The sheer size of the entrance to the Lower Dungeon was overwhelming—monolithic even by the standards of a game. Massive stone pillars lined the towering archway, etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly like a slow, steady heartbeat. It was both a warning and an invitation, daring players to enter its depths. For the first ten floors, the dungeon was a single-instance zone meant to ease new players into its challenges. But starting from floor eleven, it became a battleground of PvE and PvP chaos, where both monsters and other players could spell your doom.

I just hoped my recent victory in the arena had sent a clear message to anyone watching: I wasn’t easy prey.

Steeling myself, I crossed the threshold. The air changed instantly. Gone was the fresh breeze of the overworld, replaced by an oppressive chill that clung to my skin like damp fog. My boots echoed against the cold stone, the sound ricocheting down the narrow corridor. The faint reverberations made my ears twitch. Sound wasn’t just ambiance here—it was a tool, perhaps even a weapon. I resolved to move quietly, quickening my steps but keeping them light.

But as confident as I felt, I wasn’t a rogue or thief class. I had zero Trapsense. That ignorance cost me almost immediately.

My foot pressed onto what seemed like an ordinary pebble—just a hair out of place. The faint click was the only warning I got. I leaped back on instinct as a wall of wicked spikes shot out from one side and smashed into the opposite wall with enough force to shake the corridor. The spikes drilled deep into the stone with a deafening screech, then receded with an ominous hiss.

I exhaled sharply, heart hammering. Lesson learned. Carelessness here meant death, plain and simple.

Cautiously, I moved forward, scanning the ground like my life depended on it—because it did. The traps in this section of the dungeon weren’t subtle. Pressure plates, faintly glowing runes, and small, unnatural gaps in the floor stood out to a careful observer. I mapped them out in my mind, taking note of where to step and where to avoid. Progress was painfully slow, but I’d rather take my time than get skewered.

Then, as I rounded a corner, a low grinding noise froze me in my tracks. The wall behind me slid open with a groan of ancient mechanisms, and a roar of flame erupted into the hallway. My stomach dropped.

Move!

I activated Light Step, feeling my body surge forward as the jet of fire surged toward me like a tidal wave. The corridor erupted into an inferno, the heat licking at my back as I dove into a shallow alcove carved into the wall. The flames shot past, filling the air with a roaring sound that drowned out everything else. My chest heaved as I pressed myself against the stone, willing the heat to dissipate.

When the fire subsided, I peeked out cautiously. The blackened walls glowed faintly, radiating heat. The mechanism hummed ominously, resetting itself. I started counting under my breath. One minute. Two. At exactly ninety seconds, the jet of flame roared to life again, and fifteen seconds after that, a massive wall of fire raced down the corridor, incinerating everything in its path.

I cursed under my breath. The timing wasn’t generous, but it was consistent. That was something I could work with. I just had to move with precision. One misstep, and I’d be ash.

The next stretch of the corridor was lined with jagged tiles that screamed trap. I crouched low, examining the layout. A faint shimmer caught my eye—thin tripwires crisscrossed the floor at ankle height. I picked up a loose piece of stone and flicked it ahead. The moment it hit the wire, the tiles erupted like landmines, sending spikes shooting up in a cascade of destruction.

I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t just the traps themselves—it was the relentless layering. Every step felt like a test of my nerves, my patience. And the dungeon wasn’t just testing me; it was hunting me. That thought chilled me more than the dungeon’s icy air.

As I continued deeper, the traps grew more insidious. A seemingly ordinary puddle suddenly burst into a swarm of acid-spitting insects. I rolled to avoid the spray, their acidic spit sizzling against the stone. A hidden dart launcher sent poisoned needles whizzing past my face, and a collapsing floor tried to drop me into a pit of writhing snakes. Every sense was on high alert, my adrenaline pumping nonstop.

When I finally reached what felt like a safe zone—a small chamber with no visible traps or hazards—I leaned against the wall, gasping for air. My supplies were untouched, my health intact, but my nerves were shot.

