Chapter 41: Sacrifice

As Zach threw himself backwards, slammed his elbows into the ground, and then literally slid along the rocky terrain while leaving behind a several-inch-deep trail in the gravel reminiscent of shoveled snow, he realized he was really starting to get the hang of this. Sliding safely beneath a low-hanging grouping of stalactites, he slammed his right palm down against the rocks and pushed himself back up to his feet. Once more, he raced forward before jumping over two Skelly Captains, neither of which even had time to react to his presence. The moment his two sandals clicked against the ground, he again took off, dashing deeper into the tunnel.

A bit ahead, his eyes tracked four fast-moving objects heading straight for him. By the time he realized they were arrows, he was already slicing his blade through the air even as he ran, cutting them to pieces before they struck him. Then he chided himself, realizing that these very same arrows had been too weak to hurt Rian earlier, and Rian only had 28 constitution and his armor was only…uh…shit, what was it again? Zach recalled it was maybe thirty-something armor. Regardless, as he took several deep breaths of air, he knew he had wasted energy that would have been better conserved. As scary as it was, he needed to trust in himself and just let the arrows hit him.

Still, for the moment, though, he felt refreshed, recharged, and full of vigor. It was quite amazing to think that only a few minutes ago he’d been passing out on the ground in E-debt. It appeared that Unleashed Phase had paid off all of his existing “debt” as well as fully replenished his stamina. Zach wondered if that was why, the first time he’d become cognizant of the timer, it’d seemed like two-or-so minutes had been missing from it. Rather than the full fifteen, there had only been twelve minutes and eleven seconds on the timer when he’d first become aware of it, and at that point, it had only been, at the most, a minute since waking up and brawling with the Skelly Defender—if even that.

Did that mean, then, that the sum of all the stamina he’d exerted to the point of E-debt was only worth a mere two minutes of time? He had been passing out from exhaustion, fading in and out of consciousness, and somehow that had only been valued at two minutes? Shaking his head in incredulity, Zach quickly flicked up his eyes and kept note of his remaining time.

Unleashed Phase Duration

8:20 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:44:40

One thing was perfectly clear: while abilities would not require the use of any exertion, it seemed that everything else still did. As the first bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck, Zach realized it was still possible for him to burn through his stamina on the run down to B10. Naturally, it made him wonder: if he used Unleashed Phase a second time, would it again refresh him at the cost of time? Assuming he understood the ability correctly, he was fairly certain that was the case. He’d likely reset back to thirteen or maybe twelve minutes instead of fifteen, with the missing time being used as payment for his stamina.

But I can’t let it get to that point, he thought. I don’t know enough to know if a person can die from paying off two “high” cost debts at once.

Even though he had no intention of using a second Unleashed Phase, he had nevertheless used Phase Reset simply because there was no reason not to. Unless he found himself in a situation where he had accumulated too high of a Phase Level and needed to reduce it, he could not see any harm whatsoever in refreshing Unleashed Phase’s twenty-four-hour cooldown just in case he had to “pop” the ability again. Unless he had somehow misread or mistaken something—and he was fairly sure he hadn’t—then the only thing Phase Reset did was immediately reset the cooldown and increase the Phase Level by 1.

If he did end up foolishly using it again, he’d also likely need to use it before the duration hit 0:00, because the ability clearly stated it wouldn’t pay for its own exertion cost; this meant that, if he let it expire, he’d start to pass out, and if he used it as he was passing out, he’d still remain unconscious in E-debt while the new phase was active, wasting it. Conversely, it also stated he wouldn’t have to pay up until after it ended. So, his best guess, based on his current information, was that if he found himself in a dire situation where he was exhausted, desperate, and about to exit Unleashed Phase, he could re-use it, regain all of his stamina, and then pay for both his original and subsequent use together after it expired.

But I won’t use it again. I won’t!

He couldn’t allow himself to do so. He wasn’t ready to die. He would risk death for his friends, sure, but outright sacrificing himself? Doing something that would guarantee death? That was still a bridge too far. As shitty as it made him feel, he didn’t owe anyone that. Or did he? Damn, he didn’t even know. It would be better if he could just get there already so he didn’t have to find out.

With that thought in mind, he felt a renewed sense of urgency, and so as he’d done earlier, he decided to pick up the pace. Currently, his body felt as though it were running at three-quarters of his full ability—like a sprint, but not an all-out sprint. Now, he was ready to really book it. With a nervous, sharp inhalation, he began to pump his arms, and then a jolt of excitement caused him to yelp as he shot forward, pushing himself as fast as he could make his body move.

Though Zach was no expert on approximating speed, the sight of the rounded walls streaking across his vision reminded him of what it felt like to be in a DEHV traveling through a tunnel during times of heavy traffic when speeds were as low as 90 miles per hour. Assuming he was somewhere in the ballpark of being correct, he had now either gone beyond—or was beginning to approach the end of—what he came to think of as “car” speed, and he was likely just on the cusp of DEHV speed. Had he been on his bicycle, he might very well have been able to reach—and probably more safely, too—something closer to a DEHV.

The sense of momentum was so intensely unreal it was actually dreamlike. In some ways, it almost looked like objects were moving towards him as opposed to the other way around. Far, far into the distance, he spotted a particularly large, grey, rock. Then he watched as it rocketed towards him like a speeding bullet and ripped past his vision.

At this speed, avoiding mobs was all but impossible. Yet somehow, as if by a miracle, Zach had now gone ten seconds without colliding into any of them, though he had come pretty close; several times now, he had only narrowly avoided crashing into one. At this point, he was basically gambling. There was no way he would be this lucky for much longer. So why was he doing this? If he eased up just a little bit, he could avoid potentially slowing himself down far more significantly or facing serious injury. Yet the unease in his belly refused to allow him to even consider cutting back his pace.

I just don’t have the time!

