The rotting boards of the bridge squealed in noisy protest with every step, and Huay was left with the impression that it was always seconds away from collapse. There’s no way this thing isn’t held up by magic. Looks like it should’ve fallen apart decades ago.

Nobody was in the mood to talk, so it was an uneventful walk besides a few stumbles on Huay’s part. The planks beneath her sometimes gave out under her weight, snapping in half, with Huay only making it out alive as a result of grasping tightly onto the ropes on either side, and each of these essentially near-death experiences only served to worsen an already terrible mental state.

The drop into the abyss was seemingly infinite, with the fog that permeated the entire floor obscuring the bottom in murky black. Huay was reminded of just how long the fall was every time she stumbled. She never heard any of the planks hit the bottom.

Ten miles of monotonous peril made for a boring yet simultaneously terrifying journey—and anticipation of her inevitable encounter with Dirma at some random point in the final mile sent her heart racing whenever the thought crossed her mind. Would the creature "spawn in" as soon as she crossed the mile threshold or would it only appear in the last hundred yards?

Death seemed to squeeze in on all sides. Huay knew from the guidebook that Dirma—the floor’s only monster—was certain to be a great deal faster than her, and she struggled to see how she had any chance of survival. She couldn’t even fight back without endangering the others. Was this going to be the thing that finally killed her? Huay let out a defeated sigh. All she could do was wait and see.

“So, Huay, what are your plans for after the dungeon?” Beale spoke abruptly.

“...Why do you ask?” Huay looked up at the warrior’s back. Beale had been limping throughout the entire journey, her injuries apparent. Just glancing at her made Huay feel guilty.

“Well, you said you were stranded here earlier… And I was thinking that I don’t really know anything about you beyond that. So, I’m wondering what kind of life you live,” Beale paused. “You said something back in the Funeral Room about getting shot? But you look fine to me…”

Huay tensed up. She saw no point in hiding the truth, seeing as she would be dead soon enough anyways, but the thought of how unbelievable her story would sound to the others still made her uncomfortable.

“I’m not really sure how to answer that. I don’t even think you’d believe me if I tried to explain. It still doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Just tell us what happened. I’ll believe you.”

Huay braced herself for the insults she knew were about to come her way. “I guess I should start by saying I’m not from this… world.”

Salein jumped in. “So you’re claiming to be an Outlander.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“You’re claiming to be from another world. That would make you an Outlander.”

“I mean… maybe? All I know is that I don’t belong here. Are there other people like me?”

Beale answered. “Outlanders are extremely powerful individuals who appear once every few hundred years, from a place they call ‘Earth’. And… you’re one of them, aren’t you? With how fast you were improving…”

“I guess so. I don’t know, this whole thing, this world, it’s just…” Huay trailed off.

“Just what?” said Salein.

“It’s weird! I don’t know, this world is just weird. I don’t get it at all—the monsters! Dungeons! The levels! Oh god, the levels. Why does everything need a number?”

“What do you mean?” asked Beale. “That’s like asking why the sun rises.”

“Just forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

Salein cut in again. “Okay. You improve fast. That doesn’t make you an Outlander.”

“But she said she’s from another world…”

“So what? She’s already lied to us. Or maybe she’s just delusional,” Salein retorted. I honestly might be, that’s a good point.

“But you saw her progress. That’s—”

“Does it even matter what I am?” Huay interrupted. “Can’t we just focus on getting out of here?”

The group returned to silence for some time. By then Huay had gotten better with stepping over the boards that’d break under her feet—in no small part due to her hiking certification having progressed to the next tier—so her gait was a bit more confident, but the sinking feeling in her chest was worse than before. Her demise got closer with every step. There was less than a mile remaining to the end, and the tension in the air as the three awaited Dirma’s arrival was palpable.

“You know, if you really are an Outlander, you could probably start a country after this—or something.” Salein broke the silence after several quiet minutes. “Nobody would question your right to rule.”

“Yeah… maybe.” Huay wondered why Salein would say such a thing after so vocally opposing her. “Is that what you would want to do? If you were an Outlander?” I’m going to die in minutes. Why is the mood so light? Why am I talking like this?

“I don’t know.” Salein slumped over a little. “Fantasizing never got anybody anywhere.”

“I see… What about you, Beale? What would you do if you were an Outlander?”

“If I were you? Well, gosh… I could do anything. It’s hard to imagine having that kind of freedom… I don’t know what I would do.”

The shrieking sound of a steam whistle deafened the three before the conversation could continue any further.

“Run!” Salein shouted at the top of her lungs as she broke into a sprint that would have put any olympian to shame.

Beale charged after Salein, her metal boots now shining with an intense golden radiance, and the speed of her dash matched Salein’s despite her injuries—though somehow, her movements remained careful enough to where only minimal pressure was put on the bridge below her.

The two started shrinking into the fog ahead almost immediately, leaving Huay alone with doom rapidly approaching. She turned back and took a peek at the monster out of reflex.

