The teleportation light faded, leaving Elian standing in a large, white circular room.
He wasn't alone. Nine other players stood around him—the survivors of Block C.
Valen. Seraphina. Jax. A Ranger named Kael (not the blacksmith). A Tank named Boulder. And four others.
[Global Announcement: The Finals have begun.]
[Format: Dungeon Race.]
[Target: Floor 12 - The Labyrinth of Despair.]
Elian frowned. Floor 12? In the past, Floor 12 was a toxic swamp. A Labyrinth? The timeline has completely diverged.
[Rules:]
The Top 10 survivors of each Block (A through K) have been formed into a Party.
There are 10 Parties total.
The first Party to defeat the Floor Guardian wins.
Prep Time: 3 Days.
"A team?" Jax scoffed, spinning his dagger. "I work alone."
"Not anymore," Valen said, stepping into the center of the room. He radiated natural leadership. "If we want to win, we need to coordinate. I'm Valen. Swordsman."
He looked at Elian. The room went silent. Everyone knew Elian was the one who had massacred 14 players in under a minute.
"Elian," Valen smiled, ignoring Elian's cold glare. "Since you took Rank 1, you should lead."
"Pass," Elian said immediately. "You do it."
"Great!" Valen clapped his hands. "Then let's strategize."
The Preparation (3 Days Later)
For three days, the team rested in the high-end guild housing provided by the Tower.
Most teams spent the time drinking or boasting. Team Block A (led by a famous pro-gamer) was already celebrating their victory.
Elian spent the three days making his team miserable.
"Change your boots," Elian told Seraphina.
"But these are cute!"
"They have no grip. If the floor tilts, you die. Change them."
"Jax," Elian barked. "Drop the heavy daggers. Take these glass vials."
"What is this?"
"Oil. If the boss has high defense, we burn it."
"Boulder," Elian kicked the Tank's shield. "Your stance is too wide. If a minotaur hits you, your knee will snap. Tuck it in."
He was annoying. He was harsh. He was paranoid. He forced them to carry antidotes for poisons that didn't exist yet, and ropes for pits they hadn't seen.
But every time they complained, they looked at his eyes—eyes that had seen hell—and they listened.
The Labyrinth of Despair
[The Race Begins!]
Ten massive gates opened. Ten teams charged into the dark corridors of Floor 12.
"Go! Go! Go!" Team Block A shouted, sprinting ahead.
"Wait," Elian commanded.
"They're getting ahead!" Jax complained.
"Let them," Elian said. He pointed at the floor. "Look at the dust."
Ten seconds later, a scream echoed from the darkness ahead. Team Block A had triggered a tripwire. A massive swinging log smashed their Vanguard into paste.
"Traps," Valen whispered, pale.
"Single file," Elian ordered. "Step exactly where I step. Don't touch the walls."
The Labyrinth was a nightmare. The walls shifted. The floor had pressure plates that released acid. Shadow Spiders dropped from the ceiling.
Other teams were decimated.
Team Block F lost their healer to a pit trap.
Team Block B got separated by a moving wall and picked off by monsters.
But Team Block C?
"Duck," Elian said calmly.
The team ducked. A scythe blade whistled over their heads.
"Jax, left," Elian pointed.
Jax stabbed the darkness. A Shadow Spider screeched and died.
"Seraphina, shield Valen. Now."
She cast the shield instantly. A dart bounced off Valen's neck.
They moved slowly, but they didn't stop. And most importantly, they didn't bleed.
The Boss Room
After four grueling hours, they reached the center of the maze.
It was a colossal circular arena. Three other teams were already there—or what was left of them. Team Block A had only four members left. Team Block K had three.
And standing in the center was the nightmare.
[Floor Boss: Asterios the Storm-Burned (Mutated Minotaur)]
It stood twenty feet tall. Its skin was obsidian, but its back was split open with veins of flowing magma. In its hand, it held a warhammer that crackled with blue lightning.
Fire and Lightning, Elian analyzed. Overload damage.
"Attack!" The leader of Team Block A shouted. "It's just a big cow!"
They charged.
Asterios snorted. Steam blasted from its nostrils. It raised the hammer.
BOOOOM.
The hammer struck the ground. A shockwave of thunder paralyzed the attackers. Then, the magma on its back flared. It spun around, swinging the hammer in a 360-degree arc.
The "Thunder-Flame Spin."
The members of Team Block A were vaporized. Ash and lightning were all that remained.
"Holy..." Boulder, the tank of Elian's team, stepped back, trembling. "We can't fight that."
"We don't have to fight it fair," Elian said. He drew The Reaper's Edge.
"Valen, Boulder," Elian commanded. "You take the front. Do not block the hammer. Deflect it. If you block, the lightning will fry your organs."
"Jax," Elian pointed to the ceiling. "Climb the pillars. Drop the oil on its back."
"Seraphina," Elian looked at the saintess. "Keep them alive. Don't worry about mana. Use it all."
"What about you?" Valen asked, drawing his sword.
Elian's eyes flashed gold.
"I'm going to cut its hamstrings."
The Battle
It was chaos. The thunder was deafening. The heat was suffocating.
Valen was a prodigy. He danced around the hammer, drawing the Minotaur's aggro with shining solar skills. Boulder took the hits he had to, his shield glowing with defense buffs.
But the Minotaur was too strong.
ROAR!
Asterios slammed the ground, knocking Valen off balance. It raised the hammer to crush him.
"Now, Jax!" Elian screamed.
Jax dropped from the ceiling, smashing the glass vials of oil onto the magma veins on the boss's back.
The oil didn't just burn; it reacted with the magma.
HISSSSSS.
The boss shrieked as the chemical reaction caused a mini-explosion on its spine. It stumbled, the hammer swing missing Valen by an inch.
Elian saw the opening.
He slid under the boss's legs, avoiding the stomping hooves. He coated his blade in the Acid he had saved.
[Skill: Heavy Smash.]
He slashed the back of the Minotaur's ankle. The acid ate the tough hide; the blade severed the tendon.
The giant monster fell to one knee.
"Finish it!" Elian roared.
Valen leaped into the air, his sword glowing like the sun. "Sun Strike!"
He drove his blade into the Minotaur's neck.
Simultaneously, Elian drove The Reaper's Edge into its chest.
Thunder exploded. Fire erupted.
And then, silence.
[Floor Boss Defeated.]
[Winning Party: Team Block C.]
Elian pulled his sword out and looked around.
The arena was littered with the corpses of other teams. The survivors of Block K were missing limbs. Block A was wiped out.
But Team Block C?
Valen was bruised. Boulder had a broken nose. Seraphina was exhausted.
But there were ten of them.
"Count off," Elian rasped.
"One," Valen panted.
"Two," Seraphina smiled tiredly.
...
"Ten."
They were all alive.
Valen looked at the devastation around them, then at his team standing tall. He looked at Elian, who was wiping monster blood off his cheek, looking bored.
Valen realized then that it wasn't luck. Every order, every "annoying" preparation, every harsh word Elian had said over the last three days—it was all for this.
"We survived," Seraphina whispered, tears in her eyes.
Elian sheathed his sword. He didn't celebrate. He just turned away to hide the relief in his eyes.
"Don't get used to it," Elian muttered. "Floor 13 is worse."