On the sixteenth floor, the armoured jeep tore through the stone corridor as Lily pushed it harder than any sane driver would have dared.
The Dungeon path narrowed and widened without warning, twisting so unpredictably that direction itself began to feel optional.
The jeep did not slow for the floor's hostility. It crushed over uneven ground, clipped jagged edges, and rode drops that would have thrown lesser vehicles sideways.
Inside, the ride was far more brutal.
Cassandra had been unconscious since the seventh floor. Without Daphne steadying her through every violent jolt, she would have already split her head open against the fra.
Daphne kept one arm around Cassandra's shoulders, the other clamped to the safety harness. Her stomach was knotted tight as the jeep lurched again, face pale, jaw set, every muscle focused on staying upright and keeping both of them intact.
This was not riding.
It was being battered from one impact to the next.
Lily did not look back, trusting that as high-level adventurers they could endure a few rough impacts.
Her hands were steady on the controls, grip relaxed despite the speed. Her eyes flicked between the path ahead and the translucent overlay projected across the glass. Lines and markers shifted in real ti, mapping corridor width, upcoming turns, and elevation changes.
As the corridor widened slightly, the display shifted, resolving into a single heavy mass moving directly into their path.
An Orc forced its way out of a side passage, massive fra scraping stone as it burst into the corridor at a run. Crude armour clattered against muscle, tusked jaw open in a wordless snarl as it lowered its shoulder and charged straight into the jeep's line.
Before it could get any closer, Lily pressed a control.
The jeep's front guns activated instantly. Fire tore through the Orc's centre mass, armour fragnting as the body collapsed mid-charge and dissolved into crystal.
Lily drove straight through where the Orc had stood, tyres crunching briefly over the magic crystal she did not bother to acknowledge.
Soon, the Dungeon's geotry shifted again as the jeep dropped onto the seventeenth floor.
The change was imdiate.
The passage opened into a broad cavern, a space stretching outward in a way the upper floors never allowed. The ceiling rose so high that, with wings, one might have tested flight.
Lily slowed just enough for the display to sweep the area.
No indication of a floor boss manifestation.
Satisfied, she pushed forward.
With the ride no longer shaking violently, Cassandra finally stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused, her head lolling slightly as she struggled to orient herself. The first thing she saw was Daphne's face, drawn tight, one hand still gripping the harness, the other pressed firmly against Cassandra's shoulder.
Before she could ask what had happened, Lily accelerated without warning.
The corridor ahead widened into a long, sloping run, the floor dropping away toward a familiar opening. Lily did not slow. She pushed harder, speed climbing far beyond what the space should have allowed.
Daphne realised what was happening half a second too late.
The jeep hit the edge and launched.
For an instant, there was no floor at all.
Weight vanished. Sound vanished. The world tilted violently as the vehicle cleared the gap and plunged downward.
Certain they were about to die, Cassandra scread.
Daphne tightened her grip.
The seventeenth floor vanished above them as the jeep dropped into the open expanse of the eighteenth, the impact rattling their teeth and driving the shock deep into their bones.
Lily held the steering wheel tight, then brought the jeep to a stop with a firm press of the brakes.
Only then did she let go.
She stripped off her gloves and looked down at her hands. The skin across her palms and fingers was reddened, pressure lines standing out sharply where she had held the wheel too long, too hard. One knuckle was already swelling.
She flexed her fingers once, a sharp pain flaring through them.
Lily reached into her pack, took out a small container of healing ointnt, and rubbed it into her palms and knuckles, working it in until the sting dulled and the tightness eased.
After a mont, she stepped out and rolled her shoulders once, then again, stretching muscles that had been locked in place for far too long. Her boots hit the stone with solid certainty as she took in the cavern, confirming sightlines and exits out of habit rather than concern.
She walked to the rear of the jeep and pulled the door open.
Daphne did not move imdiately. When she finally did, it was slow and deliberate, like soone testing whether the ground would betray her. Her legs shook the mont she put weight on them.
Cassandra tried to follow and nearly collapsed.
Daphne caught her again, releasing a sharp breath of frustration. "That was too much," she muttered.
Cassandra's knees trembled as her feet touched the stone. She swallowed, face pale, eyes darting to the jeep and then toward the way back.
"…Can we go back?" she asked weakly.
Lily glanced over her shoulder.
"No," she said simply.
Cassandra closed her eyes for a mont, clearly reconsidering every decision that had led her here. When she opened them again, she nodded once and forced herself to stand straighter, though her legs still struggled to obey.
Daphne steadied her and took a slow breath, as if convincing herself that this was still better than dying in an explosion.
Lily turned away, shrinking the jeep down before slipping it into her pocket. She started forward without looking back.
"Follow ," she said. "We can't keep Luthar waiting."
Daphne adjusted her grip, and Cassandra matched it, the two of them steadying each other as they fell in behind Lily.
They moved through the safe floor, passing small groups of adventurers busy with their own affairs. No one paid them more than a passing glance.
Lily led without hesitation, cutting through the space until the familiar camp ca into view.
Only then did all three of them slow.
The tent stood where Lily expected it to be, lamps glowing softly from within. Natasha was already there, waiting just outside the entrance.
The mont Cassandra saw her, sothing inside her finally gave way. The tension she had been carrying since the upper floors loosened, breath leaving her in a quiet, shaky exhale. For the first ti since the visions had begun, she felt safe.
Natasha took it all in at a glance, Lily leading, Daphne steady, Cassandra holding on like she had been pulled back from the grave.
She did not move to reassure them, simply ushered them inside, where Luthar was already waiting.
...
Author's Note:
It's hard to tell whether a novel is good or bad. So people enjoy it, while others have very strong opinions. This month, I've done my best, but sotis it still feels like it's not enough.
At the start of the month, I asked everyone to vote on which novel I should focus on. The result was that I should spread my writing across multiple stories, so that's what I did. So far, I've finished 13 chapters:
- TPM — 4
- New Evil of 40K — 4
- TBFW — 3
- Chosen by a Goddess of Love — 1
- Ghost Rider in DxD — 1
To be fair, I didn't even plan to write Ghost Rider, but I accidentally started it and now it's here.
That's why I'm asking that even if you join for and vote. It helps know which novels you want to focus on.
Hopefully, I can keep up this pace. It may not be as fast as before, but it's already hard enough.
s/Silvervir?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
User Comments
0 comments from readers