Creature’s in hell played by different rules than those in the overworld. Abominations, a mix of tentacles, muscles, and flesh, were spotted quite frequently in the wilderness, and most creatures carried more than two eyes, arms and legs. The humanoid shape was largely restricted to the devil-kind and their lesser subspecies. Why that was? I could not tell you, but, it was said that we descended from humans.

In hell, survival was all about using the high mana-density in the air. It led to a rather diverse scene. In many ways what humans considered odd was normal in hell, and what they thought normal, was very much odd. Maybe those words didn’t quite do hell justice.

Perhaps that was why when my fireball revealed a freakish and utterly hideous creature, I wasn’t as disturbed as most people would be. Large warts riddled its ashen-white face like filth covering a pig’s face after a mud brawl. Two human hands, without arms or shoulders, rested on the back of its head, just behind its holish ears. Its six forelegs against the floor bent into a leaping position. It was as large as a goat.

I was turned on. Frightened. Utterly terrified even, but also horny. The adrenaline flooding my system made it a peculiar mix. I summoned another fireball and flicked it towards the creature. The ball of flames smashed into the creature’s torso, making delightful sounds of searing. It shrieked, and the small, inclosed spot, made it loud enough to hurt my ears.

I didn’t have much time to deal with my ringing ears as the creature tackled me. I felt, what I assumed was its head, smash into my torso, making me fall down onto my back. Its legs clacked against the stone ground as it quickly mounted me and began stabbing and biting.

The skill [Pain Resistance] has been gained.

I cast [Fireball] and pressed it into the creature’s head, burning its eyes with a satisfying pop. That must have hurt. Instead of shocking or dazing the creature, the pain seemed to make it more viscous, its legs stabbing deeper into my stomach. The andranline must have hidden the pain because I only felt a tickling sensation in my organs. It wasn’t a good sign.

The skill [Hemorrhage Resistance] has been gained.

I cast [Fireball] again, and shoved it into the creature’s mouth. How’s that for a snack? The ambusher continued its relentless assault. My spells didn’t seem to be having much of an impact as I had hoped. I thoughts its hp would have depleted by now, but it was like a cockroach in that aspect.

Up until this fight my magic had been enough to handle basically anything, and I’d forgotten that I could also use my body. The thought shoved and pushed its way from the back of my mind right to the forefront, and I began slamming the sharp point of the pickaxe into the back of the creature. After the third strike I heard the sound of blood splashing and I could smell iron in the air.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

As I continued stabbing into its back, the creature’s legs seemed to slow down. That gave me more motivation to continue mining into its back, which only slowed it down further. I must have struck the heart with the final blow because its entire body fell down against mine, motionless.

You have killed a lvl 4 Cave Cockroach. 230 experience points has been gained.

I tried to push it off me but I didn’t have the strength for that. I glanced at my hp, which was neatly written right under my map, and it had reached seven. I could very well have died to this cave cockroach and that didn’t sit well with my ego.

The skill [Hemorrhage Resistance] has leveled up.

My hp dropped to five, but I wasn’t worried that I’d die of this. Bloodloss wasn’t enough to kill an imp as they were magical in nature. I’d be weak, barely have the strength to blink, but in a couple of hours I’d regenerate back to full.

In that time I’d be defenseless and I could only wish that I wasn’t attacked by another creature. Fortunately, our clashing should already have brought anything in the vicinity, and I doubted the smell of blood would travel far in cave air.

As I slowly regenerated, my adrenaline filtered out of my body, leaving me with a load of pain. Occasionally, the cockroaches's legs would twitch, and I realized that they were still in my gut. They sent jolts of pain so fierce that I’d curse with each one, but I didn’t have the strength necessary to push it off me. I could only bear the pain and wait.

Is this how virgins feel?

The skill [Pain Resistance] has leveled up.

Nearly two hours passed before I stood up again. I was soaked in my own and the creature’s blood. My robe, or, the merchant whose robe I had stolen, had been ripped around the gut and the chest. It still covered me well enough to be of use, but getting a new one was in order.

I’d have to be careful not to destroy it whilst I was down here. Then I wouldn’t be able to go back up to the town unless I killed another miner, and that was very unlikely of happening anytime soon.

That creature had surprised and me. I’d been fortunate that It hadn’t been anything worse. It hadn’t really dawned on me how weak I’d become. Being strong was one of those things I’d internalized so deeply that merely thinking of my new state hadn’t been enough, but that event had certainly been a wake up call.

Either way, I’d need to gain some other way of gathering information, or a new strategy to my approach at mining. Night vision would certainly be nice to have, but I’d need to increase my stat in magic before I had the capacity to cast a spell like that. For now I’d have to settle on a pet capable of sensing danger.

Also, armour. I was getting armor after this.

I set those thoughts of my mind as I wandered deeper into the cave. I’d cleared all of the mobs in this area, so there was nothing left except for mining.