Shawn’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, knuckles whitening. Rayne stood his ground, refusing to look away. The chamber seemed to shrink around them, every soldier pulled taut like a bowstring, waiting to see which of the two would snap first.

  Rayne fully expected the man to charge at him. He already hated him due to his bloodline. But instead, he let out a breath, removing his hand from the hilt.

  “Step aside,” Shawn growled. “That’s an order. We are going to do what I say here.”

  “No,” Rayne said again. “Unless you want to explain to Commander Evans why you abandoned potential survivors, you are going to follow our given orders.”

  Shawn’s jaw clenched so hard Rayne thought he heard teeth grind. “You think you know how this works? I’m the one in command here, bastard. Not you.”

  Rayne didn’t flinch. “Then follow your own orders.”

  Shawn blinked. “I’m following them.”

  “No, you aren't.”

  Rayne reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded parchment Captain Edran had given him the day before they left. It was a copy of the main order, and it clearly detailed their quest.

  “The commander told us to enter the dungeon,” Rayne said, voice steady. “His exact words were to ‘investigate the entire first floor and gather evidence of what happened to Axel’s squad.’”

  Shawn’s eyes narrowed. “And?”

  “And we haven’t done that,” Rayne said. “All we’ve done is find one survivor and a few bodies. Bran himself said that there’s more of the first level left and others could be still alive. And if you actually go back now, you won't just be disobeying orders. You would be abandoning a son of House Lanrice, Fredrick. If they get to know about it, your career in the army won't go beyond being a squad leader.”

  He held the parchment forward for everyone to see and felt a bitter taste in his mouth for using Fredrick’s name. But he knew Shawn wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

  The effect of using a noble house was starkly clear as Shawn looked to be contemplating his words.

  “Moreover, Mage Casper is a valuable asset to the kingdom,” he continued. “She defeated a troll warlord with Captain Edran, and if we left without even confirming her death, and it later turned out that she could have been saved, I'm sure Commander Evans would have a word with you. You have too much to lose by going back.”

  Shawn bared his teeth. “Did you lose your brains along with your family? Are you trying to threaten me right now? Mage Casper and Fredrick of Lanrice may be important, but you clearly don't have a proper understanding of what an apex monster is. We need to leave. Now. It doesn't matter if Casper and Fredrick are still alive. If they've held out this long, they can hold out until we return with reinforcements. We are not equipped to handle an apex monster. We aren't even equipped to escape an apex monster.”

  Rayne scowled. "Bran couldn't have held out until we returned. What if they're in the same situation."

  "Then so be it," said Shawn. "You might have a bleeding heart, but I'm not going to risk the expedition on the off-chance that they might be moments away from death. Do you really want to challenge me right now?”

  Rage was clear on Shawn’s face as he finished his words. He took a step forward and Rayne readied to put his shield forward in case the man decided to attack.

  But before anything could happen, Graveson spoke. “Shawn, can we talk for a bit?”

  Shawn turned to the scout, frowning. “About what? You know I'm right, Graveson.”

  Graveson nodded. “Yes, but I have something to discuss.”

  He pointed at a corner.

  Shawn huffed, then walked with Graveson. Rayne met eyes with Jason who shrugged, and also noticed that the rest of Shawn's squad was scowling at him. He could understand why, but choose to ignore it.

  He kept his eyes on Shawn and Graveson who had their backs turned, and after five minutes, both of them returned.

  Shawn kept his eyes on him and spoke after a pause. “Graveson here made me realise you have a point, even if it's a small one," he said. "If they are indeed in imminent danger, and we abandon them, that would be unfortunate. I can't risk the expedition, but I can risk a few men, and I believe we already have some volunteers. Rayne, you and your squad are to go deeper in search of the lost expedition. My men and I will be returning to the surface. We will wait for you at the entrance for two hours. If you do not return by then, we will assume you have been killed or trapped.”

  “You can't do that,” Nate said. “What if we encounter more monster swarms? We will need the numbers.”

  “I'm sure you all could deal with them,” Graveson muttered, then looked directly at Rayne. “We have no obligation to follow up on the orders in such unique circumstances. I'm sure Commander Evans will agree, and even if he doesn't, a little punishment is nothing compared to getting eaten by a monster.”

  Rayne was dumbstruck, and for a moment, he could only watch as Shawn started corralling his men back toward the entrance. “Pack up everyone until you all want to become apex monster food!”

  When Rayne turned to meet his eyes with his companions, all of them were looking at him.

  The decision was his.

  He sighed, rubbing his forehead, but he knew his answer was already made. Though, he couldn't let Shawn leave like this.

  “I don't mind going ahead,’’ he said, then looked at the man's belt. “But I would need every potion on your person. We will need every advantage if we are going to move without you all.”

  Shawn scowled, but then shook his head. “Okay, whatever you want. We won't need it either way.”

