Zane's jaw hit the floor. The fire mana flickering around his fingertips died out instantly as he stared at Arthur. "You... how? We saw you get surrounded! There's no way an F-Rank could survive that!"
Arthur took a step forward, the heavy stone floor cracking under his feet. The aura he was emitting was cold, sharp, and heavy—like a mountain pressing down on them. "The Arthur you knew died in that pit, Zane. You should have made sure the job was finished."
Elara, whose face was pale with exhaustion, tried to raise her staff. "Arthur, wait! It wasn't my idea! Zane forced me to leave you! I wanted to help, I swear!"
Arthur laughed, a dark, hollow sound. "Always the liar, Elara. I saw you smile when he pushed me. I saw the greed in your eyes."
Zane, recovering from his shock, gritted his teeth. His ego couldn't accept that the 'trash' he had discarded was now standing before him, looking stronger than ever. "I don't know what kind of lucky break you got, you pathetic rat, but I'm a C-Rank warrior! I've been training for years! You're just a porter playing dress-up!"
Zane roared, channeling every drop of his remaining mana into a massive fireball. "Die for real this time! Bursting Flame!"
The giant ball of fire roared across the chamber, turning the air scorching hot. Elara ducked for cover, thinking Arthur would be incinerated.
But Arthur didn't even move.
As the fireball reached him, he simply raised his blood-stained steel shortsword. With a casual flick of his wrist, he slashed through the center of the flame. The sheer physical force of his blow created a gust of wind so powerful it extinguished the magical fire instantly.
Zane's eyes bulged. "What?! You dispersed a C-Rank spell with a basic sword swing?"
"Is that all?" Arthur whispered. In the next heartbeat, he was gone.
Zane didn't even see him move. One moment Arthur was ten feet away, and the next, he was standing directly in front of Zane, their faces inches apart.
"My turn," Arthur said.
He punched Zane in the stomach. He didn't use the sword; he wanted Zane to feel the weight of his bare fist. The impact sounded like a sledgehammer hitting a drum. Zane's armor shattered like glass, and he was sent flying across the room, slamming into the obsidian wall with a sickening crunch.
"Zane!" Elara screamed, dropping to her knees.
Zane slumped to the floor, coughing up blood. His ribs were broken, and his mana core was trembling from the shock. He looked up at Arthur with pure, unadulterated terror. "Please... stop... take the gold! Take the artifact! Just let us go!"
Arthur walked toward them slowly. "The gold? The artifact? Those were never yours to give, Zane. Everything in this dungeon belongs to the one who survives it."
Arthur reached down and grabbed the golden artifact from the altar—a glowing dragon-shaped pendant.
[Ding!]
[Host has acquired 'The Heart of the Shadow Dragon' (Rank: S - Sealed)]
[Passive Skill '100x Multiplier' Activated!]
[Loot Multiplied: You have received 100 'Hearts of the Shadow Dragon'!]
Arthur almost stumbled as his spatial inventory was suddenly filled with the weight of a hundred S-Rank artifacts. If anyone in the outside world found out he had even one, it would start a war. And he had a hundred.
"Now," Arthur said, turning back to the trembling traitors. "About that betrayal."
He didn't kill them. Not yet. He took their backpacks, their weapons, and every single mana potion they had. He stripped them of everything they needed to survive the trek back to the surface.
"Arthur, please! We'll starve! The monsters will find us!" Elara sobbed, clutching his boots.
Arthur kicked her hand away. "You told me the same thing before you left me in the spider's nest. Consider this a test of your 'skills'."
He turned his back on them and walked toward the vault's exit. "If you make it out alive, tell the world that Arthur is dead. Because when I see you again, I won't be this merciful."
Arthur stepped out into the dark tunnels, his eyes glowing with newfound power. He had the loot, he had the levels, and he had his revenge. But this was just the first floor of the world's most dangerous dungeon.
"System," Arthur said, his voice echoing. "Mark the path to the second floor."
[Ding! Path marked.]
[Warning: Second Floor difficulty is B-Rank. Recommended level: 50.]
Arthur looked at his Level 38 status and smiled. "With the 100x multiplier, I'll be Level 100 before the sun comes up."