Zachary looked at him for a second. Then—he smirked. "I do," he said casually, as if it didn't matter at all.
He walked over to his bag and tossed it onto the couch. "School ends at 3:00 PM," he explained, turning back toward Cole.
"You stay here and watch the news." He pointed toward the TV for emphasis. "You'll track dungeon appearances while I'm gone."
Cole blinked, processing the sudden responsibility. "…Here?" he asked, slightly unsure. Zachary nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah," he said simply. Then he added, "There's a passcode to access it."
He paused for just a second before saying it.
"The passcode is xxxx." Cole immediately pulled out his phone and typed it into his notes. "…Got it," he said once he finished, nodding to himself. The plan was starting to take shape.
For a moment, the room fell silent again. Zachary stood there, thinking through the details. Then he spoke again. "But there's a problem," he said.
Cole looked up, attentive. "The news only reports dungeons in public areas," Zachary explained.
"Hidden ones won't show up." His tone was calm, but the flaw in the plan was clear.
Cole thought about it for a second, then shrugged lightly. "…Let's just stick to the news," he said. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. Zachary hesitated briefly. Then he nodded.
"…Yeah," he agreed. "Let's stick to the news." And with that, the plan was finalized.
Days turned into weeks, and a routine began to form. Zachary went to the academy every day, sitting through classes like nothing had changed.
The whispers never stopped, but he ignored them completely. He wrote in his notebook, listened when needed, and kept his focus.
To everyone else, he was still the same—at least on the surface.
Meanwhile, Cole stayed at the apartment, watching the news closely. Every alert, every broadcast, every sudden report—he tracked them all.
He barely moved from his position most days. Waiting became part of the process. It was tedious, but necessary.
And whenever a dungeon appeared—they moved. No hesitation, no delay. Just action. Sometimes they ran. Sometimes—
"Barnacle."
The black circle would form, tendrils rising as the knight emerged. In an instant, everything shifted.
Movement became faster than anything human.
Barnacle became their transportation, their weapon, their advantage.
Dungeon after dungeon fell to them. Time started to blur together, each run feeling the same yet different. Fights became routine.
Monsters became nothing more than obstacles.
Punch. Crack. Collapse. Zachary's fists alone were often enough. Barnacle handled whatever remained.
Cole fought alongside them, improving bit by bit. But the gap between them never truly closed.
Weeks passed like that, relentless and repetitive. Until one day—
-[Stats]-
-[Strength: 915.5 points]-
-[Agility: 852.5 points]-
-[Recovery: 583.6 points]-
-[Durability: 568.6 points]-
-[Mana: 597.6 points]-
-[Casting speed: 603.6 points]-
Zachary stared at the screen in silence. He chuckled slightly at the numbers, now.
He'd just have to wait for it..
Then—