The Final Desperation

As Genji walked down the floors, he noticed that there were no nasty odors or common signs of decaying bodies. In fact, there were no bodies at all. This was a strange occurrence, considering how many bugs had died in this enclosed space.

Yet, as he descended further, he got his answer in the form of an auto-cleaning system in the ruins. All the dead bodies were being sucked up and sent to an unknown location while mysterious mechanisms circulated the air.

It was a very efficient system, especially considering it had been abandoned for who knows how long. Soon, he reached the 19th floor, where the majority of the Zergs had gathered. Sensing his approach, they orderly made way for the stairs to the 20th floor.

Genji walked over, giving the stone carving above the stairway a glance. It was filled with unknown characters that resembled the ones on the pillars but were far more complex. To his surprise, Eternal Void translated the words for him.

{This is the trial of the soul. Only those who possess a soul or immense powers can continue.}

"A trial? That explains all the ridiculous traps from before."

This condition made it so they couldn't proceed unless they went down by themselves. Using Zergs to trigger the traps could no longer be employed, which didn't surprise Genji. If this ruin was truly guarding something valuable, it wouldn't make sense to allow such a significant loophole, considering the Mecalans used to keep the Zergs as servants.

As for the power part, Genji completely disregarded it. That's akin to brute forcing it. Anyone with enough power could forcibly break through, including puppet Zergs. But who knows what the breaking point of this ruin is?

Genji slowly descended the stairs, ready to turn back at the slightest sign of peril. Stepping onto the 20th floor, he stood still for a few moments, testing for any possible dangers. After a few minutes, Genji concluded that the message from above was trustworthy.

But instead of continuing, Genji turned back and headed up, meeting up with the queens again.

"Empress, are you there?"

"Yes."

"The 20th floor has a restriction on having a soul. I assume that means only those who have their own sentience can enter. And before you ask, I got this information from Eternal Void, the overseer of this battlefield."

Silver Empress understood why he was telling her this. Only queens and above would be able to enter. She was going to have to make her choice. Would she risk her children, or would they give up on this? She knew Genji wouldn't continue if she pulled back, so it was a question of how badly she wanted this item.

This was an easy choice. Unless she was willing to give up on this treasure, she would have to deal with this situation sooner or later. At that time, she wouldn't have someone to translate the conditions of any further floors, making the situation that much harder.

As for relying on the OmegaRealm members for translation, she had no hope of that. In her years of living on this planet, she had gained a good understanding of Eternal Void. This mysterious existence was very reclusive and rarely interfered with matters on the battlefield.

She suspected that the only reason Eternal Void was helping Genji was that he had discovered the place. Otherwise, why would anyone want to be the first person to explore a hidden ruin? To experience dangers and become cannon fodder for others? People knew better than that.

"I'll send more queens. For now, take half of them and explore the 20th floor."

Silver Empress issued a cold order, fully aware that many of these queens wouldn't return. The Zergs were a vicious race, so such a move had little impact on her.

"I'm glad you understand," Genji smiled, pleased that he could rely on the empress's greed.

Soon, Genji returned to the 19th floor with around 15 queens. Then he chose one unlucky queen to enter the 20th floor to test his theory. In case his interpretation was wrong, they would only lose one queen instead of everyone. Although unwilling, this weaker queen had no choice but to continue under the "encouraging" gazes of the others.

Minutes later, she returned unharmed, disappointing the other queens. It's not that they hated this particular queen and wished for her death, but because of the implications of her survival. Since she came back alive, Genji's guess was correct, meaning they would have to personally enter the danger zone.

"Now that it's confirmed, let's keep moving," Genji's grating words earned him their "appreciative" stares, but he paid no heed to their feelings.

Minutes later, Genji followed the group of cannon fodd- *ahem ahem*, group of queens through the floor. Let's not upset them anymore. To everyone's relief, this floor had no traps, allowing them to easily find the 21st floor.

{Trial of Will. Only those with strong mental power or high pain tolerance can continue.}

"The next floor tests your mental powers," Genji said, bringing another round of relief.

They were Zerg queens, so they possessed ample mental powers. This would be another safe floor. Yet this thought vanished instantly when they stepped onto the floor. Out of nowhere, a strong mental attack assailed them, catching them off-guard. A raging headache overwhelmed them as they hurried to defend against this attack. But to their dismay, the attack was continuous, straining them immensely.

As for Genji, he felt a searing pain coursing through his body, intensifying with each step. Sweat trickled down his face, but he endured it. As someone acknowledged by EverRealm to have passed the Trial of Pain, this amount wasn't enough to break him.

They continued trudging along the floor, but Genji noticed the queens slowing down as they went deeper. It seemed like they were reaching their limits as well, but they had no choice. Eventually, someone ran out of mental power and was assaulted by the familiar headache, paralyzing them completely.

