Raj felt slightly disoriented when he first stepped into the dungeon. It was as though he had been teleported somehow, but all he had done was walk through the entrance. Although, maybe it actually is teleportation, Raj pondered. It’s a dungeon after all, and it is definitely something the system seems capable of.

Raj took in his surroundings, noting that the cave looked… normal. It looked exactly like he had expected it to, with the exception of it having tunnels branching off in different directions. Raj felt slightly disappointed; his inner child had hoped that the dungeon would be a completely different world. To be fair though, it might actually happen in later dungeons, but maybe these low-level ones are relatively normal.

He started walking forward at a cautious pace. He didn’t know exactly how the dungeons worked, as they could operate by having mobs stationed in different rooms, or they could just have mobs scattered all around the dungeon. His second theory was confirmed when he rounded a corner and saw a goblin sitting in his path. He quickly darted back behind the cave wall, and cast Identify(Common).

[Goblin lvl 5]

The goblin didn’t seem to notice him yet, so he scanned the area to see if any other foes were lurking around. After seeing none, he refocused on the goblin. The creature looked exactly like he had thought it would. It didn’t seem too strong, and held a single dagger, with baggy, brown clothes covering its green-skinned figure.

The goblin’s level made Raj reconsider how dungeons worked. The level shown on the prompt might have been a recommended level for the adventurer entering, the minimum level of the monsters in the dungeon, or the average level of the monsters in the dungeon. Or maybe even a combination of some sort. He would need more data to be sure, however.

Raj decided to stop wasting time, and darted towards the goblin. It shrieked in alarm, and hastily raised its dagger to try and defend himself. Its efforts were for naught, however, as the sheer difference in stats and technique between the two resulted in the ensuing fight ending abruptly. Raj dodged the dagger and cut straight through the goblin in one move, feeling the EXP flooding into his body.

Raj paused for a moment, as the weight of killing what seemed to be a sapient-like being hit him. Then, he shrugged it off. While it may have seemed cold of him, he realized that he would ultimately have to kill other sapient creatures in the wide universe. Hell, he would probably have to kill other humans. That thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He turned his attention back to the dungeon, and moved on.

After a minute or so of walking, he came across another lone goblin. He once again cast Identify(Common) on the creature.

[Goblin lvl 3]

This all but confirmed his earlier theory that the level shown on the prompt was the average level of the monsters in the dungeon. That could lead to some interesting situations, Raj mused. If the regular mobs were weaker, it would mean a stronger boss, and vice versa.

He kept pressing on, none of the goblins posing much of a threat to him. Aside from the one goblin at level 5, the rest had been at level 3. That meant that the EXP he was getting was a small sliver of what he would need to level 10. The increased EXP requirement was not doing him any favors, and he was getting slightly annoyed at how many more goblins he would need to kill. Despite being relatively close to level 10 before entering the dungeon, he would still need to kill another 50 or so goblins at the same level to advance. The real fight would be with the boss, however. At least, he assumed there was a boss fight on the horizon. He was about to lose his shit if there wasn’t.

As though his pleas were heard, a prompt suddenly filled his vision.

You have entered the domain of the dungeon boss. You can not turn back until either you or the dungeon boss is slain.

Well, that’s interesting, he pondered. The only thing I can do now is kill the boss, I guess. He forged on, eager to kill the boss and finally level up. His joy was snuffed out when he found the creature, however.

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While the boss did still vaguely resemble a goblin, it was as though the face of the small creatures had been plastered onto a huge, hulking behemoth that was double Raj’s size. He used his Identify(Common) skill, and the results shook him to the core.

[??? - lvl 10]

He audibly gulped, and then forced his nervousness down. He couldn’t afford to let hesitation get in his way. His suspicions about level 10 being a milestone had just been confirmed, however. The monster in front of him was definitely stronger than him, and probably a grade higher. He was also trapped here until one of them was dead, which increased the danger levels of the fight exponentially.

