Sweat riddled him from top to bottom, his suit that was once stained in red is now damped. But the heat was non-existent compared to the literal floor of molten rock standing in his way.
Zeke peered at the lava, being the first time he has ever seen it. He only ever saw such a thing on TV, but seeing the real deal put a damper on his adventurous career, short as it was.
What’s worse, the entire scene in front of him was just a massive pool of lava, practically an ocean’s worth that seemed to extend far beyond the horizon. How could such a thing be possible in a castle? Unless they somehow managed to traverse all the way down to the pits of hell.
Mikella paced behind him being unusually silent as she stewed in her thoughts. Though perhaps ‘stewed’ might be literal if they keep being here for so long.
After Zeke stared at the lava long enough, he started to look for other ways to move forward. If they go back now, they’ll only take even longer to get out of the castle and out of this strange predicament. If this was the only way out, then he had to find some way other than melting right on the spot.
He spotted something at the distance, realizing that there was a pathway forward.
It was farther than he would’ve thought, but strangely his eyes could pick up the distance. The ocean of lava seemed to continue all the way to what looked like the continuation of the path, a small cavern of pure darkness at the center of it. Every single gamer instinct was telling him that this was the right way forward.
“I think we gotta go across,” Zeke said, prompting a scoff from Mikella.
“And how are we gonna do that?” She asked sarcastically. “Fly across? Last I check, we only got a little tougher. We can’t exactly fly or swim through lava, Zeke!”
She was being a lot more hostile than she probably intended, but Zeke understood her plight. Just when they thought they could finally escape, it turned out to be a worthless endeavor that could otherwise kill them if they stayed for too long. He can’t even get angry at her as her frustration was thrown at the situation rather than at him.
Though his idea probably got her more agitated than most. But it was the only one he had.
“I know that, but look over there. You see that? I think that’s an exit from here,” Zeke pointed out at the cavern beyond, getting Mikella to notice it herself. Thankfully her eyes were just as good as his somehow, letting out a breath before turning back to him.
“Even if that’s true, that doesn’t answer my question. How are we gonna go across? We don’t have anything that can go across this massive pool of freaking lava! Also, don’t you remember that we have Clara?”
She pointed at the little girl beside them, forcing Zeke to see that Clara was absolutely melting there. She kept fanning her face, unable to keep up with the heat. However, she was doing her best not to complain as the adults were arguing, just suffering on her own.
Zeke’s guilt wracked his insides at the sight. The more they stay here, the more the three would suffer from the heat.
But he kept peering at the distance beyond him. He was sure that there was something he could do. If this was some strange dungeon like he expected, surely there should be something they can do to pass this ‘stage’, so to speak.
They went through dozens of knights the past few days, and it was clear that if the scenery changed, they were passing through the stages of the dungeon. If this was another one, then that’s the only way for them to move forward. Otherwise, it’s just going back and forth and eventually running out of supplies.
Then he finally spotted it. There was a mechanism at the side of the cave. It was small, and he wasn’t sure whether that was a switch or a button, or anything of the like. He was sure of one thing–someone has to cross the lava to exit the stage, and it doesn’t have to be all of them.
Now, how exactly is he gonna pass through the lava? Mikella’s complaints held true as they didn’t have any rope or ladders to go across. Not to mention the path forward was utterly too long for anything they have to keep steady anyways. They would probably die of the heat and toxic fumes being exhausted from the lava straight below if they kept going at it.
But then something clicked in his mind. He knew this was probably the stupidest idea he ever had… but in games, that would normally be a genius move–If he can pull it off, that is.
And he knew for sure that there are no extra lives in case he failed. Still, that was the better, if not the only option he had.
“I’ll go,” Zeke eventually said, pushing himself to walk forward. Mikella’s eyes widened as she forcibly dragged him back by the shoulder.
“What are you doing?!” Mikella screamed. “Are you actually planning on just jumping into the lava?!”
“I’m not gonna do something that stupid,” Zeke said with an eye-roll. He knew that Mikella wasn’t exactly going along with the plan, but he hoped she thought of him better than that. “I’m just gonna use my barriers to make steps for me to go across.”
“That’s…” Mikella shook her head in disbelief. “That’s the stupidest thing I've ever heard!”
Strangely, that somehow did sound dumber than jumping straight into the lava and hoped he would survive.
