The soldiers in burning shells wandered without a purpose, hiding behind a fog of ash and swaying towards where their flames flickered. They did not know where their enemies who escaped into the blue light were, but they knew that when their enemies emerged, they would slaughter the prey that dared to intrude upon their stronghold.

Rana could faintly feel what the monsters were thinking. It was not that she could understand their mind, but somehow their movements reminded her of predators waiting for their prey. It was odd. When a marked one escaped into a safe room, whatever monster aggro they had acquired would’ve been reset. However, even though the soldiers outside could not see her, it was as if their minds were desperately clinging onto the memory of her scent. It was as if they were clinging on the last remnants of some form of humanity.

The monsters were acting too much like humans and it was unsettling. She ignored the underlying issues that stemmed from such an observation, but the immediate issue of the soldiers was them clinging on to their aggro, which meant that the moment she exited the safe room is when the soldiers would attack. She would not be able to exploit the aggro timing as for all intents and purposes, the fight was simply suspended.

Rana stepped towards the blue veil and looked at the ground outside. Just as she thought, they were faint, distorted by an unseen noise, but trajectory warnings were still there. She thought of waiting it out, but there was no guarantee that it would work. There was also the real possibility that the monsters could override their own instincts and for some reason enter the safe room. The logbook did not encounter them, and they seemed to be a special existence when compared to the other monsters recorded. It was much safer to just destroy the soldiers.

That was Rana’s initial plan anyways. The unknown elements were still there, but there could be ways of discerning them. Once she did, she could exploit them.

Putting the uncertain elements aside, there were certain pieces of information she already knew after her first encounter with the soldiers. They were coated in an aura of fire that increased their defense, or rather, absorbs blunt force. The way they did not stagger or how her hands did not bounce back from recoil when striking them could be explained by that. That was also why they were able to maintain their momentum and have their actions uninterrupted by their own explosions. They have two attack patterns that she knew of. The first one was that the soldiers would charge in succession towards their target if they were far away. So far, aside from the hint of knowing formation, it was rather straightforward. The second pattern was more curious. When the soldiers were close to their target, they would then engage in melee combat. They fought with no regard for teamwork, common of most monsters, but the technique in their fighting style was definitely not something a monster had. There were feints mixed in with each punch and kick and every block or dodge had an intention behind them. The soldiers were skilled, and that was worrying.

However, whether they were human or monsters, once she knew of the mechanisms behind the way they fought, she would grasp victory.

It was time for them to depart.

Alpheia left the safe room first. Her wings surged with mana and the moon-kin blasted out of the blue veil followed by a booming wind. Rana pulled up the hood of her cloak that was blown off and blew away the strands of hair covering her eyes. She forgot how fast the moon-kin could fly after she began to be accustomed to the speed. She reminded herself to watch where she stood next time. Rana waited, the enemy soldiers chased after her companion, each rushing towards the moon-kin with a furious charge fuelled by explosions, leaving streaks of fire in their wake. When the soldiers were far enough away, she stepped out of the safe room.

It was just as she predicted, the enemies in the distance turned their gaze towards her. The soldiers remembered their prey, the intruder, as their aggro was still active. The moon-kin was in the air and was out of their reach, so they went after the one on the ground.

Rana ran. She did not need to confirm it with her eyes, but she knew the enemy soldiers were already beginning their charges. The loud blasts of fire and the raging hostility could not be mistaken as anything but the rushing enemies coming for her life. She looked up and saw Alpheia already swinging back above her.

They both nodded.

Alpheia began flying in the front and Rana followed below. With the eyesight of a moon-kin, she would definitely be able to spot the area they were looking for. It was a race against time. The soldiers had a windup time before charging, but when they did, the speed would eventually overpower any distance Rana managed to gain. The scattered soldiers would eventually become one unstoppable boulder of fire that overran her. The idea of hopping onto the moon-kin and be constantly on the move crossed her mind once, but not being able to have the leisure to plan future steps in an unknown Dungeon was too dangerous. She had to deal with the known threats.

