The silence in the vast cavern was deafening.
A moment ago, the air had been filled with the shriek of the Brood Mother, the clang of steel, the boom of explosions, and the desperate, terrified screams of a party about to be wiped out.
Now, there was nothing.
Only the slow, rhythmic drip, drip, drip of water from a stalactite high above.
Only the sound of four people breathing—three in ragged, shocked gasps, and one in deep, controlled pants.
Ben was on the ground, leaning against the cavern wall, his mace loose in his hand. He was staring, his eyes wide and unblinking, his mind clearly unable to process what it had just seen.
Maya was standing frozen, her daggers still held in a reverse grip, her knuckles white. Her head was tilted, as if she were a predator analyzing a new, unknown threat. Her gaze flickered between the pile of black dust that used to be a D-Rank (Advanced) boss and the man standing in the middle of it.
Emily was on one knee, her ribs healed but her face pale with shock. Her sword was on the ground beside her. She looked up at the figure covered in green slime and black monster gore, and her lips parted, but no sound came out.
And in the center of it all stood Zack.
He was a mess. His clothes were torn, his side was soaked in his own blood (before he'd healed it), and he was covered in the foul, steaming viscera of the Brood Mother. The dark, swirling energy of the [God-Eater] aura had faded from his hands, but the memory of it hung in the air, a palpable, terrifying pressure.
The 'scared E-Rank Healer' was gone. In his place stood a monster.
Zack slowly, deliberately, wiped the slime from his face. He looked at his friends. His kind mask was gone, replaced by an expression of pure, cold exhaustion. He had saved them, but he had revealed everything.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice hoarse.
The sound of his voice, calm and deep, finally broke the spell.
"Zack..." Emily's voice was a bare whisper. It was fragile. "Zack, what... what are you?"
It wasn't an accusation. It was a plea. A plea for an answer that made sense.
Ben finally found his voice. It was a low rumble. "Kid... that heal. That... that light. The potion... it didn't do that. I felt it. It... it put my leg back together. From the inside. That's not... that's not E-Rank. That's not D-Rank. That's atleat C-Rank or higher. That's... a miracle."
"Forget the heal," Maya's voice cut in, sharp and cold as her blades. She took a single, wary step toward him. "The speed. The strength. You parried the Brood Mother. You parried a D-Rank (Advanced) boss. With your fist. And then you... you climbed it. You're not E-Rank." She wasn't asking. She was stating a fact. "You're not a Healer."
The accusations hung in the air.
"You lied to us," Emily whispered, and that one, simple sentence hurt more than the Brood Mother's claw. It was a statement of betrayal.
Zack looked at them, at the three people who had been so kind to him, who had protected the "weak" E-Ranker. And he felt a sudden, sharp surge of anger. Not at them. At the world. At the lies.
He let out a harsh, dry laugh that echoed in the huge cavern.
"Lied?" he said, his voice dripping with a weariness that went bone-deep. "Of course, I lied. What... what else was I supposed to do?"
He took a step out of the dust, and they flinched. They flinched. That, too, hurt.
"Think about it," he said, his voice rising, the frustration of months pouring out. "I'm nineteen. My parents die in a 'dungeon accident' that I know was sabotage. The company they built is being torn apart by sharks in suits. And I awakened."
He pointed to his chest. "I awakened as a Healer. The weakest, most pathetic, useless class in the world. A class that can't fight, can't defend itself, can't do anything. Except... that's not all I am."
He pointed to his Hunter Watch, which still glowed with a faint "E."
"This thing," he spat, "is broken. Or it's part of the lie, I don't know. It's always said E-Rank. But I'm strong. I'm fast. And I can heal."
He looked at Ben. "I can heal anything."
He looked at Maya. "And I can fight."
He looked at Emily, his expression softening into one of deep, agonizing pain. "And I couldn't tell you, Em. I've known you my whole life. But if I told you... if I told anyone... what would have happened?"
He started pacing, his energy thrumming. "Best case? The Hunter Association locks me in a lab to figure out how I work. Worst case? The people trying to steal my company find out. The people who probably killed my father. What then? Do they try to buy me? Kidnap me? Put a real, non-dungeon bullet in my head when I'm not looking?"
He stopped and looked at them, his chest heaving. "I've been alone. I've been terrified. And I've been lying to everyone, every single day, just to survive."
The cavern was silent again.
Zack's gaze fell to the piles of dust. The Brood Mother. The two Royal Guards. The loot. He had to finish this.
He walked over to the dust pile of the first Royal Guard, his back to the team. He waved his hand over it, acting like he was just looking, but his mind was on the System.
[You have assisted in killing a 'Kobold Royal Guard' (D-Rank, Advanced).]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Spirit) x1.5 obtained.]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Stamina) x1.0 obtained.]
He moved to the next pile, the second Guard.
[You have assisted in killing a 'Kobold Royal Guard' (D-Rank, Advanced).]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Spirit) x1.5 obtained.]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Stamina) x1.0 obtained.]
Finally, he stood before the massive pile of dust that was the Brood Mother.
[You have slain a 'Brood Mother' (D-Rank, Advanced Boss).]
[Massive EXP detected. Converting to Shop Points... +150 Shop Points.]
[Host has delivered the killing blow.]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Spirit) x3.0 obtained.]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Stamina) x2.0 obtained.]
[Dungeon-Loot Protocol: Blue Cube (Agility) x2.0 obtained.]
[Rare Drop: Skill Book: Energy Drain (God-Eater Class).]
His heart hammered. He had gotten it all.
Total: +6.0 Spirit, +4.0 Stamina, +2.0 Agility.
He didn't absorb them. Not yet. He had to deal with the three D-Rank Hunters staring at his back.
He felt a presence and turned.
Maya was standing ten feet behind him, her daggers sheathed, her arms crossed. Her expression was cold.
"So what now?" she asked, her voice flat. "You're a monster in a healer's skin. You're strong enough to have soloed this entire dungeon, but you let us almost die... just to keep your secret. Now we know. Are you going to kill us to keep it quiet?"
The question was a test. A real one.