Zane smashed. And this time the tunnel shook.
Cracks rushed up the wall, spread partway up the ceiling, shaking loose big gouts of dust.
It was so simple. So nice. That feeling of his fist breaking stone, of all that dense matter shivering, then cracking, then giving way all at onceโฆ
He wound back again, and this time he put some Stormfire into it. Then unleashed.
It was like setting off several tons of TNT underground. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Voids opened up in the minimap. Massive chunks of rock got blasted to smithereens, rushing deeper and deeper, smashing open a crude route.
The whole cavern shook, started groaning ominously. Fountains of dust spewed out the crevicesโ
It all came tumbling down. Right on his head. A big fat slab dropped on his skull.
The slab shattered. His skull did not.
It did hurt though. He groaned. It was actually quite heavy, to his surprise. He was used to eating Earth-slabs to the head and barely feeling it.
He grabbed some chunks and tossed aside the debris, coughing a little. Raina rushed over to check, but he showed her he was fine. Just a little bonked. He felt good.
He saw the end of the dust-ridden tunnel. A promising glintโsomething shiny. He stepped closer. Whatever it was, it had stopped Stormfire in its tracks. The treasure on the minimap.
๐๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ (๐ผ)]
๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ. ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ, ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ค ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค, ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ป๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐โ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐พ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐.
๐๐ ๐ค๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ป๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐'๐ค ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐. ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐.
It was a good three or four chunks, each as big as his head. It had a silvery sheen but lighter. It glowed softly, mysteriously, in the dark.
But they blazed in the Astral Plane. It was like Zane had hit on some essence geyserโthe aura pouring out of this stuffโฆ it took the breath away. Zane picked up a chunk. Surprisingly light. He blinked at it for a moment.
Then he stuffed it in his mouth.
He was not prepared for how dense it wasโthe lightness was a ruse. His eyes widened. It took some serious Stormfire smelting to get it all liquid, and then a lot of swallowing to get it down.
Then each bead dropped like a stone. Down his throat. Deep into his gut. They could track that scalding-hot one of it all the way until it hit his stomach. And erupted.
He groaned.
"Are you alright?" gasped Reina, rushing up. He nodded, his face a little red. It took a little for the steel to settle, to trickle through the rest of his bodyโdown the muscles, the tendons, out to boneโbut when it did his Bloodline seized on it instantly. And sank that goodness deep into his body.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ -> ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ -> ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ -> ๐
He blinked. That much from just a little chunk?
Maybe that was just Earth โ E.
There was more where that came fromโhe grabbed another and scarfed it down, then another, melted it, drank. One by one.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐๐ -> ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
โ๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐ค๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ -> ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐๐๐๐ค ๐ -> ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ก!
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ -> ๐๐
They all sat around waiting for him to stop being red. He just kept shoveling in mithril. His body really did feel like some powerful machine then. Reina and Avery looked a little amused. Evan looked a little bemused. Eventually he finished, gave a little burp.
His aura felt denser somehow now. He feltโฆ good. Strong. Tingly all over and in the places that just took in mithril.
"This place," said Zane. "Has good treasure." He licked his lips and nodded, pleased.
They kept going.
***
If the commotion woke up any Monstersโwhich Reina was a little nervous aboutโthere was no sign of it. They kept plodding along. And soon the tunnel opened out. And they were in the floor proper.
They emerged at an Entrance Hall so big it had to be meant for giants. Or gods. Columns thick as towers sprouted high, arched for shadowed ceilings. The floor was a warm polished brown, studded with crystals here and there.
There were cracks everywhereโrunning through the floors, the columnsโฆ the whole place looked like it had been through a terrible earthquake. Most of it was sunken in shadow. The ceilings went so high you couldn't even see them, and huge chunks had caved in all the way. Debris, rubble, chunks of shattered column were strewn aboutโa few columns toppled on their sides. They made barriers so thick they could've been castle walls. They were ribbed with golden fluting.
