Knowledge Is Power: The Last Reader

Aria stared at the spot where the woman had been. The shadows still swirled where she’d vanished, and the air felt heavier somehow, charged with something ancient and hungry.

"That was... that was creepy," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What was that?"

Kelly sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "That was probably a Shiny."

"A what?"

"A Shiny. It’s a monster that’s mutated into something else. Some say it’s a monster that’s been infected by a human soul." He paused, his expression grim. "Some souls are tricky. They refuse to accept death. They come back as something else. It’s very unlikely—takes a strong will—but once it happens, they evolve into a Shiny monster."

Aria’s eyes widened. "A Shiny? Like, a rare monster?"

"Super dangerous. Anything with human malice and intelligence is. But—" He hesitated, clearly not wanting to continue.

"But what?" Aria demanded.

"But the drop rate is supposed to be 100%. And you always get Shiny growth-type items when you kill one."

"Really?" Aria’s eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam. "I’m in."

Kelly stared at her. "You’re in? In what? We should go home. They’re dangerous things. It will kill us."

"Then you shouldn’t have talked about the super good item," Kelme said, his voice carrying a note of dark amusement. "Now we want it."

Bunny laughed, a bright, cheerful sound that seemed utterly out of place in the dark tomb. "Well, Kelly, you really dug your own grave this time."

---

The second floor was a maze.

Not a metaphorical maze. An actual maze. Walls of ancient stone stretched in every direction, their surfaces covered in faded runes and the occasional suspicious-looking crack. The ceiling was lost in darkness, and the floor was uneven, forcing them to watch their step.

Kelly led the way, his pace careful and deliberate. He paused at every intersection, studying the walls, the floor, the faint markings that seemed to guide his decisions.

"How does he know where to go?" Aria whispered to Bunny.

"He’s been doing this for twenty years," Bunny said, her voice carrying a note of grudging respect. "He’s scouted over a hundred dungeons. He’s got a sixth sense for this kind of thing."

"Or he’s just guessing," Kelme muttered.

"Guessing that works is still knowing something. It’s just a different kind of knowing."

---

The first monster attacked them from the shadows.

It was a wolf—or what used to be a wolf. Its fur was patchy, its eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and its teeth were too long, too sharp, too many.

"Zombie wolf," Kelly said calmly. "Standard tomb guardian. Don’t let it bite you."

"I wasn’t planning to," Aria said, blasting it with light.

The wolf disintegrated, and Aria felt a small thrill of satisfaction.

"That was easy," she said.

"That was the easy one," Kelly said. "The hard ones come later."

---

The second monster was a goblin.

It was small, green, and looked completely out of place in the ancient tomb. It was holding a rusty knife and wearing what appeared to be a saucepan on its head.

"What is that?" Aria asked.

"Goblin," Bunny said. "Probably got lost. Happens sometimes. They wander in from the surface and can’t find their way out."

"How does a goblin wander into an ancient tomb?"

"Same way we did. Through the entrance. They just don’t have the survival skills to leave."

The goblin lunged, and Kelme charmed it into running directly into a wall.

"Did you just make it run into a wall?" Aria asked.

"I made it think the wall was a beautiful woman," Kelme said. "It was very convincing."

"That’s... that’s actually kind of cruel."

"Goblins don’t have feelings. It’s fine."

---

The third monster was a mimic.

Of course it was a mimic.

It was sitting in the middle of the maze, disguised as a beautiful chest. The chest was ornate, covered in gold and jewels, and seemed to glow with an inviting light.

Aria felt her fingers twitching.

"Don’t," Kelly said.

"I wasn’t going to—"

"You were. I could see it."

"I was just admiring it."

"You were admiring it like someone who was about to open it."

"I was not."

"Was too."

The chest lunged, and Aria blasted it with light. It exploded into splinters, and something small and shiny dropped to the ground.

"A drop!" Aria said, rushing forward. "We got a drop!"

She picked it up, her heart sinking. It was a single silver coin.

"That’s it?" she demanded. "That’s all we got? One silver coin?"

"Mimic drops are sometimes usually terrible," Kelly said. "I should have warned you."

"whatever! a win is a win. should have dropped some of the shit he used to lure us. this is some real B.S"

"I thought you knew!"

"How would I know?!"

"You’re a professional adventurer!"

"I’m a Bronze rank adventurer! I don’t know anything!"

---

The maze continued, twisting and turning in ways that seemed designed to confuse and disorient. Aria was starting to feel like they were going in circles.

