The next day started beautifully.
We were full.
Lord Cazash had breakfast prepared like we were about to attend a festival instead of a near-death experience. Warm bread. Meat. Something sweet. We entered difficult mode with satisfied stomachs and optimistic stupidity.
That optimism lasted exactly three seconds.
We spawned inside the mines.
And the dungeon, in its infinite wisdom, decided to separate us.
Girl group.
Boy group.
Somewhere.
We had no idea where they were.
"Of course," I muttered. "The dungeon really understands narrative tension."
It was just me, Luna, Glenda, Neida, and Harrieth.
"Oh. It's just us. Good thing Oreo's with us."
Oreo puffed up instantly, enlarging into his gigantified form, ready to body slam anything that dared breathe in our direction.
And then…
Nothing.
No monsters. No traps. Just an empty, silent tunnel stretching forward.
"I wonder where the boys teleported," Luna said softly, already casting buffs over us out of habit.
