Chapter 2 – Dungeons and Dungeons
You know, despite being trapped in the world of one of the cruelest RPGs out there, I'm glad I'm not trapped in a horror movie. What I mean by this?
Well, my flashlight lit the path in front of me, it wasn't like in a movie where a group of idiot teenagers breaks into a haunted house and the only source of light they brought was cheap flashlights from the corner store.
I moved my arm from left to right, illuminating the area around me, I saw mold, fungus, mushrooms, ruins, boxes and barrels of rotten wood, plants, bloodstains, mangled corpses. I was in the basement of the dungeon, so I had better start collecting items that I will probably use in the future.
On the way I found some mushrooms and herbs growing between the wall blocks and floor tiles, I got a green, red and blue herb, the classic ones from a certain zombie game franchise; I kept them all in my backpack.
On my way, I passed the four pillars with the symbol drawn in blood on the floor.
"You seem strangely calm." Kitab spoke.
"Don't confuse my calm with naivety, I know the risk I'm taking, I know the dangers of this dungeon. I already had my panic attack on the stairs; I don't need another one in here where the monsters walk around."
As if fate had heard my words, a monster came out of a dark corridor ahead and floated towards me, a Maneba, an initial enemy, if I remember correctly they can communicate through telepathy, they are probably related to the God Rher, God of the Moon and Madness, and they are not exactly evil, they act more out of the need to feed.
"A monster stands in your way; let us see if your words are true."
Hm... Trying to talk won't do me any good, I took a quick look around, there was nothing I could use as a weapon and the corridor was too narrow to go around the monster.
Well, time to find out if Kitab's spells work.
"Hey Kitab! How do I use your spells?"
The Maneba advanced, swinging one of its tentacles towards my head; I ducked and took a few steps back. Why am I surprised? This is not a game! It's obvious the monsters won't wait for my turn!
I got up quickly and took a step to the left, dodging a tentacle that tried to hit me on top of the head.
"Just feel the magic in your body. Visualize the cosmic power of the universe. Contemplate the void and its infinite dimensions. So unleash the power given to you by the Old Ones."
"You think I'm some kind of wizard?!? I'm not an anime protagonist who masters a new power in five seconds! Give me something I can use!" I dodged the blow of another tentacle.
"Alternatively, you could just say the name of the spell."
"Seriously?!? So there you go! Glimmer of Truth!"
I felt pressure in my head, followed by a little pain, the spells in Fear and Hunger use mind, that's the game's MP, which I felt must have been the equivalent of my mind being drained.
Kitab trembled in my hand, an unknown force flipped the pages of the book, green smoke came out of the pages of the book and enveloped Maneba's head, the monster was still for a few seconds, before shaking its head and attacking me again.
"Didn't work!"
"Not my fault. You are the one who leads me in fights; the blame for using an ineffective attack is yours. You must know your enemy to face him in the best possible way."
Maneba comes from the deepest depths and knows about the place in the place where time has no meaning, this thing is already crazy, or it has enough knowledge to not go crazy, solet's go with the second option.
"DAMN IT!"
I screamed when Maneba hit me on the left side in my moment of distraction, I don't feel anything broken, but it hurt like hell. Focus! Pay attention to the thing in front of you! Unfortunately, this ceased to be a game a long time ago.
Pulling away, I used the second spell in my arsenal.
"Cats of Ulthar!"
The pressure in my head came back, only stronger, I think this spell uses more mind than the last one.
Kitab shuddered in my hand, the pages flipped again, this time, a black slush seeped out of the pages, and this slush flowed towards the floor, forming a big puddle at my feet.
That's it?
Again, as if fate knew what I was thinking, something happened. A series of eyes appeared in the mud puddle, and then the mud took shape, the eyes rising out of the puddle, the mud serving as the body.
They crawled out of the puddle and walked towards Maneba, their shape changing as they approached; the mass of dark mud took on a quadrupedal shape, with four thin legs ending in paws, a long thin tail protruding from its back, one head with two ears on top formed in front.
When the transformation ended, there were ten night-black "cats" with tails, ears, and a single, large eye in the center of their faces. The eye was a blue and gold colored eye of Horus.
The cats stopped in front of Maneba and looked at it curiously; Maneba tilted its head to the side and hit one of the cats, throwing it against the wall to my left, the cat turned into a dark stain as it hit the wall.
