Second Test [The Maze (2)]

The girl moved like a blade through water... smooth, effortless, precise. Her dual cyber daggers flashed under the dim, flickering maze lights, slicing through the AI-controlled zombies as if they were nothing more than paper targets. Yet, for every zombie she cut down, three more seemed to rise from the shadows, their glowing eyes a reminder of their unrelenting programming.

Something was wrong.

They kept coming, an endless tide, as though the system was deliberately stacking the odds against her. She dodged another lunge, her movements calm and calculated, but even she couldn't ignore the growing pressure.

I need to leave here, she thought, her green eyes, dull and lifeless, scanning the surroundings for an escape route.

Then it came... the notification.

[First Kill]

[Eliminate The 4 Maze Crawlers]

[Remaining (3/4)]

Someone had taken down a Maze Crawler.

Her lips didn't twitch, her expression didn't change, but she felt the faintest flicker of irritation. She should have been the first. She had wounded one earlier, but the endless horde of AI-controlled zombies had blocked her from delivering the final blow.

Suddenly, the swarm around her froze mid-motion.

Every zombie stopped, as though held in place by an unseen force. Then, unnervingly, they began to convulse. Their bodies jerked and twisted, emitting static-like sounds as they crashed into one another.

They're merging.

The realization hit as the mass of writhing bodies fused into a colossal, grotesque monstrosity... a single, towering AI-controlled zombie with multiple heads, arms, and an amalgamation of limbs protruding at unnatural angles.

[Difficulty Increase +2]

The dull green-eyed girl tightened her grip on her sniper rifle, the faintly glowing barrel pulsing in sync with her heartbeat. Her gaze remained cold, unflinching. Two levels of increased difficulty in five minutes. The system wasn't playing fair anymore.

The behemoth let out a guttural roar and charged. Its massive form thundered across the maze floor, each step shaking the ground beneath her feet.

Without hesitation, she raised her sniper rifle, her hands steady. The oppressive hum of charged energy filled the air as she pressed the trigger.

BOOM!

The shot erupted, a pulse of blue energy ripping through the monstrosity's center. The explosion was instantaneous, tearing the fused zombie apart. Its remains dissolved in a burst of glitch-like particles, vanishing into the ether.

But the moment of triumph was short-lived.

From behind her came a raw, inhuman screech. Her blood ran cold. She turned, but not fast enough. A Maze Crawler... one of the remaining three lunged at her, its elongated limbs slicing through the air with deadly speed.

The girl attempted to bring her sniper around, but the beast was too close, too fast.

Slash! Slash!

The Maze Crawler's attack halted abruptly as two of its front legs were severed in a single, fluid motion. The creature reeled back, letting out a shriek of pain and rage.

The dull green-eyed girl's head snapped toward the person who striked.

Standing there was another recruit, clad in the same white t-shirt and black-and-blue knickers as her. The girl's long white hair was pulled into buns, and her deep orange eyes like a setting sun gleamed with a mixture of amusement pride. Her pointed ears gave her a faintly otherworldly appearance.

It was Tess.

Tess smiled, her expression warm despite the tense situation. "Hello again," she said, her tone light as she gestured with a small double wave.

Then, her smile turned sharper, her gaze shifting to the recovering Maze Crawler. "But maybe we should finish that first?"

The creature screeched again, its severed limbs already beginning to regenerate, the sinews and muscles twisting unsettling as they reformed.

Tess tightened her grip on her cyber blade, its edge gleaming faintly as she unsheathed it.

The dull green-eyed girl didn't respond. Instead, she turned her sniper toward the beast, her calm expression unbroken.

The Maze Crawler's angry screech echoed through the maze, signaling that the battle was far from over.