Chương 69: Chapter Sixty-Nine: Infiltrators

With the bug finally dead, I extract myself from its remains and quickly inspect my body for damage. Besides some weeping cuts along my chest and wrist, the heavy infusion of mana into my body has thankfully spared me any mortal wounds. I suspect these Freylith infiltrators are not designed to overpower anyone in a fair duel, which is why I had been able to beat one even with the level gap between us. Just like any other bug on the battlefield, these ones were built for one specific job and that's it.

Anything outside of their parameters of infiltration and stealth attacks is an open wound ready to be abused. Doing a quick check of my notifications, I'm surprised by two things: my current level, and the level of the bug. When we had first spotted the stealthy bugs, Tobias had told everyone they were all over level 100. If that was truly the case, then why does this bug have a level just shy of triple digits? Perhaps the man had been rounding up?

Something tells me he would have no reason to do that, and the fear he showed upon sighting the bugs seemed real. If I'm level 55 and still can't see Brian or Tobia's level, then they must be at least over level 80. Such a gap in levels at that point shouldn't be enough to scare the men half to death, right?

Besides the mystery of the infiltrator's level, it would seem my earlier distribution of stat points had emptied out all of my free points built from the long battle, so only two measly points found their way to PWR at the end there. I immediately sink the 3 levels worth of free stats I just gained directly into PWR to rectify the issue. Unfortunately, the allocation is barely a trickle into my healthy stores of mana, and I can't help but hunger for more levels.

With one infiltrator down, I adapt to their presence and search for the rest of the hidden monsters. Their speed is still disgustingly high, but with the experience I've gained fighting the first beast as well as the ample value of my boosted MND, I know I can hunt them down. The sounds of my teammates calling for me should make me hesitate, yet I find no such feeling overtake my thoughts and instead ready another blast that will take me to my next opponent in an instant.

Wanting to spice things up a bit, I consolidate even more kinetic buildup than before, and release it all at once straight through two vents on my lower and upper back. This time, I am better prepared for the runaway train level of speed that is channeled through my body while every muscle tenses up to keep my balance with the supporting brace of my mana. < Fixation Lvl. 19 -> Fixation Lvl.

20 > Forcing my brain to keep up with the speed to the best of my ability, I release another smaller blast of heat from my right side to adjust my course and head directly for the bug I sense attempting to pass right next to me undetected. My right fist fills with scorching heat in an instant, and I twist my body to land a punch right where I predict the creature's head to be.

The maneuver is incredibly difficult to manage while in midair, and any force usually derived from the spin of the offenders hips and body is lost given my shitty form, but it doesn't matter. The sickening amount of momentum I have accrued is released straight into the chitinous head of my target, and I can feel my bones crack due to the focused impact. < You have defeated: Freylith Infiltrator – Lvl. 96 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 56 > < Congratulations!

You have reached: Level 57 > The river of attributes entering my body is ignored while I quickly throw my free hand out to create a blast that will slow me down. The landing is rough, but I can feel myself getting better with every new application of my skills. Any desperation caused by the loss of some of my group mates is lost to the void of my mind. This is beyond addicting. The rush of power that comes from every kill alongside the continued refinement of my skills is exhilarating. I need more of it.

< Fixation Lvl. 20 -> Fixation Lvl. 21 > One after another, I explore the seemingly endless new boundaries of my abilities through experimentation on the hidden enemies still slaughtering the NPCs along the walls. < You have defeated: Freylith Infiltrator – Lvl. 91 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 58 > What happens if I try this? < You have defeated: Freylith Infiltrator – Lvl. 96 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 59 > < Congratulations!

You have reached: Level 60 > Wait, let's try boosting the EM wave frequency along a single line by powering it with a bit of my Flare Loop and emitting it in one specific direction. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. < Fixation Lvl. 21 -> Fixation Lvl. 22 > < You have defeated: Freylith Infiltrator – Lvl. 95 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 61 > Holy shit! It worked! I can make a fucking laser! HAHAHA! < You have defeated: Freylith Infiltrator – Lvl.

95 > < Congratulations! You have reached: Level 62 > < Fixation Lvl. 22 -> Fixation Lvl. 23 > I can feel other skills leveling in the background, but I ignore the excess notifications. What else can I do? I need to find out… I must! Suddenly, before I can satiate my infinite desire to sharpen my skills and gain more power, a heavy wall of iron appears in front of me; cutting off my path of advance and causing me to crash painfully into its unyielding surface.

"What the hell!" I scream, trying to orient myself once again to take off after my prey.

"CONTROL YOURSELF GODDAMNIT!" The voice causes me to hesitate for a moment, and I look up to find Vince standing before me. The buckler I gave him is active and blocking my path as the ruby in the center of its intricate surface shines with the amount of mana that currently powers it. The man's presence is confusing enough to make me freeze for a second to gather my thoughts while I take in his bloodied and battered form.