Unleashed Phase Duration

7:05 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:43:25

Despite the overwhelming sense of optimism Zach had felt earlier, it had once more shifted most of the way back to pessimism, as this tunnel really did run a great deal longer than he’d imagined it would. At his current velocity, he was likely moving a mile and a half every single minute. This, combined with how far he’d already come, meant he was probably approaching five miles’ worth of distance. The mobs also seemed to be changing, too; the farther he ventured, the more he spotted new ones he hadn’t seen before and the less he saw the ones he’d become used to. He was now moving far too fast to get a good look at any of them. He could barely even make out their features, let alone read their names. He could see some of their levels, though.

They seemed to be getting stronger the farther along into this tunnel he ventured. Several were level 13 and a few were even 14. Technically speaking, Zach was now starting to fall behind. The fact he could nevertheless demolish any of these things despite himself only being level 11 was a testament to how baffling and off-the-rails his new ability happened to be.

Why did he even get something so spectacular, anyway? Why him? He was a nobody. Hell, he was only here at all because a buff caused him to stumble upon a few mobs one day. It could have been anyone who’d gotten that buff. There was nothing special about him. And as if to reinforce that, he’d gone on an epic, multi-level losing streak getting garbage level ups as though they were a reflection of his overall low status in life. So why, then, of all the people on Galterra, had he been given this simply unbelievably powerful ability? Was this really what resided inside his soul?

It doesn’t feel right, he thought. I’m not anyone powerful or special. I can’t even picture myself that way if I tried. It doesn’t seem real…

Having now gone slightly more than a minute miraculously missing every mob in his path, Zach’s luck finally came to an end. Up ahead, he spotted some kind of gigantic, round, and furry-looking monster blocking off an entire portion of the tunnel. It was a hideous, mismatched-looking beast with horns, a beak, and thin, string-like ears that protruded out of the sides of its face and were so long they ran from its head, which was halfway to the ceiling, down along the sides of its gargantuan body, and onto the gravel- and rock-covered ground.

Upon seeing Zach approach, the creature widened its white, fur-covered arms and began moving on wobbly legs towards him. Just from the way the creature snapped into action almost as soon as he and Zach were mutually in view of one another, Zach could tell it had a tremendous aggro range.

“Mmmmbahhhhhh,” it roared. Its voice was, deep, loud, and it created an echo that reverberated throughout the tunnel. “Mmmmbahhhhhh.”

There was no way Zach was going to be able to avoid a headfirst collision with this gigantic beast, especially not with it coming towards Zach at the same time Zach was moving towards it. Given that the ceiling was about fifty feet above him, and the top of this thing’s head reached around halfway there, Zach estimated the monster to be roughly twenty-five-feet tall and about half as wide. As Zach neared this foul beast, bracing for his inevitable collision, he finally got a look at its name.

HP

2,500/2,500

Name

Beast of Fillirana

Level

15

With his high armor and high constitution, Zach was reasonably sure he could escape too much pain or damage in a collision with this tremendous monstrosity. But it would cost him a lot in both time and momentum. This was the last thing he needed right now. He swore, loudly, as his body came closer and closer. Slowing down at this point would actually be a worse choice than continuing to barrel through.

“You asked for this!” he shouted at it.

“Mmmmbahhhhhh!” it answered.

Given his elevated stats, the impact with the beast hurt far more than Zach was expecting. It felt as though someone had taken their fist and slammed it into his face, gut, and both his knees all at the same time. In an instant, he lost so much speed that he went from traveling almost ninety miles per hour—at least by his own, admittedly imperfect estimation—to something closer to fifteen or twenty. But the important part, and what he took away from all this, was that he was somehow still moving. The fact he hadn’t been stopped completely meant he’d “won” the collision, in a sense.

God that hurt.

Moaning as a rush of pain traveled from the front of his head to the back, he closed his right eye, which had begun to sting, and peered out of his left to see the creature now several-dozen feet in front of him, screaming out a constant “mmmbahhhhhh!” as it hurtled through the air for almost eight full seconds before slamming with a deafening bang into the left side of the wall a bit farther ahead. The impact caused the entire tunnel to shake, and Zach almost lost his balance. Pieces of dust, dirt, and several small rocks began to rain down from the ceiling above him, and the wall the creature had slammed into now had an impression in it in the shape of its massive, round, and furry frame.

“Mmmmbahhhhhh!” it roared, pulling itself out of the wall and turning in Zach’s direction; once again, it began wobbling towards him at what was honestly an impressive speed given its body composition.

HP

1,900/2,500

Name

Beast of Fillirana (Enraged)

Level

15

“Fuck!” Zach said with a growl, realizing he would have no choice now but to actually kill this thing. Its arms were the size of tree trunks despite its legs being more like sturdy little stubs that were comically smaller and disproportionate to the rest of its body. With a vicious snarl, the horned, beaked, and string-eared Beast of Fillirana crossed the distance to Zach in just a few seconds. Gulping nervously, Zach wondered what it meant for the thing to be “enraged,” as was now indicated in parenthesis next to its name. He supposed he could call upon his glossary to find out, but that would obstruct his vision, and now was not a good time to do that.

I better kill this thing quick!

Briefly switching his sword to a one-handed grip, Zach threw out his palm and pointed it in the direction of the approaching creature. Having collected all five pieces of his current armor set, he now had access to a new power, one he had yet to try. Activating this ability, his hand twitched as though it were the barrel of a fired gun, and from it emerged a black ball that was almost, but not quite, as dark as the smoke coming from his hands and feet. As this black ball zipped through the air, spinning, Zach noticed that blue lines of what looked eerily like electricity rotated around it. Showing no interest in dodging or blocking, the creature continued to head straight for him, and as a result, the ball crashed directly into its chest before evaporating.

The ability, which had a five-minute cooldown, struck for 25 damage.

Pathetic, Zach thought.

