[Chapter 145. Not Even Five Minutes In]

Three intermediate Travel Drones settled onto the rocky outcropping of the northern cliff face with a soft metallic thud that was swallowed by the wind. Searanox dismounted first, his boots crunching on loose gravel as he surveyed the dungeon entrance, followed by the four women, their silence a stark contrast to the usual nervous chatter that preceded dungeon runs. They had pieced together fragments of information about the Howling Caverns from hushed conversations between him and Iris, and it did little to calm their fraying nerves, their hands visibly trembling as they adjusted their equipment.

Lana and Carmen ran cursory checks over their gear, their movements appearing calm despite the visible tension that coiled in their shoulders and the way their eyes kept darting toward the entrance. They approached the swirling portal. At Searanox's curt nod, they stepped through as one unit, their bodies disappearing into the vortex without a trace.

The transition was jarring—sunlight vanished in an instant, replaced by the darkness of a natural cave system. It wasn't absolute blackness; faint light seeped through cracks in the ceiling, illuminating patches of the tunnel ahead and creating disorienting shadows.

The air carried the damp, metallic scent of stone and the unmistakable musk of canine predators, along with something else—a faint tingling sensation against their skin, like static before a lightning strike that made the fine hairs on their arms stand up.

Lana produced the Corpse Lantern, its teal glow mingling with Carmen's glowing staff and pushing back the encroaching shadows. In the enhanced illumination, they noticed their hair standing on end, loose strands floating in every direction. Before they could process this anomaly, heavy footsteps echoed behind them—the sound of boots striking stone with deliberate force.

All four spun around to find Searanox stepping through the portal, his expression unreadable as he took a deep breath of the cavern's air. He moved past them, his gaze sweeping the tunnel with an intensity unknown to them.

"Congratulations," he said, his voice flat with an undercurrent of irritation that made the women flinch despite themselves. "You've hit the fucking jackpot."

Vanessa pushed Lana forward with more force than intended, her frustration boiling over as she sent the younger woman stumbling several steps into the dim cavern before Lana could regain her balance on the uneven stone floor.

"What are you doing here?" Vanessa demanded, her temper flaring hot and sharp before she could rein it in, the words echoing slightly in the confined space. "I thought you were leaving us to handle this alone." Her tone softened marginally on the last words, a hint of the fear beneath her anger peeking through.

Lana froze completely, her muscles tensing as Searanox's hand came to rest on her abdomen as he stepped up beside her, his presence overwhelming in the cramped tunnel.

"Not so fast," he said, his voice low, his gaze fixed on Lana with unnerving intensity that made her skin prickle.

A quiet whimper escaped Lana's lips as she flinched as if burned, her breath catching in her throat before she found her voice again.

"I... I thought we should... Wasn't that the reason you brought us here?"

"I'll be judging your performance personally this time," he said, his fingers tracing the lines of toned muscle beneath her simple tunic with proprietary interest that made Lana's stomach twist. "You're in good shape..." he muttered almost to himself as he finally withdrew his hand, leaving behind a phantom sensation that lingered like a brand.

"...Thanks," Lana muttered, her gaze fixed firmly on the stone floor as if studying its texture with intense concentration, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"YOU WHAT!" Sarah nearly screamed, the sound sharp and piercing in the cavern before Carmen's sharp elbow silenced her with a pained grunt.

Searanox stepped closer to the huddled group. "Don't misunderstand. I have better things to do than babysit. Consider this an exception." The words were casual but carried an undercurrent of menace that made the women shift uncomfortably.

He said nothing more, merely gestured deeper into the dungeon's maw with a slight bow that felt mocking, like an invitation into his personal domain rather than a directive. Vanessa narrowed her eyes, sensing something beneath the surface she couldn't quite identify—a predator's calculation that made the hairs on her arms stand straighter than the static in the air ever could, an instinctive warning screaming danger despite his deceptively casual demeanor.

The group accepted his presence with silent unease, their steps tentative as they advanced deeper into the musky darkness that reeked of wet canine and damp stone. The static in the air made their skin tingle with uncomfortable electricity and their hair dance around their faces, the effect particularly pronounced on Carmen's long dark strands and Vanessa's fiery red ponytail.

At the first sharp bend in the tunnel, Lana's gaze caught on a small outcropping in the wall. She moved toward it instinctively, her body low to the ground as she leaned forward to investigate, her shield held loosely at her side, the Corpse Lantern's teal glow flickering.

