Chapitre 38: Dungeon Run

Ath3na's eyes widened as she recognized the entrance to the wraith cave.

"No, it's a little different now…" she whispered to herself.

Yes, she quickly noticed the slight changes made to the entrance, how it was widened to accommodate a larger group of people rushing in.

"I guess this means the interior won't be the same either…" she added.

"What are you whispering to yourself about now, love," Lyghtning said as she peeked over Ath3na's shoulder.

Ath3na shook her head. "It's nothing… good luck to us, Lyghtning."

"We don't need luck, Ath3na," Lyghtning patted her friend on the back. "We're aces."

It was at that moment when Donatella's voice reverberated all around them.

"Deathly Challenger's Cup first stage, Dungeon Run!" Donatella yelled. "The only rule is to stay on course… It's a hellish race were anything goes!"

Her voice was quickly replaced by the thousands of disembodied cheers that the challengers could hear around them almost as if they'd never left the arena.

"Ready!" It was Maestro's voice this time. "Get set!" He paused for a half-second before he yelled, "Go!"

Whatever Ath3na was thinking went right out the window as she dashed forward along with everyone else. But just before the fastest players could enter the cave, something enormous stepped out of it to block their path.

A gigantic stone fist slammed down on the ground where Lyghtning was only a moment ago, but while she managed to dodge to the side, the girl behind her — the one with the green highlights on her hair and the gossamer wings on her back — she was struck down by the unknown enemy's attack.

"Enka!" someone yelled.

"Oh, dear, it seems Enka, the Beguiling Sorceress, has been pulverized by the first obstacle, the horde of stone golems guarding the maze's entrance," Donatella commented.

"Wait…" Ath3na slowed to a stop, and several others followed her example. "Did she just say 'horde'?"

As if on cue, several pairs of glowing blue eyes appeared behind the giant stone creature whose bulk and fifteen-foot height was already enough to partially cover the cave entrance.

"Holy sh*t," Ath3na cursed under her breath. "They're not planning on making this easy for any of us…"

A blue-skinned man with messy raven hair dashed past Ath3na, and she saw that he was headed right for the lead golem.

"Narukami's charging in!" Donatella commented.

"Out of my way!" he yelled right as he jumped up to the golem's face. "Fist of Havoc!"

Arcs of electricity blasted out of Narukami's right fist as it collided with the stone golem's brow. It was an impact so great that a wave of wind pressure spiraled out of it in all directions.

Ath3na was forced to cover her eyes with her arm as the wind flowed past her and sent her glowing white hair billowing back.

The first golem toppled over, but before it could be replaced by another, Narukami had already landed back on the ground and was running into the cave while arcs of electricity trailed behind him.

"That was an impressive show of power from the Stormchaser, Narukami," Donatella said approvingly.

"Actually, it's a very versatile evolution for one that's purely spell-focused," Maestro cut in.

"And we're joined in the announcer's box by Maestro, trainer of heroes!" Donatella announced. "Oh, look at that… another challenger just made her move."

As Lyghtning yelled, "Seven Sword Blossoms!" the air around her began to shimmer to reveal the seven swords floating at her side.

She pointed a finger at the fifteen-foot golem that had just stepped out of the cave. And the swords launched themselves forward. They were seven pointy missiles zooming straight for the golem.

All seven blades impaled themselves on the golem's body, causing it to crash back against the side of the cave's opening. This was just enough space for Lyghtning to zip past them as she made her way into the cave and chased after Narukami.

"That was thrilling," Donatella noted.

"It's also expected," Maestro chimed in. "Narukami and Lyghtning are currently considered the fastest players in the game."

A third golem stepped out of the cave, but just before its foot could land on the soft earth, a captivating melody began to play.

"Hello shadows my old friend, I've come to call on you again," a beguiling voice sang. "My weakened soul you shall defend, and whisper to my enemy the sound… of death!"

Black tendrils erupted out of the shadows forming on the ground and latched themselves onto the golem right before tightening around the creature like dark pythons constricting their prey.

"I was wrong," Donatella announced. "Enka's still alive!"

The beguiling sorceress floated out of her hiding place with a fist of triumph raised in the air, her wings flapping behind her. But before she could fly into the cave, a ghostly figure ran past her.

"Looks like Ath3na's just taken advantage of Enka's song before she could," Donatella reported.