“What if you fall?!” Mikella screamed, but Zeke stared back at her with a shrug.
“It’s better than jumping into the lava, right?” Zeke said, getting Mikella exasperated from the look of her face, lifting her hands up incredulously. “Besides, what other way is there?”
“Go back and retry again?” Mikella said, her tone implying the obvious point. But Zeke only stared back at her. He could see the doubt in her eyes as he replied his thoughts to her.
“You know that won’t work. We tried and tried for the past two days. I know there’s something at the end there. Every bit of my gamer mind is screaming that this is the correct path forward. Any other way is just a side branch that won’t help us get out of here. We can’t stay here any longer than we have to.”
“I-I know, I know…” Mikella shook her head. The sweat was getting to her eyes as she tried to wipe them away. “But this is dangerous, Zeke. What makes you so sure you can pull it off?”
“Honestly, I don’t. But there’s no other choice. It’s either go across by myself and see if that switch over there would make some bridge or something for the both of you to go across. Or we end up going in circles till we die of starvation. If there were any other option you can think of, lay it on me.”
Zeke waited patiently for her to respond. He knew that this was the only choice, but he did hold some faith that Mikella might bring in an idea that would be better than his plan. But Mikella only pressed her lips in frustration. She was thinking hard, too hard by the look of the veins throbbing at her temples, but to no avail.
She closed her eyes, guilt and shame written across her face.
“I… I don’t have anything.”
“Hey, it’s okay. “Zeke felt a little guilty making her feel this bad, so he tried to smile. “Look, just let me handle this. If it doesn’t work and the worst comes, well… Do your best to get out of here with Clara, alright?”
Zeke ended there, not able to continue anymore. She knew exactly what he meant, unable to look him in the eyes.
Was he being too forceful to someone put into a corner? He did feel bad for that, but it wasn’t as though his only thoughts were for the girls’ safety. He wanted to get out of here too. He can believe that Mikella is thinking that he’s only doing this for them, adding to her guilt.
But this was something that was at the back of his mind for a while now. The barriers he made so far looked similar to a wall made from thin air, looking like glass. They were sturdy enough to defend against Mikella’s powerful strikes at their full capacity, which Zeke was able to pull off a few times thanks to his increase in his Spirit.
But he shouldn’t weigh that much himself. Wouldn’t it be possible for him to alter the barrier to face downwards, as though facing an underground attack, and just step on it if he just let it float there?
For an experiment, he first looked at the ground. His feet shuffled and scratched against the gravel, nervous energy filling him. He breathed in and out before conjuring a barrier as though to defend himself against an underground attack.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t that complicated. All he had to do was just imagine a barrier facing down–and it worked. The barrier popped up the same as always, getting Mikella and Clara to watch intently.
He put one foot over the barrier, then the other. He stayed there for a solid moment, feeling the barrier underneath.
It felt so much like stepping on top of a brick. It was small, not wanting to spend more mana than necessary, but he experimented on jumping on his heels.
After many more tries, he kept experimenting with how much mana he can put into his barrier. Considering the long distance, he needed to make sure he had enough mana. He didn’t want to use Meditation while he was over the lava to recover mana.
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After many trials and errors, actually breaking the very feeble barriers he created, he made a perfect barrier floor that could withstand his weight and extra force while conserving more of his mana.
With a look of resolution at the girls, who kept watching with intensity behind their eyes, he turned to the lava lake.
He faced the edge of the platform they were on, the lava becoming very close to see for himself. Clara cried out, but Mikella quickly dragged her back towards herself, making sure that Clara didn't follow where he was going.
He turned back at the girls, and gave a confident smile that was utterly fake. He had no proof that this might work, but it was better than giving them a look of fear and panic that was whirling in his chest.
Suddenly, a notification dropped onto his vision. Opening it up curiously, he was surprised that he actually received what this system deems as a debuff.
> You are afflicted with Intense Heat. Your stamina regeneration will decrease by 10%.
That was enough motivation to make him haul ass out of this place.
Breathing in the hot air, he willed his mana to course through his hand, and brought his spell to life, conjuring his turquoise wall of light like a pseudo-floor right over the lava.
Now it was the moment of truth. He lifted his dirty foot high and pressed onto the barrier–now made into a tile.
His heart beating against his chest, he forced himself to step with his other foot, causing Mikella to shout without meaning to along with Clara crying out Zeke’s name.
