The monster chased Mike all the way to the dungeon door and then stopped. It didn't follow him out. Instead, it turned, its massive body moving with a speed that made my stomach drop. Its growls shook the walls, vibrating through the chamber like a pulse of doom.
Even without eyes, it sniffed the air.
Terror hit me like a lightning bolt as I realized what was happening, It was hunting me! Every breath I took trembled in my chest.
I'm going to die, there's simply no other way.
What rank is this thing? Silver? Gold?
I shuddered. I can't even handle bronze rank.
But maybe, I have to....maybe I can find a way out. I don't have to fight it. I don't!
My thoughts spun, frantic and scattered, as I forced myself to think. Every trick I knew about dungeons, every rule drilled into me by horror and chance, I clung to it like a lifeline.
One thing was painfully clear, a monster like this shouldn't be in a dungeon this weak. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. And if I can figure it out… maybe I can escape.
I sank behind a broken pillar, pressing myself into the cold stone. I dared a peek. It stood in front of the door, its head swaying side to side. It can't see.
But it was only a temporary relief, nothing more. I needed to move. Forget essence. Forget becoming fully Awakened. Right now, survival is everything. Only the living have anything to worry about.
If it tracked me by smell, I'd be dead already. Sweat, blood, fear, every stench clinging to me like a second skin. That leaves only… hearing.
I found a small stone and then slowly, painfully slowly, I rose, careful not to shift my feet or step on the bones littering the floor. I threw the stone. It sailed through the air before clattering onto a bed of bones.
The reaction was instantaneous and terrifying.
The monster lunged. Its mouth opened wide enough to swallow the entire spot where the stone landed. Its fangs gouged the dungeon floor as it snapped up bones and debris.
I shivered violently. I'm screwed. Completely screwed. Mike and his party scammed me. I have no essence. And now I'm about to die.
A laugh almost escaped me. I was going to die here, with all the dreams I'd ever dared to dream, all the truths I would never know.
This is exactly the situation I swore I'd never face again. Just like that night when the dungeon appeared in my house, and my family… gone. I was helpless then. Helpless now.
"I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to climb the Tower. I want my name to spread through it like the famous climbers," I whispered, fury rolling off my tongue like molten fire.
Saying it awakened something deep inside me, something raw and primal.
But for all my bravado, I stayed crouched behind the pillar, waiting for the perfect moment to run. I couldn't fight this monster then maybe… maybe I could outrun it.
The problem was simple, the monster was too close to the door. I needed it far away and I had no idea how.
Time passed. My limbs stiffened. The monster hadn't moved either. My luck had run out until it slithered up onto the altar. It coiled around the podium, and I leaned forward just enough to see what it protected, it was a book, black as obsidian, outlined only by a faint green glow.
'What was that? Is that a loot from the dungeon?'
But I did not have the time to think much of that it is time to run, to run for everything I am.
But for some reason my eyes kept returning to the book, drawn like a moth to flame. I bit my lips and ny heart hammered in my chest. A dangerous thought formed. Artifacts. Dungeons hide treasures capable of changing lives. Not just wealth but power. One artifact could let someone like me, a Half, stand against bronze rank… or even silver.
And boss monsters guard them with their lives.
I clenched my fists. If this thing is guarding the book… it must be powerful, it must be a special artifact, then.... maybe I can trick it?
No more stalling. If I leave this dungeon without fully Awakening, my dreams are over anyway. Going back… feels scarier than being eaten alive.
I grabbed the biggest stone I could find. Every ounce of strength my half-Awakened body could muster went into the throw.
The stone sailed through the air and hit something as a clatter echoed. The monster hissed, surged toward the noise.
And at that moment, I used the opportunity and ran.
Bones cracked under my feet. The monster bellowed in fury, turning its bulking body back but I was already on the altar. I reached for the book. It resisted me but desperation gave me power and I yanked it free.
Magic erupted. Green fire engulfed my hand. I screamed as flames devoured me with heat that seems to burn the soul directly.
And in the same instant, the monster also lunged, jaws snapping down.