The elevator doors opened to the sound of steel clashing against steel and the roar of a bloodthirsty crowd.
Floor 5: The Market of Souls was not a peaceful bazaar. It was a sprawling, red-lit coliseum city built inside the crater of a dormant volcano. The sky was choked with smog, and the streets were lined with stalls selling poisons, cursed artifacts, and "second-hand" armor (still stained with the previous owner's bad luck).
[SYSTEM ALERT: FLOOR 5 ENTERED]
[ZONE TYPE: PvP (PLAYER VS PLAYER)]
[RULE: IN THE CITY, VIOLENCE IS CURRENCY. KILLING IS LEGAL IN DESIGNATED DUEL ZONES.]
"Charming," Barnaby noted from his jar, which the First Son was clutching protectively. "It smells of testosterone and poor life choices."
Aryan walked into the crowd, his [Coat of the Protagonist] flapping in the hot wind. He felt the eyes on him immediately. In a PvP zone, every new climber was fresh meat.
"Keep your weapons close," Aryan whispered to the group. "Don't make eye contact."
But it was too late. The Excaliburn strapped to Aryan's back was vibrating with anxiety, its golden hilt glowing brightly. In a city of thieves, a Mythic weapon was a lighthouse.
"Well, well," a voice sneered from the shadows. "What do we have here? A newbie carrying a King's Sword?"
Five figures blocked their path. They wore armor made of crimson bone and helmets shaped like screaming skulls.
[GUILD: THE RED SKULLS]
[LEADER: VIPER (LVL 18 ROGUE)]
Warning: This player has a high PK (Player Kill) count.
Viper stepped forward, twirling two jagged daggers. "That's a nice toothpick you got there, kid. Hand it over, and I might let you keep your legs."
The Duel of Dignity
Aryan stopped. He looked at Viper. He looked at the System interface showing Viper's stats.
Agility: 40.
Strength: 35.
Ego: 200.
"I don't trade with trash," Aryan said calmly.
The crowd around them gasped. The Red Skulls were the tyrants of Floor 5. No one spoke to Viper like that.
Viper's face twitched behind his skull mask. "Trash? You think you're tough because you have a shiny sword?"
Viper pointed a dagger at the Duel Arena—a raised stone platform surrounded by a force field.
"1v1," Viper hissed. "You and me. If I win, I take the sword. If you win... I walk away with my life."
"If I win," Aryan corrected him, "I take your inventory. All of it."
Viper laughed. "Deal. Get in the ring, dead man."
Aryan walked up the steps to the arena. The force field hummed to life, locking them in. The crowd chanted, "BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!"
Aryan reached over his shoulder to draw Excaliburn.
"Okay, partner," Aryan whispered. "Time to shine. Let's show them why you're Mythic."
He pulled.
The sword didn't budge.
"N-no!" Excaliburn's voice squeaked in his head. "There are too many people! They're looking at me! I feel objectified!"
"They are looking at you because they want to kill me!" Aryan hissed under his breath. "Come out!"
"I can't! I'm having a panic attack! My cross-guard is sweating! Do swords sweat? I think I'm sweating!"
Viper saw Aryan struggling to unsheathe his weapon. He grinned. "What's the matter? Forgot to unlock the safety? Or is the sword too heavy for a weakling like you?"
Viper activated a skill. [Shadow Cloak]. He vanished into thin air.
Aryan was in trouble. He was locked in a cage with an invisible assassin, and his main weapon was having a mental breakdown.
He needed a weapon. Any weapon.
He looked at the audience. The First Son was standing right at the edge of the barrier.
Aryan ran to the barrier.
"Give me the fish!" Aryan shouted.
"What?" The First Son rumbled.
"Throw me the fish!"
The First Son didn't question orders. He tossed the glass jar over the barrier. Aryan caught it.
Barnaby floated in the water, looking confused. "I say, Aryan, this is not a spectator seat! I am in the line of fire!"
"You aren't the spectator, Barnaby," Aryan said, gripping the rim of the jar. "You're the projectile."
The Fish-Throwing Style
Viper materialized behind Aryan, his dagger aimed at Aryan's kidneys.
"Die!"
Aryan spun around. He didn't have a sword. He swung the fishbowl.
[WEAPON EQUIPPED: DISASTER GOLDFISH]
Aryan hurled the jar with his [Strength: 45].
"HAVE A FISH!" Aryan roared.
The jar sailed through the air. Viper paused. He had expected a sword, a spell, or a shield. He did not expect a goldfish.
"You threw a pet at me?" Viper laughed, raising his dagger to smash the jar.
