*CLIP CLOP*
*CLIP CLOP*
"We are arriving at the dungeon within minutes now sir," the driver of a carriage says toward a young man who laid on the backseat of the carriage. His long red hair dripped down past his eyes as he nodded with his arms crossed behind his head, and his legs crossed over, his right foot swinging carelessly.
"What are you going to be doing at the dungeon," the driver finally says after a period of silence. "Are you going to conquer it? Set up shop on the lower floors?"
The red haired young man rose up from his laid back position and turned to face the driver. "I'm going to conquer it!"
The driver laughs, "You seem quite passionate about it. No one has reached the top of the dungeon before. Some say that there is at least 100 floors."
The young man intercepts, "Do you know that the record high floor was 87!"
"87! Back in my adventuring days the highest I've ever gotten was around 7. The highest back then was also around 60 something."
"You are an old geezer! These past 15 years, there are rumors about a brand new group of adventurers that breezed through the first 60 floors within 5 years! That is a record! Of course I'm going to past that number by like a thousand times!"
The driver and the young man both laugh, "You are quite the knowledgeable fella about the dungeon. If you weren't sleeping this whole ride, I would have loved to talk to you more. Since we kind of just arrived."
The horses of the carriage promptly stops. The young man hops out of the carriage with a sword in its sheath in his hands. He walks up to the horses and pets their head. "Before you go what's your name?"
"My name is Rex Tamashi!"
"Rex Tamashi... Well good luck in there Rex!"
Rex smiled at the driver, "Of course!"
[REX TAMASHI HAS ARRIVED TO THE DUNGEON ON MAY 1ST YEAR 18XX SINCE THE FORMATION OF THE FIRST DUNGEON]
For the next few hours I underwent tests by the dungeon overseers. They checked if I could perform magic, if I had a form of sickness, my intelligence, and some other physical analysis to make sure that I was at my A game. Of course I was A+ in all of the tests except for magic. I saw a few people fail which made me feel kind of bad, they traveled so far just for them to be sent back because they have a slight cough. Of course I'm just exaggerating on the cough part.
After taking the tests we were all directed to a line where we had to wait in to get our Dungeon IDs. The ID is meant to serve as a way to show that we are Adventurers, the max floor that we are allowed to go to, and... serve as dog tags.
Most of the Adventurers here are around the age of 18, minimum age of going into a dungeon is 18. After all, I just happened to hit that minimum age a few days ago.
After getting our IDs we are then moved to the lobby of the dungeon, where we have about 20 minutes to talk to people and form parties. We aren't forced to form parties, most think that it is a necessity. But I think being alone is much more easier, only one person to worry about, only one person to cry for when they die.
Suddenly someone approaches Rex.
"Hey! Would you like to join my party, we need a swordsman."
"No."
"Come on, we could conquer the dungeon if we work together."
"No. Tell me, can you tell me what the ground floor monsters are?"
"Uh... Isn't it just some slimes."
"Slimes, but what type of slimes. Do you know how many hits it would take for them to die. Where to hit to achieve maximum damage with any spell or weapon. What their weaknesses and strengths are."
"Dude, their only slimes they are not that hard to deal with. I killed a few back in my hometown."
"Slimes at your home town, they shouldn't be that ha-"
"You know what, I don't need your help. I'm going to just ask someone else."
The person who walked up to Rex walked away muttering insults at Rex calling him a smartass and the such.
[THE GATES OF THE DUNGEON OPEN!]
Everyone cheers as the gates of the dungeon open, everyone except for Rex who suddenly felt his heart drop.
I can do this, he thinks. I can do this.
Once the gate is fully open everyone rushes in to the dungeon going down a hallway that broke off to another hallway to the left.
Rex stayed behind as he waited for something else to happen. The overseers of the dungeon ask him why he hasn't moved yet. Rex loses his serious face and smiles at the overseers, "My father once told me a shortcut to the dungeon, if I waited long enough at the ground floor-"
*GRRRRR K GRRRR K*
The sounds of a wall rising from the ground can be heard at the fork of the hallway. The wall to the right opened, revealing a brand new path different from the ones the previous Adventurers took.
Rex dashes down the hallway and at the fork of the hallway he dashes down right. He laughs as he runs down the hallway, unsheathing his sword, and wrapping his sheath on his back with a strap connected to it. Slimes drip from the many holes and cracks in the old stone hallway. Some drips form full blown green slime that hop toward Rex and attack him on sight.
Shit, he thinks to himself as he stops running and waits for the slimes to get closer to him. "I thought that slimes were more passive than this. Oh well!" A slime manages to get into Rex's desired range and Rex slices at the slime, through the middle of it, making it explode with slime goo.
Some of the slime goo manages to get on Rex's light grayish armor. "So these slimes heart explodes when it is damaged. This must be the new evolution I have heard about."
Rex smiles and hysterically laughs as he rushes down the hallway slicing away at the many slimes. The exploding slimes cause a chain reaction of other exploding slimes. Slime goo rains down on Rex as blood drips from the side of his head.
"I had to rush in, I don't have a bow and arrow to properly deal with these slimes, plus I want to get passed this floor boss before these other adventurers even get to this hallway."
Rex continues rushing down the hallway, a few more meters and he will be in Boss Territory.
{Boss Territory - A section in the dungeon that is completely off limits to any monsters previously found on the floor or any other floor. It is the safe area before entering a Boss Area. Which is the area of which a Boss is awaiting its next victim from.}
Rex laughs once more, "The only downside from this fast pass is that I miss out on all the loot I could have obtained from exploring this floor, but I don't need loot if I can just-" From the corner of Rex's eye he could see blood leaking from under rubble of a broken off wall. He stops to investigate it as it peaks his curiosity.
What am I doing? I should just keep moving, but....
Rex moves a piece of the rubble away, revealed is a man trapped under the rubble. The man is bleeding heavily, but Rex could hear faint signs of breathing. The blood seemed to be fresh as though it happened just a few moments ago.
"But how did he get like this, I didn't see or hear anything happen."
Suddenly, Rex could hear short bursts of air coming from the injured man. the injured man's eyes opened and quickly looked towards Rex. The man whispers something so soft that Rex could not hear. Rex leans in closer, "I need help," Rex hears the man say in a weak voice. "Do you need this rubble off of you," Rex asks.
The man stays silent for a moment, "Come closer," he finally says in the same weak voice. Rex leans in closer, "Come closer," Rex leans in again, "Come closer," Rex leans in again another time. "Am I close enough," Rex asked feeling extremely uneasy as the blood that came from the man started staining the armor on his kneecaps.
"I."
"Need."
"Your."
"Body."
The man says in a slightly stronger voice.
"What do you mean, by my body. You want me to help you with the rubble right-"
The man springs out of the rubble startling Rex, he attempts to back off from the man, but Rex is not fast enough. The man digs his fingers through Rex's chest, he could feel the man inside of him, but he felt no pain.
"Am I going to die," was the first thought that ran through Rex's mind. Without warning the man screeched and pulled his fingers out of Rex. The man falls back onto the rubble and blood explodes out of him.
"What the hell was that! There was nothing about this from the dungeon books I read." As rex attempts to feel his surroundings to check if he was still alive, he could view himself getting up and dusting himself off.
"Excuse me, what am I looking at, is that me? I didn't try to get up or move at all."