Chapter 16: The System is Useless, and So Am I

The System is a Scam and I Hate It

Aya glared at the floating screen in front of her, every inch of her twitchy, half-burned bug body trembling with rage, disbelief, and the fresh scent of "almost dead." The System floated there, cheerfully blinking like it had just told her a dad joke and was waiting for applause.

She had barely survived the last two hours.

No—wait. Let's review.

First, she was almost devoured by a murder-slug that had more teeth than common sense, oozed acid from its eyeballs, and had tried to digest her while she was screaming and throwing rocks.Then came the shadow wolves—why did they exist, who gave them permission, and why did they move like glitchy nightmares playing tag with death?And after that, she had sprint-crawled through a stone tunnel the size of a mousehole, scraping every inch of her exoskeleton, getting stuck twice, and narrowly avoiding being a very flat pancake snack.

And after all that?

She got this:

📜 [System Information]📌 Survival Tip: Be careful!📌 Monsters in the Bottomless Labyrinth are dangerous!📌 Have fun! 😊

Aya just… stared. The corners of her twitching mandibles curled inward like she was trying to hold back a scream—but it leaked out anyway in the form of a strangled, guttural growl.

"…I hate you."

She poked the floating system screen with the tip of her claw. Nothing. Not even a sound effect.

She jabbed it harder. Still nothing.

Then—because life no longer had meaning—she threw herself at it, teeth first.

"I SWEAR—if this thing is just here to mock me—I'M GOING TO EAT IT!"

Her eyes were wild. Her antennae were vibrating like she had just consumed pure caffeine. And for a terrifying moment, yes—Aya opened her mandibles, wide and unhinged like an anime villain about to devour god.

Her mouth got this close to the glowing system interface when—

DING!⚡ ZAP!! ⚡

An instant later, the cavern was filled with the smell of charred chitin.

Aya collapsed backward like a dropped toaster. Smoke curled up from her exoskeleton. Her legs spasmed one by one like broken puppet strings. A wheezing "eeeeeeeeee" escaped her mouth as her soul tried to exit stage left.

📜 [System Warning]⚠️ Attempting to consume the system is not recommended.⚠️ Please refrain from irrational behaviour!

"I'M GONNA RIP YOU INTO PIXELS!!!" Aya shrieked, rolling in a pathetic circle like a dying Roomba. "WHO PROGRAMMED THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE?! WHAT KIND OF 'HELPFUL SYSTEM' LETS YOU DIE WHILE LAUGHING AT YOU?!"

Her voice cracked into several smaller screams as she slapped the floor with both claws like a tantrum-throwing toddler.

Her brain was officially fried.

Literally.

Her internal monologue was just elevator music now, punctuated by static and the occasional "WHY AM I STILL ALIVE?"

She curled into a half-circle, staring at the system screen with glassy bug eyes. "Give me a hint," she whispered. "Anything. A skill. A guide. An arrow that says 'Go Here.' Even a magic leaf."

The screen remained suspiciously blank, except for the bouncing text:"Have fun! 😊"

"Oh. OH. I'll SHOW YOU FUN—"

She lunged again—

And got zapped back into the wall with another KRAK-BOOM, leaving a perfect ant-shaped burn mark.

For a full five seconds, she didn't move. Then:

"…Okay. Maybe I am the dumb one."

She slid down the wall, twitching, a small puff of smoke curling up from her antenna.

Goblins. So Many Goblins.

Aya had just finished smoldering like a sentient spark plug. The last few brain cells she had left were trying to reboot—slowly, like dial-up internet made of pain. Her legs twitched. Her antennae were still sparking occasionally. But internally, she was chanting the same mantra over and over:

"Don't attack the glowing death screen again. Don't attack the glowing death screen again."

She was almost calm.

Almost.

That's when she heard it.

Footsteps.

Dozens of them. Quick, irregular, barefoot and disgusting.

Scrape. Shuffle. Sniff. Drag.

Aya's entire tiny ant body went stiff as a corpse. Her exoskeleton felt like it was vibrating. Her heart, which was about the size of a grain of rice, decided it would like to explode now, please.

No. No, no, no, no. Not again. Please not another boss monster. Please not a new death slug. I haven't even eaten today. I didn't even get to scream properly at the system yet—

She flattened herself against the cavern floor and dared a glance past the rock she'd hidden behind.

