Chapter 48. Collaborator and the One Who Burns (8)

At first, the strange words that appeared were blurry, but then they gradually became clear.

[Initiating Anápxia resonance with Character Doll.]

A sudden headache seized me, making my head feel both present and absent. My vision blurred, faded, then sharpened, only to tremble violently once more. It felt as if a curtain had dropped over my consciousness. No, it was as if I had only now noticed the curtain, and it was tearing slightly.

Anápxia... What was that again?

This was the second time such messages had appeared. The fragmented, oddly angled letters created a tension I couldn't quite shake. Additionally, my assimilation rate plummeted each time.

My current assimilation rate was 90.14%. The word "assimilation" was growing familiar, settling firmly into a corner of my consciousness.

Scenarios, tutorials, and assimilation...

A creeping suspicion slowly crawled up from my ankles, rising through me.

What happens if it drops below 90%?

Perhaps the change was already underway, slowly consuming me and the world. There was the world, unaware of assimilation, and my assimilation rate of 90.14%...

I couldn't quite put it into words, but the world felt different. Something was rising and seeping in, like a cold blade slicing into me and peeling away layers. It was knocking on the door of my consciousness.

Knock, knock.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

"Sir?" a woman called out to me, her knocking gentle yet insistent.

Tap, tap.

"Sir Knight, are you alright?"

She opened the door and entered.

The woman who once invaded the catacombs now seemed to be invading my consciousness.

I gazed at her for a long time before I spoke.

"Level."

"Sorry?"

"You leveled up."

Rena nodded as if it were perfectly normal. "Yes, I just leveled up from killing the spiders hanging in the webs."

Looking at me curiously, she asked, "What's on your mind?"

Clatter.

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to discuss it because moving forward was the priority. For now, I had to focus on killing the enemies in this dungeon.

"No, it's nothing. Let's go."

We descended further into the canyon. The ground was littered with charred spiders and broken firebomb remains.

They're all dead.

If all these spiders had been alive, we would've had a tough time dealing with them. The number of shattered firebombs and dead spiders scattered around proved the fierceness of the earlier battles.

In the depths of the canyon stood a temple built within the cave. The temple might have been a relic of some old wizard's taste. Its crumbling walls were decorated with spider carvings.

"The details are still well-preserved," Rena commented, examining the carvings.

"Think they'll come to life?"

Rena chuckled. "I doubt it. If the magic to animate them still existed, the temple would be in much better shape."

The temple was old and worn, and chipped marble pillars littered the ground. Spiderwebs connected the various carvings and fragments.

I moved forward, ready to unleash Grassmere's Fire at any moment, but most of the spiders had already been slaughtered. We entered the temple and forced open an iron door tightly bound with webs.

Snap!

I tore it open. There was no passage beyond the door.

What is this place?

Inside was a small, enigmatic room that could be locked from both the inside and outside.

Maybe it's an emergency shelter?

The room seemed to be just large enough for one person.

Should I leave Rena here?

I thought it might be safer for her. Meanwhile, Rena was checking the nearby chests. My goal here was revenge, but she had her own objective—to collect items.

"Everything's empty," she said, disappointed.

"Then we'll just have to take what the guards are carrying."

Rena nodded in agreement. We continued forward, stepping over blackened cobwebs and burnt corpses on the jagged, dark rocks.

Skitter! Skitter!

Every now and then, a surviving spider would leap out to attack. Its eight limbs would click against the rocks with an eerie, rhythmic sound.

"Stay back," I warned Rena, charging toward the spiders.

Eeeek!

The first spider let out a high-pitched noise while spewing venom.

Slash!

I swung my bastard sword diagonally, cutting through the stream of venom and slicing the spider down from its mouth.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Sizzle!

The venom spattered on my armor, corroding the surface with a loud, acidic hiss. But it was not enough to harm me significantly.

Thud!

I leaped and brought my sword down again, slicing the spiders in half as their venom splattered around. They were only remnants that had escaped the guards' earlier purge.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

After killing a few spiders, I quickly gained three levels. This wasn't much of a challenge. I hadn't come all this way to be spider food.

Thanks to the level-ups, Rena's agility and decision-making noticeably improved. She stayed out of the way, avoiding the risk of getting caught up in the fight, which lasted for a few minutes.

Then, Rena whispered to me, "

Shh

. We need to be cautious..."

The sounds of something shattering, roaring flames, and desperate cries echoed from nearby, painting a vivid picture.

Bang!

Whoosh!

Aaaaaah!

"Or maybe not," I said.

"It looks like the action's started," Rena remarked, checking her map one last time. "The boss hunt."

I looked at her. I'd have to go alone from here because I wasn't confident I could protect her in the chaos ahead.

