Elena frowned as she looked at Bastion. It was already disappointing enough that he, the former top student, had ended up with the Beast Summoner class, but his companion summon being a Fire Fox? Her eyes held a glint of disappointment, though they softened a bit when she saw Pyra's adorable face.
Cute, sure, but cuteness didn't translate to combat power when facing deadly monsters. To her, Bastion seemed to be one of those combat class students who would eventually give up and settle for a civilian job.
As the others continued to gossip, Billy's face flushed with embarrassment, feeling that he had inadvertently caused a scene. He stood in front of Bastion, defensive. "So what if it's a Fire Fox? Fire Foxes have some damage potential too! Besides, we already agreed to team up. Are you going back on your word?"
Ryan replied with a smirk, "You didn't say you were bringing a Beast Summoner with a Fire Fox. How about this: let's ask the others if they're fine with Bastion joining. If they agree, then I won't object."
Billy turned to Elena and the other girl in their group.
Elena glanced at Bastion briefly and said without hesitation, "We're too far apart in strength. It wouldn't work."
The support girl also looked down, muttering, "Sorry, but I don't think it's a good fit either."
"See? It's not just me," Ryan said, savoring his moment. "It's just that the Fire Fox's damage output isn't reliable. If he had literally any other basic DPS class, I'd have been fine with it."
Ryan was finally letting out all the resentment he'd harbored from Bastion's past dismissiveness.
Billy clenched his fists, ready to argue further, but Bastion suddenly interrupted. "Don't worry about it, Billy. You didn't ask for my opinion anyway."
"To be honest, I never planned on teaming up with them."
With that, Bastion turned and headed toward the entrance of Initiation Dungeon.
Billy grabbed his arm, whispering urgently, "Don't be stubborn. Join them for now. Once you reach Level 10 and unlock your second summon, things will open up."
"No need," Bastion replied, shrugging him off. "You go ahead and level up with them. I'll solo the dungeon and see how it goes."
With that, he walked away.
Behind him, Ryan's voice called out mockingly, "Solo it? He really thinks he's something!"
"No one's ever soloed Initiation Dungeon. He might as well sign up for a desk job now."
Watching Bastion's retreating figure, Billy realized he was serious. Scowling, he turned to Ryan. "You've got a real loose mouth, huh?"
"Look, we're doing you a favor. We're two hidden DPS classes, and you're just a tank. Don't forget that I'm the one who triggered the class change phenomenon. If I wanted, I could call out right now and get tons of tanks wanting to join our team."
"Then go ahead! See if I care!" Billy spat and stormed off, heading in Bastion's direction.
Ryan looked annoyed, muttering, "What an idiot. Whatever, we'll find another tank."
Elena felt a faint unease watching Ryan's arrogance, but remembering the power he'd displayed during his class change, she stifled her discomfort. "Let's not waste time. Let's find another tank and get going."
"No problem! With my reputation, plenty of people will want to team up. I was only sticking with Billy because we went to the same school."
"Mm-hmm," Elena replied.
---
[Master, why don't you let me kill him?]
Pyra's adorable, gentle expression vanished, replaced by a fierce glint of anger.
Bastion stroked the little fox curled around his neck, comforting her softly. "Arguing would only make us look riled up, and this is an official dungeon, so fighting isn't allowed."
"Besides, would you ever see a person arguing with a dog?"
"Instead of getting mad, we'll just prove them wrong," Bastion said, pointing at a display screen near the dungeon's entrance. The screen listed a long list of names and times.
The top row displayed the fastest clear time: 11 hours, 24 minutes.
"See that? That's the record. Let's go break it."
"They say there's a special dungeon reward for breaking the record," he added.
Pyra's eyes focused intensely on the screen, her whole body brimming with fighting spirit.
[Got it! Pyra will do her best to break it!]
A nearby onlooker chuckled overhearing them. "Bro, you realize that record was set by a team of six hidden classes, right? And they were all Level 7 when they cleared it. The top name, Warren… does that sound familiar?"
"Yeah, he's one of the commanders defending Ironwall Outpost."
"Finding six high-level hidden classes who complement each other is nearly impossible now. That record's been there for decades—it's unbeatable."
"And you want to solo it? Impossible."
Bastion just grinned. "Sounds challenging. I like it."
Pyra echoed with a low growl, her eyes bright with determination.
[Pyra likes it too!]
The onlooker shook his head. "A Beast Summoner with a Fire Fox, trying to solo… This world's gone mad."
Ignoring him, Bastion approached the dungeon entrance, a blue vortex swirling in the air before him.
A staff member stationed nearby noticed that Bastion was alone and kindly reminded him, "Student, the Initiation Dungeon still contains dangerous creatures. We recommend going in with a team."
"Thank you, but I'll go in alone," Bastion replied politely.
"Alone?" The staff member looked at him and then at Pyra. "Let me be clear: Fire Foxes are the weakest creature inside the dungeon. Don't waste your dungeon cooldown."
Bastion insisted that he wanted to solo, assuring the staff that he wasn't being reckless. Seeing he wouldn't budge, the staff member sighed and handed him a jade charm.
"Alright, but take this. It's a special emergency talisman. If your life is in danger, it will automatically activate and bring you back here."
"But be warned: if it teleports you out, you'll permanently lose access to the Initiation Dungeon. Plus, the talisman isn't foolproof—it might bring your body back, but your mind could suffer severe trauma or even leave you in a coma. Understood?"
"Understood, thank you," Bastion said, signing the safety waiver and taking the charm.
Shaking his head, the staff member muttered to himself. Each year, confident students came in wanting to solo, but they were usually the first to fail, losing their chance to enter the dungeon again. It was pointless to train students who couldn't gauge their own limits—they'd just die on the battlefield anyway.
"Good luck," he said as Bastion reached for the swirling portal.
With a flash of light, Bastion disappeared into the vortex.
"Wait!" Billy's voice came from the distance. He arrived just in time to see Bastion vanish.
"Great. Why're you being so stubborn, running off to solo as a Beast Summoner? You could've teamed up, leveled to 10, and then unlocked your second summon. Why take this kind of risk?"
Billy muttered to himself, worry creeping into his expression.
"Soloing at this stage? That's suicide…"