And her whole soul just left her body.

There, slinking out of the twisting tunnel and into the dim blue glow of the underground, was a band of goblins. Not one. Not two.

Eight. No—ten.

Ten goblins.

All filthy, malformed, twitchy, frothing little nightmares in green skin and greasy hair. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dark, reflecting a hunger that wasn't just for food—it was for chaos, violence, and probably bug sushi.

Aya's antennae curled in horror as she registered the makeshift weapons:

—Rusty daggers, still red with crusted blood.—Clubs made of bones that were way too big to belong to goblins.—One of them—just one—was holding an actual metal spear, dented but sharp.

The moment she saw it, she mentally assigned him the nickname: "Please No."

She slid back behind the rock. Her survival instincts screamed at her like a tiny therapist wielding a taser.

Do not move.

Do not breathe.

Pray to whatever messed-up gods listen to tiny antlings.

Maybe become a rock. Become one with the rock. Be rock.

Unfortunately, goblins were not blind.

One of them—a squat little mutant with a hunched back, one eyeball too big, and a tongue that stuck out way too far—sniffed the air.

Sniff. Sniff sniff. Sniffsniffsniff.

Aya's legs locked. She flattened against the stone, her antennae shaking. Her breath caught in her throat like she was trying to play dead, except she wasn't dead. Yet.

The goblin stopped.

Turned.

Looked directly at her rock.

Its oversized eyeball narrowed.

Aya didn't blink. Didn't breathe. Her internal screaming was now a nonstop siren.

The goblin took a step forward.

No. Please no. It can't see me. I'm invisible. I'm not here. You are looking at a rock. Just a normal rock. A friendly, innocent rock.

The goblin squinted harder.

Aya's soul began writing a will.

And then—

"GRAHHHHHH!!"

The goblin shrieked with guttural excitement, pointing directly at her hiding spot, spittle flying from its gnarled mouth.

Aya's whole body jerked back like she'd just been electrocuted again.

"NO. NO NO NO. I AM NOT HERE. I DO NOT EXIST. YOU SAW NOTHING."

But the other goblins had already whipped their heads around. Their eyes lit up with savage glee as they brandished their weapons and screeched like murder gremlins on steroids.

"RAAAAH!!"

Eight pairs of filthy green feet began stomping toward her like a concert of impending doom.

Aya didn't hesitate.

She screamed, turned around, and bolted like her life depended on it—which, surprise, IT DID.

Why goblins?! Why now?! I haven't healed from the LAST disaster! I don't even have an attack skill! My most powerful ability is panicking!!

Behind her, the goblins howled and charged like they were re-enacting the end of a horror movie. Rocks crumbled under their feet. Bones snapped as one of them tripped and fell, got up, and bit the guy next to him out of spite.

Aya zig-zagged across the uneven ground, dodging stalagmites and cursing the universe at full volume.

"WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?! I JUST WANTED TO EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING CUTE! NOT BECOME THE FINAL MEAL OF THE GOBLIN APOCALYPSE!"

One of the goblins hurled a rock. It bounced off her back with a BONG sound.

Aya yelped and kept running.

I Regret Being Alive, Please Respawn Me Somewhere Else

Aya ran. No—Aya bolted. She was running like someone who knew she had absolutely no business surviving, like a cockroach in a microwave, like a bug with one HP left and the boss theme playing at full volume. Her tiny legs worked overtime, claws scrambling across the uneven ground of the Bottomless Labyrinth, every step a desperate plea to outrun the green hellspawn behind her.

Behind her, the goblins shrieked in gleeful hunger. Their footsteps pounded louder with every second. Bones clattered. Rocks shattered. One of them tripped and got back up snarling like a gremlin on bath salts.

And in the middle of all that noise, Aya had the audacity to think.

What the hell has my life become?!

She dodged a swinging club of femur by a margin so thin it singed her feelers. She didn't stop.

I could've reincarnated as a princess, right? That's what happens in stories! A magical kingdom! Silk dresses! Cute maids and handsome knights falling in love with me at first sight!

She jumped over a crack in the ground and instantly regretted it—because her landing made a disgusting squelch into goblin spit left behind from the chase.

Or even just a human. A totally average, boring human! I would've taken that. Office lady? Fine! Farmer? Sure! A kid with mild trauma and a destiny? Why not!

