In front of that dark corridor, an old memory of mine was revived. The memory of a young boy struggling against a large wooden door, in a dark and dirty place.
The boy cried, begging for forgiveness and help, while constantly calling for his parents, but no one came to help him; no one heard his voice.
In the end, the boy stayed in that dark and scary place for a week, without eating or drinking anything. It was at that moment that he realized he was alone in the world and that no one would help him if he needed it.
On the brink of death for the second time, the boy made a promise, a promise that would change his life.
"And to think I would be in this situation once again."
He promised that regardless of how bad his life was, or how painful it was to live, he would never ask for help or depend on anyone for anything, and he would survive everything alone.
That was the last time that child cried.
"When was the last time I felt so nervous?"
That child was me, Noah Elísio, when I started living with my uncles.
Why am I saying this?
It's because this Dungeon corridor gives me the same feeling as that closed room. The feeling that I would face death head-on, and that no one would help me.
[Warning!]
[Hostile life signs detected!]
"I have no doubt, they're close."
I say this because they were coming.
The ones responsible for killing the humans who entered this Dungeon before me, leaving nothing behind but their bones and weapons.
"AAAARRRGGG"
The cursed bast*rds whose deadly faces I had encountered more frequently in this place than moss on the wall.
"AAAARRRGGG"
The small animals that had scattered their bones everywhere, as if they were nothing more than decoration.
"AAAARRRGGG"
[Warning!]
[Assassination intent detected!]
Coming quickly towards me, soft beings with white fur, red eyes, and long sharp teeth like razors approached, glaring fiercely into my eyes as they wagged their fluffy tails.
"Well, I found these bones familiar."
Emerging from the shadows and coming into view, there they were. The terrible beasts that had killed the owner of this sword I'm using.
"Rabbits...?"
They were rabbits. The ones responsible for killing my predecessors were rabbits.
— Haa... I thought I would encounter a greater danger — I said, letting out a small sigh for what awaited me.
Heading towards me was a group of white rabbits with red eyes, approaching quickly.
[Warning!]
[It is advisable not to underestimate your opponent!]
Since I stepped into this corridor, I felt like I would face something really dangerous, so I was nervous when I heard the echo of something approaching and my ability warning me to be cautious.
At first, I thought I would face something more dangerous like goblins, minotaurs, or slimes, not fat rabbits.
[Warning!]
[Evacuation advised!]
"Why do you speak as if these rabbits are dangerous?"
I couldn't understand my ability's fear.
Rabbits are agile and cunning beings, but even they would easily die when pierced by a sword.
[Analyzing...10%...50%...90%]
Before my ability finished speaking, one of the rabbits stopped a meter away from me, staring at me curiously, as if evaluating the enemy, while the others watched from afar.
"What is it doing?"
Curious about its attitude, I simply stared at it, waiting to see what it would do.
"Hmm?"
It crouched, tensed its muscles...
"THUD"
And lunged for the attack, cracking the ground and opening its large serrated mouth towards me, revealing its giant claws.
Almost as if trying to devour me, it quickly advanced towards my eyes without hesitation or faltering.
[Analysis completed!]
[Survival chances against the enemies are approximately 10%.]
Seeing that I could go blind, I instinctively dodged the attack, feeling the sharp claws of the animal scratch my cheeks.
— What was that!? — I shouted in fear, staring at the rabbit that had landed on the ground.
I had been cut. Even dodging the attack, the little white rabbit had cut my cheeks, and if I hadn't reacted in time, I would probably be blinded by its attack.
[Enemy's strength and speed are shown to be superior to yours, posing a life-threatening risk to the host.]
"Damn!"
I couldn't help but curse. That little fat rabbit was stronger than me, and it was just one.
Rabbits move in groups of hundreds of individuals. If I faced a group of them, I would probably be killed in seconds.
"That's how those guys were killed. They were probably cornered like me and couldn't escape the threat!"
Seeing the rabbit that had jumped turn towards me, I quickly raised my sword and prepared to counterattack.
However, as soon as I did that, the other rabbits that were watching prepared to attack me back.
"Hey. I need help!"
[Analyzing...10%...20%...50%...]
While the "Divine Eyes"analyzed my plea, the first rabbit repeated the same previous movement and tensed its muscles.
[Analysis completed]
Jumping towards me, once again it cracked the ground and opened its large mouth, ready to devour me.
"Darn!"
Ready to block the attack, I lunged with my sword towards it as fast as I could, but before I knew it, it was inches from my face.
["Parallax Vision Lv1"skill created!]
["X-ray Vision Lv1"skill created!]
Suddenly, the world turned black and white, as if being covered by a monochromatic filter, and everything started to move slowly. The rabbits, my sword, and even my body.
I could perceive every tiny detail around me moving, almost as if they were in slow motion.
I didn't quite understand what was happening, but in that scenario, it would be possible to clearly see the direction of the enemy's attack and dodge it.
