Sector 1 didn't smell like ozone and rot. It smelled like lavender and synthetic rain that had been filtered three times.
Elian adjusted the collar of his scavenged jacket, trying to look like he belonged. He didn't. The pedestrians here wore clothes made of seamless silk-weave. They had glowing tattoos that indicated high-level Guild affiliations—Crimson Dawn, Azure Abyss, The Iron Pantheons.
Elian was a smudge of dirt on a pristine white canvas.
He walked toward the center of the sector: The Plaza of Heroes.
It was a massive, circular park dominated by towering holographic statues of the world's top rankers. And there, in the center, standing fifty feet tall and shimmering in gold light, was Kaelen Lightbringer.
The hologram depicted Kaelen pointing his sword toward the sky, a benevolent smile on his face.
Elian stood at the base of the statue, looking up. He felt a phantom pang of nausea in his gut—the Memory Core vibrating in sympathy.
"You looked better in person," Elian muttered. "Less pixelated. More... dead."
Focus, the Ghost in his head commanded. The entry point is not the main gate. The main gate requires a Guild License and a minimum party size of four.
"I know," Elian whispered. He casually leaned against the marble plinth of the statue, pretending to tie his boot. "I'm looking for the maintenance hatch."
Sector 7-G. Behind the inscription plate. It opens only for debugging purposes. You must trigger the manual override.
Elian glanced around. A patrol of City Guards was marching past the fountain, their heavy plate armor clanking. He waited until they turned the corner.
He pressed his hand against the cool stone of the inscription plate. It read: TO THE SAVIORS OF TOMORROW.
Sequence: Kaelen's memory overlaid a keypad onto the stone. It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but Elian knew exactly where to press.
Top Left. Bottom Right. Center. Hold for three seconds.
He tapped the stone. To anyone watching, it looked like he was just resting his hand on the monument.
Click.
A soft pneumatic hiss sounded. A section of the marble base, no larger than a dog door, slid inward.
Go. You have five seconds before auto-close.
Elian didn't hesitate. He dropped to his stomach and shimmied through the hole, pulling his legs in just as the stone slab hissed shut behind him.
Darkness.
[Entering Dungeon Instance: The Beginner's Tomb]
[Difficulty: Normal]
[Recommended Level: 5-8]
[Party Size: 1/5 (WARNING)]
Elian clicked on his flashlight—a cheap, crank-powered model he'd zip-tied to his shoulder strap. The beam cut through the gloom, revealing a narrow service tunnel lined with pipes.
"We're in," Elian breathed, the air stale and cold. "Now where?"
North. Drop down the ventilation shaft. It bypasses the Antechamber and the first mob spawn.
Elian crawled.
The Crypt of the Forgotten
The drop from the vent was about ten feet. Elian landed in a crouch, his knees protesting.
He was in a hallway made of ancient, green-tinged stone. Torches burned on the walls with a cold, blue fire that offered no warmth. The silence was heavy, broken only by the distant clack-clack-clack of bone against stone.
[Zone: Hall of the Restless]
Elian drew the Rot-Iron Blade. It felt heavy in his hand, the stamina drain already itching at his muscles.
"Okay, Ghost," Elian whispered. "What's the play?"
Two Skeleton Soldiers ahead. Level 4. Aggro range: 10 meters. Patrol pattern: Figure-eight.
Elian peeked around the corner. Sure enough, two skeletons clad in rusted chainmail were marching in perfect synchronization. Their eye sockets glowed with red mana.
Level 4. They had twice his health and hit like trucks. If he fought them fairly, he died.
"I can't fight two," Elian said.
You don't have to. Observe the floor tiles.
Elian looked down. The floor was a checkerboard of grey and black stones.
The third tile on the left is a pressure plate for a spike trap. It is currently disabled for monsters, but active for players.
"So I avoid it?"
No. You activate it.
Elian blinked. A plan formed in his mind. A nasty, beautiful plan.
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small rock. He weighed it in his hand.
He waited.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The skeletons turned. They were walking away from him.
Elian stepped out of cover. He raised his left hand.
"Mana Thread."
A thin, shimmering blue line shot from his finger. He didn't aim for the skeletons. He aimed for a loose stone urn sitting on a shelf above the pressure plate.
