The quiet town of Verne was wrapped in chaos. Dust still lingered in the air like a heavy fog, the acrid scent of smoke mixing with blood and scorched earth. The villagers stood frozen, their faces pale and eyes wide with disbelief. They could not comprehend what had just happened. Moments ago, life had been ordinary — and now, everything was twisted into madness.
The festival square was a ruin of broken wood, shattered stone, and torn bodies. Cries of confusion echoed among the survivors. No one understood why the sky had darkened or how half the village had vanished in an instant.
But on the stage, among the wreckage and death, four surviving players could see everything clearly.
Trevor was the first to break the silence. He stumbled back, his voice trembling with terror. "It's him! It's him! He did all this!" His eyes darted toward the figure standing amidst the carnage, holding a kitchen knife that dripped with blood.
The other two survivors turned to look as well. Their eyes widened as they saw the woman in the red dress — the one who had just moments ago been smiling, elegant, and confident — now sliced cleanly in half, her body collapsing to the ground like a broken doll. She had been cut down by an ordinary kitchen knife.
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Even the wounded who could barely move whispered in horror.
Only Ethan Walker remained silent. His gaze was distant, pupils unfocused. He muttered softly, as though speaking to himself. "What… what is his overall rating? How could someone like him even reach the finals? Who is he?"
Trevor swallowed hard, his throat dry. "His name… his name is Lucas."
Ethan snapped out of his daze, fury flashing in his eyes. "That can't be his real name! No one that dangerous hides behind something that ordinary!"
Trevor opened his mouth but said nothing. He simply watched as Lucas, calm and unhurried, flicked the blood from his blade.
The woman in the red dress, though half of her body hung uselessly, still dragged herself backward with desperate strength. Her eyes darted toward the far side of the square. Without hesitation, she turned and ran toward the food factory, her crimson gown leaving a dark trail of blood.
Lucas adjusted his grip on the kitchen knife and began to follow — not quickly, not aggressively — but with the measured steps of someone completely certain of his victory.
Clatter… clatter… clatter…
Each step echoed across the ruined square, the metallic ring of his shoes on the pavement chilling the air.
The woman could hear him behind her. Her body trembled, not from pain but from dread. Though her modified physique no longer allowed her to sweat, she felt a cold terror deeper than any wound.
She sprinted through the shattered gates of the factory and stumbled into a corridor lined with rusted pipes. Steam hissed through the air. "There's still a chance," she whispered, panting. "There's still a chance to escape…"
But then she froze.
The sound of footsteps came again — slow, deliberate, drawing nearer.
Her eyes darted toward the main pipe in the center of the room. It was her escape route. If she could crawl through before he reached her—
Hope flared for a second in her eyes… only to die instantly.
The pipe was sealed. At some point, the metal plates had fused together, seamless and solid.
Her last escape was gone.
The woman fell to her knees, beating on the pipe's surface in despair. She knew the truth: once the system closed the upper level's pipeline, there was no way to open it from below.
And the monitoring mechanism of Verne had long since been destroyed. Everything that happened here — all the horror and bloodshed — was now invisible to the outside world.
Her body slumped against the wall, leaving a long smear of blood on the steel. Tears mixed with crimson as she looked back over her shoulder.
Lucas was there.
He walked into the dimly lit room, his eyes calm and unreadable. Slowly, he crouched down beside her, gripping her hair and forcing her head up.
"I wouldn't dare take such a risk without being fully prepared," he said with a faint smile. His tone was casual, but his eyes gleamed with cold amusement.
The woman tried to scream, but no sound came. The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her was that same harmless smile.
When Lucas stepped out of the food factory, silence fell over Verne.
The villagers — those still alive, those who had crawled out from beneath rubble — stared at him. The foreign invaders who had arrived earlier were frozen, unable to move. The surviving players trembled, realizing what kind of monster had stood beside them all along.
Countless eyes followed him as he slid the kitchen knife back into his pocket and walked toward the stage.
