SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
YOU ARE THE FIRST TO REACH THE PEAK OF LEVEL 9. UPGRADING SKILL TO YOUR PROFICIENCY.
ADVANCED LIGHTNING MAGIC, LEVEL 1 – THIS MAGIC CAN BE IMBUED WITH SPIRIT AND LARGE AMOUNTS OF MANA TO CREATE AN ELEMENTAL TO CARRY OUT MAGIC ATTACKS.
"Well, shit… none of us saw that coming."
Advanced Lightning Magic. An evolution, yes, but the proficiency bar now read 100/1000. The climb had only just restarted, and every level would demand more than before. The description wasn't guidance; it sounded more like a riddle. A promise of power, if Shay could figure out what the system wanted from him.
He looked calm on the outside, but I knew him well enough to see it. His eyes burned, already dissecting every word, mapping out possibilities. He was planning even as the bats' ashes were still falling.
We didn't get long to process it.
The cavern shuddered with another wave. Shadows peeled from the ceiling, dozens more bats pouring down in a storm of wings and shrieks. Rachel steadied her staff, the glow of her buff wrapping around me. Shay lifted his hand, lightning already dancing, but this time there was something different about it. The massacre continued.
Another eighty bats fell, their shrieks cut short by a storm of lightning and steel. 2.5 million EXP rolled in fast, clean, efficient. For a moment, it almost felt easy.
But I wasn't done.
While Shay and Rachel were still finishing off two or three stragglers, I pushed forward into the next chamber. Reckless, yeah but the high from the last massacre hadn't faded, and my body thrummed with fire and lightning waiting to be unleashed. My instincts pulled me on. My blade flared as I charged, flames and sparks arcing across its edge.
The room erupted in violence. Twenty bats gone in moments. Their wings shrivelled under fire, their screams swallowed by thunder.
System Notification: 1.1 million EXP gained.
It should've felt good, but it didn't.
I glanced back as the last sparks faded. Shay and Rachel were still wiping ash from their hands, their breathing steady, but I could tell from the look on their faces. Those bats had barely touched them. Their blades and spells hadn't had the chance to land before I'd burned through the whole room. Their share of the fight and the reward was scraps.
I exhaled, frustration knotting in my chest. Solo hunting worked. It was efficient. But this wasn't just about me anymore. Shay and Rachel weren't random players or temporary allies. This was us now, and me charging ahead, snatching the lion's share of the power… that wasn't leading. That was selfish.
Lesson learned. No more rushing for glory. Still, the system had its own way of reminding me of the grind.
Level Up: 49.
Next Level Requirement: 7.2 million EXP.
The climb was steepening, each step heavier than the last. Power was coming slower, but sharper. Costlier. Exactly as it should.
The cavern was quiet now. Every last bat was gone. Only one foe remained.
The boss.
That same humanoid bat, the Vampire Guard. The creature whose speed had once outmatched anything we'd faced. Back then, at Level fifty-five, it moved like a shadow on fire, faster than its rank should ever allow.
But now… things were different.
I was three levels stronger, my body sharper, faster. More importantly, my Swordsmanship had climbed to Level nine. Each swing felt less like effort and more like instinct. Timing. Reach. Flow. I wasn't reacting anymore, I could meet it speed with speed.
This time, I was ready.
The cavern stretched vast and hollow. The moment I crossed the threshold, I activated Detect. My senses clashed with something forty-five meters out. The boss was pushing back with its own detection, sharper, heavier. My teeth clenched. It knew we were here.
Shay moved first, static fields sparking around him and Rachel. She raised her staff, buffs pulsing through me in warm waves. Muscles tightened. Breath steadied.
I drove my heel into the stone, and the ground cracked. Then I launched forward.
The Vampire Guard darted into view, our speed perfectly matched. My sword hit stone, detonating fire upward in a pillar. The monster twisted, startled, just enough for me to slash with my dagger. The blade missed by inches, its reflexes still out of this world.
But not sharp enough.
