"Quick, get in here!" she whispered urgently, making her voice audible enough to filter through the chaos erupting across No Man''s Wastnd.


    Before August could question anything, Aria grabbed him by the arm and yanked him through the glowing slit.


    The sensation was strange. It felt like stepping through water but when he emerged on the other side, he found himself in what appeared to be a small tent.


    The interior glowed faintly and the air felt insted, muffling the noise from outside.


    "Wee to our little hideaway," Aria said with a smirk.


    She gestured around the space. "Clever, isn''t it? From the outside, no one would ever guess this tent is here. Complete camouge. And we can see everything happening outside."


    August turned toward the translucent walls of the tent and saw the battlefield beyond. yers were still shing, spells flying and weapons nging, but none of them so much as nced in the direction of the tent.


    "Impressive," August admitted with a low tone. "How long has this been set up?"


    "Since you left here," Aria replied. "We figured things would turn chaotic, so we nned ahead. Speaking of which..." She gestured toward the rest of the party seated inside.


    [ System Notification: Party Members ]


    - Aria (Level 33 Mage)


    - Gareth (Level 34 Warrior)


    - Viora (Level 31 Cleric)


    - Torin (Level 32 Ranger)


    - Drask (Level 34 Berserker)


    - Aleman (Level 26 Assassin)


    August nced around at the party. Gareth, the Warrior, was sharpening his de—a massive longsword that gleamed faintly in the dim light. His armor was heavy and intricately designed, with red and gold ents that marked him as a high-ranking yer. He barely acknowledged August with a curt nod.


    Viora, the Cleric, was seated near the back, flipping through a spellbook. Her white robes were pristine and her delicate features were framed by soft, golden curls. She offered August a small smile but said nothing.


    Torin, the Ranger, was adjusting the strings on his bow. His sharp, angr features wereplemented by a hooded cloak, and his piercing green eyes gave him a hawk-like appearance. He nced up briefly and muttered, "About time," before returning to his task.


    Drask, the Berserker, leaned against the tent wall with his massive axe resting on the ground beside him.


    He was arge figure and his muscr frame was barely contained by his leather armor.


    His expression was one of mild annoyance as he looked August up and down. "The underleveled yer has returned ?" he grumbled.


    August raised an eyebrow but held his tongue. Aria shot Drask a sharp look. "He''s capable," she said firmly. "More than capable, actually. You''ll see."


    Drask snorted. "I''ll believe it when I see it."


    Aria turned back to August, ignoring the tension in the air. "Here''s the deal. The Swordking Dungeon opens in a few minutes, but we''ve got a problem." She pointed to the translucent walls, where the chaos outside was still raging. "As you can see, it''s a warzone out there. More yers keep showing up, and the closer we get to the timer hitting zero, the worse it''s going to get."


    "Any idea how we''re supposed to get in with all that going on?" August inquired while folding his arms.


    Aria nodded. "We have two options. We wait it out and hope the chaos dies down, or..." She paused, a sly smile crossing her lips. "We sneak in the moment it opens."


    "Sneak in? With all those yers watching?" August''s skepticism was evident.


    Aria smirked. "Leave that to me. I''ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. But for now, stay put and stay quiet. The less attention we draw, the better."


    ---


    [ System Notification: Time Until Dungeon Opens: 3 minutes. ]


    The timer appeared in the corner of their interfaces, and the tension in the tent grew. Outside, the fighting intensified, with yers shouting andunching attacks at one another. August watched as a group of mages cast a massive area-of-effect spell, the ground erupting in mes that engulfed several fighters.


    "Stick close when the timer hits zero," Aria voiced with a serious tone. "This is going to get messy."


    ...


    ...


    Three minutes went by in a sh and system notifications appeared in everyone''s line of sight.


    [ System Notification: The Ancient Swordking Dungeon has opened! ]


    A thunderous roar erupted across the wastnd as the dungeon''s entrance became visible. It was an immense spiky gateway high above the chaos.


    Golden light poured from the top as if calling out to every yer below, beckoning them with promises of untold rewards.


    "Game on," Drask muttered while gripping the handle of his massive axe tightly.


    "Quiet!" Aria hissed before pulling out a small, glowing orb from her inventory.


