The Plague Nest dungeon smelled like death had moved in and forgotten to leave.
Kaine Veros tried not to breathe deeply as he followed his team through the pulsing corridors. The walls were fleshy and wet, with sickly green glowing veins. With every step, his boots squelched on the floor, while he tried to not think about what he was walking on.
Every dungeon had its own atmosphere. Fire dungeons burned hot enough to blister skin even from twenty feet away. Ice dungeons froze the moisture in the nose with every breath. But Plague Nests? They were in a league of their own. They felt like entering the intestines of some massive, and diseased creature.
This one had appeared three weeks ago from a contaminated bear den in the mountains outside the city. It was a standard C-rank threat. The guild had posted the contract, Marcus had gathered the team, and here they were.
"Keep up, Kaine." Marcus called over his shoulder.
Kaine picked up his pace, the medical kit was bouncing against his hip. The kit had a few bandages, disinfectant, and a handful of low-grade healing potions. Most healers didn't bother with physical supplies; they could just channel mana and heal wounds with magic.
Their leader, Marcus had looked out for him since they were kids. He had saved Kaine from drowning when they were ten. He took the blame for the window Kaine broke when they were fifteen. Marcus had vouched for him at the guild when they were twenty, even though everyone knew Kaine barely qualified for the certification.
Now, after ten years, Marcus was a B-rank hunter. He belonged in high-tier dungeons making good money, and building a reputation. Instead, he was here, running C-rank dungeons with a failed healer.
The team moved in practiced formation through the twisting corridors. Davos led the way, beside him walked Yuki, their mage. She was small and quiet. Rook prowled in the middle of the formation, with a bow in his hand. Jin, their scout, darted ahead and back like a hummingbird on caffeine. She was tiny, but she moved through dungeons as if she'd been born in them.
And then there was Kaine, an E-rank healer, who couldn't even heal a paper cut without breaking a sweat. He was here only because of Marcus's recommendation.
His mana pool was pathetic. His spell efficiency was even worse. He could barely maintain a healing spell for more than a few seconds before his mana started to run dry, and even then, he could only heal minor cuts, small bruises, and maybe a twisted ankle if he really pushed himself. For anything serious? He was useless.
His team knew he was an E-rank healer, but they assumed that he can at least handle moderate wounds. They thought he was just inexperienced, and he would get better without time.
They didn't know that he had been doing this for two years and hadn't improved at all. They didn't know that his mana pool hadn't grown even a bit despite constant use, and they didn't know that he went home after every raid and practiced healing spells until he passed out from mana exhaustion, desperate to get stronger, desperate to be worth the faith Marcus kept showing to him.
They didn't know he was a fraud.
"Cluster ahead." Jin's voice echoed from somewhere ahead. She had disappeared around a corner a few seconds ago. "Two dozen plague rats, maybe more."
"Size?" Marcus asked as he touched his sword hilt.
"C-rank standard. Big as dogs, and teeth like needles. You know the drill."
Davos snorted.
"Rats? We came all this way for rats?"
"C-rank rats." Yuki corrected. "With plague infection. Don't let them bite."
"Wasn't planning on it."
The team fell into formation instantly. They had done this a hundred times. Everyone knew their role.
Davos anchored the front line, with his shield raised, covering the maximum area. Marcus stood beside him, his sword was already glowing with the golden light that meant he was channeling mana through the blade. Yuki stepped back, and raised her staff, frost was already forming on it. Rook nocked an arrow and stood in shooter's position. His body was relaxed but ready.
Kaine stood twenty feet back, his hands were already glowing with the weak flicker of his healing magic. In two years of running dungeons with this team, he had never actually saved anyone's life. He had healed some cuts, cured some bruises. But actually pulling someone back from the brink? Actually do the job a healer was supposed to do?
No. Never.
The rats came rushing around the corner in a wave. They were massive, just as Yuki had mentioned.
Pustules covered their skin, leaking green fluid that hissed when it hit the ground. Their movements were coordinated in a weird way, like they were all controlled by someone, which was probably true, hive minds were common in Plague Nests.
"Frost field!" Marcus shouted.
Yuki slammed her staff into the ground. Blue- white light flared, and ice spread out in a perfect circle. The floor turned slick like glass. Half of the rats slipped, and crashed into each other. The rest slowed down as frost crept over their hairless bodies.
Rook's arrows started flying before the rats could even recover. He didn't miss a single shot. That's why he was allowed to be cocky.
The few rats that made it through slammed into Davos's shield. Davos didn't move an inch, he just stood there, and let them break themselves against his defense.
Marcus was already cutting everything that slipped past. The fight lasted for only two minutes. No one was hurt, so Kaine didn't have to heal anyone, like most of the time.
The rats lay piled together, twitching as black blood pooled on the dungeon floor, mixing with the green fluid leaking from their bodies. The smell was unbearable.
"Clear." Jin said, wiping blood from her dagger. "Next chamber is just ahead. I'll scout it."
"Jin, wait." Marcus said.
But she was already walking. She slipped through the membrane door before anyone could stop her. The team waited. Seconds passed. After ten seconds, Jin screamed in fear.
Marcus ran immediately. The others followed. They burst into the chamber, and immediately sensed something was wrong.
The walls of the chamber were actually breathing, expanding and contracting like lungs. The floor was soft, diseased, and covered in open sores leaking thick green fluid. Veins pulsed in the walls, glowing brighter with each breath.
Jin knelt in the center of the room, clutching her arm. Blood streamed through her fingers and hissed and bubbled when it fell on the floor. Black veins spread from the wound, crawling up her arm towards her shoulder.
Her face was pale, her breathing was shallow, and her eyes were wide in fear.
"Get her out!" Marcus shouted. "Everyone back to…"
At that very moment, the entrance shut down.
"No." Yuki shouted.
She hit the wall with a fireball, but nothing happened. Davos swung his hammer. The impact shook the chamber. The wall dented, but then healed on its own.
Rook fired arrows everywhere but again nothing happened. They tried everything but nothing was working.
Then Kaine saw something floating in the air above Jin's head, written in red letters that everyone could see:
WARNING: PLAGUE ZONE DETECTED
EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY
"We're trying!" Rook shouted.
Then the chamber groaned. The veins lit up. Green light filled the room. Green mist started pouring from the walls.
"Cover your mouths! Don't breathe it in!" Marcus yelled.
But it was too late. The mist rose to ankle height in seconds, then knee height, and then waist height. Kaine tried to hold his breath, but his lungs were already burning. His vision started to blur. He gasped, and the mist entered inside him like liquid fire.
His skin blistered. Every nerve in his body exploded with pain but he couldn't even scream. Around him, Davos collapsed. Yuki also hit the ground. Rook was on his knees, vomiting green fluid. Marcus fell to one knee and stayed like that.
Kaine's legs also gave out. He fell on the floor. He couldn't breathe or move. Then another message appeared:
WARNING: DUNGEON MUTATION IN PROGRESS
THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN
Unknown.
This rating was given to dungeons that killed entire raid parties. This threat level meant evacuate immediately and call for S-rank hunters because everyone inside was already dead.
Kaine tried to crawl towards Jin, tried to do something. But his body wasn't obeying him. He couldn't even lift his head. As his consciousness began to slip, he saw one final message:
EXPOSURE COMPLETE
INFECTION CONFIRMED
ESTIMATED TIME TO DEATH: 72 HOURS