Time Elapsed: 03:42:02

The Deep Mines

Room 9 cleared.

Severance leaned against the crumbling wall, his legs shaking and his breathing ragged. His protective clothing had been ripped around his arm and shoulder, and a hot itch dug into his flesh. But he couldn't afford to care about that right now.

He had to Revive the rest of his party.

Jack Coyote lay in a crater in the floor, his armor absolutely crushed. The lower half of his body was more mush than flesh and bone. In the corner of the room was a Snow-sized rock statute. Kiah was nowhere in sight; she'd been swallowed up by one of the massive erfreschiks that had tunneled right through the small area without stopping. And Valentin was little more than a smear of red on the far wall.

As he waited for the Revive skill to cast, Severance gritted his teeth.

The only reason he survived was because his team literally sacrificed themselves for him. The idea was he'd Revive them and even if it was a futile attempt—which this certainly was—they'd at least get a glimpse of what the next room had to offer.

It was dark. The walls had been so damaged by rampant erfreschiks that only a single light remained. Its weak illumination cast long shadows across the uneven ground. Holes of varying sizes pockmarked the rock everywhere Severance looked. There was even a huge open pit in the ground, and a matching one in the ceiling. Smaller tunnels bored into each of the walls, big enough for a player to easily walk down.

It made it even harder to fight, because one had to watch their footing each time they moved. If they weren't careful, it was very easy to fall into the large pit.

With a swirl of silvery light, the Revive skill surrounded Jack Coyote's broken body and lifted him up. At the same time, the ground began to vibrate beneath Severance. Little pebbles began to bounce about his feet.

Alarmed, Severance cast a quick glance around, even as he threw up a hasty Radiant Dome. He scanned each wall, the ground, and even the ceiling itself, trying to figure out where the next threat would come from.

With dawning horror, he soon realized that it wasn't just the ground, but every rock surface in the room was vibrating. A sense of crisis rose in his heart.

In all the previous 9 Rooms of this dungeon, never had the entire place shook like this.

Severance took a quick step towards Jack, a Mend already on the tip of his war fans. The tank's feet had just settled on the ground. Golden eyes opened.

There was a brief second where they looked at each other.

And then the entire far wall disintegrated into a cloud of dust. A mass of black moved towards them, so large that the other walls were mercilessly crumbled. Even the floor and ceiling had no choice but to give away.

There was nowhere to run. Nor was there any time really to react.

Severance could only watch in horror as a massive erfreschik mouth ate the entire room in one gulp. He and Jack tumbled into its gullet and down its long, scaled throat. In the constricting darkness, a silver blade flashed.

Severance's awareness was cut in that instant.

He woke up outside the dungeon, bleeding profusely from his chest. A low gasp escaped him as he understood what had happened. Jack had killed him before they reached the erfreschik's deadly stomach.

Severance instinctively curled up on his side, breaking out in a cold sweat. He'd somehow avoided being swallowed up by one of those worms so far, and he was immensely grateful he'd escaped such a death again.

"Severance?"

It was Kiah's voice, but he ignored it. He retrieved his war fans from Inventory and activated Earth Dance.
After few Mends restored the hole in his chest, he simply lay on his side, soaking in the damp coolness of the stone beneath him. A hot itch prickled along his shoulder and upper arm, making him close his eyes.

He was tired. And he ached, in a weary bone deep way that nothing but a good sleep would fix.

They'd thrown themselves headfirst into each room, fighting their way through again and again. It was a grueling pace. He could only wonder if this dungeon meant to be a cruel test of endurance.

"Sev?"

Slender fingers reached out towards him.

The memory Carly's fingers reaching out for him in the ruins flashed through his mind. He reacted instinctively and grabbed at the wrist.

Slowly, he sat up, his breathing harsh and unstable. When the hand in his grip tried to tug free, his fingers squeezed tighter. For one terrible second, he thought of chopping this hand off so it could never touch him again.

"Sev!"

"Severance!"

The alarmed cries of familiar voices yanked Severance out of his haze. He lifted his chin and realized he was grasping Kiah's wrist. A tremor ran through him. He immediately let go like he'd been holding hot coals.

"S-sorry!" He immediately pressed his palm against his eyes, teeth clenched. What the heck was wrong with him?

Kiah crouched before him. If she'd been startled, she didn't show it. There was only slight crease between her brows.

"Are you okay, Severance?" Her voice was soft and calm, like she was soothing a frightened puppy.

Beside her was Snow, leaning in with obvious concern. The cryomancer didn't say anything, but he watched Severance closely.

Severance took a shaky breath, then forced himself to relax. He lowered his hand and pasted on a smile.

"I'm fine. Just got a little disoriented. Room 10 is something else."

He went to stand up, and Snow and Kiah backed off. They looked a little uncertain, like they didn't quite believe him. Severance had no intention of giving them an opportunity to continue worrying about him.

"It's just one giant worm that eats the whole room," he went on. "I don't know how we're going to beat that."

"A worm that big?" Snow finally took the bait. "You're kidding, right?"

The quiet clank of armor announced Jack Coyote's approach. When Severance saw the tank, he felt like a bucket of ice had been poured down the back of his shirt.

Jack's armor had been completely destroyed. It was like solid metal had turned into rusted tissue paper, because most of it had been eaten away. And the under armour beneath it had become little more than rags that showed as much skin as they covered.

Horror flooded Severance, and his eyes flew to Jack's. Without realizing it, he touched the hole in his own shirt with icy fingertips.

If the other player hadn't killed him just after they'd been swallowed up, then...