In fairness, he couldn’t be too upset, because as he recalled, the set bonus’s description had outright stated that it would only do between 0 and 25 damage. Zach had just sort of hoped that, like, you know, with +20 to every stat, that like…maybe it would do more? Right? Shit, he didn’t know. Fuck it, whatever. Didn’t matter.

Once again switching his grip on his Fluffles-made sword to two hands, he bent his knees, tucked in his elbows, and raised his hands level to his chest with the edge pointed upwards in a defensive position. He really, really didn’t have time for this right now.

Towering over him, the creature made another “mmmbahhhhhh!” and lifted its gargantuan, white-furred hand, which was eerily humanlike in nature, and then balled it into a fist. With another roar, the monster slammed it straight down towards Zach, who dashed backwards and out of the way. Closing his eyes, twisting his body, and shielding his face, Zach took cover as a shower of rocks and gravel pelted him on the heels of a loud crunch. A few seconds after, he opened his eyes and again faced forward, and now he discovered the creature’s fist had punctured several feet into the ground. Removing it, the mob roared a second time and then hopped forward on its bizarrely stubby legs and slammed its opposite fist down.

Zach again jumped away, and now, to his anger and frustration, he realized he was once more being pushed back—in the opposite direction from where he needed to go. This time, the moment the spray of rock and gravel ceased assaulting him, he dashed forward, and with all his strength, he slashed horizontally, attacking the creature’s right side. A mixture of what looked like fur, pus, and blood were ripped free of the monster’s gigantic torso; given its size, Zach’s sword only managed to cover what, on a human, would be the distance between one’s belly button and the right side of their stomach.

770

“Mmmbahhhhhh!” the creature shouted defiantly in its impossibly deep, booming voice. It opened its balled fist into something almost resembling a human palm, and then it swatted at Zach as though he were a fly. At this distance, there was no way Zach could possibly dodge. So he bent his knees even further, raised his blade, braced himself, and attempted to block the attack on his sword. It was through this action Zach learned that constitution could protect him from damage, but it wouldn’t change the fact he was a human of a somewhat lighter weight being thwacked by a behemoth that likely weighed several-thousand pounds. The result was that he suffered no bodily harm, but he was instead sent flying off to his right, where he came to a stop after crashing face-first into a rock wall, shattering the surface layer of it and disappearing several feet inside. Now this on the other hand, hurt.

“I don’t have time for this!” he yelled, pulling himself out of the wall just as the creature had done.

He pulled himself together and charged a second time at this Gods-cursed monster, which was itself charging at him. Two good hits: that was all he needed to take this son of a bitch down. But the creature wasn’t going to make it easy for him. It again tried to swat at him with its white, furry palm.

This time, Zach had not yet closed in too much to where it would be impossible to dodge. Not wanting to be slapped into another wall, he came to an abrupt halt, then kicked off his front foot and sent himself backwards and away. Then he immediately dropped all the way down to his knees to avoid being struck by the opposite hand. Immediately after, he again raised his blade and charged forward. But the creature, this “Beast of Fillirana” was a lot faster than Zach had anticipated something of its massive, round size could be, and before Zach could get into a striking position, it used its far superior reach provided by its much-longer arms to bring its right hand around for another swat at his face.

Through sheer instinct and instinct alone, Zach removed his left hand from his blade, balled it into a fist, and then shifted his body towards his left to meet the creature’s incoming blow. His tiny, human-sized hand met the creature’s giant one, and to his amazement, rather than being blown away and sent once more crashing into the wall, it was the creature whose arm bounced back and away as though deflected.

Zach stared in confusion a moment, unable to grasp what had just taken place. But then, as the mob tried to bludgeon him a second time in the exact same way, he repeated the earlier defensive maneuver and once more successfully deflected the blow.

It’s my strength, Zach realized, his eyebrows rising on their own. Of course!

What should have been obvious from the start at last dawned on Zach. How was it that someone who was now technically strong enough to punch holes into walls and likely lift up a DEHV with one hand—if not something far heavier—could not resist being blown away by the slap of a mob much weaker than himself? It hadn’t made much sense. Now, however, Zach understood: it was because he had not been applying his strength. His constitution would not protect him from kinetic energy in the way that his strength would. If something tried to exert force in such a way as to send him blasting off in one direction, then Zach needed to exert his own force in the opposite direction using his strength. That was the key to everything. Truly, he had to start utilizing the power provided by his stats more efficiently.

I need to start thinking outside of the box. With +20 to every stat, I can do things I couldn’t before.

Sensing his opportunity to strike, Zach decided to expand the limits of what he had previously thought was possible. Instead of running forward and merely striking the creature head on. He used his strength and dexterity to bend his knees and then launch himself up into the air, almost to the ceiling. He felt the rush in his stomach as he gained altitude. Then, as he began to fall, he gripped his blade in both hands, raised it high above his head, and as he continued to fall and pick up speed, he waited until the last possible moment and then swung his sword downwards and leftward with all his might, tearing the creature open from its right shoulder area to the middle of its stomach for 950 damage. An instant later, Zach had to lift his arms and turn his head away as a spray of blood showered him as though being squirted from hose.

HP

155 /2,500

Name

Beast of Fillirana (Enraged)

Level

15

Wanting this to be over with as soon as possible, Zach struck yet again before the creature could react. This time, he prioritized only speed. He didn’t care how hard he hit it as long as he hit it first. And indeed, with such a fast, aimless, and weak slash, he managed to punish the monster for a measly 210 damage which, to be fair, would have dropped his jaw to the floor had he achieved that against a mob just an hour ago—though not so much now. Either way, it proved to be enough, as the creature died, leaving behind nothing but the blood that now stained the entire front of Zach’s face, body, and equipment.

+1000xp

Zach blinked in shock. The amount was simply staggering. A thousand experience points? To be fair, he did have to really work for it. But with no time to gawk and appreciate the gain, he switched his blade back to a one-handed grip and again took off at a run, racing his way through the tunnel that seemed to not want to end. This fucking dungeon! He was starting to hate it!

