CRACK
After warping to the sixth floor, we were immediately engulfed in complete darkness, a suffocating void that filled us with dread. The air was thick, almost alive, as if the cave itself was breathing. The cold stone beneath my feet sent shivers up my spine.
There were a few tunnels to choose from, but one was dimly lit, so we decided to follow it. When we entered the next room, we saw a group of players talking.
"We should wait for one of the top guilds to clear this floor," one of them said. "It's scary."
"I heard G2 told the other top guilds not to clear this floor yet. They want to beat the boss," another added.
One of them warped away, and the others followed, not seeming to notice us.
Lia quickly used her magic to brighten the area, a bright light radiating from her hand, pushing back the darkness. With the newfound light, I could see the jagged rocks and deep crevices that surrounded us. In the distance, pairs of glowing eyes watched us, but they quickly scurried away once they realized we could see them. We had spawned at the center of a large teleportation circle with five paths leading in different directions. To our left and right, giant crevasses yawned open, from which the spiders seemed to emerge. We chose one of the paths and started walking, noting the eerie absence of other players on this floor.
As we walked, Leo began to speak. "According to the flier Wakaba gave me, you can find crystals on this floor. That's what I'm looking for."
"Why do you need a crystal?" Mia asked curiously.
"I want a crystal for Wakaba," Leo replied, his voice softening. I began to blush.
We were swarmed by hundreds of spiders, all level 1-3, pouring out of the crevasses. Mia quickly shoved me out of the way as she and Leo drew their swords. I pulled my wand from my inventory, its polished surface gleaming in the light of Mia's fire-imbued sword, which she used to slice through the advancing spiders. Leo stayed close to Lia and me, acting as a shield between us and the horde.
The spiders were varied in both color and type—forest green spiders that shot venom, black spiders with spikes that reflected Lia's magic, and eerie purple spiders that didn't seem to do anything at first.
Once we had defeated the initial wave, a second wave appeared, this time with spiders of level 4-5. They were bigger and stronger than the previous ones, some even leaping over Leo's shield to try to attack us from behind.
"Lightning Javelin!" I yelled, electrocuting the ones that got too close.
The second wave lasted longer and was far more challenging than the first, but after killing so many spiders, we all leveled up to six, gaining the boosts and skill points we needed to survive.
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You have reached the max level for this floor. Any extra XP will be applied when you leave this floor.
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Leo was beside me, his movements precise and calculated, his eyes burning with determination. Mia was further ahead, her fire magic blazing through the darkness, reducing spiders to ashes. Lia's light kept the shadows at bay.
The battle was grueling.
Crunch—a spider had broken through to the back and bitten into Lia's armor. I quickly dispatched it with a Lightning Javelin before rushing to Mia.
"I'm sorry," Lia said, her voice faltering as her health bar dropped to a critical level.
The darkness began to overtake us as Lia struggled to maintain her magic. Mia, also at a critical level, fought fiercely at the frontlines, trying to buy us some time. Smoke began to rise, only to be sucked into the crevasses.
I dropped my wand and pulled a healing potion from my inventory, administering it to Lia. She revived, reigniting her wand and pushing back the encroaching shadows. The air was thick with the stench of burnt flesh and venom. With the final spiders dispatched, we braced ourselves for the next wave.
This wave was different—a massive spider miniboss, the size of a car, appeared. It lunged at me with terrifying speed. Mia managed to shove me out of the way, but she was impaled by the spider's venomous fangs in the process. Lia, though nearly exhausted, rushed to Mia's aid, but she was almost completely out of strength. After we beat the miniboss I gave my wand to Mia. She then ignited the area in red light.
After what felt like an eternity of fighting, we continued walking and stumbled upon something strange—a stone chess table, oddly out of place in the middle of the cavern. The board was set, with most of the pawns lined up on the third rank, except for two. One pawn lingered on the second rank, while another stood boldly in front of the enemy queen on d5.
