“Urghh…”
Groggily, my eyes flutter open, and I realise I’m lying face-down on a smooth, cold surface. This isn’t concrete—no, it’s something else, more like polished stone. What the hell happened? I slowly run my hand along the floor, the texture is unnervingly smooth, almost like marble. As I turn myself over, a blinding light floods my vision.
"Ah!" I squint against the intense blue glare. Is that... the sky? No, it can’t be, it was beginning to get dark when I finished with the fight. How long have I been out?
As my eyes adjust to this new level of brightness, I realise what I’m staring at isn’t the sky at all. It’s a ceiling, illuminated by streaks of blue lights embedded within the stone. Wait, a ceiling? My heart skips a beat as I abruptly sit up to scan my surroundings. This isn’t where I was before. I’m inside some kind of massive tunnel made entirely of stone. The ceiling and floor are both unblemished, made of the same smooth stone, while the walls are adorned with simple, chiseled patterns, flanked by half-merged columns at regular intervals. Blue lights snake along the walls and ceiling in lines, casting a chilling glow. Between the pillars, torches burn brilliantly with an unsettling azure flame.
A bit too much on the blue, don’t you think?
I dust off my uniform, realising that while I’m still in my own clothes, my bag is missing. A quick pat-down of my pockets reveals that my phone is gone too. Did someone loot me and dump me here? But how? There’s no entrance, just a solid stone wall behind me. The only way out seems to be down the tunnel ahead, though the view is obscured by a thick layer of—surprise, surprise—blue fog. Fog in a tunnel? Where the hell am I?
Despite the unsettling situation, I feel strangely calm, almost too calm. It’s unnerving. I know myself well enough, and knowing me, I should be freaking out right now, rolling around on the floor, piss spewing everywhere. Why am I not?
I shake off the uneasiness. There’s really only one thing I can do, which is to head down the tunnel ahead of me and figure out what’s going on. As I take my first step, my foot nudges something metallic.
"Huh?"
Lying on the ground in front of me are a sword and shield, both made entirely of the same blue metal. Seriously? The hilt and handle of the sword is the same material as the blade, and the shield’s handle is no different. It’s like someone took a 3D model, slapped a single texture on the whole thing, and then called it a day. I grab the sword. The metal is cool to the touch, smooth, but the colour is noisy. The variations in the shade of blue give it a rough, almost weathered look, despite its polished feel.
What the hell are these doing here? If I was kidnapped, my captors wouldn’t leave me with weapons, would they? I’ve also never seen or heard of a material like this. This just makes everything more confusing. But they must be here for a reason, so I might as well take them. It’s not like I have anything else.
I pick up the shield in my unoccupied left hand, surprised by how light it is. The sword was also decently light too. Well, I might as well give this thing a swing. I test the sword with a few practice swings. I haven’t used a sword in my entire life, the closest thing to it was play-fighting with sticks as a kid. I remember how awkward if felt swinging them, just like it feels now… wait, awkward? I give the sword of couple more swings. No, it seems like I am seeing it right, each of my swings travel in a clean arc. It doesn’t look like expert level swordplay but it definitely at least novice level. When did this happen? I have never, in the entirety of my life, swung a sword. Am I some sort of prodigy? Or is something peculiar up…
I shake off the unease again. There’s no point in overthinking it. I just have to accept it and move on. With that, I start walking down the tunnel, the sound of each footstep reverberating off the smooth stone walls. The scenery doesn’t change—the same pattern of pillars, torches, and blue lights stretching on endlessly.
After what feels like ten minutes, I finally see something past the fog. A wall, similar to the one behind me, but different somehow. A large glowing cerulean circle lies in the middle, surrounded by intricate patterns of glowing lines. It looks like some sort of gate. But it’s probably another dead end. Those huge stone walls aren’t just going to open up on their own are they? Even if I asked nicely I bet they still wouldn’t budge. There’s no sort of mechanism here to open it, so it’s probably a dead end?
My doubts are shattered when I reach out to touch the wall.
“Gah!”
The tunnel begins to shake violently. I flinch and end up stumbling backward, landing on the ground as the rumbling of stone fills the air. To my amazement, the colossal wall begins to part, revealing a large square chamber beyond. How is this even possible? The stone gate is thick—what kind of mechanism could move something this massive?
The square chamber is empty, it’s basically just a wider version of the same repetitive tunnel, except the floor is now a grid of large, rough stone tiles. It’s eerily quiet, nothing stirring as I step inside. The moment I do, the ground trembles again, sending me crashing to the floor.
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“Shit…”
As I push myself up, I glance back and see that the door has closed behind me. Am I trapped? Maybe not. There’s another door on the far side of the chamber, so there’s still a way out. But before I can make a move, the ground starts to rumble again, why does everything here have to shake so much? However, the tremors are different—they’re coming from below.
The floor in front of the opposing gate erupts, throwing up a cloud of dust and sending debris flying in all directions. As the dust settles, a massive hole is revealed, but that’s not what draws my attention. My eyes lock onto what’s emerging from the chasm, the very sight of it makes my blood run cold.
My heart pounds in my chest, and my legs threaten to give way. The grip on my sword and shield tightens as adrenaline surges through me. But my one and only thought, as I gaze into the monstrous figure before me, is one thing:
What the hell is that?
