Soon afterward, the bodies of the fallen players vanished in a soft, white light. The disqualified players would have to wait until the next opportunity to rank up. The sudden disappearance left an eerie silence in the tunnel, broken only by the faint hum of the system and the shuffling of Conner's army.
"Shall we go and pay a visit to the queen? I am sure she is dying to meet you," Conner mocked, adjusting his grip on his weapon while gesturing at the tunnel ahead. He moved with a confident air, his army falling in line behind him, ready for whatever might await them.
Just then, a loud system notification chimed sharply across the cavern, echoing off the walls.
[Congratulations, Darmin Slayer, for killing twenty kings.
You have been awarded 10,000,000 points.]
Reever's eyes narrowed as he and Conner both raised an eyebrow simultaneously. Someone else had already started the hunt—and twenty kings had already fallen. The system followed up almost immediately with another message:
[Congratulations, Darmin Slayer, for killing the queen and all her slaves.
You have been awarded 50,000,000 points.]
"The hell," Reever muttered under his breath, his brow furrowing.
"What the f**k," Conner added, his voice tinged with disbelief. Both of them cursed in unison, momentarily stunned. They had been preparing to confront the queen themselves, and yet someone had managed to eliminate her—and her army—with astonishing speed. Reever's mind raced as he tried to deduce who could have pulled off such a feat, but there were no clues, no identifiers beyond the system's cryptic name.
His thoughts drifted back to the memory of a player he had seen earlier, the one waving at him before being swallowed by the queen. Could it have been the same person? The idea seemed almost impossible, yet the speed and precision of the kills suggested incredible power. Reever's curiosity was piqued, but frustration prickled at him—he had been ready to take on the queen, and now someone else had claimed the glory.
After meeting Conner, Reever's anticipation of interacting with legacy kids was somewhat tempered. Conner didn't display the overwhelming power Reever had expected, despite being the child of a mythical-ranked player. A small part of him wondered if Conner was somehow faking his background, though that seemed highly unlikely.
Impossible. Reever knew better than to underestimate lineage. Conner's skill, Limitless Assault, combined with the rank of his weapon—a mystic-level blade—was proof enough that he possessed a strong foundation. His outward calm was merely strategic; the true measure of his strength was evident in his gear and training.
"Should we go ahead and confirm the kill?" Conner's voice pulled Reever out of his thoughts. He nodded silently, quickly refocusing. The duo moved together, taking the tunnel Reever had used earlier. The army followed in formation behind them, providing a reassuring buffer against any unforeseen threats. Even with all the uncertainty, the presence of so many allied troops made the path ahead feel slightly less perilous.
Yet Reever couldn't shake a nagging unease. "Why hasn't the system announced the mission's completion?" he muttered, his voice low enough that only Conner could hear. Something felt off. The rewards had been delivered, yet the mission itself still appeared to be ongoing. Normally, the system would close the mission shortly after the queen's death and calculate all rankings based on accumulated points.
"You're right," Conner said, walking a few steps ahead. "Maybe there's a glitch in the system, or it's still calculating rewards. We just need to wait a little. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes."
Reever's frown deepened under his helmet. If Conner couldn't see it, the subtle tension in the tunnel would have gone unnoticed, but Reever could sense it. Something was off. A faint disturbance, the quiet calm after such a massive battle—it didn't feel natural.
"Don't let your guard down. Order your men to do the same," he warned, his hand tightening around the trident. Every sense was heightened, every movement calculated. Even now, he maintained vigilance, knowing the slightest mistake could be fatal.
Soon, they reached the site where Reever had 'fought' the queen. As expected, the cavern bore the scars of previous destruction: crushed walls, fractured rocks, and remnants of soldier ants strewn across the floor. A few bodies remained, but the majority had vanished as the system processed the kills.
"The webbing the queen had released isn't here anymore," Reever noted, scanning the cavern carefully.
"Probably she ate it, or something else happened to it," he added, observing the absence of any remaining traces. They moved cautiously through the remnants of the battlefield. This time, trails left by the swarm of spider ants were more visible, but strangely, there were no human footprints among them. Only the massive steps of the queen remained, easily visible even from a distance. The army followed these trails with precision, ensuring not a single ant escaped unnoticed.
At the end of the tunnel, they arrived at a familiar cavern, this time with only two exit tunnels. Reever surveyed the scene and made a decisive call.
"This time we will not split," he commanded. They took the tunnel with the larger steps—undeniably left by the queen herself.
The tunnel was breathtaking in its own strange way. Huge, bluish crystals lined the walls and ceiling, casting a faint, glowing light that illuminated the cavern in an ethereal haze. Conner halted his men immediately and gestured for them to begin excavating.
"These crystals are really valuable. They fetch a good price at the auction, especially in bulk. My family provides for me, but I need to cater for myself too," Conner explained, carefully monitoring his team. Reever didn't mind the work at all, focusing on maintaining awareness and ensuring no threats approached from behind.
The men worked diligently, extracting the crystals while Reever observed. The glow reflected off his helmet, creating a shimmering effect on his armor. Every sound of digging and mining echoed through the tunnel, but nothing else stirred. Once the excavation was complete, Conner summoned a small, bluish ring. With a wave of his hand, the crystals vanished into the ring, neatly contained and ready for storage or transport.
Reever nodded slightly, satisfied that this task was complete. The tunnel now quiet again, they prepared to continue, leaving behind the glowing shards safely in Conner's possession. Every step forward reinforced the sense of lingering tension. Even with the queen dead, even with the swarm dispersed, the mission remained unfinished, and Reever's instincts told him that this calm was temporary.