After some time, one morning, the group gathered in front of the massive quest board.
"How's your arm, Bral?" Idin asked, his voice casual but with a thread of concern woven into it. "Do you think you can fight?"
Bral didn't answer immediately. He was flexing the magical prosthetic—watching how it reacted as he rotated it at the elbow and focused mana toward the crystal at its end.
"Well…" he said slowly, "I'm still getting used to it. The telekinesis spell takes some serious concentration. But I've been practicing casting basic fire spells. Seems like I have affinity towards them."
"Affinity?" Amukelo echoed, glancing at Pao.
She nodded, stepping closer to the board while still speaking. "Yeah. Most mages tend to have a natural pull toward a specific element. Earth, fire, water, wind—even lightning or ice, depending on their control. Mine's water, obviously." She gestured with her hand, and a small droplet lifted from the canteen at her hip, hovering briefly before she dismissed it.
"But it's not always that simple," she added thoughtfully. "Sometimes it's less about a natural affinity and more about what just feels right when you're learning. What comes easiest. What feels like it clicks in your mind."
Amukelo rubbed his chin. "Makes sense. Kind of like weapons. Some people gravitate to swords, others to hammers or axes."
"Exactly," Pao smiled.
Bral grinned faintly, tapping the tip of his prosthetic against the stone floor. "Fire feels right. It responds quickly. It's a little wild, but I like that. I'll have to test it more, though. I don't know how it'll handle under pressure."
Idin folded his arms. "So you're not back at full capacity yet?"
Bral looked at his arm again, serious now. "Not yet. But I don't think it'll take long. Once I get used to directing mana flow into the prosthetic, I think I'll be close to where I was. Might even get further."
Bao stepped forward, peering at the board with her sharp, focused eyes. "In that case, we should go with something simple. Not too risky, but enough to earn some coin. We've spent a lot of time training and recovering. We need gold. Even basic quests can start to feel heavy on the wallet if we don't rotate in some income."
"Agreed," Pao said. "Especially with Bral's new equipment. That kind of tech isn't cheap. We need to build up reserves again."
Amukelo leaned closer to the board, his eyes scanning the mid-tier silver quests. "What about this one?" He tapped a parchment pinned near the bottom. "Silver Rank Four. Dungeon sweep."
They all stepped closer to read it.
"Location: Duralan Ravine. The dungeon has already been cleared, but it's protocol to make sure no residual monsters have been nesting after the main force left. Standard procedure. Easy reward."
Idin nodded slowly. "Low unpredictability, moderate travel. Duralan Ravine isn't far. Two-day travel, maybe less. Sounds straightforward. If anything shows up, it'll be scraps—monsters too weak or too cautious to fight during the main raid."
Bao looked at Bral. "Do you want to go?" she asked, her voice neutral but supportive. "We can handle it with four if you need more time. You've been pushing pretty hard lately."
Bral smirked at her, the kind of smirk he used to wear all the time before the incident. "What better way to test this thing out than in actual combat? It's one thing to throw fire at a tree. Another to throw it at a monster."
Amukelo gave a nod of approval. "Then it's settled."
Pao reached up and pulled the quest sheet from the board, tucking it neatly into her side pouch. "Let's grab supplies and head out by noon."
Idin stretched his shoulders. "Good. I've been needing something to move my legs. That sword's been getting stiff from lack of use."
The journey took longer than expected. They had left Llyn two days prior, saddled with extra supplies in case the dungeon sweep turned into something more drawn out. The road was uneven, winding through stretches of old forest and low hills that gave way to craggy ridges. They didn't encounter any threats on the way—just the distant howls of wolves at night and the occasional rustle of woodland creatures skittering through brush.
By midday on the third day, they arrived.
The dungeon entrance was nestled in a jagged ravine, partially hidden behind thick brush and jutting rock. Ancient stone ruins surrounded the mouth of the entrance—broken pillars, eroded statues, and remnants of what must have once been a grand structure. Vines curled around shattered columns. The stonework was chipped and moss-ridden, but still carried the weight of something important once.