"Are you sure you know where we’re going?" she asked Kelly.

"Positive."

"Because it feels like we’ve been here before."

"We haven’t."

"That wall looks familiar."

"All walls look familiar in a maze. That’s the point."

---

Another monster attacked.

It was a skeleton, armed with a rusty sword and a shield that was more holes than metal. Aria destroyed it with a single blast.

"Easy," she said.

"That’s the problem," Kelly said, his voice carrying a note of unease. "They’re too easy. We’re in the middle of a tomb, and all we’re getting are weak monsters. Something’s wrong."

"Maybe they’re saving the hard ones for later."

"Maybe. Or maybe something’s clearing the path for us. Something that wants us to get deeper."

---

The feeling of being watched intensified.

Aria couldn’t shake it. It was like a weight on her shoulders, a constant pressure at the back of her mind. Every shadow seemed to move, every flicker of light seemed to hide something.

"Do you feel that?" she asked Kelme.

"The being watched thing?"

"Yes."

"All the time. I’ve been feeling it since we entered the tomb."

"Why didn’t you say something?"

"I thought you knew."

"How would I know?!"

"You’re a professional adventurer!"

"I’m a Bronze rank adventurer! I don’t know anything!"

---

They found another chest at the end of a long corridor. It was bigger than the others, more ornate, and it seemed to pulse with a faint, inviting light.

"Don’t," Kelly said.

"I know. It’s a mimic."

"Yes. But it’s also—"

"A trap. I know."

"Good. So we just walk past it."

"Right. Walk past it."

They walked past the chest.

The chest lunged anyway.

"WHY IS IT ATTACKING US?!" Aria screamed, blasting it with light.

"IT KNEW YOU WANTED TO OPEN IT!"

"I DIDN’T OPEN IT!"

"IT DIDN’T CARE!"

---

By the time they reached the end of the second floor, Aria was exhausted, frustrated, and thoroughly sick of mimics.

"Where’s the entrance to the third floor?" she asked.

"There," Kelly said, pointing.

Aria looked. The entrance was a massive stone door, covered in runes and what appeared to be a very large, very angry face.

"That’s a mimic," she said.

"It’s a guardian," Kelly corrected. "A mimic guardian. It’s not going to attack unless we try to open it."

"Great. So how do we open it?"

"We don’t. We go around."

"Go around?"

"Through there." He pointed at a small, narrow passage on the left.

"That’s a crack in the wall."

"It’s a passage."

"It’s a crack."

"It’s a passage that goes around the door."

"And you’re sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"How?"

"Because the other entrance is a mimic. This is the only way forward. It’s basic dungeon design."

---

They squeezed through the crack, emerging into a small chamber. The walls were covered in ancient murals, depicting scenes of battle and sacrifice. And in the center of the room, there was a pedestal.

On the pedestal, there was a chest.

A beautiful chest. An ornate chest. A chest that seemed to glow with an inner light.

"Don’t," Kelly said.

"I know."

"I mean it."

"I know."

They approached the chest cautiously, their weapons ready. The chest sat there, innocent and inviting, waiting for someone to open it.

"Okay," Aria said. "Who’s going to open it?"

"No one," Kelly said. "We’re not opening it."

"Then why are we here?"

"To observe it. To document it. To—"

The chest lunged.

"OH COME ON!" Aria screamed, blasting it with light.

The chest exploded, and something small and shiny dropped to the ground.

Aria picked it up. It was a key. A small, golden key, with a single word engraved on it: SHINY.

"Shiny," she said, her voice carrying a note of dread. "It says shiny."

Kelly’s face went pale. "That’s the key to the Shiny’s lair. It wants us to find it. It’s inviting us in."

"We’re not going in, right?" Bunny asked, her cheerful demeanor finally cracking. "We’re not going into a Shiny’s lair?"

"Of course not," Kelly said. "We’re going home."

"Wait," Aria said. "But the drop—"

"Aria, no."

"The growth items—"

"Aria, I’m serious."

"It’s a 100% drop rate—"

"WE’RE NOT FIGHTING A SHINY!"

"But—"

"NO!"

Aria sighed, pocketing the key. "Fine. We’ll go home. But we’re coming back. We’re definitely coming back."

"I hate it here," Kelly muttered. "I hate everything about this place."

"Cheer up," Bunny said, patting his shoulder. "At least we’re not dead."

"Not dead is a low bar."

"It’s the only bar we’ve got."

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