They should have left.
Cain knew that the moment his shadow thickened near the gate.
But experience is built through mistakes.
Rei stepped forward first.
"We can handle it."
Liora didn't agree.
But she didn't stop him either.
Aera looked uncertain, fingers tightening around her guild card.
Cain watched the iron bands across the wooden gate.
The mana density was different.
He felt it pressing lightly against his skin.
"We open and retreat if needed," Rei said.
No one argued.
He pushed the door.
It opened slowly with a grinding echo.
The chamber beyond was larger than expected.
Circular.
High ceiling.
Wooden scaffolding above.
Stone floor scarred with blade marks.
The moment all four stepped inside—
The door slammed shut.
Hard.
The sound echoed like a verdict.
Rei turned instantly and pulled the handle.
It didn't move.
Aera tried her guild card.
No response.
Liora's voice was steady.
"Boss chamber lock."
Cain nodded once.
The air shifted.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the far end of the arena.
A figure stepped forward from shadow.
Twice the height of the goblins they had faced.
Thick muscles.
Crude armor plating.
Massive iron cleaver resting on one shoulder.
Hobgoblin Commander.
Its eyes burned with controlled intelligence.
Not wild.
Calculated.
It lifted the cleaver and pointed.
A signal.
From the scaffolding above, two goblin archers appeared.
"Formation," Liora said calmly.
Rei moved front right.
Liora front left.
Cain slightly behind.
Aera center.
The Hobgoblin charged.
Not recklessly.
Measured.
Rei met it first.
The cleaver crashed against his blade.
The force drove him back two full steps.
Too heavy.
Cain moved.
Quick Step activated.
He closed the gap at the hobgoblin's flank and cut toward its exposed ribs.
The blade hit armor.
Sparks.
No penetration.
Above them, arrows fired.
Liora deflected one with wind mana.
The second grazed Cain's shoulder.
Shallow.
But sharp.
Aera raised her hand.
"Stabilize."
Mana flowed, reinforcing muscle control rather than healing.
The Hobgoblin swung again.
Rei blocked but lost footing.
The commander kicked him aside.
Rei hit the stone floor hard.
Not unconscious.
But rattled.
The creature advanced toward Aera.
Cain stepped in front.
The shadow at his feet stretched unnaturally.
The cat form detached, racing along the wall.
It leapt toward one of the archers.
Not attacking.
Distracting.
The archer shifted aim.
That split second mattered.
Liora cast Wind Edge toward the scaffolding beam.
Wood cracked.
One archer fell.
The Hobgoblin roared and brought its cleaver down.
Cain blocked.
The impact vibrated through his arm violently.
Pain shot up to his shoulder.
For a moment, his grip almost failed.
He remembered Halden's rod demonstration.
Absorb the shock.
Disperse the force.
He redirected the vibration downward through his stance.
The impact hurt.
But it did not break him.
Rei was back on his feet.
"Left side!"
They attacked together.
Rei high.
Cain low.
Liora precise at joints.
The Hobgoblin staggered but did not fall.
It was strong.
Stronger than anything they had faced so far.
Aera's breathing became uneven.
She wasn't built for prolonged combat pressure.
The commander slammed its cleaver into the stone floor, sending a shockwave outward.
Cain lost balance for a fraction of a second.
The Hobgoblin grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the chamber.
He rolled once.
Twice.
Stopped near the wall.
The shadow-cat reached him first.
It circled his form once before melting back into his shadow.
Cain stood.
Blood at the corner of his lip.
The Hobgoblin turned its back to Rei to finish him.
Mistake.
Quick Step.
Cain's foot struck stone.
He closed the distance in a blink and drove his blade into the gap under the creature's shoulder plate.
This time, he aimed deeper.
Not surface.
Core muscle.
The Hobgoblin roared.
Rei slashed across its throat.
Liora's wind compressed around the wound.
The creature staggered.
Cain twisted his blade.
The Hobgoblin collapsed.
Silence filled the chamber.
Aera exhaled shakily.
The archers above lay dead.
For a few seconds, none of them moved.
Then—
The iron door behind them creaked open slowly.
Rei looked at it.
Then back at the fallen boss.
"…So we don't get to choose."
Liora nodded.
"Some floors enforce clearance."
Cain wiped blood from his lip.
His status window flickered faintly.
Level Up
Level 36
No skill.
Not yet.
Rei's window flashed too.
Level 35.
Aera leaned lightly against the wall, exhausted but steady.
They stepped out of the chamber together.
Back in the corridor, Rei let out a breath he had been holding.
"So that's what a forced boss feels like."
Cain glanced once at the closed chamber door behind them.
"Yes."
And somewhere deep inside, the memory etched itself quietly.
One day, they would stand before another door.
And the choice would not belong to them.
---