Restart

Three hours later, Ye Yousheng suddenly opened his eyes.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of grogginess.

The moment he woke up, his mind was already clear.

He opened his status panel and saw that his HP had exceeded 300.

Then he checked Alicia’s MP, which had surpassed 2500.

He knew it was time to move.

He walked down the stairs and saw that the monsters were still surrounding the stairway entrance.

He returned to Alicia’s side, crouched down, and shook her shoulder.

He woke the peacefully sleeping Alicia and said,

“It’s time to go, Riya.”

“Mm… huh? Ah, Yousheng… hug~ hehe…”

Still half-asleep, Alicia smiled and hugged Ye Yousheng.

She made soft, meaningless murmuring sounds while rubbing her face against his chest.

In response, Ye Yousheng showed absolutely no mercy…

and pinched her nose shut.

After a while, Alicia woke up with a scream, drool trailing from her mouth.

“Yousheng! How could you do that! Do you enjoy watching a cute girl drool?!”

“Yeah, I do.”

Seeing a cute girl drool could be considered a rare sight.

Ye Yousheng had already recorded it on his phone.

“Ughhh~ you’re the worst!”

“Complain all you want. We’re leaving.”

He half-forced Alicia onto his back.

Then he walked up the stairs, returning to the entrance of the twenty-ninth floor.

“Eh? We’re not going down? Why are we back on the twenty-ninth floor?”

“There are too many monsters below. I think using the pitfall trap to reach the thirtieth floor would be better.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie.

He had simply omitted many key details.

The reason Ye Yousheng didn’t tell Alicia the truth was because he didn’t want it to affect her state of mind.

After finally reaching the thirtieth floor and being so close to returning to the surface,

only to discover that the exit was completely blocked by monsters…

a normal person wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of blow.

They passed through the blue barrier and returned to the twenty-ninth floor.

In stark contrast to the stairway on the thirtieth floor, there wasn’t a single monster in sight.

Although Ye Yousheng felt a trace of doubt, he didn’t dwell on it.

He immediately began to run.

Most of the monsters on this floor were slow-moving, soft-bodied creatures.

As long as he ran at full speed, none of them could catch up to him.

The journey went smoothly.

Not only did they encounter very few monsters,

but the ones they did encounter could all be dealt with using Alicia’s magic.

Without suffering much injury, they reached the pitfall trap leading to the next floor.

And at the very moment they jumped into the trap, all hope was shattered.

Ye Yousheng had forgotten the true meaning of a “trap.”

It was a pit meant to capture or kill prey.

A snare designed to make the careless pay the price.

Relying on a trap was, in itself, a mistake.

Even in the game, falling into a pitfall trap meant that upon reaching the next floor…

you would also encounter a large group of monsters.

However, when they had descended from the twenty-first to the twenty-ninth floor,

they hadn’t encountered any monsters when using pitfall traps.

Ye Yousheng had assumed this was a difference between the game and reality…

but now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

The moment he fell out of the long, dark pit, he saw a group of monsters.

Though fewer than those surrounding the stairs,

there were still no less than dozens.

The enemy’s intelligence far exceeded his expectations.

Surrounding the stairs had only been a feint.

The real ambush was here, at the pitfall trap.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Ye Yousheng quickly pulled Alicia from his back into his arms and curled his body around her.

“Tch… we’ve been played.”

What greeted him were ferocious, beast-like monsters and a storm of attacks raining down from all directions.

……

Blood drained away.

Life slipped away.

He was about to die.

Realizing this, Ye Yousheng felt no sadness.

No pain.

No fear.

No despair.

If anything, this was what he had always wished for.

Just close your eyes like this.

Give up struggling.

Stop thinking.

Ye Yousheng… desired death.

This excess life… it was time to end it.

“Stand up, Yousheng.”

A familiar voice echoed by his ear.

At the brink of death, he heard someone’s voice.

That dignified, untouchable voice belonged to Eve, the Goddess of Life.

But he didn’t want to listen.

Didn’t want to think.

And even less did he want… to stand up as she said.

Listening wouldn’t change anything.

Thinking wouldn’t change anything.

Even if he stood up, what could he do?

In the end, Ye Yousheng couldn’t change anything.

“The Yousheng I know would never fall so easily.”

‘No, you’re wrong. Ye Yousheng isn’t that strong…’

If anything, Ye Yousheng had always been running away.

Running from the deaths of his loved ones.

Running from his past.

Running from the reality he should have faced.

‘I have nothing left…’

“No! You still have your life!”

‘Life… after taking attacks like that, how could I possibly still be alive…’

“Alicia is still alive! Do you want to watch someone die in front of you again?!”

“……”

Blood flowed through his limbs back into his heart.

Every sensation in his body was transmitted clearly to his brain.

Agony.

And yet, he stood up.

There was nothing graceful about it.

If anything, he looked like a zombie.

“…Haha… what a harsh goddess…”

Ye Yousheng… began again.