Level Up: Infinite

Chapter 2

The air grew heavier as the group descended deeper into the hidden path. The once-cramped tunnels gave way to an expansive chamber, its vastness swallowed in shadows. Strange symbols etched into the walls shimmered faintly, their glow pulsating like a heartbeat. The eerie silence was suffocating, broken only by the faint shuffle of their boots and the occasional drip of water from unseen cracks.

Leah stepped forward, her flames casting fleeting light across the room. "This has to be it," she said, her voice tinged with excitement. "Look at these carvings. It screams treasure."

Zane hung back, his grip tightening on his sword. Something wasn't right. The weight of the air, the ominous glow—it all screamed danger. "We shouldn't be here," he muttered, though no one paid him any mind.

"Relax," Toby said, grinning as he twirled his daggers. "It's probably just an old trap. Nothing we can't handle."

Jenna frowned, her shield raised as she scanned the room. "Stay sharp. This place feels… off."

Then it happened.

The symbols flared, casting the chamber in an intense, golden light that made the intricate carvings on the walls appear alive. The ground trembled beneath the team's feet, and faint cracks spread across the stone surface, releasing bursts of cold, stale air. Then, from the crevices along the walls, they began to appear.

The creatures emerged one by one, each clawing its way into the light. Their forms were disturbingly humanoid but impossibly wrong. Their bodies were covered in rough, scaly skin that resembled cracked stone, and their limbs were unnaturally elongated, with joints that bent in too many directions. Their fingers ended in thick, jagged claws, chipped and stained, as if they'd clawed through the earth itself to get here.

The creatures' faces—or lack thereof—were unsettling. Where eyes should have been, there were only shallow indents, leaving smooth, featureless expanses of dark, hardened flesh. Their mouths stretched far too wide, splitting open like a seam to reveal rows of uneven, jagged teeth. A faint, guttural clicking sound came from their throats as if they were communicating in a language no one could understand.

Some of the creatures crawled along the walls, their sharp claws finding purchase in the cracks and carvings. Others moved with a jerking, animalistic gait, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they dropped to the floor in waves. The sound of their movement filled the room: claws scraping stone, guttural growls reverberating in the enclosed space, and the sickening crunch of their limbs as they contorted to face their prey.

From the ceiling, larger creatures began to descend, their forms more grotesque than the others. These monstrosities were bulkier, their stone-like skin cracking to reveal glowing veins of faint red beneath. Their mouths dripped with a viscous black fluid that hissed and smoked when it hit the ground.

And then, as if the room itself were alive, the walls pulsed again, and more fissures opened. The creatures poured out in greater numbers, a relentless tide of grotesque, otherworldly predators. For every monster that fell, two more took its place, their faceless heads snapping toward the team with unnerving precision. The chamber, once vast and imposing, now felt suffocating, overwhelmed by the endless tide of horrors.

"Form up!" Leah shouted, summoning a torrent of fire to drive back the first wave.

The battle began.

At first, the team fought with precision. Leah's flames burned through the creatures in bursts of light, Toby darted in and out with surgical strikes, and Jenna's shield was an impenetrable wall. Derrick stood at the center, his healing magic flowing steadily, mending cuts and bruises before they could slow anyone down.

Zane did his best to contribute, slashing at anything that came near, but the monsters seemed endless. For every creature they struck down, two more emerged.

"Why aren't they stopping?" Jenna grunted, deflecting a clawed swipe with her shield.

"They're respawning!" Derrick called out, panic creeping into his voice. "This isn't normal!"

"Of course it isn't normal!" Leah snapped, her flames flickering as her mana began to wane. "We need to figure out why they are respawning —now!"

Zane struggled to keep up. His strikes were clumsy, his footing unsteady against the relentless tide of creatures. As he swung his blade at one of the monsters, another lunged from his blind spot, its jagged claws raking across his shoulder. The force of the blow sent him crashing into the chamber wall. He cried out, pain searing through him as blood seeped through his torn armor.

"Zane!" Derrick's magic enveloped him, sealing the wound, but the healer's face was pale. "Stay close!"

Gasping for air, Zane's head lolled to the side, and his eyes locked onto the glowing runes etched into the wall. He froze. The symbols pulsed faintly with each creature that emerged, their light dimming slightly before flaring back to life with renewed intensity. A pattern. His breath hitched as realization struck—these runes were summoning the monsters

"They're not stopping," Zane murmured, his voice hoarse with pain. "The runes… they're bringing them back!"

