The World's First Dungeon Vs Zane

The midday sun bore down on the clearing beside the house, turning the grass dry and warm underfoot. A chorus of cicadas buzzed lazily from the trees as sweat glistened on the backs of necks and brows. The once-quiet property now looked more like a military training ground than a rural Aussie home.

Bell stood in the shade of the verandah, arms crossed, eyes narrowed with ruthless satisfaction. Her plan had come together faster than even she expected. The wheelbarrow had become a portable barricade. The garden stakes now lined a dodging lane, a rough zig-zag path where the trainees had to weave through while ducking tennis balls lobbed at them from Lily. A big tarp had been hung between two gumtrees to act as a visual cover drill — they'd have to pop out, hit a target, then retreat.

"Alright!" Bell called. "Ten more minutes on the reaction drills, then we switch to melee forms!"

Zane groaned. "You know, you didn't actually join the military."

"Nope," Bell said cheerfully. "Which means I don't have to follow any of their 'don't go too hard on them' rules."

Tarni was up next. He stood at the start of the stake lane, knees slightly bent, a net-pole in one hand and his tongue poking out in concentration.

"Go!" Bell barked.

Tarni zigzagged between the garden stakes, narrowly dodging a flying tennis ball, then grunted as the second hit him square in the ribs. He stumbled out the far end, panting and laughing.

"Bit rude, Lily!" he called.

Lily grinned from her station. "You're welcome!"

"Next!" Bell snapped.

Kai stepped forward, his padded bat ready. He looked more confident than he had the night before, and Zane noticed he'd started moving like someone aware of his body in space — no longer just reacting, but planning.

Kai tore through the lane, ducking low, spinning wide. One ball grazed his shoulder, but he didn't lose momentum. He struck the final post with a light tap from the bat, then jogged back around, grinning.

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"Nice," Bell said, nodding. "Better footwork. Keep that up."

Zane took his turn last. His movements were crisp, purposeful — it was clear his extra stats were helping, and even clearer that he was enjoying this. The dodge lane was nothing to his stats, but Bell could see his instincts sharpening, growing more System-aware. He moved with more finesse than brute strength now, incorporating his recent Dexterity boost.

When the drills wrapped, Bell called them to the tarp.

"Now we practice the pop-strike," she said, raising her voice. "Target awareness. Get in, strike, and retreat."

She gestured to the wooden board nailed to a gumtree. Someone — probably Lily, had painted a goblin face on it with sharpie and charcoal.

"I'll go first!" Bell said, stepping up with the spear gun in hand.

"Bell, maybe don't—" Zane started.

Too late. Bell activated her Basic Powered Shot.

The spear gun hummed — a high, pulsing sound that vibrated through the air like a plucked string. The shaft launched with a crack, glowing faintly red as it blasted through the air and slammed into the goblin target.

The board exploded.

Splinters flew in every direction, and the gumtree bark behind it split from the force.

There was silence. A few leaves drifted down.

Zane blinked. "Bloody hell."

"Holy Ork Butts, so... maybe we shouldn't use that on anything near the house," Tarni said, gaping.

Bell lowered the spear gun and looked very pleased with herself. "Just wanted to see how much punch it had."

"That'd turn a real goblin inside-out," Kai muttered. "And probably everyone behind it."

Bell smirked. "Then I won't miss. Also, Tarn, what was that?"

Tarni raised both his hands in the air in surrender as he said "well I'm not aloud to swear anymore, so I thought I would give Holy Ork Butts a turn"

After staring at Tarni briefly, she replied, "I think you can do better than that, Tarn."

"Yes, ma'am"

They spent the afternoon working as a unit — moving in pairs, rotating through practice formations, taking turns calling out enemy positions and planning responses. Bell barked orders and tips, fine-tuned their stance, and corrected sloppy swings. Even Lily, who wasn't a frontline fighter, trained in awareness and positioning. She'd taken to standing back and reading people, helping the others see gaps or weaknesses in their approach.

By late afternoon, the shadows had begun to stretch, and Bell finally called a halt.

"Alright," she said, wiping sweat from her brow. "That's enough for today. Go wash up. Hydrate. We'll do it again tomorrow."

As the group trudged toward the house, muscles sore but spirits high, Zane lingered beside Bell.

"You're good at this," he said.

She shrugged. "Just don't want to lose anyone."

"You won't," he said quietly. "Not while we've got you keeping us sharp."

Bell smiled, then gently punched him in the shoulder. "Just don't get cut again, idiot."