Under the faint glow of crystals embedded along the stone walls, Ren gripped his sword tightly, his eyes fixed on the shadowy tunnels ahead.
"We need to get out of here."His voice was firm, quiet, yet enough to make both Yuna and Nautilus hold their breath for a moment.
No more monsters had appeared. Not yet. But that was exactly what made Ren uneasy.
"The rewards from the monsters in here are greater than outside, that's true," he nodded slightly, eyes still alert. "But they're much more dangerous. We lost almost 30% of our health just fighting two of them."
Threads of red shimmered faintly along the edges of their health bars. None of them were seriously hurt, but the feeling of being overwhelmed by monsters in the dark still lingered in their minds.
Ren wasn't sure if this was the final threshold or just the first step. And Aincrad, this world, didn't give people many chances to be wrong.
"You think more will come?" Nautilus asked, glancing toward a dark side tunnel, where the wind slipping through the rocks sounded eerily like the steady breathing of something hidden.
"I don't know," Ren answered flatly. "But I don't want to wait to find out."
Yuna glanced at the HP gauge on her interface, frowning. "We still have potions, and we're not exhausted. If we wait a little longer, the NPCs will complete more of the side quest. There'll be bonus rewards…"
Ren turned to face the two of them, not blaming, just plain and direct. "We're deep inside the mining zone, not out in the plains. One minute of delay could mean three more bats at once. Or worse."
He paused, eyes scanning each face."If I'm wrong, we'll lose a few more minutes. But if I'm right… one of us might not make it out."
Everything fell into silence.
Only the sound of distant pickaxes echoed, slow and cautious.
Even that rhythm felt off now, as if the miners themselves sensed something changing deep beneath the earth.
Yuna lowered her gaze, gripping her dagger a little tighter. "…All right. I'll follow you."
Nautilus said nothing, just gave a quiet nod. His feet had already started stepping back toward the exit.
Ren turned, his serious gaze settling on the miners taking a short break near the ore carts.
His voice echoed through the damp stone hall, low and clear:
"Apologies...this will affect your work pace. But we're leaving now. Everyone, please pack up."
A few stunned faces turned toward him. Then, gradually, those expressions shifted, uncertainty giving way to concern as they sensed the tension in his voice.
No one argued. Even the older miners, familiar with the darkness below, began quietly packing their tools.
Ren let out a slow breath, eyes scanning the crystal-lit hallways ahead.
The slight tremor in his limbs didn't show outwardly, but he could feel each heartbeat pounding faster, irregular, like a warning bell from deep within.
It wasn't just about the monsters.
This feeling… it couldn't be explained in words. A chill down the spine, a pressure like claws gripping his backbone.
That strange sensation always came just before something beyond expectation happened. Not just once, but many times, both in this world and in real life.
A bad feeling. Simple as that. But it had never been wrong.
Ren tightened his grip on the sword, eyes fixed on the darkness curling through the winding tunnels."Hurry," he murmured, almost a whisper to himself.
Yuna checked her gear. Nautilus helped an NPC load sacks of ore back onto the cart. No one spoke again. Their movements became quicker, more cautious.
The group began retreating from the mining zone.
The crystal lights slowly faded behind them, leaving behind a deepening blackness at the tunnel intersections.
And somewhere back there, in the part of the darkness not yet fully awakened, the wind still howled through the stone crevices...again… and again…
Like the breathing of something that did not wish to sleep.
Then....
A low, muffled sound rumbled from beneath their feet. Not the strike of a pickaxe, nor the wheels of a wooden cart.
The ground shook, at first like a gentle breath, then spreading into a series of soft tremors that knocked dust from the walls.
The entire mine seemed to shudder.
Ren froze for a moment. He didn't need to look around to know the others felt it too.
It was as if something massive was shifting deep below.A giant creature, or worse, a force that couldn't be named.
"Move," Ren hissed through clenched teeth. His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to raise goosebumps.
Every hair on his body stood on end, as if every pore was trying to scream.
His body trembled, not from cold, but from instinct. A visceral reaction. A warning of imminent danger. Aincrad always had its way of reminding the reckless that they were never truly safe.
The tremor wasn't strong, but it lasted. Too long to be a natural aftershock.
No more words were needed.Yuna and Nautilus sprang into action immediately.