He stopped before the ruined podium, mimicking the gesture once used by the woman in the red dress. Then, from his pocket, he took out a small black phone and tapped the screen.
Under the watchful gazes of everyone, Lucas turned his head toward a little girl lying among the remains of broken flesh.
A soft, mechanical voice whispered in his mind:
> "Risk assessment generating based on host's own strength…"
"Villagers of Verne Town: Low-level threat."
Lucas tilted his head. "Not dead yet?"
He walked over and gently lifted the girl into a sitting position. Her small right hand still clutched her chest, where blood seeped slowly through her torn dress. Despite the agony and the power that had nearly consumed her, she smiled — bright, genuine, unafraid.
"I did it…" she said weakly. "I really did it."
Lucas was quiet for a moment. Then, without another word, he opened the game interface. A transparent blue window appeared before him, filled with scrolling data.
He typed in a command. "Search: Rocket Launcher."
> "Would you like to purchase for 800,000 points?"
"Confirmed."
A brilliant flash appeared before his hands. When the light faded, a large weapon materialized — sleek black metal, polished, humming faintly with stored power.
The little girl blinked but didn't look surprised. Lucas placed the launcher into her arms.
"This thing should suit you better than me," he said.
She nodded softly, gripping the heavy weapon with trembling hands.
The villagers gasped as they realized what she held. "A rocket launcher?!" someone cried, stepping back in panic.
But the girl didn't aim at them. She raised the weapon skyward.
The hum of energy grew louder. Every villager looked up instinctively.
Then — BOOM!
A column of light shot upward, piercing the clouds. It hit the heavens with such force that the sky itself cracked open like shattered glass. Through that crack, for one fleeting moment, a pair of colossal eyes stared down upon Verne.
The villagers screamed — not in fear this time, but in wild exhilaration.
"Resist!" someone shouted. "Resist the gods!"
"Resist!" another voice joined, and soon, a chorus filled the night.
Lucas stood on the podium, his expression unreadable. He watched the chaos unfold — the madness, the rebellion, the fire. Then he let out a long breath.
"It's too dangerous to try overthrowing the order," he murmured. "Better to leave it in their own hands."
A metallic chime rang through his mind.
> "Warning: anomaly detected in copy environment."
"Hidden world-side mission 'Rebuilding Order' experiencing instability."
"The complete world structure is collapsing. Dungeon closure imminent."
A countdown appeared across his vision:
[All players will be teleported in sixty seconds.]
Light bloomed under his feet — the sign of forced extraction.
Trevor and the others collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed with exhaustion and disbelief. They looked up at the broken sky, tears glimmering in their eyes.
"We… we actually survived," one whispered.
"Yeah," another muttered weakly, "for now."
Amidst the noise, the little girl struggled to her feet. The rocket launcher was gone now, replaced by a small medal glowing faintly in her hand. She clutched it tightly against her chest — the Medal of Valor.
It pulsed with light, feeding her courage. She gazed at Lucas, whose body was already fading into the white brilliance of teleportation.
"Goodbye," she whispered.
As the light consumed him, the world around began to collapse.
The system's voice echoed one last time, distant yet powerful:
> "Comprehensive evaluation for Player Lucas initiated."
"Main story of 'The Town of Verne' completed — reward: 10,000 points."
"Side mission completed — reward: 3,000 points."
"Hidden mission completed — reward: 5,000 points."
"Worldview evaluation pending. Awaiting background approval."
"Player Lucas achieved multiple firsts: first to complete hidden mission, first to unlock full narrative path, first in promotion speed."
"Total reward points: 5,394,810."
"Player Lucas — successfully qualified for the finals."
The light faded. The square, once alive with screams and fire, fell into silence. Only ashes drifted down from the cracked sky.
The little girl looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears. She held the Medal of Valor close, whispering as if praying to the heavens.
"No matter what the truth of this world is… tyranny will always rise again."
The wind carried her words across the ruins of Verne.
And somewhere, far beyond the collapsing dungeon, Lucas opened his eyes.
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