Not good. What do I do? Narias tried to keep calm, but the danger was obvious. The cave room he was now in was much smaller than the previous ones and will give him much less room to move around, making it much harder to get away from the Crystal Hornhead. If I can’t get away, then…

“Wind Bullet!” Narias aimed at the Crystal Hornhead’s leg. The green flash of light basically bounced off of the hard, crystal plated leg. “Ah, the hell with it! Wind Blade! Fireball! Fireball!”

Narias unleashed multiple spells directly at the massive bug monster. His spells hit it, but the monster didn’t even flinch. It narrowed its eyes on its prey who had nowhere to run anymore before dashing at Narias forward, the ground shaking under its legs.

“Fire Wall!” Narias attempted to stop the Crystal Hornhead from charging at him by erecting a huge wall of fire which burst in full fiery might towards the monster. The fire was still fire, and even if the creature was highly resistant to magic, it lowered its head down as it charged Narias to protect itself from getting burned too much, with its massive horn pointed forward.

“Boost! Wind Burst!” Narias threw himself out of the way in order to not get squashed by the Crystal Hornhead’s charge. “Bhaaa…” As fast as Narias was however, there wasn’t too much room for him to get away unscathed. He managed to avoid getting impaled or trampled by the Crystal Hornhead, but the force of its charge blew him away into the wall.

“Aah… tss… Get up, get uuup!” Narias body was aching from hitting the wall, but he didn’t feel like any of his bones were broken. He ushered himself to get up as fast as he could, but the Crystal Hornhead was upon him already.

“Shield!” – ‘Swipe!’ – “Aaaah!” Narias was blown away by the swipe of the monster’s arm-blade. Maybe it was luck, but Narias wasn’t cut in half. His magic shield, and probably his Fanged Whitemane Leather Armor saved him from a certain death. Although, his armor was slashed at the front where the Crystal Hornhead’s swipe landed, paying the price.

“Damn it! Wind Burst!” Ignoring all the pain Narias was feeling, he darted towards the cave’s exit to get away. The tunnels connecting the caves were huge and spacious, so there was enough room to move around. Narias thought he might just be lucky enough to get away now that the Crystal Hornhead was behind him. All he needed to do was cast his Wind Pressure Blast spell and he’d be out of range of the Crystal Hornhead’s next attack. “No, not now!”

Narias exclaimed when several Pincer Ants blocked his way. Pincer Ants were slower compared to the Crystal Hornhead, but the time Narias had spent inside the cave gave the regular monsters enough time to reach it. Narias was definitely trapped now.

“Fire Blast!” Narias blasted one of the Pincer Ants to make way for himself, but three more monster ants were still blocking his way. “Shield!” He blocked the closest Pincer Ant’s advance and was about to try and jump over the remaining two monsters to get away, but a terrifying shadow topped over him from behind. A small turn of his head to glance behind him told Narias he was about to be cut in half for real this time. His mind switched itself of from thinking and his body forced itself to drop on the ground face down just when a powerful slice slashed only a foot above Narias’s head, cutting two Pincer Ants in half.

“Wind Burst! Wind Burst! Wind Burst!” Narias was so intense with his spells, his body was moving on its own. Narias released multiple spells to push himself away, making him slide while still lying on the ground to get away from another Crystal Hornhead’s attack, the sharp end of its arm blade hitting the spot from above right where Narias was lying just a moment ago.

“I need to… Huh? Wind Burst! Wind Shield!” Narias scrambled to get up, thinking he’d just might get away thanks to Crystal Hornhead killing two Pincer Ants and clearing the way, but the massive crystal bug would have none of that. It sliced at Narias again, trying to stop him from getting away. Narias cast his Wind Burst and Wind Shield spells simultaneously with both hands in an attempt to protect himself. He survived, but was thrown towards the wall instead of further into the tunnel.

“Dhaa! Tch… Ah, no- Wind Pressure Blast!” Having no other choice, Narias used his Wind Pressure Blast spell to prevent himself from smashing at the wall, blasting himself to the side. Unfortunately, he was thrown back into the cave again.

