Elias landed hard on rough, uneven stone, the impact jarring his already bruised body. The air was thick and heavy, smelling of damp earth, stagnant water, and a cloying, metallic tang that made his stomach churn.
The purplish-black portal snapped shut behind him with a sound like a physical blow, plunging him into absolute, suffocating darkness. No torchlight, no distant glow – just an oppressive, all-consuming void.
Panic, cold and sharp, clawed at his throat. He was in the Dungeon of Death, the abyss from which none returned. The words echoed in his mind, a chilling mantra. He scrambled backward, his hands scraping against rough, slimy rock, until his back hit a wall. He pressed himself against it, trying to calm his ragged breathing, but the darkness pressed in on him, a living entity.
His Perception passive, which had been screaming warnings in the palace, was now a dull throb, overwhelmed by the sheer, pervasive malevolence of this place. He strained his ears, listening. Only the drip, drip, drip of water somewhere in the blackness, and the frantic thumping of his own heart. Then, a new sound, faint at first, but growing louder: a low, guttural growl, followed by a wet, dragging noise. It was close. Too close.
His notification tab, a small beacon in the overwhelming darkness, flickered. He desperately called it forth.
[Notification]
Location: Dungeon of Death - Level 1.
Description: The first level of the infamous Dungeon of Death. A dark, damp, and treacherous environment. Known to house weak, yet aggressive, mutated creatures.
[New Threat Detected]
Creature: Dungeon Crawler (Mutated Rat)
Threat Level: Low
Notes: Aggressive, packs often found. Weak to blunt force.
A Dungeon Crawler. A mutated rat. Elias had never fought anything in his life, let alone a mutated creature in pitch blackness. His kendo training had been about discipline and form, not survival against monsters. He fumbled frantically for anything, anything at all, that could serve as a weapon. His hands closed around a loose, jagged piece of rock. It was small, barely larger than his fist, but it was something.
The growling intensified, closer now, accompanied by the scuttling of multiple tiny claws on stone. He could feel a hot, fetid breath on his face. Elias swung the rock wildly, blindly, in the direction of the sound. He heard a squeal, a sickening crunch, and then a wet thud. He had hit something.
More growls erupted, this time from several directions. The Dungeon Crawlers were circling him. He could feel their presence, a low, predatory hum in the oppressive air. He swung again, and again, the rock a pathetic extension of his terror. He felt a sharp bite on his ankle, a searing pain that made him cry out.
[Notification]
Health: 70/100 (Minor Bleeding - Dungeon Crawler Bite)
He kicked out, blindly, his foot connecting with something soft and yielding. Another squeal. He realized he couldn't just stand there and swing. He had to move. He had to find light, or an exit, or at least a corner to defend.
He pushed off the wall, stumbling forward, his hands outstretched, feeling his way through the suffocating darkness. The air grew colder, wetter. He could hear the drip of water more clearly now, and the faint sound of a rushing current. A tunnel, perhaps?
He kept moving, one hand on the wall, the other clutching his rock. He heard the Dungeon Crawlers behind him, their scuttling growing fainter. They were following, but not attacking immediately. They were waiting.
Suddenly, his hand brushed against something smooth and metallic. He fumbled, his fingers closing around a cold, cylindrical object. It was a rusted, dented lantern. He shook it, and to his astonishment, a faint, magical glow flickered to life within it, casting a weak, flickering circle of light around him.
The light revealed a narrow, winding tunnel, the walls slick with moisture. And then, he saw them. Dozens of glowing red eyes, reflecting in the lantern light, belonging to creatures that resembled grotesque, oversized rats, their fur matted, their teeth elongated and dripping. They were clustered in the shadows, waiting.
[Notification]
Dungeon Crawler (Mutated Rat) x 15 detected.
Elias swallowed hard, his throat dry. He was trapped. But the light, however dim, brought a sliver of clarity. He could see them now. He could fight. His kendo training, though not for this, had instilled in him a basic understanding of stance and movement. He raised the rock, his knuckles white.
"Come on then, you ugly bastards," he muttered, his voice trembling, but a flicker of grim determination ignited within his chest. He was in the abyss, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. His survival, his vengeance, depended on it.