Torches burned steadily on iron sconces, placed evenly along the walls leading inside.
Bral stood near the edge, taking in the sight with a half-smile. "Looks like we've arrived."
They stepped inside, the air quickly shifting from crisp mountain breeze to a stale, heavy dampness. The stone beneath their boots echoed faintly with each step, and the light from the torches cast long, flickering shadows along the curved walls of the descending passage.
"I've read about this place," Idin said as they moved deeper into the ruin. "It has two layers. The first was meant for basic defenses—traps, monsters, magical seals. The second was a vault of sorts. Might take us the rest of today to clear this layer, maybe tomorrow too. If we don't find anything by then, we move deeper."
"Lovely," Bao muttered, her eyes already flicking around for movement.
The group stayed in formation. Amukelo walked near the front, with Idin beside him. Bral stayed closer to the middle, with Bao watching their rear, and Pao hovering nearby, already gathering faint mana just in case.
They didn't have to wait long.
As they turned a corner into a wider chamber, there was a sharp hiss and low groan. Ten ghouls burst from the side walls, crawling out from cracks in the stone and alcoves like insects. Thin, pale, and barely clothed, their eyes glowed faintly green, and their claws scraped stone as they lunged.
Amukelo reacted first. He pushed forward, his blade flashing in a clean arc as it pierced through the chest of the first ghoul, driving it into the wall and killing it instantly. The corpse dropped with a hollow thud.
Idin raised his shield just in time to block a leaping ghoul and countered with a brutal slash that tore the creature in half, black ichor spraying across the floor.
Bao stayed at range. Her hands moved rapidly, notching and releasing three arrows in perfect sequence. They each found their mark, embedding deep into a ghoul's skull one after another, until the monster collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Pao's staff lit up with energy. A narrow, concentrated blast of energy launched from her hands and disintegrated the side of a ghoul that had nearly reached Bral. The creature writhed and fell, its limbs twitching.
Bral stepped into the fight next. He slashed at a ghoul that dodged away from his blade. "Tch—" But before it could retreat fully, his prosthetic glowed faintly. He focused. The air shimmered for a moment, and the ghoul was suddenly pulled back, just an inch—but it was enough. Bral stepped forward and took its head clean off.
He smirked, admiring the movement of his new limb, but his celebration was short. Another ghoul jumped at him.
Without hesitating, Bral extended his prosthetic. The ghoul stopped in mid-air, frozen as if held by invisible hands. "Gotcha."
He lifted his sword, held it still, and let the ghoul's momentum carry it forward. The blade impaled it straight through the chest as it dropped. Bral flicked the corpse aside.
By the time he looked around, the others had finished the rest. Only silence remained.
"Whoah…" Bral said, grinning. "It's so cool. I can control their movement just enough. Like cutting their momentum short."
Pao clapped softly. "That was so cool. I wish I had a spell like that."
Bral laughed. "Well, it's not free. I had to lose an arm for it."
Amukelo, still catching his breath, gave him a flat look. "You seem to be happy about that."
Bral shrugged. "And what benefit will crying about it bring? You can't change the past, can you?"
Idin was already checking the perimeter of the room, blade still drawn. "Don't get too excited. Those ghouls were weak. If you start over-relying on that spell in a real fight, it could get you killed. You didn't even notice the second one until it jumped at you."
"A killjoy speaks," Bral said, rolling his eyes with a grin.
"Yeah," Idin muttered, "and that killjoy has kept you alive more times than I can count."
Pao walked over to one of the ghoul corpses, examining its skin and teeth. "These ones are fairly fresh. Must've wandered in after the original raid, or maybe the deeper layer pushed them up."
Amukelo wiped his blade clean and stepped beside her. "So it means we'll likely find more."
Bral cracked his knuckles. "Good. The more the better. I want to test this arm out properly."
"We'll test it when you're not walking into claws like an idiot," Bao said dryly.