Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Without Thalia’s light to guide the way, the cave once again descended into darkness. But since all three of them had night vision, they were unbothered as they trodden through it.

Esau tried to spark up a few conversations, but Ark had grown sick of pretending and only responded with one letter answers, whenever the question had no correlation to their mission.

Eventually, after walking for something, they arrived at something strange.

The path ahead was blocked up by barbed wires, and spikes that sprang out of the floor. Tons of aged signs filled the cave, the signs driven into the floor, sides of the cave and even the ceiling.

All these signs said one thing...

— KEEP OUT!!

Someone clearly didn’t want them getting past that point.

”Well, this is creepy...” Olivia nervously rubbed her elbows as she stared at them.

The signs seemed to have been written hurriedly, the paint was smudged as though written I’m panic, and some of the signs had even been broken while being driven into the floor.

And worst of all... they were all written in red.

”Is that... blood?” Esau asked, keeping a respectable distance from the spectacle.

”It most definitely is.” Ark replied coldly.

”Why do you think it is?”

Ark pointed forward, at the point beyond the barbed wire, beyond the signs...

Esau immediately sucked in a sharp breath, while Olivia’s face tightened.

Hanging by their neck from the ceiling was the left overs of a person. Now all that was left were his bones...

Esau swallowed. ”We should go back and report this to the others—WAIT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TOO DOING?!”

His eyes widened as he watched Ark jump over the barbed wire, with Olivia hurrying over it.

”Can’t you see all this? We should be going back, not going deeper into whatever it is in that cave!”

Ark glanced at him from over his shoulder. ”What do you mean? It is precisely because of all this that we have to go deeper...”

’What sort of logic is that?’ Esau’s mouth dropped open.

Even Olivia who had looked just as spooked as him nodded in agreement.

”O-of course...” she stuttered. ”T-this is nothing! Don’t tell me you are afraid, Mr veteran adventurer...”

Esau gritted his teeth, feeling completely helpless.

Ark ducked underneath the hanging cross and glanced at him. ”If you don’t want to come, you are always welcome to leave. We’ll or you can wait here with this guy...”

Esau stared back at the dark cave they had come from, then swallowed.

’These bastards!’ He hurriedly jumped over the nearest barbed wire and raced after them.

Who knows, maybe this little expedition would work to his favour? While Sazan took care of Thalia, it was up to him to deal with Ark and Olivia.

But considering how capable they were, it was nonsensical to think he would stand a chance against them.

’Unless...’ Esau mused.

Maybe... just maybe this was exactly what he needed.

After crossing a few more signboards, Ark arrived in front of a large, steel double door. The door had been sealed shut with multiple locks, and even a m defensive spell.

”So this must be it...”

He reached for the door, and the moment he touched it, a screen appeared in front of him.

[Hidden Event, Golem’s Sanctuary]

Judging by their reactions, Ark could tell that the others had seen the screen as well.

”A hidden event? It looks like we have struck gold...” Ark smiled internally.

Hidden events were notorious for having great gifts as well as drops.

They were a good way to gather experience and train, and unlike towers and dungeons, they were usually easier.

Keyword being usually...

”Golems Sanctuary...” Olivia read out the title. ”Can we really handle this alone?”

Ark waved his hand dismissively. ”Of course we can, it’s just a bunch of golems after all. What is the worst that can happen?”

”Many adventurers have died saying those very last words.” Esau looked like he would rather be elsewhere.

”Those are them, and I am me.” Ark replied.

[Do you wish to challenge the event?]

Ark nodded enthusiastically. ”Yes please!”

[There was once a bubbling society that stood at the pinnacle of all forms of technology. From magictec to runes, they trumped above every other civilization.

Among the leading scientists of that era was a brilliant man who most called The Dreamer.

The Dreamer was a genius beyond compare, his inventions were light years behind their current level, his works limited by the technology of his time.

But when praised for his smarts, when nominated and presented with awards, the dreamer would always say.. ”I am not that smart, all I do is dream.”

He claimed that his dreams would always come to pass, that they were the workings of fate.

One day the Dreamer dreamed up the end of the world—

But instead alining himself with fate like he had done thousands of times, he denied it. He rejected reality. He cursed his gift.

He decided to fight against it.

But little did he know, that his rejection and his efforts to change the future were all the workings of fate itself.

And so with his own hands.

The Dreamer brought about the end of civilization.

Just like he had dreamt.]

The players shared a look after reading the morbid story. But there was no time to discuss their thoughts...

The large metal doors groaned. Snapping sound reached their ears as dozens of locks clicked open, and then the doors sprang open.

It led to a large, futuristic laboratory...

The room was a stark contrast to the cave. Large overhead lights flooded the space, the ground was made of a polished material that Ark could not identify, and there seemed to be a strange liquid flowing through seal paths all over the floor.

But the most odd, and off putting thing in the lab, where the monsters that hung all over the room like silent sentinels.

They were golems, or at least they looked like them. These monsters looked different, malformed... They are hanging from the ceiling with tons of pipes sticking into their bodies.

Parts of their bodies have been replaced with metallic pieces, and their colour has changed from dark brown to dull green.

There were also glass tanks at various sides of the room, each one had small creatures within them...

— The Dreamer’s laboratory

A small string of text appeared in front of them.

”What... the... fuck?” Esau cursed as he stared at the place with wide eyes.

Even Ark was taken aback. ”Just what sort of experiments did the Dreamer carry out here?”

The moment they stepped in—-

Clang!

Snap— Snap— Click— Thump— Ting!

The dozens of locks began to click shut, trapping them inside the room. Esau hissed and ran toward it, slamming his hands into the cold steel, but it was no use.

They were locked in.

BANG!

The room suddenly trembled as one of the golems descended from the ceiling, landing on the floor.

The monster slumped forward as though dead, fluid gushing out of its body from the broken pipes, and then it rose like a corpse, its eyes glowing crimson.

All around them, booming sounds reached their ears as the golems began to descend one by one.

The sound of breaking glasses followed... The creature in the tanks had also woken up.

And finally, a compartment on the ceiling opened up, and the entire laboratory quaked as what must have been the boss monster descended, shattering the hardened floor like it was cardboard.

Golems were generally large monsters, but this monster took that word ’large’ too far...

The monster towered above every other golem, its head nearly brushing the ceiling.

Unlike the other golems, this one was made out of light blue crystal harder than steel, and it bore two menacing heads atop shoulders the size of tanks.

The monster stared down at their party, and then steam erupted from the large pipes it had sticking out of its back.

[Threat detected! Defiled Stone Golem, Level 10 x 12!]

[Threat detected! Defiled Mud Golem, Level 10 x 30!]

[Threat detected! The Dreamer’s Epilogue, Level 25 x 1!]

[HIDDEN EVENT GOLEMS SANCTUARY]

[OBJECTIVES: SURVIVE!]

[10:00]

[09:59]

”Ark...” Olivia’s voice came out as a light squeak.

He sighed. ”Why do things never go my way?”