But Barnaby was insulted.
"I AM NOT A PET!" Barnaby screamed bubbles. "I AM A LEVIATHAN!"
Barnaby flicked his tail.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT]
[CALCULATING CHAOS PROBABILITY...]
[TRIGGER: TAIL FLICK.]
[RESULT: LOCALIZED EARTHQUAKE.]
Just as Viper's dagger touched the glass, the ground beneath him lurched violently. A tectonic plate deep beneath the volcano shifted exactly one inch because of the air pressure change caused by Barnaby's tail.
Viper stumbled.
He missed the jar.
The jar hit Viper directly in the face.
BONK.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[DAMAGE: 1 (PHYSICAL) + 999 (HUMILIATION)]
Viper stumbled back, clutching his nose. "My nose! You broke my nose with a fish!"
Barnaby bounced off Viper's face and Aryan caught the jar mid-air.
"Round 2," Aryan said, winding up for another pitch.
Viper was enraged. "I'll kill you!"
He activated [Skill: Viper's Venomous Rush]. He turned into a green blur, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Aryan couldn't track him visually. But he didn't need to. He had the [Red Pen].
Aryan held the fishbowl in one hand and raised his glowing finger with the other. He saw the red blur of Viper moving around the arena.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE RED PEN]
[TARGET: THE FLOOR TEXTURE]
Aryan pointed at the floor in front of him. The System described the floor as: [Material: Stone].
Aryan edited it.
[Material: Banana Peels].
Viper, moving at Mach 1, stepped onto the edited patch of floor.
Friction ceased to exist.
SLIP.
Viper's feet flew out from under him. Because of his immense speed, he became a projectile. He flew horizontally through the air, flailing wildly.
"Barnaby! Intercept!" Aryan shouted, tossing the bowl up.
Barnaby blew a bubble.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT]
[TRIGGER: BUBBLE POP.]
[RESULT: STATIC DISCHARGE.]
The bubble popped. It created a static spark. The spark hit the metal of Viper's armor.
ZAP.
Viper was electrocuted mid-air while slipping on invisible banana peels. He crashed into the force field wall with a wet THUD and slid down, unconscious.
[WINNER: ARYAN KHANNA]
[MVP: BARNABY THE FISH]
The Loot and the Fame
The silence in the arena was absolute. The crowd of murderers and thieves stared slack-jawed. They had just watched a man defeat the Guild Leader using a jar of water and a typo.
Then, the cheering started.
"THE FISH! ALL HAIL THE FISH!"
"NEW META! GOLDFISH BUILD IS OP!"
Aryan walked over to the unconscious Viper. He tapped the "Transfer Inventory" button.
[SYSTEM: LOOT ACQUIRED]
10,000 Gold
Viper's Daggers (Rare)
Guild Key (Access to Red Skull HQ)
Aryan walked back to the barrier, holding the jar high. Barnaby was striking a pose (or just floating menacingly).
"I must admit," Barnaby said, adjusting an imaginary tie. "I have a certain aptitude for violence. Perhaps I should run for office."
Excaliburn finally stopped shivering on Aryan's back.
"Is... is the bad man gone?" the sword whispered.
"Yes," Aryan sighed. "The fish killed him. You should be ashamed."
"I'm not ashamed! I'm a pacifist!"
Aryan stepped out of the arena. The Red Skulls backed away in terror. They didn't want to mess with the man who weaponized marine life.
Mira walked up to him, a small smile playing on her lips. "That was... unconventional."
"It worked," Aryan said. "We have funds. We have rep. Now we need information."
He looked at the Guild Key he had looted.
"The Red Skulls run this floor. That means they know where the Elevator to Floor 6 is. And more importantly..." Aryan looked at the Mirror-Book. "They might know about the Architect's Fragments."
"Fragments?" Rhea asked.
"The Architect exploded," Aryan reminded them. "His power didn't just vanish. It shattered. If I want to fix the world properly, I need to collect his pieces before the System deletes them."
[QUEST UPDATED: COLLECT THE FRAGMENTS (0/5)]
[FIRST FRAGMENT LOCATION: THE AUCTION HOUSE OF GREED.]
"An auction," Sarah groaned. "We just got money, and now we have to spend it?"
"We aren't going to buy it," Aryan smiled, his eyes glinting with the thrill of the heist. "We're going to steal it. And I know exactly who can help us."
He pointed to the Talking Stove.
"Stove, how do you feel about catering an event?"
The Stove clattered its lid. "I can make a soufflé that causes hallucinations. Is that what you need?"
"Exactly," Aryan said.