After several minutes or maybe hours, Joe regained his consciousness. He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it felt like a while. His body was a little groggy when he dragged himself to sit upright. He lifted his head and found Shelly standing next to him, eyes focused on what was in front of her.

When Shelly noticed he had woken up, she threw a quick glance at him. “Good you're awake. Now get up, it's about to begin.”

Joe had no idea what she was talking about but he did reclaim his footing just like she ordered. Upon doing so, he stretched all his muscles. There were some satisfying pops here and there that brought a smile to the young man's face.

But Joe was surprised, his body felt fine. Rested even. He expected to find broken bones after his fall but that wasn't the case. Did he imagine falling back then? Joe wondered as his eyes darted around.

It was weird, the entire space they were on was boarded by insurmountable stone walls. The walls had no visible limits, they climbed untill they reached the heavens. Just looking at their shear scale, made Joe dizzy.

These walls covered the east, west and south side of the room. It felt like being stuck inside a box. Not only that, they were all coated in raging flames. These flames made it impossible to even get close to the walls, they hissed and snapped and launched sparks regularly. Joe knew if he touched them, he would die.

That wasn't the oddest part of this whole thing however, because when Joe looked up, he was met by a sky. The sky was mostly blue with a few clouds scattered throughout. The sun was out, shining down in all its glory.

It took a second for Joe to realize this didn't make sense. How could there be a sun inside a cave? Infact how could these walls even exist inside a cave?

Joe came to one conclusion, this wasn't the cave anymore.

When they entered the Infernal Cave, they were welcomed by a nearly blinding light. Joe was certain that must've been some kind of transportation mechanism, it would explain that fall he experienced after he made contact with the light. And it would also explain everything he was seeing right now.

The inside of the Infernal Cave Dungeon must've been a different space altogether.

The flames around the room made the temperatures rise to unnatural levels. It had been only a few minutes since he woke up, but Joe was already soaking in sweat. He was breathing fine for the time being and the [Black Sheep] did somewhat protect him from the elements. But Joe knew if they stayed here for an excessive amount of time, they would be in trouble.

[The Main Dungeon: Infernal Cave Is Active]

[Confirming The Number Of Participants...]

[Participant Number Confirmed.]

[Total Number Of Participants: 4]

[Adjusting The Sub-Quest To Accommodate The Number Of Participants…]

Joe was surprised to see that they were the only participants. He expected at least a couple other parties. But if this place was truly a dangerous Dungeon maybe everyone really did not want to take this route. Even with that in mind though, Joe still found it difficult to belive that every adventure subscribed to that idea.

[The First Layer Sub-Quest Will Now Begin]

[First Layer Sub-Quest]

▪︎ Objective: Slay 80 Infernal Humans.

▪︎ Condition: Each Participant Must Slay A Minimum Of 7 Infernal Humans Individually.

▪︎ Reward: Access To The Dungeon Bosss's Domain.

▪︎ Time: 30 Minutes

▪︎ Progress: 0/80 Infernal Humans Slain.

▪︎ Failure: Death

The notification screen vanished and almost immediately, the earth trembled. Straight ahead Joe found a wide tunnel, from that tunnel a horde of individuals leaked out. They marched in numbers filling the entire space seconds.

These individuals didn't look like living humans, from head to toe they were engulfed in flames. Their skin melted, revealing the burning skeletons underneath. They mumbled something in unison, like beings lost in a trance.

When Joe looked at them, the first word that jumped in his mind was. Zombies. These guys looked like burning marching zombies.

Franklin and Bella wasted no time, even with Franklin's injuries and Bella’s lack of control. They were the first to intercept the zombies. Franklin seemed to be advising Bella on something but the young princess showed no sign of listening to his words.

“I guess we should go as well.” Shelly said, as she clenched her fists. A green glow covered her hands as round barriers took shape around her nuckles. [Skill Activation: Green Fists] She dashed forward without a second thought as she joined the chaos.

Joe was left wide-eyed as he stood rotted to his spot. “What the hell are those things Syr?”

[Main Dungeon Creature: Infernal Humans]

▪︎ Description: Infernal Humans Are The Corpses Of Those Who Have Died Inside The Infernal Cave Dungeon. The Dungeon Has Taken Hostage Of Their Souls Preventing Them From Passing On. They Will Forever Serve This Dungeon Untill The Fire That Fuels Their Souls Is Extinguished.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Joe was stunned. So not only were they zombies but they were all once adventures. Joe watched as Shelly punched one of the zombies. With just a single blow to the skull she sent the creature flying and smashing into another group of Infernal Humans, essentially slaughtering 6 of them with just a single attack.

Bella’s flames flared as they reduced every Infernal Human they came in contact with to ashes. Franklin did the same, cutting down anything he came across with his [Burning Twin Blades]

[66 Infernal Humans Remaining]

Joe was surprised by how easy it was for all of them, they showed no remorse in slaughtering these poor creatures. But it made sense, they were already dead after all.

Joe armed himself with the [Scorching Dagger] but before he could move, an Infernal Human was already in front of him. It carried a long burning sword like all the rest, half of its face was gone and as it lifted its blade, Joe heard a whisper escape the creature's lips.

“Please help me…”

Those words struck Joe's core. Without his consent he found himself sucked into a memory he wanted to forget. He once again relived the day earth was destroyed.

“Help me…”

He rembered the old man that grasped his leg. The old man was near death at the time and was no different to an Infernal Human. Joe rembered when he yanked his leg away and ran off without a second thought, leaving the old man to his death.

His mind flashed back to the present as the Infernal human brought down its sword in a downward Slash. Joe leaped back. The blade of the Infernal Human traveled in between his eyes, only missing him by a whisker.

