Chapter 122: An Astonishingly High Death Rate

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: An Astonishingly High Death Rate

’No.’

’This isn’t just a feeling.’

’They’re really about to come to life.’

’But where’s the door?!’

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze swept across the room, while a frantic Milo Shaw jumped up and down. "Where’s the door? It hasn’t appeared? We already solved the puzzle!"

"It’s here."

Hannah Morgan’s voice was tinged with urgency. "Over here! It’s just blocked from your view! It’s not fully open yet, but it’s another narrow staircase, just one person wide. Stay calm, go one by one, and we’ll make it to the next area safely!"

’Nice words, but she didn’t say a thing about the order.’

’That, of course, would come down to skill.’

Seraphina Sinclair deftly vaulted over the humanoid vines blocking their view and dashed onto the dark staircase, taking the lead. Hannah Morgan was right behind her, with Milo Shaw following immediately after. Once again, Chloe Reed was left at the rear!

The very instant Chloe Reed’s foot touched the first step, the tremors shaking the chamber reached their peak!

The once-still, twisted humanoid vines shuddered violently. The flowers and leaves at their tops unfurled with shocking speed, letting out a grating RUSTLE.

The nearest vines began to emit low, ferocious snarls. Their stiff bodies started to twist, quivering as they struggled to tear themselves free from their roots!

"Quick! They’re awake!"

Milo Shaw glanced back and saw the scene, scaring him out of his wits. He practically tumbled down the stairs, trying to rush away.

The staircase was narrow and steep, descending into darkness. Only the faint light from the entrance behind them illuminated the first few steps.

"Don’t panic! Don’t push! Falling would be worse!"

Hannah Morgan yelled, but her voice held a barely perceptible tremor.

She could clearly hear the scraping of vines against the floor and stone walls behind them. The inhuman, malicious moans were growing more frequent and louder.

Seraphina Sinclair was at the very front. She moved with incredible speed and stability, fast enough to not delay the others. She clutched a rune in her hand, ready for any surprises that might await them below—or for the pursuers at their backs.

"Chloe! Keep up!"

Milo Shaw yelled again. Chloe hadn’t made it in yet, but Milo didn’t dare go back out!

Chloe’s face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and practically leaped down with his eyes shut, not daring to look back.

The instant he squeezed through, there was a muffled THUD!

A fully awakened vine monster slammed into the entrance to the staircase, its twisted limbs wedged in the gap of the slowly closing door!

It let out a sharp shriek, trying to squeeze its body into the narrow passage!

The loud thud and sudden obstruction caused Chloe, who was last, to let out a short cry. He stumbled, almost losing his footing.

"Don’t stop! Get down here!"

Milo Shaw reacted instantly. He reached back, grabbed Chloe’s arm, and gave a sharp tug, helping him regain his balance.

The vine monster’s Strength was immense. Its body, wedged in the entrance, writhed frantically, sending a shower of stone fragments raining down.

But it was as if something were blocking it. Its branches thrashed and spread wildly, yet they couldn’t penetrate the threshold at all.

This was probably because they were now outside the monsters’ "range."

’Other than sacrifice, this was the best way.’

As if realizing they could no longer reach their prey, the humanoid vines twisted back into their previous forms, reassembling into statues and returning to their original positions.

The stone door that had opened for them swung shut.

The passage was plunged into a dead silence, leaving only the sound of the four survivors’ ragged breaths, which echoed with unnerving clarity in the dark, confined space.

In the darkness, Milo Shaw’s trembling voice sounded, "Is... is it over? Are we safe?"

No one answered immediately.

’Are we safe? Maybe, but only for now.’

No one knew what the fourth area waiting for them at the bottom of these stone stairs would be.

Seraphina Sinclair pressed her back tightly against the cool stone wall of the staircase and took a deep breath, letting her body relax.

Hannah Morgan did the same. They were safe for the moment, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Milo Shaw and Chloe Reed went a step further and simply sat down on the steps. The space was narrow, but there was enough room to sit if they drew their knees to their chests.

But Seraphina Sinclair frowned slightly in the darkness.

’Considering the difficulty of this instance, could anyone really have made it this far?’

’We only passed the first trial unscathed because of my runes.’

’The second was because of Magnus Barrett’s "sacrifice." ’

’And the third was because of my special equipment. Otherwise, it would’ve taken us half an hour just to find that password!’

’And this death rate...’

’Is the system planning on this being a one-time instance?’

’Just cleanly eliminate everyone this time so it never has to bother designing new instances again?’

’That’s impossible...’

’Up until now, for every problem I’ve faced, the system has always thoughtfully left a path to survival. That time I got the blueprint for the Water Dragon Roar, for instance. And that fresh corpse deliberately placed by the rune Supply Box... wasn’t that the system leaving a lifeline?’

’Speaking of which...’

Seraphina Sinclair suddenly realized a key point.

’In the second trial, after Magnus Barrett died, the monsters instantly lost all will to fight. They even neatly disassembled themselves back into piles of bones.’

’But in this last trial, after we had all entered the staircase, that one monster was still outside, clawing at the door, completely unwilling to give up!’

’If it weren’t for some kind of protection, it definitely would have forced its way in here to kill us.’

’I wasn’t sure during the last trial, but now, with a point of comparison, I can finally confirm something.’

’After a monster kills someone, it loses its will to fight and returns to a dormant state!’

’Even if a survivor re-enters the monster’s territory and "provokes" it, the monster won’t attack again.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s brow smoothed out. She had previously dubbed this method a "sacrifice," and now it seemed the term was truly fitting.

’One survivor actively gives their life to pacify a monster’s battle lust, buying their teammates a chance to live.’

’So... is *this* what the instance meant by "teamwork?"’

’If I were just an ordinary survivor with no special abilities, and my teammates were all at a similar level...’

’Then by the time we reached this trial, three of my teammates would already be dead!’

’In some four-person instances, there might only be one person left by now.’

’Is this death rate really acceptable? And more importantly, where’s the way out? Where is the path to survival that’s supposed to be left for the survivors?’

’Is the death of a teammate the only way to clear a trial?’

’I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

She opened her eyes again, her gaze exceptionally resolute in the darkness. ’If I can’t remember it now, so be it. The answers to my questions should be waiting for me down below.’