The thread stuck.
Elian waited. The skeletons reached the end of the hall and turned back. They marched toward him.
They passed the pressure plate.
Now.
Elian yanked the thread.
The urn wobbled and tipped over. It crashed onto the third tile on the left.
CLICK.
THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!
Three massive iron spears shot up from the floor with the force of a hydraulic press.
The first skeleton was directly on top of the tile. The spears punched through its ribcage, shattering its spine and launching it into the ceiling. It exploded into a shower of bone dust.
[Enemy Defeated: Skeleton Soldier (Level 4)]
[Experience Gained!]
The second skeleton, walking just behind the first, was clipped by the shaft of a spear. It stumbled, its balance broken.
It looked at the trap, then its red eyes snapped to Elian. It let out a dry, hissing shriek and charged.
"One down," Elian grinned, though his hands were sweating. "One to go."
The remaining skeleton was damaged—its left arm was hanging by a thread of dried tendon—but it was still fast. It raised a rusted scimitar and lunged.
Elian didn't block. Kaelen's memory screamed that blocking a skeleton's overhead swing with a dagger was suicide; the kinetic energy would break his wrist.
Dodge left. 45 degrees. Exposed ribcage.
Elian's body was slow, but his timing was pre-cognitively perfect. He stepped left just as the scimitar sparked against the stone floor where his foot had been.
He swung the Rot-Iron Blade.
Crunch.
The rusted sword bit into the skeleton's exposed ribs. It didn't cut clean—it was too dull for that—but the impact cracked the bone.
[Effect Applied: Tetanus]
[Target Regeneration Halted.]
[Target Speed Reduced by 10%.]
The skeleton staggered, trying to pull its sword free from the floor. The "Tetanus" debuff was confusing its combat AI; usually, undead regenerated minor cracks instantly, but the cursed blade was blocking the mana flow.
Elian didn't get greedy. He backed away.
"Come on," he taunted. "Come get me."
The skeleton wrenched its sword free and swung again—a horizontal slash.
Duck.
Elian dropped. The blade whistled over his hair.
Leg sweep. Use the Thread.
Elian cast Mana Thread again, shooting it at the skeleton's ankle. He pulled hard.
The skeleton, already off-balance from the swing, tripped. It crashed face-first onto the stone floor.
Elian jumped. He drove the Rot-Iron Blade down with both hands, aiming for the glowing red mana crystal at the base of the skull.
CRACK.
The crystal shattered. The red light in the eye sockets flickered and died. The pile of bones collapsed into inanimate calcium.
[Enemy Defeated: Skeleton Soldier (Level 4)]
[Experience Gained!]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 3.]
Elian slumped against the wall, his chest heaving. "That... was too close."
He had burned half his mana pool on two skeletons. And this was the entrance.
Inefficient, the Ghost critiqued. Your footwork was sloppy. You wasted 4 mana on the urn; you could have thrown the rock.
"I needed to be sure," Elian panted. He allocated his new stat points.
[Points Available: 5]
Elian put 3 into Agility and 2 into Intelligence.
He needed speed to dodge, and mana to abuse his thread skill. Strength was useless if he couldn't hit anything.
He looted the bodies.
[Looted: Cracked Bone Chip x4]
[Looted: Rusted Scimitar (Durability: 12/100)]
"Trash," Elian muttered, but he kept the scimitar. He could throw it.
He moved deeper into the tomb.
The Hall of Pendulums
The next room was a classic. A long, narrow bridge over a bottomless pit. Massive, bladed pendulums swung back and forth, slicing through the air with a terrifying whoosh.
To a normal player, this was a timing puzzle. You had to watch the pattern, run, stop, run.
To Elian, it was math.
Pendulum A: Period 3.2 seconds.
Pendulum B: Period 4.1 seconds.
Safe Zone: 1.5 meters from the start, wait for Sync Cycle.
Elian walked onto the bridge. He didn't run. He walked with a terrifying calmness, stepping inches away from a blade that swung past his nose.
He paused. A blade swung in front of him. Another swung behind him. He stood in the eye of the storm.
"Three... two... one..."
He stepped forward. Two blades crossed paths right where he had been standing a second ago.
