The tunnel widened even more as I walked, swallowing me up like a monster's mouth.
I kept my guard up, my grip a little too tight on the axe. The steady dripping of water increased and grew louder, and then the walls fell away, too far for me to sense them.
I'd stepped into an open room of sorts, so I paused to take it in. Here, water droplets hit liquid instead of stone, creating frequent ripples that splashed over the surface. The sounds filled the cavern, echoing off the walls.
Stepping forward slowly, I bent down, running my hand over the ground to find any loose stone. Picking up a pebble, I tossed it to the left, and it splashed into a pool of water. I inched that way, finding the water's edge with my foot.
Crouching, I dipped my hand in, feeling the water's cool temperature. It was not salty like the ocean, so I figured this would be relatively safe to drink.
That errant thought crossed my mind, and then the pool started to bubble viciously. I quickly stood and backed off to where I'd thrown the pebble, bracing my axe in front of me. My heart was a heavy drum in my chest, steady and loud.
A watery slap hit the stone, accompanied by a sloshing sound. Whatever it was let out a gurgling growl that rang through the cavern, and then I heard more water begin to boil farther away. I guessed there were other separate pools spread out through the space, ready to spit out whatever had landed in front of me.
Before they could emerge, the first one lunged, howling along with the disturbed air. Spreading my range of perception, I swung my axe at the arm-like form aimed at my face, easily slicing it in half.
Turning, I followed up with another swing, severing the main body of the creature in half. Water exploded, drenching me and the uneven ground. Sputtering, I held my ground, wary of moving too much and falling into a pool of water.
The other creatures ran at me, and I disposed of the following two as easily as the first. Before I could prepare for the others—the cavern filled with dozens of watery snarls—the water covering me seemed to be sucked away, flying to my left where the first monster had died.
At least where I thought it had died. With a noise like a whirlpool, the creature formed again, releasing an ear-splitting screech to the ceiling. I could tell it was bigger, its stomp shaking the ground.
The other two that had broken apart formed again, displaying the same behavior.
Fuck.
The three lunged at me all at once, and I ducked as their arms flailed over my head. Two collided, releasing a sound like a raging waterfall.
I swung at the monster's legs, but it was difficult this time, the increased water pressure slowing my strike down. Think.
Following with an upward slice, I split one vertically, and the water violently spilled across the floor. Another lunged for my chest, and I held my axe in front of me, pushing forward to shove the creature back. Think.
Shaking my head, I summoned a flame, growing and spreading it out like a wall in front of me. I pushed it forward, and it turned the spilled water on the ground to steam that heated my skin.
Axe in one hand, I chopped one of the enhanced monsters, left then right, splitting something vital that had it deforming. I moved my flames to the spilled water, and the liquid quickly evaporated.
The last monster braced as I lunged at it, hitting what felt like its arm with an overhead swing. My blade sunk in a few inches, and it was like the axe was trying to move through molasses. I yanked out my weapon, stepping back with one foot.
The monster followed me, swiping at my exposed arm. Off balance from drawing back, it hit, five claws slashing through my skin. I gritted my teeth but moved forward through the pain, aiming at the water creature's exposed center.
Channeling my energy into my arms, I leaned my whole body into the chop, slashing through the creature's body. It exploded in a fountain of water, and I condensed my flames to turn the water into steam.
[Strength +1]
The first creature still had not formed again, so I concluded the fire had worked. Maybe they only had one extra life in them, but that wasn’t a hypothesis I wanted to test. I braced for the next wave, five sets of liquid feet slapping the ground as the monsters ran for me.
They were much easier to kill, like the first three before they'd evolved. My flames moved continuously every time one deformed into a puddle. The monsters seemed endless, my shoulders burning from continuous use. Every slice felled a monster—horizontally severing the entire body or striking downwards to split them top to bottom.
I didn't want to take my chances on using more than one hit to kill each, as there were too many to dodge every hit. I wondered if it would only end until all the pools had been emptied.
As I cut through one monster, a swipe from another landed on my right leg, hardened water claws digging into my leather armor.
My mana was draining from maintaining my flames, and I hoped this would be over before I was out, or I wouldn't make it. However, the intensity eventually diminished, with fewer creatures aiming for me at once. Before I knew it, the cavern grew silent with the exception of my heavy breathing, the growls of the monsters completely gone.
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After sweeping over the ground with my flames one last time, I let them fade away. I was damp from stray droplets, but I figured the monsters couldn’t form from so little.
Moving back to the tunnel, I sat against the wall, leaning my axe against it. I wanted to drink the water to soothe my parched throat, but I wasn't thirsty enough to risk the chance of more monsters coming out as a result, so I settled with pulling out some dried meat.
Chewing slowly, I thought. If it hadn't been for [Summon Flame], there was no way I would have won. I assumed the creatures would get stronger every time I "killed" them, and that would've only spelled my doom. If I was wrong about that, killing them all only twice still would’ve been a struggle.
If someone didn't have a skill like mine, this would be impossible unless they ran for the next exit before the monsters could form. If they formed at all, since they only appeared once I touched the water, and I wondered what would've happened if I hadn't made that mistake.