He slid back as the creature's sword collided with the rocky surface.

“I couldn't save that old man back then, sure he was going to die but I didn't do anything for him. He was in pain and I left him out to die. I had to find my sister, I had to survive. Those were my thoughts back then but the man begged and I couldn't do anything for him. I was weak, useless. I couldn't be relied upon when the moment came.”

Joe's momentum came to a halt, “But I'm not that person anymore. I'm stronger, much stronger. As long as I continue to live, I won't let tragedies like that old man happen again. I'll make things right, I won't let the innocent suffer in front of me again.”

Joe blasted forward, [Mana Tool Skill: Burn] flames surged forth and covered Joe's blade.

[-65 Mana Points]

[Current Mana Pool: 2,065]

[Total Skill: 103 → 160]

By the time the Infernal Human lifted its blade off the surface, Joe had already devoured the distance. He shoved the [Scorching Dagger] into the creature's throat, his arm shot upwards to compete the slash and carve the creature's skull in half.

The Infernal Human immediately collapsed and the flames coating its figure flickered out. It's voice and flesh withered away only leaving behind its skeleton. Joe looked down on the creature with pity in his eyes. “May their soul finally be freed”

[58 Infernal Humans Remaining]

With that, Joe continued his charge. He didn't get far before another Infernal Human appeared before him. The zombie swung its blade horizontally, looking to hack off Joe's head.

Joe parried its sword to the side, he then sent a low kick to the creature's left leg. It bent on contact and bones cracked as the Infernal Human collapsed to one knee, Joe did not let its cries go on for much longer as he decapitated the zombie a second later.

Joe's instincts clawed at him as he sidestepped to the right. A frightening thrust barely missed him as another Infernal Human attacked.

Joe lunged at the creature after his dodge, he bashed the zombie's skull, removing its head with a fluid straight jab.

[52 Infernal Humans Remaining]

Having done the deed, Joe set his eyes on another group of Infernal Humans. He brisked through the Dungeon and slaughtered every Infernal Human he came across. Joe was efficient, he had no intentions of subjecting the poor souls to any more suffering.

Bella was the only one who kept pace with him, slaughtering just as many Infernal Humans.

Shelly and Franklin were much slower after they killed their required 7, choosing to preserve their mana and only attacking when needed.

In just a handful of minutes all the Infernal Humans were killed.

[Sub- Quest Complete]

[80/80 Infernal Humans Have Been Slain]

Bella was left panting after the exercise, she glanced at Joe and smirked triumphantly as she clutched her knees. She was hell-bent on not being outdone by a commoner so she gave everything she had against these relatively weak creatures. Her flames had gone haywire on more than one occasion, but she handled it a little better this time around. Her right arm had gruesome burnmarks but the princess seemed more concerned about ‘winning’ more than anything.

Joe didn't understand it. He didn't kill these Infernal Humans because of a game but explaining that to the princess would've been useless.

Unlike the Bella, Joe didn't use any other skills besides [Burn] so he preserved most of his mana and stamina.

[Sub-Quest Performance Board]

▪︎ Joe – 27 Infernal Humans Slain

▪︎ Bella – 25 Infernal Humans Slain

▪︎ Shelly – 15 Infernal Humans Slain

▪︎ Frankin – 13 Infernal Humans Slain

[All Four Participants Have Met The Minimum Requirement]

[All Four Participants Will Now Be Granted Access To The Dungeon Boss's Domain]

[Bonus Rewards Have Been Allocated To The Top 2 Participants]

Joe saw Bella’s scowl after coming 2nd on the list. Joe would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the look on her face, he wasn't trying to compete but seeing the princess not get what she wanted made him happy for some reason.

[Infernal Cave Dungeon: Bonus Rewards]

▪︎ Your Mana Pool Has Been Fully Replenished.

▪︎ +3 Additional Attribute Points To All Attrubutes.

▪︎ +30,000 Gold Pieces.

▪︎ +3 Health Potions.

Joe was surprised to find so many rewards. They were all really good so Joe wasn't complaining. The top 2 especially were the pick of the bunch.

[You Have Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 47 → 49 ]

[The Black Boots Have Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 5 → 8 ]

[The Black Gloves Have Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 5 → 8 ]

[The Black Sheep Has Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 6 → 9]

[Updated Attributes]

[Mana Pool: 5,480 / 5,480

• Skill: 103 → 110 (+2 Class Boost Attribute Points)

• Strength: 100 → 107 ( +13 Black Gloves Passive Boost Points)

• Speed: 100 → 107 (+13 Black Boots Passive Boost Points)

• Defense: 79 → 84 (+24 Black Sheep Passive Boost Points)

• Mental Strength: 70 → 75

▪︎ Additional Attribute Points: 2

[The (Scorching Dagger) Has Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 13 → 17]

[The Skill ( Weaponry) Has Leveled Up]

[Level Increase: 6 → 8]

[Total Gold Pieces Earned: 80,000]

Joe didn't expect to find the Black Sheep, Boots And Gloves all gain new levels. Their pace of growth was egregiously slow. Especially when compared to Joe's Mana Tools. Maybe only Mana Beast Cores accelerated their growth, but Joe could only guess.

Overall though Joe was happy with his progress, but what made him even happier was how those Infernal Humans didn't have to suffer anymore. Finally they were free.

Joe walked away from Bella as she drank what looked to be some sort of red potion. The potion seemed to heal her burn marks. Joe was certain it must've been one of the rewards she received for coming 2nd.

Joe made his way to Shelly, but before he could reach her another notification made itself known.

[Transportation To The Dungeon Bosss's Domain Has Started]

A red glow shrouded all of 4 of them. Their figures vanished with the light, leaving nothing behind but a sea of skeletons.