---
The stench of rot filled the air.
Around Rin, the silence had collapsed. Fear spread like infection.
One rookie sobbed into his scarf. Another stared at the sky, lips trembling.
"I-I can't die here," a girl whispered. "I have entrance exams next week. I wanted to go to university... not be food!"
Another rookie dropped his weapon. "Why did I even become a Sealer? Just for rent money...!"
> [Warning: Dungeon Tier Exceeds Party Level]
[Estimated Survival Rate: < 6%]
Rin's heart raced.
GONG.
The earth shook. Screams echoed down the tunnel.
From the red mist came the sound of heavy boots. But they weren't boots.
They were hooves. Clawed and cracked and soaked in blood.
A warband of B-rank War Orcs thundered forward—six of them.
Massive. Snarling. Rusted axes and tusks painted in dried flesh.
Someone screamed, "RUN!"
And they did.
---
Panic
The group shattered like glass.
Boots pounded. Voices cried. Blades scraped stone.
Behind them, the orcs roared, cutting down the slowest one by one.
A pink-haired girl fell. "HELP ME—!"
A sickening crunch.
Silence.
Rin didn't look back. He couldn't.
His lungs burned. His legs screamed. But he ran.
Until Garun stopped.
---
The Wall
The D-rank leader turned, eyes sharp, jaw locked. Blood ran down his side.
"KEEP RUNNING!" he bellowed.
He slammed his palm into the dungeon wall and roared. Mana erupted like fire.
Stone surged upward—blocking the tunnel in a thick, jagged wall.
Garun dropped to his knees, gasping.
His last words before passing out:
"Don't waste it... Live."
On the other side, the orcs howled.
Thud. Thud. THUD.
The wall cracked slightly—but held.
---
Realization
The survivors collapsed in the new chamber—six left, not counting Garun.
A boy clutched his chest. "He saved us…"
"No," whispered another.
Everyone turned.
She was pale. Pointing forward.
They looked.
And their blood ran colder.
The room wasn't an exit.
It wasn't safety.
Above the archway behind them, glowing runes appeared:
> [SUB-BOSS ROOM: Venomous Maw - Centipede Class]
A deep hiss coiled around them.
Something moved.
A hundred legs scraped across stone.
Two huge eyes opened in the dark.
A massive B-rank centipede uncurled from the ceiling.
Its fangs dripped green venom. Its armor gleamed like bone. Its voice—wet, alien—clicked in hunger.
Rin's mouth dried up. His knees almost buckled.
"This can't be real," he muttered. "I'm not ready... I'm not..."
The centipede lunged.
> [To Be Continued]
---