A few seconds after being enveloped in the red magical energy, the light faded, and I slowly opened my eyes. As expected, the scenery around me had completely changed.

It seemed I had been teleported into a hallway, with the path stretching forward. Behind me was a solid wall, indicating there was no turning back. The only option was to proceed. This was likely where the real dungeon challenge began.

Why this phenomenon had occurred specifically to us remained a mystery, but there was no time to dwell on it. From this point on, the difficulty would undoubtedly increase. Monsters ranked C or even B might appear, making it imperative not to let our guard down.

Yet, I felt surprisingly calm. That was because I wasn’t alone.

“Tetra, it looks like it’s just the two of us.”

Tetra, who had been surveying the area just like me, coolly assessed the situation. Her composed demeanor in such unpredictable scenarios was incredibly reassuring.

“Judging from the teleportation sequence, we’ve likely been split into three groups: me with Tetra, Flare with Elle, and Lycia with Sheena. It seems we’ll each need to navigate this dungeon independently.”

“Just the two of us, huh?” Tetra asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Yeah, I’m counting on you, Tetra.”

“Leave it to me! I’ll do my best!”

With a confident "hmph" and a slight puff of her cheeks, Tetra nodded firmly. The display was so endearing that I couldn’t resist gently running my hand through her light blue hair.

“...Ike?”

“Ah, sorry, my hand just moved on its own.”

As I tried to pull my hand away, Tetra clasped my arm with both hands and gave it a slight shake.

“No, it’s fine. You can keep doing that if you want.”

“Well, if you say so…”

With her permission, I continued to stroke her hair. Tetra hummed softly in contentment, a satisfied smile on her face.

Despite the gravity of our situation—being separated from our companions and navigating an unknown dungeon—the relaxed atmosphere seemed to ease the tension in the air.

The conclusion: our Tetra is ridiculously cute.

After enjoying a brief moment of relaxation, we resumed our journey through the dungeon.

Just a few minutes after setting off, we encountered a group of monsters. Standing upright like humans but covered in brown fur with wolf-like faces, the creatures were C-rank monsters known as werewolves.

There were five of them. Even one would be challenging for me alone, but to face five simultaneously…

However, that was a problem for the old me.

“Tetra, take the three on the left. I’ll handle the two on the right.”

“Understood.”

With a simple command, the battle began. The werewolves seemed to instinctively recognize Tetra’s superior strength, directing the majority of their numbers toward her. This played perfectly into my strategy: three for her and two for me.

One of the werewolves charged at me, its body lowered to the ground as it closed in. Its low stance made it an unusual angle of attack, one you’d never encounter in a human opponent. This was something unique to werewolves.

Behind it, the other werewolf watched closely, waiting for an opportunity. No doubt it intended to attack the moment I dodged its companion’s charge.

Now, how to handle this…

Avoiding their coordinated attack was within my capability. In the past, I might have focused on defense and let Tetra handle them.

But not anymore.

“Fire!”

The spell erupted, catching the charging werewolf completely off guard. Flames engulfed its face, causing it to stop abruptly and flail about in confusion.

The flames had struck directly into its eyes and nose—an area far more sensitive to damage. Even though my low-level magic wasn’t typically effective against C-rank monsters, it worked here.

Now!

I tightened my grip on my dagger and rushed forward.

“Grrrrahh!”

Sensing its ally was in trouble, the second werewolf lunged at me, claws extended.

“Predictable!”

With precise timing, I slashed at its outstretched wrist, severing its tendons. The werewolf howled in pain, but I wasn’t done.

“Dark Shroud!”

Dark magic engulfed the area, reducing visibility and disorienting the monsters. I quickly withdrew and prepared my next attack.

Taking out a high-quality mana stone, I poured a third of its power into my next spell. Too much would leave me incapacitated, but this was enough to handle a C-rank threat.

“Fire!”

The resulting explosion rocked the corridor, scorching both werewolves in the magical inferno. Within moments, their bodies disintegrated into magical stones, signaling their defeat.

At the same time, Tetra, who had already finished off her three opponents, approached with a satisfied smile.

“Done! Victory~!”

“Nice work, Tetra.”

We exchanged a celebratory high-five before pressing forward, the safety of our separated allies lingering in the back of my mind.