Between a rock and a hard place.
That was the situation Felix and Nathan found themselves in as they stood rooted in place.
They weren't even given a chance to consider the situation of the second level when the outer city turned into a steamroller.
Nathan restrained the urge to curse as he realized they had no choice but to wing it.
That was the initial plan but who would have thought a mere Red dungeon would be so troublesome?
It made him dread just what lay at the end of it.
He turned over to inform Felix to follow him only to discover that he was already rushing into the second level.
"Hey, where are you going?" Nathan called out as he ran after him.
"Are you really asking that?" Felix shot back as he ran straight ahead before leaping into the darkness on the other side.
Nathan followed closely after which the gates closed and the outer city completely collapsed.
After trembling for a bit longer, the area turned eerily quiet as a slight thump was heard.
***
[Notice. Please wake up. A dungeon is the last place to fall unconscious]
Felix slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to acclimate to the surrounding darkness before he sat up.
"This is troublesome."
He heard Nathan say causing him to glance to the side only to find the latter frowning while staring forward.
Felix followed his gaze only to frown as well at the sight before him.
Rows and rows of white statues, made in the likeness of human beings were scattered haphazardly before them, and just behind them lay an entrance.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly got to his feet and retrieved his sword before making his way toward the statues.
Nathan had already gotten to his feet as well, moving toward the nearest statue to study it.
"A work of art." He muttered after a few seconds.
The statue looked so realistic one would think they were human beings covered in white paint.
"You think they'll attack?" Felix asked as he poked the statue.
"No idea. Even if they do attack, they don't seem strong so it should be a walk in the park."
After studying a few more with no response, even going as far as getting their system AIs to scan them, they made their way through the statues before coming upon the entrance at the other end.
It was an arch that stretched for quite a distance, making it difficult to see the exit.
Just as they were about to pass through, Nathan paused in his tracks, seemingly in deep thought.
Felix glanced at him. "Is there a problem?"
"I just had a random thought."
"What?"
"If these statues aren't alive, then what caused the bloodlust we felt earlier?... It can't be that statues can feel."
Felix scratched his head briefly. "Maybe it's the dungeon messing with us. An attempt to send us back, maybe?"
"But that would mean that dungeons are alive and that's not the case. Sure, a different ecosystem but not actually alive." Nathan muttered, unable to get rid of the nagging feeling he had.
After a few seconds passed, Felix was forced to intervene. "How about we go in first?... Standing here won't solve anything and if any problem comes up, we can always power through it. Isn't that why you went for a low-ranked dungeon?"
Nodding helplessly, Nathan decided to put his thoughts aside for the time being.
If anything did happen, just as Felix said, they could always power through it… hopefully.
With that, both made their way into the arch and slowly moved toward the exit.
After several minutes of walking, the exit finally came into view but both men were forced to pause as the same bloodlust as before came at them again.
Unlike before though, it was more palpable now, giving off a feeling like something was weighing on their body.
"We should take some time to…" Nathan was about to give a suggestion when a loud bang sounded behind them, followed by the arch collapsing in on itself.
"You have got to be kidding me…" he remarked.
Felix sprinted forward, not bothering to look back as he made his way to the exit.
One thing was clear to him now.
The moment they thought about taking the time to rest or plan, the dungeon would react negatively, forcing them to move forward.
Which meant there was no need to bother with planning.
So he decided on his method… power through everything!
Nathan gave a disgruntled sigh as he turned and charged forward, quickly catching up with Felix.
"It feels more like a survival run than a dungeon," Felix commented.
Nathan snorted. "Right."
Both were familiar with the concept of a survival run since it was one of the exercises carried out during the Awakening project for potential Awakened.
It was noteworthy to mention that it was not a fun experience for anyone that experienced it.
After all, who would enjoy waking up early in a complicated maze only to run from man-eating monsters while actively searching for the exit?
Soon enough, they crossed the exit only to come to a standstill as bloodlust attacked them from every angle.
Felix barely moved his neck only to suck in cold air at the sight.
They were currently in a large hall… nay, a domed city which was currently in shambles.
But that wasn't what shocked Felix.
Instead, it was the horde of… how to put it?
Of course, monstrosities with varying features.
They were like combinations of various animals put together grotesquely with bloody marks and threads on their furry skin.
One thing these monstrosities had in common was the collective bloodlust they were currently exuding toward Nathan and Felix.
"This…" Nathan scrunched his face in disgust. "What sort of abomination is this?"
Felix tried to speak but found himself unable to.
His body trembled in response to the bloodlust he felt.
Never had he experienced such a thing so it was hard to keep his composure even as he tried his hardest.
But despite being afraid, he also felt… excited?