CHAPTER 2

This one was larger than all the other ones I have just fought. It had tufts of fur scattered throughout its large body and its eyes shone in a color of red crimson. It paid no heed to its fallen brethren as it slowly stepped over their bodies. Everything about it was deadlier, sharper fangs, longer claws, deadlier intent; I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me as I gripped the hilt of my dagger tighter.

“You…die…pain…”it bellowed from the bottom of its being that I felt myself shiver for a moment.

Then it jumped, faster than I had anticipated, I watched it swing its claws, aiming for my neck, I knew that I couldn’t jump out of the way, there was not enough time. My instincts and extremely high levels of adrenaline worked in my favor yet again as I bent over backwards, the creature’s claws flying mere inches above my face. I back flipped as the creature swung again, this time going for my stomach. I jumped out of the way yet again.

I was on the defensive now, the beast pounced and attacked persistently while I only managed to jump out in the last second, trying not to get butchered by its deadly claws. I could never win while I was on the defensive, I had to turn the odds in my favor and I had to do it quickly. I conjured up the timer again which notified me that there were only four and a half minutes remaining. By this point the entire dungeon was shaking, pieces of debris falling here and there, cracks were formed all over the walls and the ground.

I jumped back, taking cover behind one of the stone arches that could collapse any second now. I tried to give myself a few moments where I could shift the dynamic and go on the offensive. I jumped again and hid behind a different pillar. I repeated the action several times so as to confuse the leader. I finally emerged from one of the arches, aiming for the creature with my dagger. Although its back was turned to me when I attacked it somehow knew the direction from which I was coming from as it swiftly turned around and raised its claws. Blade clashed with claw as I watched a few sparks fly out upon impact.

It was too fast, I couldn’t hope to take it head on; I had to develop a different strategy. For the time being I hid back behind the pillars, attempting the same technique as before of stalling and taking it by surprise. This strategy was foolish by all means, attempting to stall in a predicament where time was of the essence and there was not much time left, could spell out my doom before I even knew it. Yet I felt as if it was the only thing I could do for the moment.

I felt time pressing at my back and the ghoul’s claws reaching from the front, I was caught between two fires and I was slowly beginning to feel the burn. I wondered if there was any other ability that I possessed, something that could turn the tables. Then something happened. As I jumped around from pillar to pillar in an attempt to elude the creature, it suddenly leapt in the opposite direction from where I was hidden. I watched as it slashed one of the falling rocks. It paused as if it had made a mistake and then went back to searching around for me.

Could it be that? Was that the reason it reacted to me before it even saw me, was that the reason it attacked a falling stone thinking it was me? I picked up a small pebble and in a fluid motion I flung the little stone across the room. Even before the stone crashed into one of the pillars the ghoul leader noticed it and reacted to it with a roar. That had to be it. This creature possessed extraordinary hearing, that’s why it always reacted before seeing anything; it was reacting to the sounds.

I felt a slight smirk form across my face, everything about this, confusion and danger aside, was exhilarating. I knew my enemy’s strength now; I could use it to my advantage. I was ready to lead this dance to its climax. The ticking time which was a point of consternation up until that moment was now a fuel for my determination. It made this whole situation more exciting…it was the music for the dance.

I picked up a few more pebbles as I flung them in different directions. The ghoul spun its ugly head around, unsure which sound to follow. Once it had spotted me it started its chase once again. But it would not catch me. I hid again, this time smashing one of the pillars that started crumbling down. Hidden behind the dust and the crushing sounds I moved to another pillar and did the same. They all fell one by one as the ghoul continued its fruitless pursuit, always lagging behind me.

When most of the pillars were crushed I backed up against a wall. It noticed me and ran after me. It thought that it had me cornered. When it got close enough I connected my fists and smashed the wall behind me with all my strength. The walls shook as a piece of the ceiling came crashing down, falling towards the spot where the ghoul was standing.

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It only dawned on me then. Biology teaches us that all species are situated in a perpetual state of adapting and evolving, engraved in a pyramid that differentiates the strong from the weak. If it is indeed so then these creatures must have resided at the bottom of that cycle. They only fed on the dead, their enemies were those who could never fight back, enemies that were in fact no enemies at all. They had not been strong enough to hold their own against those who fought back.

