Theo woke to the cold black stone of the dungeon under his bare feet, but something felt different. The floor had an unusual texture to it. There were uneven patches that he hadn’t noticed before. He stamped his feet absently, feeling new sensations as he encountered different sections of the floor. It was like nothing he’d ever encountered, yet he couldn’t tell that anything had changed. The stone looked deeper in color, blacker, as though absorbing any light that touched it. Almost seeming to shimmer and pulse as if alive.

The muted walls of the dungeon were no longer dull and lifeless, but glimmered with a faint blue hue, like a sapphire. Their icy surfaces rippled with a thin layer of a mysterious energy.

He’d seen all this before. This was where he lived, and yet it was as though he’d never truly seen it in his entire life. He shook his head. Something must have happened to him.

He didn’t remember much of last night, but he didn’t think he had fought any adventurers. His body didn’t ache and he didn’t feel the presence of the dungeon thick around him like usual. There was something else and Theo couldn’t quite figure out what. This was his room. All his things were here.

His bed lay against the wall, still made up neatly. But, if he’d just woken up, why was he standing and why was his bed unused? It didn’t feel like he’d been drinking, but the memory loss sure made it seem like he had. It might be a good time to stop taking ale from the adventurers he killed. It must have been pretty potent if he didn’t even remember drinking it.

Maybe there was nothing wrong with his room, maybe something was wrong with him. He opened his stat screen.

Name:

Theodore — of the third floor Race: Dungeon Guardian Class: Denizen Height: ~22 rats Weight: ~175 rats Level: 3 Strength: 6 Dexterity: 4 Constitution: 5 Wisdom: 1 Intelligence: 1 Perception: 5 Charisma: 3

Everything was different. Even the color of the console seemed wrong. Maybe not wrong, but different. Where did all these new stats come from?

What did strength six mean? Was he strong now? He’d always felt strong, of course he’d have to be strong to defeat so many adventurers. Six was the highest stat he had, so of course that is what it meant. He suddenly had so many questions and no answers. None of this made any sense.

He summoned his trusty dagger. Holding the grip was comforting and familiar even as he noticed all the nicks in the blade. He would need to take better care of it. He examined the stats for the dagger.

Dagger Till The End: Tier [1] (Soul bound)

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A lightly rusted knife whose edge has seen many fights.

At least that hadn’t changed. He slashed the air, trying to get back something that felt normal. He stopped, staring at his wrist. There was a leather bracelet on it. Where had that come from? He touched it and a stat screen popped up.

Leather Bracelet

Class: Wrist Armor

Location: Right Wrist ( Soul Bound )

Description: A sturdy bracelet made of leather and stones. Sets the perception stat of the wearer to five.

Armor: +1

Tier: 1

Attributes:

* Unavoidable Curse - This curse cannot be avoided. Ignores target defenses and immunities. Cursed items cannot be removed until dispelled.

* Void Forged

The stones in the bracelet were shiny. He liked the way it looked against his pale grey skin. He didn’t know why such a pretty item would be cursed. But set at five, his perception stat was now tied for the second highest stat he had. Even if he could, he wouldn’t want to take it off.

He set off into the dungeon’s halls. His skin caught on the rough surfaces as he ran his hands along them. He’d never noticed their texture before or the vibrant colors on their mottled surfaces.

Torches flickered in the darkness, lighting his way. Who lit them? They were always burning, but lighting torches was not something Theo had ever done.

Come to think of it, a lot of things just happened in the dungeon that he couldn’t explain. The door to the treasure room was repaired and back on its hinges. He rattled the handle, but it didn’t budge. Theo tried to peek through the keyhole, but he couldn’t see anything. He felt around the doorframe but found nothing.

Everything looked the same as always, but still different, as though something had changed in the dungeon that he couldn’t explain.

He stopped in his tracks to stare at a piece of wood with black markings bolted to the wall. He had seen it a million times and walked past it nearly every day while patrolling the dungeon. There were many strange markings inscribed on it, but he had never given them much thought because he could not read them.

Until now, that is.

“The monster is the door; kill him to unlock this floor,” he said, reading the sign out loud. He didn’t know why he could suddenly read, but it seemed to be part of whatever these changes were.

The door!

Theo wasted no time and set off towards the door leading out of his third floor. He had an inkling of what he was looking for - a creature of some kind, as the sign said - but he wasn’t quite sure yet.

As he walked, his boots landed on the rough cobblestone floor with a resounding echo, every sound bouncing off the walls. He noticed every nook and cranny as if he were reading a map in his head, from the dank walls that seemed to ooze moisture and mold, to the well-worn grating in the floor that he walked over, to the ragged plume of breath that escaped his lips. Most notably, he smelled the thick air of the dungeon. He hadn’t realized his dungeon had a smell. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about it seemed strange and unfamiliar.

Theo had no idea what this door creature might look like. Except for the invading adventurers, he was the only creature on this floor that he knew of.

Theodore arrived at the entrance door, prepared to attack it with even more vigor than he did last time.

It was tall, made of thick and heavy wood, with metal bands reinforcing it the heavy metal frame from the outside. He reached out to touch the door handle, but found it cold and unyielding beneath his fingertips. He pushed firmly against it, hoping for some sort of response, but there was none.

After a few moments of frustrated silence, Theodore noticed the glowing red circle in the center. It flickered as though beckoning him to touch it. He peered closer and then pushed his hand against it firmly. An illuminated menu suddenly came into view. The words on the screen shimmered in front of him; he had never seen anything like it before.

The menu listed several options, but the first one that caught his eye was one labeled “Open Door”. He hesitated for a moment before pressing his finger down on the ‘Enter’ button below it.

With a loud click, the door opened slowly and Theodore peered into the darkness beyond. Not even a sliver of light shone through, leaving Theo in a state of apprehension as he gazed into its murky depths. This is what he’d been hoping for. Now he could search out the source of those pesky adventures and eliminate them before they could ravage his dungeon.

As he stepped through the door, his surroundings suddenly changed.