The queen collapsed onto the ground, but no one bent down to help. In this place, they were already struggling, so they had no time to care about others. Seconds after Genji passed her, he heard a bursting sound behind him.

Turning back, Genji saw that the queen's head had exploded, splashing the hallways with greenish blood and pink brain matter. Then Genji witnessed the ruin's cleaning features firsthand as vibration waves dislodged the remnants from the wall and pushed the matter to one collective location.

After everything gathered, a hole opened below the corpse, letting it drop into the unknown. By the end of this process, only a spotless metal hallway remained.

"How seamless," Genji commented before continuing.

As they explored this floor, they lost a few more queens along the way. Everyone was reaching their limits as the mental pressure, both literal and figurative, weighed them down. Just as they were about to collapse, they found the stairway to the next floor.

Seeing this, the queens rushed in without waiting for Genji to explain the next floor.

{Trial of Fear. With every step, you will confront a terrible fear.}

When Genji stepped onto the 22nd floor, he noticed two bodies on the ground. Due to the queen's rash actions, they suffered casualties the moment they entered. With each step, they would confront one fear, but that didn't mean only one fear would be present. The reason the queens died was that they took multiple steps, causing the mental strain to exceed their capacity.

Looking around, Genji realized this floor was unlike the other floors. Instead of a large area filled with winding hallways, this floor consisted of only a single hallway, 100 meters long. On the other side, Genji could make out a staircase leading downward.

"You probably know this, but be careful about how many steps you take."

Then Genji took his first step, causing an ugly monster to manifest behind him. It reached out, grabbed Genji's face, and slowly brought its large mouth over his head.

Genji felt the slippery, coarse grip on his skin as the humid breath closed in from behind. An acrid smell burned his nostrils as the lights above were covered by the gigantic head above him.

While this was happening, Genji stood still, refusing to move another step forward. He had seen the consequences of such an action, and he felt the creature behind him was set up to scare him into running.

The mouth, filled with scary teeth, came down around his head and slowly contracted. The smell got stronger as drops of warm saliva fell on his shoulder. If he wanted to, he still had time to escape. It would only require him to duck down and take another step forward. This thought tempted him, whispering that he would die if he remained still. But against all his instincts, that's exactly what Genji did.

Genji stared at the approaching curved tooth with a deadpan expression. By now, it was about to touch his face, ready to dig into his flesh.

"This is so realistic. I wonder how they did this."

As the teeth touched his eyes, the sharp point phased through him. Then the grasp on his face loosened, and the smell dissipated. The next second, Genji found himself back in the hallway with a group of dazed queens lost in their own fears.

Taking another step forward, Genji was met with another monstrosity that tried to incite him into running. Genji followed their wishes and continued walking, letting the terrors around him accumulate. By the 20th step, his entire surroundings had transformed into something beyond anyone's worst nightmares.

But before Genji could take another step, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a knife sticking out, held by a clown behind him.

-1012

Sensing the pain, Genji wondered if not all of them were illusions. Could it be possible that there were some real terrors among the fake ones? From the pain, this felt like a real possibility, but his reason said otherwise. Where could these beings have come from? But if they're fake, how can he explain the pain in his chest?

"Tell me. Are you real?" Genji turned around and asked the clown.

In response, the clown simply cackled manically and disappeared.

"I guess only time will tell," Genji said, continuing without healing himself. Doing so would only mean he acknowledged everything as real.

As he walked, Genji experienced countless horrors. From his body being dismembered to his stats being stripped, the hallway did everything to torture him. Yet despite these terrifying experiences, Genji continued onward, firm in his belief that this hallway was tricking his senses.

When Genji reached the end of the hallway, he had countless wounds on his body. Only a sliver of health remained, while all his energy was spent. He leaned against the wall and took out a potion to patch himself up.

"What a dangerous trial. I'm afraid that if I hadn't stayed true to my instincts, I would have perished."

This was a trial that blended terrifying illusions with real damage. If he had believed that everything was fake, everything would have transitioned to ready attacks. But if, for any moment, he believed everything was real, then he would have died from his brain believing the countless deaths he experienced.

It was a trial designed to leave the taker on the edge of death. If at any point the testee's resolve wavered, then they would end up dead.

"Really makes one wonder what this ruin is built for."

Genji then watched as the queens slowly progressed. Some became insane from the illusions and triggered multiple traps. Some denied reality and pushed their sisters to their demise, still thinking everything was fake. By the end of it all, only two queens made it to the other side.

"How are you two holding up?" Genji asked the two collapsed queens.

Both of them groaned in response, one dying from her wounds while the other used the last of her mental powers to stop the bleeding.

"Seems like that answered that question."

Genji walked over and poured a potion over the surviving queen, waiting for her to recover. When she woke up in confusion, she pounced at Genji, ready to kill him. Genji moved out of the way and chopped at her neck, dizzying her.

