Luke knew they shouldn't have come to the second floor on their first dive in the dungeon together.
The thought hit him again as the goblin in front of them refused to go down, its bulk crowding the narrow stone corridor. Bigger than the ones below. Slower, but not by much.
"It took us three days to clear the first floor," Luke shouted, backing up as the creature lunged. "This is our first quest together… Why be so reckless?"
Elena laughed, sharp and breathless, already moving.
"You worry too much."
She slid past him, blade flashing.
Cold snapped through the air. Ice traced the arc of her swing, and the goblin dropped, but another stepped into its place almost immediately. Taller. Thicker through the shoulders.
Luke's stomach tightened into a knot.
"There are too many," he said, his voice cracking under pressure.
Elena didn't answer. She planted her feet instead, frost creeping along her boots.
She shot forward, ice bursting beneath her as she closed the distance in a blink. Her blade took the next goblin low, dropping it hard.
"See?" she called over her shoulder. "We're fine."
The ground shook.
Luke froze as he turned toward the disturbance, what he saw filled him with dread.
Something larger moved at the edge of the corridor, its shadow stretching too far across the stone. When it stepped into the light, his breath caught.
"That's not a goblin," he said. "Elena, it's a hobgoblin," Luke said. "We need to leave now!
Elena glanced up, assessing it in a heartbeat.
"Looks pretty killable."
She turned back just as the hobgoblin closed the distance impossibly fast.
"Elena!"
The club came down.
"Make it in time!" Luke shouted as he threw his hands up, light flashing in response.
The ground surged upward between them, rough and uneven. The barrier cracked immediately, but it was enough. Elena twisted aside as stone shattered, the blow skimming past her instead of caving her in.
She landed hard, then grinned.
"See? You can help."
Luke grabbed her arm as another goblin lunged.
"No," he said, dragging her back as he dodged. "We leave. Right now."
They barely made it back to the stairs.
Luke hit them first, boots smacking as he turned and hauled Elena up after him. Goblin howls echoed behind them, too close. Too many.
They didn't stop running until the first floor opened around them and the pressure finally eased.
Elena tore her arm free.
"Why wouldn't you help me?" she demanded. "You froze."
"I didn't freeze," Luke said, breath ragged. "I assessed."
She rounded on him, eyes bright with anger.
"You assessed while I was fighting."
"I assessed that three days without real rest was going to get us killed," he shot back. "That staying would lead to us getting hurt or worse…. So I pulled us out."
Elena scoffed.
"Sounds like fear."
Luke hesitated. Then shook his head. He gestured back toward the stairs.
"Something's not right… hobgoblins aren't meant to spawn until the lower floors,"
She stared at him, jaw tight.
"So you think I'm weak."
"No," Luke said immediately.
He took a breath. Slower this time.
"It's our first quest as new adventurers."
Her anger didn't fade.
"If we die now…" he continued, quieter.
He swallowed.
"That's it. No future. No love. Nothing."
"You really think anyone would fall in love with you?" Elena said, anger tight in her voice. Something uneasy flickered beneath it.
They reached the dungeon entrance at last. A massive stone door loomed behind them, scarred by time and the marks of countless adventurers forcing their way inside.
"Let's just report back to the guild," Luke said. "They'll want to hear about what we found."
"Fine," Elena snapped. "But I'm taking the whole reward. You stood there while I did all the heavy lifting. It's only fair."
"We're staying in the same room at the inn," Luke said. "That money is meant for our survival."
As they made their way toward the guildhall, a weight settled in Luke's chest.
What if she was right?
What if caution was just fear in disguise?
They stood outside the guild hall, exhausted and hungry. They looked at each other and headed inside.
"We're here to turn in our report and get our payment," Luke said to the guild receptionist.
"How did it go?" she asked. "After the second day, we were worried you wouldn't come back."
"I tried," Luke said. "But Elena refused. She's stubborn. It's going to get us killed one of these days."
"I do have an official report to turn in, though. Something was off about the goblin we encountered on the second floor."
"Second floor?" she asked, clearly startled. "The quest was to kill ten slimes. Slimes spawn at the earliest point of floor one. Why would you ever go that deep?"
"I did mention she was stubborn," Luke said with a tired smile. "She said something about becoming the top guild performer and ran off. It took me three hours once to catch up."
Exhaustion showed clearly on his face.
"So when we got to the second floor, we encountered goblins."
"That's perfectly normal," the receptionist said. "That floor should hold goblins, slimes, and grey wolves, though those are rare."
"Well, it was just goblins at first. A pack. Then there was a hobgoblin."
"What?" Her eyes widened. "Hobgoblins don't start spawning until the later depths of floor seven."
"Is there—"
"Thank you for your report," she said quickly, cutting Luke off completely. "I'll make sure this gets to the guild master as soon as possible."
She scrambled off the moment the report was finished, clearly not watching where she was going. Her foot caught the edge of a rolled-up map, and she nearly stumbled.
Luke walked back over to Elena with their reward in hand, taking care not to trip himself.
"They took my report and gave us the reward," he said. "She ran off in a hurry after I mentioned the hobgoblin."
"It really wasn't normal," Elena said slowly. "So you made the right call. You made that decision thinking of both of us."
"I tried to tell you," Luke said, exhaling. "I'm just glad we made it back. Thanks to your stubbornness, we have plenty extra of drops to sell."
The word stubborn made something click in Elena.
Her faint smile vanished, replaced by sudden anger.
"Who are you calling stubborn, coward?" she snapped, grabbing him by the front of his tunic.
"Stubborn?" Luke said lightly. "Who said that? Let's just go."
Something unfamiliar lingered between them, light enough to almost be missed.
An ember, faint but there.