The Last Smile

The Abyss monsters had gone berserk on the surface.

They were slaughtering players by the hundreds.

This… was hell.

All of it, this chaos, this carnage was because the game had been raised to Nightmare Level.

At first, I was paralyzed. My legs trembled uncontrollably as fear gripped me.
And then—

A Nightwalker lunged at me from the front.

A humanoid, half-mechanical monster infused with dark element. It swiped at me with its massive claws.

I dodged on instinct.

There was no other choice.
“If I don’t fight… I’ll die.”

I pulled open my inventory and summoned my weapon: [Circuitcleaver].

A dark blue blade, forged using the core of the Floor 2 boss. It crackled with electric energy—perfectly suited for a Volta-type EtherCode user like me.

In fact, this blade was my main weapon back in the day.

I slashed at the Nightwalker, cleaving it cleanly in two.

Lightning arced along the blade as it struck, the weapon’s passive effect increasing Volta damage by 15%

The added speed and burst from the electrical surge gave my attacks deadly precision.

But there was no time to breathe.
Three more Nightwalkers appeared.

I ducked under the first swipe, spun past the second, and leapt back from the third.
“Too slow!” I shouted.

“Skill: [Volta Slash]!”

SLASH!
A crescent-shaped arc of lightning shot from my blade and tore through the three Nightwalkers in one stroke.

It only cost 10 ST and 10 EP, cheap, efficient, and deadly.

My heart raced as the energy pulsed through me.

This was real.

I could feel everything, my muscles straining, sweat dripping down my face, the burn of my stamina draining.

This was nothing like playing the game with a controller. This was… my actual body.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how much it would hurt to die here…”

I scanned the area.

It seemed clear now, no more Abyss monsters in sight.

The wave must be over.

In the game, Waves occur every weekend, a special event that sends monsters to the surface. Waves will continue to occur as long as the 10th floor of the Abyss dungeon remains unconquered.

The Wave give bonus EXP and was a popular grind spot for newer players.

But this…
This wasn’t a bonus opportunity.

This was a massacre.

So many players… dead.

But the Wave wasn't over yet.
A mini-boss always appeared at the end of each wave. Defeating it would mark the end of the event.

I wasn’t sure if it had spawned yet, things were oddly quiet.

I made my way deeper into Netherbyte City, toward the edge of the Abyss Pit, the gaping crater that led to the lower dungeon floors.

That’s when I heard it.

Screams.

I ran toward the source.

When I arrived, I saw three player parties battling the mini-boss. It wasn’t what I expected.

The usual mini-boss for this wave was Watcher Drone.exe, a hovering drone that could easily be taken down with ranged attacks or long-distance EtherCodes.

But what I saw now…

This was no small drone.

It had evolved.

A medium-sized mechanical dragon drone floated mid-air, its wings loaded with gun turrets, raining bullets and energy blasts on the players below.

So this is what Nightmare level does…

Even the mini-bosses mutate.

The three parties struggled.

The shooters couldn’t land a shot.

The casters couldn’t hit it with EtherCode spells.

The drone zipped through the air like a predator, completely overwhelming them.

Then, it dropped a payload from its undercarriage, a bomb.

Three players were vaporized on impact.

Two parties still had five members left. I could tell—they were preparing to retreat.

But one party…
Only three members remained.

And they had no intention of running.

“This can’t be happening… Our Anchor (Tanker) are all down… there’s no one left to hold the line.”

A brown-haired female caster dropped to her knees, trembling.

“I’m sorry… everyone.”

A black-haired saber class player hung his head in defeat.

“We’re going to die…”

The third, a female dragoon wielding a spear. Her weapon slip from her hands.

They had accepted their fate.

They couldn't run. The drone would simply hunt them down.

I stood there, watching them. Emotionless.

I didn’t know if helping them was the right move.

I only cared about one person...Ayane.

I didn’t care about these other players.

Not anymore.

In a world like this, where survival is everything…

Everyone turns rotten eventually.

I clenched my teeth.

My fists shook.

“What should I do…?”

Watcher Drone.exe began its final assault.

It dive-bombed from the sky, unleashing every weapon in its arsenal.

The damn thing was going to finish them off.

And still, I stood frozen.

But then—

“…I’m sorry, Mom… Dad… Grandpa…”
The female caster sobbed, her voice breaking.

“…Forgive me, my wife…”
The saber-class man closed his eyes, awaiting the end.

