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Chapter 8: The Cost of Trust
The Crumbling Archives loomed before them, a towering structure of cracked stone and fading runes. Faint, otherworldly light seeped from its seams, pulsing with a steady rhythm like a beating heart. The dungeon had a reputation for being unpredictable. Most F-Rank dungeons were straightforward, but the Archives' traps were infamous.
Kai stood at the entrance with his new teammates—Arin, Celia, and Darius. Despite their confidence, he couldn't shake the unease building in his chest.
"We'll be fine," Arin said, flashing his usual grin. "Just stick to the plan: Darius tanks, Celia handles ranged attacks, and Kai and I take care of the close-range threats."
Kai nodded but remained quiet. Something about the dungeon felt… wrong.
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The Descent
The inside of the Archives was a labyrinth of twisting hallways and collapsing ceilings. Runes etched into the walls glowed faintly, casting eerie shadows that seemed to move on their own. The air was thick with the smell of damp stone and decay.
Their first few encounters were manageable—skeletal guardians wielding rusted weapons, slow-moving and predictable.
"Too easy," Arin muttered as he plunged his blade into the final skeleton of a group.
"Don't get cocky," Celia warned, scanning the room. Her eyes lingered on a glowing pedestal in the corner. "That's not a normal trap."
Kai approached the pedestal cautiously. The rune atop it pulsed with energy, and a faint humming sound grew louder as he neared.
"It's a trigger," he said, recognizing the setup. "If we activate it, the dungeon will shift. But it might also open the path forward."
"Do it," Darius said, gripping his shield tightly. "We're ready."
Kai hesitated but pressed his hand to the pedestal. The rune flared brightly, and the entire room began to shake.
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The True Challenge
The walls crumbled, revealing a massive chamber filled with towering statues. Each statue held a weapon—swords, spears, axes—all glowing faintly with magical energy.
As the team stepped forward, the statues' eyes lit up, and one by one, they began to move.
"Boss fight," Arin said, grinning. "Let's take them down!"
The battle began.
Darius charged ahead, drawing the statues' attention as their weapons crashed against his shield. Celia unleashed a barrage of spells, fireballs and frost bolts streaking through the air. Arin weaved through the chaos, striking at the statues' joints to slow them down.
Kai fought alongside him, using his copied abilities—a defensive barrier from Darius and a precision strike technique from Arin. Together, they managed to topple three of the statues.
But then the room shifted again.
The floor beneath them glowed with new runes, and a wave of energy pulsed outward, knocking everyone to the ground.
"What the—" Kai started, but his words were cut off as one of the statues suddenly moved faster than before, its axe cleaving through the air toward Arin.
The blow was swift and merciless. Arin's grin disappeared as his body collapsed in a flash of red particles, his health bar depleting instantly.
"Arin!" Celia screamed, but another statue's spear impaled her before she could react.
Kai's heart pounded as he watched his teammates fall, their avatars dissolving into fragments of light.
"No!" he shouted, lunging toward Darius, who was fending off three statues at once.
"Run!" Darius bellowed, his shield cracking under the pressure of repeated blows. "Get out of here!"
Kai hesitated, torn between fleeing and helping. But before he could decide, a statue's hammer smashed into Darius, sending him flying into a wall. His health bar hit zero, and he vanished like the others.
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The Escape
Kai was alone. The statues turned their glowing eyes toward him, their movements deliberate and menacing.
His mind raced. He couldn't fight them—not alone. His copied abilities were already fading, and his own skills weren't enough to take down this many enemies.
With no other choice, he turned and ran.
The maze-like hallways of the Archives were a blur as he sprinted, his breath ragged and his body trembling. Traps activated as he passed, flames erupting from walls and blades swinging from hidden alcoves. He narrowly avoided them, his health bar steadily depleting.
Finally, he saw the exit—a faint light at the end of the corridor. Summoning every ounce of strength, he dove through the doorway just as a spear whistled past his head, embedding itself in the wall.
The dungeon's entrance sealed behind him, and Kai collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
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The Consequences
Kai woke up in the real world, the sterile white walls of a hospital room replacing the dark corridors of the Archives. His body ached, and his vision was blurry.
"You're lucky to be alive," a nurse said, her voice stern but relieved. "Your vitals were all over the place when you logged out. If you'd stayed in there any longer..."
Kai didn't respond. The weight of what had happened in the dungeon pressed down on him. Arin, Celia, Darius—they were gone.
A notification flashed in his vision, projected by the neural interface:
[SYSTEM WARNING: Your party has been eliminated. Revive penalties applied.]
Their avatars could respawn, but the penalty was severe—loss of levels, gear durability, and progress. And for Kai, the failure cut even deeper. He had trusted them, fought alongside them, and now they were paying the price for his choices.
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A Grim Resolve
As the nurse adjusted his IV, Kai clenched his fists.
"This isn't over," he muttered.
The system's warning about the Demon King's influence echoed in his mind. The dungeon's behavior had been abnormal, far beyond what was expected of an F-Rank challenge. Something was wrong with Elythia, and it was getting worse.
Kai's path forward was clear. He had to get stronger—strong enough to survive the dangers ahead, strong enough to protect those who fought beside him.
And if the Demon King thought he could corrupt this world, Kai would be there to stop him.
Even if it cost him everything.
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Chapter 9: The Cost of Trust