7. Hunger

His body ached. Advancing through the labyrinth bathed in blue light, to his surprise the next five floors didn't have a floor boss. Now, as he descended to the sixteenth floor, he sank to his knees, with Elizabeth dropping beside him.

Her corpse was rotting, maggots devoured her flesh and all he could do was watch... he wouldn't bury her inside here, not in the same place she died. "I'm hungry."

Somehow, someway. He was hungry, it wasn't his real body that was hungry. It was his body inside the game, Although logically implausible, the sensation was real. He needed to eat something before he collapsed... anything.

[Fraulien Bats have spotted you]

Harvey looked up, he had tried earlier when fighting a group of rabbits, but his forms had been stored in his weapons and he didn't have enough sp to unlock a spell, he stood up slowly. His knuckles were bruised and blistered.

Using his newly acquired Double Impact skill, combined with an increased likelihood of critical hits, he assailed the bats. Successfully defeating five of them, he reluctantly left two with only 5 HP.

Faced with a stark choice between this and death, he took a bite out of a bat's wing, consuming enough before it disintegrated into red cubes. Repeating the process with the next bat, his hunger gradually diminished, yet a lingering sense of sickness remained.

Afflicted by unfamiliar illnesses, his throat throbbed with pain. The sensations felt remarkably real, every ounce of agony searing through him. Yet, did he have any other choice?

Descending further into the labyrinth, he consumed more creatures alive, granting his immune system a resistance to poison. Additionally, devouring numerous Fraulien Bats endowed him with extra skills like echolocation and night vision.

"Don't worry Eli, I'll bury you soon," Harvey spoke to himself, his mind body and soul had been crushed and due to the random spawning of monsters he hadn't had a moment of rest and in two more floors, he'd get to a boss.

"Are you alright?" A voice inquired, causing Harvey to halt and scan his surroundings.

"Eli?" Harvey swiftly glanced behind him, only to find Elizabeth's body had vanished. Was her death just a dream? "Where are you?"

"Harvey, you poor thing." Elizabeth approached him, and as Harvey looked at her, his previously tense muscles relaxed.

A tear rolled down his cheek as she embraced him warmly, placing his chin on her shoulder while holding her tightly. "I never thought I'd see you again," Harvey cried out.

"Shhh, don't worry. I'm here for you now," she comforted him, patting down his white hair. "You should get some rest, you've been awake for weeks. This isn't good for you."

"Weeks? Yeah, I have to avenge—" Harvey pushed Elizabeth away, and gradually, his girlfriend transformed into a monstrous figure.

Harvey chuckled subtly as he held his head. In front of him were several Quans, creatures with the ability to cast illusions on their opponents. However, their illusions were weak, and a fully rested opponent wouldn't easily succumb to them. "Preying on my weakness..." Harvey looked behind him, and Elizabeth was still there, her corpse decaying from the inside.

Harvey gazed upwards, fixating his gaze on the blue-coated ceiling. He had crafted numerous plans to safeguard Elizabeth, how he'd make sure she'd never die or suffer for the rest of her life, only for it all to unravel as a mere illusion created by low-level monsters.

Equipping a pair of marsh daggers dropped by a defeated foe, Harvey swiftly dispatched two Quans, persisting in his descent through the labyrinth. Days blurred into a repetitive cycle of monster-slaying, weeks followed suit, and months melted away. Four years had silently slipped through his grasp.

He had at some point lost count of the floors he had traversed, all that mattered to him now was where the enemies would spawn from, Harvey tilted his head to his side. "There."

Darting backward, Harvey unleashed his sixth form on a raptor, incinerating it from the inside before repeating the process with another. Harvey darted toward the third, his blades still coated in his sixth form.

The third raptor emitted a piercing scream, its primary means of offense alongside biting. However, Harvey, no stranger to these creatures, swiftly covered his ears in anticipation, nullifying the impact of the shriek.

Landing gracefully, he swung his sword in tandem with the raptor's head movement, removing the cause of the raptor's bite, and causing the creature's head to snap back to its original position. Though Harvey suffered damage, his decisive slash eradicated the monster.

Approaching Elizabeth's remains, now reduced to ashes by his daggers, he sealed her in a makeshift bag crafted from his torn clothes. Having ascended to level seventy-four, Harvey felt the time had come. While there were still nuances to grasp about the power system, he could delve into those nuances, outside. "Finally."

