Chapter 4: The Shadow of the Gate
The basement of the condemned shopping mall in District 9 smelled of stagnant water, rusted rebar, and the sharp, ozone-like tang of leaking mana. It was a place where the sunlight didn't dare to reach, a tomb of forgotten consumerism now claimed by the "Gate." To the rest of the world, this was a "trash gate," an E-Rank nuisance that the Great Guilds wouldn't even waste a low-level squad on.
But for Ren, Elena, and Mia, the swirling blue vortex tucked behind a collapsed escalator was the most dangerous place on earth.
They stood at the edge of the portal, a strange, silent tableau. Ren took a final breath, his hand steadying on the hilt of the short sword he'd bought from a street-side scrap dealer years ago. He looked at his companions. Dressed in the 'Commoner's Camouflage' from the System Shop, they looked like any other desperate trio trying to make a living. Elena's regal silver hair was hidden beneath a deep grey hood, her expensive posture forced into a humble slouch. Mia, though nervous, stood with her feet planted wide, her father's blacksmithing hammer held with the practiced grip of someone who understood the weight of iron.
"The Tether is holding," Ren whispered, his voice echoing slightly in the hollow basement. He closed his eyes for a second, checking the mental map provided by their new skill. "One hundred and fifty meters. It feels like a long way, but in a dungeon, that space disappears fast. Elena, stay ten meters behind us. If we get separated by a cave-in or a trap, don't panic. Just move toward the pulse in your chest."
Elena adjusted her leather vambraces, her violet eyes scanning the dark portal with a mix of revulsion and rising heat. "I've spent my life in training halls made of marble and enchanted glass. This... this is a sewer."
"It's our training hall now," Ren said, his voice hard. "And the goblins don't care about your family name. Mia, stay on my right shoulder. If my blade notches or a shield cracks, I need you to spot it before it breaks."
Mia nodded, her face set in a look of grim determination. "I'm ready, Ren. Just... don't go too far ahead."
Ren stepped into the blue light.
The transition was like being submerged in ice-cold water. The sound of the city—the distant sirens, the hum of mana-cars, the wind—was instantly cut off. It was replaced by a heavy, oppressive silence, broken only by the rhythmic drip, drip, drip of mineral-heavy water hitting stone.
[LOCATION: THE SUNKEN CATACOMBS]
[RANK: E+]
[BONUS OBJECTIVE: UNTOUCHED TRIO]
Clear the first floor without any user taking damage.
The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and something metallic—blood. The walls were made of jagged limestone, slick with a black, oily moss that seemed to pulse in time with the Gate's heartbeat.
"I can feel them," Mia whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "The Tether... it's vibrating."
Ren felt it too. [TETHERED SENSE] wasn't just a map; it was a shared nervous system. He could feel the spike in Elena's adrenaline, a sharp, cold needle of anticipation. He could feel Mia's protective instinct, a warm, grounding thrum. And ahead of them, he felt three jagged, chaotic pulses of intent.
Three small, green-skinned figures detached themselves from the shadows of a collapsed archway. Goblins. They were wiry, their bellies bloated and their eyes glowing with a sickly, famished yellow light. They carried rusted daggers and jagged pieces of sharpened rebar.
"They're fast!" Mia cried, her hammer already beginning its arc.
"Wait!" Ren commanded.
Through the Bond, he saw the battlefield differently. He saw the trajectory of the lead goblin's leap before the creature even left the ground. "Elena—left flank, ten o'clock! Fire a bolt to ground the lead!"
Elena didn't hesitate. Her silver-white mana flared, a stark contrast to the gloom of the catacombs. She raised a hand, and a bolt of violet energy hissed through the air. It didn't hit the goblin's chest; it struck the ground right in front of its feet. The explosion of dirt and mana sent the creature tumbling.
Ren moved in the same heartbeat. He didn't run; he flowed. He parried the second goblin's rusted blade with a sharp clack of steel and countered with a precise, low thrust. The short sword found the gap in the creature's crude armor.
[ENEMY SLAIN: GOBLIN SOLDIER]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 4 XP (PENALIZED: 20% SOLO KILL)]
Ren hissed through his teeth as the notification flickered in his periphery. "The penalty is real. Even if we're standing right next to each other, if I do the work alone, the System starves us."
"Then we stop playing fair," Elena said, stepping forward. The hood of her cloak fell back, revealing the sharp, fierce lines of her face. "Mia, the one on the right is circling. Drive it toward the center."
Mia didn't need to be told twice. She lunged, not with a killing blow, but with a heavy, sweeping strike of her hammer that forced the third goblin to scramble away from the wall. It stumbled, its yellow eyes wide with panic as it realized it was being steered.
Elena fired a low-power mana-bolt that clipped the creature's shoulder, spinning it around. Ren was waiting. He didn't just strike; he felt the exact moment Elena's mana disrupted the creature's balance. He swung his blade in perfect synchronization with Elena's next bolt.
[ENEMY SLAIN: GOBLIN SOLDIER]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 25 XP (BONDED KILL)]
[SYNC RATE INCREASED: 1.05% -> 1.15%]
"That's it," Ren breathed, the adrenaline finally settling into a steady, focused hum. "Do you feel that? The Experience... it didn't just go into our stats. It felt like it went into the cord."
"The Sync Rate," Elena noted, her violet eyes tracking the invisible golden line between them. "The more we act as a single organism, the more the System rewards us. It's not just about power, Ren. It's about... harmony."
They continued deeper into the Sunken Catacombs, moving with a cautious, methodical pace. They spent the next hour clearing small rooms, practicing their 'Sync Strikes.' Mia began to find her rhythm, using her hammer to shatter the goblins' crude weapons, while Elena provided the ranged suppression that allowed Ren to move in for the kill.
By the time they reached the large, iron-bound doors at the end of the first level, they were covered in a fine mist of green blood and stone dust. They were exhausted, their breath coming in synchronized puffs of white in the cold air.
But the Tether was glowing a deep, vibrant gold.
[TETHERED SENSE WARNING: APEX RADIUS DETECTED]
Ren stopped in front of the massive doors. He could hear it now—a deep, guttural snoring that made the very stones beneath his boots vibrate. It wasn't the frantic, chirping breath of a goblin. It was something heavier. Something with weight.
"The Boss," Mia whispered, her hand trembling as she wiped sweat from her brow.
"We're at 1.25% Sync," Ren said, looking at his companions. "The System says we need to clear this to unlock 'Weapon Manifestation.' If we go in there, we can't just fight well. We have to fight together. Truly together."
Elena looked at the door, then at Ren. The icy distance in her eyes was gone, replaced by a strange, flickering respect. "I've never had teammates, Ren. In the Valentine family, you are either a master or a servant. But this... this feeling of knowing where you are without looking... it's different."
"It's a Bond," Ren said, placing his hand on the cold iron of the door. "And it's the only thing that's going to get us through that door."
[QUEST UPDATE: THE FIRST DESCENT]
Current Status: Final Chamber Reached.
Objective: Defeat the Hobgoblin Chieftain.
Requirement: Execute a 'Trinity Strike' to finish the Boss.
Ren pushed. The heavy doors groaned, swinging open to reveal a throne room of jagged bone and stolen gold. In the center, a seven-foot-tall brute with skin the color of bruised plums and muscles like gnarled oak roots slowly stood up, grabbing a massive, notched cleaver.
The Hobgoblin Chieftain let out a roar that shook the ceiling, and the golden cord between Ren, Elena, and Mia flared with a blinding, incandescent light.