Rapidly closing in was Dirma: a massive wireframe of gears, sprockets, polished steel formed into the shape of a robotic centipede more than twice the length of an elephant. On its otherwise featureless head was a pair of pincers long enough to split several men in half in a single motion. The automaton was quick relative to its cumbersome design, and the robotic steps of several hundred—if not more than a thousand—legs barreling down the bridge produced a non-stop rattling that drowned out every other noise.

Level 26. Huay took off with the fastest run she could muster, but there was still half a mile. Beale and Salein were already small on the horizon, and Dirma’s footsteps were only getting louder.

She hurried forward at the greatest speed her legs would allow.

Huay’s own agility surprised her. The level-ups from earlier had granted her body a level of fitness akin to what ordinarily would have taken several months—if not years—of following a dedicated workout regime to achieve.

For a brief moment, Huay thought she had a chance.

But then exhaustion started creeping in. She had been sprinting at full capacity for more than thirty seconds. Her body had gotten stronger, sure, but it was by no means superhuman. Her pace slowed to a jog against her will as painful fatigue spread throughout her body.

The bridge was shaking violently and Huay struggled to stay upright. Dirma, on the other hand, was well suited to the terrain—with hundreds of mechanical legs giving a surefootedness no human could ever hope to match. She could do nothing but panic as the distance between herself and the looming machine shrunk.

She watched Beale and Salein fade away as the fog reduced them first to outlines, then to nothing at all. Seeing them vanish was a heavy blow to an already battered mind, and a sense of resignation washed over her. Tossing herself off the edge seemed like a good idea. It would be a less painful death than whatever the giant robot had in store for her, and now that the others were out of sight, she had nothing left to prove to anyone.

It’s okay. I’m going to die anyway. It’s okay. I’m going to die anyway. She repeated the mantra with sharp intensity, the words of resignation somehow making the exhaustion more bearable. There was a strange bliss in the admonishing of responsibility. Huay felt somewhat removed from the situation at hand after having forgotten the pressure of keeping up with and pleasing the group.

She looked up from the wooden boards to see if the end of the bridge was close and nearly fainted upon noticing Beale rushing towards her. Did she come to save me? But she won’t win a fight on the bridge against this thing… Huay felt a surge of strength as anger welled up from within. She was mad at Beale not for recklessly endangering herself, but for returning to Huay the pressure to keep going.

“Beale! You idiot! Turn around!” She called out to the warrior, pausing to regain her breath between each phrase.

Beale smiled and continued without hesitation. A golden glow erupted from the tip of her spear as she got closer and there was no doubt in Huay’s mind that she intended to fight the automaton. When she got closer to Huay, she spoke.

“Keep running! I’ll hold it off for a moment!”

“Please go back!” Huay gasped for air.

“I’m coming on your left!” Beale made it to Huay and flew past, forcing Huay to dodge against the ropes lest she risk killing them both.

The next thing she heard was an earsplitting crack. Huay looked back and saw that Beale had landed a hit directly on Dirma’s head, breaking through its armored exterior and destroying a huge amount of componentry. Dirma retaliated without so much as flinching, but Beale narrowly sidestepped the attack before following up with another thrust that further damaged the machine.

Seeing that Beale was standing her ground, a shaky sense of hope that they’d both survive took hold in Huay, and she started running once again. The end, where Salein stood solemnly, came into view. Is this really happening? Oh my god. Oh my god! Huay sprinted toward salvation with all her might.

The sounds of Beale’s battle rang out over the abyss. Metal crashing. Wood snapping. Huay glanced over her shoulder and saw Beale standing before a now heavily damaged behemoth. She staggered as blood gushed out from one of her calves, a huge chunk of her leg torn out. She won’t be able to outrun it now, but she can still win! It can’t keep attacking forever… Beale continued to fight with the utmost precision, making sure not to let the ropes take even the slightest damage.

Huay finally made it to the end of the bridge, the feeling of solid ground like a breath of fresh air. Before she could allow herself to relax, Huay had to know that Beale was going to be okay. She turned around and watched the fight beside Salein.

The duel slogged on. To Huay, the outlook remained optimistic. Beale seemed to dominate her opponent, landing a litany of devastating strikes while taking minimal damage. Still, she noticed that Salein was trembling. The bridge was too narrow for Salein to shoot at Dirma without risking hitting Beale, so she could do nothing to help.

Huay could tell that Beale was beginning to lose ground. It started with just one step but, as the automaton continued its onslaught, the pace quickened. Beale was still landing hits, but her exhaustion was undeniable. Each motion meant more blood lost.

Suddenly the golden light surrounding her spear intensified tenfold—far brighter than Huay had ever seen it get. Beale brought the spear as far back as she could and let forth a reckless thrust that sent her whole body into motion. There was a force to this strike that placed it head and shoulders above anything that had come before it. She plunged her spear deep between Dirma’s pincers, the metal seeming to melt and then explode as the weapon pierced its body.

The creature, despite having lost most of its head after Beale’s attack, instantly recoiled before lashing out at its enemy once again. Beale dodged the attack and then turned her back to the monster. She smiled at Salein and Huay.

“Cut the bridge!”