Chương 28: Fade Away

My eyes snap open. The groggy feeling of waking up is absent. With a deep breath, I climb to my feet. Hands slip into gauntlets, and I begin my march. The door creaks open, and I pass intersection by intersection until I arrive at my destination. The grand metal rings stare at me proudly. I grunt as I grab one and pull the door with great strain. It creaks heavily as it scrapes against the floor. When it opens completely, there isn't an amazing boss arena behind it.

There's something I haven't seen before in the dungeon. Darkness. Stepping forward, there's a staircase, as wide and tall as the door, leading downwards. Torches line the walls in even intervals above the steps. Curiously, the unnatural light from where I stand doesn't bleed in the slightest into the darkness. With a gulp, I take my first step into the stairwell. The dead silence of the dungeon fills with the sound of gently crackling torches. With every step, I move farther from safety.

The stairwell must be over a hundred steps deep. Anticipation only grows as I descend. Slowly, it gives way to nervousness. Several minutes pass as I move down the flickering corridor. This isn't what I imagined. Not at all. The stairs bottom out, leading not to an area to battle a boss, but to three twisted tunnels. Precision construction is left behind as the terrain turns rugged. The tunnels range from nine feet across to barely five.

The ground is lumpy in some places, with the cobblestone hallways looking similar to a mole's tunnel. The torches end at the bottom of the staircase, leaving everything onwards covered in darkness. Using the straps on the leather chestpiece and a few bloody strips of cloth, I tie my left gauntlet to my hips. My hand pulls on a torch, but it doesn't budge, being melded into the wall.

"Fuck that, I'm not travelling through darkness blindly." My arm pulls back, and I strike, snapping the torch from the wall. It clatters to the ground with a stutter of the flame, and I pick it up. My gaze flickers between all three entrances before I decide on the right. The plan of following the left wall isn't foolproof, but it's better than my only other idea, which is to wander forward. After taking a deep breath, I move out into the unknown. The safety of the staircase disappears behind me as I move.

"Kevin, focus on the surroundings, and don't get ambushed."

"Also, don't feel pain." Just in case. My only hope now is the single torch in my hand that lights ten to fifteen feet around me. The floor is uneven, with the tunnel curving in mindless and unpredictable ways. Several times, I feel like I've turned left around a bend enough times to circle back into the same hallway. But it continues as normal. Please, please, please don't let this be a magical maze that shifts. I'm not built for that kind of problem-solving.

Minutes turn into hours as I travel up, down, left, and right. Tunnels split and converge often. After the seventh split, I'm certain that I won't be able to find my way back if I decide to return. My anxiety grows as I pass the tenth split. Then the twentieth. Then the thirtieth. At this point, worry starts to set in that I might get lost in this labyrinth and die of dehydration. Shwff My body twists around. Eyes sharpen as I search every single nook and cranny of the tunnel. Nothing.

Nervousness tingles down my spine. The fear of the situation may have made me imagine sounds. But I know it's not true. My perception is my highest stat at almost thirty. At that high, silence is painfully loud. I know I heard something. The realization turns the nervousness into fear. A raw, primal fear. The last time I felt this was when I was a child, scared of the sound I thought I heard in the closet. But this isn't a child's bedroom. This is a dungeon designed to kill me.

I spend several minutes staring behind myself, but eventually, I continue. The thought stays with me. In an environment like this, it would be child's play to follow someone with a torch in pure darkness. Another few hours pass as I pass countless curves and bends. Not even five seconds go by in the entire duration without me glancing behind myself at least once. The pressure eventually builds into panic. Luckily, I have a get out of jail free card when it comes to panicking.

"Kevin, don't panic, stay aware of the surroundings and focus" The fear travels one last time down my spine before leaving my body. Calm calculation is the only thing left in my mind. Still, I don't stop glancing behind myself constantly. After another hour, I finally reach a semblance of safety. The tunnel widens into a larger area. The floor becomes more even, with several other tunnels leading to the same area. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

After a few steps in, a sound startles me. Chime My will forces the blue pane into existence. [Tamed Being Skill Gained: Danger Sense] YES! Hell yeah! The king of starting skills! The cream of the crop! I finally have the- A hand reaches around and closes around my mouth. Panic is suppressed before it can start. The second I react, a green hand with a curved dagger reaches around the other side of my head and stabs into my eye. My last sight is a flash of steel.

Chime Chime Chime The torch clatters to the ground with a flicker. The dagger digs deep, but stops as if it hit a rock after a couple of inches. Thoughts try to unravel in all directions, but the command forces them back into line. I flip on my heels and swing my arm widely. The knife rips out with a splatter of blood as the figure moves away from the swing. Clad in tight-fitting leather and a black shawl, a hobgoblin stands with surprise in its eyes.

I stare as the hobgoblin quickly moves backwards into the darkness, disappearing. A blue pane appears according to my will. [Health: 345(17)] One-shot protection! After a couple of seconds, the number starts changing. [Health: 345(16)] [Health: 345(15)] [Health: 345(14)] Quickly, I close my eyes and dive into the bathroom of my body. I rush to sweep mana into the healing skill. My eyes open, and I watch the blue pane with an unnatural calmness.