As he picked up speed—carefully, so as not to lose balance and have to start again from zero—he recalled something in his glossary earlier about viewing his “experience points” in a “progress bar.” It would certainly make it easier than having to go through his stats every time. Diverting his attention for the briefest moment, he shifted his eyes downward and looked at the spot in the air in front of him he would prefer such a thing if it indeed did exist, and then he attempted to will it there. To his delight, it worked. Not a fraction of a second later, he now saw his experience displayed before him in a way that was convenient and easy to see without ever obscuring his primary field of view. Briefly, he checked his progress.

Name

Level

Current XP

XP Required

Zachys Calador

11

1285

3000

Next, Zach checked his remaining time.

Unleashed Phase Duration

5:55 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:42:15

Howling out a string of creative but extremely foul invectives that Kalana would give him an earful for if she ever overheard him speak, Zach threw all caution to the wind and exploded forward into an even faster run than he’d managed before. He had to dig deep to find the strength for it: he had to pull out every last bit of speed that he could extract from his body. He wasn’t sure, and he doubted he’d ever really know, but in this moment, he truly believed he managed to break one-hundred miles per hour. Sadly, it didn’t look like a speed that he could maintain, as not only did it leave him huffing and gasping for breath, but just up ahead there were two more of those fucking Beasts of Fillirana.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Standing together side by side, the two massive creatures managed to create something that, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been called a wall. Even if Zach wanted to slow down and try running around them, he wouldn’t be able to, as they spanned the entire width of the tunnel.

Given that he had just wasted over an entire minute fighting one of these things, he now had to make a snap judgement call. The last thing he could afford to do was waste even more time. Similarly, he also couldn’t afford to spend any time, either—both figuratively and literally. But now…now he had no choice. There were no longer any good options. All he had left to choose from now was to decide between spending a little or a lot. And in this case, he chose a little—or less, rather.

And so, for the very first time, Zach used Phase Blink. The moment he decided to use it—in the exact, specific, express instant that his mind had consciously chosen to use this particular ability—the world became distorted. For a duration so short it had to be ten times faster than the time required to blink an eye, everything around him seemed to become nothing more than one big blur of brown and grey. It happened so fast that Zach could not be sure he’d really even seen this blur at all. He had been running, drawing closer and closer to the two Beasts of Fillirana, who aggroed him and began mutually heading his way. And then there was just this blur, one that faded away so incalculably fast that it had been impossible for Zach to consciously recall even a single detail of it other than that it consisted of the same general colors as his surroundings. And then, it was just…gone—and so were the two giant mobs.

Now, for a time that lasted a little bit longer than the blur had, but still only half that of an eye-blink, Zach found himself running once more, undisturbed, down a nice, empty, open, and quiet tunnel. Then came the boom.

It was only through a combination of dexterity, willpower, and sheer determination that the resulting sonic boom of breaking the sound barrier did not startle Zach so horribly that he lost his balance. It was through an equally great miracle that the sudden gust of a tornado-like wind behind him did not likewise throw him off balance. His ears were now ringing, and his heart pounded with both exertion and terror.

“Holy fuck!” he cried, as the entire tunnel echoed with a boom so deafening that it sounded like a supersonic jet was in here with him. The ground shook, more of the ceiling leaked, and the sound of what he’d done seemed to persist far longer than he could believe. “Oh, Gods! Ah, hell!”

Rattled, in disbelief, and plainly lacking the time to think about it, Zach pumped his arms while holding the sword in his right hand with the blade angled behind him as he continued to make his way. Assuming he recalled correctly, the cost of what he had just done was twenty seconds of time. Surely, that had to have been worth it, right? It also did not appear to have drained him physically so far as he could tell, confirming that abilities were in fact paid with time.

Twenty more seconds I didn’t have to spare!

Now down even more time, Zach tried his best not to despair, as he was still on B6 and still struggling to get through this one Gods-be-damned floor. It was difficult to stay optimistic, however, as this tunnel had gone on for so much longer than he’d ever anticipated. But like all good—or in this case bad—things, everything had to eventually come to an end, and it looked like there was light at the end of this tunnel after all. Zach thanked all the Gods whose names he knew as he spotted something ahead in the darkness that he thought might just be the exit. And indeed, as he closed in on it, he realized it was in fact the exit door, which even from this far out, he could see was labeled B6->B7. Once more, Zach checked his timers.

Unleashed Phase Duration

5:25 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:41:45

He barely had more than five minutes. This wasn’t good. This really wasn’t good. He wasn’t trying to be a pessimist, but come on! He wasn’t going to make it. Rian and Lienne were going to die. He’d failed them. They were down there somewhere waiting for him, and he’d let them down. Why couldn’t he have just been faster, dammit?

All at once, his nerves got the better of him. It was just seeing those damn seconds drain. Seeing the 5:25 become 5:24 and then 5:23 and then 5:22—Zach yelled in frustration as his eyes dampened. He had to be faster. He had to be quicker. He was now in a full-blown panic. But he didn’t care. He had to make it. He didn’t know how he could or how it would be possible, but he couldn’t lose his friends. In the short time he’d known them, they had become so special to him—and right now, they were alive. They were actually alive. And they were there down in B10. And if he could just be there with them, he could save them.

Mentally driven to the extreme, Zach slammed into the metal door, his body striking it like a heat-seeking missile. The half-bang, half-pop it made as it smashed against the wall was so loud it almost rivaled the sonic boom from breaking the sound barrier; once again, Zach’s ears began to ring as the direct result of a noise he himself had created. He didn’t care, though: he didn’t need to hear to save his friends. He just needed to move his ass! Up ahead of him was a stairwell that looked similar to the last few floors, but with this place, one never knew. Either way, Zach understood they were the only path he could take, and so he took them.

