A basic status window appeared in front of Luke.

[Name: Luke]

[Class: Spellblade]

[Primary Weapon: Long Spear]

[Level: 1]

[Available Skills: Reinforce, Arcane Thrust, Quickstep]

Luke focused on the first skill.

[Reinforce]

[Temporarily channels mana through the body to improve physical strength and durability.]

That sounded useful, though the word temporarily worried him.

He activated the skill.

Warmth spread through his arms and legs, followed by a sudden lightness that made his entire body feel easier to control. The spear no longer dragged against his grip. Even its long shaft felt almost weightless.

Luke thrust it forward.

This time, the blade stopped exactly where he intended.

He pulled the spear back and tried again, moving faster. The point snapped through the air with enough force to produce a quiet whistle.

A few seconds later, the warmth faded. The spear became heavy again, and a hollow sensation settled inside his chest.

[Mana consumed.]

Luke opened his status window.

[Mana: 42/50]

"So I can’t use it constantly."

The number did not rise while he watched it. The game probably expected him to recover mana through rest, items, or an ability he had not learned yet.

At least he had discovered that before entering combat.

Luke moved on to his second skill.

[Arcane Thrust]

[Channels magical energy through a piercing weapon attack.]

A glowing target appeared several yards away.

Luke raised the spear, braced the base of the shaft against his side, and tried to activate the skill.

Nothing happened.

He frowned and read the description again.

"Do I need to thrust first?"

Luke stepped forward and drove the spear toward the target.

"Arcane Thrust!"

Blue light raced along the shaft and gathered around the blade. The moment the spear struck, the energy burst forward and punched through the center of the target.

Cracks spread across its glowing surface before the entire thing shattered.

Luke stared at the empty space where it had been.

"That was stronger than I expected."

[Mana consumed.]

[Mana: 30/50]

Arcane Thrust had used far more mana than Reinforce. Three attacks would nearly empty him, assuming he did not use any other skills.

He created another target and tried the attack without shouting its name. The magic still responded, though it took longer to gather because his focus slipped halfway through the movement.

Luke practiced once more without releasing the skill, stopping before the spear struck.

The blue light faded back into the blade.

At least he could cancel it without wasting mana.

His final skill seemed more straightforward.

[Quickstep]

[Uses mana to perform a rapid movement over a short distance.]

Luke selected a point several feet ahead and activated it.

The chamber lurched.

One instant, he stood near the center of the room. The next, he was several yards forward with his balance tipping dangerously to one side.

Luke planted the spear against the floor before he could fall.

"That needs practice."

He tried again, this time keeping his knees bent and his weight centered. The sudden movement still twisted his stomach, but he remained upright.

Quickstep did not feel like running. His body crossed the distance almost instantly, skipping the movement between one position and the next.

A third attempt carried him sideways.

Luke nearly stepped on the shaft of his own spear and stumbled before catching himself.

Using the skill while fighting would be much harder than selecting a direction inside an empty room.

When he checked his status again, only eighteen points of mana remained.

He waited for the number to rise, but it stayed unchanged.

Reinforce cost eight mana, while Arcane Thrust and Quickstep each appeared to cost twelve. Using his skills carelessly could leave him powerless after only a few attacks.

Luke closed the window and rested the spear against his shoulder.

None of the abilities were complicated on their own, but combining them in a real fight would be another matter. He would need to decide when speed mattered more than strength and whether an enemy was worth spending magic on.

Before he could practice further, another message appeared.

[You will be transported to a dungeon once your selected partner completes character creation.]

Luke frowned.

"I selected a partner?"

He searched through the previous menus, but the character creation windows had already disappeared.

There must have been an option to choose between a solo trial and a party trial. With so many choices appearing at once, he had probably skipped past it without noticing.

Hopefully, the other player would not be angry with him.

They’re probably experienced. Maybe I can follow their lead until I understand what I’m doing.

Several minutes passed while Luke explored the empty chamber.

He practiced holding the spear, repeated the footwork the system had shown him, and opened his status window several more times. His mana slowly began recovering after he remained still for nearly a minute.

Luke considered testing Arcane Thrust again, but decided against it. Entering a dungeon with half his mana would be a terrible way to meet his new partner.

By the time the number returned to full, he could hold the spear without letting the tip wander.

His partner was still working on character creation.

Luke wondered what could take someone so long. Maybe they were adjusting every detail of their face or reading through hundreds of classes instead of building one immediately.

Then again, he had no right to judge. He had tested several weapons and spent far too long worrying about whether the spear was the correct choice.

Just as he began to wonder whether the system had frozen, a notification finally appeared.

[Your partner has completed character creation.]

Luke straightened as another message followed.

[You have been paired with Yvonne for your first dungeon run.]

"Yvonne," he repeated quietly.

The name did not sound familiar.

Before he could examine his skills again, the chamber dissolved around him.

[Welcome to the Dungeon of Truth.]

A blast of cold wind struck Luke the moment he appeared inside an enormous circular arena suspended high above the clouds.

Pale stone stretched beneath his feet, engraved with rings of unfamiliar symbols, while thick white clouds rolled far below the platform.

The open drop made his stomach tighten.

There were no walls or railings around the arena. One wrong step would send him over the edge and into the empty sky.

Luke backed away carefully, and the metal base of his spear scraped across the stone.

"So the monsters can knock us off."

Knowing that did little to calm him.

Dark shapes stood motionless around the outer ring. They resembled humans from a distance, but their arms hung too low, their shoulders bent at unnatural angles, and faint rasping breaths carried through the wind.

For now, they remained still.

Luke counted six of them.

The arena was wide enough for him to use the spear properly, but there was little cover. If several monsters attacked at once, they could surround him or force him toward the edge.

Quickstep might save him from being cornered, though using it near the drop could be just as dangerous as standing still.

He adjusted his grip on the spear and tried to remember how Reinforce had felt. Arcane Thrust could probably knock one of the creatures backward, but spending twelve mana on every enemy would empty him before the fight ended.

The monsters remained silent except for their rasping breaths.

A few lowered their heads toward him.

Luke planted his feet and kept the spear pointed toward the nearest one.

A pillar of light descended onto the opposite side of the platform, bright enough to draw his attention away from the waiting creatures.

Within it, the outline of another person slowly took shape.

Luke tightened his grip on the spear as his mysterious partner entered the dungeon.