It looked like they had been fighting here, but all the dust had settled a long time ago.
They saw all this in snippets. The only light came from torchesโthe few that were left on the columns. They offered little pools of flickering light, but most of the place was lost to darkness. Absolute darknessโgreat seas of it stretching between little islands of lightโฆ
Even the minimap had trouble peering through it. It was so thick the minimap treated it like a physical thing, like terrain, and it did feel like wading through something heavier than air.
Avery could use some sensing tricks to get a lay of the land around though. "No Monsters," she whispered. "I'll keep my eyes peeled though."
She made a face. "No jump-scares on my watch!"
Zane looked around too, did his own survey of the place. Some chunks of wall showed cracked friezes. Dwarf armies at war, fighting dragons, or hammering important-looking fancy swords. That kind of thing. It had clearly been a while but they still looked pristine, untouchedโother than the marks of battle, that was. They looked like fine craftsmanship.
The only sound was the soft crackling of the torches.
Together they went on through. It was impossible to be quiet hereโeven the little crunches of their footsteps bounced all over the place, raced out ahead of them, echoing over and over. You could hear your breaths in your ears, reverberating miles and back. His friends were feeling quite small in the middle of all this vastness.
Zane went on, head high.
"Stay with me," he said. And they didโthey kept close. Evan held his sword up as a glowstick, which lit a little warm sphere around them. They ambled toward the torchlight.
They had to wade through the ruinsโaround jagged fallen columns, over mounds of cracked rubble, crushed steel. Their footsteps kept echoing. Zane kept his guard up as he went, frowning at every patch of dark. So far, so good.
They reached the first island of torchlight. It was a little like hopping between lily pads, Zane thought. They kept going.
The second torch was where they found their first few X's.
Marked out on the mini map ahead, a little cluster. It must've been a party. Cautiously they approached, and Zane saw it must've been a group of knights. Their bodies were gone but they left suits of armor behind.
๐ผ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ [๐ผ๐๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ โ ๐ฝ]
It looked like a pretty strong treasure, Reina thought, probably snagged from one of the lower floors. And it was caved all the way inโฆ by one fierce strike, she suspected, by the look of the blow.
He and Reina exchanged a glance.
Zane shrugged. He made his face unbothered. "I am stronger than that steel," he told her. And he moved on.
Nowโhe was not sure he was that much stronger. If he got hit by whatever caved in that steelโฆ he would probably feel it pretty deep. But he was confident he could handle anything that came for them. Confident he could protect them, and that was what was important.
They kept maneuvering through the rubble. They rounded another bendโand came across their next few corpses. This one a duo. A broken staff with a long-faded crystal at the end. And an enormous armor set, again crushed inโalongside a big fat Earth-rank Spirit Steel shield. Which had been crushed like a soda can. It looked like it had belonged to a berserker.
Zane frowned at it.
Reina had said as they were coming here that they'd been dropped on Floor 62โthat was much deeper than any starting floor she had come across. Deeper than even most Ur-Planet folk got dropped. But they had expected that. So she tried not to let it rattle her. The only trouble was none of them knew just how much harder it meant.
Zane didn't like all this darkness around him.
He kept looking behind him, frowning at it.
He just didn't want to be surrounded and having his friends get jumped from behindโhe wasn't sure he could be everywhere at once.
It was simple being alone. He felt invincible then.
But when his friends were hereโฆ he sometimes felt an odd sense of vulnerability. They broke a lot easier than himโand he cared about their breaking a lot more than his own. It made him a little antsy.
Especially since he knew what was coming for him. Reina was convinced they would be throwing the kitchen sink at him.
He shook his head.
He, of all people, would not get in his own head. That was that. He knew if he did that they were all done. They were relying on himโit was especially important now to show who he was. He had to be strong.
He could do that.
So he just kept going.
