Teo stepped over the mutilated bodies without a second thought, his footsteps echoing faintly through the cavern. His eyes scanned the walls as he moved in silence, searching for the stairs to the next floor.
After a few moments of fruitless searching, he sighed. "This floor probably has more caves like this one." His disappointment grew as he stepped into another wide space, several passageways stretching before him. The maze-like layout only deepened his frustration.
Without hesitation, he entered the rightmost passage. Sure enough, after a short walk, he found another cavern, eerily similar to the last—more bats hanging from the ceiling, more lizards slithering across the ground.
Teo's claws flashed through the air, cutting down bats and lizards with effortless precision. The creatures barely had time to react before they were torn apart. He moved like a shadow; his blood magic tore through the air, spearing anything that tried to get too close.
The stench of blood filled the cave, but Teo barely noticed. His mind was elsewhere on the maze he was trapped in, on the repetitive nature of this floor. It wasn't challenging, and he found himself growing increasingly bored as he cleared room after room. The satisfaction of a good fight was nowhere to be found here.
As the last lizard crumpled to the floor, Teo took a deep breath and glanced around the cavern. "Another room done. Let's hope this isn't a repeat."
The next room was the same—more bats, more lizards. Teo moved swiftly, dispatching them without breaking a sweat. A few blood spears, a slash here and there, and it was done. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was becoming a waste of his time. With a sigh, he moved on.
Another cavern, more of the same. Teo barely spared the creatures a glance as he tore through them. His mind wandered, frustration creeping in. "Is this it? Just endless rooms of the same garbage?" he muttered, wiping the blood off his claws before heading for the next passage.
Teo paused briefly as he entered the fourth cave. It was getting hard to even care anymore. He made quick work of the bats and lizards, his movements automatic. He was growing more irritated with each room, and the thought of continuing was starting to feel exhausting.
After what felt like an eternity, Teo's claws moved through the final lizard, his blood magic painting the walls red once more. The last of the creatures collapsed to the floor, but this time, Teo didn't bother wiping his claws clean. His mind had already moved on, his eyes scanning the cavern mindlessly.
"Another room cleared," he muttered, his voice hollow. "No more surprises here."
He turned and surveyed the maze of passageways. "How many more of these damn caves am I gonna have to clear?"
As he walked past the bodies, stepping over the mutilated corpses, the maze of tunnels started to blur together. He didn't even care anymore about which path he took. He just needed to keep moving.
Another passage. Another cavern. It was all the same. His movements were automatic, his focus drifting. Somewhere between the mindless combat and endless corridors, Teo realized his goal wasn't just finding the stairs anymore; he was craving the next challenge. He was so deep in this cycle that he was losing track of time.
Finally, he entered a cavern slightly different from the rest. It felt... quieter. As if something had changed.
His eyes scanned the walls one last time, and then there it was. The stairs.
A sense of relief washed over him, but it was fleeting. He stepped toward the stairs, casting one final glance at the bloodied cavern behind him. "Time to wake up."
Then, from the shadows of the stairway, something large and hulking emerged. At first glance, it seemed like a grotesque, bloated humanoid figure, but as Teo's eyes narrowed, he realized what it was. A troll.
However, this one was different. It had no eyes, only an oversized nose and large, floppy ears. Its pelt was an unsettling white, speckled with black dots, and its long arms nearly dragged on the ground as it stumbled toward him.
Teo's lips curled into a grin. "Must be a special mutation that only appears in environments like this."
He couldn't care less that he had never encountered this particular troll or had no idea what abilities it possessed. The excitement was evident in his smirk. After all the monotony, something new had finally appeared—something worth testing his skills against.
His claws flexed, and a surge of anticipation rippled through him. "Finally, a real fight."
In the blink of an eye, Teo was beside the troll. With one swift motion, he wrenched its arm off, then took a massive bite out of it, doing so right in front of the stunned creature.
Teo's eyes locked onto the troll's severed arm as it began to twitch and regenerate at a rapid speed. The muscle flesh knit together so quickly that for a moment, it seemed as though the arm was never lost.
A wide grin spread across Teo's face as he saw the troll's healing ability in action.
Without hesitation, Teo launched himself at the troll again, tearing the other arm from its socket this time. and not giving the troll a chance to reach, he started munching on it again.
The troll growled in anger, charging straight at Teo and swinging its freshly healed arm with brutal force. Teo's grin widened, an almost maniacal gleam in his eyes. This was what he wanted—a test of strength, an opportunity to see just how powerful this troll really was.
Instead of dodging, Teo planted his feet firmly into the ground. He crossed his arms in front of him, bracing for impact.
The troll's massive fist collided with Teo's crossed forearms, sending him flying through the air, the sickening snap of his arms breaking echoing through the cavern.
"Hahaha, this is it!" Teo screamed, his eyes burning with excitement as he crashed into the stone floor. His arms were broken, twisted at unnatural angles, but the pain barely registered.
Before the troll could take a step toward him, something extraordinary happened. His broken bones shifted and warped, blood swirling under his skin as his flesh knit itself together at an unnatural speed. His arms, shattered just moments before, began to heal.
In the blink of an eye, his arms were perfect again. With a savage grin, Teo dashed toward the troll, his body humming with renewed power. In one fluid motion, he tore both of the troll's arms off, his claws sinking deep into the monstrous flesh as he yanked them free with a brutal twist.
Teo didn't give the troll a chance to react. With both of its arms gone, the creature stumbled, but before it could even attempt to defend itself, Teo lunged forward. His claws raked across its chest, tearing the troll's heart out of its body.
The troll let out one final scream before collapsing lifelessly to the ground. Teo, still savoring its heart, sat atop the creature's head with a satisfied grin. "Not bad," he muttered. "The troll wasn't that strong, but I finally got to let loose a bit."
With a contented sigh, he leaned back, waiting for his awakening before continuing to clear the dungeon.