Chapter 18: Deep Diving_Am I Seriously The Only Gamer?!

“Mother…fucker,” William said, rolling on a hard surface, a mixture of pain and numbness flowing through him.

He let out a low cough, winded from the hard impact he had just received. He mentally saw that his HP was currently at a measly fifty five He groaned for a few moments more before he started to open his eyes. What he saw made his eyes go wide, making him briefly forget the state he was in. Luminescent mushrooms and glowing moss plastered the ground and cavernous walls. It was a truly beautiful sight.

“Finally, a fantasy environment!” he cheered, excited to finally be somewhere alien.

He took in the sights as he got to his feet and turned about taking in everything. His eyes however, were drawn to the corpse of the fell beast he had fought. It spoiled the view, but William then felt that he had prompts waiting. Silver linings and all that. He decided to collect and clean his various weapons still embedded in the beast first. It took a good while for him to collect the array of blades he had used in the fight. The beast had selfishly landed at a bad angle and two of William’s daggers were underneath the hulking mass. After what felt like an eternity of hacking, he had carved a tunnel of meat into the beast until he found the tips of the blades sticking out of the beast’s innards.

William finally collected all of his weapons and after wiping them down, sheathed them. He stepped out from the meat tunnel he made and scanned his surroundings for a way out. He was in a massive cavern, and could see a hole in the ceiling, the part that unnerved him however was the lack of light at the end of it. He was very deep underground it seemed. With a sigh, he finished scanning the shining cave, and saw a large crack in the wall towards the south west of the space. William almost started walking there and then, but seeing that all three of his resource pools were low, he decided that he needed to rest and recuperate first. He was worried about natural predators down in the underground with him, and couldn’t see a truly defensible spot nearby. It was then with reluctance that William decided to copy the actions of a certain sci-fi character on a snowy planet, and climbed inside the beast to take shelter.

William chopped a small chunk of flesh out of the beast’s insides to make a barrier, blocking the entrance. It was mostly effective, leaving a two inch gap at the top for air and to let in some of the bio-luminescent light from the cave. Inside, William grimaced then sat down feeling and hearing a meaty squelch under himself, making him cringe slightly. He had priorities however, and took a meditative pose.

William held the pose for an indeterminate amount of time to his senses until the rest of his resources had replenished. It was also harder to tell how long he spent, due to the lack of sky to mark time. William hurried out of the beast, getting frustrated with the strong meaty smell inside and soggy environment. He took in a breath of somewhat damp cave air, not exactly fresh air, but better than what he had inside the beast. He would however need a thorough wash later, as his clothing and gear was mostly dyed red from his brief shelter. With determination to get back to the outside, he walked towards the possible exit.

William reached the crack without issue and peaked inside the roughly meter wide crack. He saw a rough and rocky passage leading into darkness. No light appeared within, but he had a small source of light fortunately, as he tore one of the larger mushrooms from the ground and wrapped the straps of his old shield around the stem, making the grip firmer and the faux torch easier to wield. He took a final look at the cave and decided to scoop some of the moss and smaller mushrooms up into his pack before continuing on his way.

William decided to consult his prompts as he walked, starting with one he had expected, but was still elated with:

{Ascension _Protocol}

You have slain: Fell Death-Fang – Level 13

Bonus EXP awarded for slaying a creature of higher Race level than you.

Bonus Enchanter EXP for slaying a creature with an Item enchanted by you.

{Class: Fighter – Level 8 Reached}