A rusted dagger whistled past her head. It hit a wall and sparked. Aya screeched so loud the echo gave itself whiplash.

BUT NO. I GOT REINCARNATED AS A FREAKING. ANT.

She stumbled, legs slipping, heart jackhammering in her thorax.

AN ANT, GODS. A STUPID, TINY, CRAWLING, BITE-SIZED ANT.

The goblins were getting closer. She could hear their foul, panting breath. One of them shouted something in goblin tongue—probably "Catch the bug, I want its legs for a snack."

Aya's thoughts were spiraling now, faster than her body was moving.

Why me? Was I cursed? Was it karma?! Did I kill someone in my past life?! Was I late on a library book?! I'M SORRY, OKAY?! WHATEVER I DID—I APOLOGIZE!

She ducked into a narrow crack in the cavern wall, scraping her shell against jagged stone, breathing hard, praying the goblins wouldn't fit through. For a second, blessed silence.

Maybe this is all a nightmare. Maybe I'm still asleep somewhere in a coma. Maybe I'm a human strapped to a hospital bed, drooling and dreaming of being bug food—

A spear stabbed into the crack behind her, barely missing her by a claw's width.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Aya was out again, sprinting, clawing at the air as if that would make her faster. Her thoughts were now one long, continuous scream with the occasional prayer shoved in between.

Save me, gods of this world—any god, all gods, even fake ones, even the scammy ones, even the evil ones pretending to be helpful—I will join your cult, sell my soul, sacrifice a leaf, just GET ME OUT OF HERE!

She skidded around a corner, flailing into a slope of loose gravel that sent her tumbling down a narrow pit. She didn't even try to stop. She embraced the chaos, limbs flailing, momentum carrying her like a rolling potato of doom.

She slammed into a pile of bones at the bottom with a CRUNCH, head spinning, eyes blurry, spirit halfway to the afterlife.

But she wasn't dead.

…yet.

She peeked up.

The goblins were still above, trying to scramble down after her but slipping and bumping into each other like angry bowling pins. They screamed and cursed and threw rocks but couldn't quite reach her.

Aya didn't wait.

She dragged herself upright and limped away into a new tunnel, still panting, legs shaking, antennae twitching like overloaded radar.

And finally… finally…

Silence.

Aya collapsed against the wall. Her whole body ached. Her shell was cracked in three places. Her soul had filed three complaints and a resignation notice.

She whispered, voice hoarse and cracked and barely holding it together:

"…I regret being alive. Please respawn me somewhere else. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere sane. Somewhere that doesn't have goblins with spears."

The system, of course, said nothing.

Except—just as she closed her eyes, trying not to cry—

[Skill Activated – Survival Instincts – LV 1]🧠 Your body responds to overwhelming fear. Strength increased. Agility increased. Clarity boosted.💀 RUN.

Aya's legs surged with new energy. Not magic. Not power-ups. Just raw, furious, desperate adrenaline fed by the desire not to be skewered by a goblin toothpick.

Her feet slammed into the ground harder. Faster. She dodged a swinging club without thinking. Vaulted over a sharp rock like she was an Olympic gymnast. Slid under a low-hanging stalactite with barely a scratch.

Her thoughts sharpened instantly:

Left tunnel—too narrow. Right tunnel—dead end. Center path—dangerous, but better cover.

She took the center. She dove through shadows and fallen debris. Her body knew before she did. Her new instinct whispered in her mind: MOVE OR DIE.

A goblin leapt at her from the side.

She twisted, flipped off a loose stone, and kept running. Her own movement surprised her.

Did I just… dodge that?! I DODGED THAT?! AM I A NINJA ANT NOW?!

No time to process it. The ground dipped. She slipped, skidded, then tumbled into a hidden pit—spinning, crashing, bouncing off rocks until she landed with a bone-cracking thump in a pile of disgusting, half-dried slime and crushed mushrooms.

She groaned. Everything hurt. Her shell had dents. Her pride was in a coma.

But…

No goblins.

She looked up. They were at the top of the pit, snarling, throwing pebbles and curses down at her—but they couldn't follow. Too steep. Too narrow.

Aya slumped against the damp wall of the pit, chest heaving, antennae drooping, heart still going BANG-BANG-BANG like a war drum in a bug opera.