Approaching the stairs, Zach did not quite “descend” them as he had done so many times now. No, he was in far too much of a rush to do something like that. Panic having settled in, he decided to do things he would never have thought to do otherwise. In this case, he leapt forward and flung his body across and over the entire flight of steps, and then, reaching the bottom of the opposite wall, he kicked out with his feet, pushing himself away from and off the wall and sending himself in the reverse direction, which in this case meant down the next flight of stairs. He landed upright, already faced in the correct direction, and so he did it again.

Like before, he jumped forward and over the stairs, kicked off the wall ahead of him, and then sailed backwards and down the subsequent flight. He repeated this process five more times, and in so doing, he managed to descend a total of seven flights of stairs in the span of about eight seconds. Then, he spotted the metal door labeled B7 ahead of him. Like the one up above, it did not seem to break off its hinges or even become damaged as Zach launched himself through it and into a blindingly bright, sunny beach on what looked like a stunning, cloudless summer day.

Zach had no idea where he was. He had no idea if this was Galterra or somewhere far away. Wherever this was, though, it was beautiful. About fifty feet to his right was an ocean that stretched forever on into the distance, at least so far as he could see. There were boats in the water, too: large vessels that looked quite a bit like fishing rigs. To his left, the sand remained flat for about a few-hundred feet before leading up to a hill that slowly turned to grass, beyond which was a boardwalk across the street from tall buildings that, while not quite as high as the skyscrapers in Whispery Woods, were far more elegant than those back home, and these ones were spaced enough apart that they allowed some degree of openness in what was clearly an otherwise big city.

Oh, shit! Zach thought with a start. Gods, I know where I am! This is Shadowfall coast!

This was definitely Shadowfall Coast. He was sure of it. Even though he’d never been here before, he knew enough about North Bastia to recognize the architecture and general layout of the land. And assuming he was correct, then up ahead of him, the beach ran on for literally thousands of miles until reaching the Arid Dunes of Bastia, which were currently controlled by the Defenders of Peace.

Why am I here? he wondered, mystified.

Was this some kind of mistake? This was just a regular beach. There were no mobs here. If there were, people would’ve noticed by now. In fact, this place was crowded. Very crowded. Way too crowded! As Zach continued his now-aimless mad dash forward, hundreds of beachgoers turned to look his way. There were shouts of confusion and cries of terror as he ripped across the sand past them, spreading fear, albeit unintentionally.

For sure, this was no dungeon floor. The people were clearly here to have a good time. That much was patently obvious. Many were sitting on blankets or towels, others were on chairs, and some were lying on just the sand. Quite a few were eating, drinking, or watching their children dig holes and build sandcastles. All along the surface of water, there were people playing, splashing, and swimming. There were floats, balls, and people snorkeling. This…this was a regular noon day here. So what the fuck? This was B7?

Then it occurred to Zach. Of course. Of course it was B7. Why wouldn’t it be? A thousand years ago, this beach would’ve been crawling with every imaginable monster the mind could conjure. Hell, Whispery Woods had once been a literal forest so thick that it was said people walking through it wouldn’t be able to see the sky. If the dungeon ran through other planets, why would it be so difficult to believe it could run through Galterra?

Glancing over his shoulder, Zach saw that he’d come out of a portable bathroom stall. Having personally smelled what those were like, he was glad it hadn’t been one at the time he’d emerged from it. Actually, the fact that it was now a portable restroom confirmed that the metal doors that served as portals did not only lead to other planets, but could take one around Galterra as well.

As Zach saw the veritable sandstorm he was causing as his feet blasted dozens of innocent people and ruined their day while he sped across the beach, he yelled out in apology, then ducked his face and hoped that he was moving too fast for anyone to see him. This was not the way to make friends. Worse, he might not have been doing this for any meaningful cause, as he had no damn clue where he was actually going.

The last thing Zach wanted to do was hurt anyone, but in his wild scramble to save Rian and Lienne, he knocked over sandcastles, toppled chairs, stepped on an old man’s sandwich, blasted people with sand, and caused a chaos that reminded him of the scene he’d made with Fluffles back in that beautiful little town called Doom-Bound Keep. Only, unlike back then, his actions were entirely justified this time around, as this was a life-and-death matter.

But where the hell am I supposed to be going?

Zach was willing to bet that, a thousand—or however many—years ago, whatever it was someone was meant to do on this “floor” was no-doubt much clearer. Actually, given that the planet called “Earth” was a destroyed hell-scape and that the dungeon had been built around that fact, Zach felt it reasonable to conclude that, whenever it was the Great Ones had created the Catacombs of Yorna, it was during a period after the destruction of the Earth but before the industrialization of Galterra. It was almost certainly the case that the beautiful, safe, and clean beach here on Shadowfall Coast had once looked profoundly different to the way it did now.

Gods, please don’t tell me I’ve reached a dead end!

All Zach could do for now was try to run straight. Thus far, previous floors that had led “off world” had typically required them to more or less move straight…or at least one of them had. Of course, that might be difficult to do, however, as he was likely to get put off course each time he had to jump over or navigate around innocent people. He was already no longer traveling at full speed, as to do so risked killing someone by accident. He just wished he’d taken his compass with him, but sadly, he’d left it on B1 sprawled out on the ground with all the rest of his personal items and his shredded up backpack. All that he had on him now was his cellphone and his wallet. If he had known he would end up in a situation like this, he would have taken his compass with him. He needed to—

Oh, nice! the sound of his voice shouted in his brain as the non-physical manifestation of a compass popped up in the world in front of him. Once again, the information or tool he needed was already with him thanks to this ability. I need to take some time after all of this to figure out what else this Sight Level can do.

Moving it up and to the right somewhat, Zach made sure he kept it where he could see it at all times as he tore across this previously peaceful and lovely breach and continued to ruin the days of hundreds more people. Once more looking off behind him, he felt his heart swell with even more guilt as people were getting up and fleeing. It was actually becoming difficult to see, as he was kicking up so much sand as he ran that he must’ve looked to them like some kind of demon creating some kind of intentional sandstorm.