Sighing, I let the speculations fade. Making sure the bleeding on my arm stopped completely, I ripped a piece of fabric from my shirt and tied it around the wound. Then, I leaned my head against the uncomfortable stone wall, making myself rest. Whatever was ahead wouldn't be easier, and I wanted to refill my mana core before I moved on.
Tension gone from my muscles, I drifted off for a few hours. I figured it was around the middle of the night above the surface when I woke. Standing, I cracked my neck and loosened my stiff muscles.
I traveled along the wall in the cavern, sometimes balancing against narrow ledges that bordered the water. I kept my hand against the wall, dragging it against the stone as I moved. Another tunnel appeared about halfway in, and I decided to go in that direction without checking for another path.
This passage was longer than the first, but in contrast there were no traps. Still, I kept my axe at the ready, tensing more when another open cavern appeared.
Suddenly, a rumbling sounded, the ground shaking slightly beneath my feet. I strained my senses, following the trembling to a mass in the middle of the space. Eight whip-like objects sliced through the air, making it scream as they twirled.
I identified the sound of claws digging into the stone, creating cracks in the ground that raced towards me. It sent out a circling shockwave, stones flying up into the air to fall back to the floor with a sharp clacking.
Two different tones of hissing reached my ears, and I wondered how one monster could make so many sounds. I braced myself, trying to figure out what was before me.
One, tentacle-like legs or appendages; two, a set of arms with six claws on each; three, the possibility of two heads or just the vocal cords to make two opposing sounds simultaneously. I could only imagine what something like that would look like. It definitely didn't seem good for me.
I stepped forward, leaving the narrow tunnel behind, triggering a roar from the creature. It shook the walls, those dual war cries, like how I thought two dragons would sound.
It rushed me, sliding over the ground, accompanied by the sound of dagger tips stabbing into the stone. I figured those were the tentacles, sharp claw-like knives at the ends.
I ran to the right, rolling as the creature's hands slammed into where I had been standing. It wasted no time, lifting up one arm to swipe at me. The wind howled as I narrowly dodged, and a drop of sweat rolled down my temple.
Jumping from the ground, I swung my axe up, and it rebounded against the hand with a metallic clang. Those were impenetrable, then.
Pulling my axe back again in preparation, two tentacles immediately shot towards me, the artificial wind blowing against my face. With a huff of breath, I activated [Silent Blade], my axe speeding up to meet the clash.
Without resistance, my weapon sliced through flesh, severing the tentacles. They were about as thick as my torso, and blood splattered to the ground, making the monster howl. Its vigor increased in response, each remaining tentacle and both arms whipping towards me without pause.
I could dodge the arms, lunging and bending, but the tentacles were twice as fast. With a bend of my head, one narrowly missed my forehead, and I blocked another aimed at my stomach with my arm guard. It wasn't sharp enough to do anything but bounce off.
[Perception +1]
My [Enhanced Sense] skill was on overtime, every identified attack pushing it to the limit. I don't know how many times I dodged, narrowly escaping the lethal claws. But I could count the times I'd been hit, the sliced skin on my calf, bicep, and neck stinging.
Each wound wasn't very deep, but if more joined them, I'd lose stamina even quicker. I let my hearing take over, every movement of the creature a gunshot in my ears. I danced, keeping the claws away from me.
With a bend, I shot my axe up with one hand, its edge severing a tentacle as another uselessly hit my bracer. Then, with a turn, I severed that one as well, two hands gripping the axe's handle.
[Perception +1]
How exhilarating.
I could hear every minuscule movement; they were like quick snaps in my ear. It gave me those precious moments to dodge preemptively, the monster's hands not dexterous enough to change direction.
The remaining four tentacles were a little more tricky, bending with me as I suddenly turned. But I learned with them, twisting my body and deflecting with my axe when I couldn't. One snaked towards my torso, and with the flat of my axe, I deflected the sharp tip upwards.
Quickly changing the direction of my weapon, following through, I cut it off with the momentum of [Silent Blade], making the monster furious as it thrashed toward me.
Three to go.
The creature seemed to speed up, every swipe lethal. The tension in my muscles threatened to crack bone as I stepped back at the viciousness of each strike. The tentacles were less of a danger, so I knew I needed to change my target for now.
I jumped back as one almost skewered my side, both sets of claws swinging for my head. I ducked, the sharp tips cutting through the strands of my hair. I dodged as one arm followed with an upward slash aimed at my front, the wind howling over my face.
The other came for my arm that was holding the axe. Now.
Instead of dodging, I swung back in preparation, stepping forward to avoid a tentacle. As it retreated, it sliced the back of my ankle, almost making me buckle. But I couldn't falter as those claws came for me. Channeling almost everything into [Silent Blade], I swung, arms straining.
My axe slipped below the defense of the claws, curving to dig into the wrist. Flesh parted for my axe, and it sliced almost all the way through the creature's wrist. It howled, freezing, and not missing a second, I pulled back for another chop, the severed hand flying through the air.
It landed on the ground with a heavy thump, bouncing before rolling away. The creature hissed, the sounds so different from any noise it had made before. A shiver slid down my spine as it retreated a few steps, that threatening harmony worming its way into my brain.
I could hear rushing water, and with a crunching bang, the floor exploded.