The first ten floors were supposed to be the easy part, yet I already felt like I’d survived a gauntlet. But if this was just the beginning, then the depths of this dungeon promised horrors I couldn’t yet fathom.

I straightened, gripping my weapon tighter. If death was going to find me here, I’d make it earn every inch. This was just the start. Ten floors? I’d conquer them all—and the 140 waiting below.

Floor 5 is where the danger ramped up, the devs were very sinister making this place but judging from the volume of players on the surface you could reach level 90 here if you were smart. Small slimes littered the path and with every move the floor burned with acid. No sense in touching them. A lifebar appeared with the name 'Grand Acid Slime' as the slimes in the area quickly merged into one another as this massive square block of slime formed before me, it reached into its own body and pulled out a sword and swung it at me, dodging it easily enough, it didn't bother turning around to fight me, it simple ran the sword through its body and another arm came out of it. This creature could not be flanked by any means but knowing slimes they had a solid core but this was going to be a different approach. Slimes were generally immune to physical attacks due to how their bodies adapated to force, in essence they are non newtonian fluid, solid when hit but is a liquid when left alone.

Observing it wasn't going to do much as it had the same attack patterns, I parried each strike but the acid was going to become a problem so to test the waters I hit it with an Arcanic Blast, the spell blasting through the slime as its HP dropped by half, I hit it again and it died. A pop up appeared 'Level UP! Level 55 Achieved!'

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Fighter Skills Unlocked

Overpower: Expert

Overwhelming Aura: Decreases Enemy defences while inside your aura by 15%

Final Stand: Mastery: Uses 15% less Stamina but further increases Defence by 50%

Switch Hit: Mastery. Increases the damage used by Switch Hit by 15%

Double Bash: A swift and brutal double strike that hits in a single motion, Damage is based on weapon damage and passives (65% extra damage

Triple Bash: Same as Double Bash but hits 3 times and can be used in a single motion, damage and passives work the same

Warmaster's Stance: Increases damage by 25% and lowers defence by 25%, decreases Stamina useage by 15%

Warlock Skills Unlocked

Eternal Pact: Further increases damage using Warlock powers by another 15%

Heart of Darkness: Infuse your body with entropic forces, become immune to magic for 30 seconds

Grasp of Entropy: Choke your enemies with Entropy and drain their mana (50-150 per second

Arcanic Blast: Grandmastery, Further increase the damage of Arcanic Blast by 25%

Chains of Ivenna: An AOE attack that stuns and immobilizes enemies while slowly leeching their stamina, lasts 10 seconds

Strip the Soul: A large HP leech and drain, healing yourself with fragments of the enemy's soul

IThe elation of progress was short-lived. I had been making steady gains, carefully selecting nodes in the Atlas of Power to synergize with my build. I had just unlocked Diabolos Leeching, granting me a potent 10% HP and MP leech for both physical and magical attacks. With this newfound edge, I descended to the next floor, expecting to tackle a sprawling cave system filled with monsters lurking in every shadowed crevice. Goblins, worms, or worse—I was ready for anything.

Or so I thought.

Before I could take more than a few steps, the game glitched violently. The screen fractured with bursts of static, and my vision swam. In an instant, I was no longer on the intended floor. Instead, I landed in a dark, featureless room, the glitch fading as a sign materialized before me.

Floor 10.

Panic set in. I’d been forcibly dragged five floors deeper, skipping critical preparation and resources. Worse still, my Log Out button was blacked out. My body screamed for rest—I could feel the faint pangs of hunger and fatigue clawing at me in the real world—but the game wouldn’t let me go. This was no accident. A pissed-off dev, maybe angered by my rapid climb through the dungeon or an exploit I hadn’t even realized I’d triggered, had forced me into this.

And judging by the smooth, polished stone underfoot and the eerie silence, this wasn’t just any floor.

This was a Boss Level.

The room stretched into a cavernous expanse, its edges vanishing into oppressive darkness. At the center stood a solitary figure—a warrior clad in ornate black samurai armor. Every inch of his gear was etched with intricate demonic motifs, from his horned oni mask to the jagged spikes protruding from his shoulder plates. He radiated a palpable aura of menace, as if the room itself recoiled from his presence.