"…I regret being alive," she wheezed. "Please… someone… respawn me somewhere else. Somewhere warm. With pillows. And snacks. And zero goblins."

She slumped lower into the muck.

Then, finally, she laughed. Not a happy laugh. Not a normal laugh.

A weird, broken, high-pitched kind of giggle that echoed like a ghost being tickled underwater.

"…I have a skill now," she whispered. "It's called 'Survival Instincts – Level One'. You know what that means?"

She paused, still trembling.

"It means I'm officially a professional coward."

She gave the pit wall a thumbs-up with her tiny claw.

And then passed out.

Zero Stamina, Zero Hope

For one glorious, shining second, Aya thought she was safe.

Slumped against the slimy wall of her moldy pit hideout, she let her tiny ant body relax for the first time in what felt like centuries. Her eyes fluttered shut. The distant growls of goblins faded away. She couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. She couldn't smell their rotting breath or hear the shuffling of their filthy feet.

I did it, she thought, brain melting into goo. I lived. I outsmarted them. I'm a survivor. I'm basically a tactical genius. A hero. A legend. I should be worshipped. Maybe I'll make a flag. An ant-flag of freedom.

She allowed herself a breath.

Just one.

That was her first mistake.

Because then—they came back.

Crunch. Crunch. Sniff. Clatter.

Her antennae twitched.

"No," she whispered.

Shadows moved above.

"No no no."

Something snarled.

She slowly turned her head.

Goblins. All Ten of them. Crawling down the pit like demented monkeys. One was using a rope made of intestines. Another had a rusted pot on his head like a helmet. And all of them looked very, very hungry.

Aya's heart plummeted. Her legs twitched. Her entire soul screamed.

I DIDN'T INVITE YOU BACK! I WAS HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN IN PEACE!

She launched herself off the ground like a bug possessed, flinging slime and bits of mushroom into the air. She scrambled across the pit wall like a caffeinated gecko, slipping, skidding, somehow pulling herself halfway up to a ledge—only to glance at her status and realize—

Her SP bar was at 9.

"NO."

She shoved herself forward.

"I HATE THIS WORLD!"

SP: 8

Her legs burned. Her breathing was a wheeze. Her vision flickered.

Then—

SP: 7

And she collapsed.

Flat. Face-first. Into the dirt. Antenna twitching. Legs spasming.

No. No, no, no. Please, not like this. Not now. I just… I just wanted to rest. For five minutes. Five. I didn't even get a snack!

Her system screen blinked faintly in the corner of her vision. No help. No health potion. Not even a sarcastic comment.

Aya realized, with numbing horror, that her worst-case scenario had arrived.

Zero Stamina. Zero Food. Zero Hope.

And ten goblins.

They leapt down from the walls, screeching like gremlins on caffeine. The pot-helmet one raised a bone club. Another had what looked like a dagger made from a sharpened bird beak.

Aya twitched.

She tried to move.

Nothing.

Her body felt like jelly. Her spirit wanted to scream. Her stomach, insulted beyond belief, growled weakly like a dying kitten.

This is it. This is where I become soup. I'm not even big enough for a proper roast. I'm gonna be the garnish. They're gonna sprinkle me on top of something else.

The goblins surrounded her. Circling like sharks. Grinning with sharp, uneven teeth. One of them licked its lips.

Aya's mandibles clattered nervously. Her breath came in short bursts. She was frozen. Her instincts screamed RUN, but her legs said LOL NOPE.

She didn't want to die.

But fighting ten goblins? With no even enough stamina? No weapons? Not even enough strength to stand?

It was suicide.

She knew it.

They knew it.

One goblin lunged.

Aya flinched, bracing for the end.

And then—

SOMETHING MOVED.

Behind the goblins. In the darkness. A sound like wet leaves shifting. A clicking, dragging, slithering presence.

The goblins paused.

Aya blinked, barely conscious.

Wait… that wasn't me.

Then she saw it.

Eyes. Dozens of glowing, pale orbs, crawling along the ceiling. A massive silhouette. Thin legs. A thousand hairs.

A spider.

A massive, labyrinth-dwelling spider the size of a car, with fangs longer than her entire body and hunger so thick it made the air heavy.

Aya blinked once.

Then, without thinking, she whispered:

"…Please eat the goblins first."

