Hurried footsteps echoed, each beat reverberating off the dry stone walls, turning the mine into a tunnel of sound.
The wooden minecart clattered noisily ahead, its iron wheels grinding over the parched earth and leaving smudged skid marks in its wake.
Just a short stretch remained. Up ahead was the path leading to the intermediate zone, the crossroads of three major areas, where they would be safe… at least in theory.
Ren frowned slightly. His blue eyes swept quickly across everyone: the miners pushing the cart with relentless focus, Yuna keeping a distance but ready to assist, and Nautilus scanning the surroundings with caution.
No one looked back at him. No one stopped.
Everything… was going too smoothly.
The Cave Bat from earlier, its sudden ambush should've been a warning. A misstep in the rhythm of unfolding events...
…But nothing else had followed.
Ren cast one last glance behind. Still just that same mute darkness.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it."
He muttered silently to himself, though his hand remained on the hilt of his sword.
Because… in Aincrad, it's not the first deadly blow that kills you.
It's the false sense of safety that comes right after.
Their hurried breaths mixed with footsteps began to taper off, as if the group were gradually shedding the weight on their backs. They were almost there.
Ahead, the glow of guiding crystals became more visible against the rock walls.
Each step brought them closer to the main cave entrance, where artificial light met natural darkness, a boundary between safety and peril.
The ground beneath them began to change. The jagged rocks and scattered sinkholes disappeared, replaced by a more even path, compacted earth and wooden planks laid beneath to ease the minecart's travel.
Narrow side paths branched off, then merged again into the main shaft of the mining zone, whispering a promise: "Just a few more minutes… everything will be fine."
Ren kept walking at the rear, eyes fixed on the end of the tunnel they had retreated from. The tightness in his chest hadn't fully faded.
But at least for now, they were safe.
Nautilus let out a soft breath, his hand still resting on his chest as if to steady himself.
He glanced around carefully, scanning each person until he was sure no one had been left behind.
"I thought the whole mine would collapse after that sudden tremor…" he said, voice weary but trying to remain calm.
A miner, likely nearing fifty, nodded and stepped forward, a pickaxe resting lazily on his shoulder.
"That doesn't happen often," he said, voice rough but seasoned with experience. "We've worked here a long time, some of us practically gave our lives to this mine. But a tremor like today… yeah, that's rare."
Ren glanced sideways, his gaze not suspicious, but quietly assessing. The miner noticed and added:
"But don't worry. These support beams are made from a special kind of wood, extremely sturdy. We imported them from the upper levels of Aincrad… a long time ago… before the connection was cut…"
"But forget that. The tunnel designs were carefully calculated to bear loads, with segmented supports to prevent collapse. And…" he shrugged, "…they're maintained weekly, even when there are no tremors."
Yuna still looked doubtful, but said nothing. Nautilus just gave a small nod, as if trying to believe it.
Ren alone remained silent. Because what worried him… was never the stone ceiling above.
Then… like a small pebble tumbling from a mountaintop, heralding a massive landslide, Yuna's voice broke the momentary calm, hesitant, barely a whisper, but sharp enough to pierce the illusion of safety:
"…I think… we lost someone."
Her words were like a needle through the thin membrane holding the group's nerves together. A chilling silence followed, and then...
"What?"
"No way…"
The miners started spinning around, eyes darting in every direction, frantically counting heads with panic-stricken haste.
Some called out names, desperate for a reply that didn't come.
Ren instantly turned, his gaze sharpening like a blade drawn from its sheath. He looked down the mine shaft they had just retreated from, where the darkness still breathed, slow, deep, and silent.
"Yuna, are you sure?" he asked, voice low but taut like a drawn bowstring.
She bit her lower lip and gave a small nod, her eyes trembling. "I… I remember the gray-bearded guy, he was in the middle of the group. I still heard him talking just a moment ago."
No one said anything else.
