Chapter 4.

First Battle

The six charging teddy-bears were different sizes, ranging from two feet tall, to just under a foot. Their colors ranged from dark brown, yellow, red, to snow white. All of them had large mouths filled with shark-like teeth and they were trying to kill him.

Jeremy grabbed the leather pack and ran, staying close to the wall so the bears couldn't surround him. He could barely kill one of those things without getting his foot bitten off. How was he supposed to kill six? Going through the exit wasn't an option because they might follow him, and who knew what else might be waiting for him in there? This must be how the rogue he'd seen earlier had felt running for its life. He looked around desperately for anything he could use to help himself.

The only thing that looked promising was the stone archway in front of the exit. It protruded maybe six inches from the cavern wall. If he could climb to the top of the archway, he would have a high-ground advantage. And maybe a chance. His run turned into a sprint along the cavern wall, as he tried to reach the archway. The monster teddy-bears moved to intercept him.

When they got within 15 feet of him, he stopped and feinted, pretending to run in the opposite direction. The pack of monster teddy-bears changed course to follow him. He charged, making what had to be the longest running high jump of his life sailing over the six teddy-bears and making a desperate sprint for the archway, feeling like their teeth were nipping at his heels the entire way.

He reached the archway and jumped. His foot slipped, failing to find purchase on the smooth stone. There was a sharp pain in his calf as he got bitten. He screamed, kicking the teddy bear away. Fear caused him to somehow find purchase with his other foot. Using his feet and arms, he pulled himself to the top of the five-foot-high stone archway. With the stone cavern wall behind him, the only way he could avoid falling off was to sit on the ledge, tucking in his feet to prevent them from being bitten again.

The monster teddy-bears raced after him. A large brown bear, almost two feet tall, climbed the archway. Jeremy stabbed. The bear bit into his knife, its teeth missing his fingers by millimeters. He flung it back into the cavern as an orange bear came at him from the other side, biting into his backpack. He frantically stabbed it with his knife, driving it back just in time for the big brown bear to climb the archway again.

The bears were different sizes and colors, but it seemed they all had retractable claws for climbing and, of course, large mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth.

The fight went on forever. The bears bit his arms and legs, hanging on until he used his knife or pack to beat them off. He almost fell off the archway multiple times. His knife was soon coated with the green goo he assumed was their blood. He kept a tight grip on the knife handle to keep it from slipping from his hand. The archway he sat on grew slippery from his sweat, and from his and their blood. He prayed he didn't fall. If he did, he had no confidence he could get back up on the arch again. Also, leather armor was hot! None of the games he'd played mentioned this. Sweat poured down his face and dripped into his eyes, making them burn. Monster teddy-bears kept charging up the archway to attack him, and he kept using his knife and backpack to drive them off. His knife stayed sharp, even covered with green goo, turning out to be worth all the gold pieces he'd paid for it.

Finally, there was only one bear still able to climb the arch to get at him. Jeremy made short work of it, stabbing its belly, cutting it open so green blood and guts came pouring out and sending it back into the cavern.

Then there were none.

With trembling arms and legs, he climbed down the archway. A wounded teddy-bear was still moving, trying to come after him, so he used his knife to finish it off. Their bodies vanished.

The fight was over.

He sagged in relief.

“I don't suppose I could purchase a first aid kit?” He asked the empty cavern, kicking himself for not asking about it earlier.

There was no answer.

He used the roll of soft paper from his now torn and battered backpack to staunch the bleeding from his calf where he'd been bitten. Not seeing many options, he used his knife to cut a strip from his tee shirt, which he then wrapped around his calf and tied as tightly as he could, hoping this would prevent bleeding and infection.

He had several injuries on his arms, but they were scratches and shallow cuts. His leather armor had protected him, mostly. But in addition to monster bites, he was bruised, sore, and exhausted.

After taking care of his wounded calf, he collapsed on the stone floor, too tired to move.

As he lay there, he pulled up his stat sheet.

YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!

Name: Jeremy Wilkins

Race: Human

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sex: Boy

Age: 10

Character Class: Child-Rogue

Level: 1 (3/150) exp.

Hit Points: 6

Attributes:

Strength: 5

Endurance: 5

Vitality: 6

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 6

Perception: 5

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 5

Will Power: 4

Charisma: 4

Extra point: 1 - Add to the Attribute of your choice.

Mana: 1

Skills:

Identify (Level 0)

Sneak (Level 0)

Detect Traps (Level 0)

Spells:

None.

Dungeon Account:

12 gp

35 cp

So he was now a Level 1 Rogue. That was something, at least. He didn't feel any different, except for being sore and exhausted, but he'd gained a point in Agility, Dexterity, and Perception, and he had a fourth point he could do what he wanted with. He also had three skills he had no idea what to do with, and he'd gained 35 cp, which he assumed were copper pieces. If so, why were they just numbers on his stat sheet? Why didn't the monsters drop actual coins like they did in games? And where were the 22 gp he was supposed to have?

He pulled out his water bottle and drank some stale-tasting water. As soon as he stopped drinking, the water level in the bottle rose again. He tried a dungeon ration, removing what seemed like a paper wrapper and taking a bite of a small bar that looked like particleboard. Unfortunately, it also tasted like particleboard, or maybe particleboard mixed with chalk dust. He drank some more stale water to get the taste from his mouth. He'd happily kill another monster for a Pepsi right now.

He wondered again if this was some kind of bizarre nightmare? He'd never had a nightmare that hurt this much.

He had food and water and a blanket. What would happen if he camped out at the entrance? Would anyone rescue him? It was possible, though unlikely, someone was working on rescuing him right now. He checked his watch again, but it was clear that time had frozen, as far as his watch was concerned. It had been 3:46 PM when he'd arrived in the dungeon and hadn't changed. Great.

He wondered if Mom had gotten home. She'd probably assume he was at a friend's house and not start worrying until tomorrow. He wished his mom was here, or anyone who might know what to do. He should have called or texted Mom immediately. Andrew could be a jerk, but pushing his little brother into a dungeon portal? That was mean, even for him. Going to him had been a mistake.

What if he could run past the monsters? He could be home by tonight. It wasn't like he wanted to fight. He'd be happy to live and let live if they'd give him a choice in the matter.

He'd gained three skills, along with his character class. Identify, Sneak, and Detect Traps. Could he put them to use? He looked at his half-eaten dungeon ration. “Identify.”

Nothing happened. “Identify,” louder this time.

Nothing. Okay, now what? He focused on the lousy-tasting half-eaten meal bar in his hand. After a minute of experimentation, he felt an insubstantial energy force leave his body. A moment of exhaustion and words appeared in front of him.

“Dungeon Ration. Low quality. Strength bonuses. Eat it. It's good for you.”

The words dissipated.

He checked his stat sheet, where his mana level had been 1. Now it was 0.

Interesting.

His single mana point returned in maybe 5 minutes. This time, he used Identify on the soft roll of paper from his pack.

“Roll of Soft Paper. Multiple uses, including you-know-what.”

An hour later, he'd identified everything he could. His nonworking watch was

“New World Timepiece. Nonfunctional.”

His leather pack was now, “Damaged Dungeon Backpack. Low quality,” and what he'd thought was a blanket turned out to be a Cloak. Low quality. He tried it on. It looked pretty nice, but was too hot to wear.

His Identify (Level 0) turned into Identify (Level 1) and his mana went up to 2.

He tried Detect Traps. His mana dropped, but nothing happened. Either there weren't any traps in the cavern, or his skill wasn't working.

He got to his feet and put on his pack. He could wait here, for a rescue he suspected would never come, or he could take the red path and hope it wasn't as scary and dangerous as Boggan made it seem.

In the end, Jeremy's legs and feet moved of their own accord, one step after another, taking him under the archway and inside the first level of the dungeon.