Shrouded in darkness, the air rushing past me, falling in silence, I think of how terrible my life has been. I came to a magical world and died before I even used magic. I didn’t learn anything and couldn’t change my fate of being the one at the bottom, even though I’ve yet to hit it.

The only notable thing I did was during the revolution of 89 that I got drafted into. I was too busy crying in a trench to hear my commander yell at me to shoot back. I was kicked and beaten to follow the order, but I just couldn't.

Soon, my platoon got overrun, and I was spared the trial for treason for my young age, and that I was too much of a wimp to fight back.

My last thought was, “god, I am useless.” Then a heavy *Thwack* a shooting pain through my whole body for the shortest of a moment.

I awake suspended in a strange, heavy liquid; my whole body hurts more than I thought even imaginable. This must be hell.

The heavy liquid burns at my skin. I open my eyes to see darkness, but it fills my eyes with a burning pain. I flail my limbs frantically, trying to get to the surface as I gasp for air, but instead, the liquid fills my mouth and floods my lungs, and it feels like it’s eating away at them with stinging pain.

I break through the surface, coughing and gasping at the cold, damp air. I can see a faint outline of something I can grab onto with a dim light. I reach for the ledge, but my arm only slaps at it, and I see half of my arm flop to the side as I realize it’s shattered in half.

I gag at the sight and cough up more of the thick liquid as I feel lightheaded from all the pain. I try my other arm, and it flops limp like a noodle. Maybe my skill can hold my arm straight so I can pull myself up. I think

I focus on the muscles in my right arm, set my arm straight, and hold it there as I grab for the edge. The ledge squishes under pressure, but I pull myself up. I lay on my back, coughing and retching up what's left of the heavy liquid in my lungs, and I feel the ground ripple with every cough.

I jolt awake with even more pain than I had before and can say with certainty that every bone in my body is broken. A cough shakes the ground and startles me enough to stand up, but my legs crumple into themselves. I yell out in pain, but it comes out as a strange sputter. Realizing I wasn’t the one who coughed, I wonder what it could have been.

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I put my head to the ground and hear what sounds like a faint heartbeat. Just as I tune into it, it fades to a stop. A blue window appears in front of me like the “status” window.

“Congratulations! You are the first to kill a Dokushi Lizard. Your name will be remembered for generations to come.”

“What?”

I say, confused, and again, only a strange gurgle comes out rather than my voice, but nothing happens in response. The window just closes, and another one opens, saying I have gained 100 levels. I don’t know if that's good or not. High levels could be 1,000, although I do hope it’s a lot to help me get out of this place.

I crawl in one direction. Dim light seemingly everywhere outlines the edge of whatever I'm on. I carefully slide down it and land near what feels like the leg of a giant lizard.

It must have broken my fall. Somewhat. And I got the credit for killing it; it’s pretty handy if you ask me.

I crawl forward into nowhere until my hand touches something that feels like wood. I should start a fire so at least I can see, and a long rest should make me feel better.

I find more wood-like sticks and two rocks that feel similar to flint. I take some straw still stuck in my clothes and chip the stones at each other.

Sparks alight, and I see the giant lizard behind me with blueish-green scales. The ground is nothing but a smooth, black, layered stone-like shale. Past the campfire's light is an abyss darker than the blackest black.

A shine lodged in the back of the lizard catches my eye. I crawl over to see the tip of my sword embedded in the lizard's side. I grab it and see that it looks sharper than before; maybe the lizard's blood is acidic, so it must have eaten off the rust.

I dig the tip of the sword into the lizard's scales as a roaring hunger overwhelms me. I cut a slice of flesh off it with the scales and place it on the campfire.

While it cooks, I practice putting myself back together. I can hold my bones in place and re-grow the bone. It's a lot faster than expected, but it would take me a couple of days of focusing on healing to recover fully. So, I leave my bones in a partially fractured state for now.

I pick up the lizard meat as it becomes a crispy-looking brown. I hold it up before me, and it smells surprisingly like a well-seasoned chicken, with the blood acting as some kind of acidic glaze. Just as I’m about to take a bite, I look past the fire and see a mangled pillar of dry sticks on the edge of the campfire light I had not seen before.

I follow it up about four stories and see three massive white eyes staring at me, accompanied by drops of what sound like water hitting the solid rock. One lands near me, and I see it resembles sap from a Tree, then one falls on the fire, and it explodes in a massive fireball, instantly burning my meat to a crisp. Then, the pillar moves up into the dark with a creek and a groan of wood. I only see it again when it comes within sight of the campfire as it falls toward me.