Leo placed his hand on the board, but nothing happened. He tried to move the pieces, but they were glued in place.
"Do these pawns represent us?" he asked.
When Leo finished speaking, I looked around the area. The chess set was the only thing of noticeable value, alongside a chair made of skulls and bones from dead spiders and loot from former adventurers. I approached the chair and examined the loot, finding nothing of value. As I glanced around, I noticed spider eggs lining the walls, and webs hung ominously in the crevices.
Among the loot, I spotted something peculiar—an eye pierced through the center with ice. The eye was intact, but it gave me an uneasy feeling. Could this boss use magic?
I quickly put the eye in my inventory and returned to Leo, who was frozen in fear. I looked upwards and saw it: a massive spider, the size of a small house, with a red name that read "LVL 12 Spider Queen." She hung from the ceiling, her cold, empty eyes fixed on us.
"Ah, let the feast begin," she hissed as she jumped down with a loud thud.
As she fell, I noticed bones hanging in the webs above us. The Spider Queen let out a deafening roar before charging at us. Leo and Mia rushed to the front; Leo defended while Mia used her fire magic, trying to burn the spider with powerful spells. Before I could activate Lightning Javelin, Lia grabbed my arm, her wand's light dimming.
"We need to get back. It will jump at us if we're in range," Lia said in a serious tone.
I winced from the pain of her grip and followed her to a corner. We huddled there, watching the chaos unfold.
The Spider Queen attacked relentlessly. Mia tried to hold her ground with fire magic, but the spider's massive size and strength pushed her back. Leo engaged in a fierce battle but was soon ensnared by the spider's web, trapped and struggling.
"Leo!" I screamed, my heart pounding as I gathered my own magic, lightning crackling in my hand. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I had to help him. I raised my hand, ready to strike, but then—
Lia's hand shot out, gripping my wrist with a force that made me wince. The spell fizzled out, the energy dissipating into the air. "Lia, what are you doing?" I asked, my voice trembling.
That's when I noticed Mia. She was standing there, watching Leo struggle with an emotionless face. She wasn't moving to help him. She wasn't moving at all.
"Mia… Lia…?" My voice trembled. "What's going on?"
Lia's grip tightened painfully on my wrist as she leaned in close, her voice cold. "We never cared about you, Husk. You were just a means to an end. Now that Leo's gone, we know exactly where the item is."
As she finished her sentence, Lia pushed me. I stumbled back into a nearby crevice, feeling the cold wind on my face. It was oddly refreshing. As I fell further and further from Lia, her light grew dimmer and dimmer until it vanished completely from sight.
"Well, it doesn't matter," I thought. "If this were an anime or manga, I'd get a second chance and be granted some overpowered skill to exact my revenge." I chuckled softly to myself.
NO!
I've been overlooked my whole life. Just another orphan, just another mouth to feed. People would glance past me, past Leo, like we were nothing. We had to scrape by, surviving on scraps, always forgotten, always alone. No one ever cared, no one ever stayed—except Leo. He was the only one who never turned his back on me, the only one who stood by me no matter how bad things got. When the world twisted into this nightmare, I thought we'd finally found something more. But it's the same, isn't it?
No one ever really changes. Mia and Lia, they smiled, they laughed, they pretended we were a team… but in the end, they looked right past me again. They didn't care about me or Leo. They just saw an item and what we could do for them. And Leo… the one person who's always been with me will … will.
I've had enough! Enough of being ignored, enough of being cast aside! If this world is just another cage, another place where people use and discard you, then I'll tear it apart! I'll burn this tower to the ground and make sure there's nothing left for anyone to climb. No more games, no more betrayal.
If I survive… I'll be the one to tear down everything. I'll burn it all to ash, just like this world shattered my heart. I'll make it pick up the pieces. I'll reshape it, twist it until it remembers my name, until no one can ever forget me again.
"Leo… I'm sorry," I whispered, as I accepted my fate.
THUD