The spider hissed—and chaos erupted.

Goblins screamed.

The monster lunged.

Blood sprayed.

Aya, too weak to move, just lay there in the dirt, blinking slowly as a goblin got yoinked into the ceiling like a rag doll.

You know what? she thought, I'm okay with this. I'm just gonna lie here. I'll deal with this after my nap.

Her eyes fluttered.

The spider tore into the goblins.

And Aya, still half-dead and fully traumatized, passed out for the second time that day, curled up in a ball, whispering:

"…I want a refund on reincarnation…"

The Fight Begins (And Goes Immediately Wrong)

Screams. Blood. Fangs. Screeching metal. The Eight remaining goblins. One spider. One absolutely done-with-life ant.The battlefield was a chaotic blender of limbs and roars—legs flying, clubs swinging, venom dripping, and Aya?

Aya was crawling.

Quietly. Stealthily. Painfully. Like a bug with every bone broken—which was not far off from reality.

She had 43 HP left, her stamina was running on spiritual fumes, and her legs felt like they were melting. But even in the middle of monster WWE, her mind was clear:

"If I don't eat something right now, I die. If I don't get stamina, I die. If I breathe wrong—guess what? I die."

So she dragged her half-squashed exoskeleton toward the nearest goblin, who was too busy screaming and stabbing the giant spider's leg to notice the deranged bug ninja crawling behind it like a stalker in a horror movie.

Aya licked her mandibles.

"Okay, Aya. Don't mess this up. Just a bite. One clean bite. Like a tiny Dracula. You can do this. You're a predator. A fierce apex hunter. A born survivor."

She pounced.

And missed.

But only barely!

She scrambled up the goblin's leg and CHOMPED down into its filthy green arm with the fury of a starving raccoon!

[Razor Mandibles – LV 4] activated!

Her jaws dug in deep—green blood splattered. The goblin screamed like it just stepped on lava.

Aya cackled, mandibles dripping.

"HAHA! I DID SOMETHING! I AM DEATH! I AM—"

CRACK.

The goblin punched her. In the face.

Hard.

Aya went flying like an angry peanut, slammed into a rock, and crumpled like a paper towel in a hurricane.

-9 HP.

Aya twitched on the ground, antenna bent sideways.

"OKAY, NEVERMIND, I TAKE IT BACK, I HATE THIS—"

Before she could recover, another goblin noticed her and—oh look! A tiny snack trying to be a warrior! How cute.

It swung a club.

Aya barely rolled to the side, the club crashing down beside her with a thundering BOOM, sending pebbles and dust flying into the air.

Aya: "HAHA! YOU MISSED, LOSER—"

WHACK.

Another club slammed into her from the back like a home-run hit.

-6 HP.

Aya screeched.

"GAHH! OKAY, OKAY, YOU DIDN'T MISS! YOU GOT ME GOOD, STOP NOW, PLEASE, MERCY!"

She flailed like a bug on a frying pan, rolling sideways, narrowly avoiding another swing, another spear, another kick—

She couldn't keep up.

Her stamina was at rock bottom again. Every movement cost her. Every breath felt like dragging her soul through a cheese grater. Her system wasn't helping. Her HP bar flickered like it was ready to pack up and leave.

"I need a plan! I need to think! I need—I need something! ANYTHING!"

Another goblin lunged. Aya dodged—barely. But she slipped in some goblin blood and smacked her head against a stone.

Dizzy. Bruised. Doomed.

And worse?

She was still hungry.

Her stomach howled.

SP: 5

"I need food. I NEED FOOD. I NEED—WAIT."

Her eyes darted toward the goblin she bit earlier.

It was bleeding.

It was weakened.

And it was limping.

Aya's survival brain flipped a switch. Something dark. Something primal. Something INSANE.

"I'm going to eat that goblin. Right now."

Desperate Moves (AKA: I'm Being Hunted by Everything with Teeth)

There was blood everywhere.

Goblin shrieks. The wet crunch of bones. And the unholy screech of something slithering.

Aya's target was clear: the limping goblin she'd bitten earlier. It was staggering. Dripping green. Slower than the rest. A walking juice box of stamina.

Aya locked onto it like a starving shark.

"Okay. That's my dinner. I don't care if it's screaming. I don't care if it's gross. I will eat that walking sack of calories if it's the last thing I do today."