It didn’t help that he was wielding a sword while clad in what, though rather unimpressive, was clearly something that could only be equipment or a cosplay outfit. And just by the fact alone that he was running at a speed fast enough to create a blanket of sand behind him, he somehow doubted anyone would think this was a cosplay. Oh, right, and that wasn’t to mention the fact he was also releasing an impossibly black smoke from his hands and feet that was now even more starkly noticeable under the light of day. Anyone who saw him would know right away that he was not a level 1 like they were.

Trying his best to ignore all the people here—thankfully, none of whom he’d hurt or injured so far—he decided to try willing that “map” thing he’d read about in the glossary into existence. He didn’t expect much, though, as the glossary had pretty clearly stated that it only showed maps of completed dungeons. Still, he gave it a shot, and as a blank square with a question mark in the middle took up so much of his vision that he almost tripped over someone’s lunchbox, Zach dismissed it immediately. Oh well. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he had to at least try it, right?

This is bad. This is so, so bad. I have no idea where to go.

Unlike the last floor, he could see very far into the distance on this one. He could even make out what looked like a tiny little lifeguard sitting all the way up in an elevated seat about three or so miles farther along the shore. No matter where he looked, there was nothing ahead of him but more sand, more people, and a whole lot of trouble. This was…this wasn’t good. Where was this Gods-damned exit? He groaned in irritation and dread as he looked around, desperate to see something, anything that might be able to help him. He just simply didn’t have the time to figure this out, nor did he know where to begin searching. But wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! There was someone who did, right? Someone who Zach knew personally that did know. Of course…of course, of course!

Becoming desperate, he began the process of slowing himself down to a halt. Despite having already eased off a bit, he was still moving at a speed far too great to simply just “stop.” He had to ease into a gradual, controlled deceleration, or else he would simply topple over and start flipping and rolling all along the sand.

Once he was no longer moving, he grabbed his phone—then swore and covered his eyes and mouth as the storm he kicked up started enveloping him too, covering his entire body and gear, which was already stained in monster blood. The sand seemed to stick to it, which made him feel prickly and disgusting. Swearing yet again, he shoved aside his feelings of discomfort and shuffled away a few steps until he was away from it. Then he opened his phone and dialed one of the very few contacts he had. It only rang twice before someone picked up.

“Hello?” came the voice of Mr. Oren.

“Oh, thank the Gods, you’re there. I need your help ASAP.”

“Ah, hey, Zach, my man. What’s up? Are you all right? Don’t…don’t tell me someone tried to—”

“It’s got nothing to do with that!” Zach cried urgently. He hoped the sound of impatience and fear in his voice would let his former science teacher know how serious this was. “I literally don’t have the time to explain. I’m on floor B7 of Yorna. Where in the fucking Gods-forsaken hell is the exit door?”

“Language!” Mr. Oren rebuked. Then, his tone changing to something that almost sounded like pride, he said, “Wow, you’re on B7 already? Very proud, Zach, very proud. But remember to be considerate of others.”

Zach looked over his shoulder at the chaos and misery he’d just caused and said, “Yeah, of course. It’ll be like I’m not even here. Look, where’s the exit door? Please. You need to hurry up and tell me.”

Mr. Oren laughed. “I can give you a hint, my man. But I can’t just go giving you the answers, because that’s kind of—”

“You don’t understand,” Zach cut him off with an impatient moan. “I’m trying not to have to waste more time explaining, listen! Rian and Lienne got taken to B10 and they’re going to die unless I get down there to save them. Every word you say is one less second that they have to live.”

“Where did you portal in on?” he asked, his tone now far more direct and serious.

Zach looked around at his surroundings, the question confusing him. “Where did I…? You know, the…th-the fucking usual place!” Zach hadn’t even realized he’d sworn until immediately after using the word, but this time around, Mr. Oren did not chide or correct him.

“The usual place?”

“Yes!” Zach said, becoming frustrated and annoyed. “Wherever it is you usually come in from.”

“Ahh, I see the confusion here,” Mr. Oren said. “Zach, it doesn’t work that way. For stable, unchanging environments, the exit door is always the same. For environments in flux, it finds a…you don’t have the time to listen to me explain, do you? Okay, let’s make this simple. Are you on the farmland border, the forest, or the beach?”

“Yeah, I’m on the beach.”

“Okay, so it took you there. Good. Can you see the city from wherever it is you currently are?”

“Yeah,” Zach said, spinning his body to the left. In the distance ahead of him, he spotted two buildings he guessed to be fifty stories in height with spires on top of the roofs of each. “I can see it.”

“That’s very good,” Mr. Oren said reassuringly. “Now, is the city to the west of where you’re standing or to the north? You can tell by looking at the position of the sun and—”

“The city’s west of me,” Zach answered. He knew because he had a literal compass in his field of vision.

“Even better. Facing in that direction, do you see the boardwalk on top of a hill that turns from sand to grass? If not, you need to head a few miles south.”

“I see the boardwalk,” Zach said into his phone. As he spoke, several-dozen people ran past him. One, a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, had scooped up an infant in each one of her arms while a man Zach took to either be her boyfriend or her husband ran closely behind her holding a surfing board in one hand and a portable radio in the other.

“It’s those fucking Royal Roses!” she shouted, completely oblivious to the fact that she was standing right next to Zach. She didn’t even see him, did she?

“They must be attacking us!”

“Mr. Oren?” Zach asked, taking his phone off speaker as the noise level had gone way out of control. “I said I see the boardwalk.”

“Zach, I hear people screaming in the background. Have you…have you hurt anyone?”

Zach growled in frustration. “No, dammit. Of course not. They’re fine. I just…I scared them.”

“That’s not acceptable,” Mr. Oren said. “Do not do whatever it is you’ve done again.”

