The monsters twisted and writhed as they slowly moved toward Dane.
The circle tightened.
Blood-red arms stretched toward him.
Just before they could touch—
A streak of blue light tore through the darkness, flashing across Dane's vision.
Before the blood-colored creatures could even turn—
A flawless slash had already passed through them.
The air trembled.
Then—
their dark red bodies split apart.
The cut was so thin that no one noticed it at first.
A moment later—
their bodies slid apart.
Thud.
Thud.
Blood splashed across the ground.
Within seconds—
everything collapsed into pools of red.
Amid the pile of corpses—
a figure dropped down.
Boots touched the ground.
The soft flesh beneath them sank inward.
The young man straightened.
His eyes swept quickly across the battlefield.
Around his body was a dome-shaped energy shield, wrapping him like the shell of a turtle.
Fragments of energy rippled across its surface with every movement he made.
In his hand—
a long black sword, smooth like obsidian.
But blue light flickered around it.
Like a thin layer of energy armor wrapped along the blade.
The young man lightly turned his wrist.
The sword drew a circle through the air.
Blood sprayed from the blade—
as if he had just flicked it away.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The energy gathering within the sword began to glow brighter.
He lowered his center of gravity.
A combat stance.
And burst forward.
The young man charged straight into the swarm of monsters.
His blade swept out.
So fast the eye could barely follow.
Every strike dragged a trail of blue light behind it, decorating each slash like a stroke of elegant calligraphy.
Any creature within reach was cut down instantly.
They fell like harvested grass.
None had time to react.
None had time to scream.
In just a few seconds—
a path of blood had been carved open.
The young man stopped in front of Dane.
He bent down.
Quickly pulled Dane's arm over his shoulder.
Dane's body was heavy.
His Knight Armor was soaked in blood.
Damn… he's this badly injured.
The young man raised his left hand, the watch on his wrist lighting up.
Then he shouted.
"Alpha! Provide covering fire! I'm pulling out!"
His voice rang across the Battlefield.
Dane forced his eyes open.
His eyelids felt like lead.
His vision blurred.
But he could still make out the face in front of him.
"…Kai…"
"You damn brat… disobeying orders… again…"
A laugh sounded right beside Kai's ear.
Kai Mercer turned his head.
His eyes lit up.
"Yo, boss."
Then he winked.
"Ah, wait."
"Commander."
Kai glanced quickly over Dane's wounds.
Those injuries weren't light.
And he can still curse at me?
Kai clicked his tongue.
"I just went to the bathroom and got lost on the way here."
"No disobeying orders."
"I'll submit the report later."
He flashed a bright grin.
"Right now…"
Kai twisted his sword.
The blade gave off a faint glow.
He swung it in a horizontal arc.
A blue slash shot straight forward.
Light cut through the air.
The monsters in front of him were split in half.
A path of retreat opened.
Kai crouched.
Then hoisted Dane onto his back.
The weight made him pause for a moment.
Pretty heavy, boss.
But there's no other choice.
Let's go.
Then he launched forward.
Kai's body shot toward the open space ahead.
Fast as an arrow.
At that moment—
the sky above them suddenly blazed with light.
Over their heads—
countless spears of light began to fall.
They slammed straight into the gigantic body of the creature behind them.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Each strike shook the ground violently.
The entire sky lit up.
Kai gritted his teeth.
"Hold on tight, boss!"
He accelerated.
Carrying Dane, he dashed straight through the rain of light.
Behind them—
the gigantic monster let out a roar.
The sound shook the air itself.
A long roar.
Filled with pain.
But then—
the sound… suddenly stopped.
Kai frowned.
A cold sensation ran down his spine.
Something… wasn't right.
The spears of light were still falling.
But—
there were no more impacts.
No more sounds of flesh being pierced.
No more roars.
Only light.
Dane slowly forced his eyes open.
"…Kai…"
Kai turned his head.
And in that moment—
he saw it.
At the center of the rain of light,
the thing that should have been the monster's corpse—
had vanished.
Only a pitch-black void remained.
Right then—
the watch on Kai's wrist crackled with static.
A voice came through.
"Alpha-1 reporting… withdraw from that location immediately…"
The signal was heavily distorted.
"…the creature is undergoing transformation… it—"
The voice suddenly cut off.
The transmission died.
Kai froze.
"It… what?"
One second of silence.
Then—
Kai slowly turned his head.
Behind the rain of light—
a colossal shadow began to rise.
Like a black tide.
Within that darkness—
two red points slowly opened.
Kai froze.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
———
Darkness stretched across the long tunnel ahead.
The air was damp and cold. The smell of wet earth mixed with rusted metal in the narrow space. Footsteps echoed in dry, hollow beats against the stone floor.
Lam Huy Trường raised a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He continued moving deeper into the tunnel.
His fingers brushed against the wall—cold and wet. His breathing was heavy. His chest rose and fell as if he had just finished a long run.
He glanced at the mission panel floating before his eyes.
30 minutes had passed.
His eyelid twitched.
No way.
He knew this route well.
Yet he was still slow.
It felt like he was participating in a long-distance walking competition…
and currently sitting second to last on the leaderboard.
All because of this damn stamina.
He let out a long breath.
"Damn it… when I get the chance, I really need to train my endurance."
Lam Huy Trường tightened his fist.
This professor's body…
was truly too weak.
Just a short distance through the tunnel and he was already breathing like a dying animal.
He gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.
No matter what, he had to speed up.
He never thought that one day time would become the biggest obstacle on his path to clearing this game.
Footsteps echoed off the stone walls.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
His breathing blended into the darkness.
When he reached a bend in the tunnel, Lam Huy Trường suddenly stopped.
A tired smile appeared on his face.
Finally… he had arrived.
Sweat ran down his temples, soaking into the collar of his shirt. Yet at this point, he barely felt tired anymore.
Finally—
Just then.
The watch on his wrist vibrated.
The AI's voice came through, urgent.
"Professor… I'm detecting a Thermal Fluctuation."
Lam Huy Trường froze.
"…Are you messing with me again?"
"No. This signal is much clearer than before."
"Stop joking. How could there be—"
The AI's voice turned firm.
"It appears to be… a human."
Lam Huy Trường shot to his feet.
"…What?"
The AI continued.
"It seems there's someone ahead."
The air around him suddenly felt colder.
A thought flashed through Lam Huy Trường's mind.
Impossible.
Aside from him…
who else knew about this tunnel?