No, I’m back inside the cave again! Narias options to escape narrowed to a single one yet again and the Crystal Hornhead was about to go after him. The body of the massive bug shone as it was getting ready to charge at Narias, its enormous horn already pointing forward.

“Ach, damn it…” Narias had less than a second to think about what to do next, his eyes shooting all over the room to find something he could use to his advantage. “Huh? Is that… Boost!” Just when Narias activated his spell, the Crystal Hornhead charged him, the ground trembling under its legs.

“Wind Burst! Wind Burst!” Narias timed his spells, forcing his mind to stay calm to the point he accepted his fate to be squashed if what he was about to do wouldn’t work. “Wind Pressure Blast!” Just when the Crystal Hornhead was about to run him over, Narias aimed his spell to blast himself through what it looked like a tiny opening inside the wall, plunging through it just when the Crystal Hornhead smashed itself at the same spot. Narias didn’t know if the opening inside the wall was deep enough to save him, but at that point, it was his only hope.

“Aaah… Bhah… Ugh…” A loud crash with the rocks falling down was heard behind him as Narias was tumbling down through the small hole inside the wall. It turned out the hole inside the wall opened a small pathway, about ten feet in height and almost five feet in width, saving Narias from being crushed by a massive bug. The pathway was big enough for him to get through, but too small for the Crystal Hornhead to follow him inside.

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“Ouch… ouch… Come on…” Narias tried to pick himself up, afraid he’d get slashed by the Crystal Hornhead, but then noticed he was out of its reach and the monster wasn’t able to get to him. “Am I… lucky or what?” Narias would’ve laughed out loud, but he managed to let out only a cracked chuckle due to his body hurting all over.

Is this… some sort of passage? Narias spoke in his head to save his body from the unnecessary extra pain. He turned to lay down on his back to catch a breath, staying there for a few moments. Phew… That was… too close.

The noise of the ruckus and something smashing at the wall inside the cave told Narias he shouldn’t just lie there. He pulled himself up, managing to stand up. Narias leaned against one side of the wall and slowly made his way to see what he could find on the other end of the passage he was in. The path was poorly lit, but Narias was still able to see where to go.

What’s this? Narias stopped at the entrance into a very tiny room. It was another cave, but this one was extremely small compared to all the other caves and tunnels on the third floor of the dungeon. It was thirty feet by thirty feet in size at best and had no other exits out of it. Narias rubbed his eyes, so he could see better. Huh? There’s water here?

He stepped inside to check if he wasn’t seeing things, but when his hands felt the water on them, and his mouth tasted the cool freshness of it, Narias had finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Is this… supposed to be a Supply Point room?” Narias was quick to realize the small cave was resembling one. The water tickling down the wall into a tiny, half a foot puddle on the ground helped to add to Narias’s deduction. “Baah… I’m so… tired… Tch… ouch… Aah…” Narias lay down on the ground on his back, his body making him know how painful it actually was. He tried to relax, taking several deep breaths in and helping his body to calm down. It didn’t take long for Narias to fall asleep soon after.

“Yaaaw- ouch… tss…” Narias was trying to yawn and stretch, but felt pain as a result of it, instantly making him shrink. “Ouch… huh? Oh, I must’ve fallen asleep.” Narias pushed himself up from the ground, sitting up and rubbing his eyes in order to fully wake up.

Right, I went through that small passage to get here. Phew… Narias let out a sigh of relief. He went to wash his face and drink some water before sitting down to think what to do. Ok, what do I do now? Huh? What’s that?

Only after Narias gave a good look around the small cave he was in, he noticed something sticking out from the wall on the opposite side where the water was dripping down. The rock looked a little like the Soft Steel Ore, but wasn’t exactly the same.

“Eeh… oops…” Narias tried getting it out, but couldn’t. It was stuck inside the wall too deep and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he tugged on it. “Must be the Hard Steel Ore Growly found last time we were here. Oh, whatever. Anyway, I need to get out of here.”

