A faint buzzing circled near Zachary's head.
Small.
Annoying.
But almost impossible to notice.
The constant hum of the fluorescent lights drowned it out completely, blending the sound into the background like it was part of the place itself.
Zachary didn't react.
He was too focused on the environment—the endless mono-yellow walls, the damp carpet, the unnatural stillness of it all.
Then—
Slap!
Cole's hands clapped together right beside Zachary's head.
"—Nht!" Zachary flinched slightly, instinctively stepping back.
Cole pulled his hands apart, shaking them once.
"There was a bug flying around you, man," he said with a small chuckle.
Zachary blinked, then gave a slight nod.
"…Thanks," he said, a bit distracted, but appreciative.
Then—
Something shifted.
A faint glow appeared beneath their feet.
Blue.
Swirling.
Familiar.
Zachary's eyes widened slightly.
"…What the—"
Before he could react—
The ground vanished.
They dropped.
The blue portal wrapped around them, its frame twisting and shifting as if pushing them through space itself.
The sensation was brief—but disorienting.
Then—
Thump!
They hit solid ground.
Hard.
Zachary groaned slightly as he pushed himself up, his hand pressing against cold concrete. His vision blurred for a second before clearing.
Then—
He froze.
They weren't in the dungeon anymore.
They were surrounded.
"…What…?" Zachary muttered under his breath.
Standing around them—
...
Were his classmates.
Dozens of them.
All staring.
"W-what the—" he started—
But before he could finish—
Hands grabbed him.
Pulling him up.
"Zachary!?"
"How did you survive!?"
"What level was the dungeon!?"
"How are you not injured!?"
Questions came all at once.
Overlapping.
Loud.
Relentless.
Zachary's head tilted slightly, his brows furrowing as the noise pressed in from all sides.
Too much.
Too fast.
Without answering, he stepped forward.
Breaking through the crowd.
"Cole! Let's go!" he called out.
Cole, still recovering from the fall, pushed himself up quickly.
His taller frame made it easier to move through the students, weaving past them before catching up to Zachary.
"Where are we going?" Cole asked quietly once he reached him.
Zachary didn't stop walking.
His eyes were focused ahead, his expression more serious now.
"…I don't know either," he admitted.
A short pause.
Then—
"But something doesn't add up."
Cole glanced at him.
Zachary continued.
"We cleared the dungeon…" he said slowly, piecing it together as he spoke. "But the last thing we did…"
He stopped for a second.
Thinking.
"…was you slapping that bug."
Cole's steps slowed.
His expression shifted.
The realization hit him almost instantly.
"…Wait."
He looked at his hands.
Then back at Zachary.
"This might sound stupid," Cole said, lowering his voice slightly.
"But I think…"
He hesitated for a split second.
"…that bug…"
"…was the boss."
Zachary slowed his steps slightly, his gaze shifting toward Cole as he processed what he just said.
"…Back to the dungeon last week," Zachary muttered, his tone quieter now, more focused.
Cole glanced at him, still walking beside him.
"The boss from last week was… defeated?"
Zachary continued, his expression unreadable. "By whom?"
Cole frowned slightly.
"I don't know," he admitted.
Zachary's eyes narrowed.
His mind started connecting pieces.
Not randomly—
But carefully.
Kairoth…Umbren
The name surfaced again.
That moment.
That darkness.
That feeling.
When Kairoth passed down the system… everything went black.
Zachary's steps slowed even more.
Did he already defeat the boss?
For a split second—
That idea made sense.
Too much sense.
Then—
He stopped.
"…No."
The thought shut itself down almost instantly.
Zachary's gaze sharpened as he recalled something important.
The portal.
"If the boss was defeated…" he muttered under his breath, more to himself than Cole, "the exit portal would've appeared."