Above him, a name and health bar flared into existence.

Hisashi, The Black Samurai

I gritted my teeth and drew my blade, activating my standard combo of Four Dark Pacts, the power flowing into me like a dark tide. I stepped forward, my focus locked on the towering samurai.

Then, he turned.

His movements were deliberate, almost unnervingly calm, as he pivoted on his heel to face me. His hollow, glowing red eyes behind the mask bore into mine. When he spoke, his voice was deep and resonant, tinged with both honor and malice.

"I was once hailed as the strongest and most skill warrior in my clan, today we put our steel to the test"

He drew his katana with a smooth, deliberate motion, the blade gleaming with an unnatural, dark light. Then, without warning, he lunged.

The force of his opening attack was staggering. His blade clashed against mine, and the sheer weight of his strike sent a shockwave through my arms, nearly driving me to my knees. My health bar dipped slightly from the impact alone, and I could feel the boss’s overwhelming strength pressing down on me.

I activated Light Step, a burst of speed propelling me out of his range just as his blade smashed into the ground, cracking the stone beneath him. Hisashi straightened fluidly, his stance unbroken, and turned to face me again.

I retaliated, chaining together a series of strikes infused with Diabolos Leeching. My blade glowed with dark energy as I slashed at his side, the leech effect siphoning fragments of his HP and replenishing my own. His health bar dipped slightly, but Hisashi seemed unfazed.

He countered with a devastating sweep of his katana, forcing me to dodge again. This time, he didn’t relent. His movements blurred as he transitioned into a relentless flurry of strikes. Each swing carried an almost mechanical precision, and even my enhanced speed struggled to keep up. My stamina bar began to drain rapidly as I dodged, parried, and rolled to avoid his onslaught.

Phase 1 Complete

Suddenly, Hisashi halted, stepping back into a low stance. The room darkened further, shadows pooling around him as his blade ignited with black flames. His health bar shifted to a second phase, and an alert popped up:

Phase 2: The Shadowblade Ascendant

The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and faint whispers echoed in the darkness. His attacks now left trails of fire in their wake, the ground burning where his blade struck. I used Arcanic Blast, hurling a bolt of destructive energy at him, but this time he deflected it with a swing of his katana, the projectile dissipating into harmless sparks.

This wasn’t just a test of strength anymore—it was a battle of endurance and adaptability.

I switched tactics, activating Chains of Ivenna. Ethereal chains erupted from the ground, lashing toward Hisashi and wrapping around his limbs. For a brief moment, he was immobilized, giving me an opening. I launched into a series of Triple Bash strikes, each hit landing with brutal efficiency, followed by a Switch Hit aimed directly at his chest. His health bar finally dropped below the halfway mark.

But Hisashi roared, the chains shattering as his aura exploded outward. The force sent me skidding across the floor, my health dipping dangerously low.

"Impressive, but let us see how you deal with true resolve!"

His blade shifted, elongating into a massive nodachi wreathed in black fire. He raised it high, the room trembling as he prepared to unleash a devastating attack.

I had seconds to react. Activating Heart of Darkness, I became immune to magic for 30 seconds. Hisashi brought the blade crashing down, the impact releasing a wave of dark fire that engulfed the room. My immunity held, but my stamina was nearly gone.

This was it—a final stand. I activated Final Stand, bolstering my defense, and rushed him.

Our blades clashed in a blur of strikes and parries, sparks flying with every impact. My health teetered on the edge as I unleashed Strip the Soul, draining the last fragments of his health and healing myself in the process.

Hisashi staggered, his health bar finally hitting zero. He dropped to one knee, his blade falling to the ground.

"Well fought.. You have proven your resolve"

With that, he dissolved into shadows, leaving behind a chest filled with loot—and a path to the next floor.

Victory had never felt so exhausting. There was no loot but a large chunk of Exp, when an alert popped up: 'Level UP! Level 60 Acheived' I smiled but Floor 11 was considered a Safe Zone. After that battle I made my way down.

A truth would occur to me down here...