The light consumed them, dragging them upward as the world faded once more.When the glow dimmed, Leo blinked and immediately regretted it.The floor beneath him was slick and crimson, not with carpet or stone—but with dried, flaking blood. The air reeked of rust and something sweeter like decay masked by perfume. The walls stretched high, forming a massive circular coliseum. Cracked pillars jutted from the ground, and faint silhouettes—like afterimages of long-dead warriors—stood frozen mid-battle, half-formed and fading with each breath of the wind.Mira floated out of the ring, looking around. “Okay. Creepy points: ten out of ten. Smells like someone murdered a perfume shop.”Leo wrinkled his nose. “You’re not wrong. Smells like death… and regret.”The system chimed:[Welcome to Floor 3 – The Crimson Arena][Objective: Cleanse the Arena of Remaining Corruption][Bonus Reward: ???]“‘Remaining corruption,’” Leo muttered. “So… clean-up duty. Great.”The echo of his voice bounced back,

The tower loomed against the bleeding dusk like a dagger stabbed into the world with its black stone gleaming faintly under the crimson sky. Mist swirled around its base, alive with whispering echoes. Every few minutes, a strange pulse shivered through the air as if the tower itself was breathing.Tessa paced near the ridge, her cloak whipping behind her as she muttered under her breath. “He’s been gone too long,” she said for the tenth time, her eyes darting between the trembling horizon and the tower’s glowing entrance. “It’s been hours. What if something happened to him?”Rurik, leaning lazily against a half-fallen pillar, grunted. “You’re talking about that guy again? The one who just walked in without backup?” He snorted. “Then yeah, something probably did happen to him. Like, oh, I don’t know, maybe death by stupidity.”“Rurik!” Tessa snapped, glaring at him. “He went in alone. You saw what we all experienced the last time we tried that!”Rurik shrugged. “Yeah. And I saw how w

Back in the cityThe room was cloaked in luxury, the kind that carried danger in its perfume. The long glass windows reflected the city skyline, and at the head of the oval table sat a woman in crimson heels and a tailored black suit. Her manicured nails drummed rhythmically against the surface as her voice—low, smooth, and lethal—cut through the silence.“So,” she began, her words dripping like venom, “the person who dares to stress my dearest nephew… was an E-class hunter? Not even a C-class?”Kael swallowed hard, his back straight but his spine cold. “Y-yes, Aunt.”The woman—Therese Valtoria, one of the most feared guild executives in the continent—slowly rose from her chair. Her movements were deliberate, feline. “Well, well, well…” she murmured. “Should I be disappointed… or enraged?”Kael’s heart raced. He wasn’t sure which answer would spare him, so he did what he did best—he improvised. “Aunt, he isn’t a normal E-class hunter!”Therese raised a brow, amusement flickering in her

Tessa’s boots squelched against the damp floor as she and her team stumbled into the second floor of the tower. The air smelled like burnt iron and mildew, and faint hisses echoed from deep within the shadows. They had barely escaped a group of unholy creatures that looked like someone had tried to combine a bat, a snake, and a decomposing horse.Rurik wiped a streak of monster goo from his beard and bent to pick up a glimmering green gemstone from the cracked tiles.“Well, at least the monsters have decent taste,” he said, tossing it into his back pocket.Dean exhaled sharply. “You looting again already?” He was calm, as usual, but his tone held a quiet warning. “We’re supposed to be catching up to that guy.”Tessa leaned against a pillar, her eyes narrowing. “You mean the kid?”Dean nodded once. “He cleared the first floor faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll reach the top before we even—”Rurik snorted, cutting him off. “Oh, please. Maybe he just got lu

Rurik swore loudly as the walls around him groaned, folding and snapping like a living thing. The floor beneath his feet creaked ominously before plunging into a pit riddled with spikes coated in a black, viscous slime. “That kid did this! He’s got to be the one!” Rurik spat, lashing out at the shadows that seemed to slither along the walls.Every direction he looked, the maze shifted. Corridors twisted and merged, floors buckled, and a cold, putrid stench filled the air. From the shadows, gory E-3 beasts emerged—horrid creatures with jagged teeth dripping ichor, twisted limbs ending in serrated hooks, and eyes that glowed faint crimson. Their skin was raw and glistening, as though stretched too tightly over their bones.Rurik swung his axe violently, severing a clawed limb from one of the monsters. The creature screeched, a wet, bone-chilling sound, before collapsing into a puddle of black ooze and shadow crystals. He barely had time to breathe before another lunged, slamming into hi