Chapter 7: Exploring the Dungeon

I grunt as my back hits the hard floor. Water continuously pours down on me from above. I roll to my left to get out from underneath the flowing water. I stare up at the ceiling while waiting for the pain, that my whole body seems to be in, to fade. 'Well that sucked.' Was the only thought I could think of while laying on the cold floor. I took a look around the room that I was in since I had nothing better to do.

The room is shaped like a box and is about the size of the cave I was in previously. The room's black stone walls and ceiling are covered in long green vines. The vines seem to travel from the point the walls connect to the floor to the middle of the ceiling where the vines entangle a glowing green ball that seems embedded in the ceiling. There seems to be nothing else that makes up the room, and seems largely empty. I noticed the pain had finally completely faded and stood up to get a better look of the room.

The floor of the room is made of nothing but interlocking vines that make up a surprisingly flat surface. It seems I have landed in the corner of the room where the water from above, which shows no signs of stopping, falls into vines that rise and make a circular bath. "Where am I?" I wonder while walking around the room. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary besides the weird room and I start to wonder how I leave since there doesn't seem to be an exit.

After failing to find an exit, I try attacking the walls and floor to make one. Nothing I do seems to make a scratch on any surface. I start to panic, thinking I'm stuck in this indestructible room. As my panic builds, and I start to slide down to my knees in despair, I notice glowing words appearing on the wall in front of me.

They read 'Welcome to my dungeon challenger. I created it as a test for myself and to see if anyone is worthy of my knowledge. I was a collector of sorts and have gathered books from all over the world about applications of magic and mundane matters. This dungeon has 100 levels and you will have to clear the entire dungeon to leave this place. I apologize for this but I can't have you leaving and bringing more people to help you. Good luck and I hope you are worthy.'

A few seconds after the last words appeared, a circle of runes takes its place. I sit on the floor and think about what just happened. 'It seems like I found the dungeon that I'm supposed to conquer.' right after this thought passed, two things that were written echoed in my head. "I'm stuck here AND there are 100 floors" I say out loud. I have to beat 100 floors before I can leave this dungeon. I try to think of the positives instead of thinking of how I'm stuck in an arena prison that I can't leave until I beat it or die. 'Dying isn't an option' I remind myself. Also, It's not like I would have left this dungeon anyway when I only have 48 and a half days to beat it.

Thinking about my time limit puts me back in focus and I stand up and walk towards the glowing runes. I put my hand on the middle part of the wall that the runes surround, hoping that it will let me out of here and enter the first floor. As my hand touches the wall, the ruins glow and the wall is slowly consumed by swirling mist that glows purple and white. I look around and come to the decision that I would rather take my chances than staying here. I walk through the portal and as soon as my head passes, my sight flashes white and I appear in a giant forest.

I panic for a moment, seeing the brightness of my surroundings that signal light, before calming down seeing that I'm not in extreme pain all over. I looked up and saw while there was light coming from everywhere in the sky, there was no giant ball of fire. I guess that was only artificial light here. Convenient. I wonder how an entire artificial forest with blue skies and greenery was made but couldn't think of anything besides extremely powerful magic.

I look behind me and see a stone wall that stands out because of it not being connected to anything. There are no runes on it and no matter where I touch the wall, no runes appear. I come to the conclusion that it's the type of dungeon in games that you have to clear out before continuing to the next floor.As I walk around wondering what I would be facing I start to hear squeaking that gets closer and closer. I prepare myself for what is to come.

After a few seconds pass, three giant rats appear in front of me. The smallest one's head reached the top of my thigh and the sight of their appearance that looked almost exactly like rats from my previous world, except for their bigger teeth and claws, filled me with a sense of disgust that I have never felt before. I admit I was kinda(incredibly) scared of rats and mice in the past but it feels like the feeling of fear is now replaced by disgust.

I quickly run towards them and stab them in the heads with my claws. They are weirdly weak but the wolves that I fought earlier may just be stronger than normal. I push past my disgust of the creatures and quickly drain all of their blood and essence with my tail. The very thought of biting these rats made me shiver in disgust. I quickly jog away and continue my journey through the forest. I am continuously met by rats in groups of 3. I quickly kill and drain them of their blood every time I encounter them.

I notice that they just attack me and take no other actions besides that. 'I wonder if the dungeon just makes them attack me or are they like this normally' I think to myself while killing and draining the fifth group of rats I have encountered. This time I get the first notification that mentions attributes in this world.

< Enough blood Drained: All stats increases by 1. >

I am surprised by the notification since no stats were added even when I drained the blood out of the wolves and the four groups of giants red before this one. 'I guess it takes a lot of blood' I thought. I gave it little attention and continued my culling of the rats in the jungles. After the 15th group of rats, I couldn't find any more and started searching for an exit. After exploring for a few minutes, I arrive back at the wall and see the circular ruins glowing. As I walk near it, the same portal as before appears. I unhesitatingly walk through it.

After I walk through, and the white fades from my eyes, the room with vines traveling along the walls that I expected doesn't appear. A giant forest that is identical to the one before greets me. 'Am I really on the 2nd floor?' I wonder to myself while walking around. Around a minute after exploring, I hear the same squeaking as I did on the first floor. I soon see similar rats to the one on the first floor except for one key point. These rats seemed to be noticeably bigger than the others and there were four of them. Besides their size and them being a bit faster and stronger, there is no difference between the rats of this floor and the last.

These giant rats are quick to die and I get to killing and draining every disgusting rat that is on this floor.

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