Standing up I dusted off my partially ripped trousers before walking closer to the hole. Each step was filled with trepidation and excitement. As I neared the hole I summoned my shadow magic and coated the dagger I held in my hand each step closer to the impending darkness strengthening my magic and making it require less mana to uphold.
Partially sticking my body into the hole I slashed the dagger downwards meeting heavy resistance as I cut into the flesh of a hiding rat monster it's scream sending chills of pleasure through my system. Kicking it's body down I summoned a purple fire using my constellation magic before blasting it like a flamethrower down the hole, the smell of burnt hair and flesh and the screeching of those monsters that were still alive shown the deviating power.of my magic even though my proficiency was at the bare minimum.
Hopping down the hole I was surprised that I could stand up straight inside the hole. It was interesting that even though they were small creatures the dungeon carved out such a large space like it wanted larger creatures to walk upon it.
I guess dungeons do feed off people and creatures mana and if they can't fit there's no way for it to absorb their mana. Sticking to the shadows I used my heightened senses and night vision to traverse the maze of tunnels. I felt like an American in Vietnam rat holes as literal rats would jump out of the corners and try and attack me. One managed to stab me in the side with a piece of scrap metal, the wound closed fine but I was worried about infections. Could I get infections? Could I get sick? These were things I never questioned before now and I felt slightly ill prepared for the task at hand.
Pushing deeper into the tunnels they started to transition into stone and become larger as I reached a large room, Torches lined the room if you could call it that. The stone was uneven and inside there and something akin to hay was layered on the floor. The smell was terrible it was a mix of iron and decay. Inside were creatures that every fantasy novel held.. Goblins. However compared to normal goblins these ones were more...twisted. Each one had some malformation or growth on its body with wounds that let out pestilent ooze of god knows what diseases. Bones of those rats and humans (as far as I could tell) were splayed across the floor in piles. Each goblin seemed preoccupied with one thing or another some were sharpening crooked tools while others laboured over pots and some tended to the other goblins that were in labour with their young.
Instinctual disgust layered my face and I didn't want to step foot inside but the entrance deeper into this dungeon layed at the other side of the room. Thinking things over and taking account of the items in my inventory I decided on a plan of action. Pulling out piles of cloth I planned to set a fire and suffocate them and pick of the survivors afterwards. I couldn't collapse the ceiling and I couldn't gas them without the right chemicals of which I had no access to currently without access to materials and a alchemist to separate the elements I need.
Leaving the dungeon I took part in some deforestation before storing it and placing it at the entrance of the room. Setting it alright I covered my face and stuck close to the ground as I heard the muffled scream-like sounds of the goblins as they burnt. The hay inside was the perfect kindling and I doubt it was replaced allowing oils and fats from the decomposing bodies to be absorbed creating the perfect firestarter.
~
Half an hour later I removed the charred wood placing it in my inventory as the charcoal could come in handy for later use. Inside the smell of burnt flesh was revolting causing me to heave. Inside burnt corpses and charred bodies of still alive goblins littered the floor. Stepping over the bodies I killed those who were still alive with the dagger turned blunt piece of metal from the repeated use. I needed to buy a whetstone or this worlds equivalent when I gained access to the city.
Stepping past the corpses towards the door I stopped I heard it although muffled and laboured. Breathing and cruing, turning towards it I walked closer before kicking a goblin woman to the side, there lay a bundle of babies if they could be called that. The average time for goblin maturity was a day and these guys seemed to be a few hours old already. In desperation they lunged at me turning around I walked away letting my spell end their lives.
Their desperation wasn't brought from their plight or situation but from their primal need to kill to eat the flesh of other living beings be that the half eaten corpse of their mother or a passer by. These things were pure evil and if not snuffed out immediately I would have walked back to an ambush.
Walking down the next tunnel the stone changed to a darker hue each step forwards I took the colder the air got. Cobwebs layered the ceiling showing the amount of time this dungeon had existed for however I wouldn't encounter any spider based enemies just yet... not until the deeper floors.
Upon reaching the next room I stepped into knee high liquid. The room was covered in goo and tendrils stuck from the ceiling to the walls. Languidly I walked towards the centre of the room where the entrance behind me was now sealed by goo but I knew it was pointless to try and break through it as it would have hardened to he point where it would be unbreakable for my meager strength.
This room was a noob killer in the game for without knowing the weakness of this enemy and where the enemy was it would be impossible to advance and your character would die slowly. This room was a twisted joke for the room was alive! The walls ceiling and floor were the enemy for they were made out of slimes. Those cute little blobs made a room that was impassable where you would slowly be decomposed by their acid, I could already feel it dissolving my clothes but by bit ever so slowly. Luckily this was a gold mine for me, the properties of slime goo would come in handy if I wanted to create other weapons like firebombs or armour by making it into an elastic rubber composite.
Knowing what I had to do I prepared myself by pulling out the scythe again and using my constellation magic to cover it in a deep purple/blue hue, constellations of stars covered the scythe starting from the grip before it was completely covered in intricate patterns that I knew little of. Taking a deep breath I plunged my body into the slime beneath me using the glow of the scythe as a torch of sorts before extending the blade directly downwards until it met resistance. Swinging down with all might the resistance faded as the blade buried into the floor.
The core of the slime was hidden beneath and breaking the core of the monster was essentially killing the 'heart' so it would kill it. At least I hope it will. My knowledge and logic has already been proven wrong a couple of times so I could only hope
Luckily it seems that I was right as the goo started to collapse and fall unfortunately covering me in the process. Shaking off as much as I could I began to gather as much of the slime as I could store before moving onto the next room.
There weren't many rooms left however I was not looking forward to what was coming on next few floors. Each floor was filled with my worst enemy as an arachnophobic person. Spiders of many kinds were what lay ahead of me and the dread I felt as I walked closer and the halls became filled with cobwebs was tiresome. I would take being sliced in half again anytime.