The dungeon was nothing but an empty hall with a massive hole at the end. Inside the hole was a staircase that led further downstream.
The stone walls were cracked, slime greedily covering them as if they were a broken soul.
That same slime pulsed with life as it caused golden light to flicker with each movement it detected.
The smell of the dungeon was a mix of metal and ash that stung just enough to cause one's eyes to water.
The veterans weren't that bothered by the smell. They were used to it, even dwelled in it for days on end on some occasions.
Oscar and Herald couldn't handle it without taking deep breaths.
Nico glanced at Jasper. "How come you aren't bothered by the smell?"
"Smells just like home."
"What a coincidence."
Raymond then sectioned off the group, walking with Jasper as the two of them would work as tanks.
Alice and Harold walked in the middle, their magic already brewing as the staircase came to an end, and a huge hall greeted them.
Nico, Oscar, Vanessa and Gary held the fort by hanging in the back.
Nico had drawn his longsword, his eyes watching the endless holes that covered the walls all the way into the ceiling.
"Looks like we've found the nest," Raymond said in a low voice. "Alice."
"Got it."
Alice conjured up a makeshift bow, purple mana swirling playfully around her as an arrow formed on her fingertips.
She closed one eye and aimed at one of the holes. The arrow tip lit up with a blaze before she fired.
It whizzed through the air as it exploded, causing loud screeching to follow afterwards.
"Get ready," Raymond cautioned.
Gary drew his sword, causing cold wind to blow, while Oscar put on his knuckle busters and took a fighting stance.
Everyone else prepared for a fight, but Nico just stood there with his eyes shut.
He tapped his sword onto the ground gently, then walked forward, making Vanessa lift an eyebrow as she tried to grab his shoulder.
But she stopped herself halfway through.
"It won't work, Nico," she warned him. "You're still new, so you should—"
*GROWL*
Before she could continue, the monsters crawled out of their holes.
Their scales were a fresh orange, ripening for their long depraved meal of flesh and blood. On their spines were spikes sharp enough to cut diamonds, and at the end of their tails, some had blades that glowed eerily.
Their jaws, all sharp and laced with venom, snapped as they crawled towards the players. Their claws were long and sparked with each movement across the stone platform.
"They're here! Vanessa, get that piece of crap in check! The rest of you, charge!" Gary instructed, prompting Alice to buff all her teammates before they could attack.
Harold extended his hands and conjured up a large fireball that blew up on impact and snagged significant health from the nearby salamanders.
Oscar smiled widely as he boxed each salamander one by one. Each time one got closer, he would evade and strike with practised ease.
Raymond extended his hands, causing golden rings to cover his wrists as he attacked head-on. With each punch, the stalagmite salamanders were left with 1 HP, making his two-hit combo annoyingly effective.
"Gary, 12 o'clock!" Vanessa shouted, causing Gary to shift positions and swing his blade.
In one hit, the salamander turned into ice and shattered upon impact. Gary kept swinging, his blade stealing as much health as possible.
It glowed brightly, and so did the smile on his face as he screamed "Ice Dragon Slash!"
The blade hushed tones as it blasted through the monsters and trapped them in a single ice block. Gary sheathed his blade, and the block of ice behind him collapsed.
He released cold breath from his mouth and charged toward the other monsters.
Meanwhile, Nico was still standing, constantly tapping his blade against the ground as he walked around, seemingly aimlessly.
"You're fucking crazy, you know that?" Vanessa kicked a salamander away before it could attack Nico.
"Not any crazier than you. How does it feel to be able to read minds? Would've for sure lost mine by now," he commented casually as he found a hole.
"You think you're a big shot simply because you diffused the beef with the pigs? Trust me, we've dealt with far worse."
"Killing is the easiest option. An assassin's code gets broken the moment he spares a life.
"Compromise isn't kindness. It's selfishness masked as humanity."
Without waiting for a response from Vanessa, he walked towards the hole's light source.
Vanessa tilted her head, and her eyes widened after following behind him. A giant crystal was plastered onto the wall, slime covering it as it slithered onto the ground.
Then, right above them, they heard a stalagmite salamander groaning before it could growl and leave its tunnel.
