When the Coyote Guild group entered the underground floor of the Adalaza Anthill, the system notified them with a cold, mechanical voice:
[System Notification: You have entered the Underground Floor — the Roots of the Anthill. ]
[Danger level: A. ]
[Full group recommended.]
The ground underfoot was gently springy< wet moss and roots stretching down created the feeling as if they were walking on a living being.
The walls shimmered with green bioluminescent threads, like vessels filled with thick, golden liquid. The air smelled of decaying leaves and sweet rot.
Leroy45 chuckled:
—I thought the dungeons would be scarier. This place is like a swampy sauna.
But Valentin walked in silence, his steps measured and his gaze wary. He knew that if the system marked a floor with the letter "A," then even a single wrong move could lead to a group wipe.
After a few minutes of walking, they saw a light. At first, it was dim, like a candle, but then it grew brighter, with a warm glow. The light came from a small, circular room with a mossy stump in the middle. A little girl was sitting on it, swaying from side to side and singing softly.
Her voice was so clear and soft that even the sound of the water dripping in the cave was silenced.
The song went something like this:
"He was kind, he ate apples and swam in the stream...
But one day, he was visited by blood-soaked guests...
They took my laughter and carried it away to the beehives,
And now I sing while the ants sleep..."
The players looked at each other, it seemed that the guesses were removed, they did not know about all the nuances of the Unique Offer and were walking blindly.
—What the hell? Is this an NPC?
Mumbled one of the Coyotes.
—Maybe it's part of the task, – waved off Valentin. — The system likes such scenery.
But the longer the girl sang, the more the cold crawled on the skin. A strange pressure appeared in the air, like before the activation of the event. For a moment, it seemed that even the walls were listening to her.
Valentin, not wanting to waste time, stepped forward.
— Hey, you, we don't have much time! We've come for the Unique Offer, where is it?
The girl didn't respond, she just continued to sway and sing as if she didn't notice them.
—I'm not joking!
Valentin said in annoyance. He drew his sword and pointed it at her neck.
—Talk! Give us a task, or I'll erase you from the map.
At that moment, her song stopped, and the girl raised her eyes. They were completely white, without pupils, without life, just an empty void.
—Fine...
She said quietly, in a childish but echo-distorted voice.
—You want this, don't you? A Unique Offer...
Her lips twitched into a sickly smile, and something dark began to ooze from the stump a thick, black slime. It flowed across the ground, forming a symbol that no player could recognize.
[System notification: The "Nemorrino's Song" event has been activated.]
[Karmic Resolution has been activated]
[The choice has been made.]
Leroy45 cursed nervously:
—Damn, did she trigger the event without confirmation?
But the girl was no longer looking at them, and her voice had become a song again, cold and unnatural:
"You asked for it...
You came...
Now you will be heard by the one who sleeps beneath the earth..."
A black streak emerged from the ground, resembling a trail of liquid tar. It led deep into the underground corridors of the Adalaza Ant Hill.
Without hesitation, Valentin commanded them to move, sensing that if they delayed, the event might reset or trigger a hidden penalty.
—Hurry up, don't stop until the effect wears off.
The players set off, their footsteps echoing through the stone-lined corridors. As they progressed, the darkness intensified. The air thickened, as if the underground floor itself was breathing poison.
Behind them was the mossy hall and the still-NPC girl, still sitting on her stump. Her dress was stained with black slime, but she didn't move, as if waiting for something.
Before disappearing into the tunnel, Leroy45 turned around and stuck out his tongue.
—Smile, doll. We'll bring you a heart.
Valentine did not pay attention. They stepped around a bend and soon the darkness swallowed up their silhouettes.
The girl watched them go for a long time, then sighed softly.
—My God... what ignoramuses you are...
She said wearily, as if she were not a child, but someone ancient who had lived for thousands of years.
— You don't even hear the earth warning you.
She tilted her head as if listening to the sounds under her feet. From the depths came a distant, low roar, as if someone had awakened.
—Karma is coming... a Karma you've never seen before.
The girl closed her eyes and began to sing softly, almost in a whisper. Her voice was not a song, but a spell, and the moss around the stump began to darken, forming dense patterns.
"Those who follow the trail of the black shadow,
Find darkness, but lose their shadows.
And in every step, they find punishment,
For a path without respect is a path to destruction..."
In the distance, the first cries could be heard. At first muffled, as if behind a wall, then they grew louder. The sharp sounds of pain, flashes of green light like poison, broke through the darkness of the tunnel.
The system didn't send any notifications. There was only a hollow rustling and a hoarse laugh, as if something down there was feeding on the energy of these players.
The little girl opened her eyes, which reflected a blue hue. She tilted her head slightly, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
—Karma comes for those who don't respect... – she whispered. — It's the order of things.
And she began to sing again. Her voice echoed through the dungeon, mingling with the cries of the Coyotes guild as their torches went out one by one.
This was the main danger of the Unique Offer system.
Any careless action, harsh word, or display of disrespect towards a special NPC could trigger an alternative event, what players called Karma.
It was more than just an additional quest.
"Karma" was considered a punishment of the world, a kind of backlash from the living code. When characters imbued with the magic of the scenario felt hostility, the system interpreted it as an insult to the universe itself.
Players rarely understood what triggered the effect. It was enough to hit the wrong mob, respond with mockery, or show greed, and within a moment, the mission status changed.
Instead of the usual notification [ "Unique Offer" accepted], an alarming message appeared [Karmic Resolution Activated].
From that moment on, events took a completely different course.
The enemies became stronger, and the location itself began to distort: the colors, sounds, and NPC behavior all began to behave abnormally, as if the world was trying to warn the players, but it was too late.
Such cases have become legends of the gaming community. There were rumors that one of the first raids lost the entire squad, simply because their leader hit an old man-NPC, demanding to bow before entering the temple.
Since then, an unspoken rule has appeared:
"If the NPC speaks, listen. If silent, do not touch."
But most still did not learn.
In the pursuit of rare items and glory, players forget that the world of the game lives by its own laws. It remembers emotions, reactions, tone of speech. And if you disrespect him, he will do the same.
That's what happened now.
The Coyotes didn't realize that the little singing girl by the stump wasn't just a decoration. She was the key to the event's balance, and every rude gesture and mockery they made was embedded in the script, rewriting it in real-time.
Now, they had activated the Karma of Adalaza, an ancient code of punishment that had been present since the game's inception. And the punishment had already begun for them.