After fifteen minutes of walking through total darkness, we reached a chamber with four narrow passageways. Only one of them led to the next room, but we had no idea which. Stepping into the wrong one could be deadly.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Lars muttered, staring at the passageways.
"Listen up, everyone," Wex said. "This may sound crazy... but... we need to split into squads of six people to explore each passageway and search for the second key.
The players immediately responded, voices sharp with panic and anger.
"Are you telling us to die?!"
"Are you out of your mind?!!"
"Why not go together as a whole?!"
"What if we stumble upon a trap room, huh?!"
Wex slammed the bottom of his staff against the ground, the sound echoing through the chamber.
"Listen!" he snapped. "Every one of you knows the rules of a dungeon. We have a two-hour time limit. Once that time is up, the monsters spawn faster and in double the numbers."
He paused, eyes scanning the crowd.
"So if we don't finish this within an hour… we might as well be already dead."
I clenched my right fist. "This is a bad idea," I thought. "But what choice do we even have?"
With fifty-five minutes left on the timer, we had no option but to follow Wex's plan.
Lars and I joined a group of four other players: the high-level warrior, a female healer, a male archer, and an injured male warrior.
The Archer in Gold joined forces with an old-looking, muscular healer and four other players. The remaining players formed their own groups.
"We'll take this way!" the high-level warrior said, stepping toward the left passageway.
My group followed closely behind him as he led the way. The other teams disappeared into the remaining passageways.
As we moved deeper into the passageway, a massive coral golem appeared, blocking a green door ahead. It towered at least three times my height, its body encrusted with barnacles and rough coral. In its hands, it gripped a jagged trident that gleamed faintly under the algae's glow. And with each step it took, ripples spread through the shallow water at our feet, causing the floor to shudder beneath us. The creature's low, grinding roar echoed off the walls, vibrating through my chest.
A system window appeared above its head:
[CORAL GOLEM] - (LVL 20)
[HP]: [40/40]
"L-Level twenty??!" I shouted in my head.
The injured male warrior charged in too early like a total clown, shouting, "DEATH OR GLORY!!!"
"STOP!" Lars shouted, sprinting to intercept him, but he was too late.
The golem swung its massive trident, impaling the warrior like a skewer. He let out a scream that echoed through the chamber before shattering into fragments.
"I GOT THIS!" the high-level warrior shouted, activating a skill: Frenzy. His body glowed crimson, moving with supernatural speed as he lunged toward the coral golem.
The coral golem swung its massive trident at him, but he blocked it with his sword, sparks flying from the impact. As the golem swung again, he leapt into the air and drove his blade deep into its head.
Seeing that it was already weakened, I slipped around its side and plunged my dagger into its barnacle-covered gut, twisting hard.
"That should do a bit of damage," I thought.
The coral golem roared once, then collapsed, crumbling into chunks of coral.
"Good assist, commoner!" the high-level warrior proudly said.
"Does this guy have a superiority complex or something?" I thought. "Commoner?"
Lars tapped my back. "You looked cool back there!" he said, grinning. "You should give that move a name, even if it's not a skill."
"Thanks…" I said, scratching my head. "Giving it a name would sound goofy."
I gave him a funny look.
"Like your SUPER DUPER OMEGA FIREBALL!" I said as I swung the air with my sword, copying a mage casting a spell.
Lars pointed his wooden staff at me. Tiny flames curled at the tip.
"Say that again and I'll smite you from this world," he said, half joking but with a hard edge in his voice.
"O-oy!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up like a man under arrest. "I-I'm joking, okay? Geez."
He snorted and lowered the staff, the flame dying down. We both cracked a laugh, the brief laugh easing some of the tension around us.
"That's enough, boys! Let's move forward," the high-level warrior said, stepping ahead.
The moment we went through the green door, three level twenty Eel-Beasts slid out of the water. They were huge, their twisted bodies covered in sharp scales and jagged teeth, moving like dark, living nightmares. From the fog behind them, two level twenty Ghost Captains emerged, their cloaks swirling like smoke as they swung their sabers with deadly precision. Both of the monsters had forty percent health points.
The high-level warrior stepped forward. "You guys take care of the Ghost Captains, I'll take care of the eels!" he shouted, swinging his sword in the air. "I'll crush these weaklings!"
"I'm ready to help anytime!" the female healer said, her hands glowing with soft light. "I'll heal you whenever you get hurt!"
"OKAY, DO THAT!" the high-level warrior shouted, charging toward the Eel-Beasts.
The first Eel-Beast attacked, whipping its massive tail toward the high-level warrior.
He leapt over it, sword slicing through the air, and drove the blade straight into its head. Purple blood sprayed across the chamber as the creature thrashed, then went still. He didn't pause, eyes locking on the second Eel-Beast. "You're next, mongrel!" he yelled, charging forward.
The second Eel-Beast opened its mouth, channeling a skill: Electric Beam. Lightning danced across the water, arcing toward the warrior. He didn't hesitate, slicing its neck while it was still channeling. Once a monster channels a skill, it can't move—and he knew exactly how to exploit that.
"ONE MORE!" he shouted, swinging at the last Eel-Beast near him. But in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
"BOY!" he yelled, pointing frantically. "BEHIND YOU!"
I spun around just in time to see the third Eel-Beast lunging at me, its wide jaws snapping open. Its teeth were just inches from my face.
My eyes widened in surprise. "Y-You've got to be kidding me..."
I rolled under the Eel-Beast's body just in time, stabbing its underbelly in the process. The high-level warrior followed up, cutting its head, killing it.
The moment I regained my footing, a Ghost Captain charged at me with deadly speed.
"Oh, come on..." I muttered.
I ducked under its swing. I spun and slashed it across the shoulder area. Lars helped me, striking it with his skill: Arc Lightning. Finally, I stabbed its neck as it stumbled, and the male archer followed up with a volley of arrows, finishing it off.
"Are you alright?" the male archer asked me.
"Yeah," I replied, cracking my fingers.
"HERE COMES THE KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE!" the high-level warrior shouted, attacking the last Ghost Captain with a jump strike.
Then, we noticed another green door revealing itself from the mist after the last Ghost Captain died.
Lars crossed his arms with a smirk. "I wish that eel took a bite of your face," he said. "Then you'd look like a walking half-eaten apple."
"Oh, yeah?" I shot back, glaring at him. "Well, I wish that coral golem from earlier had impaled your butt instead!"
Lars gasped dramatically, pointing his staff at me. "You dare speak such cursed words?"
"Can you stop saying cringe words..." I said, frowning.
"That's enough, boys!" the high-level warrior said, his voice firm but amused as he pointed his sword toward the green door. "Save the bickering for later. We don't have time to lose, let's move!"
Lars and I exchanged a glance, both letting out a small laugh before following behind him.
As we passed through the green door. We stumbled upon an old ballroom. It was vast and open, with a high ceiling that seemed far above.
Tall windows ran along the walls, their glass streaked with dirt and age, letting in thin shafts of light that cut across the water. The walls were decorated with faded tapestries, worn and drooping, showing scenes of battles, dances, and gatherings from long ago. Wooden panels framed the tapestries, though some were cracked and peeling with age.
Its floor was covered in knee-high water, smooth enough to reflect the walls and chandelier like a mirror. A large, old chandelier hung in the center, made of metal and glass, swinging slightly as if caught by a breeze.
The overall space felt grand but abandoned, with the water giving the room a strange calm. Reflections doubled the windows, the chandelier, and the tapestries, making the room feel larger than it really was.
Twenty Spectral Pirates floated in midair, circling the chandelier in a slow, haunting waltz. Their movements were elegant, almost human. A tinny, distant music box's haunting melody echoed from nowhere.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." I said quietly, my eyes fixed on the Spectral Pirates above.
The male archer gave me a reassuring pat on the back. "Relax, we got this," he said with a confident grin, drawing an arrow from his quiver.
I took a breath and nodded, tightening my grip on my dagger. "Yeah… we got this."
The moment we took another step forward, the music abruptly stopped.
"What happened to the music?" Lars said, glancing nervously around.
The Spectral Pirates froze mid-dance. Their hollow, eyeless faces slowly turned toward us. Then, in perfect silence, they drew their weapons and leapt.
"GET READY!" I shouted. "THEY'RE GONNA ATTACK!"
The music box began to play again as the Spectral Pirates crashed to the floor, water splashing around their boots.
And above their heads, a system window appeared:
[SPECTRAL PIRATE] — (LEVEL 25)
[HP]: [50/50]
The Spectral Pirates raised their cutlasses high, letting out ghostly shrieks as they charged straight at us.
"Attack!!!" the high-level warrior shouted, charging toward the monsters.
The battle began.
The female healer assisted the high-level warrior as he fought a dozen Spectral Pirates. The male archer, Lars, and I handled the rest.
Then across the room, a Spectral Pirate jumped out from behind a cracked wooden crate. It hurled a rusted chain straight at us, the links snapping through the air like a whip.
"Hey, watch out!" the male archer yelled at me as he blocked off a Spectral Pirate's strike. "Behind you!"
"Shit!" I shouted, ducking low as the chain sliced through the air just above my head, whistling past my ear.