This stain ran down the wall until it reached the floor, where the mud resumed the shape of the cat with the eye of Horus. The cat approached Maneba again and meowed.
M̶͖͔̫̞̞̤̲̳̆̃̐̓ę̵̼̗̘̲͍͖͇͇̻̫̹̩̫̼̳̖̣͑̽o̶̡̧̙̘̯̙̩̰͖͉̜͈̲͚͓̬̗̭͍̹̠͈̽̽̽̾͐͋̂w ̢̳͖̞͔̼̰͚̱̝̮͖̞̟̟̞̣̜͍͜
Suddenly huge claws came out of the cat's paw, the claws were white, shiny, pointed and sharp, they could easily rip the flesh of a human being, but the change didn't stop there, just below the eye of Horus, a thin line appeared.
This line expanded from top to bottom, revealing a gigantic mouth with rows of teeth the size of knives, the mouth was so large that the cats' heads were distorted to the point that the eyes ended up on the back of the cats' heads.
Then came a scene from a horror movie, all the cats jumped towards Maneba, the monster swung one of its tentacles towards the nearest cat, but with a swing of its claws, the cat leading the group cut the tentacle in two with one blow.
The Maneba let out a cry of pain, but kept fighting, the monster swung its tentacles frantically, trying to hit the cats, but the animals dodged easily, with great speed they jumped, rolled and ducked out of the way.
While Maneba was busy with some cats, the rest of the group surrounded the creature, for a moment Maneba stopped when it realized what was happening, but it was too late.
All the cats jumped on top of Maneba at the same time and began to devour the monster, claws slashing and tearing, throwing blood and pieces of meat everywhere, their mouths biting and tearing apart, taking large pieces of the monster.
The Maneba screamed and struggled, trying to escape, but each attempt to push the cats away with its tentacle was met with the same tentacle being cut by the cats, eventually the Maneba was brought to the ground, where it was easier for the cats to devour it.
The cats ate in such frenzy that they ripped holes in the Maneba's head and crawled in, I could see the bulges moving beneath the monster's flesh, until one of the cats broke off the top of the creature's head in a shower of blood.
When the cats were done, there was nothing left, they ate even the pieces of meat that were thrown away, without Maneba in their way, the blood covered cats came towards me, for a moment I thought I would be next.
However, I changed my mind when the cats rubbed against my legs, their distorted meow echoing through the dungeon, I nervously patted one of the cats on the head. It purred and rubbed against my hand, one of the cats jumped on my shoulder and watched me, and another jumped on my arm and sat there.
With a final meow, the cats disappeared into a dark mud, and then the mud disappeared as if it had never been there.
"So? What did you think of your first fight? Of your first spell that guaranteed you victory? How do you feel? Happy? Irritated?" Kitab spoke.
"A little scared and surprised by what I saw. Glad I survived and didn't get eaten by the cats."
"Now you understand why the Egyptians loved those furballs. Anyway, congratulations! You won your first fight! You earned a total of 0 XP and 0 Gold!"
"What a generous reward." I said with obvious sarcasm.
"I can't do anything about it; I don't make the rules here."
"Didn't expect you to, but with Maneba out of my way, let's move on."
I didn't have to walk far until something else in my path caught my attention, a large iron door was in front of me and on that door the symbol of a crow, and I knew what was on the other side, Miasma.
I approached and knocked repeatedly on the door, a metallic sound rang through the place, then I tried to push the door, it didn't move, then I tried to pull, I grabbed the metal handles and pulled with all my strength, nothing happened.
Without much choice, I put my ear to the door; everything remained silent, until the silence was broken by a voice.
"Hello."
I recoiled immediately when I heard the voice, it had spoken inside my head, surely, Miasma is on the other side, unfortunately, I couldn't open the door and I don't have enough strength to break it. Too bad, having one of the best weapons right off the bat would help me a lot, but I have no plans to face Crow Mauler, I'd rather never have to meet him.
I continued advancing and picking up some materials that I found inside boxes and barrels, I walked close to the wall; I prefer not to step on a tile that would lead me to the witch.
Lighting up a room beside me, I saw something that caught my attention, a group of crates filled with rusted armor and weapons. Maybe there's something I can use?
"Would you like to flip a coin?" Kitab asked.
"Good question. How do coin flips work here? What prevents me from simply not doing what the coin result tells me to do?"
