Pain is usually a sense that warns you, it warns you about something that´s not right. My sense of pain started dulling after around a year passed. I guess it holds true that Humans get used to everything. I can clearly tell that my aunt treats me worse with the coming of every new day. I have a feeling my body won´t be able to survive this for even one more month, or maybe my mind won´t.
--
Today my aunt has people coming over, so she didn´t even bother unlocking the room I usually sleep in. There´s a chance they could help me, help me get out of here if I somehow managed to let them find out about my aunt´s abuse, I even have my body that I can show as proof to them. Unfortunately, this faint hope of mine is nothing more than an illusion for two reasons:
1. There´s a magic cast on this room that won´t let any sound escape. I can still hear everything that happens outside, but they won´t be able to hear me. From my first night here, I noticed there was something off about this room. After taking some risks, I managed to confirm my assumption was more than just a feeling.
2. Even if I managed to get through to them, I still don´t know if they´d even be on my side. I can´t trust anybody who´s affiliated with my aunt. Then again, I´m basically on a day off because they´re here, she´d probably make me work if they were in cahoots
Soon enough I´ll know anyway.
--
I can´t remember the last time I was able to relax during the day. My thoughts aren´t used to being on their own for this long. I even feel pain from old wounds coming back which I don´t like at all. I need to occupy myself with something, with anything, so I can forget again. My eyes dart around the empty room for a while and with nothing better coming to mind, I decide to lean my ear on the door.
´Maybe I can catch something useful from their talk,´ are my hopes.
I hear a man's voice speaking, he´s slurring a little, probably under the influence of alcohol
"How´s the embezzlement of the heritage coming along? I can´t wait for that shit-ton of money any longer, you know?"
Embezzlement? Heritage? So that´s why...
"Shut your stinking trap, it will be finished by evening today. You know how stubborn these authority fuckers can be. This is the last document we need to send out with the brat´s Mana-Fingerprint," my aunt´s voice answers and I hear the rustling of some paper
Today?!
"Today´s the day? Ahh, I will finally get my hands on slot machines again"
"Enough," a third voice cuts in "What should we do with the kid?"
"The brat?" my aunt spits "We get rid of her, what else? I don´t need this shit anymore, just looking at her face reminds me of that slut sister of mine"
I feel my hands clench into fists at her words. How dare she... I just managed to forget about my parents again, why did she need to remind me? Remembering their warmth makes me weak, and I can´t allow myself any weakness right now.
My fingernails begin to penetrate my skin. Since when was something this minor so painful?
Mom, Dad...
No, I can´t. I can´t give in now. Or... Can I? If it ends today anyway, maybe I will finally get to see them again. This wouldn´t be so bad, ending it all here. However, there´s this strange feeling again that won´t let me, that tells me to live. But what can I even do anyway?
I ruffle through my barely alive hair while desperately racking my brains for a solution. I remember the rusty knife that I managed to smuggle under a broken tile in the floor, but it won´t help me going against three or more grown adults who aren´t malnourished and beaten up like I am. Hell, it would probably break in half before even hurting anyone.
Break... In half... before hutring
-!
My eyes light up as a ridiculous idea manifests in my head
I quickly rush to the back of the room and take out the knife that´s hidden beneath a loose tile on the floor. I put down the knife on the ground and take the stone tile in both my hands. It´s heavy, but I can lift this much. With all my might I bang it on the rusty blade beneath. I see a few sparks fly, but it isn´t enough to break it
´Are you serious?´
I repeat four or five times until the knife shatters in half. That should be good enough. I put the broken-off part back beneath the floor and cover it. The handle with the blade´s remains is all I need.
I hear the screeching of the old chairs outside, meaning that the adults probably finished their talk and will now be coming here. I take a deep breath, then another. Here goes nothing:
I ram the broken knife into a wound in my stomach with all my might
It hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts! The pain is way worse than anything my aunt ever did to me, but it´s either this or die. The sensation of blood gushing out makes me want to vomit. The handle becomes slippery and more difficult to insert deeper, but I do so anyways. I feel the rusty metal entangle with my insides, my mind momentarily blanks out, but I do everything I can to avoid losing consciousness. There´s no time, I need to lie down quickly, play dead.
The next thing I hear is rattling on the door. It unlocks with an aggressive click and swings open.
"What the fuck happened here!?" one of the adult voices yells. I hear another pair of footsteps rushing inside
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"This fucking brat!" my aunt´s voice screams "Where did she get the knife from!? Quick, pull it out!"
Nonono, stop yanking, I don´t know how much longer I can take this!
"I´m trying but it won´t come out!"
"Forget it, we don´t need her anymore anyways! The blood is still warm and her heart beating, so take the Mana-Fingerprints and dispose of the body!"
They grab my finger, almost tearing it off before letting it fall to the floor again
"Where should we bring it?" the slurry voice asks in a panic
"Where else? To the slums you stupid shit! Don´t waste any more time, hurry or we won´t get the money! I´ll take care of the clean-up!"
Without any signs of care, one of them stuffs me in a sack that is usually used to keep potatoes and throws me on his back. I hear the front door open as the sound of bustling crowds fills my ears. The knife slits into my flesh with every step. I want to pull it out, but what if they open the sack and notice? I can´t, I need to endure
--
I don´t know how much time passed, I would say an eternity if I didn´t know better. A disgusting smell has begun intruding my nose for a while now, I hope we will be there soon. As if on cue, the man throws me off his shoulders and onto the ground. The impact may have sprained a few bones in my back. I desperately hold the scream that´s stuck in my throat. I hear the man start moving away because each one of his footsteps gets quieter. To be safe, I wait for another five minutes, the longest five minutes of my life, before crawling out of the bag. I then take the knife that´s stuck inside my stomach with both hands and move it around, slowly pulling it out. I hate how the metal squirms inside, but eventually I get it out. I throw the blade away at full force, though maybe I shouldn´t have done so because the next thing I know I cough up blood because of it. I quickly lie down on my back and try to regulate my breath.