I feinted, twisting into a half turn. The creature shifted just clear, but that was the opening. I let the dagger slip free from my fingers, tendons straining, coiled power snapping like a bowstring. The hilt left my palm with a hiss of displaced air.
The blade buried deep into the creature's neck.
Its scream shook the cavern, the echo crawling across the stone.
Shay was already there, mana flooding into his arms until his whole body vibrated with lightning. The air warped as he unleashed it. Lightning erupted forward, shaped into the draconic form of a crackling spirit. The beast turned, eyes locking onto Shay just as the lightning dragon collided.
The explosion tore through the guard's chest, convulsions ripping its body apart in spasms.
I didn't waste the moment. I ripped my dagger free, hot ichor splattering across my hand, then drove it down its spine, sawing hard until flesh tore and bone grated. The paralysis cracked and faded.
Its claws came for me, both hands slashing to gut me open.
I braced, teeth grinding, as I caught the talons on my blade. Sparks sprayed. The weight was unbearable. With a roar, I twisted and kicked, hurling the monster across the cavern.
Then Shay descended. His blade, wrapped in lightning, plunged into its shoulder, bursting paralysis through its frame. He kicked free, flipping back as the creature shuddered and froze.
That was the moment.
I surged in, every ounce of power funnelled into one motion. Dragonfang screamed with as I swung upward in a clean arc.
The blade carved straight through its neck.
Its head separated, rolling across the ice as its body toppled to the floor in a final, thunderous crash.
We froze. Hearts pounding. No wounds. No blood spilled that wasn't the monster's. For the first time, we'd beaten it without loss.
The system chimed.
YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE SEVENTH FLOOR BOSS: EATHERIC, THE VAMPIRE'S GUARD.
EXP RECEIVED: 333,000.
Shay's hands trembled faintly, his eyes wide. Rachel's buffs faded, leaving only silence in their place. For a moment, we simply stood there, staring at the body still not quite believing it was done.
Rachel takes all the loot to sell, and we move straight to the eighth floor. This can only last so long. Injuries will happen. I just hope we can prevent anything serious.
The wasteland stretches before us, cracked earth split by molten rivers that carve destructive paths across the terrain. The heat is suffocating, warping the air, making every breath feel like inhaling smoke. Sometimes we're forced close to the lava flows, the blistering heat scalding against our skin.
From the glowing fissures, fire spirits rise. Embers given form, bodies flickering and unstable. We engage without hesitation. Shay's torrents of ice and water crash into them, steam hissing as their fiery shapes break apart. My lightning-charged sword cleaves through their unstable cores, scattering them into ash and sparks.
We win but we're not untouched. My arms are scorched, skin blistered. Parts of shirt burned away completely. In this climate, putting another on feels pointless.
We push harder, cutting down salamanders and elementals until the air itself stinks of smoke and blood. Another 1.5 million EXP gained. Shay hits level forty-eight, though he still needs four million to advance. With numbers like that, we can't afford to leave anything behind. Every creature on this floor must die before we even consider the boss.
The wasteland sprawls endlessly. Charred stone, glowing fissures, the distant volcano bleeding lava from deep cracks. It takes nearly five hours to scour it all, burning through potions and stamina in equal measure.
Then my detection skill flares.
Something's waiting. Fifty meters ahead.
A Fire Belcher. Level fifty-eight.
We'd grown stronger since our last encounter with these beasts, confidence replaced hesitation as we prepared for battle.
I took the lead, circling wide and shedding every ounce of unnecessary weight to maximise my speed. My body coiled like a spring, then snapped forward in a full sprint. With Dexterity at three hundred, I burst past eighty miles an hour, the world blurring at my sides. My grip tightened on the hilt, and at the last instant I drove my blade straight into the Fire Belcher's eye.
The monster shrieked, its pained roars shaking the earth. It thrashed violently, molten scales grinding against stone. I wrenched the blade free and leapt back just as a torrent of fire erupted from its maw. Close. Too close.
But we were ready.
