Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 54: [The River God’s Wife] - Nerio’s Part (3)

"Don’t touch him, he’s just a child!"

Maya angrily stopped Julia’s movements. Julia withdrew her hand, spreading open her fan to conceal her lips. Only her fox-like eyes, slightly curved, hinted at a mocking smile as she gazed at Maya.

Maya furrowed her brows tightly, but at that moment, a massive vine suddenly burst from the ground, coiling around her leg before violently throwing her aside. She didn’t even have a chance to resist—her body slammed into a large tree, pain radiating through her chest as she clutched it, coughing harshly and struggling to stand.

On the other side, Ace withdrew his hand, looking at Maya coldly. "Don’t act foolishly. Do you think that if we wanted to kill this kid, you could stop us?"

He sneered at her, mocking her helplessness.

Alexis giggled from the sidelines. "Besides, even if we don’t do anything, that kid will die on the first night anyway."

A powerful esper could still be easily killed in a dungeon—how could a mere child survive?

Maya clenched her fists, remaining silent. Matthew stepped forward to support her, his gaze icy as he looked at Ace. "If you want to fight, then let’s go all out. We won’t just sit here and die. Both sides will suffer at worst—don’t expect anyone to leave this dungeon alive."

Ace said nothing, but Jack let out a growl before he could respond. "Well, well, I never thought a follower of the angel Gabriel would say something like that."

With that, he stepped forward, ready for a full-blown fight with Matthew.

However, Clow suddenly raised his hand, stopping him with a cold voice. "Enough. It’s just a kid. No matter what, he’ll be dead by the first night."

He turned his gaze to Matthew, curling his lips into a smirk. "As long as he doesn’t get in our way, that’s all that matters. No one here wants to die in this dungeon, right?"

With those words, Clow officially branded the child as useless and a burden. The others’ expressions shifted slightly as they looked at the boy—none wanted to be associated with him.

Leon sneered from the side. "Ha! Looks like you’ve finally got some company. The best outcome is two useless weaklings sticking together—dying quietly without causing trouble."

As he spoke, he kicked Leonard hard, sending the frail young man tumbling to the child’s feet, his body curling up instinctively.

Yet, the boy remained still, his gaze lowered slightly as he looked down at the pitiful young man beside him.

Only then did he seem to react, finally lifting his head to look at every one. In a soft voice, he said, "My name is Nerio. Please take care of me."

Jack burst into laughter. "Hahaha! What the hell is wrong with this kid? Is he stupid? Do you think you’re in school, brat? This is a dungeon—do you even know what that means?"

He laughed wildly at Nerio, eager to see fear on the boy’s face. "Here, even the slightest mistake means death, hahaha!"

Some others frowned slightly at Jack’s outburst, while Maya seemed about to step forward again. But this time, Matthew stopped her.

"Nerio needs to understand the danger he’s in. Only then will he have a chance to survive."

Even if that chance was slim.

Matthew furrowed his brows tightly, unable to understand why the dungeon had chosen a child.

On the other hand, Jack was excited as he stared at Nerio—but the boy ended up disappointing him. Despite his frightening expression and harsh words, Nerio lowered his gaze, looking at Leonard, trembling in pain at his feet, his face utterly devoid of emotion.

Jack clicked his tongue. "Maybe this brat is an idiot."

Julia, standing nearby, narrowed her eyes and spoke softly, her voice laced with amusement. "But that just makes him all the more adorable."

Maya frowned slightly, worry flashing as she looked at Nerio. Ace seemed about to say something, but a system notification suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

[You have all lived in the city since childhood. One day, you each received an invitation from a distant relative inviting you to attend a wedding in their village. Attend the wedding and return home safely. At the same time, uncover the secrets of the town!]

[Mission 1: Find a way out of the forest. Oh no! On your way to the wedding, you’ve lost your way. Hurry and find the entrance to the village—the forest at night is filled with countless dangers!]

Almost the moment everyone finished reading the mission, the once bright space, illuminated like midday, was suddenly dyed in the golden hues of sunset. The amber glow filtered through the tightly packed leaves, casting a restless, oppressive shade onto the ground.

Even though they couldn’t see the sun, everyone knew—nightfall was approaching.

They had no idea what lurked in the forest after dark, but the system had already warned them: it was dangerous. No one wanted to face that danger on the very first night.