The monster emerges from the cloud of stone dust it kicked into the air. The hole it crawled out of is deep—did it burrow its way up here? Scary stuff. And given how everything has progressed since I got here, what’s gonna happen next is crystal clear.
I must fight it.
An icy dread seeps into my bones as the realisation hits—I have no choice but to fight this thing. Looking back, the blue tunnel, sword and shield, the huge doors. This whole thing is basically screaming dungeon-crawler. It’s basically a clear-the-room-to-progress scenario. Heck, I very well may even be in a game itself. No, never mind, that sounds stupid. Maybe the repetitiveness of this tunnel—no, at this point, “dungeon” would probably be more suitable—struck a chord with me. It felt like whoever made this place was reusing assets.
Anyway, I need to abandon that train of thought—and fast. This situation is no joke. The sweat on my palms makes it harder to hold onto my sword, forcing me to grip it tighter.
As for the creature, it resembles a colossal crocodile, twisted into a grotesque mockery of its earthly counterpart, towering nearly as tall as I am, despite being on all fours. But that’s where the similarities end. Its skin is pitch-black, blending into a dark green around its belly. Its claws and teeth are pure white, their intense contrast making it all the more terrifying. Spikes run down its body, from the spine all the way to the tip of its tail, protruding out of its rough skin. Worst of all, it has three glowing red eyes, one on its forehead, surrounded by sinister red markings. And it feels like it’s emitting… darkness? A dark sorta aura pulses around it, rising into the air like a gas before dissipating. This is definitely some kind of boss, and I am definitely not ready to fight it. Whoever put this at the beginning has a terrible sense of game balance.
The black crocodile begins to slowly stalk towards me. I drop into a stance, armed with my sword and shield. I have no recollection of ever learning a stance like this, but it seems that I've run out of time to contemplate. With a shrill, blaring screech, the beast hurtles towards me, a blur of black mass moving with terrifying speed.
Whether it rams me or bites me, it makes no difference. I pull my shield in front of me, bracing for impact. The creature slams into me head-on. The force of the blow steals my breath away and sends me tumbling backwards. Damn, that hurt like hell—this is definitely no dream. But how is it so strong? I was putting all my weight into that, yet it knocked me aside like a soda can. Maybe I shouldn’t take it head-on? Who am I kidding? Did you see how fast that thing was? I’d have to know it was coming to have any chance of dodging that!
It probably managed to generate that much and speed because it had that run-up. If I engage in close quarters, I might have the advantage. I scramble to my feet and rush forwards, closing the gap between us. I’m almost right in front of it now. What can it even do at this range? Bite me? My sword is longer anyway. So what is it even going to do-
My shield is immediately raised to my side. The metallic clang of the impact resonates throughout the chamber, the force sending me sliding several meters to the left, but I manage to keep upright.
“Holy shit.”
If I hadn’t seen it wind up its tail like that, and if I’d been even a fraction of a second slower, I would’ve been done for. What kind of crocodile does something like that—swinging its tail around to strike like a hammer? The hit sent me skidding and gave the creature a few meters of distance. A freakish move creating distance for the beast while also attacking the opponent. But I should look on the bright side. If getting in close causes it to perform a risky move like that, putting me in a blind spot, albeit temporarily, I might be able to land a hit.
With my new plan formulated, I ready myself to charge—but quickly find myself rolling to the side, swiftly evading another ram attack. Seeing those monstrous teeth bared at me sent a shiver down my spine. Not even giving me a moment to breathe, huh? I close the remaining distance. It once again begins to wind up its tail. Bad move buddy. I forcefully jump upwards. A split-second later, its tail zooms past below me, hurling air into my face. If I hadn’t had tucked in my legs, those spikes on its tail would’ve scraped me. Well anyways, you dumbass monster. The same trick won’t work twice on me. I lunge my sword directly into the monster’s back. It squeals in pain and tries to escape. Nuh uh uh, not on my watch. I’ve got you now, and I don’t intend on letting you get away. I plunge my sword into its black flesh once more. This time, it lets out an ear-splitting screech.
“Ah!”
My ears start ringing violently. Have I gone deaf? I ignore the pain and continue stabbing. Nothing will stop me until this monster is fucking dea—
Crunch
My body is flung into the wall like a ragdoll. My breaths are ragged and strained. Pain surges through every nerve in my body. What was that crunching sound? I start to cough uncontrollably. I cover my mouth with my hands, looking down at them—blood. My hands are covered in blood.
I look back at the crocodile… no… crocodiles? There’s one, two, three of them. I’m pretty sure there was only one, so where did the others come from? I try to stand up, but my legs won’t cooperate. Oh, one of them is coming towards me. What should I do?
Crunch
I scream out in agony as my torso is crushed between the crocodile’s jaws. It then tosses me—what’s left of me—to the others. I find myself surrounded by three crocodiles.
“Aarrggh!”
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Asrion’s screams echo through the dungeon, desperate and haunting. But the dungeon remains indifferent, its only response the sickening crunch of bones, the wet rip of tearing flesh, and the relentless drip of blood pooling on the cold, unforgiving ground.