"Stay here."

"No way! I'm coming with you."

"..."

I hesitated.

"Wha—"

Thump!

I gently struck the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious. She had almost detected my intention at the last moment—any more awareness, and she might've dodged it. Her instincts were impressive.

My Agility was more than double hers, and yet she'd nearly reacted to an attack from right beside her. Nonetheless, I couldn't drag her into the chaos ahead.

I carried her to the small shelter room we'd passed that was just large enough for one person, and locked her inside. It could be opened from the inside, so she had a way out if I didn't return.

I turned and rushed toward the sounds of battle. I took out the powder the old man had given me, dusting it thoroughly over my armor, cloak, and all exposed surfaces.

This is it.

I gripped the large black sprayer which was as wide as Rena's waist. This was the undiluted Grassmere's Fire. Aiming the long nozzle forward, I tightened my grip on the manual pump.

Tap.

I stepped forward, leaving the temple behind as I headed toward the burning chaos.

[Entering the boss's range of perception.]

[Boss hunt in progress.]

[Alignment: Creature.]

[A perk will be granted.]

[Would you like to oppose the dungeon boss, the twelve-legged spider (True Name: Webslinger)?]

[Yes/No]

— If you aid Webslinger, there is a 0.051% chance that you will charm her.

— There is a 0.049% chance that she will ignore you.

In other words, there was a 99.9% chance she'd attack me. Not that I'd planned to help her.

From a vantage point, I could see a massive spider about four meters long, with twelve legs instead of the usual eight. Her movements were astonishingly quick for her size. Trapped within a ring of fire, she darted frantically, evading the guards' relentless firebombs.

At her feet lay gnawed human remains, which I was certain had been unarmed prisoners.

That makes sense.

I quickly took in the situation. Webslinger had been feasting on the prisoners thrown to her by the guards, only for them to trap her in a shrinking ring of fire.

Boom!

Whoosh!

Clang!

Roar!

The guards continued throwing firebombs, tightening the fiery prison. The ring spanned roughly twenty meters in diameter, and Webslinger darted back and forth within it, her dozens of eyes scanning frantically as the flames closed in. The fire was already spreading across her abdomen.

Screech!

Her agonized cries echoed throughout the canyon as the guards encircled her, savoring her torment. I looked around, scanning each of them. Then, I finally spotted the bald man, who stood with his arms crossed.

Clink.

I gripped the sprayer of Grassmere's Fire with both hands. Even amidst the chaos, the bald man didn't miss the small sound. He turned, and our eyes met. A flicker of alarm crossed his hardened face.

I didn't know his life story, but I knew how it would end.

He pointed at me, his finger shaking. "There! Over there!"

I aimed the sprayer at him and his men, pumping the handle as hard as I could.

Roar!

A blinding, white flame erupted, tearing through everything in its path. The flames around the pit turned a fierce blue as the fire surged, exploding into a blazing inferno.

The air ignited white-hot. At the epicenter, Webslinger disintegrated to ashes in an instant, while the guards, engulfed in flames, burned to death within seconds.

"

Ahh! Aaaagh!

"

Half of the guard captain was on fire, and he writhed helplessly in the flames. Perhaps he'd doused himself in fire retardant to survive for a long time, but he inevitably met his end.

However, even within the blazing inferno...

I don't feel the heat.

I felt nothing. The flames swept across the dungeon, and yet I was untouched.

In my mind, a constant sound echoed as countless notifications flashed before my eyes.

Ding! Ding!

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[...]

[Level up!]

A full page of level-up messages filled the screen.

Ding!

[Clear!]

[Dungeon Boss Defeated.]

[Rank Evaluation: D+]

[Difficulty Evaluation: Despair]

[400% Hero Points awarded due to difficulty rating.]

Ding!

[D+ Rank Clear: 54 points]

[Difficulty Bonus: 104 points]

[You've earned 158 points!]

Ding!

[Calculating store access privilege.]

[Store Access Rank: Novice]

— Next Rank: 210/256

[Insufficient privileges.]

[Direct access to Hero Store unavailable.]

— Store access restrictions are designed to prevent novice heroes from wasting points. We appreciate your understanding.

[Automatically purchasing optimal perks. Scanning environment...]

[Scanning player...]

[Unable to grant perks...]

I tilted my head in confusion.

Unable? Why?

Crack.

For some reason, I couldn't move. I didn't feel hot. Rather, I felt cool. I wondered why as I looked down.

Thunk.

Suddenly, my skull fell to the floor.

Crunch.

It shattered into dust. The last thing I saw was my skeleton, melting like a candle in the flames.

Why?

My bones disintegrated just as a question formed in my head, and my consciousness faded completely.