I look at my hands covered in red. The pain won´t let up, it won´t get better no matter how much time passes. Am I still going to die? Even after all this? I feel my eyes tearing up
What did I do to deserve this? Why do I have to suffer so much? Can´t everything just go back to how it was? Before I know it, waterfalls gush down my face.
Mama, Papa... Help me...
-- -- --
The fifth floor, a haven amid the Dungeon, or so the information said.
Indeed, there seems to be nothing but a large source of water and the descent to the next floor on the other side. The water looks clear and calm, the room is silent. Vienessa takes a small pebble from the ground and throws it into the ´lake´. It breaches the water’s surface with a blop-sound and multiple circular waves form from the point it sunk, yet die down right away as the water returns to being as still as ever.
Vienessa walks back a few steps and takes a deep breath. She does a small hop and starts running toward the water. As she reaches the edge, with one leg she pushes herself up and sails through the air before finally diving in head-first. If she wasn´t awake before, she sure is now; The girl is soaked in the liquid so cold that for a second pitch-black dots start dancing in front of her eyes. Her entire body tightens. She must get moving, or she´ll freeze. She starts paddling with her legs and pushing the water back with her arms, her body slowly accustoms to the icy temperature and she feels an intense warmth run through her muscles. She wonders where the warmth is coming from
Looking down, she expects to see blackness due to absence of light, but that is not the case. No matter how deep she looks, the water remains as clear as it was on the surface. It´s clearer than glass even, yet the ground cannot even be begun to be seen. Not even a hawk´s eye could. And yet the sight to the left and right is not as fascinating, it stops at some grey rocks. Vienessa feels some goosebumps on her skin because she stopped moving to take in the view, so she continues swimming.
By the time the girl is approximately halfway across, she notices a presence approaching quickly from beneath, a large one at that. She looks down only to see that the see-through color of never-ending water has changed into a disgusting green, black lump of meat. A scream hushed by the water leaves her mouth along with a line of air bubbles. Not wasting a second Vienessa swims upward, away from the thing beneath. She jumps out of the water like a flying fish escaping its predator. Her momentum carries her to the ceiling of the dungeon floor where she clamps down on the down-pointing stalactites. The girl tightens her grip to ensure she won´t slide off, but it´s actually strong enough to almost shatter the stone. Vienessa doesn´t get a chance to recover her breath as the water beneath her parts. A sound akin to an enormous wave hitting the beach echoes through the earlier quiet underground cavern. The jaw of a monstrous abomination that looks like a mutated frogfish emerges from beneath. With it, the stench of rotten flesh spreads. Its mouth tears open where Vienessa spots multiple layers of chainsaw-like teeth with which it could easily maul an entire house. One thing she knows for sure: It´s definitely after her. She leaps from stone to stone and eventually jumps to reach the safe ground beneath. The monster levels a chunk of the ceiling, then falls down and disappears into the water.
The next moment, the ground rumbles as the monster jumps out again, this time onto the floor where Vienessa is. The Demon dodges to the side.
[Undead Entity detected. Advised to Flee]
“What the actual fuck!?”
The ground shakes like it was hit by an earthquake. The Demon struggles for her footing but in the end somehow manages to keep standing. Looking closer at the monster, its eyes seem devoid of any sanity
'Good,' the girl thinks
Normally, the Level gap would be too vast for a fight where she could claim victory, but if the enemy is driven by pure instinct, then there's a chance.
Still, it won't be easy.
Vienessa runs around the huge body in a light, almost dancing motion and rams her claws into its side, but they simply bounce off the rubber-like skin without leaving even the littlest of wounds. Sensing danger she jumps back as a large fin crushes the ground where she just stood.
"How about this then?" Putting all her power into her next attack, she again strikes the same place. This time, her hand sinks in and the monster releases a deafening cry. Yet, the damage is minuscule.
"It's not enough..."
Suddenly, a crazy idea pops into her head. A bead of sweat rolls down her face as she contemplates it. She concludes by biting her teeth together into a grin
Here goes nothing
"Hey! Fat-fish!" she shouts "You want me? Then come and get me!"
The monster didn't understand a word of what she said, but knowing her location is enough to attack without hesitation. It tears its gigantic mouth open in an attempt to swallow the girl. But the Demon, instead of running away, dashes straight at it.
The xxx reacts too late and only closes its mouth once she's past its razor teeth.
'Got you'
The next thing it knows, it feels an excruciating pain coming from within. A pain that it had never felt before, a pain that it can do nothing against:
[HP: 1567/1689]
[HP: 1243/1689]
[HP: 904/1689]
It roars and wails, ramming into the walls around, destroying the terrain. But it's no use
[HP: 745/1689]
[HP: 512/1689]
[HP: 213/1689]
Without even a chance of resistance, its undead life comes to a close as well
--
[Undead at least 170 levels above your own]
Experience multiplier: x17
*116059 Exp gained*
~Level UP: 22 → Level 23~
[Fixed Stats gained]
15 |Stat Points| have been gained for free distribution
The ginormous body lies on the ground, still as never before. From its inside, suddenly a hand protrudes and tears open part of the flesh from which the Demon emerges.
"Ugh," she says covered in stinking mucus. "This sucks," she says and wipes away some of the goo "thank god there's water nearby..."