Level up the Colony

And then, as if on cue, the other statues shifted, their unblinking gazes turning toward the group.

Timothy was already hyperventilating when Noah suddenly shouted,

"We have to help them!"

Timothy and the others turned to him, shocked.

"This is just a D-rank dungeon! We can do it if the other statues stay put!"

Before anyone could stop him, Noah ran toward Cyril.

Fwoosh!

One of the flames above the statues extinguished.

The mosquito statue twitched again, freeing more of its body.

"Jesus," Magnificent muttered, instinctively stepping further away.

The stone insect remained still, its massive arm halfway raised, as if waiting for something.

No one dared to check why.

"Noah, stop!" Cyril yelled, his voice hoarse.

"Mosquitoes don't see well, but they sense vibrations."

Noah froze in place.

"There's no time to run. That thing... it's too fast," Cyril muttered, glancing at Miriam.

"Get out of here."

But Cyril had no intention of retreating.

He lunged at Edward, his mana blade crackling to life.

SHLUK!

The mosquito statue's proboscis shot forward, impaling Cyril through the chest.

Blood poured from his mouth, but he didn't stop.

"Edward, you bastard!" Cyril roared, pushing forward with his last ounce of strength.

Edward's smirk widened as he whispered frantically,

"Kill him... Kill him... Kill him!"

Multiple proboscises pierced Cyril's body, pinning him in place.

He barely managed to raise his sword to shield his face.

Then, in his final breath, Cyril smiled.

His mana blade flickered, turning from blue to a brilliant green. Wind Blade.

He swung.

Edward's smug expression faltered.

A thin line of blood appeared across his neck, trailing down his chest.

"You finally reached C-rank at the end of your life?" Edward sneered.

"Too bad you weren't within reach."

He turned to leave

And then his chest split open, sliced cleanly from neck to stomach.

Silence fell over the hall.

Cyril collapsed, his sword falling limply to the ground.

And the statues...

The statues weren't done yet.

...

Cyril's sacrifice wasn't in vain.

The group watched in a mix of awe, pain, and grief as Edward's body lay lifeless, split apart.

Noah had pulled Miriam to safety, and they now stood with the others, their expressions grim.

Three hunters were dead, two of them healers.

That left 21 survivors: 11 females, 9 males, and Edward, the wild card.

Timothy, however, wasn't focused on the losses.

His eyes were drawn to the base of each statue, where he noticed something he had missed before, words carved into the stone...

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Edward's voice rang out again, barking frantic orders at the mosquito statue.

Despite his desperation, the statue remained still, returning to its original pose.

Timothy ignored Edward's raving and examined the statues instead.

Each represented an insect, their identities becoming clearer the longer he looked.

The mosquito statue was first in line, not last.

"Hey! I suggest we stay away from these statues," Noah called out.

The statues lined half the hall, with the other half eerily empty.

The group shifted cautiously to the open space, casting wary glances at Edward, who now sat silently under the mosquito statue, watching them with venom in his eyes.

Suddenly, another flame above a statue flickered out.

The stone figure shuddered violently before becoming still again.

"We're missing something," Timothy muttered, but no one paid him any attention.

Noah was busy talking to Miriam. Magnificent huddled with the last healer and two girls, visibly trembling.

The twins observed silently, avoiding small talk.

Mr. Dede looked shaken beyond words.

Matthew kept glancing at his palm, lost in thought, while two other hunters, one with a shield, the other likely a mage were panicking, their fear making them useless.

Timothy sighed and walked over to Matthew.

"Hey, you okay?"

Matthew glanced up.

"Just thinking… what are the chances we'll be rescued?"

"Pretty low."

"Feels like we're running out of time."

"I know, but panicking won't help. I can't figure this out, though."

Matthew frowned.

"What's there to figure out? Twelve statues, flames go out one by one, and Edward's just sitting there under that mosquito statue like it's protecting him."

Timothy's eyes widened. He had been so focused on the statues that he had forgotten about Edward.

"Why is it protecting him? Why does it obey him? And why do the statues move when the flames go out?"

A voice behind them interrupted. "We're the key."

Timothy and Matthew turned to find the twins standing there, calm as ever.

Matthew tried to shake hands. "Hi—"

They ignored him.

"What do you mean we're the key?" Timothy asked.

"I think we need to stand under the statues before the flames go out," one twin suggested.

"That's insane! We'll die before we get close," Timothy argued.

"Not necessarily. Have you read the inscriptions under the statues?"

Timothy nodded. "Some of them."

"What about under Edward's statue?" the other twin asked, nodding toward the mosquito carving.

Edward's piercing gaze met theirs as if he knew they were talking about him.

"No," Timothy admitted.

"It says, Blood is life, but survival is balance. Feed and breed... We couldn't see the rest, Edward's blocking it."

Matthew frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"Personality," Timothy muttered.

"I'd say sacrifice," one of the twins added.

"It's risky, but we might not have a choice."

Timothy swallowed hard.

"Even if you're right, there are only eleven statues left and twenty of us. What happens to the other nine?"

"What nine people?"

Noah had overheard and approached Miriam.

Another flame flickered out.

A statue trembled in response.

"That's the third one," Matthew said nervously.

"What nine people, Tim?!" Noah pressed, his glare sharp.

Ignoring him, one of the twins spoke.

"There's a way to confirm our theory."

"How?" Timothy asked.

"We need to ask Edward."

A collective shudder ran through them as they turned to face Edward, who had shifted his gaze from Mr. Dede to them.

He smirked, sending chills down Timothy's spine.

Timothy clenched his fists, his stomach twisting in knots.

Approaching Edward felt like a death wish, but deep down, he knew they had no choice.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind, his family back home.

He longed to wake up from this nightmare, but he forced himself to stay composed.

"Don't worry," one of the twins reassured.

"We're fast enough to stay out of range. We just need to get close enough to talk. But while we do that..."

He turned to Timothy.

"…I'll need you to do something else."

"And what exactly do you need me to do?" Timothy asked warily.

"The phrases beneath the statues, you've seen them, and so have we. Your job is to figure out the puzzle," one of the twins said before walking away.

Timothy opened his mouth to talk but inevitably closed it.

Noah, Matthew, and Miriam hesitated, unsure whom to follow.

"You should go with them; it'll be more productive," Timothy told them.

Without a word, they turned and left.

Now alone, he moved closer to the statues, stepping carefully until he could see the inscriptions clearly.

Before he could take another step, a firm grip caught his arm.

Timothy reacted instinctively, drawing his knife in a flash, almost severing the hand that grabbed him.

"Whoa!" Magnificent stepped back just in time.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Timothy muttered, lowering his blade.

Magnificent eyed him warily.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out this puzzle."

"You actually believe there is one?" Magnificent scoffed.

"They really think he has the answer?" He motioned toward the twins.

Timothy shrugged. "Seems like it."

Magnificent folded his arms.

"This is a waste of time. The smart thing to do is sit tight and wait for the association to rescue us. Why can't you people understand that?"

"Maybe you should go tell them that," Timothy said indifferently.

"Wait, what?"

"You want them to stop? Go tell them yourself. They're not my friends. This is just business."

Magnificent's expression darkened.

"You better not do anything reckless."

"Trust me, I value my life."

Magnificent scoffed.

"A pretty miserable one."

Timothy heard the insult but ignored it.

He had dealt with worse.

People were only friendly when interests aligned.

The moment they didn't, hostility was inevitable.

Magnificent walked away, and Timothy turned back to the statues.

Before he could resume, the twins and the others returned.

That was fast.

I guess they didn't find much, either.

Timothy focused, scanning the inscriptions on the eleven remaining statues: