The next wave hit hard.
Ember Bats—small, fire-infused creatures that exploded on contact.
Alex moved like a shadow, activating Dash, darting through them with blinding speed. Each dagger strike was surgical—piercing their cores before they could detonate.
Raven covered the rear, his blade dancing like fire.
He was faster than Alex had expected.
Skilled.
A prodigy, even.
Then came the Bone Apes.
Towering, skeletal beasts. Their bones fused with ancient armor and the remains of long-dead warriors. They moved slowly—but each step shook the floor, their rusted clubs capable of cracking stone.
One swung wide—
CRACK!
The floor split. Dust rained down.
Raven gritted his teeth.
"We need to break the joints!"
Alex nodded.
He dove low, slashing through the ape's knee.
Raven leapt off a nearby rock, blade overhead, and came down with a roar—
CRUNCH!
The ape's skull split in half.
It collapsed, bones scattering.
"You're strong, " Alex said quietly. And he said it truthfully. Other than himself, Raven was finest warrior he had seen.
Raven grinned, panting.
"Damn right I am."
He gave Alex a long look. This time, there was something different in his expression—
Not just confidence.
Admiration. And a hint of disbelief.
"You're hiding something," Raven muttered. "You're not even wearing proper gear, but you're too strong… too fast for someone at your level."
He narrowed his eyes. "I noticed it back with the creepers. Your strikes, your movement… they're too precise. Too refined. I've only seen that in the finest warriors of our kingdom, who become this refined after countless fights."
A pause.
"Where are you really from? Where did you learn all of this? Are you even actually Level 10?"
Alex didn't look at him.
"You talk too much." he replied flatly.
Floor Three — The Lava Halls
Heat slammed into them like a wall.
Magma flowed through glowing trenches on either side, and the stone beneath their feet cracked with molten light.
"Don't step on the glowing tiles," Alex warned calmly.
Suddenly, Flame Serpents erupted from the lava—fiery coils of muscle and molten scales. Their hissing filled the corridor, steam rising where their bodies touched stone.
Alex and Raven moved like shadows between bursts of flame—weaving, ducking, striking.
One serpent lunged. Its burning fangs latched onto Raven's arm, searing through his sleeve.
"Ahh—!" he cried out, but reacted fast, slashing with a desperate upward strike that severed its head.
Alex caught his collar and yanked him back behind a stone outcropping.
"You okay?"
Raven grimaced, clutching his arm. "I've had worse."
They pressed on, using crumbled walls and cracks in the floor to move deeper.
This wasn't just level design—it was a system's trial. A way to thin the reckless from the worthy.
Anyone who wasn't careful… was already dead.
Final Floor — The Boss Chamber
The air shifted the moment they entered.
Heavy. Dense. Wrong.
A colossal circular chamber stretched before them, its ceiling cracked open to the night sky. Columns of black obsidian ringed the arena, some shattered, others glowing faintly with heat. Molten lava pulsed through runes in the floor—like blood through veins.
At the center stood a monster pulled from nightmares.
Molgrath, the Undying Flame
Level 17
Four arms. Axes in two, claws in the others. Lava oozed from the cracks in its obsidian skin. Every breath it took made the air shimmer with unbearable heat.
Its eyes locked onto them, glowing like the heart of a volcano.
[Boss Detected: Danger Level—Catastrophic]
[Warning: Target exceeds level range..]