He furrowed his brows, suddenly raising his fan and striking the person reporting to him. His voice trembled with irritation, "What?! The time's almost up, and you're telling me now that they’re not coming?!"

I was jolted by the abrupt shift in atmosphere.

His temper was a far cry from his usually refined and graceful demeanor.

His eyes narrowed, seemingly noticing something.

Suddenly, he turned and looked directly at me.

The moment our eyes locked, deep and dark like a bottomless well, I felt a shiver run through me.

I immediately shrank back, like an ostrich, hoping he wouldn’t see me.

In my mind, I repeated, "You can’t see me, you can’t see me…"

The sound of dry twigs snapping underfoot reached my ears, and I forced a smile, while inwardly cursing.

He kept walking toward me.

I slowly gripped my staff tighter.

Then, without warning, he clapped me on the shoulder, smiling brightly as he said, “Hey, you’re here alone looking at the scenery. How about joining me for the dungeon run?”

I tried to resist, pleading with wide eyes, “But I’m just a support character.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got your back, Summers has you covered. You just need to fill the numbers,” he reassured me.

I kept up the smile.

But seeing his gaze grow colder by the second, I weakly nodded, “Alright…”

The massive, twisted, flowered demon spread its tendrils, ensnaring many people.

A silver figure passed through, drawing his blade and piercing the demon’s body.

Under the heavy strike, the demon’s body oozed dark, poisoned blood.

I watched Summers’ moves with a sense of contemplation.

He was skilled, and his temper? Even more so.

He shouted to everyone, “Be careful! It’s entered its ultimate form!”

The demon let out a furious roar, charging into berserk mode and attacking indiscriminately.

Instinctively, I took several steps forward, raising my staff to strike.

But then, I froze.

I had forgotten that I was on my low-level alt character.

Seeing the demon’s health dropping to the red, it suddenly focused on me—the slowest and weakest in the group.

If someone dies during the dungeon, the challenge fails.

My heart sank. This was one of the highest-level dungeons, and my level was far too low for this.

Before I could react, the demon shot out tendrils at lightning speed, aiming to strike me down with a final blow.

I couldn’t dodge in time. I closed my eyes, bracing for the inevitable.

I expected to die, but when I opened my eyes, Summers had positioned himself in front of me, spitting blood out.

With one final strike, the demon’s body exploded into fragments.

I supported his body, “Are you alright?”

He gritted his teeth, glaring as he spoke through clenched jaws, “Does it look like I’m alright?”

I knew the pain was virtual, but it felt real to him.

I lowered my head, unsure of what to say, “I’m sorry…”

He seemed taken aback by my words, stiffening for a moment.

Then, he quickly masked it, patting me on the back with a laugh, “I’m fine, just kidding, you’re too easy to mess with.”

But I could tell he was holding it in.

A group of people rushed over.

A voluptuous woman shoved me aside, her face twisted in anger, “This is all your fault! If you’d died, everything would’ve been for nothing! Do you know how rare it is to encounter this demon?!”

It was then that I realized Winters was also here in this dungeon.

Her level was so high, she easily pushed me into the flower patch. I struggled to prop myself up, half-buried in the twisted vines.

Summers quickly reacted, bending down to help me up.

“You bitch!” He kicked Winters away, his tone laced with fury, “Who told you to touch her?!”

I silently watched as her body was half-buried in the earth.

Phew, glad I didn’t piss him off.

She shot me a hurt look, her gaze shifting to Summers beside me.

Summers ignored her.

The atmosphere was painfully awkward, and it was Storm who stepped in to pull her away.

The closeness between them seemed seamless, almost like Storm had effortlessly stepped into the role.

Each person who cleared the challenge would receive an equal reward.

Summers handed me the loot chest from the dungeon.

I slowly opened it.

Inside, I found a glowing peach blossom vine, along with several other useful potions.

The trumpet sounded throughout the entire server.

A voice in the crowd muttered, “Isn’t that the peach blossom vine with a drop rate of only 0.0012%?”

“Those potions are ultra-rare!”

“Even the lowest-tier ones are considered rare. This girl is really lucky!”

In DreamScape, it was allowed to compete and take personal items from others within dungeons.

People around us immediately began to sparkle with envy, casting side-eye glances at me. But they held back, since Summers hadn’t stepped forward yet.

I held the peach blossom vine out toward Summers.

“I didn’t really do much to help,” I paused, then continued, “and I kind of dragged you down and caused you to get hurt. You should have this.”

Summers scoffed, lightly pushing my hand back toward me. “What’s yours is yours. I don’t like taking advantage of others.”

I lowered my head, unable to hide my disappointment.

As if sensing my down mood, Summers suddenly reached out and gently pressed his hand on my head. He leaned in close, his expression serious as he said, “I’m a strategist. I don’t need the extra stuff, you know?”

I blinked, realizing I had misunderstood him.

I looked up, a smile breaking across my face as I nodded.

“Good girl.” He smiled back, ruffling my hair.

But then, his expression suddenly shifted. His gaze turned cold as he scanned the people around us.

He suddenly pulled me into his side. “If any of you even think about making a move on this girl, don’t blame me…”

Some of the onlookers remained indifferent.

Summers conjured a ball of spiritual fire in his hand. The others quickly stepped back, grinning sheepishly as they bowed. “We wouldn’t dare.”

They turned and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After leaving the dungeon, I was lost in thought, wondering what I should do next.

I kicked a stone along the side of the road, aimlessly wandering, when I suddenly bumped into a firm chest.

It felt as hard as hitting a stone.

I winced in pain and rubbed my nose, looking up.

Wait… wasn’t that Summers?

He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his expression stiff. “So, how about you stick with me? I’ll protect you until you’re strong enough to take care of yourself.”

I stared at him, confused.

He furrowed his brow. “Don’t get the wrong idea! I just don’t want to owe you anything, considering you got dragged into this because of that dungeon.”

He rubbed the back of his head, looking annoyed.

“I can protect myself,” I said firmly.

He scoffed and laughed, ruffling my hair again. “With your size and level?”

But I had pulled several life-saving items from the dungeon.

Before I could respond, he turned and began walking forward.

What a carefree guy.

I sighed, shrugging, and grabbed the hem of his shirt, following behind him.

Suddenly, an invitation appeared before me: “Player Storm invites you to join a dungeon. Do you accept?”

Summers noticed I stopped and turned around, his eyes narrowing as he saw the invitation.

“Who is that?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “No one important. Just a jerk.”

I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore.

I swiftly locked the invitation, blocking that troublesome pair.

Summers slapped the top of my head, scowling at me. “Isn’t this a good opportunity for revenge?”