No longer hesitant as before, the two began to coordinate smoothly with Ren, helping the miners push the carts out of the mine with movements that were both hurried and cautious.
Some of the older miners even dropped their tools, urgently pulling their teammates along.
"Keep the goods, but life comes first!" Nautilus shouted, his voice drowned out by the creaking of the wheels and the clash of metal.
"Don't split up, stay close!" Yuna added, her gaze quickly flicking to the dark, winding paths behind.
Ren was at the rear, one hand gripping the sword hilt, the other resting on the cold rock wall, listening...
There was no screaming. No footsteps of monsters. But the earth was breathing, slowly and dangerously, as if some massive beast still lay beneath, waiting for the perfect moment to rise.
No one dared to look back.
Only the sound of wooden wheels rolling quickly and the hurried heartbeats blended together, like the background music of a catastrophe yet to be named...
Suddenly, a sound sliced through the air, causing Ren to miss a step.
"Flap... flap... flap..."
The familiar sound of wings echoed, bouncing off the rocks like a cold, warning cry.
Ren startled, his body freezing. His hand instinctively tightened around the sword hilt. He spun around, his eyes straining as though to pierce through the darkness at the end of the mine tunnel.
In the flickering crystal light, in the narrow, jagged passage behind, there was nothing but darkness, yet it was that emptiness that made Ren's heart race.
The flapping sound came again. Closer.
Ren held his breath. For a moment, tense as a bowstring, he imagined countless scenarios: a swarm of bats, a new variant, or something even worse.
Then...
A shadow flitted across the light, one Cave Bat. Just one.
Ren clenched his jaw, feeling an invisible stone drop heavily in his chest. Just one. It was manageable.
But what made him shiver wasn't its appearance, it was the timing.
Why did it only show up now, when they were so close to escaping? And if there was one... could there be something else following?
Ren took a step back, his eyes never leaving the shadow that circled slowly in the narrow passage.
That feeling returned, the sensation of being watched, as though something underground hadn't given up.
The bat lunged at Ren in a state of extreme panic, its wings kicking up dust and the cold air howling with every beat.
Though Ren hadn't fully mastered the fighting style of this monster, he could already guess...
It wasn't attacking as usual, like a predator hunting. It was as if it was running from something even worse.
Ren leaned sideways, instinctively reacting. But in the cramped tunnel, he couldn't avoid it completely.
Whoosh!
A sharp, clean strike. The creature's claws swept across his left shoulder. Though his armor absorbed most of the damage, Ren still felt the hot, stinging pain, pixelated red blood splattering like broken glass. His health bar dropped significantly.
"Separate!"
Ren's sword instantly retaliated, steel flashing in the darkness. The blade plunged straight into the creature's neck, sinking deep to the hilt, a fatal blow.
The Cave Bat screeched in agony, its wings flapping wildly, causing stones to rain down from the mine ceiling.
It staggered, then collapsed to the ground, its body twitching in its death throes.
Ahead, Yuna and Nautilus froze, their eyes wide in shock at the sight, and even the miners flinched, stepping back a few paces, their breaths catching in their throats.
But Ren didn't stop.
He charged forward, his eyes flashing with vigilance and anger.
The sword swung relentlessly, shredding the creature's body into pixelated red fragments. Virtual blood splattered across the ground like a torrential downpour.
Only when the corpse had completely vanished, disintegrating into hundreds of shimmering polygons, did Ren step back, his breath heavy, his eyes still fixed on the darkness behind, where the bat had fled.
[You have defeated...]
[You have earned exp...]
No one dared to say a word.
In that moment, no one cared about the bat anymore.
The question that lingered in everyone's mind was: What was it running from?
Ren felt no pride in slaying the creature with just a few strikes.
The killing blow was swift, precise, but it brought no sense of victory.
Only a heavy unease weighed down his chest.
The tremors from below had ceased. Everything became eerily silent, to the point of being terrifying.
But that feeling lingered, as if an invisible hand were tightening around Ren's throat, preventing him from breathing fully.
He gripped the sword hilt tighter, his gaze never leaving the darkness behind him, not even for a second.
Then, without saying anything further, Ren quickened his pace, rejoining the group. They continued their retreat from the mine.
Once again, footsteps echoed in the earth, mingled with the sound of wheels rolling and the panting of the miners.
No one looked back. No one wanted to know... what was behind them.