Shay channelled his mana, shaping it into a spear of crackling lightning. The weapon distorted the air as he hurled it into the creature's mouth. The collision was catastrophic, fire and lightning detonating together in a volatile blast that staggered the beast.
I rushed in again. Mana flooded my veins as I infused my sword with both lightning and ice, forming a jagged shard at the tip. Electricity crawled across its edges like a living thing. I drove it into the ruined eye, but the Fire Belcher roared back into frenzy, flames spilling uncontrollably from its jaws and forcing me to retreat.
Shay didn't falter. His next strike took shape as a spectral tiger made of pure lightning, each step tearing through the air with snarling arcs. The beast slammed into the Fire Belcher's chest, stunning it long enough for me to move again.
This was the moment.
I launched myself skyward, soaring fifteen meters into the smoky air. "Shay! Now, earth magic!" I shouted mid-flight.
Without hesitation, a massive stone pillar erupted upward, smashing into the creature's jaw and snapping its head back. I came down like a guillotine, my sword blazing with elemental fury. The blade carved into its neck, ripping a gash more than half a meter deep.
The Fire Belcher dropped to its knees, strength ebbing, flames still spewing wildly in its desperation. Shay countered with a torrent of water and ice, dousing the inferno until the cavern steamed.
The monster slumped. Lifeless.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
225,000 EXP received each.
Then, another notification appears above the fallen creature, its blue panel hovering ominously in my vision. Dropping my equipment, I step forward.
SYSTEM: SKILL ABSORPTION.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ABSORB THE SKILL: FIRE RESISTANCE (LEVEL 2)
EFFECT: INCREASES THE ABILITY TO RESIST FIRE DAMAGE. EACH LEVEL REDUCES FIRE DAMAGE BY 2%.
Without hesitation, I accept. A purple mist swirls around me, intermingling with the residual flames of the battlefield. The energy seeps into my body, and I feel an immediate shift my skin feels cooler, my breathing steadier, the heat less oppressive.
With the Fire Belcher defeated, we press onward. Every cave, every molten river, and every lurking fire creature is purged as we continue our ascent toward the volcano's peak. Each battle rewards us with substantial EXP, Shay now requiring only a single kill to reach level 49, while I remain 2.9 million short of level 50.
The volcano had three entrances, each leading into unknown dangers. We chose one at random and ascended into the fiery dark.
The first cavern teemed with fire salamanders, including a massive variant streaked with jagged red patterns across its scales—an area boss at level fifty-six, flanked by three lesser kin.
The smaller ones fell quickly, leaving only the brute. I moved in with relentless precision, my blade carving deep gashes across its legs. Blood hissed as it splattered against the heated floor, steam curling upward with every drop. The beast faltered, collapsing under its own weight until my final strike drove it down for good.
EXP GAINED: 890,000
Shay rose to level forty-nine, his lightning magic quivering at the edge of evolution. Rachel scraped into forty-eight, while I still felt the looming wall of two million EXP standing between me and my next level.
We doubled back, entering a newly exposed chamber within the volcano. A massive lava pool stretched across the floor, fire elementals rising from its depths in glowing waves. Shay unleashed an endless stream of ice and water magic, the hiss of steam drowning the cavern in fog, while I lanced through their ranks with crackling arcs of lightning. Two mana potions later, ten minutes gone, the last of them dissolved into embers.
EXP GAINED: 1.3 million each.
Shay's ice and water magic surged to level six. My lightning climbed to level eight. Even my fire resistance ticked up to level three. Progress was coming fast now. I could feel it, the edge of something new. Less than seven hundred thousand EXP separated me from level fifty.
Finally, we reached the last cavern.
A long corridor stretched ahead, lined by lava pools and geysers belching smoke and sulphur into the air. The fractured ceiling dripped molten fire in lazy rivulets, painting the stone floor with a shifting orange glow. The heat was suffocating, every breath heavy, every step loud in the silence.
I stretched my senses outward. Detect pulsed and struck something vast. Immense mana close by. We slowed, blades and spells ready.
Rounding the last bend, the beast revealed itself.
Not a salamander. Not even a Fire Belcher.
