「You have obtained the title 'Night Crawler'」
「You have obtained the skill 'Night Vision' Lv.1」
「You have obtained the skill 'Light Weakness' Lv.1」
I wake up begrudgingly to the loud ding in my ears. Sitting up, I notice the creature's body. The pool of blood besides it has dried up, nothing more than a dark spot on the earthen floors.
I get up, using the walls behind me as support. I was still fatigued from the running and fighting but I've rested just enough that I can walk around.
I once again looked at the creature. Its eye was missing–well one of it anyways–some flesh was missing from it's arms and legs, even it's torso.
Did somebody eat it?, I thought with curiosity putting my hand to my chin. Finally I noticed the dark markings on my skin. I inspected myself.
It was like a tattoo of sorts. Multiple black lines running through my arms and legs. I felt stronger too. The muscles in my limbs seemingly bursting with energy.
Then I looked around. Everything seemed clearer, though not by much.
Is this because of 「Night Vision」?, I thought back to the messages I heard upon waking up. It seems this world had some sort of 「system」 in place for it's residents.
That's right, this world.
I'm… not really from here, per se. I'm from another world, at least I think I did. I don't really remember much of my old world–or this world, for that matter– other than I was a high school student and that the planet wasn't doing so good.
Going back to the 「system」, I realized a few things:
¹I got the creature's skills, which is why I can see better now.
²The title I got is probably from running around in the darkness of the labyrinth.
³I absolutely needed to make use of this 「system」 to better increase my chances of survival.
「Skill 'Instinct is warning you'」
Organizing my thoughts, I moved closer to the creature's body, examining it's flesh.
This will do, I thought with a bit of regret.
Immediately, I took a bite of the creature's flesh. It was bitter and tough, much more than I expected but I persisted. I needed sustenance if I was going to make it out of here, and this was the only food available.
After finishing the meat(?), I made my way through the labyrinth–this godforsaken place I seem to have found myself in–my right hand tracing the wall so as not to get lost.
As I traversed the seemingly endless hall of darkness I found my mind wandering.
How did I get here?, I asked to nobody in particular. My oldest memory was of my past life was my own reflection. A curious memory, sure but one I shouldn't focus on now. After that was running, I remember a warm hand guiding me into what she claimed to be a 'safe zone' just before something went wrong.
And here we are, I thought with a bit of flair, flipping the imaginary top hat.
The I caught a shine, my heart thumping from expectation.
It was a little blinding, just enough to irritate my eye.
Picking up pace, I quickly reached the source of the light.
Beautiful, I thought with wonder, entranced by the spectacle.
It was a giant cavern, over 200 meters in height. There was giant crystal–almost as big as the cavern itself– floating in the middle, it's existence seemingly ignoring gravity itself. The crystal illuminated the entire cavern, it's light reaching far, all the way to the openings in the walls just like the one I was in.
Then there was a loud screech.
I found myself being watched by a large grey bird eyeing me from above. I quickly made my way down the ledge I was being spectated from and chose the least flight-friendly path available.
The bird left me alone, seemingly disinterested, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Moving onwards, I caught sight of another monster–like the one I had first met upon arriving here–inspecting another one of it's kind.
The 'Night Beast' stopped it's analysis, paused, and looked straight my way.
A shiver ran down my spine.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
I immediately took a step back. The Night Beast's wooden club, just barely missing me. Using this chance, I thrust my fist forward, my knuckles crashing against the Night Beast's lower abdomen.
My bones and muscles screamed from the pain but I ignored it.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
The beast swung it's club again, I blocked–as sloppy as it may be–absorbing the blow's hit. The damage made my arm go numb, rendering it useless.
This time I went in for a kick, aiming for the beast's head. It hit yet again and I heard something crack at the same time.
The beast fell and I felt a sense of achievement filling my head.
「You have leveled up」