"Have you calmed down yet?" He asked after she recovered.

*Kaarr*

The beetle croaked in response, but Genji had no idea what she had said. Since she was out of mental energy, communication was very difficult for him.

"Nevermind. Contact the empress."

Yet the queen simply tilted her head to look at him in confusion. Seeing this, Genji realized she didn't understand a single thing he had said.

"Looks like I will have to wait until your mental energy recovers," Genji said, sighing.

He took out some dried food to recover his energy and threw the rest to the giant beetle. After scrutinizing it for some time, she soon realized it was food, which she quickly devoured.

After some time, her mental powers recovered enough to sustain a connection, and Silver Empress's voice sounded.

"Everyone else was wiped out. I don't need to explain what happened, right?"

"No. I saw everything before they died."

"Well, I believe this is the last floor before the reward." Genji then tilted his head back at the stone carving above the staircase.

{The treasure will bind to the being that obtains it. Only one master will be accepted. If the master dies, then all control will disappear.}

This presented another dilemma for Silver Empress. Because of this condition, she couldn't control the Zerg queens from a distance to acquire the item. Not when the queen could potentially rebel with the treasure, rendering all efforts futile. If she wants it, she will have to enter the ruin herself.

"I'll head over then," she said decisively. There's no way she's willing to give up after so many losses. Especially when she sees hope of escaping her current situation with this unknown treasure.

Then she cut the connection, leaving Genji and the queen in another awkward situation as the recovered mental powers emptied once again.

"So it's just us again," Genji said, taking out a food pill. By now, he's run out of food in his storage space, so he has to make do with these bland pills. That's what happens when he fills his space with loot.

It took another few days before Silver Empress entered the hallway they were in. The reason they waited on that side was that they didn't want to have to traverse that deadly hallway again. Doing it once almost killed them let alone two more times.

But while they had this difficulty, it was a different story for Silver Empress. Because she had the memories of all the queens that died prior, she could easily keep her calm. Despite this, wounds were still inevitable, leaving her on the edge of death. It seems like no matter who enters, they will have to end in this condition. The hallway will adjust itself to ensure that.

After recuperating, they walked down the staircase. The next floor was a large, open area with only one thing in sight: an altar made from unknown materials. On top of the altar was a black egg, similar in size to an ostrich's. Speckles of light could be seen on the outer coating, reminding Genji of the starry skies.

The three of them looked around warily but found no possible traps. Silver Empress controlled the queen to walk around, but it was the same. Everything about this floor seemed safe.

"No matter how I look at it, this seems to be the reward floor," Genji said.

"I can see that, but am I expected to believe that egg is the treasure?"

"Well, will you do the honors?" Genji asked, stepping back to show no intention of fighting her for it. This action also forced her to be the one testing any potential traps, which he doubted existed.

Silver Empress crawled around the altar to check for any possible traps but eventually gave up. Approaching the altar, she picked up the black egg with her mandibles and crawled back. When she got close enough, Genji inspected the egg.

[Void Egg]

Rating: ???

Description: ???

Can be brought out of this world

 

When Genji saw this page, his heart jumped, but he kept a stoic face. This was the first time Insight failed to give him information on an item. Yes, there are times when he can't get any information on a target like with Morris and Julian, but that can be justified by their overwhelming strength.

The only explanation for this phenomenon would be that this item outranks his insight priority! But why would such an item appear in the Spatial Battlefield? And why does it say it can be brought out? It's almost like it's tempting him to fight for it.

At this point, Genji had no doubt this was the treasure the Zergs were looking for. The only questions now are why are they looking for it and how can an epic-ranked consumable lead to such a high-ranked item.

Genji had seen how ineffective items of a lower rank are compared to stronger beings, so that rule should still apply to this. How could it have provided such a clue?

For now, those questions are irrelevant as he needs to ask himself a different question. Does he want to take another risk for the egg? Since it can be taken out of this world, he would profit massively if he succeeds. But should he fail, then he will instantly turn hostile against Silver Empress. And with her swarm of Zergs on the 19th floor, he will be instantly killed if he steps out.

Logically he doesn't have to take this risk, but the crazy part of him wants to. To say screw it and risk everything for a jackpot like a gambler addicted to the adrenaline rush. Just the thought of it sends his heart into overdrive, pumping his blood in a frenzy.

Genji quickly reeled in these impulsive feelings and pulled up his remaining time.

3:29:17

About 3 and a half hours.

'EverRealm. I will be instantly teleported back when the timer finishes, right?'

[Affirmative]

Genji's breath grew hurried as he seriously considered the action. He quickly did some calculations and realized he had a chance as long as-

At this moment, he stepped back to the 22nd floor and was hit with an illusive terror similar to when he first entered the floor. But this outcome only made Genji happier inside. Now back to his previous thought. He has a chance as long as he keeps her below the 20th floor, away from her Zerg units.