The others turned to look, their faces pale with exhaustion and dawning horror. Leah's flames, Toby's daggers, Jenna's shield—it didn't matter how hard they fought. ; the monsters were being spawned, endlessly regenerated by the symbols on the walls. And they were trapped in the center of it all.

The tide began to turn against them.

Toby miscalculated a dodge, and a creature's claws raked across his side. He staggered, blood pooling at his feet. "Derrick—!" he gasped, but the healer was too far, overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies

Another claw came, this one piercing Toby's chest. His daggers clattered to the ground as his body collapsed.

"Toby!" Leah screamed, her flames surging in a desperate attempt to push the monsters back.

Jenna roared, stepping forward to shield her teammates. "We can't hold them off forever!" she bellowed, her shield braced against the swarm.

Derrick's magic flickered, his mana almost depleted. "I… I can't keep up!"

The creatures pressed harder, their numbers suffocating. Jenna's shield finally faltered, a blow slipping through and striking her side. She gritted her teeth, refusing to fall, but her movements were slower now.

One creature leaped onto Derrick, its claws tearing into his back. He collapsed with a strangled cry, his healing magic extinguished.

"No, no, no!" Leah screamed, her flames sputtering as exhaustion finally caught up with her. She threw one last desperate blast of fire, but it barely slowed the advancing horde. The monsters closed in, claws tearing through her armor like paper.

She gasped in pain, blood spraying as she stumbled backward, trying to summon another flame. But before she could react, another creature emerged from the shadows behind her. Its jagged arm thrust forward, piercing straight through her neck.

Leah's scream cut off abruptly, replaced by a sickening gurgle. Her body convulsed, the fire in her eyes fading as the monster wrenched its arm free, leaving her to collapse lifelessly to the ground. Blood pooled beneath her, mixing with the unrelenting chaos of the battlefield.

Zane was the last one standing.

His body ached, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his vision blurred. Around him, the bodies of his teammates lay lifeless, their blood staining the stone floor. The creatures circled him, their hollow eyes gleaming with malice.

This is it, he thought. This is how it ends.

But then, something happened

A voice, echoed in his mind.

"Initializing… System activation detected. User identified: Zane Striker."

Zane's body froze as a glowing interface materialized before his eyes. Words and numbers scrolled across the screen, incomprehensible at first.

"Do you wish to survive?"

"What is this?" Zane pondered

Do you wish to survive

Choose

[YES] or [No]

"Yes!" Zane screamed, his desperation drowning out everything else. "I'll do anything!"

The voice responded, emotionless . "Acknowledged. Beginning synchronization."

Pain unlike anything he'd ever felt tore through his body. His veins burned, his muscles screamed, and his mind threatened to shatter.

Strength coursed through him, filling every fiber of his being. The sword in his hand no longer felt like dead weight. He could see the creatures more clearly now, their movements became predictable.

The interface appeared again.

[Welcome to the Level Up: Infinite System]

[Level 1 → Level 10]

[Skills Unlocked: Six Sense (S), Rapid Regeneration (C+)]

Zane blinked, his vision blurring as a rush of energy surged through him. It was as if the world around him shifted into sharper focus. The dim, suffocating chamber suddenly transformed, every detail laid bare. The once-hidden cracks in the walls, the faint shimmering glow of the runes, even the slight shifts of the monsters' muscles as they moved—all of it stood out with startling clarity.

Six Sense.

The words echoed in his mind, and Zane instinctively understood. With this ability, he could perceive the flow of mana, predict movement patterns, and spot weaknesses in enemies with almost supernatural accuracy. The monsters, once overwhelming in their chaotic swarm, now appeared sluggish and predictable, their every motion telegraphed before they even acted.

A second notification burned in his mind. Rapid Regeneration . His shredded shoulder tingled and burned as torn flesh knit itself back together in moments, his strength returning faster than he thought possible.

Zane gasped as the pain subsided, replaced by clarity. The monsters' movements slowed in his mind, their patterns suddenly clear. Cracks in the walls, runes glowing faintly, and the creatures' weaknesses—all of it stood out with perfect clarity.

The monsters circled closer, but Zane smirked, gripping his sword with renewed strength.

"I don't know what just happened," Zane muttered, his voice barely a whisper amidst the chaos. "But I feel… alive."

Zane growled, his voice dripping with defiance as he locked eyes with the oncoming swarm. "Cmon you fucking bastards I'm not dying yet"

Chap 2 End