"This is a summoning crystal. Way bigger than the ones normal players would have. It seems to be powered by the dungeon," Nico rubbed his chin as he tried stabbing it, only for his blade to bounce back like a plastic toy hitting a giant rock.
"What's it used for?"
"Haven't you noticed how the system hasn't displayed a single message indicating how many kills you got?
"If you aren't getting the text, then the others surely aren't, which means that this crystal is breaching with the entire system of the outside world. And it's probably the reason why these stalagmite salamanders are piling from different directions."
"How did—"
Nico smiled at Vanessa. "You should've learnt how to activate your mental shield before poking around in my head.
"I hope you've found what you were looking for. Remember, if you can read my mind, I'll do my best to read yours in return. Your friends may be weak-willed, but you have no idea what I went through on Earth to build my mental fortitude."
Vanessa chuckled softly and grabbed Nico by his collar, sniffing his neck before rubbing her soft lips against his.
Her fingers curled behind his neck while her gaze softened in his direction, and yet, he didn't react. He just stared at her blankly.
Then, she slowly puckered her lips and passionately kissed Nico, his expression finally changing. She pulled back and chuckled softly.
"You're a genius," she said before kissing him once again, only for Nico to grab her shoulders and pull her away from him.
Vanessa's face changed; her eyebrow twitched just slightly, her finger trembled for less than a second, and her heart skipped a beat.
Nico's mind was still blank. 'How?' she wondered.
Vanessa grabbed Nico's collar and plunged her knee straight into Nico's stomach, making him gag and spit on the ground.
Vanessa then grabbed his shoulders and pushed him aside, causing him to hit the wall.
He clenched his teeth and chuckled, slowly gathering his footing before fixing his collar.
"How do we destroy this?" Vanessa asked.
"Stab the centre until all the slime oozes out," he instructed, handing Vanessa his sword.
She spun it once and positioned herself. With one sharp breath, she plunged the blade deep into the crystal, causing the slime and goo to spill out of the wound.
The crystal dimmed, and the slime slithered into the walls. Vanessa handed Nico his sword and walked past him without saying anything.
He rolled his eyes and swat the slime off his sword before chuckling to himself. 'Now then, let's test that mechanic in real life.'
Nico ran past Vanessa and joined the fray of players. He held his sword with both hands and targeted the salamanders approaching him.
Their jaws kept snapping as purple goo oozed out of their mouths, causing literal venom froth to form between their teeth.
One stalagmite salamander lunged towards Nico. He slid beneath it and cut open a small wound. The rest approached.
He slipped and fell on his back, causing one to jump on him and snap open its mouth, threatening to bite his mouth off.
He grunted and pushed it back before flipping himself up and slashing once again.
One by one, he attacked the salamanders, opening small wounds on each of them. Their numbers piled on him, causing Gary to watch from a short distance, a small smile tugging at his lips.
'You're done!' he laughed in his head as he attacked the monsters ahead of him.
Everyone noticed that every monster that Nico cut wouldn't stay down.
"Nico!" Oscar tried helping, only to be stopped by Vanessa.
"You looking to die? Focus on your own fight, kid," she advised.
Oscar bit his lip and looked around him. Jasper was pushing back the congress of stalagmite salamanders with Raymond, while Alice and Harold were casting buffs and slowing down the monsters.
He clenched his fists. 'I'm so useless...'
Nico, on the other hand, was smiling softly. He sheathed his sword and quickly glanced at the wounds he caused.
'3 cuts on each back leg, 2 wide cuts below the gut, 5 cuts around the head. Ultimate conclusion—'
He ran towards the closest salamander, unsheathed his blade and quickly cut the same spots around the monster.
For a second, nothing happened. Next, the monster's parts fell off its body.
First the hind leg, followed by the front leg, and finally its head.
Green blood oozed from the corpse while Nico wiped the same colour off his blade by swatting it away.
[×3 COMBO HIT LANDED!]
[CRITICAL HIT LANDED!]
For a second, everyone watched as Nico began cleaving the other salamanders the same way.
One by one, they fell, and more combos piled.
'Who is this guy?'