Athoi was desperately holding onto Nabil, but the invisible hands' pulling pressure was overwhelming, dragging him deeper into the water. She tried to teleport, but her ability was inexplicably blocked.
As soon as they were fully submerged, the bloody water pressure intensified, dragging them further into the abyss.
Athoi's heart pounded with dread as she noticed the sinister box in the depths.
The box suddenly sprang open, revealing two enormous, shadowy hands. One hand grabbed Nabil by the throat, and the other did the same to Athoi. The hands yanked them violently, and the box transformed into a grotesque, gaping maw. With a sickening ease, it swallowed Nabil whole.
Athoi's fear surged as she watched the box devour Nabil. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her eyes wide with terror. Before she could react, the box lunged at her, engulfing her in its dark, cavernous mouth.
[The mouth was grotesquely larger than their bodies, a nightmare of monstrous proportions.]
------
A man with gray hair and skin of a bright brown shade, dressed in obsidian armor, soared through the sky, shattering the sound barrier. His dark eyes were cold, indifferent.
< 20 billion coins have been added to your system
Total coins: 20 billion, 11 million, 120 thousand, 421 >
"Finally, it took them too long to die," the man thought as he landed atop a massive tree. "I hoped to max out my stats with these coins, but now this new pain won't let me do that."
< Player Name - Utso88 >
------
Leon and Whfi remained blissfully unaware, deep in slumber. The midnight hour passed, and they were oblivious to the fact that Athoi and Nabil were no longer with them.
-----
Athoi found herself on a stone road leading to a foreboding structure. The building emitted a dark aura, shrouded in smoke. The sky was blood-red, and ominous black clouds loomed. Before her stood a metal door, and beyond it, the road turned to blood and skeletal remains.
The road continued to a bridge spanning a pool of molten lava.
On the other side of the bridge stood a massive castle made of red bricks, each one seemingly weeping blood.
The sky held two moons: one crimson and the other white, marred by a disturbing blood-red drawing of a monstrous figure assaulting an elf.
As she witnessed this horrifying scene, Athoi's face contorted with fear. The grotesque reality before her mirrored the disturbing imagery on the moons.
Monsters were torturing elves, some boiling them alive, others assaulting them, and some devouring them. Athoi's terror was palpable.
"Is this hell?" she wondered, her voice trembling.
She glanced to her side and saw Nabil lying beside her, his face smeared with blood. His ruby armor remained, though his helmet lay some distance away.
Athoi knelt beside him, checking his pulse. "Thank god… he's still breathing."
Desperately, she shook Nabil's body, her voice a whisper of urgency. "Nabil… wake up. Please, wake up."
Nabil remained unresponsive. Athoi tried to access her system, but it wouldn't open. Frantically, she pressed the inventory button, relieved when it appeared.
"At least the inventory works, but the system is down," she thought, her anxiety rising.
She noticed the purple energy field blocking their path. It resembled a portal but was secured with a lock requiring a key. Athoi suspected this was their way out, or perhaps the continental dimension they had sought.
Nabil stirred, opening his eyes to the nightmarish landscape. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice laden with confusion and fear.
Athoi turned to him, her expression a mix of relief and apprehension. "Oh, Nabil. It's good you're awake. Are you okay?"
Nabil scanned their surroundings, his voice shaky. "Yeah, I'm fine. But where are we? What's going on behind that gate?"
"I'm not sure," Athoi admitted, her fear evident. "I think we're in the continental dimension."
"How did we get here?" Nabil asked, his confusion deepening. "The last thing I remember was being pulled underwater."
"I think something pulled me too. Then the box opened, turned into a monstrous mouth, and swallowed us," Athoi explained, her voice trembling.
"So the box was a gateway?" Nabil questioned, his mind racing.
"Maybe," Athoi replied. "I don't remember much after that."
Just then, two red crows landed in front of them, each carrying a piece of paper in their beaks. They dropped the papers at Athoi's feet before flying off into the darkness.
"Good hell day, survivors. Welcome to the Grounded Dimension. It's the 5th no dimension and the last dimension of the continent, Humusa," croaked one crow.
"5th no dimension? What about the 1st to 4th?" asked Nabil, but the crow ignored him.
Another crow continued, "Here, your tasks are given in this paper. If you can complete these tasks, you will get the crystal you are looking for. Please read this and then enter the gate." Saying this, the crow dropped the papers on the ground and disappeared.
