I was sitting at the inn's table, seemingly eating the food in front of me. In reality, I was subtly sending the food directly into my spatial ring, pretending to eat with every bite. I had plenty of provisions stored away, and in this unfamiliar dungeon, I wasn't about to risk consuming anything that could be tampered with. Caution was my only ally in this place.
As I feigned eating, my ears were tuned to the conversations around me. The town seemed too ordinary, almost unsettlingly so. There were no significant conflicts, no power struggles, nothing that hinted at the underlying danger of this world. From what I could overhear, this place was part of the kingdom of Elias, and I was currently in a city called Yriphis. It was at least a country-sized dungeon, but still, no signs of any superpowers or anything out of the ordinary—just small disagreements and the typical oppression of the poor, as I had already witnessed at the city gate.
After "finishing" my meal, I booked a room at the inn, feeling the exhaustion of the day catching up with me. The room was modest, with a single bed, a chair, a study table, and a mirror. I opened the window to let in some fresh air, only to notice that it was sunset outside—odd, considering there was no visible sun. It was as if someone was controlling this world's cycle with a remote, manipulating it as they saw fit.
As the hours passed, darkness fell. The city, which had seemed lively earlier, was now plunged into complete blackness. There was no moonlight, no street lamps, nothing to illuminate the night. The city looked abandoned, with none of the houses showing any sign of life.
Suddenly, I felt the mana in the air vanish. My cultivation base was also sealed, and I was rendered as powerless as an ordinary human. I felt an overwhelming weakness wash over me. To make matters worse, when I tried to summon my other sword—since I had lost the first one in the cave—it failed to appear. My spatial ring was sealed as well, leaving me defenseless.
I decided that staying in the room was not an option. I needed to understand what was happening. I left the room and started descending the stairs, only to hear the familiar sounds of laughter and chatter from the inn's patrons. But as I reached the bottom, the scene before me was anything but familiar.
The people in the inn had changed. Their heads floated eerily in the air as if their bodies had turned invisible. The stench of rotten flesh filled the room. Suddenly, they all stopped in unison and turned to look at me. Their eyes became bloodshot and sharp, canine teeth protruded from their grinning mouths. Sinister, slimy tentacles sprouted from their necks as their heads shot toward me in complete silence.
"F*ck!" I cursed aloud, my heart racing. What in the actual hell had I gotten myself into? I bolted back up the stairs, not even bothering to close the door behind me, and jumped out of the window, landing near a house where a group of children was playing. But these children were just as horrifying—only their heads remained, and as soon as they noticed me, they too grew slimy tentacles and launched themselves at me, grinning with their sharp teeth in complete silence.
I ran in the opposite direction, my mind racing. Reduced to a normal human, with these grotesque creatures chasing me, I realized just how dire my situation had become. This was no ordinary dungeon. This was a nightmare.
I couldn't decide what was worse—their eerie, merry laughter, completely oblivious to the fact that their upper bodies had vanished, or the way they fell into utter silence the moment they noticed me, their disembodied heads with those twisted grins and slimy tentacles chasing me with relentless speed. The sound of their previous laughter still echoed in my ears as I bolted through the dark streets, my heart pounding in my chest.
As I ran, desperate to escape the city, my situation only worsened. More and more of these grotesque creatures joined the chase, their numbers swelling rapidly. It was as if every head in the city had come to life, and they were all fixated on me.
Panic surged through me as I darted through the maze of streets, my breath ragged and my legs burning from the effort. I had no idea where I was going, only that I needed to get as far away from these monsters as possible. But the more I ran, the more they seemed to appear, emerging from every shadowy corner, every dark alley, until it felt like the entire city was after me as the city descended into complete and utter silence.
I finally spotted a weapon shop with its door still ajar, a glimmer of hope cutting through my panic. Outside the shop, a sword lay abandoned on the ground. I didn't have the luxury to be picky—I snatched it up without a second thought. The blade was heavier than what I was used to, but in my current situation, anything was better than nothing.
Gripping the hilt tightly, I turned to face the oncoming horde of disembodied heads. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to steady my breathing, preparing myself for the inevitable clash. I had to kill them, the city gate was still far away from me and who knows they might just follow me even outside the city, at that time I wouldn't have much stamina left so I could only choose the safer option and kill them all right here right now. The sword's weight felt unfamiliar in my hands, but I had no choice but to make it work.