Chapter 1: How It Ends:
I sprinted through the narrow stone corridor as fast as I could.
The torchlights flickered against the walls as my heart raced, threatening to burst out of my chest.
[Stamina: 25% - Movement Speed reduced by 10%]
Behind me, the shriek of that monstrosity echoed, getting closer with each passing second.
[Condition Applied: Fear lvl.2 – Agility reduced by 10%. Stamina Drain increased by 10%]
“Oh, for fuck’s sake...” I muttered under my breath, pushing myself even harder.
The end of the corridor split into two directions – left and right. I retraced our steps, remembering I needed to go left, so without slowing down, I stumbled against the wall, using it to redirect myself left.
I had to reach Yana quickly, and together we’d get out of this shitty dungeon. The Tomb of Gaelith was a set-up! A plain set-up! And those bastards left us weaklings behind once they realized that even they were under-leveled for it.
I tried to calm my nerves by thinking about Yana. It’s funny - throughout my entire life, she was always the one rescuing my ass, but now I was going to be the one saving hers. Yeah, yeah, that’s how it’s going to go. I’ll grab her, and we’ll run. Enough people had already died here today, but not us. No. We’ll escape, and I’ll finally tell her how I’ve always felt about her. After today, I won’t take anything for granted anymore.
[Stamina: 20% - Reaching Critical Level. Movement Speed reduced by 15%]
Not good. I’ll never reach her alive like this. I opened my inventory screen.
[Inventory]
* Lesser Health Potion x2
* Lesser Stamina Elixir x1
* Lesser Mana Elixir x1
* Bandages (Consumable) x1
* Blackberries (Consumable) x1
* Torch x1
* Trap Detection Kit x2
* Weapon Repair Kit x1
* Water Flask x1
* Gold Coins x25
My eyes darted over the list, sweat dripping down my forehead.
It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.
[Select: Lesser Stamina Elixir]
The vial with the yellow liquid materialized in my hand. I uncorked it and gulped it down in one go.
[Lesser Stamina Elixir Consumed: Stamina Restored by 15%]
[Status Effect: Fear lvl.2 – All Item Effectiveness reduced by 30%]
[Actual Stamina Restored: 10.5%]
[Stamina: 30.5%]
What do you mean, effectiveness reduced because of fear? I’m not even that scared! I started laughing nervously – my usual defense mechanism when things got too tense.
Well, at least I’m out of the active debuff zone.
I took a sharp right, then a left, and continued forward for two more minutes until I finally reached Yana.
Among the bodies of those snake creatures - she sat on the ground, her back against the wall, her sword driven into the ground as she remained alert. She was clad in her light, red-colored armor. Her long red hair was tied into a single braid behind her back, and her face looked tired, exhausted, dark veins visible on her pale skin – evidence of the poisoning she suffered when we fought the snake creatures that attacked us in this chamber.
She had been grazed by a snake’s fang and poisoned, and with no antidotes or any way to go back - the tunnels we came through had collapsed - I had left her here and ventured deeper with the remaining adventurers, desperately hoping to find an antidote. But that was a mistake...
“Aidan.” She called out when she saw me, her voice both relieved and strained. “Good. You’re alive.”
“We need to get out of here now.” I said immediately as I rushed to her side. “How do you feel?”
“I feel like shit.” She chuckled, even though it was obvious she was in pain.
I smiled weakly at her, trying to keep morale up. “I’m gonna lift you up, okay?”
She nodded nervously.
I sighed as I lifted her onto my back, feeling her weight settle as I adjusted my grip.
[Weight Load: +70 kg]
[Condition Applied: Encumbered – Movement Speed reduced by 30%. Stamina Drain increased by 20%]
“Did you gain some weight recently?” I joked, trying to keep my mind off the monster that could reach us at any minute.
“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Yana replied. “Where are the others?”
I swallowed hard “There are no others. I’m the only one who made it back.”
I began walking toward the collapsed tunnels, not sure why, perhaps hoping we missed something. I just knew we had to get away from here. It can’t end like this.
“What did you find there?” she asked, her voice tense.