An eerie sense of imbalance crept in like fog. Someone had fallen behind, deep within the dim mine, where one sudden attack… would leave no time to turn back.
"Stephen!"
"It's him…? That stubborn fool...why would he go back on his own?!"
A voice rose from among the miners, tinged with both worry and frustration. The atmosphere thickened, heavy like the fine dust clinging to the rock walls deep underground.
"He never stays in one place for long. Always goes back to those old tunnels to check things out himself," someone said hoarsely.
"That's why every time an accident nearly happened, it was Stephen who noticed it in time and stopped it."
"And it's also because of that habit that Stephen always dug up more than the others… But even after work, he'd be too stingy to buy a single beer."
Ren stood silently, listening to every word, every emotion pouring out from the group of miners.
He glanced behind him, where the light from the crystals faded, giving way to cold, silent darkness.
"Damn it…" Nautilus muttered, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, an unconscious reaction, spurred by an ominous feeling.
"We can't just leave that man behind," Yuna said softly but firmly. For the first time, her gaze didn't waver.
Ren gave a slight nod. He could see the hesitation in the miners' eyes. No one wanted to return to the place they had just escaped from. No one wanted to face danger again when safety was so close.
But their feet… were glued to the ground with doubt. With fear.
Was it worth it?
Did they have the courage to go back into that darkness… just to save an NPC?
Someone the system had assigned a name, a few lines of programmed dialogue, and some repetitive, familiar actions.
Ren clenched his teeth. He knew how many players saw it, that NPCs were just walking lines of code that could talk and wave.
But then… why did the miners' worried expressions look so real? Why did the name Stephen weigh so heavily in the air?
… Ren knew he couldn't do everything.
He looked over at Yuna and Nautilus, his gaze quieter than a spoken refusal. He didn't need to say anything, they understood. And precisely because they understood, the disappointment in their eyes was all the more evident.
Ren saw it. Felt it, like a needle stabbing straight into his chest. But he couldn't pretend to be strong enough to bear the consequences of everything… not again.
He couldn't...
Couldn't risk their safety on a reckless decision.
He had done that before… in the misty labyrinth.
Acted on his own. Blindly confident.
And the price he paid… had nearly cost the two people standing in front of him now.
Even if he had won against that monstrous worm… it wasn't skill. It was just… luck. A coin flip between life and death.
Ren no longer had the courage to gamble, not with someone else's life.
He took a deep breath, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.
Saying no was never easy, especially when Yuna's eyes held both disappointment and determination, and Nautilus's lips were pressed tight, clearly torn by inner conflict.
"I'm sorry," Ren said softly, as if he himself was resisting the words coming out of his mouth. "But this time… we can't."
No one answered.
Only the sound of wind whispering through the stone corridors remained, brushing past the mine carts, full, yet empty, snuffing out the faint warmth that had just begun to grow between them.
Ren looked away, avoiding Yuna and Nautilus's questioning and disappointed stares.
He didn't want to face it, didn't want to admit he had let them down. But then, his eyes accidentally met those of the miners, standing still, dazed by his decision.
A heavy, suffocating feeling welled up inside him. They, too, were hoping for a change, for a different choice, for an act of courage. But he couldn't give it.
He couldn't risk their lives over a vague threat, even if his own doubts lingered.
Ren pressed his lips together tightly, trying to contain the unease inside him. "Let's… move on," he said in a low voice, as if his words marked the end of something far greater.
Silence fell, as if time had frozen for a moment. Every gaze was fixed on him, but no one spoke.
And in that tense, waiting stillness, Ren turned around and looked ahead, toward the road that now seemed filled with unknown terrors lying in wait.
"I'm going back…" Yuna's voice rang out in the silence, firm with resolve.
Determination lit up her eyes. "Go on without me, Ren. I'll go back."
Ren turned, his eyes immediately finding her.
She stood there, her gaze steady and unwavering, though worry still lingered on her face.
But there was no denying it, in her voice, there was something different.A deep, unshakable resolve.