The Survival of an Inferior

Shell

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You've accepted Lia's request.
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"Arsto!" Lia calls out to me from behind.

It is currently in the evening, a few hours after we last separated.

"Yes?"

Amidst a busy street, she stops me.

"I-I need your help," Lia says.

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The next day...
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In the forest near Pole Ridge, there is a small village that manages a permanent dungeon, the nest of arthropods.

"D-Do you have everything?" Lia frantically checks a bag.

"Yes..." Lena responds.

Lia jumps her attention to me. "This is Arsto. He will be your guard and guide. Listen to him within the dungeon."

Lena simply nods without even looking at me.

"...Haha...anyways, Lena, you need to remember what I told you. Always stay at the back and conserve your mana for emergencies. If you run out of potions, immediately start to leave the dungeon. Understood?"

Lena ignores her mother.

Lia sighs and glances at me. I nod at her, reassuring her of Lena's safety.

The guards at the entrance of a large cave give us a signal and the large boulder slides to the side.

"You have one day. If you are not out by then, we will send a team down." The guards tell me as Lena goes ahead into the cave.

I nod and catch up.

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Entering The Nest of Remnants...

Tip: Anything can happen. Be wary of countless possibilities.
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Welcome to The Nest of Remnants.

There are one hundred floors to this dungeon. The player can freely choose to leave and enter this dungeon, thus, it is recommended to prepare well and take interval breaks.

Current floor: 1
State: Conquered
Monsters spawned on this floor have a 50% decrease in stats.
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In the dimly lit cave, an eerie hush envelopes the air, broken only by our faint steps as well as the scuttling of countless entities waiting beyond the dark creating a nerve-wracking symphony.

Every crunchy step through the cave is littered with discarded exoskeletons. 

Suddenly, Lena stops and looks back.

She waves her hand and a dark barrier dice the path, blocking me.

"What? Lena!"

"I'm sorry but I want to go alone from here," Lena says.

The cave trembles from an unknown explosion on the other side.

"What's going on?" I mumble.

I swiftly throw a normal slash that shatters the barrier into many. The other side is a volcanic fiery mess. Charred and freshly burnt centipedes as big as two adult humans lie on both sides of the path.

I follow the thread of mana in the air and chase after Lena.

With my speed, I easily catch up to find Lena throwing ferocious spells at revolting monsters. No matter the form, iridescent blasts shimmering scales from different exoskeletons.

"You are a close combat mage?" I say.

"What? How did you get here so quickly?" Lena jumps.

...

What happened when I was gone?

"If you want to fight them alone, Be my guest. I will help when necessary."

Lena, with no choice but to comply, nods.

Although I don't know much about magic, I can feel mana swirling intensely within Lena. She constantly puts herself into dangerous situations to force adrenaline. The training of Barbarians. This is a good method for fast growth and experience but one wrong move leads to death.

As multiple insects ignore me and rush towards Lena. She conjures multiple piercing spells and cuts through their exoskeleton before one insect manages to break through, throwing its hard body into Lena.

"ARGH?!"

She was flung to the wall.

The insects take no second to pounce on their prey. A barrier appears before Lena, attempting to hold off the sharp attacks.

She rolls away before throwing a ball of water and zap of lighting, frying the enemies.

*Thud*

The insects fall limp to the ground.

"Huff huff huff..."

A close experience with death sends Lena to her knees.

Suddenly, as Lena lets her guard down, a monster playing dead strikes Lena from behind.

!!!

The last thing she sees is a sharp tip near her eyes before a burst of mana blasts the monster into many pieces.

"Ah...huff huff huff..." Lena crawls back grasping her face, her face becoming pale.

I walk to her and we lock eye contact.
"That was impressive," I say. "But always ensure your enemies are dead or incapacitated."

Lena simply stares at me as she recovers from the shock.

...

I sit beside the large carcasses and wait for Lena.

Soon, she joins me. "T-Thank you."

I nod.

"Do you want to continue?"

Lena nods.