They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 212: What’s Your Problem!

{Third Person POV}

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The thick, dust of the collapsed ceiling hung heavily in the air, tasting of pulverized stone and ancient earth.

Garf let out a deep, rattling cough.

He slowly straightened his massive frame, wiping a layer of grey grime from his face.

His eyes, narrowed against the stinging grit, swept across the dark, uneven terrain of their new surroundings.

A few feet away, Mira was already on her feet, coughing into the crook of her elbow, while Tessa knelt in the rubble, completely pale.

"So," Garf grunted, his voice a low, heavy rumble in the dark. "We got separated, huh?"

Mira spat a wad of dust onto the stone floor, her eyes darting fiercely toward the shadows.

"Looks like it. The floor just gave out. Edric, Yenna, Rolf... and the kid. They’re gone."

Tessa’s breath hitched.

She clutched her dirt-stained hands tightly over her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

Jin? The name echoed frantically in her mind. Just seconds ago, he had been pushing her forward to safety.

Now, she was trapped in the dark without him. Panic began to claw at her throat, suffocating and cold.

Before the silence could truly settle, the shadows at the edge of the cavern began to warp.

The soft, deliberate crunch of leather boots on loose gravel echoed through the gloom.

One by one, four figures draped in pitch-black cloaks detached themselves from the darkness. The faint light caught the poisoned, sickly gleam of their drawn daggers.

"Fell right where you should have," the lead figure hissed, his raspy voice dripping with dark amusement.

Tessa let out a sharp gasp, scrambling backward over the loose rocks.

She yanked her hunting knife from its sheath, but she held it awkwardly close to her chest, her hands trembling so violently the blade shook.

Garf and Mira didn’t panic. They adapted.

In a blur of practiced motion, Mira fluidly nocked an armor-piercing arrow, pulling the bowstring back to her cheek with a sharp, lethal creak.

Garf stepped cleanly in front of the two women, a living wall of iron and muscle.

"There won’t be a second time," he rumbled, his voice devoid of any fear.

He raised his heavily dented war shield and slammed the bottom edge directly into the solid stone floor with a deafening CRACK.

"Taunt!"

A heavy, pulsing ring of dull crimson mana erupted from the shield, washing over the cavern.

The magical compulsion hit the hooded figures like a physical weight, hijacking their senses and forcibly drawing their absolute, undivided aggression toward the tank.

The lead figure gritted his teeth, visibly annoyed as his gaze was violently dragged away from Mira and locked onto Garf’s broad chest.

"Tch," the leader spat. "Take the big guy down first!"

They moved as one, a terrifying blur of dark cloaks and flashing steel, rushing the tank from three different angles.

Garf simply braced his legs. He met the charge head-on, catching a brutal flurry of dagger strikes against his shield.

Sparks showered the cavern as he parried a thrust aimed at his throat, twisting his shoulder to throw a second assassin off balance.

"You won’t get away this time," Mira growled.

She let the bowstring snap.

Thwip! Thwip Thwip!

She unleashed a rapid, merciless barrage over Garf’s right shoulder.

The iron-tipped arrows tore through the damp air. The first shaft buried itself squarely into the shoulder of the flanking assassin. The man let out a choked cry, his momentum shattering as he crashed hard into the dirt.

But the others got away. They contorted their bodies with unnatural, sickening flexibility, twisting just enough to let Mira’s follow-up arrows whistle harmlessly past their cowls.

Mira clicked her tongue in sheer frustration, her hand instantly darting back to her quiver to nock another arrow.

She shot a harsh, demanding glare over her shoulder.

Tessa was frozen in place, her eyes wide with terror as the clash of steel echoed around her.

"Tessa!" Mira barked, her voice slicing through the rogue’s panic. "Stay near Garf! Do not let them get behind his shield!"

The remaining three assassins recovered their footing, their poisoned blades weaving a deadly net around Garf as the real fight finally began.

----

{Somewhere else in the cave...}

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The deafening roar of the collapsing dungeon finally faded, leaving behind a suffocating silence thick with pulverized stone.

Yenna dropped her hands to her knees, panting heavily as the dust settled around them. She coughed, waving a hand in front of her face to clear the grey haze. As her vision stabilized, she snapped her head around, her eyes frantically scanning the debris-choked corridor.

Rolf was trembling right beside her, covered in dirt, but the rest of the cavern was empty.

"Where are the others?!" Yenna demanded, her voice echoing shrilly off the cracked walls.

A few paces ahead of them, Edric stood perfectly still, his dark cloak untouched by the falling rubble. He didn’t even look back.

"We’re separated. The floor completely gave way between us."

"Separated?" Yenna hurriedly closed the distance, her hands balling into fists. "Then we should look for them! Jin and Tessa could be crushed!"

"They’ll be fine," Edric replied, his tone infuriatingly flat. He gestured toward the dark path ahead.

"We need to keep moving. We should look for the entrance to the next floor."

Rolf let out a pathetic, fearful whimper. He stepped up behind Yenna, clutching his own arms.

"E-Edric... you shouldn’t be this cruel. They’re our friends."

Edric slowly turned his head, shooting the rogue a chilling, dead-eyed glare over his shoulder.

"How am I being cruel?"

Rolf practically jumped out of his skin.

He stammered incoherently, instantly ducking behind Yenna’s shoulder like a frightened child hiding behind his mother.

Yenna’s temper flared instantly.

"Stop scaring him!" she snapped, stepping protectively in front of the rogue. "He’s right. You’re acting like a heartless machine!"

Edric just gave a dismissive shrug, turning his eyes back to the darkness.

"We should go back," Rolf whispered, his voice trembling as he looked down at his boots, hugging himself tighter.

"I’m not feeling good about this, Yenna. Like... like something’s not right. The air feels wrong."

"There is no need," Edric stated, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "You’re just being superstitious."

"What is your actual problem?!" Yenna shouted, the heat of her fire magic beginning to unconsciously bleed into the air around her.