"Damn it, there are multiple missions? This system is trying to kill us when we enter the dungeon!"

Ace ran a frustrated hand through his hair, cursing loudly.

The others looked just as anxious.

Kely, a timid-looking girl, was already clutching her face, sobbing softly. She seemed to be holding back her tears, but she couldn’t. She was just an ordinary person—how could she not be afraid?

Taylor, standing beside her, gently patted her shoulder and spoke softly. "It’ll be okay. We’ll make it out of here."

But Kely shook her head repeatedly. "No... we won’t... We can’t..."

—

[Ha ha ha, has a new dungeon opened? Even though dungeon scenarios repeat repeatedly, the different expressions of each group of humans always make for undeniable entertainment. Ha ha.]

[Exactly! Who doesn’t love a good horror story drenched in despair?]

[Ugh, why is it this dungeon again? I’m starting to get sick of it...]

[These humans are done for. And based on experience, the Prophet won’t appear on the first day. They’re dead.]

[Wait—what’s that? There’s a kid?!]

[A kid? Where?]

[You’re only noticing now? That boy is gorgeous! Seriously!]

[He’d look even better getting swallowed by a monster, haha.] freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

[A kid in the dungeon? Has this scenario gone insane?]

[Well, it’s just an entertainment program anyway. Just enjoy the show, haha.]

[Not only are there a bunch of newbies, but out of the 13 people, there are 5 Dark Espers, a cripple, and a kid. Humanity is truly hopeless. Time to wait for the next batch of players~]

[Sigh... We can only wait for the Prophet to show up...]

[I’m just here to watch them all die on the first night. Hurry up, hurry up!]

[Wait a second, Matthew is in this group. Will the scenario favor him? The dungeons he enters usually have very few casualties.]

[Ha ha ha, that was before the dungeons started mutating! I’ll admit, Matthew is firm and not weak, but don’t forget—this dungeon is on an entirely different level of danger!]

[Nightfall, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up~]

[Look at these headless flies running around. If the Prophet were here, he’d instantly figure out that the only way out of the forest is for one person to carry three others, ha ha ha.]

[But that would leave one person behind... The struggle for survival will be even more entertaining!]

—

Thank you. Because the Prophet is already here.

Countless comments flooded in, flying across the screen at dizzying speed. The spectators spammed their speculations, but most were waiting for the moment when the 13-person team would start dying. Of course, buried within the chaos, there were also some valuable pieces of information.

Meanwhile, the golden hues of sunset deepened. Time was running out for the humans.

Ace roared in frustration. "What the hell are you crying for?! If you want to cry, save it for when you’re inside a monster’s stomach!"

If it weren’t for the contract they had signed with the Association of Espers, Ace would have already killed Kely and anyone else who annoyed him.

At that moment, Clow and Jack returned. They looked at Ace and shook their heads. Clow’s expression was grim as he reported, "We ran nonstop... and ended up back where we started."

Matthew also returned. Facing the expectant gazes of the civilians, he shook his head. "There’s no way out. I ran in multiple directions, but I circled back to you all in the end."

A heavy silence fell over the group, despair settling into their expressions.

Leon suddenly screamed. "No! I don’t want to die here! No way! It’s only the first night—we have to survive! You have a plan. You have a plan, don’t you?! I have money! I’ll give you as much as you want!"

He kept shouting, desperately shoving at Ace’s arm.

Ace furrowed his brows and swatted him away. Leon immediately tumbled to the ground, crying out in pain.

Ace looked down at him with cold, cruel eyes. "If you want to live, then shut the hell up."

Fear flashed across Leon’s face. He had been spoiled since childhood, used to getting his way. He was furious at Ace’s attitude, but right now, survival came first.

His gaze shifted to Leonard, still curled on the ground, and his anger found a new target. He stormed over and kicked Leonard hard.

"Damn you! This is all your fault, you jinx!"

He had always been like this—efficiently venting his frustrations on Leonard. It wasn’t a problem. It never had been.

Leonard curled into himself, clutching his stomach, motionless as if he were dead.

Matthew finally lost his patience and stepped in. "Enough! What we need to do right now is find a way out of this forest!"

Ace scoffed from the side. "Oh? So you’re the leader now? Then go ahead, tell us your brilliant plan."

Matthew narrowed his eyes at Ace.

"There is a way."

A childish voice suddenly rang out at that moment, drawing everyone’s attention.