### **"Hope"**
Everyone reads the note one by one.
As the final line sinks in,
the beautiful dream shatters—
and reality comes rushing back.
Durk steps away from the skeleton and calls everyone closer.
"I don't know how much of this note is true,"
he says quietly.
"But I have a bad feeling.
I don't think we should go through that door. Not yet."
No one responds.
The silence grows heavier.
"We'll have to find another way out," Durk continues.
"But I won't make this decision alone.
Tell me—what do you all think? What should we do?"
Everyone falls into deep thought.
Then Joseph steps forward.
"I agree with Durk.
Our focus shouldn't be clearing the dungeon anymore.
Our priority should be figuring out how to get out of here alive."
Eventually, everyone agrees to search for another route.
They begin walking back the way they came.
After moving a short distance, Arthur stops.
He turns and looks back at the door.
A strange feeling tightens in his chest—
as if the door is calling out to him.
Arthur stands there for a moment,
then looks away and follows the others.
After nearly thirty minutes of walking,
they return to the same place
where they had rested before.
No one finds another path.
Exhausted steps. Heavy breaths.
Everyone sits down right there.
The darkness is so deep
that not even a single ray of light can be seen.
Durk says nothing.
Joseph. Karaku.
On their faces, hope seems to be slowly dying.
After some time, without a word,
they stand up again
and start walking the same path once more.
This time, Joseph's behavior is different.
As he walks, he keeps his hand against the dungeon walls,
as if trying to feel something.
After about ten minutes,
Joseph suddenly signals everyone to stop.
He calls a mage over and says,
"Use your magic sense here."
Without a word, the mage steps forward.
She closes her eyes and stands still.
One full minute passes—
nothing but silence.
When she opens her eyes,
a faint light flickers across her face—
a spark of hope.
"About five feet beyond this wall," she says,
"there's a small pool of water.
And beyond that… a path."
At those words,
the dead hope inside them seems to breathe again.
Durk steps forward.
"Then we'll have to break this wall.
A wall this thick won't be easy to destroy.
But we have to try."
Everyone nods in agreement.
Arthur walks up to Joseph and asks quietly,
"How did you know there might be a path behind this wall?"
Joseph takes a deep breath.
"When I was walking with my hand against the wall," he says,
"I felt moisture on my fingers.
I didn't feel that kind of dampness anywhere else in the dungeon.
That's when I thought—
if water is seeping through here,
there might be cracks on the other side…
or something more."
Everyone moves back a safe distance
as Durk prepares to use his skill.
Once everyone is clear,
Durk takes his stance.
"**Thunder Strike.**"
The next moment—
lightning crashes into the wall with a terrifying roar.
The impact is so powerful
that the entire dungeon trembles for a brief instant.
Dust and smoke explode into the air.
A few seconds later,
as the smoke slowly clears,
everyone looks at the wall—
And what they see
leaves them speechless.
Even after such a powerful attack,
the wall has only a three-inch-deep crater.
Arthur immediately understands—
this wall won't break easily.
This isn't something one person can handle alone.
Everyone will have to contribute.
Without a word,
Durk uses his skill two or three more times.
Each time, the result is the same.
Finally, he steps back
and sits near the wall,
exhausted—
and frustrated.
After that, one by one,
everyone begins using their own skills.
Arthur steps forward and activates his—
**Sword Hammer.**
With every strike,
the wall cracks a little more.
Time passes slowly.
After fifteen to twenty minutes,
the wall is nearly half destroyed.
Everyone is exhausted,
so they pause to catch their breath.
Then—
without speaking—
they take their positions again.
One after another,
the skills resume.
About fifteen minutes later,
a mage steps forward and casts **Fireball**.
A violent explosion erupts—
And at the same moment,
a cold gust of air rushes through the opening.
They are worn out,
but still—
faint smiles appear on their faces.
As the dust and smoke clear,
what they see
makes all their exhaustion fade away.
Ahead lies
a small pool of water
and beyond it, a path forward.
For a moment, no one speaks.
Then—
shouts filled with relief and joy
echo through the dungeon.
After moving ahead for a while,
they proceed to the other side of the wall.
Before crossing over,
Durk once again warns everyone to stay alert.
Arthur jumps into the water.
It is so cold
that his body feels like it might freeze instantly.
Without stopping,
he quickly crosses the pool.
Once everyone reaches the other side,
they light a fire together.
Their clothes are completely soaked,
and the cold is unbearable.
They sit around the fire, warming their hands,
their breathing slowly returning to normal.
After some time,
when their clothes finally dry,
they begin moving forward again.
After walking a short distance,
everyone suddenly stops.
Ahead…
someone is there.