THE SKILL TREE

Rave's heart was racing, it was thumping like a drum. The sound of his own scream still echoed in his ears—he couldn't shake it. Without even thinking twice, he whipped around and dashed back towards the same tunnel he'd just come from. It was his only chance to escape this hellish place.

But behind him, the ground trembled as a horde of massive, red-eyed rats charged at him, their furious growls reverberating through out the crumbling walls of the labyrinth.

He dive into the tunnel, clawing frantically at the dirt, trying to pull out himself up. His fingers sank deep into the tunnels sand, nails scraping against the rough walls. "Come on... move!" he gasped, his legs on fire as he scrambled upward.

But the tunnel was tight, too tight for him to use his Swift Steps skill. Panic surged through him as he could almost feel the rats breathing down his foot, their claws scraping menacingly closer to them. A cold shiver crept down his spine at the thought of those teeth sinking into his flesh.

His muscles were screaming, arms trembling as he pulled himself higher. Suddenly, he felt a hot, rancid breath on his foot. He turned his head around just when his heart nearly stopping. One of the rats was right near to him, just inches away, its eyes blazing with rage. Its metallic claws were reaching out, ready to strike.

In a moment of sheer desperation, Rave snatched a tusk from his back and hurled it at that rat with all his might. The tusk shot forward, powered by his adrenaline boost, and pierced right through the rat's head. Either for extreme strength Rave used or wweak defences of rat made the creature went limp, crashing into the swarm behind it.

The other rats stumbled, tripping over their fallen comrade and tumbling back into the tunnel in a chaotic frenzy of screeches and thrashing claws. Rave didn't waste a moment. He climbed faster, his arms burning, the dirt crumbling beneath his frantic hands. "Don't stop... don't look back!" he told himself, his heart racing like a drum.

The tunnel felt like it had no end, the light above just a faint glimmer. Every part of him was in agony, breaths coming in sharp, ragged gasps. But there was no way he could stop—not now. One slip, and he'd be at the mercy of those monsters.

With one final surge of strength, he threw himself out of the tunnel, landing hard on the ground above. The sunlight hit him like a slap in the face, but he didn't care. He was out. He was alive.

His body felt heavy, like lead, every muscle trembling. But the angry growls from below jolted him back to reality. He spun around, just in time to see the rats still clawing their way up.

He grabbed another tusk and threw it down. It struck the lead rat, sending it sprawling back into the horde. They screeched in frustration, their bulky bodies blocking each other from climbing.

Rave's chest heaved, sweat streaming down his face. He lay there, heart pounding, every inch of him utterly spent. But he had made it. Somehow, he had survived.

A shaky laugh bubbled up from him. "I... I actually made it..." while saying he collapsed back onto the ground, the sky swirling above him. He was alive... but just barely.

Just as Rave tried to catch his breath, a sudden ding echoed in his mind, and a blue system screen flashed before his eyes bombshelling him for a second. The shock almost made him jump out of his place. "Damn it! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he cursed, heart still racing.

[Metal Claw Rat Killed. High-Level Lesser Tier Gene Core Obtained.]

[Quest Completed: Hunt 10 Beasts. Reward: Treasure Map Acquired.]

His eyes widened as he remembered the treasure map. But before he could get excited, he realized those rats were still down there. Their groans and angry screeches echoed from the tunnel below, sending chills down his spine. He had to seal the entrance before they crawled back up.

Summoning every last ounce of strength, he took a huge rock from the surroundings and heaved it over the tunnel's opening. With a final push, the boulder thudded into a place, blocking the exit completely. The rats' howls grew muffled, their claws scratching uselessly against the other side.

Rave stumbled back, collapsing against the wall, his body lost even that small wisp off energy now.

Without hesitation, he activated [Vital Surge], and a femiliar warm wave of energy flowed through his body. It was a strange sensation yet the fatigue melted away as his muscles slowly felt lighter and lighter, and the sharp aches dulled.

Feeling slightly better, Rave opened his inventory, his eyes locking onto the image of a rolled-up map in one of the slots. His fingers went for the icon, and in an instant, a parchment-like map materialized before him. Rave grabbed it, excitement bubbling up as he imagined the treasures waiting for him.

But destroying all his dreams and tearing up the all the dangers he went for to complete the that quest he saw the information in the map. His excitement died the moment he looked at the map. His eyes widened in disbelief, mouth falling open as anger surged through him. "You've gotta be kidding me right" he muttered, fists trembling. "This... this has to be a joke!"

The map showed the entire layout of the Upgrader Rift, a massive area that stretched for about 100 square kilometers. It also displayed his current location... and the location of the treasure trove. But that wasn't what made his blood boil.

His eyes slowly trailed from his marked position to the glowing X that represented the treasure's location. It was right behind him, exactly from the same location of the Fallen Labyrinth. The very place he'd just escaped from. The place swarming with hundreds of those metal-clawed rats.

"Are you freaking serious?!" Rave shouted at the system, his voice echoing through the empty desert. In anger he slammed his fist into the screen but slamming against sand wall behind the screen, his arm sinking deep into the dirt yet he didn't even pull it out all for too lost in frustration. "That... that cursed system is playing with me!"

His mind raced, thoughts crashing into each other. "How am I supposed to beat all of them? There's no way... no way..." His fingers curled into fists, nails digging into his palms. He felt backstabbed by the system thanks to the smashing his all dreams about his next steps in his life after getting his treasure but now the treasure was so close, yet completely out of reach from him.

Just then, another system prompt blinked into existence:

[New Quest: Conquer the Fallen Labyrinth. Objective: Defeat the Metal Claw Rats and Claim the Treasure. Bonus: Exit was present at deep inside of Labyrinth.]

Rave's breath hitched. "Exit...?" he repeated, eyes narrowing. A glimmer of hope sparked in his chest. "So... there's a way out through that labyrinth?"

His gaze drifted back to the sealed tunnel, the distant screeches of the rats barely audible. His body tensed, teeth grinding as his determination slowly returned. "So that's how it is. And there was no other way. F*ck the system. It was wantedly trying to push me into dangers." anger raising through him but rave was trying his best to control.

He pulled his fist from the sand wall as the loose sand collapsed, crumbling down where his punch had landed. He watched the sand fall, his eyes lighting up with a sudden spark. "Wait... this might work," he murmured, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

An idea was forming in his mind, wild and risky, but just crazy enough to give him a chance. He looked back at the labyrinth entrance, the angry howls of the rats echoing faintly. His heart began to race again, but this time, it wasn't just fear—there was excitement too.