[quest triggered: help Baz, Sylvie, and Lan leave this place safely. reward: 50 RPG Coins, 2 skill points, 1 fixed skill slot. penalty: death.]
[fixed skill: when swapping classes using class management, your entire skill set changes. with a fixed skill, you can lock 1 skill to use at all times, regardless of your active class.]
Damn system. Those two beauties, i will definitely save.
But why the hell are you forcing me to save that brain-dead simp too?
Riven cursed the system while carrying Sylvie on his shoulders.
At the same time, he was impressed by the rich rewards.
That old man Farrdin was likely a goner; he could only hope the man had bought them some time.
They ran through the narrow tunnel of purple light.
Then they passed the corpse of the golem they had all teamed up to defeat.
Riven really wanted to find a way to resurrect this thing.
It adjusted its power based on the enemy, so the stronger the Undead Wyvern, the stronger it became.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time.
The goal was simple: reach the metal gate and close it using the cube necklace.
Secrets were no longer important.
If the secret of the necklace was leaked, the future would be dangerous.
But if he didn't close the gate, there wouldn't even be a future. He would be dead right now.
Running so fast without rest made Riven sweat, soaking his back.
It was lucky Sylvie was unconscious.
If she smelled him right now, his image would be completely ruined.
The bumpy road and high speed caused Sylvie's chest to bounce and softly hit Riven's back.
Occasionally, it rubbed against him like a soft white rabbit.
But Riven didn't even have time to care.
The sound everyone dreaded rang out again.
The roar of the Undead Wyvern echoed, getting closer and closer.
This meant Farrdin was dead.
Although he had expected this, Baz couldn't help but fall silent.
He grit his teeth as if making a silent promise to himself.
Riven was surprised Farrdin had held out for so long.
He thought the man would be one-shotted, but he had stalled it for over 20 minutes.
'Farrdin might have been hit, but used some suicide skill to attack its wings,' Riven speculated.
Running past the pitch-black sword, Riven wanted to try pulling it again.
According to anime tropes, when the protagonist is in danger, his plot armor should work at full capacity.
Miracles should happen.
Sadly, time was more precious than gold.
Even a few seconds' delay was impossible.
In life-and-death moments, a few seconds is the difference between heaven and hell.
Kamis had hinted that "the key to the problem is in Riven's hands."
He didn't say "you've seen it," but rather it was something Riven likely already possessed.
The highest probability was the cube necklace.
As Riven thought, they reached the trap area.
The cold air made everyone turn around.
Behind them was something more terrifying than the grim reaper.
The Undead Wyvern had arrived.
Six wind-tearing slashes from its claws lunged straight at Riven, forcing him to dive aside.
As soon as he dodged, six more sword auras flew in.
[Shadow Shift] – he retreated 10m, but the Wyvern lunged there too.
"You damn lizard, are you targeting me?!"
Feeling Sylvie on his back was slowing him down, Riven moved toward Baz, dragging the giant creature behind him.
Baz feared Riven was dragging everyone into the mess to escape.
But when he was close enough, Riven tossed Sylvie to him.
"Simp! Take your lady and run!"
"Sylvie saved my life. It's time to pay her back."
Baz struggled to catch Sylvie. He couldn't believe his ears.
The man he thought was manipulative and selfish was making a noble sacrifice.
"I misunderstood you, pretty boy... no, Sora!"
Knowing there was no time, Baz carried Sylvie away with a look of guilt.
Before, Baz thought Sora was just a lecherous villain.
He didn't expect him to be braver than anyone in the final moment.
Baz now truly considered Sora a friend.
It was a pity the moment he became a friend might be the last time they met.
Lan didn't have the stamina to carry Sylvie.
Baz tried to be careful not to touch places he shouldn't.
"Sora!" Canis shouted, ignoring the others to stand by Riven.
This confused Lan, but Baz understood.
Sora was staying to buy time; Baz wouldn't expose his secret now.
Riven, of course, wasn't noble enough to die for others. It was the quest.
If any of them died, the quest failed, and he would die anyway.
In other words, those three were just burdens.
Leaving them there was more dangerous for Riven himself.
If he was going to die either way, he might as well build a good image to farm favorability before parting.
While dodging, he received a speed buff from Canis, making Riven much more agile.
The Undead Wyvern didn't seem very smart.
It only chased Riven and only attacked others if they attacked first.
Proof: it hadn't touched Canis at all.
'Damn it, class weakness.'
Riven couldn't keep dodging forever. His stamina was fading, and his speed slowed.
[Breath of Death] lunged out, destroying Riven's left leg.
He slammed face-first into the ground in agony.
"AA!!"
The thief's greatest strength—mobility—was gone.
The pain made Riven lose his ability to think.
He couldn't react as the sword aura flew in.
Canis rushed forward and pushed Riven away.
The clone was instantly cut into three pieces.
Before dying, his eyes still looked at Riven with worry, his hands slowly falling.
[skill: multi-body divinity. Clone Canis has died. 0/3 clone slots remaining.]
The shock brought Riven back to his senses.
Because he was too far, he used [Shadow Shift] six times consecutively, losing 30% of his max mana.
But it didn't matter; mana could be regained in many ways, but a life was unique.
He teleported into the middle of the trap area.
He struggled to stand on one leg, looking at the Undead Wyvern with a provocative face.
The monster didn't fire sword auras. It charged straight at Riven.
Just as it lunged and landed in front of Riven, almost every trap in the area activated at once.
The cave ceiling collapsed.
Magic stones embedded in the cave walls fired destructive beams toward the two.
Thousands of spikes sprouted from the ground, impaling both the Undead Wyvern and Riven like pin cushions.
The light beams struck them both, creating a massive cloud of smoke.
Finally, they were crushed by a mountain of giant rocks falling from the ceiling.