System: Ordinary Schoolboy's Level-Up

NINE

The following week was the longest of Robert's life. Every clang of the pickaxe felt like a countdown. Every glance from a Warden was a cause for accusation. They followed Robert's plan perfectly. They were model workers who did not look at the blind spot. They did not go near the jumbled wall. Instead, they kept their heads down and their eyes empty.

Robert watched Supervisor Kael. The man visited the cavern two more times. He would stand and watch, his cold eyes fixed on the workers. He never looked at Robert again. Robert hoped it was a good sign. He hoped Kael had lost interest.

Inside, Robert's mind was working. He was making a new plan and a better one. The first plan had been about speed, but the new plan would major on trickery.

During the meal break on the sixth day, Robert whispered to Garret and Leo.

"The shift change is still our best time," he said. "But we can't just run. Kael will expect that now."

"So what do we do?" Garret asked.

"We give them what they expect first," Robert said. "But not the real thing."

Leo frowned. "I don't understand."

"We create a fake distraction," Robert explained. "Something that looks like an escape try. On the other side of the cavern. It will pull all the Wardens there. While they are busy, we go to the real tunnel."

Garret grinned. It was a serious, hard smile. "I like it. But how? How do we make a fake escape?"

"The water pipe," Robert said. "The big one on the east wall. It has a weak joint. If it breaks, water will flood that area. It will look like someone tried to break through the wall and hit the pipe. It will cause trouble."

"And how do we break it?" Leo asked.

"We use this." Robert slowly opened his hand. In his palm was a small, sharp piece of crystonium. It was the last piece he had taken before Kael's warning. He had kept it hidden in a zipped part of his pants, a secret kept from his friends.

"I can throw it," Garret said. "I can hit that joint from here. It will look like an accident."

"Good," Robert said. "Tomorrow. We will do that tomorrow."

The decision was made. There was no more fear. Only purpose and passion remained. The night before the escape, Robert could not sleep again. But this time, it was not from fear. It was from a positive feeling of real hope.

He thought about what was above the mountain. A world. A sky. He tried to remember the colour of the sky. It had been so long.

The gong sounded. It was the day.

They ate their soup. They walked to the cavern. They picked up their tools. Then Robert looked at the clock. The shift change was in four hours. Every minute felt like an hour.

Finally, the time came. The buzzer for the shift change was about to sound. The Wardens began to move toward their positions.

Robert nodded to Garret.

Garret bent down, pretending to fix his boot. He palmed the sharp blue shard. He stood up, stretched, and in one smooth, powerful motion. Garret bent down and threw the rock. BEEP! [Item Consumed: Raw Crystonium (1 Piece). Energy Conversion: 500 XP.] The small blue streak flew across the cavern. It hit the joint with a loud ping! The joint burst.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then suddenly, with a loud crack, the joint burst. A speedy rush of water exploded into the cavern. It hit a machine, sending sparks flying. Workers screamed and ran away from the flood.

Alarms rang. Red lights flashed. BEEP! [Warden Pattern Failure: 100%. Noise Level: Maximum.] Every Warden ran toward the noise. For the first time ever, their pattern got broken.

"Now!" Robert hissed.

They ran, not aiming at the loud noise but trying to draw away from it. They kept running toward the rough stones in the dark, old part of the wall.

[Stealth Skill Activated. Current Probability of Detection: 15%.] Robert saw the number flash. '15% is too high,' he thought. He ran low, focusing his mind on the Stealth skill, trying to make himself quiet.

"Stay low!" Garret shouted over the water noise.

"Hurry! We have 90 seconds before they check the main clock!" Leo panted, his body heavy from the long work.

They reached the rough wall. The stones were loose, ready to fall in, thanks to the secret mining they did for the past week.

"Grab a side, now!" Robert commanded.

"Where are they?" Garret looked back quickly, but the Wardens were still fighting the flood on the east wall.

BEEP! [Warden Pattern Failure: 100%. Chaos Level: Maximum.]

"The plan worked! Pull hard!" Robert grabbed the biggest loose rock. He pulled. The stones cracked together and hit one another, making a noise.

"Stop!" A cold voice cut through the loud alarm. It wasn't loud, but it cut through everything, shutting up the alarms for a moment.

Robert froze as his heart stopped for a short moment.

[Danger Level: Extreme. Target: Supervisor Kael (Boss)]

Kael stood near the edge of the light, far from the flood. He wasn't running with the others. He was watching. He walked slowly toward them, his face a frowned, cold thing

"Did you think I was stupid, Robert?" Kael's voice was low. "A burst pipe? Too neat. It's too easy. You are a mathematician. You always look for the most clever solution."

"We just want out, Kael," Garret growled, stepping in front of Robert.

"You are property," Kael corrected him. "Property does not ask for things." He raised his hand. His power was immense. It felt like cold air pressing against Robert’s skin.

"Leo, the cable, now!" Robert screamed.

Leo, shaking with fear, threw a short length of thick, stolen wire. It wrapped around Kael's raised arm.

"Useless trash!" Kael didn't even look. He was about to release his power.

"It's not trash!" Robert activated his final, hidden skill. He focused all his current attention on the wire. [Skill: Electrical Surge (Basic) Activated. Input: System Energy.]

The wire emitted a blue, sharp flash of light. Immediately, a quick, powerful blast of electricity hit Kael. The supervisor shouted, "Argh!" His voice was a sound of pain and shock. He stumbled back as his power collapsed.

"Now! Pull the wall down!" Robert yelled.

Garret and Leo didn't wait. They pushed out the loose stones with all their might. Suddenly, the wall cracked open very wide, pouring out dust and sharp rocks.

"Go! Go!" Robert pushed them forward.

They dove through the hole. Kael recovered instantly, his red eyes burning with anger. He was moving fast toward the gap.

"He's right behind us!" Leo yelled from the other side of the tunnel.

Robert jumped through last. He saw Kael's face, twisted in a feeling of hatred. The supervisor was only a foot behind him.

"You will never escape the Pits, Robert!" Kael screamed.

They tumbled down a dark tunnel. Robert looked back just as the wall fell down flat behind them, covering up the gap. "Did we do it?" Garret was breathing so heavily, leaning against the cold, dark wall of the tunnel.

"We did," Robert confirmed. [Quest: Escape the Pits (Phase 1) — Success. Reward: 1000 XP. LEVEL UP! (Level 12).] The System flashed brightly.

"Where are we?" Leo whispered. The tunnel smelled of old stone and mountain air.

They looked up. The tunnel opened into a wide natural cavern. It was large, dark, and filled with a loud and sweet tone of THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.

And standing directly in their path, blocking the only visible exit, was the biggest, most fearful creature Robert had ever seen. It was the monster from the Dungeon Gate warnings, very large, covered in thick armour plating, and its eyes glowed yellow.

"What is that thing?" Garret whispered, his voice shaking with terror.

Robert stared. [System Alert: World Boss Level 50 Detected. User Level 12. RUN.]

"It's not a Warden," Robert said, backing away slowly. "It's worse. We escaped one pit and fell into another."