Strong! Unyielding!

"Holy Maiden-sama, I got a new skill." Karen leaned against the wall, her grin radiant and brimming with confidence.

Clearly, she was very pleased with her new ability.

"A new skill?" Ariana asked, her staff still charging with energy, her stance steady.

"Yes, the skill is called [Mystic Eyes]. Now… we can see things we couldn't see before." 

As Karen finished speaking, her gray-white eyes began to glow faintly with a golden light. 

Ariana tilted her head. "Um… no change…? … Wait!" 

At that moment, Anyi appeared in her vision, carrying an unconscious Layton. Behind them, a chilling sight: dozens of ethereal ghosts surged forward, their forms flickering and intangible. 

Karen's new skill allowed her to perceive the previously invisible undead. Not just the ones chasing Anyi and Layton, but those hiding within the walls—creeping, waiting to strike. 

This revelation meant one thing: no ambush would catch them off guard. 

The timing of this skill's awakening was nothing short of miraculous. 

[Sword Hero: Ready!] 

"Hmph…" Ariana closed her eyes, letting her staff pulse with stored energy as she focused on the hallway ahead. 

She would wait for the right moment—when the largest cluster of undead emerged from the walls. She wanted maximum destruction. 

「Ten… Twelve… Not enough! Fifteen…」 

Seventeen. 

"Boom——!!!" 

A massive beam of golden light erupted from her staff, flooding the corridor with a divine radiance. The brilliance consumed the hallway, engulfing Anyi, Layton, and seventeen powerful Class 3 undead monsters. 

[Lv14→Lv16!

Lv16→Lv18!

Lv18→Lv20!

Lv20…

Lv22→Lv23!]

Ariana's levels skyrocketed, surging from 14 to 23 in an instant! 

Seventeen Class 3 monsters had been obliterated. 

Sharing her vision through the Mystic Eyes, Karen's levels also surged from 5 to 22. 

And it wasn't just them. Layton, whose Group Taunt had drawn the monsters together, Anyi, who carried Layton, and Miruku, who supported the team's retreat, all leveled up to 23. 

Seventeen Class 3 monsters annihilated in a single strike. 

The remaining undead froze, their low intelligence registering fear as their brethren vanished in the beam of light. 

This holy energy wasn't just light—it was an anathema to their existence. Without understanding its nature, they instinctively recoiled, knowing that pursuing further meant certain death. 

"Keep running! Back to the throne room!" Anyi called out, his tone sharp and focused. 

"Okay!" 

Miruku didn't hesitate. Clad in her Venom armor, she scooped up Ariana and Karen and bolted down the hallway, her speed unmatched. 

As she ran, Miruku couldn't help but marvel at the sheer amount of experience they had gained. A single, well-planned action had reaped a bounty far greater than hours of battling skeleton soldiers. 

Her awe turned toward Anyi. 

'As expected of Mr. Anyi,' she thought, her respect for him deepening. 'He had planned for this from the start.' 

While her first instinct upon seeing the undead swarm was to flee, Anyi had chosen to counterattack. Where others might have panicked, he had devised a strategy to not only survive but thrive. 

She remembered his calm demeanor earlier, even as they faced overwhelming odds. From the moment they stood at the meeting room's entrance, he had anticipated the true scale of the threat—and prepared for it. 

Anyi didn't know that Miruku was silently praising him. 

His mind, however, was elsewhere. He had noticed something during the chaos: Karen's inability to see the intangible monsters earlier. 

When they were in the meeting room, her third skill had still been "under development." With her Intelligence barely above the starting level of 3 points, even after gaining experience from the Headless Knight, it wasn't surprising that she hadn't unlocked a skill immediately. 

Yet, right before Ariana's attack, she had suddenly gained the ability to see intangible undead—a development that even Anyi hadn't foreseen. 

The reasoning, though, was straightforward. 

The system. 

It was intelligent, aware of Karen's current challenges. Since she had begun her journey in an undead-infested territory, it was logical the system would provide a skill to counteract her disadvantage. It wouldn't allow her to stumble around helplessly against unseen foes. 

If Anyi's theory was correct, her next skills might focus on close-combat techniques. After all, Karen's personal wish was to be a warrior, not a support character. The system seemed to align its gifts with the aspirations of its heroes. 

"Right, Anyi, why are we heading to the throne room?" Ariana asked, keeping pace with Miruku, who maintained a steady speed to match Anyi. 

"Including the Blood Demon I killed earlier, we've only taken down 18 Class 3 monsters," Anyi began, his tone steady. "But take a look at your Bestiary. How many new entries have appeared?" 

Ariana glanced at her interface, counting the entries one by one, but Miruku spoke up first. 

"Forty-three. Eighteen killed, twenty-five remain." 

"Exactly," Anyi confirmed with a nod. "Ariana's attack shocked them, but it doesn't mean they won't regroup and come after us. In these narrow hallways, they can strike from any angle—walls, ceiling, floor. We can't predict where the next ambush will come from." 

"But in the throne room, an open hall," he continued, "their aerial movements will be easy to track. The only unavoidable attacks will come from the ground, and we'll be able to deal with those." 

Ariana's face lit up with an idea. "I can place Barriers on the ground! That'll block their attacks from below!" 

"Perfect," Anyi agreed. "Princess Karen, you'll support Ariana. Together, you'll secure the floor. Leave the rest to us." 

Karen's expression brightened as she nodded. "Understood!" 

Ariana flashed a confident smile and gave Anyi a thumbs-up. "Leave it to us!" 

Karen, meanwhile, felt a newfound thrill surging through her. 

Excitement. 

The battles they had fought together—the way they seamlessly worked as a team—awakened something within her. 

'Is this what it feels like to be a hero?'

For the first time, she felt genuinely exhilarated. 

'Maybe being a support isn't so bad after all.'

...

Stubborn.

The Skeleton Mage glared at the chaotic hallway, frustration etched into his skeletal face. 

Stubborn humans. They actually killed the Blood Demon?! 

His hollow eyes drifted to the Blood Demon's mangled corpse, disbelief twisting his expression. The Blood Demon and Bull Demon were equal in strength—one a brute force attacker, the other a fortress of defense. Yet, these humans had taken them both down. 

Soon, the intangible undead began returning, their ghostly forms phasing back through the walls. 

The Skeleton Mage straightened. Surely, they carried good news. 

「Where are the humans? Are they all dead?」 

One of the undead stepped forward, hesitating before answering. 

「No… they ran away.」 

The Skeleton Mage's expression darkened. 「What?!」 

The undead scrambled to salvage the moment. 「But! The good news is—they're heading toward the throne room…!」 

The mage's scowl deepened, his bony fingers curling into fists. 

The throne room? 

How interesting. 

These humans are no ordinary intruders. They've come prepared.

The Skeleton Mage's empty sockets glimmered with malevolent intent as his fighting spirit surged. 

「Good. Then let me meet them myself.」