[Health: 345(12)] [Health: 345(13)] [Health: 345(12)] [Health: 345(13)] My mind slams at a million miles a minute as I think of a solution. Instantly, I pick up my torch and sprint away from where the assassin struck from. The cavern widens further as I move. This time, I hear the almost silent slaps of feet against stone behind me. [Health: 345(10)] [Health: 345(9)] Diving back into my body, I sweep more mana into the skill to keep myself alive. Darkness creeps in on the edges of my vision.

Thoughts muddle and grow sluggish. I look, but the torch is still going bright.

"KEVIN! STAY AWAKE!" The darkness recedes like a tide. A small flicker of light shines in the distance. With no other hope, I push to my feet and rush toward it. Chime Blood falls like honey down my face as I sprint. Exhaustion grows like a ball and chain on my movements with every step. The slaps of feet pick up behind me as I get closer to the source of light in the distance. My awareness drops inward, pushing the mana towards the drain forcefully.

[Health: 345(5)] [Health: 345(6)] [Health: 345(5)] [Health: 345(4)] [Health: 345(5)] FUCK! What do I do!? My heavy panting is interrupted as I spit blood that leaks into my mouth. I stop, and the steps from the hobgoblin also stop. It wants to watch me die, but it also doesn't want me to get closer to the light. [Health: 345(4)] [Health: 345(3)] My eyes close, and I sweep more mana into the skill. I'm going to die. Regardless of the thought, my feet pick up, and I pick up movement again.

Forgetting about exhaustion, my feet slam against the stone as I make a mad dash to the light. It grows brighter, and I make out a cell door in the distance, with torches behind it. [Health: 345(3)] [Health: 345(2)] [Health: 345(3)] [Health: 345(2)] [Health: 345(1)] Darkness edges into my vision, trying to snuff me out. The steps grow closer as I get within throwing distance of the metal cell door. When they grow close enough, I slam to a stop on my heels and scream.

"KEVIN, PUNCH AS HARD AS YOU CAN!" My arm pulls back, and muscles grab bone in a death grip, blood bursting from dozens of tiny seams in my arm. My body twists in a seamless movement, and I lunge impossibly fast at the enemy. The assassin is lunging at me, knife in hand. The hobgoblin abandons its attack with wide eyes and tries to turn. It moves unnaturally fast to dodge, but my swing follows just as fast with impossible reaction speed. It can't change its movement nearly as fast as I can.

The gauntlet jerks forward in a blur, crashing into its face. I can't stop my lunge now. Darkness closes in and blinds me, bringing my mind to a grinding halt. Both my gauntlet and I follow the hobgoblin backwards onto the ground. Sounds disappear. The punch continues as the hobgoblin's head slams into the stone. Caught between the hunk of metal and the stone floor, the hobgoblin's head explodes with blood and gore in all directions. Loose thoughts evaporate as I float in empty darkness.

Weightlessly, my mind drifts through the void. Time is a forgotten meaning, the difference between seconds and years becomes indecipherable. A strong feeling is the only thing left, but that too fades away. It feels so nice. Contentment spreads through my entire being. I tried my hardest. My mind starts sinking. The ocean tries to pull me into its depths. I know it feels wrong, but thoughts of resisting refuse to form. Regardless, my mind thrashes, refusing to be pulled under. Why does it resist? It's all natural.

Give up. This is how it's supposed to be. My ethereal body falls, fading into the consuming ocean of inky blackness. The darkness is replaced by nothing. No contentment. No pain. Just nothing. Chime The sound reverberates through the void. Invisible lines vibrate around me. A force opposite to the pull of the ocean tries to thrust me upwards. The forces battle harshly, the sound of the chime growing stronger. It echoes through my body, growing to a deafening peak. The ocean releases me, and I rocket upward.

The disorientation parts and my thoughts become clearer. It grabs my body and rips it from the current of the ocean. No, please. It was so comfortable. Just let me rest. Reality crashes back in like a truck. A wellspring of life opens in my chest and pushes the darkness away. The dungeon slams as the glow of the torchlight greets me. My breath revitalizes with a gasp. I roll onto my back, breathing heavily as the wound in my eye tingles viciously.

The command collects my unravelled thoughts and forces them into a single direction. I'm alive. The memory is seared into my mind. It plays on repeat. The floating. The sinking. Being in the ocean felt like a nap after working for forty hours straight in the sun. The comfort of a hundred blankets swaddling me in the tundra and keeping me warm. A hug after the most depressing day I've ever had. Tears flow out of my single eye. My panting grows heavier as I start crying. Crying turns into sobbing.

Alone, I sob in the darkness of the cavern. Next to a corpse on bumpy ground. The light of the torch is the only other thing that moves. Never in my life have I wanted someone nearby. Even a stranger would do. Anyone. Minutes pass as I think about what just happened on repeat. My sobs grow as it continues. Without warning, the sobbing fades, replaced with something else.

"Hahaha!" Laughter echoes through the cavern. Seconds grow and turn into minutes as I laugh through the piercing pain.

"Yeeeaaah!" A giant grin stretches across my face as I pump my arm into the air. Staring at the ceiling surrounded in darkness, I grin and shake my arm.

"I'M ALIVE!" Tears continue to flow like a river down the side of my head. My arm goes under me as I push myself to my feet with a grunt. Pain digs into my head with every breath and movement. Half of my vision is gone. Blood covers my face. My arm hangs limply at my side. But still, I smile.