I tightened the strap on my backpack, gripped the first handhold, and started climbing.
The shaft was worse than I'd imagined.
So narrow my shoulders scraped both walls as I moved. The stone was cold and damp, slick in places where moisture had seeped through cracks. I had to brace my back against one side and push with my legs against the other, inching upward in an awkward shimmy that sent jolts of pain through my injured arm with every movement.
The only light came from the faint blue glow of ancient runes carved into the walls at irregular intervals.
Five meters up. Ten. Fifteen.
My arms burned. My legs trembled from the constant tension. The makeshift bandage on my forearm was soaked through again, blood trickling down to my wrist.
Don't look down. Don't think about how far you'd fall. Just keep moving.
I reached for the next grip, just then my hand slipped.
My heart lurched. For one terrifying second, I was sliding backward, fingernails scraping against stone. I jammed my foot into a crack and caught myself, gasping, pressed flat against the wall.
Breathe. Just breathe.
I forced myself to keep going.
Twenty meters. Twenty-five.
The air grew thicker, I had harder time breathing. My vision blurred at the edges. Every muscle screamed for rest, but there was nowhere to rest. Nowhere to stop. Only way was up.
This is insane. I'm going to die in a vertical tunnel because I thought I could solo-heist a legendary artifact at Level 3.
But turning back wasn't an option. I'd come too far.
Just a little further.
Thirty meters.
My hand found a ledge, so I pulled myself up with the last of my strength, fingers shaking, and dragged my body over the edge.
I collapsed face-first onto cold floor, gasping, every breath rattling in my chest.
For a long moment, I just lay there, unable to move. Blood dripped from my arm onto the stone. My entire body felt like it had been run through a blender.
But I was alive.
I'm alive.
Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself up onto my knees, then to my feet. My legs wobbled, threatening to give out, but I stayed upright.
And that's when I saw it.
The chamber was small, circular, maybe ten meters across. Ancient stone walls covered in intricate carvings and runes that glowed with the same soft blue light as the shaft.
In the center of the room sat a stone pedestal, waist-high, covered in more runes.
And floating above it, bathed in golden light.
The Heart of Ascension.
It was beautiful. A crystal the size of my fist, perfectly smooth, glowing from within. It pulsed gently, rhythmically, as if alive. Warmth radiated from it, filling the cold chamber.
I stared, transfixed.
I'd made it.
Against E-rank monsters, blood loss, a C-rank bear, and a vertical death shaft...
I'd actually made it.
I took one step forward, then another, my eyes locked on the artifact.
This was it. The cheat item that made the protagonist unstoppable in the novel. The thing that was supposed to save the world.
And I was about to steal it before she ever knew it existed.
I reached the pedestal.
And a figure materialized between the Heart and me.
An old man with a long beard that flowed like water, wearing ancient robes covered in the same runes that decorated the walls. His eyes burned with otherworldly light, empty sockets filled with pure mana.
[Ancient Guardian - Spirit Sentinel]
His voice echoed through the chamber.
"Mortal. You who enter through forbidden paths. State your purpose."
I didn't flinch.
I'd been expecting this. This was also the case for the protagonist, who had to pass his trial to gain the artifact.
I straightened despite the pain, despite my bloodied arm, and met the spirit's burning gaze.
"I'm here for the Heart of Ascension."
The pressure in the room intensified. The air itself seemed to thicken, pushing down on my shoulders.
"To claim the Heart of Ascension, you must answer the Trial of Truth."
The Guardian's voice reverberated.
"Fail, and you shall be cast from this place, perhaps to your death."
I nodded slowly. Here it comes. The riddle.
The Guardian raised one translucent hand. The runes on the pedestal flared brighter, golden light mixing with blue.
"Answer correctly, and the Heart shall be yours. The riddle is thus: What is the true nature of—"
The Guardian stopped, mid-sentence.
What happened!?
He stared at me, then his glowing eyes widened.
There was silence. Stretching on for seconds that felt like minutes.
I stared at him with confused eyes, What's going?
Then, the Ancient Guardian bowed.
"Master."
I blinked.
"...What?"