Once, I was a person. Now I am an ink demon.

...wait, let me back up. Once, I was a human. I still consider myself a type of person. I want to believe I have all the necessary traits for personhood.

I have an identity. I have abstract reasoning.

I have a 5 intelligence.

It is low. When I was human, I was smarter.

I have memories of those times. I could think of many things at the same time, remember lots of stuff, make plans, and explain myself better.

Now it’s all jumbled. Sluggish. I think it’s good I’m aware of the difference though. I think that must be my wisdom, which is 14.

I believe 14 is average, or slightly higher than average.

It took me about half an hour to write all this.

Though I’m not actually writing, despite being an ink demon. I have a journal with my stat screen. I have to focus on each word and it manifests.

‘Manifests.’ I like that word. I think it shows I still have some smarts. My thoughts are just sluggish. If I can’t sit down and focus on the words, they run around my head.

When the adventurers come, I can’t think. My feelings are like an alarm that drowns out my thoughts. I panic, which is why I attack them or run.

Mostly, I run. Or float. I don’t walk anymore. I can fly through the air even though I don’t have wings.

…

I don’t think I’m doing a good job at this. Let me try again.

I am an ink demon. If I were standing on the ground, I might reach your knee. I really am just a blob of shadow with pointed ears and white eyes. When I poke myself, it feels like thick dough. No bones at all.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

This lets me squish myself places, which is very handy. Right now, I am stretched out in a crack in the cave wall. I’m almost twice my regular height. When squirm out, I will bounce back to my usual shape and size. No matter how I contort myself, I pop back to what I was.

It’s nice.

I’m hiding in this crack because there are adventurers in my cave.

It’s a dungeon, actually, and it’s not mine. There are lots of things in here with me. At the bottom is the dungeon core, but I’ve never seen it or been near it.

The dungeon core gives off mana. Fills the entire dungeon with it. I need mana. I don’t have a mouth or nose. I don’t need to eat.

I have a tail though. It’s very thin and pointy. I can scratch the top of my head with it.

I have short little arms and legs. No fingers or toes. When I want to manipulate something, I stretch out my arm and it becomes a sort of tendril.

My head is like a cat’s. With no fur. It’s just a smooth inkiness. A blob. I can even stick rocks and stuff inside of myself, but it slows me down. Makes it harder to float.

I say float instead of fly because air feels like water. I think it is because the mana is thick here. I went outside the dungeon once, and it was much harder to float.

Usually, I move along several feet off the ground. Where my head used to be when I was human. I can go higher though. It takes effort. Floating faster also takes effort, but I dash incredibly quick.

I can dash faster than a fireball, but not faster than an arrow.

You see, when adventures stab me, they realize it doesn’t work. Their spear goes right into me and then yanks out. (This hurts and does damage, but they don’t know that. I don’t think) Fire is dangerous though. That will burn off pieces of me.

The first time, I was hit by a fireball, my left arm and chunk of my body was just taken off. I was scared, but it grew back after a few days.

Another group of adventurers walked by me just now. There were three of them. I can’t understand what they say, so even if I had a mouth, I couldn’t talk to them.

There was a story called ‘I have no mouth but I must scream.’

I didn’t like it. I don’t think was that good a story. But it was a good title.

…

Adventures come into the dungeon two or three times a week. They stay here awhile.

This is the fourth floor of the dungeon. I have traveled all the way to the ninth floor of the dungeon. The mana is nicer there but it is also dangerous because of the monsters.

I know I am a monster, but I am a little one. Weak.

Most of the adventurers I’ve seen don’t look that powerful. They look young and are often nervous. And their weapons and armor is plain. I’ve seen adventurers with glowing weapons but they never stay at my level.