My head hit the ground with a hollow sound.
…
As soon as I snapped my eyes open, I was met with dim darkness slightly illuminated by a hole in the ceiling.
The sound of running water flowed beneath my feet, and when I looked down, I saw the dirty water of what seemed to be mixed with sewage.
But, water wasn't the only thing that I saw… but the corpses of about thirty men, which were being consumed by sentient sludge, and a few large rats the size of cats.
Suddenly, the stench of the rotting corpses hit my nose, and I threw up all over the metal interior of this strange hole… after tearing off my mask, of course.
"*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*... I see… The man tossed me down the well, and I survived due to [Water Ring[ increasing my defense… or that should be it. I don't know what else could've happened," I muttered and soon remembered something.
Slowly, I looked toward my left arm and noticed it was completely fine as if the laceration from before had never even happened.
.
[You have entered The Dungeon: Sentient Sludge Sewers]
[Recommended Level: 15]
[The benevolent sanctuary has granted you The Buff: Sewer Vision]
.
Suddenly, everything around me lit up, and I had a clear view of where I was, and it matched exactly with what the panels before me said.
"That makes more sense," I muttered before waving away the panels that blocked my vision.
When you enter a dungeon, your entire status resets, so you have the best chance of completing it.
It isn't a commonly known thing since most people enter the dungeon in their best form, but essentially, your body and status become their best.
This is why my injuries healed, and even though I was intrigued at the thought of fighting in a dungeon… I had no idea where the exit could be.
I looked up the hole that led to the outside of the well and saw the bucket that I used to draw up my water.
"Oh… So I was drinking this shit," I muttered and gagged upon looking back at the flowing water filled with sludge.
It didn't look that bad when it was drawn up by the well, but that might've been due to the darkness of the alleyway.
Plus, the taste wasn't that bad either.
Squish…
Suddenly, I felt something graze against the back of my leg, and when I swiveled my head, I saw a large mass of toxic sludge slowly wrapping around my ankle.
I quickly shook it off and then activated [Water Ring], but it seems that was a mistake as it drew the attention of the rats and sludge surrounding me.
I made a smart decision and immediately ran down the large pipes I was in, as staying here any longer would just result in my death.
My stamina was absolutely terrible, so I was huffing and puffing the entire time, taking tons of turns which eventually lost some of the monsters.
Sentient Sludge is a monster that usually derives from heaping piles of trash, the sewers, or thick black swamps.
They are pretty harmless until you intrude into their home, where they begin to try and melt your skin away by climbing onto you.
They are pretty small and kind of slow, but once tons of them surround you, you're pretty much fucked as their toxicity is lethal.
I was lucky the sludge from before didn't realize I was a threat; otherwise, it probably would've eaten away at my entire foot.
Then, there are the Sewer Rats which are essentially upscaled rats that are the size of cats and have large buck teeth, which are their main weapon.
I guess getting bit by them could give you some sort of disease that is outside the system, but in reality, they aren't that special and are easier to kill than the sludge.
"Alright, that cut you guys down to about five… That should be doable," I muttered as I gazed over the group of four rats and one sludge.
[Water Manipulation]
After dodging the fast lunge of one of the rats, I manipulated the sewage water to stab it directly into its side, skewering it to the ground as it writhed in pain.
[2 XP]
Soon after the other monsters saw the quick kill, they backed up a bit and watched me more carefully.
"Alright,"
Bloop… SHING SHING SHING SHING
[2 XP]
[2 XP]
[2 XP]
[2 XP]
I quickly eliminated the rest of the rats with another spear made of water but controlling it so much sucked up practically all my mana.
"Now… It's just you left. You aren't affected by physical attacks or water attacks… But I do know your weakness," I muttered with a large smile and began to slowly walk around it.
After seeing me eliminate its pseudo-comrades in the blink of an eye, it couldn't help but back up a bit, which only helped my plan out more.
[Tidal Strike]... and then, [Water Manipulation].
A wave of water burst from my hand and completely submerged the sludge. And normally, it is pretty buoyant, but as the strikes water is so much denser than regular water, it could only get crushed by it.
I then used [Water Manipulation] to form the water into a box that encased the sludge so that eventually, it would drown.
It may be immune to water attacks, but since it is buoyant, there must be a reason for it being buoyant, right?
And that reason is… that it can drown in any liquid.
[5 XP]
After seeing the notification as confirmation of the sludge's death, I sat down and leaned against the curved pipe.
"I need to get my shit together. I'm no longer my past self… I have to focus otherwise, I'll die a stupid death. Come on, Rome, get your shit together. I can't believe you didn't even notice that man's inner power,"
I had to stop blaming my mistakes on "rust" and actually try and improve, so I could be stronger than in my past life.