Author note: Until next week, I am only going to write chapters when I can. Like always, hope you enjoy.
_______
As the door behind me closed, my stomach growled and I swear I heard a guard behind me laugh. Screw him. I bet he has never been captured by beastmen who are pretty much savages and had to miss a meal like I have. Still, the growl from my stomach did bring something to my attention. It looks like I will have to find some food in the dungeon like last time or I will starve to death before a monster gets to kill me.
As I walked through the relatively plain cavern, Greeny, who was currently on my shoulder, rippled and made a somewhat cute squeaking sound at a vine, hanging from the cavern ceiling. It was suspiciously exactly the same shad as Greeny and, now that I got a closer look, was slightly translucent. It was probably some sort of cavern slime but I could not trust myself with killing it. After all, it could be an extremely high level and it looks like one of my favourite monsters: the carnivorous vine. The name doesn't really fit the green worms that hang in caves and expand to eat adventurers whole. Then again, the name was chosen by the humans and seemed to help them remember its appearance; leading to less and less adventurers falling into its trap which led to a lack of food and the worm’s eventual extinction.
Due to that uncanny similarity, I avoided it by edging along the cavern wall.
I continued walking through the cavern and came across many of these slime things with one in particular catching my attention. It was a very dark green, as if it was absorbing the light that naturally gets emitted from normal dungeons. I was extra careful in avoiding it as, as if whispering, Greeny only nudged the side of my head this time to warn me. He seemed almost petrified just from looking at it; a bit ironic for a slime that can turn people to stone. With Greeny, a blob of goo with no brain, acting so scared, I decided to act in a similar manner. I doubt my slime’s IQ is high enough to hold a conversation if he could speak but the instincts of monsters are fairly strong. I was not stupid enough to ignore his extra quiet warnings and decide to edge around this one extra carefully.
After about five minutes of walking, I reached a large, open space. The cavern area was no longer visible and was instead replaced with grass, some sort of underground jungle and a river that flowed from what I could only assume was some sort of magical water source, since I could not see any visible spring. At least I will not die from dehydration.
I approached the river and drank from it. Greeny seemed to do the same as he jumped in and floated on the surface, only to expand and sink to the bottom. I could still see him though as the water was so clear. I also noticed some fish which made me realise something. Either he been in secret y someone else, or I had not fed Greeny since the first dungeon. I should really look after him more as he is my first servant in this world.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
As if he heard my thoughts, Greeny pounced on a fish swimming past. Turns out slimes look fairly evil when they eat something with bones. I swore I saw a red glint on Greeny as he slowly dissolved the fish, first only the organic matter, then the bones slowly. The bones did not dissolve immediately and stayed around for the next five minutes as I rested.
It sure has been a stressful week. Days of travelling pent up my frustration; then I was knocked out and captured, only to be sent into a dungeon where I will probably get killed. The only good thing is that right now, those soldier pricks are probably being eaten by the beastmen.
A smirk appeared on my face.
“Maybe it hasn’t been such a bad week after all,” I said while falling into a light sleep, with Greeny on my chest…
Or so I would have l liked to. As I closed my eyes I heard a low growl and Greeny started bouncing up and down on my chest. I quickly got to my feet while Greeny manoeuvred his way onto my right shoulder. Resting my hand on my scimitar hilt, I accessed the monster that stopped me from sleeping.
It was a green wolf, similar to the size you would expect from one outside of the ground. It was alone, which either meant one of two things. Its pack was going to emerge from the jungle any second now, or it was an outcast. Judging by the fact that no other wolves joined it as we had our stare off, it was an outcast. That was good, it means that it is probably weaker than the average wolf or must be injured from fighting with the pack leader.
I am going to make him regret the day that he stopped me from taking a nap.
I drew my scimitar and ran straight at him. The wolf took a low stance and then jumped right at my legs. Due to some flukey reaction, I dropped my sword down and cut the wolf in a similar way to how humans play cricket, cutting it in half due to the wolf’s momentum.
“Well that was easy,” I said, while whipping blood, which had splattered on me, off of my face.
Oh how lady luck likes to mess with me. It turns out that it was with a pack and appears to be only a youth. About ten or so wolves emerged from the jungle, all about thrice the size of the first wolf.
“I am going to die,” I said before sprinting full speed down the side of the river.
_______
Author note: Yay, I don’t have to write any more tables for the next chapter links and stuff now. There is now a bar at the bottom of every royal road story so it means things got less complicated. <3 royal road mod who added that.