I walk up the cave and notice the path going down. I feel a need to sneeze. I bob my head like an idiot waiting for it to come, but it leaves. I head inside the dark and moist cave. The light dims with each step I take until I can barely see in front of me.
I reach an intersection where the path splits into two. I randomly pick the right path and continue downward until I get a large vibrant chamber with colourful stalagmites and anthodites that coat the room in an eerie light. The chamber lacks anything except a small clear pond in the back. I drop my bed near the pond and a sense of safety finally falls over me.
I wonder if this is where those monkeys came from. I let out a yawn. Hmm, I doubt it. I slip into the bed after stripping my ripped and bloody clothes, not bothering to rinse myself off. My lids start to feel heavy. Hopefully, I’ll be safe in this cave.
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I wake up shivering and stark naked. My blanket seems to have fallen on the floor and I try to recall where I am. My mind flashes back to the dungeon. My palms fell clammy and I calmed myself down.
My parched throat floats in the front of my mind making me get up and walk toward the pond. I stare at it lovingly and do my best to resist taking a drink.
Don’t. Who knows what will happen if you drink it? I start to shiver in fear when I remember one of the old man’s lessons. He forced us to drink contaminated water. A jolt runs through me as the memories of the days I spent in the toilet after drinking it.
I hear the light sound of a cat meowing causing me to become aware of my surroundings once more. I looked around in confusion trying to identify where the noise had come from. Another meow echoes off the walls of the cave and I notice a set of glowing green eyes on a perch above my bed. A deep growl rings out.
The large body of a cat-like animal appears from the perch. Its pitch-black fur glistens in the dim light.
I frown and look around for my sword. Finding it a couple of meters away from me, I change my direction and slowly walk to it. While moving, I scan the animal and it lets out a fearsome roar that shakes the entire chamber. Some stalagmites fall from the roof and I crouch, clutching my bleeding ears.
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Onyx Hunter - Level 286 - D-grade
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That was not a good idea. My heart drops and my legs freeze. Why does this keep happening to me? This area was only filled with low-level creatures. It doesn’t make sense
I wait for the Onyx Hunter to pounce at me, but it doesn’t. It just stares menacingly at me. I take a step back and hear a cry coming from a baby animal. Does it have a child? I reach my sword and unsheathe it.
The beast finally moves. It picks up a cub, the size of a mouse, and leaps off the perch onto my bed. I let out a gasp as I noticed it was missing a leg. A large chunk of meat from its abdomen is also missing. Green pus flows from the hole in its body and It limps toward me. It stops a couple meters in front of me and I can smell its rotting flesh. It places the cub on the floor along with another object I can’t make out.
I stare deep into its irises and see the pain masked behind it. I sheathe my sword as it limps out of the chamber. It knows it’s going to die, but doesn’t want the kid to see it.
The baby cub cries out but doesn’t chase after its parent. I make my toward the poor child and pick it up. It ruffles around in my hand and tries to jump away from me. I grimace and take it back to my bed. It lays on my pillow and continues to cry out for it’s mother.
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Life is cruel. I let out a long and deep sigh before picking up the object the panther left behind. It’s a plain ring. I don’t get a result when I scan it. Looks a lot like Thalanda’s. I clear my head. That isn’t possible. I put it on the finger beside my Ring of Deception. I try to wash my clothes and can tell that my shirt is a lost cause. I wring out my pants and wear them. Finally, I check up on the kid before walking out of the chamber to hunt for food.
I get to the intersection. I should check the other path. Just to make sure there isn’t anything in there that can wander out and hurt the cub. I head down the path and end up in another chamber with the same glowing stalagmites.
The air hums with an eerie resonance as if the rocks themselves held a forgotten power. I move closer, my eyes widening at the intricate details etched into the cave walls. The carvings depicted a grand battle between celestial beings and shadowy monstrosities. In the center, a towering figure wielding light clashes with another figure wielding darkness.
I wonder what this means. I search around the room, looking for any danger. Not finding any, I walk out and head outside. I stretch as I come out of the cave and squint my eyes at the sun. I stay near the cave entrance and hunt for prey. I find a rabbit with weird antlers or horns coming out of its head.
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Horned Hopper - level 34 - E rank
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I channel life steal causing an aura to run down the sword in my hand and dash toward the rabbit. Catching it by surprise, my sword digs into its neck with ease and I watch it wither to bones and skin in less than 10 seconds. A weird energy flows into my body throughout the process and I feel rejuvenated.
I pick up the rabbit and right inside the cave before moving farther out. I encounter 2 more rabbits. They both hop toward me, trying to skewer my legs. I dodge and decapitate one of them. The other one comes from behind me and manages to scratch my leg with its horn. As it hops away, I stab it and use life steal on it.
The weird rejuvenation energy heals the small scratch on my leg. I pick up both dead rabbits to drop them off at the cave. I encounter 3 small monkeys with huge eyes hanging off a tree using their tails not too far from my cave.
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Common Spider Monkey Scout - Level 24 - F rank
Common Spider Monkey Scout - Level 25 - E rank
Common Spider Monkey Scout - Level 29 - E rank
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It’s those monkeys from before. I drop my rabbit to go after them but before I can reach them, they flee. That doesn’t bode well for me.
I go pick up my rabbits and drop them off before going for a final round of hunting. I find another three rabbits and kill 2 of them without using my life-steal skill. I capture the third and take it back with me to the cave.
I take the live rabbit into the main chamber, saw off its horns and wrap it up with my blankets to ensure it can’t move or harm anyone. I force it to drink some water and take it back with me to the entrance of the cave where I make a spit. I find the retractable switchblade in my pants pocket and skin the rabbits I didn’t use life steal on.
I place 2 rabbits with meat on the spit and turn to the ones that are hollowed and without any meat because of my skill. They look kinda freaky. I skin them as well and place the pelts in a corner. The meat gives out a luring aroma as it cooks and I devour it the second it’s done.
I take the remaining uncooked rabbit into the cave and wake up the little cub. He growls at me when he wakes but his attitude swings around when I show him the rabbit’s meat.
“You’re still not dead,” I say to the rabbit who drank the pond water, “I’ll give you another couple hours before I try the water.”
It bars its teeth, but I don’t pay it any mind and pat its head.
I walk to the little cub who’s eating the rabbit’s meat.
“I’ll name you Onyx,” I say as it purs while I pet it, “What do you say about going into a dungeon with me?”
I wait for it to get done eating before placing him on top of my head and picking up the entrapped rabbit.
I walk out of the cave in search of the closest dungeon.