Two Dire Wolves erupted from the shadows without warning, their larger forms materializing as if from the stone itself, muscles bunching beneath dark grey fur. The first slammed into Lana with enough force to drive the air from her lungs, her body hitting the ground with a dull thud as claws scraped against her shield. The second shot past them with incredible speed, its eyes fixed on the rest of the group.

A flash of blinding light illuminated the tunnel for a split second. The charging wolf's head exploded, its body collapsing mid-stride with a wet thud as Vanessa stood her ground, her tome held open with one hand, the final traces of glowing ink fading from the page as the stored spell depleted, her knuckles white from gripping the book.

Lana struggled beneath the weight of the wolf pinning her, its jaws snapping inches from her face as hot, foul breath washed over her, causing her to flinch while she strained to maintain her shield's position, the metal groaning under the pressure. Through the gap between beast and metal, she saw two more shapes rushing toward them down the tunnel, their movements unnaturally synchronized.

Sarah flickered into existence beside Lana. With a sickening crunch that echoed in the tunnel, her dagger plunged through the wolf's skull, the blade emerging from its throat in a spray of dark blood that splattered across Lana's face and chest. The dead weight collapsed fully onto Lana, trapping her beneath its massive form, the pressure making it difficult to breathe.

One of the approaching wolves was noticeably larger than the others, its shoulders broader and its fur darker. Before Lana could push the carcass off her, a howl tore through the cavern—a sound that vibrated not just in their ears but in their bones, in the very marrow of their being. The magical assault clouded her vision, thoughts scattering like frightened birds as dizziness washed over her. When clarity returned, the two wolves were already upon them.

The smaller lunged at Sarah while the larger pressed down on the dead weight pinning Lana, its immense strength adding to the crushing burden, her breath coming in shallow pants.

Sarah vanished a fraction before the wolf's jaws could close around her throat, the space she occupied suddenly empty as the wolf bit down on nothing but air, reappearing beside Vanessa and Carmen in the space of a heartbeat. Their eyes widened in horror as they watched the larger Dire Wolf lunge forward, its powerful jaw breaking past Lana's shield and sinking deep into her arm. A piercing scream echoed through the tunnel as teeth tore through flesh and muscle. The second wolf pounced again, but not at Sarah—its target was Carmen, the one beside her, who stood frozen with terror, her staff held loosely as the predator descended upon her.

Vanessa's spell slammed into the wolf before it could reach Carmen, who scrambled backward with a sharp cry, her feet sliding on the stone. The bolt struck the beast's shoulder instead of its head, the impact resonating through the tunnel. Bone crunched with a wet pop as the spell crushed the joint, drawing a choked whimper from the beast as its foreleg buckled at an unnatural angle. Sarah's dagger finished it with a vicious thrust through its skull, the blade sinking deep as the wolf's body went limp.

The Greater Dire Wolf continued its brutal assault on Lana's arm, its powerful jaws working with relentless pressure. A sickening crack echoed through the tunnel as bone finally gave way, her screams escalating to a raw, ragged sound that scraped against the stone walls. Before the beast could tear free its prize, Vanessa and Sarah descended upon it—a bolt of energy followed by the glint of steel—and the wolf collapsed with a final, guttural whine, its dead weight pressing Lana deeper into the growing pool of blood.

Five minutes. That's all it had taken for their controlled descent into chaos, the first blood already spilling across the cavern floor in dark, spreading patches as Carmen used her healing magic. Her hands trembled as she worked to mend the shredded flesh and shattered bone of Lana's arm, the soft white light of her spell making the blood glisten with an almost otherworldly sheen.

With her limb restored to a functional state, Lana resumed her position at the front, Wavebreaker held before her like a fragile shield. Her eyes darted back toward Searanox, something she'd done even as the wolf's teeth had been buried in her arm, the memory of pain still fresh in her mind.

All she could see was him perched atop his slightly oval drone, his posture casual, detached. His expression was unreadable, showing neither concern nor interest, his face a mask of indifference that chilled her more than the wolf's bite had. Their desperate struggle for survival was nothing more than background noise to whatever thoughts consumed his mind. The screams, the blood, the frantic healing—all of it passed by without so much as a flicker of emotion across his features, his focus fixed on something beyond their immediate suffering, as if calculating something they couldn't comprehend.

It was as if their near-death experience meant nothing to him—as if he had known all along that they would survive this brutal initiation, his presence here merely an observation of expected outcomes. Or perhaps worse, that their survival—or lack thereof—was of no consequence at all.