In my pursuit of riches, fame, and glory, I had been greedy and... forgetful.
I had forgotten about the second reason why dungeons were so heavily mandated by the government.
The first was, of course, because of the many untold and seemingly unlimited riches that could be obtained from them. No one could just casually walk into these dungeons and take the precious resources lying inside at their leisure.
But the second... and probably the most obvious reason why dungeons were so heavily mandated... was simple:
The dungeons were simply dangerous.
I remembered reading a dungeon explorer statistic that... in the first year of dungeon exploration, roughly 85% of adventurers died, killed by the dangers lurking within the treacherous depths.
And wild dungeons were even more dangerous and unpredictable...!
The thought of actually reaching my dream, seemingly within my grasp, had made me forget about that danger... and now, instead of riches and glory, I was met with the sight of a hideous, monstrous one-eyed giant from ancient Greek mythology.
The cyclops.
"W-what...?!" I muttered, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of the Cyclops.
I took a slight step back, my heart pounding in my chest as the Cyclops glared down at me, its single eye burning with anger.
The sheer size of the creature was overwhelming... towering above me with a presence that even made the large, spacious cave feel suffocating...!
For a moment, I was almost frozen in place, unable to tear my eyes away from the monstrous figure...
But then, with a slow and deliberate movement, the Cyclops raised its massive right arm... and I saw the giant spiked club clutched in its hand...!
Panic surged through me as I realized what was about to happen!
The Cyclops swung the club down with terrifying speed, aiming straight for me!
In that split second, my flight-or-fight instinct finally took over, and I broke free from my frozen state, desperately dodging to the side just as the club came crashing down...!
THUD!
The ground beneath me shook violently from the impact, sending dust and even small debris flying. I barely managed to keep my balance as the shockwave rippled through the cave...!
The Cyclops snarled, its single eye narrowing in anger as it raised its spiked club once more... ready to crush me where I was standing...!
I barely had time to think—desperation took over as I scrambled backward, dodging just in time as the Cyclops's club came crashing down again, smashing the ground where I had been only a heartbeat ago!
THUD!
The impact sent another shockwave through the cave, dust and debris swirling around me as I stumbled back towards the ground where I had fallen in...
But... there was no time to catch my breath—the Cyclops was relentless as it was already raising its downed club and preparing for another deadly strike...!
Stomp, stomp, stomp...!
With a low growl, it started moving toward me, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground beneath me... Despite its enormous size, it was terrifyingly fast, closing the distance between us with alarming speed...!
My heart raced as I turned and ran away from it, pushing my legs to run faster than what they were capable of... all for the sake of getting away from this terrifying Cyclops...!
However, it felt like the Cyclops was gaining on me... its massive form looming closer with each passing second...!
And when I turned my head... I saw it—its club raised high above its head, ready to strike me down in one powerful blow...!
I had no choice—I had to do something—anything—to survive!
And my eyes landed on the sight of the grand marble entrance where the Cyclops had come out from...!
With a faint hope... and a burst of adrenaline, I dodged to the side, circling around the giant just as it brought its club down with a deafening crash!
THUD!
The force of the impact sent more dust and debris flying, the ground shaking so violently again that I almost lost my footing...
But I didn't stop... I couldn't stop now... I had to take this chance given to me...!
I ran with everything I had, my eyes locked on the marble entrance as the looming Greek soldier figures flanked both sides of it...
And the carved face of Zeus on top of it was glaring at me with its judgmental eyes... as I cowardly ran into his marble entrance...!
It was my only hope... the only way out of this dream turned nightmare!
But as I reached the entrance, my heart sank.
I slammed into a bluish barrier—a powerful forcefield that refused to let me pass!
I stumbled back in pain after hitting the solid barrier... my eyes widening in horror as I looked up at the towering marble structure.
The same carved face of Zeus stared down at me, its judgmental eyes glowing with an otherworldly light...
As if telling me that I could not leave this place...!
This... was his challenge—his trial. I looked back toward the one-eyed giant... and it had already turned around and was running towards me!
The chief god of lightning and thunder had seemingly given me a trial... and I could not leave this place...
Unless I killed that Cyclops.
Dread surged through me with the realization that this wild dungeon's trial had been set before me.
The Cyclops was closing in, its footsteps growing louder and more threatening. I had to find a way to fight back... or I wouldn't make it out of this alive...!
Desperately, I scanned the large cave for anything that might help. My eyes darted around, taking in everything in this massive, dimly lit space. I tried to search for something—anything!
The marbled column that seemed to hold this large carving in check. The ground where I had fallen. The massive Greek soldier statue beside me, with its spear and shield—!
'That's it!'
A wild idea crossed my mind...!
The Cyclops was getting closer and closer, its massive club raised above its head ready for another deadly strike...!
I dashed toward the Greek soldier statue, still holding its glorious weapon... and stood right in front of it.
I faced the moment of truth—whether my dream could actually become reality... or I was just being delusional... as I faced seemingly the biggest obstacle of my life...!