The three ran out of the room without waiting for him. The door slammed itself shut, and a red light appeared on the top. There was no way to go back.

“Hey!”, said Charles, looking around. He was in a cave, and the rocks making their walls were twinkling bright enough that there wasn’t any need for a torch. His hair scraped against the ceiling, as he ran to catch them. It was cold enough that his breath was cooling into a cloud, but the excessive dampness made him sweat anyways.

Lucy stopped and turned towards him.

“Where are we going?”, he said;

“Follow us and don’t do anything stupid”, and she started to walk again.

Drops of water were making a clicking sound as they hit the ground, sometimes forming puddles along the way; one time a large one fell on Charles, making him shiver.

The cave opened into a large room, illuminated by a fire in the center. Lucy turned on the spot and placed her index finger on her lips, “If you make a noise, I’ll destroy your face”, and raised one of her fists. Four creatures with long limbs were curled under rags, their large eyes closed. Their small squashed faces like the one of a pug were lying on the ground, showing a translucent skin with no hair.

Lucy pointed at the farthest one, “When I give you the signal, smash his head with your pipe, then we’ll take of the other one together”;

“But-”. It wasn’t right to kill a sleeping creature without give him a chance. Then he remembered that he wasn’t King Arthur and maybe that thing could be very nasty if awake.

“Fine”, he whispered. Matthew pointed his bat against the one near the fire, Andrea held the revolver by the barrel near the creature’s temple, and Lucy placed her hands on the face of the other one. Charles raised the pipe over his head and took a long sigh. He needed to do it if he wanted to be accepted by the others.

At her scream, he swung down the weapon. A splatter of blood hit his face, making him gasp. He dropped the pipe from his hands on the creature, making the situation even worse. Charles turned to Lucy strangling a creature, and Matthew hit it in the belly, making him groan and drop his arms to the ground. The other two were already dead.

“Oh, God”, he said when he lowered his gaze to the creature's skull opened like a broken teapot, and the puddle full of blood and bits of white matter. Lucy patted his shoulder, “Good work”, she said, “Maybe you’re not useless as it seems”;

“Why did we kill them?”;

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“We’re in a dungeon, not at the country club. Everything here’s trying to kill you”.

They moved the bodies under the fire. Lucy opened the mouth of one of them and wriggled one his sharp canines until it came out.

“What’re you doing?”, said Charles;

“Every time you kill a mob”, said Matthew, who was doing the same thing, “you need to take a trophy off him and put it in the machine. But you’ve to do yourself”.

There wasn’t much left of the one whom he killed. There was already a tooth lying on the ground, dripping in blood. He grabbed it with a disgusted expression on his face and put it in his pocket.

“Every we fight we avoid”, said Lucy, talking towards him, “It’s one less chance to be killed. These are all lessons we experienced on our skins. Remember it, rich kid”. Matthew had a map drawn on a napkin, “The boss shouldn’t be far, and if we take that way we won’t find any high-level mobs on the way”;

“Let’s move then”, said Lucy.

They continued walking in a cave like the other one. He was starting to like the sense of adventure he was experiencing. It could be a pleasant experience, and something he could tell his family after he escaped. His little sister would be so envious of him. He wasn't worried about the situation: only poor people who couldn’t afford a bunker died in the apocalypse.

The group stopped at the point from which the cave continued in two opposite ways. Now the ceiling was much taller than before, and drops of water dropped from the stalactites. Lucy and Matthew muttered something between themselves while Andrea had already taken the right path.

“Hey, Charlie”, said Lucy, “The road up ahead is very difficult for newbies like you. Why don’t you go left?”;

“What’s there?”;

“Just some low-level mobs, something even someone like you can beat. You just need some experience, if you go with us”, she passed her thumb around her throat, “Do you understand?”. Charlie nodded, “Well, if you insist”;

“Kill two or three or them and come back here”, said Matthew, with a big smile, “We’ll be waiting for you”;

“Thank you”, said Charles;

“We’re always pleased to help noobs like you. You are part of the team now”, they both said.

He took his way into the cave and went on until he couldn’t hear anymore the two urging him to go forward. He was capable enough to kill some monsters alone, and there should be nothing to be worried about. Not even by the fact that the walls were now painted by fresh blood, neither by the bones cracking under his shoes, and neither by the sign Stay away you fool! written on the rock.

Maybe he wasn’t so sure about it anymore. A growling sound came from the cave and large steps moved towards him. He screamed as he turned back and ran. The creature’s shadow loomed upon him as it charged. It walked on two legs, but its steps made the sound of hoofs clopping against the ground.

Charles stopped. If he went forward, he would put his friends in danger, and he won’t get any experience by running away. They’ll be surprised when he will tell them that he beat such a strong monster.

“I’m ready!”, he said, and raised his lead pipe towards the horse-headed monster walking towards him. The monster’s nostrils flared, making smoke come out, and his dark eyes were glaring into him. He thrashed his head and roared, making his coiled horns crush a stalactite and the earth rumble. The roar's wind moved Charles' hair backwards, and caused his knees to buckle.

Charles dropped the pipe from his shaking hand.

“Mercy?”

The Monster’s long sword swung down, cutting his head off.