“…I’m sorry, little brothers… Big sis won’t be coming home…”
The dragoon whispered as tears fell from her cheeks.

None of the other two parties moved to help.

They just watched.

The drone’s guns lit up.

They had only seconds before the bullets tore through their bodies.

And yet—

BAM! SLASH!

The drone exploded and cleaved into four smoking pieces, its body crashing down in a heap of twisted metal.

That was my doing.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

Their last words… they were just like Ayane.

People with families, people who still had someone waiting for them back home.

Something inside me snapped.

Using [Explosive Electrical Hop], I launched myself into the air, boosted by an electromagnetic kinetic burst.

I timed my jump perfectly, intercepting the drone mid-dive.

As I collided with it mid-air, I unleashed my next move.

[Volta Pierce Stab] a concentrated thrust of electrified energy, focused entirely into the tip of my blade.

My blade drove into the drone’s core, ripping it apart from the inside.

The explosion that followed scattered its mechanical remains across the battlefield.

Gasps echoed all around.

[Congratulations! You have defeated Watcher Drone.exe]

[The Abyss Wave has ended.]

[You gained 1,000 EXP.]

[You obtained: Auto-Hunting Drone!]

Interesting… I’d never seen that drop before. I’d check it later.

I closed the notification and my inventory.

My plan was to head back to the safe zone in Netherbyte City.

But before I could leave…

The three players I’d saved approached me.

They were crying with relief, with disbelief.

“Umm..Thank you… My name’s Lena. The saber was Richard, and the dragoon is Mia… and our friend who fell earlier was Max... We’re a new party. We were planning to enter the Abyss dungeon together,” Lena explained, voice still trembling.

They were still mourning.

I could feel the weight of their grief.

“We’re still beginners... We didn’t expect the Abyss Wave to hit now. Normally, there’s a warning at least a day in advance, but this time, there was nothing!” Richard added.

“The monsters were three times stronger than usual. That boss… it felt like a floor boss, not a mini!” Mia grumbled, frustrated.

I offered them a small smile.

Then Lena gently reached out and held my hand.

“Are you a solo player? If you don’t have a party… would you consider joining us?” she asked, eyes pleading.

“Yeah! You’re amazing out there and we could really learn from you,” Richard said eagerly.

“U-Um… You’re strong… and kinda cool,” Mia added shyly.

I blinked.

A party?

I’d always played alone. Always.

I was ready to decline… but their eyes—

There was something in their eyes.

Then a voice whispered in my heart:
“Maybe… I could reach Ayane faster if I wasn’t alone.”

I nodded slowly.

Their faces lit up instantly.

Lena cried again, but this time, tears of joy.

She held my hand tightly, trembling.

“Thank you… We all want to escape this death game… I want to see my family again. With you here… maybe we have a chance.”

Richard and Mia echoed their gratitude.

I gave a small bow.

“My name is Kyouze. I’ll do my best.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyouze,” Lena said with a sweet smile. She shyly asked to add me as a friend.

I nodded, accepting the invite.

Their names now glowed in my previously empty friend list.

Lena. Richard. Mia.

Not bad, I thought. Not bad at all.

They all smiled brightly.

Lena stepped forward again. “Once more....let us thank you for saving our life Kyo—”

Her voice stopped.

Not because she choked. Not because she paused.

Her head flew into the air.

Richard’s body was cleaved in two.

Mia’s chest was blown open, a massive hole where her heart once beat.

Their bodies flickered and broke down into glowing fragments...nothing left but items and equipment on the ground.

“…No…No..No..”

“Lena… Richard… Mia…”

“This can't be happening.…”

I dropped to my knees.

They were real people.

And they had just died in front of me. Horribly. Meaninglessly.

My chest tightened. My hands trembled.

I could barely breathe.

Then I heard them.

laughter.

Cruel. Vile. Sadistic laughter surrounding me.

It was the two parties that had retreated earlier.

Ten players, weapons drawn, eyes cold.

“Hahaha! Finally, those losers died!”

“Bugs like them deserve it!”

“They were just cannon fodder. Meant to weaken the mini-boss. Worthless sacrifices!”

“Check out their drop item… should sell for a fortune!”

“Only one guy left to kill now—he’s alone. Let’s take him out!”

I stood up. Slowly.

I picked up my blade.

Tightly.

This world is broken.

Humans will do anything to survive, even kill the ones who saved them.

But I’d had enough.

My fury had reached its peak.

They may be human…

But I will kill them all!!!!

I would show them no mercy!!!!