As the tree like elevator came to a stop and opened, everyone’s eyes were glued to the opening entrance.
As they stared ahead, they were met with a cave like place. It was massive, with numerous paths.
There were no monsters in sight yet, so probably they had to venture further to find the next level. People, blinded by the hopes of finding treasure quickly, got out.
Only a few people remained, including Kai. He wasn’t sure if he was to go ahead like the rest or stay still. His skills clearly said F, while others had useful ranks and skills. Whilst he had nothing at all.
"Uncle, I’m scared." A small boy who looked to be about eight years old tugged at Kai’s sleeve. Kai looked down at the little boy, who seemed to be ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"Don’t worry, kid. Don’t cry." Kai said, trying to sound like a comforting adult. The kid didn’t cry, but he still held onto Kai tightly.
Kai wondered where his parents or guardian were. You couldn’t just leave a kid here just like that, even if you were blinded by greed.
"Hey, kid, by any chance was your mommy or daddy with you?" Kai asked, hopefully this kid had someone.
"Yes, my mommy. But when the tree opened, she rushed out, saying she would come back." The kid said, tears spilling from his eyes.
Kai sighed. He never thought a person would truly leave their child just because of treasure. Now he was stuck with a kid, and he didn’t even have any skills to protect him.
He looked around, and the small crowds who had remained behind seemed to lessen. He could not stay in one place any longer, and it seemed others were already searching and exploring.
He took the little boy’s hand and headed off after a group of small people who had decided to venture.
The cave was large and had many mysterious glowing gems. Were they worth something even? One man stopped at a rock filled with glowing gems. He took his chances and tried removing one out.
But it didn’t work. He resorted to trying to kick the rock to cause it to break. No luck. The rest stared at him for a while before leaving him be.
One could run mad here just for money, and Kai hoped he wouldn’t become like him. He walked cautiously with the small boy in hand. He had to be on alert always.
They did not know what dangerous creatures roamed the cave and what mysteries awaited them at any turn.
"Uncle, will you find my mommy?" The small boy asked, tugging at Kai’s hoodie again. Kai looked skeptical. He could not tell him his own mother had just abandoned him; he was just a little kid.
"Sure, buddy." Kai said, a small smile on his lips. He knew he was giving out false hope, but what could he do?
As they walked, the child’s stomach made a loud noise. It echoed throughout the cave.
"Sorry." The little boy said, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment.
Kai turned and smiled. He looked to be hungry, but there was no food here, and Kai had not even eaten himself.
He looked through his hoodie pockets and, by a stroke of luck, found two candy bars. It was good he liked food; if it wasn’t for that, he wouldn’t have left anything in his pocket.
He stopped and handed one to the small boy. As he looked at him, he noticed the boy had a name tag on his school uniform.
"Hori."
That must have been his name, and the kid did look Japanese. So this truly was something that affected the whole world, not only China.
Kai wondered how many more different races had been transported into this dungeon like game. And how many people were currently in the dungeon levels.
As they turned to continue, Kai realised everyone else had already gone off. He was left alone with Hori on an unknown path.
"Uncle, where is everyone else?" Hori asked, a bit of candy in his lips.
Kai looked at the small boy, who had already been scared before. He couldn’t tell him they had been left behind. It might scare the poor boy.
"They’re just ahead. Let’s catch up." Kai said reassuringly.
But he knew he had lied. They were nowhere to be seen, and worse, he didn’t even know exactly where they were.
As they walked through the paths, it was all starting to seem like a giant maze. Kai looked around. There were many paths to take, but the question was, where did it all lead to?
As he thought, he felt Hori frantically tugging at him.
"Hori, wait a bit. Uncle has to decide something." He responded without looking back.
"But un...cle." Hori said in a shaky voice, immediately drawing Kai’s attention.
As he turned to Hori, he felt something dripping onto his face.
As he looked up, he saw a giant spider latched above them on a spike, its eight eyes staring hungrily at them.
Kai immediately picked Hori off the ground before he started running. The spider let out a screech before dropping down to chase after them.
Kai ran fast, but the spider had long, giant legs and was faster. Hori began crying, tightly tugging onto Kai’s hoodie.
After running for a long time, Kai felt his body about to give up. He hadn’t eaten, had no protein, and his legs were already tired. He couldn’t carry Hori and also run at the same time.
As he reached a dead end, he stopped, taking deep breaths. He could hear the spider from a distance. It was coming, and they had no escape.
He quickly looked around before spotting a small tunnelway. It was small, but it looked big enough for Hori to go into.
He looked at the crying boy in his arms before placing him down.
"Listen, Hori. Uncle will take care of the big bad monster, but Hori has to do something too." Kai said, his voice gentle.
"Wh...what?" Hori asked, his little fists drying up his tears.
"See that hole? Uncle needs Hori to go there for now, okay?" Kai said, hoping the little boy would agree. It was for his own safety anyways.
"Okay. Hori will. But Uncle will be fine and find Hori, right?" Hori asked, his tears falling.
At the question, Kai froze for a second before smiling.
"I promise." He said before carrying Hori towards the tunnel entrance.
As Hori slid down, Kai thought about his life. He was probably going to die, but at least he would die knowing he had saved a little boy.
As the spider approached, Kai stood firm, ready for anything. The spider ran towards him with speed, screeching as it got closer.
As it reached him, it opened its mouth, spitting out venom which spread all over Kai. As the venom touched him, Kai blacked out completely.
As he fell to the ground, he thought about Hori and, most importantly, the bowl of ramen he hadn’t gotten to eat.
His vision blurred, and everything turned black.