(General POV)
Blood-curdling screams and roars echoed from the lower floors. One smaller figure stood out in the middle of a bloody colosseum. Calling it the Colosseum was a bit of an overstatement, but it had a similar shape to the real one deeper below.
Various dinosaur-type monsters surrounded the circular arena, cheering for the fight to continue. Their mother commanded them to persist in their unending battle.
They had one mission: to kill the boy who was currently fighting with two bloodsauruses. However, the boy proved to be a greater threat since he was still standing on his two legs.
Despite being bitten over and over by various monsters, the boy hadn't given up and refused to yield to his wounds. Most adventurers would have collapsed by now; the injuries were far too great for any normal human to endure.
But this boy wasn't human. No, he was something else. His appearance had now changed to something inhuman, and even their mother couldn't understand what this boy exactly was.
He had no divine energy like the Gods from the surface; instead, he looked like a demon with shark-like teeth. His face had a darker tone, his eye sclera was pure black, and his pupils were dark green.
A sharp claw slashed at the monsters that surrounded him. Niall felt only frustration and confusion. He could feel emotions and was frustrated because he couldn't do anything to stop them.
The monsters gave him serious injuries all over his body, and he wasn't exactly sure how long he could last. But the monsters refused to give him any rest, much like the companies in his original world that would poke him until his demise.
SLASH
"AAARGHHHH!!!" Niall fell on his butt as part of his arm was slashed. Instead of red blood, a black liquid poured out.
Seconds after his butt touched the ground, the monsters charged in and started tearing him apart, making him feel every inch of pain. His muscles were being torn out, his lips, even his eyes were getting eaten.
The pain was too much to handle, but he somehow remained aware, even though darkness was looming over his mind. It called to him, and that was frustrating Niall too, being unable to do anything against stronger foes.
No longer feeling pain, monsters continued feasting on his organs and muscles, but Niall was no longer aware of it. In most cases, not feeling pain could either be adrenaline kicking in or the last moments of somebody.
Even his demon form couldn't help him defend himself from these fiends. It did manage to keep him alive for a bit longer, but ultimately, it led him to his demise. Now he had to wait for his body to shut down and his soul to leave.
Azathoth would probably be frustrated if he went to her now, but he didn't have any other option. At least, she would still cherish him and give him the love he desperately needed but refused to admit.
One of the bloodsauruses, bigger than the others, sniffed him one last time and went for a bite on Niall's neck.
Niall couldn't close his eyes as they were gouged out. He remained calm and accepted his miserable fate of being monster food. The dungeon won in the end, and he had to admit defeat.
But the final bite towards his neck never came. Instead, a loud slashing sound rang across the floor, and the monsters started dropping like flies. Two heavy swords cut through monsters like butter; it was too fast for them to react.
The loud noises of the monsters stopped, and a tall, huge man, towering over two meters, stood with two swords in his hands. He glanced over the place where the carnage took place and noticed the disturbing sight of a gored-out adventurer.
Despite being a veteran adventurer who had seen many gruesome things, he still cringed at a sight like this. Especially since the one gored out seemed to be a young boy he had followed before.
His goddess had commanded him to follow the boy into the dungeon and give him a challenge to overcome, but the dungeon got ahead of him and took matters into its own hands.
'Is the boy still alive? How?' Ottar thought as he heard the noise of breathing from Niall. In all his years of service, never had he seen someone survive such a gruesome attack from a horde of monsters.
Ottar moved quickly to Niall with a bunch of healing potions in his hands. He didn't believe they would help, but it was better to try.
As he got closer, he noticed that Niall's breath was slowly returning to normal. The next moment left Ottar speechless. Injuries that were a hundred percent fatal were now healing by themselves, and Niall's body started regenerating.
(Niall's POV)
The darkness was inches away from claiming me, and I could hear a feminine voice calling me back. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place who it was—maybe someone I knew or someone who came to help me.
I couldn't see or hear, but I could feel enough to know that I was still alive. Then my hearing came back, and I felt my ears forming—a new pair of ears were growing on me.
Azathoth never mentioned anything about the benefits of my evolution. She did say that I could become a being like her but didn't mention any regeneration.
Then, I felt my eyes slowly starting to form. It was a strange sensation but somehow relaxing. When my eyes finally healed, I brushed them with my two hands and opened them.
A light blinded me for a second until my eyes adapted. Then I saw him: a huge Boaz stood over me, towering like the Eiffel Tower. He stared at me in clear disbelief, holding healing potions in his hands.
"You... are you alright?" he asked in a serious tone, still not able to hide his shock and disbelief.
Ottar is known for being a stoic adventurer who seeks strength. He's the only one with a piece of mind inside his fanatical familia. I always had respect for him; he was a nobleman who always sought to push adventurers to their full potential.
"I am, thanks for asking," I muttered as the final piece of flesh regenerated on me. Fortunately, my demon or whatever form wasn't activated. I would probably be mistaken for a monster if he saw me in that form—maybe, maybe not.
"Nice skill you have. Never have I seen such regeneration before. Tell me, how did you get to this floor alone?" He crouched down and offered me a hand. I accepted it, and he pulled me to my feet.
"I was just going to farm some excelia when a huge hole opened below me, and I fell to the floor beneath this one. I managed to survive the fall and go one floor above, but it seemed that monsters lured me into a trap."
Ottar remained quiet while focusing on me. His stoic face showed that he was confused by such weird behavior from the dungeon. With his years of experience, he probably never encountered something like this.
"Let's go. I'll escort you back to the surface." He turned his back in another direction and signaled for me to follow him with a side-eye.
Of course, I couldn't and didn't want to refuse, so I followed him. I could tell that this was going to be a whole new experience for me.
--- STATUS ---
Name: Niall
Race: *REDACTED*
Level: 2
Power: 399 F --> 456 E
Survivability: 312 F --> 512 D
Durability: 296 G --> 412 E
---
Checking my status I was pleased with the points I got but I still had al long way to go before I could hit level 3.
Then suddenly...
*DING!*
*You completed a quest!*
*Your reward: Eldritch Blast - A swirling orb of chaotic energy that channels the destructive powers capable of long-distance sniping attacks.*
'What the....'