Extending his hand, Harvey conjured a portal leading back to the entrance of the Star Idol labyrinth.

Harvey emerged through the portal, greeted by a crisp and cold breeze. A peculiar sensation of being watched enveloped him, and indeed, gazes from other players were fixed on him.

Navigating through the onlookers, he headed to the front desk, where a hesitant player approached him but refrained from speaking. His tattered clothes and char-darkened skin weren't exactly the greatest conversation starter. "Here's my card," Harvey handed over the Star Idol card he was granted upon entry to the receptionist.

"Hajun, you've spent four consecutive years in the labyrinth, clearing seven hundred floors without a single death. Your quickest battle occurred on level 650, concluding in ten seconds with the floor boss. You've acquired fourteen rare pieces of equipment. Do you wish to sell them?" The receptionist's words triggered a wave of hushed discussions among the spectators.

"He didn't come out with anyone."

"No chance in hell he did that alone."

"Did you see anyone come out with him?"

"I won't sell those, sell everything else, however," Harvey told the receptionist and she nodded at him.

[14 rare items have been transferred to your storage]

[5,000,000 coins have been transferred to your account.]

"I believe four people entered alongside you? Two walked out a few hours after they entered but that doesn't account for the last person." The receptionist spoke and Harvey reached into his pocket, bringing out a card.

"She died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The receptionist took the card and bowed as Harvey left.

Shortly after he had cremated Elizabeth, her belongings materialized. Among them, her staff stood out as the sole item she possessed. Harvey decided to stow it away for safekeeping, although carrying it with him proved to be more of an irritation than a comfort.

"How much would this sell for?" Harvey turned back, showing the receptionist the staff.

"That's a 'Great' item, unfortunately, we cannot buy or sell that." The receptionist answered and Harvey put the weapon back before walking away.

His memory of the outside world had since merged with his memories of the labyrinth. Nevertheless, he pressed on, advancing forward. Yet, an unsettling sensation remained, creating an atmosphere where it seemed as though every direction was... restricted.

The streets were devoid of NPC activity, with only a handful of players roaming about. Was this the influence of the newly formed faction? Harvey approached the arena where they had initially been transported and, confirming Harlow's claim, found numerous tombstones scattered across the ground – and "several" was putting it mildly. "Twenty thousand deaths," Harvey murmured solemnly.

Beside one of the graves was an NPC above her head was the name Fiera, she was named(Named meaning a player had given her a name as normal NPCs cannot have names above their heads otherwise). She put roses on a grave and cried. Why did she do that? He knew the games NPCs were outstanding but why would she care about a player? "What bond did you— what happened?" Harvey changed his question midway.

"You stink." Fiera shot back as she continued sobbing.

"You don't exactly smell like a Vogue Runway model either." Harvey sighed. "What happened… Really."

She looked up at him and back at the grave before answering, almost as if confirming something. "My master died in the great tragedy. She had adopted me months before it happened... we were adventuring and all of a sudden... she was teleported here... all because of those faceless bastards."

"Great tragedy? That's what they're calling the fight?" Harvey looked at his waist, he had attached Elizabeth's ashes to his buckle. Should he? No, he quickly dismissed the thought. "Who are the faceless bastards as you say?"

"I don't know, nobody knows. But they're the ones that caused this, they're also the ones that have Falusha on lockdown." Fiera spoke, patting away dust from her master's tombstone.

"Lockdown? That would explain why everywhere seemed empty." Harvey thought to himself.

"My master was innocent she didn't have to die!" Fiera slammed the ground with her fist.

"If those faceless individuals belonged to the same faction that Harlow and Arla joined, then they're the ones who ordered them to take out both Elizabeth and me," Harvey contemplated before addressing her. "You mentioned they have Falusha on lockdown? How exactly?"

"One of them took down the city's ruler, they don't have names, but the one overseeing Falusha goes by X. He's the force behind the restrictions on everyone's movement, keeping us confined to the city. Disobey and they won't hesitate to kill."

"Do you know why?" He inquired.

"I'm not sure, I've heard whispers that they're on a search for something. Although, Old man Trae tends to babble about anything after a few drinks."

"Got it," Harvey rose, brushing off his clothes in the process.

"What do you mean, 'got it'?" She inquired, fixing her gaze on Harvey.

"In less than a month, the false king of your nation will die, and within a year. So will every member of his group."