She skittered forward, legs wobbling, vision spinning. Her mandibles clicked, dripping with a hunger more dangerous than any monster.

[Target Acquired.]

She lunged—

And the goblin KICKED HER STRAIGHT IN THE FACE.

Aya made a horrible squeaky toy sound as her body folded midair like a broken chair and flew backward, skidding across the dirt.

-5 HP.

Aya: "GKKKKHH—I'M GONNA THROW UP."

She hit a rock, bounced, and landed with her legs splayed out in every direction. The world spun like a cursed merry-go-round. She could hear her brain cells applauding their own funeral.

But just as she tried to get back up—

The battlefield went silent.

No more spider screeches. No goblin laughter. Just a long, low, heavy hiss.

Aya turned her head.

Her whole body locked in place.

Because standing—no, coiling—in the center of the carnage was a new monster. Bigger than the spider. Bigger than the goblins. Bigger than anything she'd seen so far.

A snake. But not just any snake.

A titan.

Jet-black scales that shimmered like oiled armor. Golden eyes glowing like twin lanterns of doom. Fangs the size of spears. It coiled over the spider's twitching corpse… then opened its jaws…

And swallowed the spider whole.

Aya's jaw dropped.

"WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUUUU—"

The goblins backed up.

Even they knew this was way above their paygrade.

Aya? She just wanted to die quietly under a rock. But no. The giant snake sniffed the air. Its forked tongue flicked toward her direction.

And its eyes locked on her.

Aya: "WHY ME?! I'M SMALL! I'M NOT EVEN WORTH EATING! I'M BASICALLY DIRT! I'M AN ANTLING, NOT A SNACK!"

The snake moved.

So did the goblins.

And suddenly, all the goblins—who were just seconds ago trying to club each other—looked at Aya.

Aya: "WAIT. WAIT, NO. DON'T YOU DARE. DON'T YOU USE ME AS A DISTRACTION—"

Too late.

The goblins charged her full-force like a bunch of bloodthirsty football players.

Aya's heart slammed against her chest.

"I need an out! I need a miracle! I need a freakin' system update or—WAIT!"

She opened her skills panel in a panic.

📜 Species Skills Unlocked:

✅ [Pain Suppression – LV 2]→ Temporarily dulls the pain of minor injuries.

✅ [Quick Burrow – LV 1]→ Instantly digs a hole and hides underground for a short time.

Aya's eyes flicked from the goblins.

To the skill.

Back to the goblins.

Back to the skill.

And she made her decision.

Aya: "...SCREW IT. I'M GOING FULL SQUIRREL MODE."

She SLAMMED her body into the dirt.

[Quick Burrow – LV 1] activated!

FWWMP!Dirt exploded.

Aya vanished underground in a blur, disappearing like a mole on steroids just as a goblin's dagger plunged down where her head had been.

The goblins: "??? GRAHH?!?"

Aya (from below): "HAHAHA! LOSERS! YOU CAN'T KILL ME IF YOU CAN'T FIND ME! I'M INVISIBLE! UNTOUCHABLE! I'M—"

Pause.

Soft scratching sounds above her.

Aya: "…"

More scratching.

Aya: "...OH GOD, THEY'RE DIGGING."

They were digging.

The goblins had dropped their fight-or-flight and picked up rocks and bones. They were stabbing the ground. They were trying to find her tunnel.

Aya: "THEY'RE LEARNING?!? WHAT IS THIS? SMART GOBLINS?? NO THANK YOU!"

The ground around her started caving in as goblin fingers and makeshift shovels tried to scoop her out like a cursed snack.

Aya panicked.

Her tunnel curved sharply as she crawled faster than she thought was possible, pumping her tiny legs like her life depended on it—because it DID.

"I need to get out. I need to move. I need to hide under a different rock. A rock two cities away. Maybe underground. Maybe inside a volcano."

But then the ground above her—BOOM—split open. A massive goblin club pierced through like a meteor, missing her by inches.

Aya: "STOP! I'M NOT A CARROT!"

She turned hard left.

Then hard right.

Then—

Tunnel ended.

Dead end.

Aya: "…"

Aya: "OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE—"

Please Give Up (AKA: Buried Alive with Bonus Snake Terror)

Aya was underground.

In the dark.

In a tunnel she had dug in pure desperation.

