The squad could be seen walking through the dimly lit mountain pass after their sh with the wolves. The fight had been swift, thanks to their excellent teamwork and unwavering determination.


    As they continued forward, with the bags slung over his shoulder, Ss''s mind was filled with thoughts. The fact that the rest of the group had initially refused to let him join the raid, but then suddenly agreed after David whispered something to them, made him wonder what David had told them.


    So far, the job had been easy for him.


    Too easy.


    And the deal was good.


    Maybe a little too good.


    "Something is definitely not right. I can feel it," Ss pondered but chose to remain silent as he continued walking.


    The squad walked through the mountain for a few more hours until they finally arrived in front of a giant crimson door bearing the symbol of a skull with a de at its center.


    The group halted as David moved closer to the door to examine it closely.


    "This is definitely the chamber of the god of this realm," David muttered while cing his hand on the symbol on the door.


    "So, what now?" Aisha inquired.


    "Now we go in and kill it. I''m sure the god will be the one holding the Apex Mutant''s artifact, so all we have to do is y it and get the damn artifact. Then, when we''re done, we''ll open up the portal and return to the academy," David dered.


    David clenched his right fist tightly, pulled his arm back, and swung it at the door with all his might.


    BAM!N?v(el)B\\jnn


    A loud banging sound reverberated throughout the area as his fist collided with the door. Upon impact, the gigantic crimson door flung open, and a strong gust of wind escaped the chamber, pushing them back a few steps.


    "Alright, let''s go in," David dered. As he attempted to walk into the dark chamber, he suddenly halted and shifted his gaze to the side.


    "My de," he eximed.


    Hearing David''s words, Aisha reached behind her, but her arrows and bow were nowhere to be found. The rest of the group were also missing their weapons.


    "Damn it. We must have left them in the area where we defeated the wolves," Aisha said with a frown, facepalming.


    "That''s right. After we rested, we forgot to pick up our weapons," David muttered.


    "So, what do we do now?" Ss inquired.


    "We go back, Ss. There''s no way we can survive against the god of this realm without our mutant weapons," David responded.


    "Alright, let''s get going," Ss muttered.


    "No, Ss, you have to stay here," David stopped Ss, speaking in a serious tone.


    "What do you mean?" Ss asked.


    "You need to wait inside the chamber until we return. We''re not sure how many of those wolves are still out there, and without our weapons, we won''t be able to protect you if we run into them. The best thing to do is to wait inside the chamber. You''ll be much safer in there. The god is still several meters inside the chamber, so as long as you don''t venture further, you''ll be safe," David exined.


    "Are you crazy?!" Ss snapped. "You want me to go into the chamber alone? A ce where a high-graded god mutant dwells?!"


    "This is the best option right now, Ss. If you follow us back, you''re going to die. Just wait for us in there, and we''ll be back before you know it," David insisted.


    "No, no, I can''t. I have no abilities. There''s no way I''m going in there on my own! Why don''t you ask one of them to stay back while the rest go fetch the weapons?" Ss protested.


    "We need to stick together, so if we encounter high-graded mutants, we can kill them together," David responded before moving closer to Ss and cing his hands on his shoulder.


    "You''ll be safe, Ss. Trust me," David said solemnly and in a convincing tone.


    Ss wasn''tfortable with the n, but he knew his words would fall on deaf ears, so he chose to stop arguing and simply nodded.


    "Good. Just go in there and wait. Don''t go further in, just stand over there. We''ll be back in no time," David added.


    Ss took a deep breath before walking slowly towards the chamber. He stood at the edge of the dark chamber before stepping inside and kept walking forward.


    As he ventured deeper, Ss nced around. The area was dark, and the only source of light was the orb in David''s hand outside the chamber.


    While Ss was busy observing the surroundings, he heard a creaking sound from behind, causing him to turn around swiftly. He saw the door he had entered through closing at an incredible speed.


    "HEY!" Ss''s eyes widened in shock as he dashed toward the door. As he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he noticed a huge grin on David''s face on the other side.


    Before Ss could escape, the door mmed shut.


    "Hey, open up! Open the door! Let me out of here! Hey! Please! Let me out!" Ss kept banging on the door and pleading.


    But no matter how hard he cried and pleaded, it all fell on deaf ears.


    "They betrayed me. They lured me in here to be a meal for the god mutant," Ss whispered, his heart racing, and his blood boiling in anger.


    While Ss was absorbing what had just happened, he noticed a faint red light beneath the surface he stood on.


    Ss stared at the light for a few moments before dropping to his knees and digging into the floor with his short dagger. He kept digging until his dagger hit something solid.


    "What the hell is this?" Ss wondered as he picked up the glowing red object from the floor to examine it.


    The moment his hands touched the object, a deep mechanical voice echoed in his head.


    [ARTIFACT HAS DETECTED A CAPABLE HOST.]


    [SCANNING HOST.]


    [SCAN COMPLETED.]


    [SILAS GRISWOLD HAS ALL THE REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME THE HOST OF THE APEX MUTANT.]


    [WILL YOU ACCEPT THE POWER TO BEGIN YOUR EVOLUTION?]


    [YES OR NO?]