Silver Fangs
The room's interior was shaped like a huge dome. It seemed about as wide as a gladiator's arena, and its dark walls climbed into the air and curled high above everyone's heads. Murky water spewed out from holes in the ceiling, sprinkling an acidic debuff onto every player in the domain.
In the centre of the dimly lit dungeon, the air was thick with the stench of acidic fumes, and Kikt_Zero1 stood at the forefront, his silver hair gleaming faintly in the clouded light. His gaze was fixed on a monstrous water hydra that had already claimed the lives of three of his guild members. He knew he couldn't afford to lose any more.
Right after all the players had entered the room and got into formation, the doors behind them sealed shut, locking them in with the hydra until they won or died trying.
The players watched in horror as the Hydra titan slowly crawled towards them along the ceiling of the room. It had a snake-like tongue, and its body was coated in transparent scales that looked to be made of water.
All of a sudden, it poised itself to attack and spread its leathery wings wide before diving straight into the ground, instantly slamming its large body against three players, dropping their life points to zero as they were flung back from the attack.
Their lifeless bodies landed on the cold, hard stone floor and shattered like shards of glass seconds later. Their death sounds rang out and overlapped one another.
The hydra monster, titled the
Suddenly, it raised one of its many heads and charged at another group of players. The players stumbled over themselves in an attempt to flee as Xyrath let out a thunderous roar.
"Eeeeek!!" One of the players cried.
"Shit!" yelled another. "Everyone! Fall back!"
One of the monster's black tails began to harden, transforming the once fluid appendage into a spiked iron pillar before raising it high into the air once again.
Just before the tail came down on the group, a figure jumped right above the steel-like limb. It was Kikt_Zero1 who dashed straight above the beast's incoming attack.
He quickly rotated his body three times in the span of half a second to generate maximum momentum before delivering a midair axe kick. His foot slammed against the steel limb, sending out an ear-rending sound of impact and a shower of toxic goo.
"Holy shit! He countered it without using his Leere! That's insane!" One of the guild members was amazed by his raw display of power.
However, after the successful counter of the beast's attack, two other tails emerged from behind its enormous, watery frame and lunged both towards Kikt_Zero1. While he managed to knock back the first strike, the Hydra Boss' right limb swung down at Kikt_Zero1, who was still regaining his balance in the air.
"Dammit, Kitan! Another one is coming!" Yelled a voice from below.
"Tsk," he mumbled, obviously irritated at the commentary from below. "Trick," he mumbled as his body began to split in two, an exact copy of himself emerging from his original body.
"The ability Trick is part of a skill tree that can be utilised without the activation of a Leere; only those who have fully mastered stealth combat can unlock this skill. The ability allows the user to make an identical copy of themselves with limited movement, as they aren't capable of moving."
Kikt_Zero1 grabbed onto his clone, using it as a foothold, before leaping off of its stomach with full force. He quickly propelled himself straight up behind the beast's many tails, changing his trajectory to avoid the attack, before grabbing onto the stone ceiling of the domain.
With swift and decisive action, he dashed right above the beast without it noticing; not even his guildmates knew exactly what happened. All they could do was stand there with their mouths agape in awe.
Kikt_Zero1's fingers flew across his face as he began to trace an invisible circle. The circle glowed for a split second before releasing a blinding light that stunned the hydra.
He shoved his whole arm straight into the glowing magic circle in front of him and began to pull back. He struggled as if he were grabbing onto a heavy object in thin air. Eventually, he had to rotate his whole body to pull out what seemed to be a gigantic white object.
"Behold, this is
"Now go, Viper, devour."
He whispered, slashing the weapon horizontally towards the boss' midsection and severing two of its heads. The weapon moved as if it had a mind of its own, with the edge of the blade twisting and coiling organically. It was a demon forged in the depths of virtual reality, as if the Leere itself were a monster.
With its remaining head, the beast roared at Kikt_Zero1 before attempting a direct blast at him. As it charged up its
However, Kikt_Zero1's Leere struck first; it compressed itself into the hilt as if it were a spring before extending straight out, intercepting the attack with inhuman precision that defied its inanimate nature. The serpent's head coiled rapidly around the hydra's lower jaw, shutting off the charging sequence and negating the incoming attack.
With a swift movement, Kikt_Zero1 dove downward, his Leere sinking its fangs into the boss's flank as it sundered everything apart. He dragged the monstrous creature across the domain, gashing out its remaining head before flinging its liquid form into the dungeon's ceiling.
The once-three-headed beast was now reduced to a few lifeless limbs as its headless body slid down the worn-out walls.
The water hydra's remaining health finally disappeared, and its mutilated corpse exploded into tiny, glimmering shards.
A collective cheer erupted throughout the room; however, it was immediately shot down by the sound of Kikt_Zero1 crashing down through the floor, creating a small crater where his body lay.
"Shut up! All of you." He said, letting out a tired growl from the dust and debris. "That was just the first Delve boss, and we've already lost six people."
"Sorry, Kitan," one of the members apologised.
"Don't call me by that name. I'm no longer that person." Zero's voice was a low growl, each word clipped and deliberate. He turned sharply, eyes narrowing as he took a step toward the labyrinth's door. His hand gripped the handle, slamming it open with a force that echoed in the silence.
A quick footstep sounded behind him, followed by a hesitant voice. "Hey, Kit—I mean, Zero. What about that girl?"