He reached the other side without breaking a sweat.
"Easy," Elian said. "Next."
The False Treasure Room
The corridor opened up into a lavish chamber. Gold coins were piled in the corners. A golden chest sat in the center of the room, bathed in a spotlight.
[System Notice: Hidden Treasure Room Discovered!]
Elian stopped. His eyes widened. Gold? Real gold? He could fill his pockets right now and leave. He wouldn't need the Awakening Token. He could buy a mansion in Sector 1.
He took a step forward.
HALT.
The voice in his head was a roar. It brought Elian to his knees.
Illusion. Mimicry type. Look at the shadows.
Elian shook his head, clearing the greed from his eyes. He looked closer.
The "gold coins" didn't cast individual shadows. The light hitting the chest was coming from nowhere. And the chest... was breathing.
It was a Hoard Mimic. A Level 10 Elite Monster.
If he had touched a single coin, the room would have sealed, and the chest would have eaten him alive.
"Right," Elian swallowed hard, backing away slowly. "No free lunch."
The exit is the loose wall on the right. Break it.
Elian skirted the edge of the room, staying as far away from the "treasure" as possible. He found the section of wall where the mortar was crumbling.
He raised his pry-bar (he wasn't going to ruin his sword on a wall) and smashed the bricks.
They gave way, revealing a dark, dusty tunnel.
"The Developer's Backdoor," Elian realized. "This skips the sub-boss."
Correct. The Gatekeeper is a Level 8 Armored Knight. You cannot defeat it. You must bypass it to reach the Pillar.
Elian crawled into the tunnel.
The Inner Sanctum
The tunnel ended at a grate. Elian peered through the bars.
He was looking down into a massive circular chamber. In the center, suspended above a pool of void-black liquid, was a monolithic crystal pulsing with white light.
The Pillar of Ascendance.
It was beautiful. It hummed with pure, unadulterated power.
But standing between Elian and the Pillar was a problem.
It wasn't a monster. It was a player.
A woman stood at the base of the Pillar. She wore the sleek, red-and-black leather armor of the "Blood-Rose" Guild. She was tapping on a holographic interface, seemingly trying to hack the console at the base of the crystal.
Elian froze.
Identity Match: Viper. Real Name: Sera.
Class: Assassin.
Level: 7.
Affiliation: Blood-Rose Guild (Forward Scout).
"Someone else is here?" Elian thought, panic rising. "The dungeon says 1/5 players. She must be using a stealth item to mask her presence from the instance counter."
She is trying to brute-force the admin console, the Ghost observed. She doesn't know the code. But if she triggers the alarm, the defense system will activate and incinerate everything in the room. Including us.
Elian watched her. She was frustrated, hitting the console with the hilt of her dagger.
"Damn ancient tech," she hissed, her voice echoing in the chamber. "Where is the loot button?"
Elian had a choice.
He could wait for her to fail and get fried.
He could try to kill her (Suicide. She was Level 7).
Or he could outsmart her.
"She's a rogue," Elian thought. "She values profit over everything."
He looked at the grate. It was screwed shut.
Inventory Check: Venom Sac (Sold). Mana Thread (Active).
Elian formulated a plan. It was risky. It required him to reveal himself. But if he stayed hidden, she might blow up the Pillar.
Elian put his mouth close to the grate and projected his voice, trying to sound bored and echoing.
"You're doing it wrong, you know."
Sera spun around, her daggers flashing into her hands. She scanned the room, eyes wild. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
"I'm the guy watching you try to unlock a vault with a toothpick," Elian said, keeping his voice steady despite his heart hammering against his ribs. "The console is bio-locked. Keep hitting it, and the Guardian wakes up."
Sera's eyes narrowed. She couldn't pinpoint his location in the echoey chamber. "A hidden quest NPC? Or a player using Invisibility?"
"Does it matter?" Elian bluffed. "I know the code. You have the nimble fingers. We can split the loot 50/50. Or you can die when the ceiling lasers turn on."
Sera hesitated. She looked at the console, then back at the empty air. She lowered her daggers slightly.
"I'm listening," she said.
Elian smiled in the dark.
"Step away from the console," he commanded. "And drop the daggers