Zack, Josh, Ray, Kylie, and Lily were crossing the basement. They had gone through a series of corridors before finally stumbling upon an underground laboratory.
But to their disappointment, there was nothing there. Not even a ghost.
"We've been running and walking around in here. But why can't we spot a single monster?" Ray asked his friends.
Kylie stuck like glue to Lily. She tried to put up a brave front, but her shaking voice betrayed her. "M-maybe some other players had defeated them and got the treasures here."
"Seems like it," Josh agreed with a sigh.
Zack sneered and started pointing fingers at Ray. "If you didn't slow us down, then we won't be in this situation where we don't even have points to harvest."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Puh-lea-se, you're the one who got charmed by a vampire and had your blood sucked. You wouldn't even let go even after Kylie healed you."
"What did you say?" Zack growled and was about to go at it again when they heard shrieks and screams from the depth of the narrow corridors.
After the cries, a flash of glowing red that seemed like it could burn the whole area gave light to the dark and damp place.
"What's that?" asked Kylie and stuck closer to Lily as if wanting to merge with her. She was shaking so hard out of fear.
"It seemed like monsters are being burned," said Josh.
"Let's go," said Zack and led the group. "If we dally here, then we wouldn't get any points again."
Without waiting for the others, Zack ran deeper into the corridors. Seeing that, the others couldn't do anything but run after him.
Going through the winding path, they eventually stumbled upon players and a large hallway with a lot of ghosts and monsters.
The monsters were at the altar while the ghosts were loitering around.
Kylie stumbled, and if not for her tight hold on Lily's robe, she would have dropped on the floor.
"Now we're talking." Zack cracked his knuckles. "Look at this place filled with candy points," he said in glee, not considering anything but points.
"I don't know . . ." Ray scratched his head. "The other players aren't attacking them, though. And their numbers are concerning."
Josh nodded. "I have a bad feeling about this place, too. Let's just move on to the next area and find some monsters that we could easily defeat."
Zack sneered and folded his hands. "That's why we can't accumulate enough points. You guys are such cowards. Others are already in their second server, yet we're stuck here with only two hundred points."
"If we aren't careful, we can easily lose our life here," argued Josh.
While the guys were arguing, Lily hovered her eyes around the place, and as if fate was at work, she spotted him.
The man who was nothing but the subject of her dreams, filling her thoughts for the past weeks, had finally shown himself!
Ren!
Lily's blue eyes sparkled like the heart of the ocean.
She had forgotten the last time she saw him, but she could perfectly remember every contour of his face from how he was constantly in her dreams and thoughts.
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Possessed with the undeniable urge to add him to her collection, Lily went to Ren like a vampire attracted to blood.
From the long time that she last saw him, he seemed to have matured even more, and there was this dignified and noble air around him even when he was just standing straight at a corner.
He looked so different from the man she had first met when he stole her scepter and at that time with her dad.
Now, he looked as if he would be able to hold his own against her family. He stood tall and proud like an emperor who ruled over all others.
Lily felt like Ren could conquer any man with such a powerful aura about him.
She took a step forward, trying to get closer to him.
"Ren."
She called out his name, but he didn't turn around.
She called again, and this time, he turned to her. When their eyes met, his eyes narrowed.
And as if he didn't recognize her, Ren turned and moved to another place.
Lily's poker face cracked. Ren's gesture made her heartache. The look he gave her was the same as before. It made her feel like she was an eyesore and that he didn't want anything to do with her.
But this time, it hurt more than ever.
Unaware of her feelings, Lily pouted in indignation, and she was about to follow Ren when a blast stole all their attention.
----
After Lily pulled away from the group, Zack took notice of her absence and naturally searched for her.
It wasn't hard to find her in the sea of creatures that was filled with undead. She was the only one that was short and had golden curly hair and glowing like an angel. She stood in contrast against all the ugly creatures in the hall.
When Zack noticed Ren, he saw blood.
That guy again?!
Zack gnashed his teeth, and his fists almost bled from how hard his nails dug against his palms.
An idea crossed his head. Clouded with his anger, his blade glowed with energy, and before he could think things through, he unleashed a swift cut.
The force from his blade shot toward Ren's way, but before it could reach its mark, it passed by some monsters and ghosts, disrupting the rituals.
Zack blinked, and his anger dissipated. His vision cleared and found that he was in the center of attention.
There was a thick silence that hung in the air before the creatures on the altar screamed, their faces warped in anger.
With their loud shrieks came the closing of all doors, and all of the players were now trapped together with hundreds of cult worshippers.
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