“Stop!” she heard Alpheia yell from above. She turned around and saw the enemy soldiers in front of her in the distance, clumped together like a horde. Then they began to charge. However, Rana stood still. They would not reach her because she knew they could not. The trajectory warning showed that much. The soldiers blasted forward, but their assault halted before they could reach her. Then, they stomped towards her. It was a game of distance, and now she had to make sure she could last long enough until they were in the right one.

It was supposed to be an impossible task, to survive and lure dozens of soldiers in a melee, but thanks to what she discovered in the safe room, it was now doable. There was a surge of mana and energy enveloped her. She was boosted with the Spell Dynamic Enhancement. Alpheia cast it on Rana. It was not a Spell the moon-kin had as part of her kin or as an individual. However, with the help of Rana, Alpheia was able to learn such a powerful Spell.

When Rana initially heard of the difference between a fiend’s mark and a human’s mark, she realized something. The kin did not have access to Altars yet was able to level up and acquire Skills and Spells. This could only mean that their mark had some form of connection to the System similar to an Altar’s. If they could not choose their abilities, this meant they were born with some form of Codex copy, and the System would grant them abilities through that instead. So what if a kin were to level up while connected to the Codex? That was what Rana did.

Within the safe room, she was able to use the crystal and her Imaginary Seeker Talent in tandem to force the System to register a Spell. With Alpheia's superior mark and Rana’s intimate knowledge of runic-patterns, the latter was able to help the moon-kin craft an extremely powerful Spell. It was Dynamic Enhancement, a Spell that essentially gave several levels worth of boons.

The soldiers attacked, but Rana stood her ground. She still could not fight them, several levels for her was still far too weak a boost for such a task, but the Spell was enough to stall. She did not retreat, choosing to parry and move in a way so that all the soldiers were essentially ganging onto her. When there were no more stragglers, she began to dodge, slowly as to not leave an opening for a charge. The enemies punched and kicked, ramming her when the chance came, causing explosions with each strike. Thanks to her boosted VIT however, she could withstand the onslaught of biting heat and searing wind.

There was a screech in the sky. Her health point held on. It was a success. She jumped and Alpheia carried her away. The soldiers were only stunned for a single moment before they began to charge. She smiled. Victory was within their grasp.

The flaming soldiers charged forward with furious anger. They were unrelenting, unstoppable, and without fear. They would stop before they reached the zone. That was when the floor beneath them roared out in flames and explosions as crimson lightning cackled. The charge that was supposed to stop continued until they landed into a zone without ash.

It was a simple plan. Rana simply had to lure the soldiers towards a zone without the falling ash. However, the charge distance was variable, which meant it was entirely possible the soldiers would not willingly charge into such an area. So, all she had to do was give them a push. Their aura of flames absorbed force, but for some reason they still used explosions to propel themselves. This meant there were exceptions, and that exception was when they charged. It was not that huge of a flaw. It was an aura that only did not work when they were not in fear of being faced head-on. However, that flaw proved to be fatal for them.

The soldiers turned to the two enemies just outside of the zone. However, they could not move as Rana unleashed an Ice Geyser boosted by Dynamic Enhancement. They were caught in a web and could only wait until the true predators descended upon them. Rana threw a vial of healing salve at them. Then, their auras faded just as planned. They had no more access to the Ash Burn damage ticks. The condition of their aura activating wasn’t something as generic and vague as being in a snow of ash. The nature of every ability in the world was based on rules and specific conditions. Their aura was no different. Potions increased natural regeneration, so it also made sure that their burn healed.

The soldiers, now nothing but frail husks, was open to attack. They squirmed, lashing out against invisible enemies as they tried to return to the safety of the ashes. It was too late. There it was, a rain of plumes fuelled by the magical might of enhanced energy scattered and punctured their bodies. Crimson lightning sparked in a thunderous roar. The air shook and the dust finally settled, revealing nothing but ashes of what used to be the protectors of the Dungeon.

Rana sighed. It was still too early to celebrate, but she offered an affirmative squeeze to Alpheia. This victory meant that when raiding the Dungeon, they at least did not have to worry about enemies hounding their backs.