Narias shifted his focus to think what he should to do next, deciding he’d better go check if it was safe to leave.

Ah, man. Not good… Narias let out a disappointing sigh, seeing the Crystal Hornhead sitting inside the cave room when he carefully took a peek outside. He was about to shrink back into the tiny tunnel when he noticed something else on the ground too. My backpack? That’s right, I dropped it when I was trying to get away from the Crystal Hornhead.

Narias’s backpack was lying some distance away from the small entrance he was standing at. Narias knew he’d need to eat if he was to stay alive longer. Fortunately, the Crystal Hornhead hasn’t noticed him peeking out of the entrance yet. Unfortunately, his backpack was lying only several feet away from the massive bug monster.

I need to get it, but… Narias was hesitant to leave the safe spot, but he also knew he won’t survive without any food. He knew the monster would probably notice him the moment Narias leave the tunnel, so he had to distract it somehow.

Luckily for Narias, there were plenty of rocks lying around on the ground. He picked one up before throwing it at the other side of the cave. A not so quiet bump was heard when the rock hit the ground, rolling some and alerting the Crystal Hornhead which probably wasn’t sleeping anyway. The huge monstrous bug was quick to dash towards the sound, giving Narias an opportunity to grab his backpack. The Crystal Hornhead noticed him and turned around to get him, but fortunately, Narias was quick on his feet.

“Boost!” Narias was fast enough to reach the entrance tunnel that he came from to get away. A loud crash was heard behind him when the Crystal Hornhead rammed itself at the small entrance that Narias disappeared into. It made Narias shiver, a terrifying thought of the monster smashing its way through the tiny tunnel in order to reach him flashed inside his mind, but the walls around the cave’s exit held firm. “Phew…”

Luckily, the walls were tougher than the Crystal Hornhead’s smash. Some rocks fell from the ceilings and the wall was cracked on the sides, but it didn’t affect the small tunnel Narias was in. That just confirmed Narias suspicions that the small pathway was part of the Supply Point room, magically staying intact and unreachable to any monsters.

“Right, let’s eat something,” Narias was back at the tiny cave room. He didn’t know how long he slept earlier, but from how hungry he felt, it must’ve been longer than a few hours. Narias decided to be frugal with his food, not knowing how long he’d need to stay here. He took inventory of what he had left with him, learning he had enough rations to last him three days at best. “Three days, huh? I could probably push it to four if I stay frugal. Sigh… good thing I have no bones broken or it’ll be really bad.”

Narias was roughed up quite bad, but he was lucky to get away with only some bruises. They still hurt, though, and since Narias wasn’t able to leave, he had no other choice but focus on getting better faster.

Two days have passed and Narias was yet again recovering from another attempt to get away from the Crystal Hornhead. He tried leaving his safe zone only a day after he found himself trapped in a small Supply Point room. The attempt failed and almost ended in a disaster, forcing him to get back to safety before Narias was able to reach the exit of the cave room. The second attempt might’ve been a success if not for the Pincer Ants blocking his way again. The boss monster on the third floor wasn’t defeated, so monsters would respawn faster and in the same numbers like they usually would.

During his second attempt, Narias was able to outsmart the Crystal Hornhead and get away from it, making his way through the tunnel. But before Narias could reach the next cave, the Pincer Ants were alerted by the noise inside the massive corridor and came to greet him, preventing his escape. Every second was precious to him, but unfortunately, Narias had no choice but to fight, with more Pincer Ants showing up after he had killed the first two. It was too dangerous for Narias to rush through the cave and gather more monsters on his tail, ending up being surrounded from all directions which would’ve let to his certain doom. Thanks to him being smart and capable, Narias managed to return to his safe zone, not without additional bruises unfortunately. He might’ve escaped with his life again, but that didn’t make him feel at ease one bit. Narias was feeling very much concerned about his possibilities to leave the Magic Dungeon at that point.