Chapter 36: Something Better

Lilith opened the chest.

The silver bracelet rested against the dark lining inside, its small black crystals catching the weak light from the sulfur formations around her.

For a moment, she only stared at it. Then, after what seemed like forever, she finally reached inside.

Her hands were still trembling from the fight, and Zion watched as she carefully lifted the bracelet with both of them. The thin silver chains shifted between her fingers while she turned it over and looked at the black crystals hanging beneath the clasp.

Zion moved his attention closer. He was hoping to see her smile. Instead, she continued staring at it without much expression.

His excitement slowly faded.

Maybe I chose badly.

The bracelet had looked perfect in the shop preview, but maybe it was different up close. Maybe the crystals looked cheap, or the silver looked strange, or—

Lilith’s fingers tightened slightly around it. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Zion froze, unable to process what was happening in front of him.

Another followed.

"What?"

She didn’t make a sound. The tears simply continued down her face while she stared at the bracelet in her shaking hands.

Zion immediately opened the shop panel again. "Did I choose the wrong one?"

He pulled up the item information so quickly that the text filled his awareness before he had even finished the thought.

"I should’ve read the effect first! What if it’s cursed?"

He searched through the description for anything involving curses, possession, emotional effects, spiritual corruption, poison, or anything else that could explain why she had started crying the moment she touched it.

Nothing jumped out at him.

Before he could finish reading, Lilith moved.

She lifted the bracelet toward her wrist.

Her fingers fumbled with the clasp once before she managed to close it. The silver settled against her pale skin, and the small black crystals shifted softly when she turned her wrist beneath the light.

She looked at it for several seconds. Then the corner of her mouth lifted.

"It’s beautiful." Her words were barely audible, but because Zion was so close to her, he heard them.

He finally relaxed. "She likes it."

Lilith wiped one cheek with the back of her hand, though another tear had already started down the other side of her face.

Her thumb moved over one of the black crystals before she turned her wrist again to admire it.

Zion still didn’t understand why she had cried. But for now, he decided that didn’t matter. At least he hadn’t upset her. That was the most important.

Lilith coughed into her sleeve and glanced toward the hallway leading back through Floor 2. The acidic fog still filled most of the floor, and she had already spent long enough inside the hidden chamber.

She pushed herself upright with one hand against the wall. Her knees trembled slightly before steadying. Then she looked at the bracelet again.

Zion followed her as she slowly made her way back through the sulfur field.

Every so often, her attention drifted toward her wrist. Once, she turned her hand beneath the yellow light and watched the crystals move against the silver. A little later, her thumb brushed across the clasp as though checking that it was still there.

By the time she reached the stairs leading back toward Floor 1, Zion no longer had any doubt.

"She really likes it."

The thought left him strangely satisfied. He looked at the bracelet once more as Lilith climbed toward the pasture.

"Next time, I’ll have to give her something even better."

He paused.

Next time?

Lilith continued forward, completely unaware of him. He had said it without thinking. Somewhere along the way, he had already decided she would come back.

More importantly, he wanted her to.

Zion followed her instance across Floor 1 until she reached the entrance tunnel.

Just before crossing the dungeon boundary, Lilith looked down at her wrist one last time and gently turned the bracelet beneath the light.

Then she stepped outside. Her instance closed a moment later. The pasture disappeared with her.

Zion remained near the entrance. For several seconds, he continued staring toward the place where she had vanished even though there was nothing left for him to watch.

The dungeon felt quieter.

It was strange.

There were dozens of other adventurers still inside, several active instances on Floor 1, and more people entering throughout the day.

Nothing about the dungeon was actually quiet. It only felt that way now that she was gone.

Zion finally pulled his attention away from the entrance. He wondered when she would come back.

Hopefully soon.

Marcus could come back too. His reasons for wanting to see Marcus again were much less pleasant.

The tank was welcome as well.

Zion would happily prepare something special for both of them after the way they had treated Lilith. Something painful enough to be memorable, preferably without technically breaking any protected-floor rules.

The thought improved his mood.

Then another active instance drew his attention. A new party had entered Floor 2. Zion shifted his awareness toward them.

Four adventurers were already making their way into the sulfur field, and their party composition immediately stood out.

Every one of them carried a melee weapon.

The man at the front wore heavy leather armor and carried an enormous greatsword across one shoulder. Behind him walked a woman holding a long spear, followed by another man with a broad axe.

The final member carried two short blades and kept glancing toward the ceiling as they moved.

No mage. No healer.

Zion immediately became interested.

They also looked like Floor 1 had already taken something out of them. A dark bruise covered part of the spearwoman’s cheek, the man with the axe walked with a slight limp, and several fresh marks ran across the leader’s armor.

That pleased Zion even more. Floor 2 was about to receive a party that had already been softened up.

He settled in to watch.

The group entered the first narrow hallway.

