Pain.
Not the "I stubbed my toe" pain.Not even the "I punched a tree to look cool" pain.
This was "my entire body was used as a mop on the way down" pain.
It came in waves — sharp, dull, burning, throbbing — like my nerves were performing a disorganized symphony.
I opened my eyes.
Darkness.
But not empty darkness.
The kind filled with shadows that look like they're breathing when you stare too long.
Above me: tangled roots crawling across stone like twisted veins.Beside me: glowing mushrooms giving off soft green-blue light.Under me: cold rock, grit, and something suspiciously slimy.
Perfect.
Exactly the ambience I wanted when regaining consciousness after being thrown into a death pit.
I coughed, immediately regretted it, then whispered:
"…Ow."
Just "ow" was an understatement, really.But I didn't have the energy to compose poetry about my suffering.
I slowly, very slowly, pushed myself up onto an elbow.
Everything hurt.
Ribs screaming.Leg shaking.Shoulder twitching.Back trying to file a complaint with HR.
I winced.
"Okay… okay… you're alive. Yay. Good job, Leon. 10/10 fall technique. Very graceful."
I tried to move my right leg — it responded with the enthusiasm of a dead fish.
Great. At least it wasn't in two pieces.
Probably.
I'd check later. If it fell off, I'd notice.
Maybe.
I looked around.
The cavern was enormous — the ceiling so high I couldn't see where the roots ended. The walls vanished into darkness. Strange plants sprouted from cracks in the stone.
Bioluminescent spores hung in the air, drifting lazily like they had nothing better to do.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
No dripping water.No howling.No footsteps.No air current.No movement.
Just an oppressive silence that felt… alive.
I swallowed hard.
"Don't panic," I whispered.
Then immediately panicked internally.
Floor 75.
That's where I was.
I didn't need a system notification to tell me.I didn't need a sign or a map or a tour guide.
The sheer atmosphere screamed "Welcome to a zone designed specifically to kill you. Please enjoy your complimentary fear."
Floor 75 wasn't just deep — it was legendarily deep.
Stories mentioned it with trembling voices.Adventurers refused to even joke about it.Instructors told horror tales about students who "wandered too far down."
Nobody came back from here.
Nobody.
And now I was breathing its air.
Lucky me.
I forced myself to take slow breaths, even if each one felt like a knife in my ribs.
"First problem… water," I muttered. "Second problem… shelter. Third problem… literally everything else."
My throat burned. My lips were cracked. The fall had knocked the moisture out of me like I was a spilled cup.
I looked toward the river tunnel I had washed out of.
Fast moving water. Dangerous to approach. No clear banks nearby.
Okay. Water source: pending.
Shelter?
I scanned the cavern again.
Roots.Rocks.Darkness.More roots.Glowing fungi.
Not helpful.
My vision blurred for a moment. I blinked, trying to force my body to behave.
I tried to stand.
Managed to get one leg under me before collapsing again like a puppet thrown off a balcony.
"Okay. Standing is cancelled. New plan: crawling. Very manly."
I dragged myself toward the wall, using roots as handholds. Each pull felt like my muscles were screaming, "Sir, stop. We resign."
Eventually — after what felt like several decades — I reached a jagged rock outcropping and leaned against it.
A breath.Another.Slowly, clarity returned.
Then—
A sound.
Soft.Wet.Dragging.
My blood froze.
Something was moving.
In the dark, just beyond the reach of the mushroom glow.
Slow.Deliberate.Heavy.
I held absolutely still.
The dragging sound grew louder. Something brushed against the roots — a long, sinuous shape slithering across stone.
I squeezed against the wall, instinctively trying to merge with it.
My heart hammered loud enough I was afraid the monster might hear it.
Finally, the shape came into view.
A massive reptilian creature — not quite a snake, not quite a lizard.Smooth pale skin.Ridged spine.Six short, knobby legs that barely lifted its body off the ground.Maw too wide, lined with jagged teeth.
It sniffed the air with a long, forked tongue.
It was… horrifying.
And also unfair. Monsters shouldn't have that many teeth. That's just greedy.
It raised its head slightly, body rippling like liquid muscle.
My lungs screamed for air.