    The orb emitted a faint teal pulsating with energy. "This is our ticket inside. Everyone, form a single line behind me. Do not, I repeat, do not break the line, or the cloaking effect will vanish."


    "What happens if it deactivates before we''re in?" Torin asked, his expression skeptical.


    "Then we''re dead meat," Gareth answered with a grim smirk. "Simple as that."


    "Reassuring," August muttered under his breath. "What''s the time limit on this thing?"


    "Fifty seconds," Aria said briskly. "That''s all the time we''ve got to cross this battlefield and get into the dungeon before the cloaking deactivates. Stay close, and don''t mess this up."


    Aria activated the orb, and a shimmering field enveloped the group, making them invisible to the raging battles outside the tent.


    The noise grew louder, syncing with their footsteps as they formed a single-file line.


    "Move!" Aria led the way.


    The group stepped out of the tent and into the chaos. Spells exploded around them, and arrows flew dangerously close, but the cloaking field held.


    yers screamed as they shed violently. Many werepletely unaware of the invisible group weaving through the fray.


    "Stick to the line!" Aria barked. "Do *not* step out!"


    August nced around cautiously. Being surrounded by dozens of yers hurling attacks blindly was nerve-wracking.


    A zing fireball soared mere inches from his face, and he instinctively ducked. "I swear this is worse than my first tax audit," he grumbled.


    Torin snickered from ahead. "What''s the matter, Aleman? Never been this close to danger before?"


    "Not with fifty lunatics trying to kill each other all at once," August shot back.


    "The power of greed is unmatched..." He added.


    "Less talking, more moving," Gareth growled from the front with his heavy armor nking softly as he trudged forward.


    [ Thirty seconds left ]


    They were halfway across the battlefield, but the path ahead was littered with fallen yers and debris from spells gone awry.


    A copsing pir from an area-of-effect spell crashed down, forcing Aria to swerve sharply.


    "Careful!" she yelled. "Follow me!"


    August stumbled slightly but quickly regained his footing, narrowly avoiding a stray ice shard that shattered inches from his shoulder. "This better be worth it." He muttered.


    "It will be," Aria voiced sharply. "Don''t stop moving."


    Suddenly, a Detect Magic spell cast by a level 34 mage lit up part of the field. A faint distortion appeared near the group, causing yers nearby to squint suspiciously.


    "Over there! Something''s moving!" a Berserker bellowed.


    "Oh, great," August muttered. "We''ve been spotted."


    "No, we haven''t," Aria said firmly. "Just keep moving. They can''t see us, not yet."


    A mage hurled a spell at their location but they had already moved away so it just created a scorch mark on the earth.


    "I swear I saw something!"


    "You bastard, you''re just trying to escape my de! You''re dying here!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The yers in that particr vicinity charged at each other once more, giving the group breathing space to keep moving.


    [ Fifteen seconds left. ]


    The glowing portal hovering just above the wastnd drew closer.


    yers were scaling makeshiftdders and grappling hooks, desperately trying to reach it. The chaos was escting, and explosions erupted left and right.


    "Ten seconds!" Aria shouted while picking up the pace.


    "Wait, what''s that—" August started, but his words were cut off as a massive ming boulder flew directly toward them.


    "Down!" Gareth yelled, tackling Drask to the ground.


    The boulder smashed into the earth, sending a shockwave rippling outward.


    The cloaking field was immediately destroyed exposing them.


    However, the group was already at the base of the dungeon at this moment.


    "Shit!" August swore under his breath.


    "Get up!" Torin urged while pulling Gareth and Drask to their feet.


    The group sprinted the final few yards while Aria chanted a spell.


    The portal glowed brighter above the dungeon and they still had to get to its top.


    "We''re not gonna make it!" Torin shouted as multiple arrows and spells flew in from every direction.


    "Yes, we are!" Aria snapped while grabbing August''s arm and dragging him forward into a glowing circle she had just conjured.


    Everyone stepped into the circle as a barrage of attacks from nearby yers surged toward them, but when they were only inches away from making contact... The group vanished.


    Twwhii~


    They reappeared atop the massive dungeon and reached for the portal just right above. It activated, pulling them inside just in time.