Rise of the F-Rank Hero-Chapter 150: Beating William

"Enough!" Daniel stepped in, looking pale and shaken. "We lost good men. Don’t turn this into a brawl, Oliver."

"Your friend is a coward," Isolde said, flicking monster blood off her rapier. She looked at William with pure contempt. "A Hero who fears a scratch more than he fears the death of his comrades. Pathetic."

"Shut up, witch!" Jason barked, though his voice lacked its usual fire. He looked at the blood on the wall and looked sick.

Amy walked over to the spot where the knight had died. She touched the wall, her hand trembling.

She turned to William. Her eyes were dry, but the fire in them was gone, replaced by a cold, dead realization.

"You really haven’t changed, have you?" she whispered.

William looked at her, his heart twisting. "Amy, I—"

"Don’t speak to me," she cut him off. She turned her back on him and walked to Oliver.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, reaching for Oliver’s hand to check for injuries.

"I’m fine," Oliver said, pulling his hand away gently. "Check Sophia. She took a hit."

Amy nodded, swallowing her emotion, and went to heal the mage.

The Knight Captain, a veteran named Ronald (not the royal guard Ronald, but a field commander), walked up to the Heroes. His helmet was gone, his face streaked with sweat.

"Three down," he rasped. "If this keeps up, we won’t make it to the 30th floor."

"We keep moving," Daniel said, trying to regain authority. "We can’t mourn here."

"No," Oliver corrected him. "You keep moving differently."

He pointed at the walls.

"The Knights can’t fight these things. Their physical defense is useless. Move the Knights to the center. Heroes and Mages on the outside. We shield them."

"That’s against protocol!" Jason argued. "The tanks protect the DPS!"

"This isn’t a game, you idiot!" Oliver roared, losing his cool. "The ’tanks’ are getting eaten by the walls! Adapt or die!"

The hallway fell silent.

Finally, the Knight Captain nodded. "The adventurer is right. My men are useless against Phase Stalkers. We will carry the supplies and guard the rear. You magic-users need to take the front."

"Fine," Daniel muttered. "New formation. Let’s go."

The descent through floors 27, 28, and 29 became a blur of violence and speed. With Oliver and Isolde at the front, the pace increased drastically.

But the tension was a ticking time bomb.

On Floor 28—The Rotting Garden—chaos erupted.

They were traversing a bridge of giant, slimy roots suspended over a poisonous bog. A swarm of Venom Wasps, each the size of a dog, descended upon them.

"Hold the line!" Oliver barked, slashing a wasp in half.

William saw his chance.

He was positioned just behind Oliver. Amidst the buzzing wings and shouting, William discreetly cast a low-tier spell: [Monster Lure]. A faint red sigil attached itself to Oliver’s back.

Instantly, the entire swarm shifted focus. Ten wasps dove simultaneously at Oliver.

"What the—?!" Oliver spun, his spear a blur.

He deflected five. Isolde froze three. But two broke through his guard.

One stinger grazed his shoulder. The other struck his face, not piercing the skin, but shattering the leather strap of his mask.

Snap.

The mask fell into the bog below.

Oliver stumbled back, breathless, killing the last wasp with a dagger to its eye. He stood panting, his face fully exposed to the magical light of the dungeon.

Silence descended on the bridge.

The scars were gone, healed by Isolde’s high-tier potions and Amy’s secret buffs, leaving only his sharp, familiar features.

Daniel dropped his shield. "Oliver...?"

Jason’s jaw hit his chest. "No fucking way. The F-rank?"

Lisa gasped, though she already knew.

The Knights whispered among themselves. "That’s the dead hero? The one from the rumors?"

Oliver wiped wasp ichor from his cheek. He looked at their stunned faces, then at William, who looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Eyes up," Oliver said, his voice void of emotion. "We’re not in a tavern. We’re in a dungeon. Talk later. Move."

He turned his back on them and marched forward.

*****

The revelation gnawed at the group. The Hero party was in shambles. Daniel looked conflicted. Jason looked guilty.

But William looked terrified.

’He’s alive. And he knows,’ William thought, sweat dripping down his neck as they descended the stairs to the 29th floor. ’If he talks... if he tells everyone I kicked him... I’m ruined. I’ll be executed.’

He had to end it. Now.

On Floor 29, a rocky cavern filled with unstable stalactites, William tried again.

As Oliver scouted a trap trigger near a narrow pass, William "accidentally" fired a firebolt at the ceiling.

"My hand slipped!" William shouted.

RUMBLE.

Tons of rock crashed down, burying the path where Oliver stood.