“It – “ I began, but was immediately interrupted by the shriek of the monster that had gruesomely slaughtered our two remaining companions.
A primal fear gripped me now, and my body trembled, but I kept moving, even though with all the debuffs, it was just a few short steps at a time.
[Condition Applied: Fear lvl.4 – Agility reduced by 40%. Stamina Drain increased by 40%]
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“What the hell was that?” Yana muttered quietly.
“I don’t know.” I admitted, my voice shaky. “It was dark, so I didn’t quite catch what it was, but Yan, there’s a glitch in the system or something...”
“A glitch?”
“Yes.” I continued. “Its level was 134.”
We stayed silent for a moment before she spoke. “If we weren’t so deep in shit right now, I’d think you were pulling my leg.”
She was right, of course. Everyone knew that level 100 was the highest any human or monster could reach. And even then, only a select few could ever reach it.
“That changes a lot...” Yana muttered.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Where are you even going?” she suddenly asked. “The tunnels collapsed.”
“I know that.” I said, a little sharper than I meant to. “But there has to be some other way to escape this place.”
“I highly doubt that, Aidan.” She countered softly, her voice filled with doubt.
“You don’t know that.” I forced a laugh, trying to shake off the rising tension. “I’ll get us out of here, you’ll see.”
“Aidan, we won’t make it out of here.” She said quietly.
“Don’t say that.” I shot back.
“But we – “ she started, but I interrupted her, turning my head slightly in frustration.
“Would you stop it already?” I snapped, my voice louder than I intended. “I just don’t want us to die here!”
Her silence hung in the air for a moment before she spoke again, her tone softer, and warmer. “I know, Aidan.” She replied. “I don’t want us to die here either, but...I activated Distance Gauge a second ago and...it’s close. Too close. Even if there was some other way out of here, you’re encumbered carrying me. With the rest of your debuffs, you’re barely moving.”
I clenched my jaw, knowing where this conversation was headed. “Don’t you dare say what you’re about to say now.” I warned her, my voice hard, but full of fear.
“Then I won’t say it.” She paused, her breath hitching slightly. “But you know I’m right.”
“You’re wrong.” I retorted, my voice firm. “Stop playing the hero all the time. We’ll escape together.”
She sighed heavily, the sound filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Aidan. For bringing you here. You wanted nothing to do with it, and I dragged you here for my own selfish reasons.”
I shook my head, though she probably couldn’t see it. “No, it’s not your fault. It was my decision to join you.”
Her voice cracked, and I could hear her choking back sobs. “No, it’s my fault. I killed you.”
Tears stung my eyes as I heard her words. “No, Yan. You didn’t. I wanted to be here at this quest. I wanted to be here with you.”
“What?” she asked, her voice breaking as the sobs took over.
I took a deep, shaky breath, realizing now was the last time I could come clean.
“Yan, I love you.” I admitted, my voice trembling with fear. “I always did. I wanted to stay by your side forever, but I stopped leveling up ages ago, and I didn’t want to hold you back, so I decided to move aside. When you knocked on my door and asked me to join you on this quest, I felt relieved. Relived that you actually still wanted me by your side.”
“Aidan…” she whispered, her voice tense.
“I’m serious!” I said, my words rushing out. “I love you, I love you, I love you!”
There was an awkward silence before she answered, sobbing. “I love you too! Ever since you climbed that tall oak tree in old Jacob’s farm when we were kids! I’d loved you all this time!”
My heart twisted painfully at her words. The feelings had been mutual all along, and I had been afraid for no reason. Tears streamed down my face as the weight of all those lost years hit me.
“I’m sorry it took me so long!” I cried.
But before I could say more, the shriek echoed again.
[Condition Applied: Fear lvl.5 – Max Fear level. Paralysis inflicted. Agility reduced by 100%.]
I froze in place, completely paralyzed. My body refused to respond. The monster was upon us.
It loomed before us, seemingly made of darkness itself. Its form was mostly humanoid, but twisted - giant teeth gnashed from an empty face, and its legs morphed into writhing, dark appendages, whole lot of them. It’s title and level appeared above it: Gaelith’s Darkness, level 135. It was one level higher than the last time I saw it, just a few minutes ago.
