The Earth After Rebirth

Ishaan slowly took out his sword. Hiro had crafted it for him, he wasn't quite comfortable yet, he didn't know which weapon best suited him. Battle Mages were versatile like that, they weren't limited.

Kiro grabbed to his left instinctively, but there was nothing there. He smiled at how silly that was, Hubris was running his kingdom, not by his side.

He took out Ryu, this was still hell mode, he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating it.

"These penguins, are they strong?" He asked masking his fear.

"Obviously!"

Ding!

[You've encountered deadly penguins. They're small in size but aren't to be underestimated. Capable of fighting other A ranked monster with impeccable ease.

Deadly Penguins

HP: 74 000

MP: 65 000]

Ishaan waited in anticipation, his sword at the ready. His weapon was thinly coated with magic. He tried to sense where the enemy will come from, but he couldn't.

"Below." Kiro said simply.

Several penguins shot out from the ground, breaking the thick ice on the ground with surprising ease.

He pushed himself back using whirlwind and landed behind Ishaan.

"If you fail, we might have to reconsider your membership."

Kiro would step in if it got too dangerous. But he needed to push the kid a little, his wimpy nature was an annoyance if anything.

Ishaan stilled his resolve. He stood in a fighting stance, with his sword aligned with his jaw and waited.

One enemy reached him, he swung and swerved to the side. In his hurry to dodge, he also missed his target.

"Come on, don't be afraid of a little pain. We have potions here too. Get roughed up a bit."

That's when Ishaan truly let loose. He was someone who was afraid of pain, but he also didn't want to lose the friends he'd made so far, so he went head first.

Slashing and swinging, missing and dodging, stabbing and getting hit by a spell, that was frostbite. It would dig into his skin but he would endure.

Kiro stepped in whenever it got too dangerous, giving his comrade a chance to breathe and gain his HP back.

He was growing more proficient with the sword. His senses seemed to be getting sharper too. He was even using magic to enhance his body, making him faster and stronger than before.

Until finally...

Ding!

[Congratulations on beating Wintry on hell mode. Your rewards a will be 10x the norm. 1 million EXP and 5k coins]

Level up. Level up...

"I levelled up! Twice!!"

"Great, I don't mean to be a downer but you need to be level 70 at least. So, again..."

This grinding went on for over 30 in-game days. Ishaan truly looked like he'd been through hell, 50 times over. But that also came with an unwavering resolve. He didn't avoid fighting now as he did back then.

Kiro even forbade him from using his defense shield in this dungeon, just to make him used to fighting, head-on.

They grinded for 60 days straight without so much as rest. With all this, Kiro hadn't once seen a notification telling him he'd levelled up.

But the 60 days was enough to reach new heights for his comrades. They left that particular dungeon, frostbitten, cold and having achieved their mission.

They headed back to the base. They equipped new weapons and armour and took some potions and headed out. Kiro quickly put his SP on meditation, which raised its rank to A.

The plan was that, Hiro, Kiro and Nikolai would make a triangle-like formation. While Felix the healer and Ishaan the mage stood at almost in the middle. Felix's job was that of a healer so he needed protection the most.

Hiro was at the front, since he was a tank and guardian, Kiro was on the side as the main damage dealer. Nikolai was on the other side as the secondary damage dealer.

Ishaan's most important job was to absolutely protect Felix with his newly acquired battle strength, if things went dire, Kiro gave him permission to use the force shield.

It was great that his healing could be used inside the barrier. It seemed like it only restricted physical attacks.

Felix did not like that, he wanted more than anything to be at the forefront fighting but understood all the same the importance of a healer.

Before long, they arrived at a mouth of a normal looking cave. As soon as they set foot in it.

Ding!

[Congratulations After Dark. You're the first to discover a hidden dungeon 'Armageddon.' 3x EXP and loot drops for the next 5 days.]

"How is it that Kiro always finds things a normal player would overlook? Are you a developer?" Ishaan asked.

"Kiro can see into the future. You can never compare him to a mere normal player." Hiro replied, with such a serious tone, Kiro burst out laughing.

He couldn't help but laugh, "Guys, I have my ways if gathering information no need to throw around conspiracy theories."

Dungeons normally had ranks, from SSS to B. From his past knowledge, he'd never seen a ranking beyond SSS. But then again, in his past life there were no harbingers either.

There was zero information about SSS ranks, even in the game's website. But it was listed as the greatest threat.

Kiro thought this was the Lizard dungeon, he had no idea what Armageddon was. But his information from the spectres said 'undead.' He didn't remember there being a dungeon like that. When he saw it was S ranked he started to sweat buckets.

In his previous life, this dungeon was A ranked and monsters that dwelled there were lizardmen. He couldn't help but think this change had everything to do with his return to the past.

Once a dungeon is entered, it couldn't let you out unless you kill the final boss. There wasn't even a time limit for this, which made him more nervous.

"Are you okay man?" Hiro asked, he knew his friend. He didn't look as relaxed as he usually does.

Kiro sighed deeply and stilled his heart, "I'm alright. Let's go."

The cave had a long tunnel. A different entrance than the Wintry dungeon, they could see the other side as it exuded light. They reached the other end, what greeted them was truly unexpected.