Chapter 16 - Chapter 16 - The Cave of First Treasure

The cave swallowed them whole. The moment the three siblings crossed the threshold, the forest air vanished behind them, replaced by a cold, heavy silence that clung to their skin like damp cloth. The walls glimmered with faint blue veins of ore, pulsing slowly—almost like a heartbeat. Sofia rubbed her arms."It feels… alive." "It is," Riley murmured. Aria squinted into the darkness. "Okay, but like… friendly alive? Or 'we're going to die in here' alive?" Dot clung tightly to her shoulder, eight legs tense. Echo pressed against Sofia's boots. Lumi perched on Riley's shoulder, glowing faintly. But even Lumi's light shook. Riley paused.His eyes adjusted.He inhaled the dust-filled air. He remembered this place from his first life. A beginner dungeon. One room. One boss. One brutal lesson. And one secret he'd learned by accident, years too late to help him then. Not this time. "Stay close," Riley whispered. They moved down a narrowing tunnel, the walls tightening around them. The sound of their footsteps was devoured by the stone, leaving the cave disturbingly quiet. Then— The tunnel opened. And the chamber revealed itself. The cavern was enormous—twenty metres across and tall enough that the ceiling was lost in darkness. Stalagmites rose like teeth from the ground; glowing moss lit patches of the floor with eerie blue-green light. And in the center… "…Oh. Holy. Shit," Aria whispered. A massive creature made of solid stone lay dormant, curled like a sleeping bull. Thick armour plates overlapped across its body. Its shoulders rose and fell with deep, rumbling breaths. A pale turquoise crystal jutted from its forehead like a jagged horn. Stoneback GuardianLevel 6 — Elite Dungeon Beast Lumi's glow dimmed with fear.Dot's legs trembled.Echo whimpered softly. Sofia swallowed, voice barely audible."It's huge…" "Bigger in person," Riley said, keeping his voice steady. Aria whispered, "Bro, that looks like the miniboss of a horror movie." "It's early-game," Riley said. "Manageable. As long as we don't do anything—" The guardian's eye crystal snapped open. A deep grinding rumble filled the room. Its head lifted slowly.Then its entire body rose, plates scraping stone. Riley froze. "…stupid," he finished quietly. The guardian fixed all four of them with its glowing crystal eye. Aria whispered, "So this is where we die." Then the beast roared. "MOVE!" The Stoneback Guardian thundered forward, hooves smashing into the floor with earth-shaking force. The sound echoed like rolling thunder. Aria sprinted left.Sofia right.Riley threw himself sideways. The guardian obliterated a stalagmite where they'd been standing half a second earlier. Stone shrapnel flew everywhere. "SHIT!" Aria shouted. "Why is it that fast!?" "It's an elite!" Riley yelled back. "Stick to the plan!" "What plan!?" Aria dodged another piece of falling rock. "YOU NEVER TOLD ME A PLAN!" Riley didn't answer. He was staring past her.At the far left side of the room. A stalagmite. Unlike the others, this one glowed faintly with crystallised ore. A memory surged up unbidden from his past life: A tip buried deep in an old forum thread."If the guardian breaks an ore-infused stalagmite, its armor destabilises for 15 seconds." Nobody found that trick until three years into the game. Except Riley. Right now. He set his jaw. He had to get the guardian to hit that stalagmite. But first— "ARIA! Trap!" Aria blinked—then grinned with savage delight. "Oh HELL yes!" She slammed her gauntlet down. SHOCKWIRE LINE DEPLOYEDA crackling line of electricity stretched across the floor between two rocks. The guardian charged again. Its front hoof hit the line. ZZZZZT— The elite beast jolted violently, stumbling mid-run. "GO, GO, GO!" Riley shouted. Sofia fired a Light Bolt that sparked off its shoulder. Echo darted forward, biting a exposed crack near its knee. Dot sprayed a web across the guardian's other leg, weighing it down. Riley steadied his bow. Spirit Shot —The arrow of pure light slammed into the guardian's flank. Spirit Shot —It chipped a piece of stone away. Then he let out a breath— Twin Pierce—Two arrows appeared at once and shot forward, striking the same cracked plate. A chunk of stone broke loose. The guardian roared in pain. But the armor didn't break fully. Not enough. Not yet. Sofia gasped. "It's working!" Aria cracked her knuckles. "Let's go! Round two!" But Riley held up a hand sharply. "No—back off!" Aria blinked. "Why!? We've got momentum!" Riley pointed at the beast's chest. The turquoise crystal horn began to glow. "…Oh," Aria whispered. "That's not good." The guardian reared onto its hind legs, crystal horn blazing. "Get behind cover—NOW!" Riley yelled. They sprinted. The room erupted in a cone of raw crystal energy. The beam carved a trench across the stone floor.Dust exploded.Rocks melted at the edges. The siblings dove behind separate stalagmites. Riley grabbed Lumi mid-dive and shielded him with his body. The blast struck his cover—The stalagmite shattered violently.Riley tumbled back, bruised and winded. Lumi squeaked, trembling in panic. "Okay…" Riley coughed. "That was definitely the beam attack." Aria peeked around her cover. "HOW IS THIS A LEVEL SIX BOSS!?" "It's early-game," Riley wheezed. "And players hate themselves." The beast lowered its head and sniffed. Then its crystal horn pulsed— fixing on Lumi. Riley's blood ran cold. "No," he whispered. The guardian charged straight at Lumi. Riley sprinted. "LUMI! MOVE!" Lumi scrambled, legs shaking, glow flickering desperately. The guardian thundered closer— Aria screamed.Sofia reached out, tears in her eyes.Dot flung web after web. Riley reached Lumi first. He dove—grabbed Lumi—and threw himself sideways. The guardian slammed into him full-force. CRACK Riley smashed into the wall, air blasting out of his lungs. The entire cave swayed in his vision. Pain tore across his ribs and shoulder. "RILEY!" Sofia screamed. "BRO!" Aria cried. Lumi rolled from Riley's arms and hit the floor, tiny body shaking. The guardian backed up, preparing to trample Riley where he lay. Dot leapt onto the guardian's face, webbing its eyes wildly.Echo bit its hind leg repeatedly.Aria dashed in and punched its knee—hard—Sofia fired Light Bolt after Light Bolt, fists trembling. The guardian staggered—But only for a moment. Then it roared— —and threw Dot off so hard she bounced. Echo yelped.Sofia screamed.Aria cursed loudly. Riley forced himself upright, gripping his bow. "Don't you dare," he growled to the guardian. But the beast wasn't focused on him. It turned— toward Lumi. Lumi tried to stand. His little legs wobbled.His glow flickered weakly.His pupils shrank to terrified pinpoints. He looked at Riley— eyes full of apology. As if saying: I'm sorry. The guardian lowered its glowing horn. "No…" Riley whispered. "No, no, NO—" Sofia screamed his name.Aria sprinted desperately.Dot limped forward, clicking furiously.Echo barked, body shaking. Lumi braced himself— but he was so small. So fragile. So breakable. Riley felt something inside him tear. The guardian angled its head to rush Lumi— —and Riley saw it. Right behind the beast— the ore-infused stalagmite. Glowing faintly. Exactly where he needed it. "ARIA, SOFIA—TO ME!" Riley shouted, voice breaking.He pointed frantically at the glowing stalagmite."WE NEED IT TO HIT THAT!" Aria skidded to a stop.Sofia gasped.Both followed his finger. Aria's eyes widened. "You absolute genius!" Sofia nodded, trembling. "Let's do it!" But the guardian didn't charge at them.It charged at Lumi. Riley's heart slammed in his chest. Aria ran toward the stalagmite. Sofia aimed her staff toward Lumi. Riley screamed— "LUMI—RUN!" The tiny spirit stumbled, legs shaking—Barely dodging the first hoof—The guardian turned sharply— Riley grabbed his bow. Shot.Shot.Twin Pierce— The double-arrow hit the guardian's flank. Not enough to stop it. But enough to turn it. The beast swung its head toward Riley— and charged. "Riley—MOVE!" Sofia cried. "BRO, RUN!" Aria screamed. But Riley didn't run. He led the guardian. Step by step. In a straight line. Toward the glowing stalagmite. The horn glowed brighter—The beast roared—The cave shook— Riley dove aside at the last second. The guardian hit the stalagmite— BOOOOOOM The glowing pillar exploded into shards of light. The guardian staggered. Its armor plates vibrated. Cracks spiderwebbed across its chest. The crystal horn flickered. SYSTEM: Hidden Mechanic TriggeredStoneback Guardian Armor: Destabilized (15 seconds) Riley gasped. "Yes—YES!" Aria whooped. "THAT WAS SICK!" Sofia breathed in relief. "We can win this!" But the guardian wasn't finished. Far from it. It stumbled—Then roared so loudly the cave shook violently. It turned its eyes toward Riley. Pure hatred. Pure rage. Pure murder. Sofia yelled, "Riley—look out!" Aria screamed, "BRO—MOVE YOUR ASS!" The guardian scraped its hooves. Preparing to charge. Straight at him. Riley lifted his bow— but his hands trembled. His ribs burned. He had seconds. Maybe less. And Lumi— lay on the ground nearby. Tiny.Shaking.Barely glowing. Riley stared at his spirit. "Get up…" he whispered."Please, Lumi… get up…" The guardian roared— and surged forward. Dust blasted up behind it.The ground cracked beneath its hooves.The horn glowed white-hot— ready to skewer Riley straight through. Sofia screamed.Aria cried out.Dot tried to crawl toward him.Echo barked desperately. Lumi lifted his head. His tiny body shivered. His glow flickered— then steadied. Then brightened. Then ignited. Riley's breath caught. "…Lumi?" The guardian thundered closer, unstoppable. Ten metres. Five metres. Three— Lumi screamed— and exploded with light.