Chapter Six: Hidden Forest

The room's atmosphere grew even more tense as I realized my predicament.

The dragon's skull leered at me with a malevolent grin. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard, the metallic taste of fear lingering on my tongue. Across the room, the Necromancer watched my every move, his expression unchanged, as if he had anticipated this outcome.

My hands trembled, but I forced my feet forward, each step heavier than the last, until I stood before the powerful Necromancer. His glare intensified as I drew closer. The Necromancer's eyes bore into me, a sinister glint in his gaze making my skin crawl, yet there was a flicker of intrigue that suggested he was studying me as much as threatening me.

Silence hung in the air, thick and oppressive. "Who dares enter my domain?" The Necromancer's voice sounded loud through the room, shattering the silence.

I swallowed hard. "I–I mean no harm. I'm seeking my Penance. If you let me out, I'll leave you to your stargazing."

A cold smile tugged at his lips. "Seeking Penance, you say? This chamber is not meant for those who seek salvation. I am sorry to say you will not find it here."

He studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a sinister smirk, his demeanor shifted abruptly. Raising his hand, dark, crackling energy formed into a bolt of inky purple from his staff. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the bolt hurtling towards me.

I dodged to the side, just barely missing the deadly bolt. Not giving my enemy a chance to strike again, I rushed forward, swinging my torch down in an overhand swing, aiming for his right eye.

The Necromancer's eyes narrowed, his amusement fading as he moved closer. I struck right at his eye. The dice rolled.

[You deal 3 damage]

The Necromancer staggered back, momentarily blinded by the torch strike. His grip on his necrotic staff faltered. I pulled my arm back for another swing, aiming for his left eye. The die rolled again.

[You deal 4 damage.]

For a fleeting second, hope sparked in my chest, a tantalizing whisper that I might just have a chance. And then my torch crumbled to dust in my hands. I stared dumbfounded at the dust in my hands for just a moment too long. A die rolled, and a sickly black bolt flew towards me. I closed my eyes and ducked, knowing my death would come.

Somehow, the bolt missed again. I rushed forward without thinking, slamming my pitiful fists into the Necromancer's face. Anger surged inside of me. How dare this monster laugh at me. I would show him. Instead of a die, a giant coin flipped in the air.

[You deal 2 damage.]

The Necromancer's eyes widened, a flicker of fear mirroring my own as my fists made unexpected contact. His usual composure shattered momentarily. He pushed the staff point-blank range against me, and before I could react, the die rolled in the background.

[The Necromancer deals 7 damage.]

A scream tore its way from my lungs as agony surged like wildfire through my veins, my knees buckling under the searing pain. My vision grew red, but in the heat of battle, I barely noticed. I fell forward, grabbing the Necromancer's shoulder, preventing him from gaining any distance as I forced him down with me. I could swear I heard my heartbeat thunder in my ears.

The battle hung in the balance. This last move would determine if I could win or not. I steadied myself, and the coin flipped in the air as I reared my arm back for a punch. My fist connected with a satisfying crunch, but I didn’t let up. I punched and punched and punched until there was nothing but blood under my hands. What's left of the bloody, beaten man collapsed to the ground, defeated. I screamed in victory as I fell back against the grass of the hill, exhausted.

[You deal 2 damage, but take 1 point of damage from recoil. Congratulations! You have defeated the Necromancer.]

The Necromancer started to sparkle. I bent over his fallen form, fingers trembling as I rifled through his tattered robes. The familiar clatter of dice echoed in my mind, signaling the rewards of my grim victory.

[For killing a boss mob, you have received a death boon. You have looted Staff of the Necro Bolt, and a Chest Key.]

I did a little jig, feeling surprisingly spry and healthy despite my wounds from the battle; my vision remained red, and I could still hear my heart pounding. Which made me wonder how much damage I had taken. Was I that close to death?

"Crystal, how much health do I have left?"

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[You have 1 health remaining.] I blinked in shock. I really had been close to dying.

The Necromancer faded into the air as Crystal told me about my health. I sighed. The robe had looked so cool. But thoughts of the robe vanished as I spied the ornate gold chest with five rubies inlaid above the locked clasp. With no preamble, I opened the chest with the chest key. Multiple dice rolled around me. First, what looked like a 6-sided die and then eight giant 100-sided dice bounced around the room. I was starting to hate the things as I covered my ears to block the sounds of their rattling.

[You've obtained an Iron Short Sword. You've received an Iron Mace. You've received an Iron Helm. You've received a Potion of Health Regen.]

So much for dying quickly, I thought, laughing at Crystal. I had a health regen potion and actual weapons. I was out of the woods, at least for a little while.

I took the health regen potion from my inventory without a thought and immediately chugged it, not even asking how it worked.