For a moment, he stood absolutely still. His heart kept hammering as he looked down. The lava bubbled and boiled, and the heat coming from it was already causing him to feel a bit dizzy.
But there he was–standing in the air above the lava. He was still alive and not burnt to death.
He looked back, exhilaration filling his veins as a snarky grin flashed on his face. The girls saw it for themselves, and Clara was the only one gasping in shock, utterly in awe.
Mikella just stood there with a blank expression. He can’t blame her for that–even he can’t believe what he was doing.
“See you on the other side!” Zeke said with child-like wonder and kept making barriers for him to step over to the promised land on the other side.
“Wow! Sissy!” Clara shouted. “He’s actually walking over the air!”
“Y-Yeah…” Mikella said, though Zeke could barely hear them at this point.
Zeke kept moving forward, using his barriers to step further and further away from the platform he was at. He kept a careful eye on his mana, feeling it drop little by little after every barrier he made.
He could always extend the barrier’s length for easier travel, but that would also extend its potency, spending more mana. He wished he could just make the barrier move across like a moving platform in a video game, but his skill didn’t allow that for some reason.
He could enlarge and shrink the barrier as he wished, and he could make it stronger or weaker–but he can’t move it once he put the barrier in its place. It was like hammering a piece of lumber onto a wall–he could add more or put extra lumber over the other one, but he can’t just move the nailed lumber anywhere else. He can only take it off.
Still, it was an extremely handy spell, and he made sure to keep raising the barrier floor higher and higher to avoid getting too close to the lava underneath.
He was also thankful that it didn't’ cost more mana the longer it existed. However, it did have its own time limit. For example, he was sure that it can’t last longer than a few hours–it would soon dissipate back into mana. He knew the more levels he had on the skill, the longer he can leave it. He could also periodically keep it going by spending mana like charging a battery, even change its composition if he so wished.
He thought about taking some time to recover his mana, but the heat was getting to him. He worried that thanks to the debuff, he would get too tired to even run across, then he would leave the girls behind for good. He can’t have that.
He kept going, his heart still pounding but it was now at a steady rhythm. He looked back, the heat making him sweat like mad but he didn’t care much at all as he waved back at the girls.
At the distance, he saw the adorable Clara waving her hardest to make sure that he saw it. Mikella could only wave back at him as she left everything up to him.
But when he decided to do another barrier, he noticed something was off. He turned to his side, seeing that the wall of the cavern around him had small holes. He was close enough to notice that they were smaller than his fists, almost as if…
His eyes widened. His heart slammed against his chest as he finally saw something coming out of those holes. To his shock, however, it wasn’t some trap made to shoot arrows at him.
No, that would be too easy, apparently. Snakes shot out instead, aiming right at him.
“Are you kidding me?!”
He shouted/shrieked, ready to haul ass despite being in mid-air. He ran over his barrier, instantly creating another one as his mind already started to pick up the pattern of putting barriers before him.
However, the hissing going on behind him was starting to get to his nerves, causing him to look back to see one of the snakes crawling towards him out of the several dozen already on his barrier that he’s running from.
Despite his best efforts, it was literally raining snakes on him, causing him to try ducking and weaving every chance he got. It was as if the castle didn’t care at all about the snakes as most of them plopped down to the lava, melting and dying on the spot the moment they landed.
Whoever designed this dungeon would surely be sued for animal cruelty. Then again, those snakes can go rot in hell as one of them managed to sneak up behind him and bit him right on his ankle.
“Fuck! Agh!”
He screamed aloud, the fangs piercing the skin and causing him to nearly stumble. That wasn’t all. The snakes flew over head and bit him on nearly every part of his body–his shoulder, his waist, his right torso.
If he wasn’t careful, he could easily get bitten on the face or the eyes, which was something he desperately tried not to let happen. Pain riddled his body, but his instincts were begging him to keep running. Pain Resistance helped a lot as the heat of the lava was beginning to get worse. The dozens of snake bodies that fell to the lava caused the smoke of their charred corpses to make his eyes sting with tears.
Worse yet, the entire event was using up his Mana like a running faucet. He focused on the barrier harder than usual, making them more feebler but stable enough while conserving his mana. Unfortunately his panic casting is only making things worse as the barriers grew unstable. Cracks echoed in his ears as each of his steps made the barrier nearly break.