"We're done for today," Jack told them. "There should be just enough time to leave the mountains before we time out."

"There's like, sixteen minutes left," Snow protested. "Shouldn't we at least talk about Room 10 first?"

Jack's eyes flashed. "No need. There's only one way to finish that room." He turned his head and found the tall, silent form of Valentin leaning against the wall. "It'll be in Valentin's hands."

"What do you mean?" Kiah asked.

"You can't escape getting swallowed up," Severance answered her. He folded his arms, trying to appear calmer than he really was. "Which means we need to take it down before we all die."

"Ah," Kiah said. There was a clear note of amusement in her voice. "Throw Valentin at it. A good strategy as any."

To this, Valentin didn't show any change in his expression. He didn't seem to care that they were volunteering him for such a task.

"Oh sure, that'll be fun," Snow huffed. "I'll just relax while Sev and Valentin do all the work. Honestly, what kind of dungeon design is this? What's the eleventh room going to look like—instant death?"

"Maybe this is the last room," Kiah suggested. "Ten is always a nice round number. It's a good place to end things, no?"

Severance doubted it would be that easy. "We can only wish."

"Time to move," Jack Coyote cut in. "We have roughly fifteen minutes before we time out."

Right. The time limit. Severance said nothing as his team cautiously emerged from the mine entrance. It was something he no longer had to worry about, but he hadn't told anyone because, well, it was better off if no one knew just how exactly abnormal his existence had become.

He thought of the supposed video that had blown up the World Chat this morning. A lot of people were freely talking about it, but was it a good idea to broadcast such things so openly?

Maybe he was just being overly cautious. He had never been one to speak up and share his thoughts or personal details with other people. The idea of doing so made him uncomfortable. As he grew up and went through school, he'd realized it was a handicap. It made making new friends incredibly difficult. But it was also a form of protection; people couldn't hurt you if they never got close.

He looked at Jack Coyote, who, as always, took point. The remnants of the tank's armor were corroded and dull, yet the metal still seemed to gleam ever so slightly as sunlight hit it. It gave off the sense that it would resist to the very end, right up to the point it shattered for the final time.

This player knew almost everything now. That meant he was the person that could turn around and hurt Severance the most. If he one day decided to betray Severance...

Severance looked away with a small frown. What was he thinking these things for? Everyone in the team had proven themselves ten times over. Questioning them now was stupid.

His brain must have gotten knocked around too much today. A few screws had to be loose.

"I think we're safe. I don't see anyone." Kiah paused, observing the quiet mining town.

Jack's sharp gaze swept over the area. "It's too quiet."

Severance had to agree. There were no signs of life. Not even the usual activity around the mine could be heard. No matter what time he came here, there'd always been the steady sound of miners working within the dark mining shafts. Now it was silent. Even the women who sifted through the piles of rocks for obsa were gone.

He felt a chill. His shoulder prickled with a sudden, fierce itch, prompting him to scratch at the reddened flesh.

"Where did the miners go?" he asked.

"They were here this morning." Kiah turned a slow circle, her hand going to the hilt of one of her blades. "I think..."

With a grind of his heel in the dirt, Jack Coyote abruptly turned and strode towards the closest pile of rubble. When he reached the base of it, he stooped and picked up something. It was a tattered piece of cloth splattered with dried blood.

Severance's heart fell into a pit of ice. "They didn't."

"They did." Jack Coyote let go. The piece of cloth fluttered to the ground. His manner was calm.

"What's going on?" Snow looked between them, then at the piece of cloth on the ground. "Guys?"

"This area has been cleared out," Jack answered. "And I suspect that another team has already entered the dungeon."

Otherwise, why else would players be in this area? At one point, newcomers had to pass through to reach Tomorrow's Edge. But new players were few and far in between now. Which meant the only people willingly coming to the Mines were those who knew about the dungeon.

Severance's jaw tightened. He didn't want to stay here a moment longer.

"We should go."

"Hn." The quiet grunt of agreement came from Valentin. The reticent player's blood-red eyes casually swept over the surrounding mountains, before settling on the narrow path out. Without a word, he strode towards it.

Surprisingly, there was no trouble as they left the Ironback Mountains. Even Vast, who came loping up to meet them, showed a relaxed appearance.

Once they were in a safe zone, Valentin directly logged off. Snow was quick to follow.

Before leaving, Kiah turned to Severance. She gave him a faint smile. "Get some rest, okay? It's been hard on you."

Severance felt a little touched by the concern.

"I'm fine," he said. At her raised eyebrow, he quickly added, "But I will. As soon as I log off, I'll go to bed."

Her eyes crinkled. "Good. Then-"

"Cibel! Stop dawdling and come!"

The loud voice caught all of them by surprise. Severance turned to see his least favorite wildman standing only a few yards away. Somehow, Eusebius the Madi had approached them without being noticed.

Jack Coyote showed a rare flash of shock, his golden eyes widening a fraction before he immediately stepped forward, placing himself in front of his teammates.

"Who are you?"

Eusebius ignored Jack entirely. He gestured for Severance to come over. "Quickly, the others have already gone ahead."

Severance closed his eyes briefly. Why did this guy have to show up now? And in front of everyone else?

"I'm really sorry," Kiah said in a low voice. "I have to go."

"It's fine. Go." Severance sighed, and walked around Jack Coyote. He glanced up, and met a pair of frigid golden eyes. He winced inwardly. "He's here for me. I'll tell you later, okay?"

But before Severance could take another step, fingers grabbed his arms in a painful grip, holding him back.

"Severance," Jack said coolly. "Your time should be up, no?"