This one was different. Armoured in thick, glistening scales that ridged its spine and legs, each plate shimmered like cooled obsidian veined with magma. It towered over eight meters, spines flaring as if to challenge the cavern itself. Its chest swelled, then exhaled a deep, hollow huff that blasted steam across the chamber, the sound echoing.
Area Boss: Level 59 Armoured Fire Belcher.
This was too much.
The armour was impenetrable and letting Shay fight it from the inside would be suicide.
We retreated. Outside the volcano, the three of us argued for a time, but reason won. We'd been inside the labyrinth for thirty hours straight. We'd carved our way through all that stood before us, pushed ourselves past exhaustion, and survived. That was victory enough. Even if I only needed three more kills to hit level fifty, we left to re-enter again later.
Back at the surface, we found a hotel near the labyrinth. Most rooms were booked solid, but being the top three ranked players in the world still carried weight. A little pressure, and we secured a decent suite.
I was close, so close to fifty I could almost taste it. The thought burned at the edge of my mind as we sat down together, finally breathing, thoughts turned to sneaking out and gaining it on my own, but I promised that was behind me, even though my personality pushed for it.
Food. Drinks. Phones in hand. For the first time in weeks, we went back to how regular people acted, how we acted earlier this year.
News poured in. Being English, the three of us naturally checked headlines from home first. Governments were adapting fast. With fifteen labyrinths discovered across the world it was the topic on every nation's tongue.
Two in EuropeOne in the UKTwo in AmericaOne in ChinaOne in South AmericaOne in JapanTwo in AustraliaTwo in AfricaTwo in RussiaOne in Canada
The politics and survival had become inseparable.
They'd tried raiding gates with military force. It failed. High-tech weapons fizzled at the threshold. Firearms and explosives simply rejected by the system. A level nineteen boss had wiped out twelve level three soldiers in minutes. The lesson was brutal, but clear: levelling mattered.
Defence could tank bullets if high enough. Dexterity could outpace them. Power wasn't in military equipment anymore; it was in us. Evolution had rewritten the rules.
People had reached out to me who managed to realise I was the number one in the world, curious or maybe desperate, but they were all opportunistic, I mean obviously I ignored them all. Family and friends mattered. The rest could wait.
One article caught my attention though. Appraisers. Blacksmiths. People awakening skills to craft weapons, potions, elixirs, all from gate materials. I'd need them eventually, but not yet. Not until I was strong enough to stand against everything outside the Gates.
Moments later food arrived. Bottles of wine followed. We poured freely. Our resistance to alcohol was higher now, probably a side effect of growing stats, but the only way to test this theory was to try it, which Shay and I had no problem confirming.
For once, we were just… people. Eating. Drinking. Laughing.
The money? Irrelevant. Between our hunting earnings and system rewards, Shay and I already had more than we could spend. But for the world outside for regular people, this change was upheaval.
Between bites and sips, we joked about everything, mainly the labyrinth, even tossed around the idea of trying a level one-hundred gate.
After several hours, a good meal, and more wine than we'd had in months, I greeted my bed with my arms wide open.
Morning came too soon, by nine, the sun was already high. The world outside the labyrinth was shifting fast. Gates had only been active for three weeks, but hubs were springing up around every labyrinth, makeshift strongholds turning into permanent lodgings. Trade, commerce, training, all orbiting the Gates, and that was no different for ours. By now, people were able to reach the second floor, a select few would be able to reach floor three.
We gathered every pouch and potion and made our way back to the labyrinth. Supplies full, new armour worn, whatever waited, we'd face it together.
The climb was almost mechanical now. Floor after floor blurred beneath our boots until we reached the seventh.
It was a slaughter. Brutal, efficient, but necessary. The bats fell one after another, their numbers dwindling until silence reclaimed the cavern. In less than half an hour, over one hundred ten corpses faded into ash.
The system tally was staggering: five-point-two million EXP in a single sweep.
Shay stood two-and-a-half million short of Level 50. Rachel broke through to 49. And me?
Level 50.