And for the first time since becoming a bug, she was starting to realize something very important:

She could no longer breathe.

Aya: "Huff—huff—WHY does dirt have no air—this is STUPID—this is a STUPID IDEA—"

She clutched her thorax, wheezing in her own panicked antenna-filled way, while above her, the scraping didn't stop.

It got worse.

The goblins were grunting, snarling, breaking branches and rocks apart—using them like shovels. She could hear the soil above her head shifting, caving in bits at a time.

They were digging down.

FOR HER.

Aya: "WHY are you still trying?! GO AWAY! Go fight the snake! EAT EACH OTHER! Start a CULT! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

She flattened her body against the narrow tunnel wall, pressing every inch of herself into the dirt as if that would somehow make her disappear even harder.

But it was already too late.

She heard something far worse than goblins.

SSSsssssssshhhhhkkk.

The hissing.

The low, wet hiss of something massive sliding across the battlefield.

She froze.

No breath. No movement. No hope.

The giant snake was sniffing the dirt.It had finished its goblin hors d'oeuvres.It was now looking for the crunchy bug dessert.

Aya: "I'M TOO SMALL TO BE TASTY! I'M BASICALLY A CRUMB! PLEASE DON'T FIND ME, YOU SCALE-COVERED NIGHTMARE NOODLE."

And then…

DING!

📜 [System Reminder]🔹 Reminder: You still need to complete your mission—🔹 "Get Stronger and Survive."🔹 Good luck! 😊

Aya:"…Oh, you think this is FUNNY now?""…I will find you, System.""…And I will END you."

She slammed the notification away with a mental swat so hard she felt it in her antennae.

The goblins were now arguing.

She could make out the words—barely.

"Grrhh… gone…"

"Dig! Bug still there!"

"…Snake coming…"

That last bit?

Terrifying.

Because she could feel it now.

The earth was vibrating.

Little pulses. Rhythmic. Intentional. The kind of tremor that came from something impossibly big moving with purpose.

The snake was circling. Hunting. Zeroing in.

Aya's survival instincts flared so hard they practically smacked her across the face.

"I need to MOVE."

She wriggled in reverse. Her body scraped the dirt walls, her limbs trembling. She didn't know where she was going. Didn't care. As long as it was away from the goblins. Away from the snake.

And preferably toward something not planning to eat her within the next two minutes.

SKRRRK—THUD!

A goblin's club slammed through the tunnel ceiling just behind her!

Dirt exploded.

Aya screamed—well, bug-screamed, which sounded like a high-pitched clicking panic attack—and flailed her way forward, scuttling deeper into the underground like the world's worst earthworm.

"THIS ISN'T EVEN A FIGHT ANYMORE. THIS IS PEST CONTROL!"

Then—

BOOM.

The snake's tail crashed into the surface above, creating a crater that crushed three goblins instantly. Their yells turned into squelches.

Aya felt the entire tunnel ripple from the impact.

A second crack formed behind her.Another goblin tried to reach through.Its fingers brushed her leg.

Aya: "NOPE. NOPENOPENOPE."

She bit the goblin's hand. It screamed. She scuttled faster, heart in her mandibles.

Then, finally—finally—her tunnel split into two.

A left path: narrow, dark, maybe dead-ended.

A right path: slightly wider, but there was a smell—something wet and… acidic.

Aya didn't have time to think.

"LEFT. ALWAYS LEFT IN MAZES. OR WAS IT RIGHT? WHATEVER. JUST GO."

She bolted down the left path.

Behind her, goblins dove into her tunnel.The snake slammed its head into the ground, widening the hole.And Aya?

Aya was running for her tiny, crunchy life with barely 4 HP and 1 stamina point.

And still, somehow…

The System pinged her again.

📜 [Minor Achievement Unlocked!]💢 "Still Not Dead (Somehow)"+1 XP+Title Acquired: "Tunnel Trash"

Aya:"…I hate you.""I hate this world.""I hate snakes, goblins, the dirt, my life, the system…""…And especially YOU, stupid pop-up window."

She kept crawling.

Kept scuttling.

Kept running.

With everything falling apart behind her, Aya could only hope the tunnel would lead somewhere—anywhere—that didn't want to kill her.

But with her luck?

It probably led straight into a den of mole-rats with chainsaws.