The ancient characters, cracked by time, still clung stubbornly to the cold stone floor, an indelible mark of the past.
Argo knelt in silence, her fingertips gently brushing away the thick layer of dust. Beneath the dim torchlight, the rough engravings emerged, revealing themselves.
She frowned. This was not a plea for help. Not the final words of those who had perished here.
It was a story.
Argo traced her fingers along the carved letters, reading slowly, as if peeling away the layers of a buried past.
Under the faint light, she read each line in silence.
"A great king once ruled this land.
He was a conqueror, a ruler, a bringer of order."
Faint images flickered in Argo's mind...a grand throne standing tall on a bloodstained battlefield, a lone figure silhouetted against the crimson sunset.
But then…
"A worm of doubt slithered into his righteous heart."
Argo's brow furrowed.
"The spoils of war piled high around his throne. The sweet praises turned to shackles.
Loyalty became deception, honor turned to greed, and gold clouded his judgment.
And so, he turned his back on those who had once fought by his side."
A mighty kingdom rotting from within. Glory twisting into something far more terrifying, a bottomless abyss of doubt and betrayal.
"When the rusted crown was stained with blood,
Four swords shattered....."
An image flashed in her mind...four broken swords, fallen upon cracked earth. A metaphor? Or a truth long forgotten?
*"The king was no longer a king.
Only a sinner desperately reaching for the fading light of the gods…
He was sealed away, buried deep beneath the earth in a golden tomb, where the very gold he had worshipped consumed his soul."*
A shiver ran down Argo's spine.
But the story wasn't over.
*"Yet his soul could not rest.
The key to his release from this wretched shell… was entrusted to the most loyal of all…
The one who willingly became a beast… shackled by devotion."*
She held her breath.
A name surfaced in her mind. A figure she had seen before, not within these ancient letters, but in her own memory.
Argo inhaled sharply.
"This… is completely different from the beta."
Her gaze shifted from the engraved words… to something far greater.
In the dim glow filtering through the cracks in the cavern ceiling, a carving emerged, separate from the text.
She stood up, stepping closer.
On the rough stone wall, a massive figure was etched...
A towering form, hunched yet imposing, with a wild, untamed white mane flaring upward like twisted horns.
Burning red eyes, deep and smoldering like embers. One hand clutching a massive greatsword, the other gripping a jagged-edged shield.
And behind it…
Smaller warriors, kneeling low, bowing before its shadow.
A chill ran down Argo's spine.
She didn't need to guess.
She had seen it before.
Before the gates of the second floor.
The boss of the first floor.
Illfang the Kobold Lord.
"Gulp…"
Her throat was dry.
Her breathing was uneven, her stomach twisting as her eyes locked onto the carving.
It… was staring at her.
Even though it was nothing more than crude engravings on stone, those crimson eyes, just a part of the chiseled figure...still made her feel trapped under its gaze.
A suffocating pressure crawled into her bones, and she realized.
She couldn't stay here.
Argo took a step back… then another.
Her palms were ice-cold, sweat trickling down the back of her neck. She spun around and bolted from the cavern.
Her footsteps echoed in the narrow space, her heartbeat pounding in sync with her ragged breath. Her eyes locked onto the faint traces of light ahead.
Run.
Must get out of here.
The cold wind lashed against her skin as she dashed through the twisting pathways. Shadows stretched long against the rock walls, like invisible hands waiting to reach out and seize her.
But she didn't stop.
Argo slipped past the sleeping wolf in silence, moving like a shadow.
Can't stop.
She didn't know how long she had been running, but at last, a faint light appeared ahead. An exit.
Argo burst out of the cave, nearly stumbling as her feet sank slightly into the loose dirt and rubble.
She bent over, hands braced against her knees, gasping for air.
Her heart refused to settle.
Argo's eyes widened as she turned back to the deep, yawning darkness of the cave entrance. Her fingers clenched into fists, trying to suppress the tremor running through her body.
What she had just read… what she had just seen…
Everything was different from the beta.
That story wasn't just some old legend.
It was real.
Illfang… wasn't just a floor boss.