The greatsword user walked in front with enough confidence that he barely slowed to inspect the walls. His weapon remained balanced over one shoulder while he looked around at the yellow stone and drifting vapor.

"This is it?" The woman with the spear glanced toward the ceiling.

"People said Floor 2 was harder."

The leader laughed. "People say everything is hard."

Zion looked above them. Several slimes were already waiting.

The party continued forward. The first slime dropped onto the woman with the spear. She shouted and immediately drove the point of her weapon into its body.

The spear sank deep. Then stopped.

Her brows pulled together.

"What?"

The slime stretched around the shaft. Another dropped behind them and landed against the man carrying two blades. He reacted quickly, stabbing both weapons into the gelatinous body at once.

The blades disappeared several inches inside. The slime simply wrapped farther around them.

The leader turned toward the commotion. His eyes widened for a moment before a grin spread across his face.

"Slimes?"

He pulled the greatsword from his shoulder.

"I thought this floor was supposed to be more difficult."

Zion watched him step forward.

The man swung. The blade struck the slime across the middle, but instead of cutting through it, the metal sank into the soft body and slowed until it stopped completely.

The grin disappeared. He pulled backward.

The slime stretched with the sword.

"What the hell?"

The woman yanked at her spear, using both hands now.

"My weapon’s stuck!"

"Then pull harder."

"I am!"

The man carrying the axe rushed over and brought his weapon down against the slime wrapped around her spear. His blade buried itself in the creature.

He pulled. But nothing happened. Now his weapon was stuck too.

Zion watched quietly with amusement. This was going very well.

The dual-blade fighter managed to tear one knife free and immediately stabbed the creature again from another angle. His weapon disappeared into the gel almost exactly as it had before.

He stared at it. "Why isn’t it taking damage?"

The greatsword user twisted his weapon and finally managed to wrench part of the blade free, but the slime immediately flowed around the exposed metal again.

"Keep hitting them!"

They did. Unfortunately for them, that changed very little.

The party stabbed, hacked, and slashed at the slimes, but every attack sank into their bodies without doing enough damage to stop them. The creatures stretched around weapons, clung to armor, and continued inching closer.

The woman with the spear was the first to give up on her weapon. She released it and backed away.

The slime remained wrapped around the shaft for another moment before sliding down onto the floor. Then it slowly started toward her.

She let out a nervous laugh. "At least they’re slow."

Zion looked toward the rest of the hallway. That was true. The problem was that there was nowhere particularly useful to go.

The greatsword user finally managed to pull his blade free and took several quick steps backward.

His heel landed against something soft. He turned. A slime had already reached him from behind. Acidic gel quickly spread over the back of his boot.

He shouted and kicked hard enough to nearly lose his balance, but the slime clung to the leather while pale smoke began rising from it.

"Get it off!"

The man with the axe tried to move toward him. His weapon was still trapped.

The woman grabbed the leader by one arm and pulled, only for another slime to reach her ankle before she could get him free.

Their earlier confidence disappeared very quickly after that. They couldn’t cut the creatures. They couldn’t stab them. And they had no fire.

Every attempt to force their way through the hallway only pushed them closer to another slime.

The greatsword user swung again in frustration. His blade sank almost halfway into one of the creatures.

"Move!"

The slime continued forward. Acid spread over his boots and began climbing his legs. He stumbled backward until his shoulders struck the wall.

Pale light surrounded him.

His eyes widened.

"No—"

He disappeared.

[Adventurer defeated.]

[Defeat Essence acquired: 25]

His greatsword dropped onto the stone. The other three stared at the place where he had been standing.

The woman with the spear reacted first.

"Run!"

They turned toward the hallway behind them. But the slimes followed.

They were still slow, but it no longer mattered. The party had already allowed themselves to become surrounded.

The dual-blade fighter disappeared next after one of the slimes climbed across his back and began eating through the leather protecting his shoulders.

[Adventurer defeated.]

[Defeat Essence acquired: 25]

The man with the axe lasted a little longer before another slime caught his leg while he tried to pull his weapon free.

[Adventurer defeated.]

[Defeat Essence acquired: 25]

The woman with the spear made it almost all the way back to the previous intersection. Then a slime dropped from the ceiling directly in front of her.

She stopped. Another slowly approached from behind.

Her shoulders lowered. "Oh, come on."

The slime touched the front of her boot. A few seconds later, pale light surrounded her too.

[Adventurer defeated.]

[Defeat Essence acquired: 25]

The hallway became quiet again. Several abandoned weapons rested between the slimes while acid continued hissing softly against the stone.

Zion looked over the aftermath.

Lilith’s party had handled these same monsters without much trouble and nearly died once they reached the basilisk.

This group never even came close to seeing it. That pleased him more than simply watching another party lose.

Floor 2 wasn’t dangerous because every encounter was equally difficult. It was dangerous because different parties struggled with different parts of it.

He looked toward the deeper section of the floor.

That was exactly what he wanted.