"As expected, we are in a different dimension," said Athoi.
Nabil picked up the paper and read aloud:
---
Dimension Details:
- Dimension Name:Grounded Dimension (Funha)
- Dimension Difficulty:Hard
- Survival Rate:13% (Based on players' situation)
- Rank: A
Rewards:
- 50 million Coin (Excluding Demon killing coins)
- Golden Apple
- Red Crystal (H-5)
- Bedrock (12 pieces)
- Heart of Demon (1)
- Mythic Tools (Uncraftable)
- Demon's Wings (1)
- Vortex Potion
- +12 Others
Info:-
To get out of the dimension, you have to survive and clear all castles, saving elves. Saving elves is optional, but after saving elves, they will drop items that can help you survive.
Saving elves is optional, but killing demons is necessary. You have to clear rooms. Every room has a boss, so you have to kill the boss to get the key to upper or lower rooms. There are 10 rooms in each castle, 5 underground and 5 upstairs.
Room no. 01 is the room with the weakest demon, and room no. 10 is the strongest demon. Room no. 01 is the deepest underground, and the ground-level room is room no. 05.
After clearing a castle, the door to the next castle will open, and every next castle is more dangerous than the previous one.
After all the castles are cleared and after collecting all the final bosses' hearts, you will be able to spawn the final boss of the dimension. Killing the boss will give you the crystal you need.
Slots:
- A
- N
- __
- __
- __
- [Three slots remaining]
- [Player 01: Athoi, Level 60]
- [Player 02: Nabil, Level 55]
- [Player 03: None]
- [Player 04: None]
- [Player 05: None]
---
Nabil finished reading and looked up to see Athoi crying.
"What happened? Why are you crying?" asked Nabil, his voice softening.
Athoi looked at Nabil, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to die here. Didn't you see how they are torturing the elves? And the paper says our survival rate is 13%. This is too low, which means I will die here."
Nabil sighed, "Oh."
"Aren't you scared?" asked Athoi, her voice trembling.
"Yeah, I am, but not much. I've survived a 5% survival rate, so this feels way better. Also, I lost my hope of survival long ago, on day 5," said Nabil.
"5%? A 5% survival rate?" asked Athoi, her eyes widening.
"Yeah, the time I was in the boat, my survival rate was 5% or something like that. Can't remember the exact number," said Nabil, trying to recall.
"Oh, but I am scared. My lowest survival rate was about 30%, when I was almost beaten by those guys," said Athoi, shuddering at the memory.
"Don't worry, we can make a way out of this. We have to believe that we can," said Nabil, trying to reassure her.
"That's what I wanted to hear," said Athoi, wiping her tears.
Nabil picked up his helmet, wore it, and drew his sword. "Let's get inside. We can do it," he said confidently.
Athoi took out her sword and said, "When I first saw you, I didn't expect that you have this kind of personality. You look fearless."
"No, I am not. I am scared too, but I am more scared of humans than anything. I am scared, but when I am too scared, I can't even express my feelings," said Nabil.
"Oh... By the way, don't die and don't let me die. I will do the same," said Athoi, giving him a determined look.
"Yeah," said Nabil. He pushed the rod door and entered the area, Athoi following close behind.
As soon as they stepped inside the gate, monsters with wings started at them. Athoi's face became serious immediately.
"We have to clear them. If we avoid them, this won't work," said Nabil.
"Yeah, I know," replied Athoi, gripping her sword tightly.
The monsters stared at them for a moment, then resumed their activities.
"They didn't attack us," said Athoi, puzzled.
"I think they won't..." Nabil began, but at that moment, an elf who was being raped screamed and said something in Elvish language.
Seeing this, Athoi attacked the monster with her sword, but it didn't move. Her attack passed through the monster's head, revealing it to be a hologram.
"What just happened?" asked Nabil, bewildered.
"I have no idea," replied Athoi.
Nabil reached toward another monster and touched it, confirming it was also a hologram. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked, frustration evident in his voice.
"No, it looks like it's showing how to attack them and giving instructions," said Nabil.
"How do you know?" asked Athoi.
Nabil looked down at the hologram's leg and picked up a paper. "Look, it's a paper titled 'Instructions'."
Athoi, seeing this, noticed a paper under the elf's leg. She picked it up and began to read.