Phase-1-2

The corridor pulsed again.

No one spoke as they began to move, their footsteps muted against the glassy floor. The space was too narrow for comfort, walls shifting with every blink-as if the shadows just beyond were watching.

Donghyun stayed near the back. Every breath felt heavier here, like the air was dense with something unspoken. Just expectation, like it was waiting.

Then, without warning, the corridor widened. The glass path spread out beneath them, opening into a cavernous chamber that seemed to stretch endlessly upward. A dome of dark stone arched high above, glowing veins of light webbed across its surface like lightning frozen mid-strike.

It was massive, breathtaking. The floor ahead was made of polished obsidian tiles, each reflecting warped silhouettes in their gleam. Blue fires floated in midair-no torches, just orbs suspended in the darkness, casting long shadows that danced without sources.

In the center stood a monolithic pillar, black as pitch and covered in runes that shifted as if alive. Around its base were three circular platforms, spaced evenly like a ritual site.

Donghyun hesitated again, looking up.

The dome above had no ceiling-only stars. Or at least, something that looked like stars. They flickered, blinked, shimmered in strange patterns he couldn't understand. For a moment, it felt like standing beneath the night sky. But then the stars began to move, forming symbols, lines like a clock ticking in reverse.

The others had already begun spreading out.

"Shit…. this place is insane," muttered one of the guild kids, gripping his dagger tighter. His voice was small here. It got swallowed by the sheer scale of the room.

Donghyun's throat was dry.

This wasn't some simulation, some back-alley dungeon. The Tower wasn't just big-it was alive.

And for the first time since entering, Donghyun felt something colder than fear crawl along his spine.

[System Notification: [Phase One – Initiated]

The corridor trembled.

Donghyun's stone flared to life, casting pale blue light against the walls. Around him, the others' stones pulsed in sync. He tightened his grip, the hum crawling up his spine like a warning.

From the far end of the chamber, a rumble echoed.

The circular platform near the monolithic pillar cracked open. Shadows spilled out small at first, then solidified into snarling creatures. Goblins. Half-feral, malformed, their skin sickly green and flaking like peeling bark. Yellow eyes gleamed in the dark, and their mouths gaped with cracked, jagged teeth. One licked its rusted dagger with a mold-slicked tongue.

"Shit," someone muttered behind him.

The girl from earlier moved beside Donghyun without a word, she tossed him a dagger-crude, short, but sharp enough to matter, he caught it, clumsily. His hands were shaking.

"Don't just stand there."

The goblins screeched and charged, the others sprang into motion, the silver-haired guy leapt forward, his blade flashing in wide arcs. One goblin shrieked as its head was kicked clean off. Another trio moved as a unit, flanking and slicing with practiced ease. Their movements were confident, efficient.

Donghyun froze.

The goblin in front of him snarled, bounding with crooked legs. He raised the dagger too late, the blade caught air as the goblin ducked and slashed across his side-shallow, but enough to sting.

He stumbled back, His breathed grew ragged. The stone had stopped glowing, but the dagger felt heavier than it should, the goblin hissed, circling.

"I'm going to die."

It lunged again. He swung wildly, the blade grazing its arm. It didn't flinch-just grinned, revealing that broken, mossy mouth.

Donghyun's foot caught on the edge of the floor. He crashed down.

The goblin pounced, a sharp crack rang out.

The goblin's head jerked sideways, then dropped. The girl stood over him, her foot retracting from its skull, her dagger dripped black blood.

"Get up," she said, not unkindly. "They won't wait for you."

Donghyun blinked up at her. He gritted his teeth and stood, gripping the dagger tighter.

A low rumble passed through the floor.

[Second Wave: Begin]

The floor shook, stones pulsed again.

From the base of the pillar, the ground split wider-wounds in the obsidian birthing shrieks and heat.

The goblins came first, more this time. Snarling, sprinting like starved hounds. But behind them came the real threat.

Slimes, not the cartoon blobs from games. These burned orange, bodies alive with heat. They oozed across the ground, leaving trails that hissed and ate into the floor. One pulsed violently-split midair into two smaller flames that slithered toward the nearest human.

"Cores," the girl barked. "Aim for the cores!"

The guild kids adapted quickly. One vaulted over a goblin, spun midair, and drove a heel into a slime's center. It hissed and reformed. Another sliced a core in two-liquid fire burst across his shoulder, searing fabric.

Donghyun could barely breathe.

A goblin lunged at him. He ducked barely-drove his dagger upward. It slid off bone, left a shallow wound.

The goblin shrieked in his ear, reeking of rotted meat.

Another tackled him from the side. He hit the floor hard, teeth clacking. His dagger flew.

He scrambled. The slime hissed nearby-melting into the cracks of the obsidian. Steam curled up around his face.

He rolled, chest scraping glass, and clawed for the dagger.

The slime struck, he kicked. The boot connected, barely. Molten sludge seared his ankle. He screamed through clenched teeth.

The girl moved.

Not fast enough to kill it-just deflected. Her dagger flicked through the slime's side, carving a wide arc and exposing the core. "Now" she snapped.

Donghyun stabbed.

The dagger shuddered in his hand as it sank through heat and into something solid. The slime burst outward-steam and gore. His face burned and hand blistered.

But it died, he panted, hunched low. His side ached and fingers stung. But his dagger wasn't shaking now.

Donghyun stood, wobbled, a goblin threw a blade. It spun-grazed his ear. Blood trickled down his neck, hot and wet.

He turned, the goblin was already coming. Mouth wide, tongue jagged with teeth. Donghyun waited-then ducked at the last second and slashed low, the tendon snapped. The goblin toppled, shrieking.

He didn't wait and stomped down, once,twice. Skull cracking beneath his boot.