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Zach said, not even bothering to conceal the aggravation in his voice. “I’m trying to save my friends’ lives. I do not have time to—”

“Their lives are just as important as yours and your friends,” Mr. Oren said, his voice now coming across as far more heated. “Do not trample on others.”

“I…I understand,” Zach said. “I just. Please. I’m so desperate. I have very little time. They attacked the boss on B5 and—”

“I know what they did,” Mr. Oren said. “How they could have been that stupid is beside the point. Okay, listen carefully, Zach. Here’s what you need to do. First, head to that boardwalk without”—Mr. Oren put a great deal of emphasis on the word ‘without’—“harming, scaring, upsetting, or accosting any other people. Once there, turn left so that you’re facing south. Keep moving along the boardwalk until, across the street on your right, you see a furniture store called ‘Good Sittings’. In the men’s bathroom, third stall, step on the toilet and walk forward through the wall. That’ll take you to the hidden passage.”

Zach, who was already dashing up the hill towards the boardwalk, snorted in sheer disbelief. “How the f…how the hell is anyone supposed to know to do that? Was I supposed to just walk into every wall in the city hoping to find the way to the exit?”

“No,” Mr. Oren said, sounding disappointed of all things. “You were supposed to—”

Despite everything that was going on around him, for some fucked-up reason, Zach still didn’t want to disappoint Mr. Oren. And so, he quickly fired in, “Go to the great library, right? Seek guidance or a clue of some kind? Spend a month looking for an exit door by researching?”

“That’s…right, actually. See? You already knew the answer.”

“I might not have, though. What if I hadn’t found”—he paused, breathing heavily as he ran—“what if I hadn’t found Rian and Lienne?”

“You would have found someone somewhere who would’ve set you on the path. It’s just how things are.”

Now that he was on the boardwalk, it became much easier to run. For obvious reasons, he couldn’t zip along at ninety miles per hour when there were so many people biking and running up and down along it with him. A collision could easily kill one of these people. Or even worse. Even way worse. It could kill one of their dogs. Zach knew if that happened, no amount of therapy would ever be able to help him forgive himself. So he took it a bit slower now. Even still, he moved far, far faster than any human had ever run—or at least any that these people were likely to ever see.

“You know, I really don’t like the”—he again paused to take a breath—“the way you guys do things.”

“How so?” Mr. Oren asked him.

While speaking, he kept his eyes peeled for the furniture store. He’d seen two different ones so far, but neither had the name that Mr. Oren had indicated. Using the back of his hand that was holding the phone, he wiped sweat from his brow. It was a very hot day today, and the sun was absolutely scorching him. He hoped he didn’t get burned, as his sunblock was still sitting in the middle of B1.

“Rian and Lienne could die. And you don’t even care.”

“I very much care.”

“Then come save them.”

“I’m in my lab at school. I wouldn’t make it in time.”

“Go through Angelica’s!”

“Do you have an entry portal with a corresponding exit?”

“No.”

“Then I can’t. I’m sorry.”

At this point in the conversation, Zach knew he should politely say goodbye and keep his mouth shut. He knew it wasn’t wise to start an argument with Mr. Oren just in general, but particularly not while he was making a mad dash at the fastest speed possible while still being relatively safe. But he couldn’t control himself. Not after all that had happened.

“You work with kids for a living,” Zach said, panting as the sun made everything feel like it required more effort than it normally did. “Doesn’t it matter to you that they might die? That I might die.”

“I don’t appreciate the insinuation that it doesn’t. I find it distasteful. Rude!” Mr. Oren rarely raised his voice, and Zach couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his shoulders as the sound of anger from a very, very powerful and dangerous man made him reconsider if this was really a road he wanted to travel down right now.

“Then why do you let them die?” Zach fired back. “My friends—they could die. Don’t you understand that?”

“Of course I do,” he said, now sounding genuinely sad. “Many young adventurers do, unfortunately, die. If we are around to help, we help. If we are around to save them, we save them. But our principles partially stem from multiple great, ancient human civilizations, and our ways are sacred to us. Much of what has sustained adventurers over thousands of years is our adherence to a code of ethics and a system of values. A few in particular, specifically those that deal less with ethics and more with strength, come from a group of warriors who, in a far, far distant past, hailed from a guild called Sparta. Zach, we need to ensure—the world needs to ensure—that we raise adventurers who are strong enough to be useful. So we abide by our principles, and unfortunately, it’s often a trial by fire.”

“That’s stupid as shit!” Zach shouted, causing the people who were already staring at him to flinch and back away as though in the one-in-a-million chance Zach might direct their anger at them instead.

“Zach. You need to work on your language. It’s getting worse. I understand that you—”

“No, you don’t understand anything,” Zach fired in. “Respectfully, I’m not”—he panted, more sweat pouring down the front his face—“I’m not an adventurer first and foremost like you are. I’m a human first and then an adventurer second. If you people are so morally good or whatever-the-fuck like you say you are, you wouldn’t let people go out and die every day. The political guilds don’t send their kids to their deaths.”

“That’s true,” Mr. Oren said sadly, once more coming across as bizarrely sympathetic. But then, his voice turned colder, angrier, and more determined. “But look at the character of those who emerge. Power comes at a cost, Zach. If you learn anything, let it be that. In order to protect the world from the threats most people don’t even know exist, we have to be thrown into the deep end. We have to learn to sink or swim. These are our ways and our customs. I know you’re upset that we—that I—didn’t send you off to the Rites of Initiation, but if it’s of any consolation, just know that that’s a relatively new tradition started only about fifty years ago, and it’s still very controversial—and in my opinion, a mistake.”

The more Zach heard, the less enthralled he found himself with “adventuring guilds.” He didn’t approve of any of this. “Look, I’m not trying to shit all over your customs, Mr. Oren, but Lienne told me over half of adventurers die before reaching level 10. That’s a lot. Right? Wouldn’t you agree? That that’s a lot, Mr. Oren? No matter what you tell yourself, that’s not something to be proud of.”