“One hundred thirty-four, you said?” Yana asked, her voice trembling. “Did he level up by killing Tagan and Bernard?”
I swallowed hard. “Seems so...”
“Take me down, Aidan.” Yana said, her voice steadying. “Let’s make a last stand.”
Realizing she was right, I carefully lowered Yana to the ground. She struggled to stand beside me, barely keeping her balance.
[Weight Load: -70 kg]
[Condition Applied: No Longer Encumbered]
“Stand behind me, Aidan.” she whispered, her voice shaking but determined.
“No, you’re poisoned.” I protested, stepping forward to shield her.
She placed a trembling hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “I’m still the higher-level here.”
“I don’t care.” I shot back, refusing to let her take the lead. But before I could say more, she pulled me into a deep, desperate kiss. Her lips were soft against mine, and for a fleeting moment, everything else faded away.
“I love you.” she whispered as she pulled back, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then, she shoved me backward. “Please, survive.”
“Fireburst!” she called out, her voice strong despite her tears, summoning that spell. My heart dropped – there was nothing I could do.
It was a suicide spell. A massive explosion that would kill her. She had told me about it long ago, explaining how she unlocked it in the fire magic skill tree, swearing she’d never use it unless things really went south. And now...here it was.
When she shoved me, I stumbled backward and slipped over a small ledge, dropping a few feet down. I landed hard, the impact jolting my body, but managed to look up and see the explosion erupt above me. My breath and tears caught in my throat as the sheer force of it shook the ground underneath me. The earth crumbled around me, and I was swallowed by the collapsing terrain.
I didn’t even black out through it all. I wish I had. I landed on a lower level - an unexplored one beneath the dungeon. Crushed down by the stones that landed on me, the pain overwhelming as my body was pinned beneath the rubble.
[Health:6% - Reaching Critical Level - Please Consume a Healing Potion]
[Status Ailment: Bleeding - Health drain at 1% per 5 seconds]
She didn’t mean it, I knew that. Yana thought she could save me, but here I was, dying slowly under the rubble of the explosion she had created.
I looked around and realized I was alone. Yana’s body...I wasn’t sure what had happened to it after she used Fireburst. Her corpse was nowhere to be seen. Well, at least she probably took out that horrendous abomination...I hoped, even though it was highly unlikely.
The answer came soon enough as the monsters’s shriek echoed once more.
[Condition Applied: Fear lvl.5 – Max Fear level. Paralysis inflicted. Agility reduced by 100%.]
It appeared before me, materializing out of the darkness, completely unscathed. Yana’s gamble had failed…
“Well, just get it over it...” I whispered, my voice weak and pained. But then, rage surged through me as I thought about Yana. She was dead, and I’d wasted my entire life without ever telling her how I felt until it was too late. Our first kiss was our last. My whisper suddenly turned into a furious shout. “Kill me – “
I couldn’t even finish my words. The creature’s appendages solidified and pierced my already broken body.
I gasped as the searing pain hit, feeling my life slip away.
[Health: 0% - You Have Died]
***
[Loop Count: 2]
I woke up to the sound of the system message.
Loop count...2? What the hell is this? Was my system glitching? I stared on the message, until it quickly disappeared.
I opened up my status menu just to make sure everything was normal.
[Status Menu]
* Name: Aidan Dar
* Level: 50 (Max Level Reached)
* Class: Spellsword
* Subclass: Arcane Duelist
* Health: 100%
* Mana: 100%
* Stamina: 100%
* Endurance: 6
* Durability: 5
* Agility: 20
* Strength: 10
* Intelligence: 9
The Loop Count: 2 was nowhere to be seen. Everything else seemed normal. So, it was a glitch, I guess...
Shaking off the strange thoughts, I reminded myself that Yana would come to pick me up soon enough. There wasn’t any time to waste – it was my first serious quest in two years since I stepped down from serious adventuring.
A large-scale quest targeting an abandoned dungeon called - the Tomb of Gaelith.
And for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Something told me to stop us, to stay inside and never leave the house, but I couldn’t understand that feeling at the time...