His train of thought was interrupted, as the boss had finally noticed him. The monster roared, and charged, giving Raj no time at all to prepare himself. He threw himself to the side, only narrowly avoiding the charge.

Damn! Raj thought, already pushing himself back up. This thing is fast as hell! Those extra stats are doing him favors for sure. Raj jumped back, trying to give himself enough time to use his Mana Slash(Common) attack. He was unable to get it off in time, however, as the boss was already on him. He bobbed and weaved through the attacks, dancing on death’s door. A single mistake would mean death here, and his full focus was on the creature in front of him. Win or lose, he would throw everything he had at the beast.

He faked a high cut, and then rolled under the beast’s legs. As he rolled, he managed to slice upwards, making the boss wail in pain. He ducked under the attack he knew was coming, dodging a huge fist. He flipped over another punch, and darted towards the boss. He jumped high, screaming in defiance. His sword struck, penetrating deep into the chest of the boss.

His momentary celebration was suddenly cut short, and Raj blacked out for a moment before finding himself against the cave wall. He screamed out in pain, feeling multiple cracked ribs. His left arm hung limply at his side, and his sword remained embedded in the behemoth’s chest. Shit! Raj thought in despair. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

The boss closed the gap between them in an instant. Raj closed his eyes, half-accepting his fate. He could feel himself drifting away, just another soul lost in the cold embrace of death. Raj’s eyes snapped open, and he started to move.

I refuse to be another cog in the machine that is the system, Raj thought, darting forward. I will rise to the top. I will forge my own path. And I. Will. Not. Falter!

Earlier, when Raj had been mowing through the goblins, he had been idly picking up their daggers, hoping they would eventually have a use. Now, he was grateful for the wisdom of his past-self. He summoned one of those daggers to his hand, and flicked it at the boss’s face.

The dagger wasn’t enough to even remotely damage the behemoth. That had not been a part of Raj’s plan, however. The dagger’s sole purpose was to be a distraction, and it delivered. The boss raised its hands to its face in an instinctive reaction. Unbeknownst to the creature, Raj had been banking on such a reaction, and used the opening to leap towards his sword.

His mind had been cleared. The path forward was clear. He felt his hand clasp the hilt of his sword, and Raj used the momentum from his jump to push the sword deeper into the monster. He then quickly jumped to the ground, using the boss as a platform. He brought his sword with him, causing blood to spurt out of the wound. He wasted no time jumping back up this time aiming at the ugly creature’s head. He leaped as high as he could, stretching his frame as far as it would go. He drew on every last bit of energy he had left, pushing it all into this one, final attack.

Raj saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A way out of this with his life intact. His sword penetrated the soft skin under the monster’s chin, and kept going. It went all the way through, exiting at the top of its skull. Raj started to freefall, and smiled, happy to have slayed the beast.

Alas, Raj was not allowed to have a good moment. In the middle of his freefall, he suddenly felt pain wrack his body. He looked down, only to find his back impaled by the nails of the large goblin. It slumped forward a moment later, the light leaving its eyes. Even on the verge of death, it had made sure to deliver one, final blow.

Raj gasped for air as he slammed into the ground, the claws getting forcefully torn out of his body. His eyes started to tear up, and all he felt was pain. His throat felt coarse, and he blatantly realized that he was screaming. He coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth. His eyes threatened to close, but Raj fought with everything he had to keep them open. Seeing as how the alternative was death, he was decently motivated.

He lay still for what felt like hours, letting the wounds heal naturally. His VIT stat was high, and he knew he could recover if he gave it enough time to work. And time he gave. It felt like ages, but he was finally stabilized. He sat up, wincing in pain. He glanced over at the dead boss.

At least I made it out better than that fucker, Raj thought, grinning. Then, he started to laugh. It was a maniacal sort of laugh, and if anyone had been there to hear it, they would have marked him as insane. He didn’t care, however, and just poured out his emotions into his laugh. He laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more. He eventually calmed down, and flipped the dead boss off for good measure.

“I did it,” Raj said. “I FUCKING WON!!!!”