“Of course it isn’t. You think we don’t mourn the fledglings who don’t survive? It’s horrible. It weighs on all of us. But to produce adventurers of quality, character, and good moral standing, we don’t babysit. It’s just not who we are or what we do. It’s why we have the discipline and the moral fortitude not to rule territories, steal from the weak, and prey on the Ones the way the political guilds do.”

Zach shrugged despite knowing Mr. Oren couldn’t see him. “Well, no disrespect, Mr. Oren, but if you guys can’t produce a group of people who aren’t assholes without intentionally letting half of them die, then maybe you’re not all that much better. Just my opinion.”

“Zach, what’s gotten into you? You’ve become very abrasive, foul-mouthed, and rude. I understand you’re upset, but there is no excuse for the way you’re behaving.”

Zach sighed. “Maybe not. But what you don’t understand, is that I died today, Mr. Oren. So it doesn’t really matter.”

“Excuse me?” he asked, now sounding a good deal alarmed. “What is that supposed to mean? Zach!”

Unleashed Phase Duration

0:21 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:36:41

He really, really wished he didn’t have to do this. Zach felt his eyes dampen as he knew that this was probably, in all likelihood, the end for him. Why couldn’t he just pass out right here on the boardwalk and wake up in a hospital? Why did he have to let his guilt weigh so heavily on him? He told himself he wouldn’t do this. He didn’t deserve to have to do this. It wasn’t fair. They’d made the mistake, not him. So why did he have to pay? Or rather, why did he have to make himself pay? He wasn’t the kind of person to be this selfless. He only wanted power and money, right? Wasn’t that why he was so excited to find those mobs under the river in the first place? So what was he doing? Had he lost his mind?

“It’s not okay to me,” he said, trying his hardest not to let his voice break.

“You’re worrying me,” Mr. Oren said. “What’s not okay with you? Speak clearly.”

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Letting your own friends die. Just…just turning your back on them. I can’t live with it. If I just…if I just let it happen, I’d just, you know, I’d always wonder—what if I’d just done so and so. That’s why.”

“You’re not making any sense, Zach. What aren’t you telling me?”

“What I’m telling you is that you shouldn’t be okay with it. You shouldn’t just, like, treat people like weeds in a garden. You know? Half of people who walk this path shouldn’t have to die just so the other half emerge stronger. I don’t care if I’m not old enough or smart enough to say that. It’s obvious. At least to me. So now I have to do this because you wouldn’t.”

“Do what?” Mr. Oren asked, again raising his voice in alarm.

Unleashed Phase Duration

0:03 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:36:23

Zach closed his eyes and activated Unleashed Phase.

Unleashed Phase Duration

13:07 Remaining

Quest Expires In

1:36:22

“Zach, I’m concerned. There’s more you’re not saying. I can help.”

“It’s nothing,” he said. His sadness vanished. He felt strong—even stronger than before. He was practically teaming with power. All of his exhaustion had vanished in an instant. It was as though he’d just gotten out of bed after a long, wonderful night’s sleep and had just digested a hearty breakfast. His stats, he knew, had now increased even more, hadn’t they? As a direct result of him using this ability while in Phase Level 1.

Name

Zachys Calador

Level

11

EXP

1285/3000

Armor Bonus

52

Strength

36

Dexterity

32

Constitution

33

Intelligence

74

Speed

31

Luck

29

Ahead of him, Zach saw the furniture store that Mr. Oren had indicated. Running straight out into traffic, Zach didn’t even care about the incident he caused, as two DEHVs swerved to avoid him and collided with a loud crunch. Neither of them sustained serious damage, and both drivers would be fine. Rian and Lienne, however would not. For this reason, he also didn’t care that the store was closed today for some holiday or whatever. He simply kicked in the door—with more strength than he realized he’d intended to use; he watched as it sailed across an open, wide showroom and landed on top of a glass table, shattering it.

“I don’t like what I’m hearing in the background, Zach,” Mr. Oren said.

Zach laughed. “Yeah, well, I didn’t like what I was hearing on the phone either, Mr. Oren.”

With that, he ended the call. His hands and feet were now emitting smoke twice as fast as before, but this time, gold, ember-like particles seemed to pop up every now and then, a few even jumping off and out of the smoke, falling down, and then vanishing before hitting the floor. Zach stormed his way into the bathroom. The door was locked, so he ripped it off and threw it over his shoulder. From the sound of a crash behind him, he’d broken something else. Whatever. What were they going to do about it? Mail him a bill in hell?

I can’t believe I did this, he thought.

He was supposed to be the guy who was smart enough not to die for others. Kalana, maybe. No, definitely. Definitely for Kalana. But even his close friends…like, they’d totally brought this on themselves. Yet he was now living on thirteen minutes of borrowed time. There was just no way he’d wake up from the combined debt of two “high” cost abilities. If he did, it would be a miracle. He supposed he could’ve asked Mr. Oren what would happen or if he’d survive such a combination, but he knew that would be unwise, as if the answer had been a definitive “no,” he’d lose his courage. It was clear, though. When this thing ended, he probably wasn’t going to wake back up.

And thus, since his attempt to save Rian and Lienne had cost him his life, he now had to succeed. He simply was not allowed to fail. With that thought in mind, he stepped into the horrendous-smelling bathroom, made his way to the third stall, and hopped up on top of it. Ignoring the spatial part of his brain, which told him to not walk into a grimy bathroom wall, he stepped forward, off the toilet, and into the wall, which simply vanished against his touch like mist as he found himself in a pitch-black passage that was so narrow his elbows touched the wall to both sides of him. Running forward, this incredibly small passage gradually widened until he came upon a metal, push-bar door labeled B7->B8.

With the urgency of someone who had twelve minutes and fifty-two seconds left to live, Zach crashed through it and continued on.