The tip of the chain scraped across a female healer's shoulder, ripping her sleeve and drawing a thin line of blood. She gasped and stumbled back.
The high-level warrior lunged at the Spectral Pirate who threw the chain.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!" he shouted as his sword came down with a heavy swing that shattered the pirate into mist.
Lars' voice rang out behind me, his staff glowing dimly as he fended off a Spectral Pirate.
"Shit, I'm almost out of mana!" he shouted, panic filling his voice.
"Didn't you bring an MP potion?!" I said, slicing through a Spectral Pirate's chest.
When I turned to him, my heart froze. A Spectral Pirate had drifted up behind him like a shadow rising out of fog. My eyes widened and my hand went cold. And before I could shout or say anything... its cutlass slid straight through his back.
"Lars—NO!" I screamed, my voice cracking. My arms shot out, but I was too late.
Lars gasped, his eyes wide and glassy, trembling as he tried to stay upright. "...That hurts," he whispered weakly, his body shuddering, before collapsing to the wet floor with a heavy thud. Water splashed up around him.
"No..." I whispered as my knees hit the ground. The world suddenly slowed in my perspective. The sound faded. Everything felt distant, except the quiet cracking as Lars shattered into fragments, like glass dropped in water.
Something inside me snapped.
I surged into motion. No hesitation. No thought. Just rage and reflex.
I screamed and charged at three weakened Spectral Pirates. Water splashed around my legs as I moved forward. I slashed one across the chest, then faked a strike toward another before spinning low and driving my dagger deep into its torso.
Another full health Spectral Pirate swung its blade at me. I ducked under its blade and countered with a quick slash across its midsection, then turned and kicked away a third one that was sneaking from behind. And as I continued battling them, their blades grazed my arms and tore through my tunic, but I barely felt it. My arms burned, my legs ached, but my mind was empty. Only the fight existed.
The high-level warrior ran through the shallow water to try and help me. "H-Hey!" he shouted, raising his sword. "Fall back! You'll get yourself killed!"
I didn't care. I couldn't stop. Every movement felt natural, almost automatic, like my body was fighting on instinct alone.
Another weakened Spectral Pirate swung too close as I finished killing the two Spectral Pirates. I ducked beneath its blade and drove my dagger deep into its chest, twisting hard before ripping it free as it dissolved into swirling mist.
The high-level warrior slowed to a halt, lowering his sword as he watched me in stunned silence.
"T-This guy's in a flow state…" he muttered, disbelief and awe mixing in his voice.
The female healer's eyes widened as she watched me move.
"What level is he?" she said. "He's… moving like a high-level player!"
Then, the music box fell silent when the last spectral pirate let out a hollow groan as my dagger pierced its chest. Its body flickered and slowly dissolved into the mist.
Only the sound of water dripping from my dagger remained.
I fell to my knees as a system window appeared in front of me:
[WARNING]: [LOW HP!]
[HP]: [12/100]
[MP]: [100/100]
"Low HP, huh?" I thought. "I should've been better off dead."
I was gasping for breath and drenched from the water when the high-level warrior approached and placed his hand on my right shoulder.
"Boy, you're no longer a commoner," he said with a proud grin. "You've ascended into knighthood!"
I snapped my head toward him, eyes sharp.
"Say one more word," I growled, "and I'll slit your throat."
His smile vanished.
"Leave the guy alone," the male archer said quietly, lowering his bow as he looked at the high-level warrior. "He just lost a friend."
The high-level warrior's hand slipped away from my shoulder.
"I-I'm sorry..." he said. "I shouldn't have done that."
Then, a flashback hit me like a punch.
It was Lars gasping as the Spectral Pirate's blade ran through him, his body shattering into light. The image burned in my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't push it away.
"That's why I hate making friends," I thought, my chest tightening. "I don't like the idea of leaving them, or being left behind. It just hurts too much."
A single tear slid down my cheek.
And I let it fall.
The female healer knelt beside me. She uncorked a small mana potion and drank it in one swift motion. A soft blue glow spread from her hands as she activated a skill: Lesser Healing. Warmth flowed through my body, restoring my health to seventy percent.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you," she said, her voice steady and soft, her eyes locking onto mine. "Let's avenge your friend's death by clearing this dungeon."
I gave a single, slow nod.
A stone pedestal slowly emerged from the corner of the room, grinding against the floor with a deep, echoing rumble. Atop it rested the green key, bathed in a faint, eerie glow that flickered across the damp stone walls. Its light seemed to pulse like a heartbeat, drawing every eye in the room toward it.
A system window appeared above it:
[YOU HAVE ACQUIRED]: [GREEN KEY]
Only four of us remained alive as we left the chamber.