It was the keyholder to a curse.
And if that was true… then the battle on the first floor wouldn't be as simple as everyone thought.
She had stumbled upon a secret that should never have been uncovered.
Argo swallowed hard, then turned and walked away. But deep down, she knew...
I can't pretend I never read those words.
The last light of day faded over the sunken rock field, swallowed by the encroaching night.
Then...
A faint sound echoed from the depths of the cave.
Argo froze, holding her breath.
Claws scraped against stone. A low, heavy breath.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
And her heart clenched.
In the thick, suffocating darkness… a pair of glowing eyes blinked open.
No... Not just one. Not just two.
Six.
Six eyes, each the size of a clenched fist, flaring to life like eerie blue flames in the void.
A monster. Not the giant wolf from before.
The silhouette before her was much larger, with ears standing tall and sharp, fangs glinting faintly in the dim light.
An Alpha.
No.
Perhaps… something even beyond an Alpha.
Argo's body went rigid, every nerve screaming at her to run.
But she couldn't.
Not because of fear.
But because...
The monster was looking directly at her.
Unblinking. Unmoving.
Those six blazing eyes pinned her in place like an inescapable verdict.
The weight of its gaze pressed down on her, making her breaths come short and fast.
A part of her instincts warned, if she turned and ran now, it would chase. And she wasn't sure she could escape.
The darkness inside the cave seemed to shift, deep, slow breaths merging with the silence.
A faint, musky scent drifted through the air, carrying the cold breath of the beast and damp stone.
Argo took a slow step back.
The monster didn't move.
She took another step.
Still no reaction.
But just as she was about to take one more...
Scrape.
A soft sound broke the silence. Just the slightest movement, a claw lightly dragging across the stone floor.
But every hair on Argo's body stood on end.
She clenched her jaw. No time to hesitate.
Ten steps.
Ten steps and she would be out of the cave's range.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Then...
The darkness shifted.
A deep, rumbling growl, like thunder rolling from the bowels of the earth, reverberated through the air.
Argo gritted her teeth, then spun and bolted.
And just as she expected...
BOOM!
A powerful gust swept past her back, the sound of shattering rock echoing as something slammed into the ground where she had stood moments before.
If she had been even a second slower.
No. No time to think.
Argo sprinted, weaving through jagged rocks, using the terrain to break line of sight.
Behind her, the sound of claws raking against stone, the deep, growling breaths of the predator, drew closer.
It was fast. Too fast.
Argo bit down on her lip.
She couldn't keep running forever.
She needed another way.
A plan flickered to life in her mind, but she would only have one shot.
If she failed…
She would become prey to whatever lurked in the dark.
The monster's footsteps echoed in the narrow cavern, fast, heavy, and relentless.
Argo gritted her teeth, her legs moving like the wind. She had already pushed her speed to the limit, but the pressure behind her only grew stronger.
It was closing in.
She could hear its ragged breaths, feel the icy gusts hitting her neck with each swipe of its claws.
It was faster than her.
Much faster.
Argo clenched her fists, her body reacting on instinct. A slight misstep, then a sudden kick against a nearby rock. She launched herself off the wall, changing direction in a split second.
SWISH!
A razor-sharp claw slashed through the air right where she had been an instant before.
If she had been even a fraction slower...
Argo didn't dare finish the thought.
She rolled across the ground, sprang back to her feet, and kept running.
But...
It was still on her trail.
And this time, it didn't fall for the feint.
It had adapted to her speed.
This time, when she changed direction, it didn't swing out of instinct.
It waited.
Then...just as she landed.
BOOM!
A crushing force slammed into the ground, sending debris flying.
Argo barely twisted away, but pain seared through her leg.
A cut.
Not deep, but enough to slow her down.
A massive damage number flashed above her head.
She had funneled all her attribute points into speed.
And wore light armor for mobility.
Her health pool wasn't high.
That one grazing hit had already dropped it to the danger zone.
"Damn it!"
She bit her lip, forcing herself back on her feet. She couldn't stop. She couldn't get caught.
But as Argo lifted her head...
Those six glowing eyes were already waiting for her.