A few hours passed inside the dungeon, and Kai still couldn't believe what was happening. His only hope—a Dungeon System—had yet to appear before him. It felt as though his body had sunk into the depths of an abyss, swallowed by the weight of his situation.
He forced himself to breathe deeply, pushing aside the panic creeping into his mind. He remembered his training for sales, especially the advice from a mentor who had once told him, "In the face of pressure, stay calm. Never let the stress show." At the time, it seemed like trivial advice, but now, it made all the difference. Instead of succumbing to panic, he focused on survival.
Kai explored the cave he was in, but it wasn't as large as he had hoped. After stumbling into a dead end, he realized just how small the space was. No escape, no systems, nothing but a dark, desolate hole.
His clothes were the only thing he had on him, the same ones he wore when he was pulled into the dungeon. He couldn't believe the absurdity of it all. 'What kind of situation is this?' He thought. 'No System. No powers. Just me. And... these bones.' He laughed bitterly to himself.
Not willing to give up, he forced himself to leave the cave and venture out. There had to be something useful, some kind of advantage he could find in this godforsaken place. Maybe a monster, one that he could outwit. After all, if he could survive long enough, he'd find food or something useful to scavenge.
He walked miles, his mind racing. The dungeon was eerily silent. No monsters, no sounds, just the rustle of his own footsteps on the gravel. It felt wrong. A dungeon was never supposed to be this quiet. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, waiting.
Kai remembered the Hunter Guidebook he'd studied before—written by the first hunters who ventured into the dungeons. He'd always imagined using it one day, when his Dungeon System would awaken. But now, all that knowledge was just an echo in the back of his mind, haunting him.
As he continued to wander, his senses heightened with every step, until finally, a noise broke the silence. A dragging sound, slow and deliberate. Kai's heart leaped. Instinctively, he hid behind a large boulder, peeking cautiously over the edge.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
A Minotaur.
Its massive, bull-like body towered over the ground, walking on its hind legs. Huge, curved horns gleamed in the dim light. It was holding a crude axe made of wood and stone in one hand, while dragging a dead Basilisk—a massive snake capable of killing with a glance—in the other.
This Minotaur was different, though. It was larger than the ones normally found in Yellow Dungeons, and its neck was encircled by a fiery mane. It was more menacing, more... dangerous.
Kai's heart raced. 'Stay calm,' he told himself. 'Stay hidden, and it won't notice you.' He breathed shallowly, trying to remain as still as possible. His feet felt like they were rooted to the ground. Time seemed to stretch out endlessly.
But then, the Minotaur stopped, its head jerking toward him. Its keen sense of smell must have picked up his scent. Slowly, it turned, eyes narrowing.
Kai held his breath, his body trembling with fear. 'No. No, no, no.'
The creature sniffed the air, its nostrils flaring. Then, with terrifying speed, it began to move toward the boulder.
Kai's mind screamed at him to run, but his legs were frozen, his body paralyzed in place, every instinct telling him to flee but unable to act. His heart pounded in his chest, thundering like a drum.
The Minotaur came closer, and Kai knew it was only a matter of seconds before it would be upon him.
Suddenly, the ground shook as the Minotaur slashed the boulder in half with a single stroke of its axe. Kai didn't wait. He bolted.
"FUUUCKKKK THIS SHIT!!" he screamed, adrenaline surging through him as his legs pushed him to run faster than he ever had. His mind was a blur—no plan, just survival.
Behind him, he could hear the Minotaur's heavy footsteps, but the sound stopped abruptly. Kai dared to glance back, only to see the Minotaur suddenly vanish. A shadow loomed over Kai, he looked up and saw the Minotaur in the air.
It jumped towards him.
With incredible force, it landed on the ground, breaking the very land where it stood. And Kai was blown away by the sheer force of the Minotaur.
Kai felt that some of his bones were broken and he had difficulties standing up. The Minotaur rushed to him and swung its axe, but before it could even be brought down, it suddenly stopped.
Kai, who had his eyes closed, opened it and looked at that Minotaur, which was frozen in place, and it was staring upward in terror.
A deafening roar then split the air. The sound was so overwhelming it felt like the sky itself cracked open.
Kai's eyes widened in disbelief. From the blood-red dust rising above the colosseum far away into the distance, a silhouette appeared—enormous, majestic, and terrifying. A dragon.
This was something Kai had only read about in childhood fantasy books—beasts of legend, said to be as tall as mountains and as destructive as storms. But this one was even larger. It loomed above everything, its wings stretching out like shadows across the sky. It seemed even larger than the Burj Khalifa.
His body trembled, both from the roar and the crushing realization of what was happening. 'A dragon?' he thought, his mind struggling to process the sight. 'There hasn't been any records of dragons in dungeons yet. What is going on here?'
His chest heaved as the pain from his broken bones flared up, but he forced himself to stand. His legs were shaky, but he couldn't stop. Not now. The pain had numbed somewhat under the weight of everything that had happened, but his body still protested every movement.
"Is this where I die?" he muttered to himself, the words leaving his mouth in a defeated rasp.
He winced at the pain in his ribs, but something about the whole situation felt unreal. He had always wanted adventure, right? To live outside the walls of his work? Well, he was definitely living an adventure now.
But as the dragon's roar echoed again, even that thought felt hollow.
Kai slowly turned toward the colosseum, his legs moving with a strange kind of resignation. 'Maybe this is how it ends, then. Dying at the hands of a dragon... it's not such a bad way to go.'
He limped forward, the echo of the dragon's roar still vibrating in his bones. There was nothing left to lose now.
And so, Kai set out toward the dragon, determined to meet his end at its claws.