There was a white-haired teen on the floor, battered and bruised as he took in deep breaths. He wore a beige-colored cloak with a black shirt, black pants, and leather boots on his feet. He had an unusual pair of eyes, a dark red that wasn't common in humans.

He had a dagger at his side as he saw a lanky figure stumbling toward him. It had greyish-blue skin, dead-looking eyes, and ghostly horns coming from its head as it lumbered toward him.

This was a low-level demon. A grey demon, a mindless, lumbering mass of souls, forever bound to walk and feast upon living souls. And compared to him... this thing was actually stronger than him.

He gripped the hilt of his dagger as he lunged forward, stabbing the creature in the middle of the chest. Blue blood sprayed his face as the monster looked down at him and punched him in the face, knocking him back down. He brought a hand up to his face, winching in pain as the monster continued to walk towards him. Gritting his teeth, Lincoln tried to stand up again to face the blue thing but was surprised that in a purple flash, the dagger traveled upwards, slicing the demon's head in two before the blade sliced its neck off, sending its head flying and the body falling to the ground.

"Damn, Lincoln, you really are an E-Ranked loser." a female voice stated as Lincoln looked up to see Ronnie Ann. As the demon's body began to wither, Lincoln's injuries began to heal as Ronnie chuckled. She had matured since, much like himself, since they'd awakened. Being 17 now and being an adventurer herself, she had been blessed with the skill 'Healing Fist', being able to heal allies by injuring enemies.

Running up behind her, Lincoln saw his other two party members for this dungeon. The first was a dark-skinned teenager with a staff in hand, black boots with large silver rims, black shorts, a lime green belt with a large gold buckle, a lime green jerkin, a blue-collar, and black armbands with a blue hem on the bottom and a lime green hem with a red gemstone on the top.

The other was a fair-skinned teen with auburn hair. He wore a large suit of armor with a tattered cape and a sword. His attire looked expensive as the knight rolled his eyes, seeing Lincoln run up to them with Ronnie.

"So, Lincoln Lame, get your butt kicked by another low-level?" the redhead asked, much to Lincoln's annoyance.

"Shut it, Chandler, or else we'll see how much punishment a tank like you can take," Ronnie replied, cracking her knuckles.

"Excuse me, princess, I just don't think it was a good idea to take the weakest linc to a D-Rank dungeon."

"Hey man, no need to be so harsh." The dark-skinned teen, Clyde, said, trying to calm the situation.

"He's here because he needs the money. If anything, he's here to pick up after us." Ronnie stated, making Lincoln sulk. It was true, he was here for scraps... and they couldn't find anyone else for a DPS. The only reason why he was even here was because of Clyde. He vouched for him and now he was only a detriment to this dungeon clear.

"Ronnie! Come on, you're supposed to be on Lincoln's side!" Clyde said, pointing at the girl as said teen huffed. Ronnie walked up to him, reached up, and grabbed his hair, pulling him down to her eye level.

"Listen, Lincoln's desperate, and Chandler is an ass. You know this and I know this. If we appeal to his ego, maybe, just maybe, he'll be less of an ass." Ronnie whispered as Clyde nodded. Clyde sighed, choosing to remain silent as he looked at Lincoln, who was still sulking and at Chandler, who seemed to have gotten an ego boost.

"Alright, so let's continue forward! Try to catch up, Lincoln Lame!" Chandler shouted as he pointed his sword at a cavern. He then walked forward, with Ronnie and Clyde following, and Lincoln trailing behind them. The dungeon they were in was a D-Rank dungeon. One that was supposed to be simple, filled with only low-level demons and a low-level boss at the end of it. There were pits of fire scattered about at random inside a random assortment of caves, caverns, and tunnels. The further they went into the dungeon, the hotter it seemed to get. The fire pits seemed to turn from a bright, fiery red to a slow, burning green.

"Uh, guys? Is it me or is it getting a lot hotter than it should?" Lincoln asked as he pulled on his collar causing actual steam to vent from his shirt."Yeah, it's getting really, really hot," Clyde stated as he whipped off sweat from his brow."Oh come on, it's not that hot!" Chandler said, but the sweat on his body betrayed him as he was cooking in his armor.

But, they pushed through, going deeper and deeper until they saw a light. It was a bright light that illuminated the darkness of the tunnels. As they got closer and closer, they finally escaped the caverns... but what they saw... they wished they were back in the tunnels."W-What is this?" Clyde asked as they all stared at the landscape before them.

The sky was filled with clouds and the air was hard to breathe. The air reeked of brimstone and blood as the cries of thousands, if not millions, of screams echoed on the winds as it was a barren landscape of rock and sand. The few trees that were there were dead, petrified, and mummified to the point that they became standing fossils.

Pools of green fire dotted the landscape as they saw giant, red, bat-like creatures flying through the sky. Their screeches sent shivers down everyone's spines as Clyde backed away, approaching Lincoln as he did so.

"Lincoln, I say we grab Ronnie and run! We don't have to complete this dungeon and I can just give you some money. How does that sound?" Clyde whispered to his friend as Lincoln nodded."Sounds good to me!" Lincoln replied as they both turned around to run. But they were stopped by Ronnie, who pulled them back. She was also scared, shaking in her shoes as she lifted them up.

"W-Where are you two going?" Ronnie asked as Lincoln and Clyde were still trying to run away.

"AWAY FROM HERE!" they both cried out as Ronnie shook her head."L-Listen you two... w-we just have to defeat the boss and we get out. Let's just let Chandler take the brunt of it and this will be smooth sailing!" Ronnie explained as she turned around, both boys in hand, and faced Chandler, whose rattling armor could be heard.

Chandler gulped, picking up his sword as he moved forward. Sure, he was a High C-Rank Tank, but behind him was a Low C-Rank DPS, a Low C-Rank Healer, and an E-Rank DPS. He was the only one that even had the hope the escaping... but he had to set aside his fear and lead these idiots out of here.

'Besides, if I get these morons outta here, they'll be singing my praise for the rest of their lives!' Chandler thought as he pushed forward... only to stop and be lifted into the air.

"CHANDLER!" Ronnie, Clyde, and Lincoln shouted as Chandler was lifted into the air.

He seemed to be grabbing at something around his throat to no avail as a sinister laugh reached their ears. The cave behind them seemed to crumble as Chandler was starting to choke.

"GRAH! GABH!"

"Well, well, well... humans have arrived at the Hellscar... perfect~," A voice said as a monster approached them from in front of Chandler. It was a giant creature with green skin, horns, and sharp teeth protruding from its mouth. It had a beard that was made from its own skin and half its body was missing, the other half floating in the air.

With a wave of its hand, the trio soon found themselves choking as well. They could barely keep their eyes open as the lack of oxygen soon took over, their worlds going black as they collapsed to the ground.

{Okay, dokey... a stupid little thing I made. Been re-reading Solo Leveling and I'm actually excited for the Solo Leveling anime that will happen in the next few years. I know this is a very, very rocky start, but hopefully, this gets better... maybe... I don't know, the second Dragonflight Pre-Pratch is happening in 2 days so maybe I'll be in a better mood.}