  He unclipped three vials from his belt, so did the others and put them on the ground.

  Rayne pointed at Nate, Kesh and Quinn. All of them immediately picked each of them up.

  When he looked at their faces, Rayne still wasn't sure of the decision. He felt like he was pushing them in a death trap and asked. “Are you all sure about coming along?”

  Each of them nodded, though Kesh and Heins looked anxious. He couldn't blame them.

  He was a bit surprised that Jason and Quinn were coming along too, but they would certainly need a vanguard and a scout.

  As his party distributed the potions among each other, Rayne looked at Bran. “Can you tell us everything you know about the floor and the apex monster?”

  “Happily,” Bran said, meeting Rayne’s eyes and for a moment, he saw a spark of approval in them.

  But he couldn't be sure.

  For the next ten minutes, Bran talked about the rest of the first level and the apex monster. He detailed the rooms they had checked, and the monsters inhabiting the end of the first level.

  It turned out there was still quite a lot of the first level to explore and according to Bran, half an hour from here, they would be seeing a bridge with a river running down that would have worms to look out for.

  After crossing it, they would come across the final few rooms in the first level. Apparently, they had already found the stairs leading to the second level before the apex monster had attacked them.

  Rayne only hoped that Axel and others wouldn't have ran down. If that was the case, then it would be even more suicidal to venture down. And he doubted even he would want to take that much risk.

  As for the apex monster, the more Bran talked about it, the paler everyone got. He described it as taller than a troll with far more explosive strength. Black fur hanging off its body with the ability to stay attached to the roof of the dungeon, and a tail ladened with spikes.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He hadn't gotten a good look at it, but assumed that it was at least a level 60 monster with a good amount of flame resistance as Casper’s flames hadn't done much damage to it.

  If even Casper’s spell couldn't get to it, Rayne doubted anyone here would be able to land a good hit on it.

  It was a bleak scenario to think of.

  Once Bran told them everything and ate another piece of ration bar and some jerky, Shawn and his party were ready to move out.

  Rayne had seen them pocketing a good amount of silk throughout the explanation, and hoped that his own party would have the chance to do so. It certainly looked very valuable.

  Shawn selected a short man to carry Bran out with them, and he looked at his own party as if they were walking corpses.

  But before they left, Bran looked back at all of them, briefly meeting eyes with Rayne and said, “Don't die out there!”

  Then, Shawn and the others were out.

  They didn't keep standing in the room for long. Rayne told his party to check their gears once and said, “We will move fast to cover the whole first level in a few hours. Quinn would act as the scout, and I will be in the front with Jason.”

  All of them nodded and soon, they stepped out of the room one by one in the decided formation.

  They didn't see any more rooms, but there was another swarm of rust bugs waiting for them fifteen minutes into the walk.

  All of them swiftly dealt with them. Even with lower numbers, the creatures were easy kills, and kept walking without any breaks.

  No one spoke much. The tension clung to each of them, and even if they had agreed to explore the entire level, he could see the fear of meeting the apex monster on their faces. Rayne felt the same, but he kept his cool.

  The tunnel got wider the farther they walked. Kesh shivered behind him, complaining about the air getting colder.

  Rayne felt it too.

  After another ten minutes, the tunnel abruptly dropped into a cavern.

  All of them slowed.

  Nate let out a silent whistle while he saw Heins and Quinn stiffening at the sight in front of them.

  The cavern was massive—large enough to fit half the army camp inside of it. A high ceiling disappeared into pure darkness, broken only by dim clusters of glowstones far overhead.

  And spanning the center of this cavern was a bridge.

  A wooden bridge that stretched over the deep chasm. Water churned below and the sound of it flowing filled the noise.

  They stepped closer and Rayne peered over the edge.

  A wide river snaked beneath the bridge, its waters nearly black, the currents fast enough to swallow a horse in moments. But the water wasn’t the only danger.

  “Look at those fucking things,” John muttered, pointing towards the other side where monsters lurked right beneath the bridge.

  Each of them were at least six feet in length, their thick sticky bodies brushing against the cavern walls. Occasionally, one looked at them, opening the mouth that made up its whole face in a gaping maw. Rings of serrated teeth were displayed as they did so.

  They were worms.

  Dire earthworms.

  Bran had talked about them in detail. They were blind and only reacted to noise. If they could cross the bridge silently, then they could avoid them. And Rayne preferred that.

  Those worms were at least level 30 each, and fighting them would take too much time.

  “Do you think the river is part of the first level?” Quinn asked in a whisper.

  “No,” Jason replied, taking a moment away from inspecting the planks that made up the bridge. “Take it as a shortcut to the final level. Dungeons normally can't create such expansive natural environments, but this one is a big exception, it seems.”

  Rayne and the others looked down at the river again. Were there even stronger monsters waiting for them in the river below? He hoped he didn't have to find out today.

