories had started.
Was it a trained animal?
A dungeon familiar?
A new awakened ability?
Was the armor real?
Was it an illusion?
Dominic had made the executive decision.
"Rico stays inside today."
No one argued.
As they walked back through Lyon, Phong's system menu flickered again.
He opened it casually.
A message.
From Em.
He already knew this would not improve his day.
The text blinked playfully.
[Guess what I gave Josh.]
[Guess it.]
[Guess it.]
Phong sighed.
"You're insufferable."
Another message appeared.
[A second class.]
[The first… how do humans call it…]
[Right.]
[Multiclass.]
Then a video file appeared in the menu.
Phong played it.
The group gathered around.
The footage showed chaos deep in the dungeon.
Floor Three.
Dark caverns.
Broken stone.
Josh fighting.
Emma beside him.
Josh moved like a living teleport.
Blinking through space in sharp bursts.
Each movement left a faint distortion behind.
Like Azazel from X-Men.
His fists hit with brutal force.
Monsters folded under blows carrying terrifying kinetic power.
The diver records listed his class as Martial Artist, evolved into Pugilist at level 30.
Front-line hybrid.
Tank and close-range damage.
But now—
This second class gave him something else.
Mobility.
Extreme mobility.
Even Vanessa's assassin movement probably would not match it.
Dominic frowned.
"…That's bad."
Janet nodded.
"If Alex fought him now…"
Jack finished the thought.
"Draw."
Alex crossed her arms.
"I'd still win eventually."
Phong closed the menu calmly.
He refused to let Em ruin their day.
He wrote a reply.
[So how did Emma react to you wearing her face?]
Em answered at once.
[Who said I went as her?]
Another message followed.
[This is Halloween, human cub.]
[We wear costumes.]
Phong frowned.
Then the next message appeared.
[I used your appearance to greet Josh and Emma.]
Everyone stopped walking.
Phong blinked.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Another message popped up.
[Emma shot me between the eyebrows.]
[Fun time, right?]
[Sometimes it feels like I understand human culture more than you do.]
For a moment, Phong's brain refused to process the image.
Then it did.
The mental picture hit him like Truck-kun launching some poor bastard into an isekai.
Josh and Emma walking through the dungeon.
Suddenly meeting…
Phong.
Except not Phong.
A Lovecraftian chaos thing wearing his face.
Greeting them casually.
And Emma answering by shooting it in the forehead.
Phong stared at the screen.
Then slowly rubbed his face.
"You win."
Alex leaned over.
"What?"
Phong sighed deeply.
"You win, you Lovecraftian asshole."
He closed the menu.
Internally, he kept score.
Floor Boss: 1
Phong: 0
The vacation in Lyon continued.
But somewhere deep in the dungeon, chaos had just handed Josh a terrifying new edge.