Zero stopped, his back rigid, his breath catching before he turned his head slightly. His voice came out flat, lifeless. "We need to focus on clearing the game. The longer we stay here, the longer she will suffer. If she's here on the first floor, it's safer than being on the second."
There was no pause, no warmth in his words, just a cold practicality that filled the space. He continued without looking back. "Hurry up. We clear the game. If she's there, then we find her."
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SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: THE FIRST DELVE BOSS HAS BEEN CONQUERED BY THE JAPANESE TEAM.
SYSTEM REMINDER: ONLY THE GULID THAT DEFEATS THE FINAL BOSS CAN LEAVE THE GAME. ALL OTHER PATICIPATIONS WILL NOT BE AUTOMATICALLY LOGGED OUT WHEN THE GAME IS CLEAR.
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Tang-Ji shivered, half regretting how she forgot to purchase a warm jacket and half debating asking Kazami for his.
The walk through the snowfield was completely silent, with a lingering sense of tension hanging in the air after she and Kazami found out about Ukiyo's true identity. 'She had been deceiving us the whole time,' Tang-Ji thought silently.
"She must have had a good reason to do so. Right?"
"Hey… Ukiyo. Thank you for saving us." Tang-Ji said as the fumes escaped her mouth.
Ukiyo did not reply, choosing to remain silent. She has not said a single word for the past five hours, and neither has Kazami, who was trailing behind. The situation has now become awkward and dire for everyone. In their minds, they knew that they were running out of time.
'If what the system reminder said was true, then we need to form a guild right away. I hope Kang and Azuki-san are alright. Our best bet is that they are heading towards the first Devle teleporter. Fuck! This has to be a joke or a sick, twisted dream.' Kazami thought to himself, clenching his fist in silence.
The journey through the snowy area continued. Despite their discomfort, the cold weather was somewhat refreshing and delightful to Tang-Ji.
'I must have gotten used to it since we've been in the cold for so long,' she thought.
Tang-Ji held out her hand, palm up, and watched curiously as a snowflake drifted down and melted on her hand. It had been a while since she had stopped to watch the snow.
Around her, everything was covered in all shades of white, with a perfect field of snow extending as far as her eye could see.
Ukiyo took the lead, leaving a delicate path in the fine drifts behind her. Her once-pure white garment now showed signs of their tough trek.
It showed evidence of wear and tear at the base, and it was fortunate that no lethal poison got on it since otherwise it would have been entirely destroyed. However, despite the rough condition that it was in, Tang-Ji couldn't help but admire Ukiyo's beauty in her dress.
She continued to stroll along the icy path, trailing behind Ukiyo, who was further ahead. Tang-Ji was beginning to have an aching feeling in her chest that made her want to cry.
This feeling was strange to her; she didn't know why she felt the sudden, intense urge to cry when she thought about Ukiyo. It was as if she had known her for many lifetimes.
Tang-Ji looked down to see Ukiyo's trail of footprints in front of her. She attempted to walk inside Ukiyo's footprints, but the print was too small, perhaps half of Tang-Ji's own shoe.
As she followed the string of footprints that slowly led to the barren polar desert, the trail began to curve, veering into a grove of trees that grew along the perimeter of the forest.
The trees were a dark, leafy green but had been caught in the snowfall as well, leaving their edges sprinkled with bits of shimmering white. They soon discovered the stunning beauty ahead to be covered in a veil of mist as it slowly began to accumulate around them.
Tang-Ji finally reached the end of the footprint trail and looked up from the ground disappointedly. Her eyes widened as she was greeted with a large wooden sign that hung over the entrance to the forest.
The sign read, "The Forest of Wavering Green Giants."
"Follow me and avoid getting lost in the mist." Ukiyo called.
"I know a shorter route out of this place. After that, we should arrive at the first Delve."
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Deep within the Forest of Wavering Green Titans, the path was dark and eerie, with little to no sunlight breaking through the thick, dense treeline. Their encounter with a giant NPC aided them in travelling. Sitting on the top of the giant's back, Emiko, Ji-Soon, and Kompto could be seen trekking through the mist.
"Are we there yet?" Emiko said it for the fifteenth time. Kompto, who was sitting right next to her on the giant's back, was becoming visibly frustrated as his brow furrowed.
"Right… because I know exactly when we'll get there," he said sarcastically.
"Could you shut up? Gosh, men are so annoying and dumb," she huffed, now crossing her arms.
"Ah yes, because yelling in the middle of the forest is considered a smart thing to do," he jeered as a smirk crept onto his face.
"WHY YOU!"
"Wow, it seems like you two are getting along." Ji-Soon sighed, now tired of the constant, childish bickering.
"Not funny, Ji-Soon." Emiko groaned. "You're starting to sound dry with these boooring comments you've been making. In fact, you're starting to sound like Tang-Ji. No girls would be into you."
Ji-Soon chuckled. "Yeah, I won't be attracting girls like you."
From the sidelines, Kompto chimed in with a smirk, "Talking behind someone's back? It sounds like you're all just a bunch of close-knit friends. After all, they say, if you're not getting the gossip, you're not in the loop!"
"Shut up!" Ji-Soon and Emiko both responded simultaneously.
The group continued making snide remarks at each other for a while before noticing the sunlight slowly began to trickle in from gaps in the trees.