Don't breathe.Don't move.Don't exist.
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face.
The creature's tongue flicked again.
Toward me.
Toward the alcove I barely squeezed into.
My heart stopped.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Twenty.
Finally, its head lowered.It slithered forward…and disappeared into the roots ahead.
I stayed frozen another thirty seconds, because I didn't trust my life.
When I finally exhaled, it came out as a shaky, pathetic wheeze.
"…I hate this. So much."
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and pressed my back to the wall again.
Okay. Assessment time.
I was:
Alone
Injured
Unarmed
Starving
Thirsty
Weak
On the floor where monsters evolved just by breathing
Basically your typical Monday morning.
"Alright…" I muttered. "Shelter first."
I kept to the wall, moving slowly, using roots as support. Every step sent pain shooting up my leg.
After several minutes of agony and creative internal swearing, I found something promising — a cluster of giant roots hanging over a shallow indentation in the stone.
Dark. Covered. Small.
Perfect hidey hole.
I crawled inside, feeling the cool stone press against my back. My breathing finally slowed.
"Step one complete," I whispered. "Temporary shelter acquired. 3/10 stars. No room service."
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
The silence grew heavy again.
Lonely.
Cold.
Wrong.
I opened my eyes and stared at nothing.
For the first time, the weight of it hit me fully.
"I'm… really alone."
The words echoed in my tiny cave.
Nobody else from the Academy.No teachers.No classmates.No voices.No footsteps.No hope of rescue.
Just me.
And the dungeon.
Something inside my chest twisted — fear, grief, confusion, anger — I wasn't sure.
I curled forward slightly and hugged my arms.
"That's fine," I muttered weakly. "I like… being alone. It's great. No one to judge me. No one to push me at monsters. Very relaxing, actually."
I laughed.
It came out wrong.
Shaky. Cracked.A little too close to a sob.
I quickly slapped my cheeks with both hands, ignoring the sting.
"No crying. Crying makes noise. Noise attracts teeth."
My stomach growled loudly in betrayal.
I froze again.
I waited.
Listened.
Nothing came.
My stomach growled again.
"Okay. Not helpful," I whispered. "You're loud. Stop being loud."
The hunger felt like a hollow, scraping ache.
I hadn't eaten since breakfast before the field trip. That felt like years ago.
"…Food," I whispered. "I need food. Mushrooms? Probably poisonous. Moss? Also probably poisonous. Monster meat? Definitely poisonous."
I sighed.
"Great. I came to the dungeon and the dungeon said, 'No food for you.'"
But before I could think further, something crunched in the darkness.
Something big.
Step…Step…Step.
The root cave shook slightly with each impact.
My breath caught in my throat.
I slowly pushed myself deeper into the shadows until my back hit cold stone.
The creature emerged.
Huge.Four-legged.Thick black fur.Bone plates along its spine.Eyes glowing dim red.
A wolf.
A wolf the size of a small horse.
It sniffed the air, head turning left… right… slowly scanning the cavern.
I pressed both hands over my mouth, barely daring to breathe.
The wolf stepped closer.
Then closer.
Its paw stopped inches from the cluster of roots hiding me.
I could hear it inhale.
Long. Deep. Slow.
Every muscle in my body locked.
Seconds stretched into hours.
The wolf lowered its head.
Sniffed the roots.
Then—
It huffed softly.
Turned.
Walked away.
Just like that.
I didn't move until it was long gone, fear sweating out of me in cold, hot bursts.
"…Okay," I whispered shakily. "So the dungeon is full of nightmare monsters that play hide-and-seek professionally."
I slumped back against the stone, heart pounding.
This was survival.
This was Floor 75.
This was hell.
And I was still breathing.
Barely.
I forced myself to lie down on the stone floor, curling up for warmth.
No system messages.No skills leveling up.No magical awakening.Nothing.
Just a broken kid, trying not to die.
"I'll… figure it out tomorrow," I whispered to the darkness. "Tonight… I'm alive. That's enough."
My eyes fluttered shut.
Just before sleep claimed me, I thought I heard something deep in the cavern…
A faint whisper.Soft.Barely there.Like something amused.
Listening.
Waiting.
I shivered.
Then darkness swallowed me again.