"Well, Enka shouldn't have wasted time posing triumphantly like that," Maestro chuckled. "It's a race, not a fashion show…"

A stone hand came hurtling toward Ath3na, but she simply gritted her teeth and felt the slight bit of pain that came with phasing through an enemy attack.

"Ath3na's through!" Donatella yelled.

Ath3na crossed into the darkness of the cave while continuing to phase through several more attacks from the golems hiding in the shadows. Fortunately, her [Spectral Cloak] ran out on her just as she'd escape the final golem's clutches.

"And Argonaut just pulled off a splendid block," Donatella commented. "It seems he's stopped the golem's attacks long enough for more players to run past."

"What a nice guy," Maestro added wryly.

Their comments made Ath3na look over her shoulder while she ran. She discovered that more and more challengers were making their way into the cave, forcing her to double her pace.

Luckily, the darkness didn't bother her much as Wraith Warriors had a passive ability called Dark Vision which allowed them to see more than fifty feet ahead without needing a light source.

"What an incredible opening act for what promises to be a thrilling dungeon run," Donatella commented.

"I know right," Maestro agreed. "There are a lot more twists and turns inside the cave… let's hope some players survive to the end."

As she ran, Ath3na noticed that the rough-hewn walls of the passage she was in narrowed in places while expanding in others.

Behind her, the sound of pattering feet made her run even faster, and it almost caused her to miss the tiny alcove to her immediate right and the glowing golden coin floating above its small stone altar.

Ath3na reached out a hand for the coin, but it was snatched away just before her fingers could grasp it.

Player number one whirled around and found she was face to face with an Asian-looking teenage girl who had green highlights on her hair.

"Finders keepers," Enka said right before she stuck her tongue out at Ath3na. "Losers weepers."

Then she was flying ahead of Ath3na, and only glanced back to yell, "You're getting too old to act cute in your streams, you hag!"

Ath3na sighed as she continued to run forward while protesting, "I don't act cute on my streams…"

Eventually, the passage widened out and Ath3na found herself stepping into a large cavern with a high ceiling. Floating above her, like yellow stars in twinkling in the night sky, were dozens of golden coins.

"Mine!" Enka yelled, but her voice was quickly snuffed out by the punch that had just smacked her in the face.

"You whine too much," said her attacker.

Ath3na hadn't even noticed that another player had gotten ahead of her besides Enka. T

The man who'd punched the songstress in the face was dressed in the traditional attire of a Japanese ninja with two significant differences. The lone purple horn protruding out of the middle of his brow was real. That and the shadows around him seemed to cling to his clothes.

A nametag appeared above his head. It read [Cyborg Ninja Lv.2].

Ath3na couldn't help but smirk at the clear reference to a villain from the iconic nineties Playstation One game, Metal Gear Solid. It was her dad's favorite game, and they'd played it together several times while she was growing up.

Cyborg Ninja turned his head in Ath3na's direction and immediately raised his hand to stop her.

"Don't move, goddess!" he warned.

But he was too late. She'd already taken that first step into the cavern, and as she did, her foot stepped on an inconspicuous piece of tile that made a weird clicking sound.

"Oh, no," Ath3na breathed. "I didn't just…"

"Yes," Cyborg Ninja agreed. You've just set off a trap…"

As if in mockery of their situation, the cheers from the crowd rang out inside the room just as Maestro spoke the words. "Hey, Donatella, have you ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

There was a pause before Donatella replied with, "No… because I'm an NPC… so are you."

Another long pause before Maestro's reply was heard. "Yes, I know… but the developers added pop-culture information into our script log so we can sound more interesting for this event…"

And then there was another short pause before Donatella said, "And what is the importance of this information you've shared, Maestro?"

"The audience is about to find out…" Maestro answered quickly.

Suddenly, from above them, beyond the shadows that hid the high ceiling, Ath3na and Cyborg Ninja could hear something heavy scraping against stone as it made its way down.

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
GD_Cruz

Greetings, fellow reapers!

I loved writing that last bit. Leo messing up like that... makes you wonder if the players still believe Maestro is an NPC or if there really is something fishy going on now. HAHAHA

As for the movie reference... well, you'll find out in the next chapter. :D

Also, I'm going to mention this in the next chapter but Cyborg Ninja's evolution is called "Shadow".

Lastly, guys! It's the weekend! It would really help the book out if you could share more stones for Saturday and Sunday so GMofS can rise up the rankings! We need your help to spread the word. :D Thanks!

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