  Once they inspected the bridge to be sturdy enough, Rayne took the lead and whispered. “We move,” he said. “No stopping. No noise. If a worm comes on top of the bridge, it will alert the others and we will surely lose men.”

  He didn’t have to say it twice.

  They formed lines. Rayne, Quinn and Jason in the front. Kesh and John in the middle with Heins and Nate taking the rear.

  Their boots hit the bridge.

  The sound echoed, too loud for Rayne’s liking. He gritted his teeth and kept moving.

  Halfway across, something beneath the river shifted violently. A massive ripple hit the cavern walls. All of them froze for a heartbeat and he saw the worms looking up.

  “Move,” Quinn hissed through clenched teeth. “Quietly.”

  Rayne kept his breathing steady. The air above the chasm was freezing, a cold mist brushing against his face.

  He kept his eyes on the monsters, and saw one worm slide halfway out of the wall beneath the bridge, its body grinding against stone. The others noticed it too and stilled.

  Kesh whimpered under his breath.

  Rayne stiffened. The worm sniffed, its head tilting upward as if trying to sense them, but it seemed like they were safe. Slowly, it pulled itself back to join its brethren in investigating the river.

  Only when it disappeared did he whisper, “Move now.”

  They quickened their pace, boots thumping almost silently now.

  The bridge stretched on and on, far longer than it had appeared. Rayne felt a drop of sweat trail down his neck despite the cold. Behind him, Nate muttered encouragement to himself.

  Finally—finally—they reached the other side. The stone path solidified beneath their feet, and the cavern narrowed back into another tunnel.

  Everyone exhaled, some taking out a waterskin to wet their throats, others wiping sweat off their brows.

  Rayne didn’t turn, but his shoulders sagged slightly in relief. “We keep moving. Axel's squad passed through here. If they are alive, they’re somewhere ahead.”

  Everyone nodded, and moved to enter the tunnel that was almost identical to the one on the other side of the bridge, though a little wider.

  Ten minutes into it, they saw nothing. There were no monsters and no doors in sight, but he could see everyone getting tense with each step.

  The air felt cold and heavy around this part of the dungeon.

  And then, Quinn noticed something and paused, turning back to gesture to them. And as soon as they saw what had stopped him, they all froze.

  Massive claw marks—deep gouges nearly half a hand-span deep—ripped straight through the stone wall. The stone around each mark was crushed and splintered, as if whatever had made them hadn’t even slowed as it carved through solid rock.

  Rayne moved his eyes and saw some of the stone floor had also been splintered ahead.

  His stomach tightened.

  “How old do you think they are?” he asked, his jaw rigid. “A few days?”

  “Yes, a few days,” Quinn replied, and Rayne felt himself easing up. “Certainly not recent. I believe we are safe for now. But we should quicken our pace.”

  No one argued at the logic.

  They stared at the claw marks for a few more seconds before continuing their delve, walking faster than before.

  At every turn, they noticed more destruction, definitely caused by the apex monster and the fleeing soldiers. Shattered floor, broken walls, pieces of rock covering the ground and even blood that Rayne knew belonged to a human.

  Unfortunately, they found no bodies, and fortunately, it seemed like the blood belonged to only one or two soldiers.

  That kept Rayne's hope alive.

  After another stretch of silent marching, they finally saw another room. A wooden, iron-banded door looked back at them and Rayne noticed scratches around the handle of it.

  He met eyes with Nate and Kesh who saw the same thing.

  But when Jason moved to open the door, all of them were left disappointed. It was a small chamber, and in the middle of the room, a giant mantis sat, its eyes looking at them, but they saw no bodies around.

  Rayne craned his neck to look better, but there was nothing.

  “If some soldiers even walked inside, they might have gotten eaten by the mantis,” Jason muttered. “It looks big enough to swallow a man whole.”

  Rayne shivered, imagining that, giving the mantis one last look before they closed the door.

  “Let's hurry. There should be two more doors ahead according to Bran,” he said and they started walking again.

  They found the next door ten minutes later, but again it had no humans. Only a pair of dragonfly-like monsters sat inside, and they closed the door with disappointment.

  Rayne noticed the others getting a bit more impatient and nervous with each step as the signs of the apex monster’s destruction appeared more and more. And the only reason they hadn't turned around was because none of them were recent.

  Finally, after another ten minutes, they found themselves standing before the last door.

  From what Bran had told them, they would see stairs leading down after this door, and if Axel and the others weren't inside, their quest would end here.

  “Let's see if anyone survived,’’ Jason said, then looked back at Rayne. “If the room's empty, we won't be able to do much. Going to the second floor would be disastrous.”

  Rayne let out a sigh, agreeing with him. “I know. Open it.”

  Jason nodded, taking a step towards the door and putting his hand on the handle. Rayne's breath hitched as he waited for whatever was behind the door.

  And when it opened, he froze.

  ***