***
It turned out to be the right call. There were tons of noises. Mostly from them. Ghosts in the darkness. But nothing jumped them out of the dark. They got all the way up to the end of the Hallโto the grand entrance proper.
Up ahead lay ten islands of torchlight, all strung together. The entrance was two massive stone doors, so big they could've been made to admit crowds or armiesโsealed off, laden with thick runes. Bold blocky inscriptions fringed them, written in some long-lost language.
A dozen giant statuesโsmiling faces, enormous teeth, apelike fistsโsat set into the walls all around. They were colored a little different from the rest of the place. Not stone. A kind of metal verging on black that looked incredibly dense.
As they came up to the entrance they saw a sea of X's. X's upon X's. All bunched together.
Everyone tensed up.
Zane clenched his fists. Narrowed his eyes.
Reina got in a battle stance, gave him a nod. Avery and Evan were up and ready too. They came in with him at the tip of the spear.
They stepped over crushed bones, which Zane had thought was just more rubble at first. Between them and the entrance lay a vast array of crushed plate and crushed helms and crushed greavesโlots of crushing here. Mostly S-grade and Earth-rank treasures, some smashed so bad you couldn't even tell what they were.
Reina commented, nibbling her lip, about how closely they were arranged, almost in little piles. Like parties that got surrounded, and crushed together, and went out in a tightening circle. She felt they had to be at least Core judging by their gear.
"Still don't see any Monsters," said Avery doubtfully. She had already checked the ceilingโand spread her senses as far as she could into the dark, trying to sniff out any tricksters trying to sneak attack them. Nothing. It was all exactly as it looked like.
"Maybe they all left already?" said Evan hopefully.
They all thought about that for a moment. Reina felt it was pretty clear the only way forward was through that gate. They would have to keep vigilant, though. She narrowed her eyes at the darkness, then the door. Then those statues. She lingered there.
Slowly, they drew closerโฆ.
***
And sure enough. As soon as they stepped fully into the lightโ
A deep groaning echoed through the Grand Hall. It was like an earthquake deep undergroundโbut nothing was moving.
The torches all flared doubly bright. Everywhere. And for a moment the Hall was half litโ
And then all the torches behind them, tracing their paths, blacked out.
The ones in front blazed to infernos.
"It's coming," said Reina, voice tight. "Get ready!"
Her eyes were squarely on those statues.
Their strange smiling tombstone-teeth facesโฆ their eyes flared red.
And dormant runes all over their bodies flared to life. Bands of brilliant blue stark against vast chunks of black steel.
"Get back," grunted Zane, narrowing his eyes at them. He tried to keep them in his field of vision as they activated, one by one.
Those giant rune markings just kept ratcheting upโturning to higher gears. Blazing with monstrous life. Auras exploded out of them, choking the airโฆ The only time Zane had felt something even close was with the Monster Knight.
Their dots finally popped up red on the minimap.
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ (๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ)
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ (๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ)
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ (๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ)
๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐
On and onโฆ
Ten of them in full.
It wasn't just great treasures here. The Monsters were made to match.
They smashed their fists together, one by one, like they were clashing cymbals. And shockwaves roared out, so powerful, so violent they shattered stones where they lay. He felt it in his belly, but he was fine. He heard Evan and Avery and Reina gasp, and for a moment his heart sankโbut they felt fine. Lightly hurt.
It still enraged him though.
White noise sparked in his ears.
Then their heads all swiveled to look at him. Their bodies didn't turn, but it was like they locked onto him. Zane felt inside of them coresโcores churning essence like enormous batteries powering the beasts. And he felt tiny souls inside of them, Monstrous souls. Something between mechanical and living. Their strange dome heads locked in that weird ear-to-ear grin, teeth baredโฆ
All those souls felt just one thing. Like they'd been programmed for just one purpose.
๐๐๐๐ โค๐ธโ๐ผ ๐๐ธ๐๐๐ผโ.