"OLIVER!" Amy screamed.

Dust billowed out. William let out a breath of relief, a twisted smile touching his lips. Finally.

Zoom.

A figure burst through the dust cloud.

Oliver was alive. He had grabbed Isolde, and she had used gravity magic to shield them. But he wasn’t looking at the rocks.

He was staring directly at William.

And this time, there was no professional detachment in his eyes. Only cold, hard rage.

"Floor 30," Oliver commanded, his voice tight. "Now."

*****

The 30th Floor was a Safe Zone. A massive sanctuary with a healing fountain and heavy iron doors that locked out the monsters. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The moment the heavy doors slammed shut, sealing them in safety, the atmosphere exploded.

Oliver didn’t check his gear. He didn’t drink water.

He threw his spear to the ground with a loud CLANG.

He walked straight toward William.

"O-Oliver, wait," William stammered, backing up until he hit the stone wall. "The rocks... it was an accident! Just like the Golem!"

"Shut up," Oliver said.

WHAM.

Oliver’s fist connected with William’s jaw.

It wasn’t a hero’s punch. It was a brawler’s punch. Raw, unrefined, and heavy.

William’s head snapped back, blood spraying from his lip. He crumpled to the floor.

"Oliver!" Daniel shouted, rushing forward. "Stop! We can’t—"

SHING.

Isolde stepped in Daniel’s path, her rapier hovering inches from his throat.

"Take one more step, ’Hero’," Isolde whispered, her eyes glowing crimson, "and I will carve my name into your lungs."

"Isolde, move!" Jason roared, trying to flank her.

THWACK.

Ren, the Rogue, tried to intervene, but Isolde spun and kicked him in the chest, sending him skidding across the floor. She stood alone, blocking the three male heroes, radiating a killing intent so thick it made the air hard to breathe.

"This is family business," Isolde hissed. "Stay out of it."

Lisa stood frozen, looking at Amy. "Amy! Stop them!"

Amy stood by the fountain, her arms crossed. Her face was blank.

"No," Amy said.

****

On the other side of the room, Oliver wasn’t done.

He grabbed William by the collar of his expensive armor and hauled him up.

"You think I’m stupid?" Oliver growled.

SMACK.

He backhanded William, sending him crashing into a supply crate.

"The Golem ambush? I let that slide. But the Lure spell on the bridge? The ceiling collapse?"

Oliver kicked William in the ribs.

CRACK.

"AGH!" William curled into a ball, coughing blood. "I... I didn’t...!"

"Liar!" Oliver roared. He straddled William, pinning him to the stone floor.

He began to rain blows down on William’s face. Left. Right. Left. Right.

Thud. Thud. Crunch.

"You tried to kill me in the circle!" Oliver shouted, venting months of suppressed anger with every punch. "I survived! I left! I made a new life!"

Thud.

"I didn’t come back for revenge! I didn’t come back for the title! I just wanted to live!"

Thud.

"But you couldn’t let it go, could you? You petty, jealous little shit!"

William’s face was a ruin. His nose was broken, his eyes swollen shut. He tried to cast a spell, sparks forming in his hand.

Oliver grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the stone floor.

SNAP.

"AAAAHHH!" William screamed as his wrist broke.

The Knights watched from the corner, huddled together. They didn’t move. They had seen William let their comrade die on the 26th floor. In their eyes, this was justice.

Finally, after one last brutal punch that knocked a tooth out of William’s mouth, Oliver stopped.

He sat there on William’s chest, breathing heavily, his knuckles bloody.

The room was dead silent.

Slowly, Oliver stood up. He wiped the blood off his face—William’s blood—and looked down at the sobbing, broken Hero.

"I don’t care what you did back then," Oliver panted, his voice hoarse. "I really don’t. I’m over it. You mean nothing to me."

He spat on the ground next to William’s head.

"But if you ever... ever try to endanger me or my party again... I won’t just beat you. I will feed you to the dungeon myself."

He turned around and walked back to the fire.

Daniel, shaking, looked at the battered form of his friend. He looked at Amy, who was the only healer with enough mana left to fix that kind of damage.

"Amy," Daniel pleaded. "Please. He’s hurt bad. Heal him."

Amy looked at William.

She remembered the look on his face when he kicked Oliver. She remembered the "accidents" today.

She walked over to William. She stood over him.

William opened one swollen eye, reaching a trembling hand toward her. "A... Amy... help..."

Amy stared down at him coldly.

"I only heal Heroes," she whispered.

She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Heal yourself with a potion. If you haven’t ’accidentally’ dropped them all."