Deep cuts cover his body and one of his arms is completely missing with only a lump of flesh left behind as proof it was ever there. Vince's left eye socket is sealed shut through the use of <Harden> to stem the ongoing bleeding from both his missing appendage and eye. A part of me remembers the sight of him and Angus being thrown off the wall and into the chaos of the battlefield, but it would seem that the man has somehow defied all odds and returned alive.

Despite my thirst to continue hunting down the rest of the infiltrators, I force my mind to calm down and think as logically as possible to justify not attacking him. Eventually, I regain control over my thoughts and realize another implication of his presence. My mind finally clears, and I immediately begin looking around for Angus and Sara. Time passes slowly and my heart refuses to beat for a moment until my eyes finally find Angus's body lying motionless in Henry's arms.

<Polarize> fires up and reveals the heat still pumping through his body, letting me know he is still alive despite being unconscious. The rest of our team doesn't look in much better condition than the boy. Nikki continues to be the only one capable of tracking the bugs besides me, forcing her to act as the scout with everyone's lives in her hands.

Each call-out she makes towards Sandra and Kathryn to create a barrier of dirt or ice could come one second too soon, allowing the invisible assailants to reap another of our team members. Henry's face is an expression of terror while he cowers behind the women protecting the entire group. Benny clings tightly to the older man, and I can see a growing puddle of urine pooling underneath the boy.

Wade does his best besides the women, but it is clear that his restricted skill set hinders any support he can offer the rest of them. Pawl is not within my sight at all. His absence, reminiscent of the time we spent on Floor One, leaves behind a sour note, sealing the thick scent of desperation wafting from the group. I take another beat to find Sara, but the woman is nowhere to be found.

"Where is Sara?" I question instantly. Silence invades my ears, and I turn to find the man looking hard at me with his remaining eye.

"She's dead. There wasn't anything left by the time I found her." He growls. I can tell his anger is not at me or even the bugs, but rather the one who paved the way for this attack to take place.

"You saw that notification then?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. It appeared not long after the wave started, but after hours of nothing happening, I decided not to tell the others. It's my fault we weren't prepared. I thought I could protect everyone myself without telling them about the change so they wouldn't be scared." The man's face is a picture-perfect display of bottled up guilt and anger, yet I cannot blame him for this turn of events.

"I understand why you didn't tell us. It's not your fault. Something like that would've thrown everyone else off their game. I doubt anyone would have been able to rest or fight efficiently while knowing another change took place right after the fight started." I state resolutely. I mean it too. There is no one to blame here except the unknown force in charge of this place. It's like this sick fuck wants us to fail. It wants to see us struggle in vain just so it can get its rocks off. I hate it.

The way this floor has turned out is a disgrace. There is no logic to each turn of events anymore; it's just a mess of chaos now. Our group is being treated as nothing more playthings in some god-level, infantile sandbox. We have no way of knowing how many changes can be made on one floor. There is also no possible way for us to tell exactly what has changed either. None of it adds up in a way that a 'player' should ever be able to predict what will happen next.

I can't imagine this could ever be the true purpose of The Pillar. It's too… unfair. We might be in the hardest difficulty possible, but if there is one thing I have learned from this place, it's that it is cruel but fair. There has been no situation presented before the 'player' that cannot be overcome. As long as the people inside The Pillar take every advantage possible and put forth true effort and stratagem to survive; The Pillar will not stand in their way. It's not designed to make you fail.

Every single experience I have had in this place tells me that its intent is to push the participants; to make them as strong as possible. If it was created without this intent in mind, then I should've died on Floor One the second I was transported here. There is simply no reason why I ever should have been able to survive if The Pillar was truly focused solely on incurring chaos and despair. Sure, plenty of people will die here. Those unfit, unskilled, and even those who are unlucky, are culled without mercy.

Hell, the people here can kill each other if they wish to, which already been proven to me by the tens of corpses left on Floor One. Any fear, any hesitation, or any faulty logic used in a truly dangerous encounter will be punished severely. It doesn't matter if you are the strongest or the weakest; one wrong move will result in death. But at the end of the day, The Pillar's purpose is to make the people inside stronger.

In my opinion, whoever is making these changes is striking against the very mission The Pillar was designed to follow. All of the censorship, interferences, and who knows what kind of other bullshit pulled under our noses is the complete antithesis to what our entire purpose in being here is. There is so much I don't know or understand about the end goal of this place, but there is no way in hell I'm going to allow these interferences to kill me before I ever find out why I'm here.

The responsibility of my death no longer lies in the hands of someone else. I abandoned that pitiful end the second I woke up in the cave. If I'm going to croak, it'll be on my terms.