MMORPG: REBORN MARK ADVENTURE IN ONLINE GAME

Phase 4: Escape or Die

The cavern collapsed.

Chunks of jagged stone broke free from the ceiling, crashing down in an avalanche of destruction. The poisoned mist whipped violently, pulled apart by the sheer force of the explosion. The Slumbering One's molten core detonated, sending a shockwave through the chamber, cracks splintering across the walls and ground.

Raven didn't waste a second.

"RUN!" he barked.

Mist Low was already ahead, his Trickster agility letting him weave through the chaos with eerie precision. Liz moved like a shadow, dodging falling debris with sharp, instinctual movements. Daniel gritted his teeth, pushing through the fatigue as he sprinted beside them.

Ana?

Ana was stumbling.

The backlash from her Thunderstrike had drained her mana too fast. Her legs trembled, and her breathing was ragged.

Raven swore.

A massive slab of rock plunged from the ceiling—straight toward her.

No time to think.

He lunged.

His arms wrapped around her waist, momentum carrying them forward just as the rock slammed into the ground behind them. Ana gasped as Raven half-dragged, half-carried her forward.

"Keep going!" he snapped.

Ana coughed, but her grip on her staff tightened. "Yeah—yeah, I got it."

Ahead, Mist Low's golden eyes flickered, scanning their surroundings. He thrust a hand forward, fingers glowing as a mirage shimmered into place—

A fake exit on the opposite side of the chamber.

A trick. A distraction.

Sure enough, the unstable cavern didn't hold. The fake pathway collapsed first, buying them a few extra seconds.

But their real exit?

It was still too far.

Daniel cursed. "We're not gonna make it before this whole place comes down!"

Liz, ever sharp, grabbed his wrist and shoved something into his palm—a small, rune-etched crystal. "Then we make a way out."

Daniel's eyes widened. "You had a—"

"No time. Shoot it."

No hesitation.

Daniel turned, nocked the crystal into his bowstring, and fired.

The arrow exploded on impact—

BOOM!

The force tore through the cavern wall, sending rubble flying outward. Light spilled through the opening—the outside.

A way out.

Mist Low grinned. "Not bad."

"MOVE!" Raven barked.

They bolted for the exit, feet pounding against the crumbling stone. The tunnel behind them collapsed in waves, the Slumbering One's dying core still burning, turning the entire cavern into a death trap.

Liz vaulted over debris, Daniel and Ana pushed through, Mist Low moved like he was dancing with death itself.

Raven?

He didn't stop running until his boots hit solid ground.

Until the collapsing cavern was behind them.

Until they were out.

---

Aftermath: The Hunt Ends

Silence.

The ground rumbled one last time.

Then—

The entrance to the Poison Cave collapsed entirely.

The Slumbering One was dead.

And they were alive.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Their breaths came heavy, chests rising and falling as exhaustion set in. The toxic mist had faded, the air outside crisp and biting against sweat-slicked skin.

Raven exhaled, finally sheathing his dagger. His hands were still shaking.

Daniel slumped against a boulder, running a hand through his hair. "Next time," he muttered, "we kill something that doesn't try to bury us alive."

Ana, still catching her breath, shot him a weak glare. "Next time, you can get buried instead."

Liz chuckled, flicking dust off her jacket. "We did win."

Mist Low, standing at the edge of the clearing, let out a low whistle. "Not bad." He turned, flashing Raven a grin. "You really do hunt like a killer."

Raven met his gaze.

And for the first time since this fight started—

He smirked.

This wasn't just a win.

This was a message.

The real hunt was only beginning.

Phase 5: Secrets Beneath the Lair

The dust settled. The Poison Cave was sealed shut, the battlefield buried beneath tons of rubble. But Raven wasn't looking at the collapsed entrance.

His eyes were fixed on the ground beneath them.

A section of the earth had cracked open, revealing something deeper. A jagged hole, barely wide enough to slip through, pulsed with a faint, unnatural glow. It wasn't molten light—this was different.

Older.

Wrong.

Mist Low was the first to notice. His golden eyes flickered as he crouched near the edge, peering into the darkness below. "Well, well…" His usual teasing tone softened into something more intrigued. "This isn't normal."

Liz knelt beside him, flicking a small pebble into the hole. It fell. And kept falling.

No sound of impact.

Ana wiped the sweat from her brow, frowning. "Another cavern?"

"Or something worse." Raven's voice was quiet.

Daniel sighed, pulling an arrow from his quiver. "You guys just crawled out of one death trap, and now you wanna jump into another?"

Mist Low grinned. "Oh? Getting scared, archer?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No, I just like breathing."

Raven ignored their bickering. Instead, he studied the faint glow seeping from the hole. Something about it felt wrong—like it didn't belong in this part of the world.

It reminded him of something from his past life.

Something he should not have found this early.

His grip tightened.

Liz caught the change in his expression. "You recognize this?"

"…Maybe." He exhaled. "And if I'm right, we need to be careful."

Mist Low raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "That serious?"

Raven didn't answer.

Instead, he reached into his inventory, pulled out a torch, and dropped it into the hole.

The flame plummeted into the abyss.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then—

A gust of cold air rushed up from below, snuffing the torch out instantly.

A whispering echo crawled up the cavern walls, distant but unmistakably alive.

Daniel took a step back. "Okay. Nope. Absolutely not."

Ana shivered. "What was that?"

Raven didn't move. His mind was racing.

This place…

It shouldn't exist yet.

He knew exactly what was down there.

And if they went in now, they wouldn't be coming back out.

He turned to the others. His voice was steady. "We're not ready for this."

Mist Low smirked. "That bad?"

Raven's eyes remained fixed on the abyss.

"No."

"Worse."