“You have been in the dark for too long.” I whispered. I couldn’t tell if the creature understood what I was saying but the screech it let out was brimming with rage, the bite of my words had met its mark regardless.

Roaring with fury it jumped out of the way of the falling debris landing in a zone that it deemed safe. I anticipated its move as I used the wall behind me as a springboard in order to launch myself and land in the place where the ghoul had been moving to. I got there before him and less than a second later the ghoul also stopped there. It looked up at me; it knew it was too late then. That defeated look in its eyes, I almost pitied the thing, and if it could plead I’m sure it would. But it would be no good.

Before it had the chance to recuperate I swung my blade, its head flying right off. Blood spurted out as the monster fell to the ground. It was over, I felt relief and a sense of triumph overcome me. But I knew it was not done just yet. There were barely two minutes left on the timer and I still had no way out. I tried to open the gates out of the room but they would not budge no matter how hard I tried.

[You have defeated “The Leader of the Ghouls”.]

[You may now use your ability “Shadow’s Belly” to consume the slain enemy. Do you wish to do so?]

Another ability, consume the enemy? I came back to the headless body of the leader as I wondered how to respond. I really hope I don’t have to actually eat it.

“Yes.” I replied.

My shadow slowly stretched out, as if it had a life of its own as it enveloped the slain ghoul completely. Blue lines, resembling veins, appeared across my shadow as I felt a strange energy surging through my body.

[The enemy was consumed successfully.]

[Using the ability “Shadow’s Belly” you have attained a new power.]

[You now possess the ability “Footsteps in the Night.”]

The shadow retreated and the body of the ghouls seemed intact. I quickly had to move away as more and more debris fell, burying the body of the leader as well as the bodies of all the other ghouls underneath the rubble.

“What is this new ability?” I shouted. “What is “Footsteps in the Night”? How do I use it?”

[Footsteps in the Night is a passive ability that enhances your hearing]

The voice replied.

I closed my eyes and focused. It was true, I could hear everything much better; all around me there was noise of crashing and rumbling.

“Damn it,” I cursed, “How will that help me get out of this place?”

I focused once again, trying to filter out all the sounds, searching for something that stood out, something that wasn’t the sound of falling rocks. I finally found it. It sounded like a whistle at first, like the whistle of a shepherd calling out to his animals, and then it sounded like a light breeze, brushing the surface of the sea. It was coming from there, I realized as I looked up at the altar that stood at the end of the room. There were some steps leading up to it that I quickly climbed. At the top there was some sort of pedestal, rounded with runes and images.

In the middle of this pedestal was a crack, no wider or longer than the blade of a dagger, this was where that sound was coming from, I knew now for sure. I looked around for something, a jewel or an amulet perhaps, something that I could lodge into the opening, but there was nothing of the sort in my sight. The building would crumble any second now. There were only 15 seconds remaining.

As an act of desperation and potentially my last hoorah, I raised my blade and lodged it into the opening. It fit perfectly. I heard crackling noises as the crack in the pedestal grew larger, spreading all over the altar. Looking down at my feet I saw greenery; grasses and trees and flowers. I plummeted down as my body met the ground. When I opened my eyes I found myself amongst the grass with the humongous dungeon hovering above me in the sky.

3...2…1, the timer had reached zero. It’s hard to explain what I witnessed next. As soon as the timer hit zero the towering dungeon which covered half the sky began to…reduce; almost as if it was folding unto itself, like watching a transformer form back into a car or something similar to that. The blocks rose and fell as if someone was turning a Rubik’s cube until nothing but a single block of stone remained in the sky. The block then plummeted from the sky, falling a few meters in front of me. It was then swallowed by the earth. I know it may sound silly but that is precisely what happened. It simply sunk into the earth and when I came closer to look there had been no trace of it, the ground looked undisturbed.

I crashed onto the ground as the fatigue caught up to me, silently praying that I don’t get swallowed by the earth as well. Ding, I heard a sound.

[Congratulations] the voice said. [You have successfully leveled down.]

[Lv. 0 ->Lv. -1]

The window before me read.