Chapter 2

Three days later, Adrian had already climbed to fourth place on the leaderboard and was getting ready to enter a new dungeon.

The campfire threw light across his face, sharpening his features. His sleeves were rolled up, showing strong forearms.

He was explaining combat tricks to Theo, and Theo was eating it up. Monster blood was still smeared across the kid's face.

Theo lifted his chin, looking way too proud.

"Fourth place is nothing. Dad's hitting top three tomorrow."

The chat immediately started losing its mind:

[Okay, rich-kid energy goes crazy.]

[Bro won the genetic lottery. Hot and overpowered.]

Adrian loosened his tie, exposing a cut near his collarbone. I moved to patch it up, but he stopped me.

"No need. Lunch ready?"

Sweat slid down my face as I kept an eye on the grill.

"Almost."

Theo threw me an annoyed look.

"Mom's useless. That girl yesterday was awesome. She soloed two huge monsters."

Adrian stayed quiet.

I frowned. "Theo."

He immediately shifted closer to Adrian and lowered his voice like I couldn't hear him.

"It's Mollie Webb. Rank sixth. She's INSANELY strong."

Adrian glanced at me. "He's a kid."

Over the past few days, I'd fixed seventeen system bugs and stopped three data crashes that could've wiped everyone out.

At the same time, I tweaked the monster spawns, cutting their numbers as much as I could.

When I couldn't lower the count, I nerfed their abilities and boosted the XP for whoever killed them.

But I couldn't say any of it.

The game rules locked down the designer's identity.

The second I exposed myself, the whole system would crash.

***

That night, listening to Adrian and Theo's steady breathing nearby, I realized I'd quietly taken first place on the leaderboard.

Only my avatar and name were hidden.

Moonlight spilled across Adrian's sleeping face, carving sharp lines into his features. His lashes cast shadows under his eyes.

I suddenly remembered the day he proposed.

He'd dropped to one knee, voice soft. "You're the most brilliant genius I've ever met."

Now he looked at me like I barely existed, and our own kid thought I was useless.

In the middle of the night, my sleep turned restless.

Something cold and slick curled around my waist.

A faint breath brushed against my ear.

When I opened my eyes, nothing was there.

I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead and instinctively reached for my phone.

Empty pocket.

At the same time, the mechanical voice rang out again.

[Current survivors: 10.]

[Loading SSS-Level Dungeon: Bellefort Maternity Center.]

My stomach dropped.

When I opened my eyes again, we were already standing in the lobby of a run-down hospital.

The voice repeated, cold as ever:

[Clear Condition: Discover the truth.]

A chill crawled down my spine.

I'd written this horror dungeon based on real events.

But I'd never finished it.

Which meant I had no clue how to clear it either.

Theo rubbed his sleepy eyes, then instantly lit up when he spotted the group nearby.

"It's Mollie!"

The girl in front was tall and slim, with long hair pulled back neatly. Pretty, polished, put-together.

Mollie Webb.

The chat immediately lost it:

[AHHH MOLLIE!]

[Adrian, go talk to her!]

Mollie walked over with a bright smile, eyes locked on Adrian.

"Adrian, what a coincidence. And thanks again for saving me before."

"Mollie!" Theo ran over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Dad said we're definitely clearing this dungeon!"

She ruffled his hair and smiled. "With someone this strong on the team? Of course."

Only then did she seem to notice me. She gave me a polite smile.

"Mrs. Chase, hi."

Behind her, a pregnant girl covered her mouth and laughed.

"Mollie, you're being way too nice. Everyone knows she's dead weight."

The chat jumped right in:

[Damn.]

[Even the pregnant girl's stronger than her.]

[Adrian, divorce her after this. She's hard to look at.]

I stayed quiet, my eyes landing on the pregnant woman.

Her stomach was noticeably swollen, but the rest of her frame still looked slim.

Mollie introduced her. "This is our team's medic, Chloe. Seven months pregnant and still soloing A-rank monsters."

Chloe proudly rubbed her stomach. "My baby's already saying he wants to watch me fight the boss."

A bad feeling twisted in my chest.

Suddenly, every light in the hospital flickered at once.

A blast of static ripped through the speakers.

[Proceed to the Maternity Ward immediately.]