“Wait,” I said belatedly, “how does the regen potion even work?”

[The health regen potion recovers 2 points of health per room traveled. It recovers a maximum of 50 health. You did not have to consume all of the potion at once.]

I slapped my forehead and wrinkled my brow, but I set my grin and charged ahead. My eyes scanned the room, seeking anything else of value, but nothing else caught my eye within the red glow of Crystal's soothing light. I sighed. I did that a lot, sighing, but I was three rooms into this dungeon, and I was exhausted, mentally, at least. Physically, I felt better than I ever had, which really just made no sense to me.

After a battle like that, even with the potion, I need a break. I collapsed to the floor, resting on the grass the littered the floor of the Necromancer’s room. In a rare quiet moment, I paused, sifting through my thoughts and feelings. Despite the recent violence, I felt fine. A strange calm settled over me, my mind clear, my body unburdened by pain or fatigue.

I had felt a calm like this before on the worst day of my life. That day that was probably why I was here. It wasn't my fault, but I probably blamed myself even more than society did. I had been a wreck for a very long time after that, stealing more and more, harming my friends, and planning to kill a king.

But where did these thoughts come from? I couldn't even remember killing anyone, but I knew I had. This didn't even faze me. I could probably close my eyes and sleep just like a baby if I had been the least tired, but even after countless battles, I hadn't broken a sweat.

"Crystal, why don't I feel tired? Or hurt, for that matter? Or upset? I just killed someone."

[When Penance was built, it was decided that there should be no pain in the early runs of the dungeon. He decided it was better to slowly ease you into the horrors here. As for stamina…]

I ignored the rest of the message and interrupted her. “He who?” I paused, my mind reeling. “Who built this place? Malikap? Aurentum? Rellum?”

[The dungeon has always been here since before the gods stirred the primordial muck into existence. All of them had a hand in its creation, but…]

“But what? Why won’t you tell me anything?”

[I am telling you what you need to know, and besides, you should dwell on why you are here, not on why Penance is here. Have you thought about why you are a penitent yet?]

“And how am I supposed to do that? I can’t remember a thing! I don’t even know what kind of person I am other than that I stole a pair of shoes as a kid!” I screamed this last bit, more than a little frustrated at her suggestion. But it was true, though.

Not a second of my time in the dungeon had been spent on redeeming myself for what I had done or questioning why I was here. I honestly didn't even know how I died.

[You are right, Rod. I am sorry, you will recover your memories eventually, though I don’t recall other Penitents taking as long as you to remember things. After all, how can you repent if you don’t know what you did wrong?]

I shook my head, barely reading the words on the parchment. Perhaps if I made it to the next floor, I would start remembering things; it was worth a shot. I already knew I was in for a long journey. I can be introspective later. A rat could sneeze on me, and I would keel over dead.

For now, it was time to cheat a little. If the potion healed me by two health per room, I could travel back and forth between rooms to recover my health before moving further into the dungeon. Instead of wasting time, I asked Crystal if it would even work.

[You are currently locked out of the potential for a death boon for speed-running the first floor. However, there will be no penalties or consequences should you exploit that loophole.]

"Well, that's brilliant. Please equip my new iron helm, my iron sword in my left hand, and the mace in my right hand."

Equipment

Slot

Name

Effect

Condition

Right Hand Iron Sword 1-6 physical damage. +1 Potency 20/20 Left Hand Iron Mace 1-6 physical damage. 5% chance to stun. +1 Potency 20/20

Head

Iron Helm

Def + 2

20/20

Chest

Leather Armor

Def + 1

12/15

Legs

Leather Greaves

Def + 1

15/15

“Now we’re talking,” I said as I took a few test swings of the weapons, thinking about the 2 in Potency I now had. “Hey Crystal, what does Potency do?”

[Potency increases the damage you deal by 1 point. So if you roll a 1, you deal 2 damage; roll a 2, and you deal 3, and so on.]

“That’s pretty amazing, thanks Crystal.” I awkwardly waved my hand in a thanking gesture before realizing Crystal was above me. “Anyway, time to get to work.”

I left the hidden forest that was the Necromancer’s room. It blew my mind that such a place existed, but I guess it was the magic of the Prison at work. I had heard that entire cities were hidden in its depths, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch for there to be a forest, too.

I paced back and forth through the forest and a dungeon room for ten minutes, feeling the potion's magic slowly knitting my wounds, infusing me with renewed strength until my health was fully restored. The potion had already used up nine charges and would likely no longer be useful. But now, with my health restored, I felt a renewed determination to clear the floor.

I shoved the door open with enough force to break the rotten iron bar, which clattered to the floor with a dull thunk. Anticipation surged through me as I imagined the rats on the other side. They had no idea what was coming. Holding my new sword above my head, I ran in screaming.