Sami slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't fully regain his awareness. He felt small creatures crawling on his body and gnawing at his bones. A putrid smell penetrated his nostrils. He tried to comprehend the situation, but everything seemed strange and unfamiliar.
He raised his gaze and saw a circle of faint light looming on the horizon, very far away. His consciousness gradually began to return, and with it, his senses and memories. Despite the pain coursing through his body, Sami summoned his Desert Armor. Suddenly, beautiful sparks erupted within the pitch darkness, gathering to form a silver shield engraved with a clear moon.
Finally, Sami could see his surroundings. Well, it seemed he had fallen into a well... but not just any well—a dirty, old, moldy, and rough-floored well teeming with snakes. Oh, the irony of fate! Everything he had planned had failed.
He hadn't obtained any useful information, had been stabbed, everyone knew him while he knew no one, and finally, he was thrown into a well of snakes. Worse still, there were no signs of the ordeal approaching its end, while he was genuinely nearing his demise.
Sami wondered why he was still alive. He hadn't expected to survive all that. But the answer was simple: it seemed the resistance he gained after killing the "Abomination of the Lake" had somehow defeated the snake venom, making him immune to it. However, he still felt a burning pain in his body each time he was bitten, but at least he was alive.
But what about the bleeding? Why hadn't he died from that? He quickly realized the enhancement he received after killing that Rank Three creature was no joke. His body had become stronger than any ordinary human, and the bleeding wasn't enough to kill him—at least for the time being. The bodies of the Bound were ten times more resilient and powerful than humans, and he was at least half of one. Moreover, it seemed Senn hadn't hit any vital organ when she stabbed him, which was suspicious in itself, but that wasn't important now. What mattered was that he was still alive, which meant he still met the ordeal's condition: "Survival."
Finally, Sami decided to stand up. Waiting for death was worse than death itself. And so, he decided to fight. He summoned his personal sickle and, without hesitation, brought it down upon the snakes surrounding him. He heard the echo of the ordeal's voice in his mind:
You have killed 5x Moon Viper.
You have obtained a dose of Moon Viper venom.
Sami didn't pay much attention to the ordeal's messages. His mind was already damaged, making him unable to focus or gather information in such a state. Killing was the easiest thing to do; it was the first instinct to appear in anyone in his situation.
He continued swinging his sickle, mercilessly cutting down the snakes encircling him. After a battle that lasted moments, the snakes retreated from him. Then, the ordeal screamed in his mind again:
You have killed 40x Moon Viper.
You have obtained the skill [Viper Slayer].
[Viper Slayer]: You can conceal your presence and sneak quietly as long as you are crawling on the ground.
But this skill wasn't what Sami needed right now. He was in immense pain and still bleeding from everywhere. He was no longer sure how long he could hold on.
Damn, I need to acquire a healing skill as soon as possible.
Still, he wasn't stupid. The first thing he did was move. He didn't know why he was put in this well, but he had no intention of staying long enough to find out. He had to escape immediately.
He felt along the dark walls of the well, and after a while, finally found an exit. It was a narrow opening, low to the ground, barely allowing a person to crawl through. Sami didn't mind; survival was his top priority, and his injured body wasn't really fit for walking anyway.
He began to crawl as if his life depended on it—and it really did.
Strangely, with the activation of the "Viper Slayer" skill, crawling wasn't really difficult. It seemed his body had become flexible and adapted to crawling.
After a period of crawling, his expectation proved correct: the narrow tunnel led to a wider one, but it was even darker. He stopped to catch his breath, trying to organize his thoughts. He didn't know what kind of horrors he might face here, but he was aware that analysis and planning were the best—and only—option available to him now.
He began to recall everything he had experienced since the start of the ordeal—every detail, every name, every place... Then suddenly, he let out a low hiss that seemed like a mix between crying and laughing.
A strange gleam flashed in his eyes, and he struck the ground hard with one hand while pressing the other against his bleeding wound.
"Damn... It seems I've really been transported into 'The Lunar City Play'?!"
Then he muttered in a sarcastic tone: "Isn't that a bit cliché... even for you, Ordeal?!"
To be continued...
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