[Welcome to the 'Dungeon of Fury']
[Would you like to challenge the dungeon?]
Enzo looked at the system with wide eyes. He had never expected such a thing when coming down from the hole.
Sure he wouldn't have been surprised if he were to see monsters here, but a dungeon? Were they in some sort of game? Surely not, right? After all, dungeons were a typical thing in games, yet they were not in one.
Heck, it was the apocalypse out there.
And yet Enzo didn't think that the system would say something that it didn't mean to.
'Should I accept? But there are too many unknown factors, it's too risky to do it. It would be safer to just go up and fight some monsters, right? But... aren't dungeons full of treasures? Could I get stronger more quickly if I challenge the dungeon?'
Enzo was indecisive. On the one hand, he could try his luck and get much stronger than he was now. On the other hand, he didn't know if the dungeon would be out of his league or not, so surely it was better to be safe than sorry, right?
Right?
[You have accepted to challenge the 'Dungeon Of Fury']
[You will be teleported there in a few seconds]
[Best of luck to challenger Enzo Vermillion]
'Is it I or does the system look a little bit more... kind?' He thought for a moment before his view turned completely white and disappeared from the place he was standing just a few seconds ago.
While Enzo would have liked to prepare himself a little bit more, it wasn't as if he had the time for that. It was also for that reason that he decided to challenge the dungeon. After all, in a world such as this one, he needed to take risks to get stronger.
And what greater risks than the unknown?
As the white light died down, his eyes finally adjusted to his surrounding.
He found himself in a forest, at night, surrounded by an eerie silence. Strangely enough, even though the only source of light was the moon, he could see just fine as if the forest was enchanted by some sort of magic.
'Screw me!' He thought with a forced smile. He didn't want to admit it, but being in such an environment at night, and alone at that, was really scary. Especially since he didn't know what would happen next.
Thankfully his butterflies were still here, reassuring him a little.
The system's screen also suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Welcome the the 'Fury Forest', Enzo Vermillion. Here, you will have to survive and challenge the guardian of the dungeon, situated at the highest point in the forest.]
While Enzo was glad for the explanation the system gave him, he felt like something wasn't right. Sure dungeons came in all shapes and forms, so having to survive wasn't that much different than any other dungeons, but why did the system give him the location of the guardian immediately?
While it means that he could get out of the dungeon quickly, he didn't think that it could be that simple. After all, he was in a dungeon, and the guardian is supposed to be the strongest foe in such places.
So it didn't take Enzo long to take his decision. He knew that he wouldn't survive a confrontation with the guardian right now. As such, the only remaining answer left was to wait and fight other monsters to get stronger.
And as if fate agreed with him, he suddenly heard noises coming from his left. As he turned around to see what was coming, he couldn't help but gulp down hard.
In front of him was a giant carnivorous plant, towering him by at least five meters. Saliva was dripping from its razor-like teeth, while its eyes were full of fury.
"I hate it here!"
***
Time passed by quickly in the 'Fury Forest'. From what Enzo remembered, at least five days had passed.
From the night he came to this damn place, he had been in a constant struggle to survive. Here the monsters were vastly different from those in the outside world - if there were even two worlds, to begin with. Indeed all of them seem to be in a different state. If those in the outside world were normal, here they were all filled with madness. Their eyes... were full of fury.
Enzo didn't know if it was what was making them so deadly, but he regretted his decision to even come here greatly. He hated himself so much right now that he could even cry.
Nonetheless, he still managed to survive, albeit after losing a few of his butterflies. After all, the monsters here were far stronger and fiercer, meaning that he had a lot more chances to die here. Though, the rewards he got were also far greater.
Although he didn't get a single piece of equipment, yet, he got enough butterflies to get his carnivorous butterflies to evolve. Indeed he needed ten of them to be able to evolve them. And since then, things had changed drastically. While the mid-tier poisonous butterfly is strong enough to poison anything that came his way and kill it not long afterward because of how lethal it was, the mid-tier carnivorous butterfly was strong enough to chomp down even the bones of the monsters here.
And Enzo himself knew how sturdy they were.
But the butterflies weren't the only thing that became stronger!
Enzo had grown significantly stronger during his time in the 'Fury Forest'. His skills as a fighter improved a lot as he faced deadly encounters, making him a formidable force to be reckoned with. Moreover, he kept pushing his limits and learned from his mistakes.
As he walked through the dense forest, he couldn't help but marvel at how much he had changed in such a short time. The fear and uncertainty that plagued him on his first night in the dungeon had now been replaced with determination and confidence.
Though, he was still deeply angry at himself for coming here in the first place.
Nevertheless, even with his now stronger self, he knew that he still wasn't ready to face the guardian of the dungeon. He had encountered glimpses of the guardian during his explorations, and each time, the sheer power emanating from the creature sent shivers down his spine.
And of course, the guardian looked like the incarnation of the giant plant outside the convenience store he was in a week ago. But much scarier...
As such, Enzo had decided to continue training and strengthening himself, hoping that he would eventually be able to face the guardian and overcome it. The knowledge that the guardian was waiting at the highest point in the forest loomed over him, a constant reminder of his goal.