So I didn't hesitate and tilted my head to the right as fast as my body could follow, feeling the little rabbit pass by it, making another cut.
"THUD"
At the exact moment I dodged, another rabbit had come to attack from behind, aiming at my legs and biting until it bled.
Even though I noticed it moving slowly, my body was still slower than its, and I couldn't avoid being attacked.
"Grraaaa!"
I didn't hesitate, and I pierced its head with my sword, aiming exactly at its brain, which for some reason was visible to me.
— Arf... Arf... Arf... Darn!
"THUD"
Immediately after, another rabbit jumped towards my hands, probably to make me drop the sword.
"SPLASH"
Before it reached, I quickly cut its body in half, making blood and guts splatter on the ground.
"THUD"
"THUD"
"THUD"
The other rabbits didn't forgive my action and all rushed towards me, opening their large mouths to attack at the same time.
I was going to die. Even though I could follow their movements with my eyes, I would never be able to dodge all of them at the same time.
My body wouldn't keep up with my ability to think, and blood continued to gush from my leg.
That was my end.
[Analyzing...10%..50%…100%]
[Analysis completed!]
[Skill "Fencing Lv1" created! ]
Suddenly, more blue screens appeared in front of me, but not like the rabbits that were in slow motion, rather at normal speed.
"What's happening?"
I was tired, my mind was confused, and my leg was injured, but I was still alive, and I knew why.
"What have you done?"
"Due to the power difference between the user and their enemies, new skills have been created to increase survival chances."
"Is that why the world is moving slowly and I can see the hearts of those aberrations?"
[Skill "Parallax Vision Lv1"]
[Distorts the user's perception of time, making them see the world 10 times slower than normal.]
[However, due to its low rank, it causes great mental and physical fatigue. Overuse leads to death.]
[Skill "X-ray Vision"]
[Allows seeing the internal organs of the target, limited to low-ranking beings.]
[Your physical aptitude with swords has also been increased, but not to the point of the user equaling a master.]
"What are my chances of survival now?"
[Approximately 25%]
"Can it be increased?"
[Negative.]
1 chance in 4. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but it would still be very difficult to achieve.
There was a 75% chance of me dying, which meant that the slightest of my mistakes would lead to death.
"Am I going to die?... Am I afraid to die?"
No one would help me, or care if I died. Unlike those rabbits, I always fought alone to stay alive, inside that dark and closed room.
"For starters, life was never worth living, so there's no reason for me to be afraid of dying now."
I was determined. I would kill each of those rabbits with a single blow and get out of there alive.
I wouldn't cry or complain if I failed, since it would be my fault alone, but I would do my best not to be defeated.
"Do you know how many rabbits there are?"
[Calculating... 100%]
[1,237 rabbits]
"For how long can I stay in this state?"
[Approximately 30 minutes and 47 seconds.]
Half an hour. For half an hour I should kill each of those pests with my blade, ensuring their death on the first attack. Just as they wouldn't hesitate to attack me, I shouldn't hesitate to kill them.
"Ensure that my perception of time is unaffected regardless of the risk it brings to my body."
[Affirmative.]
One by one they came, as if sharing a single consciousness, moving at the same time towards me, creating a tsunami of white fur and red eyes.
"SPLASH"
I cut the first one in the belly, piercing the heart.
"SPLASH"
The second was struck diagonally.
"SPLASH"
The third bit my injured leg, but was kicked away.
"SPLASH"
The fourth was crushed.
"SPLASH"
The fifth was stomped on.
"SPLASH"
"SPLASH"
"SPLASH"
Just as they advanced, one by one they were cut down, surrounding me with newly created corpses and warm blood from their bodies.
I had no time to think, or to breathe. I kept cutting without hesitation.
If they bit me, I threw them away. If they scratched me, I ignored it and counterattacked. If they tore my flesh, I would tear theirs.
It didn't take long for my condition to be much worse than theirs, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered was to win, regardless of the method or the pain I would feel.
Shortly after, a golden, semi-transparent screen appeared, announcing the good news.
[You leveled up!]
[You leveled up!]
[You leveled up!]
.
.
.
[You leveled up!]
[All your stats increased by 0.7 points]
[Your intelligence increased by 0.1 points]
[Your intelligence increased by 0.3 points]
Twenty minutes had passed and the messages didn't stop coming, but I still ignored them.
In less than 10 minutes, I would probably die without even being able to kill half of the rabbits.
A miracle would be needed for me to survive.
[Analyzing... 10%... 50%... 100%]
[Your Divinity reached 1.5 points!]
[Skill "Regeneration" can be learned!]
[Skill "Regeneration Lv1" has been created!]
After that, I can't really explain what happened.
My body just heated up, and my fatigue was relieved. Unaware, my performance in battle increased.
When I realized, I was already lying among corpses and bathed in blood, almost unconscious.
I had won.