The hissing, the steaming, the boiling, the cracking–it all rattled his ears and messed up his senses. Pain overtook everything as he just wanted to go home and just sleep. Finally, after everything so far, he made a mistake.
He ended up trampling over one of the snakes that were slithering across his barrier, causing his feet to get tangled. His sense of balance messed up as he fell over his barrier.
And straight towards the lava below.
“Aaaaagh!”
He screamed, and his instincts flew all over the place. He didn’t even have to think about it as a barrier popped up in front of him despite his Mana slowly depleting, forcing him to land and crash right onto it.
Pain shot up through his body and face. However, the sight of the blistering lava just barely a few feet in front of him took over his mind and forced himself to run back up to the air.
He made barrier after barrier, thanking whatever sick and twisted god that put him there for the lack of snakes trying to rain on him. His mana was running dry, feeling the inner parts of his body growing colder by the second.
Somehow, the heat of the lava and the coldness entering his body from the lack of mana conflicted with one another, forcing him to focus harder on his task. He was just there, right at the ledge at the opposite side of the entire chasm.
But cracking, not from his barrier, soon echoed above him. He looked up in horror as the roof of the cavern was starting to break apart. Spiderweb-like cracks crawled all over the surface of the rocks as the roof started to shake profusely.
Seriously, whoever designed this was a psychopath to the very end. Lava and raining snakes wasn’t enough, so they decided to put in a damn rock avalanche right at the end.
But he already went too far to stop now. His Mana was just about to run out, and doing one more barrier will force him to spend all of his mana
But he didn’t care. It was either reach zero mana or die.
He ran, the seconds ticking slower and slower as the rocks soon fell down upon him, a disaster ready to happen as if the sky had fallen right on top of him.
He lunged, just ever so slightly reaching to the ledge, the tip of his fingers just about to reach the rocky corner in front of him.
A giant rock landed on his head, making his vision go dark.
…..
“Zeke!”
Mikella screamed, her heart slamming against her chest as anxiety reached its peak. The moment she heard Zeke screamed, she knew instantly that something went very wrong.
She had a hard time believing her eyes as she saw actual snakes flung at him. That was bad enough, on top of running across an entire lake of lava.
But to finally reach the end and have the entire ceiling cave in on him? Were they just meant to die in this place?
She screamed, hoping that somehow, a miracle occured, but her brain forced her heart to reconsider.
Zeke couldn’t have survived. Tears brimmed as her only companion, someone who had been with her ever since this deathtrap of a dungeon began, fell to the lava underneath a rock avalanche. And she couldn’t do a thing about it.
She knelt down, her chest heaving as she tried to wrack up a solution to fix this. But no matter how hard she thought, no good answer came to her.
It was over. Nothing can fix this now. They made a mistake and paid for it. Or rather, seeing the absolute clusterfuck that Zeke went through, there was no doubt that this was the only path forward.
And now, that path is no longer available. But just as she was about to give in to despair, Clara prodded her shoulder, forcing her to look at the small child still looking.
“Zeke!”
Rather than it being a cry of despair, Clara shouted as though she saw hope. Mikella couldn’t believe her at first, but her heart got her to look up at the very end of the cavern.
She couldn’t believe it. Once the rocks that fell crashed to the lava and melted right there, she saw right at the bottom of the platform at the other side a shimmering bright barrier.
And a man desperately clinging onto the edge with all of his might. He crawled over to it, putting himself over and then clawing his way up over the ledge on the other side.
Zeke did it. This crazy son of a bitch that walked over lava, ran through a rain of snakes, and overcame a rocky avalanche made it all the way to the other side.
She laughed hysterically, and grabbed Clara and gave her a big hug, getting her to do the same.
She didn’t care how hot it was, or how sweaty she was anymore. All of a sudden, being able to live just outweighed all of that.
A few moments later, Zeke approached the strange mechanism that he saw earlier and did something to it. It was so small now, her eyes couldn’t go so far, but soon something started to shake all over the chasm.
Pillars of bluish black stone slowly rose over the surface of the lava, ignoring the heat and molten liquid completely as a giant bridge appeared, connecting the two stone platforms together.
Mikella and Clara waited for the lava to fall and for the bridge to cool before stepping over to it and crossing the lava chasm without a hitch.