I wonder how many levels this dungeon has, Asher thought as he crossed the small steel bridge to the island.
It hadn't even been too long since he had done so, but the last time he had crossed under a threshold, he had brushed pretty close with death. What about now?
He was sopping wet, his muscles were aching from all the swimming and walking, and his Blessing was running on empty. He was hungry, thirsty, and itchy all over, and a very mild queasiness had overcome him.
Asher looked into his pockets and boots. He had replaced the cracked slime cores with the intact ones, which would probably sell for more. All he needed to do now, really, was get the hell out of there.
Easier said thandone. He kicked at a pebble.
He had three options: wait here for help, keep exploring the first level of the dungeon in the hopes of finding a way out, or go to level two and risk being blown to pieces by some random slime.
And yet... "Damn it, level two it is."
Of course, he wasn't stupid. He crossed the archway and sat down at the top of the staircase. It seemed the transition point between the two levels wasn't too infested by the sludge. At worst, the stone floor was wet. But he was drenched, so there was no problem.
Asher laid back, dropping any reserves he had of getting dirty, and pulled up the description of his Blessing.
<[Imbue Sunlight]>
[Type: Active]
[Child of the unborn Sun, bask in the glory of Their heat. Imbue His radiance as you desire.]
I know how to imbue sunlight into my sword and myself, and I'm also a bit resistant to my own Blessing's light and heat. Maybe I could...?
He reached out and grabbed a small rock. With a fraction of the little fuel he had left in the tank, he imbued a little sunlight into the rock, and it glowed faintly.
Hm... Asher looked around him. He pocketed the rock as the effects of his Blessing waned, then rolled over onto his side. He was safe for now. Might as well take the time to rest. He knocked himself out instantly.
The next he woke up, he had no idea what the time was. For all he knew, it was late in the morning, or maybe even the afternoon.
It was good then that the dungeon was so humid. He didn't feel parched just yet.
Asher spent the next couple of minutes wandering about the labyrinth, making sure he didn't lose the entryway to the second floor as he collected sharp roots and stones. It wasn't too hard. The plants in here were terribly sick, so they were easy to manipulate, and wherever there was foliage, the rock had also come loose. It didn't take long for him to gather an arsenal of barely dangerous objects.
He retraced his steps to the staircase, and made his way down.
Even though he knew what the general terrain of the dungeon would be, it was still difficult for Asher to suppress the apprehension growing in him.
His jaw fell agape as he reached the bottom of the staircase.
He stood on a raised stone platform, and below him was a colossal room that extended several hundred metres in every direction. Perfect rectangular pits had been cut out of the ground, leaving a grid of stone walkways for maintenance workers to walk on. Thick brick pillars stretched high up to the ceiling every now and then, but they weren't doing so great. Sickly grey vines wrapped around them like barnacles to the hull of a ship.
Aside from the infestation of vines, the other most prominent feature of this level of the dungeon was the amount of sludge and slop that had accumulated here.
The walkways, the pits, even the walls up to where Asher was standing. Everything was covered in waste and decaying matter, with a few plants managing to tough it out and sprout a few leaves and branches amongst them.
Asher sighed. By the gods, what kind of monstrosities are hiding in all this stinking shit?
He wasn't expecting anything good as he took the stairs leading from the platform down to the maintenance walkways. Turns out he was right.
A chill crept up his spine, and his focus locked on to the sound of chittering, and then a hiss.
A Noxious Rat burst out of the waste in front of him and dashed up the stairs, forcing Asher to retreat further up.
The monster was far slower than a normal rat by virtue of its size, but it was still much nimbler than an ordinary human. Before Asher could even make it to the top of the stairs, it leapt at him, sending him tumbling all the way down and into the waste on the walkway.
Already, Asher was beginning to feel regret piling on him as he struggled under the rat. He felt its claws rip into his skin, and punched and kicked with all his might, his grunts betraying his barely suppressed panic.
With a free hand, he pressed against the rat's head and pushed it off himself, lurching forward as he did.
A moment later, the rat had regained its bearings, and Asher had brandished a sharp rock.
"I'll fucking butcher you, vermin," he seethed.
Asher suddenly reached into his pocket and tossed out a pebble he had infused with sunlight, blinding the rat for a moment.
A chance.
He leapt forward and drew his rock backward, and plunged it straight into the rat.
The monster let out a high-pitched squeal as its arms flailed around rabidly. It tried to scratch at its assailant, but Asher had already stood up.
Sharp root in hand, he knelt down and brought his entire weight onto the rat, blasting straight through its throat.
Its death throes didn't last for long.
Panting, Asher grabbed the corpse by its feet, and slowly but steadily heaved it up the stairs back up to the platform he had come from.
He had butchered chickens before. He ripped the shard of stone out of its body, careful not to let any blood get on his wounds, and used the shard to tear into the rat's ankles.
Not too big, but these'll do for now, he thought as he held up the rat's claws to inspect. They were about the size of his pinky finger, but they were far better stabbing weapons. Now, if only I had some string to tie this thing into a weapon...
Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky. The claws themselves would have to do for now.
His steady progress through the second floor began. He killed many a Sewer Slime, another two Noxious Rats, and fled after nearly having been torn to shreds by three of those rodent abominations.
By now, the mild queasiness he had been feeling had become a sickening pit in his stomach. He felt like shit, and he could sense a headache coming on.
After a long hour of navigating the maintenance walkways with Basic Precognition, Asher finally made it to one of the run-down brick pillars.
Unlike the walkways, the circular stone platform around the pillars had railguards, which carved out a small safe space for him.
Asher sat down on the ground as he swallowed a deep breath. His hair was dry, but caked in grime. As was the rest of his skin. When he looked over his body, he could barely see the scratches through the muck.
Most concerning, though, as he brushed off the waste on one of his more serious wounds, was that something had begun to fester.
And just for good measure, as if to rub it in his face, the system spoke out.