"This dungeon is alive, if you don't do what the coin result dictates, the dungeon will oblige you. Forces leagues above you will ensure that the result is fulfilled."
"Seriously? So just pick heads or tails and flip any coin in the air?"
"Not exactly, you have coins of different values with you, the higher the value of the coin, the greater your reward, but the greater the consequence if you get the result wrong, if there is a consequence. Alternatively, you can choose not to toss a coin and try to find something yourself."
Considering I seriously need equipment and the consequence is simply not getting anything, I didn't see a problem with trying. I took a five-cents coin and held it up, as if to show the dungeon what I wanted to do.
"Heads."
I tossed the coin up and watched it spin in the air, sweat trickled down my forehead as the coin dropped back into my hand, and I let out a nervous laugh at the result. Heads. Soon after, the coin crumbled to dust. Let's see what the dungeon has in store for me.
Rummaging through the boxes, I found a large dagger, almost a short sword, the blade was shaped like an upside down V, it was a little rusty, but better than nothing, I tucked it into my belt.
"Beginner's Luck, I say. Still, not bad. Would you like to try again? You can get something better with a higher value coin."
"Better not, I prefer not to push my luck and better save the coins for when I need them."
"Fair."
I went through the room with the chest on the other side, but it was locked, so I went forward, I saw the door that led to the upper floor, next to it there was a skeleton.
"Hey Kitab! Do you have any necromancy spells?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I can't have it in the future."
Damn it! Creating an army of the undead would be interesting, just loot all the equipment I saw ahead and I would have an army ready.
Going through the door and upstairs, past a cemetery, but avoiding going left, there's a chance I'll find a guard, instead go down the long hallway.
There are now two places I can go, the relatively safe room and the armory where Ser Seymor is. I decided to go right, if Seymor doesn't try to kill me, maybe I could get better equipment in the armory.
I approached the room where the knight was, but I didn't go in right away, instead I leaned against the wall next to the entrance and spoke.
"Hello?"
"Who's there!" A strong voice said from the other side.
"I'm a person trapped in this dungeon, just like you. Can I come in? I swear I'm not a threat."
A few seconds of silence passed before the voice returned.
"Yes, but come slowly and with your hands up."
I did as he said, slowly walked into the room with my hands raised. Struggling to his feet was Ser Seymor, the knight in chainmail and wielding a giant sword.
The knight stared at me for some time.
"See? I'm not a monster, just a human being like you. Can you put the sword down now?"
Seymor sighed and placed the heavy sword on the ground, but I noticed that he was looking at me strangely.
"By Alll-mer, what are you doing here? What would drive a young man like you to enter this place?"
"I have no idea. I woke up at the entrance to the dungeon and had to run for my life to avoid being devoured by giant dogs."
"Another soul trapped in this cursed place. Sorry for my actions, but this place messes with our minds. Who knows what kind of monsters roam around?"
"I agree with you, but changing the subject. Would you mind if I pick some equipment?"
"No of course not. Take whatever you need to your survival."
"Thanks!"
I passed by Seymor and went through the boxes, most of the equipment was degraded beyond use, but I preferred not to spend a coin, I'll make do with what I find and one thing I found.
An iron mask and a cloth hood, the mask covered the front of my face from the forehead to the top of the nose, the mask had an angry expression, with two holes for the eyes and a leather strap to attach the mask my head.
The hood was sewn by threads and made of black cloth, shrugging, I put on the mask and hood, as I said before, better than nothing. I could try the assassin's strategy and hide in the shadows.
I didn't find anything useful, so I decided to leave, but before that, I decided to talk to Seymor.
"I will continue walking through the dungeon. Would you like to come with me?" Honestly, it would be nice to have Seymor accompany me.
"Unfortunately I must decline; I am on a mission to find the people who accompanied me in this dungeon, mainly Prince Buckman. Tell me, if you find Prince Buckman, would you send him to me?"
"Of course, you can count on me!"
"I thank. Would you mind answering another question?"
"No."
"That book and that shiny thing in your hand. What are they?"
"You know, you could say I'm an amateur sorcerer, the book is called Kitab, it's my spell book and it's attached to my arm, the glowing thing, it's a magic item that lights up things around me."
"While I don't have a positive opinion of sorcerers, you didn't pose a threat. I wish you luck in whatever it is you seek in this place."
"Same to you Seymor, until we meet again."
"Equally."
So saying goodbye to Seymor, I went towards the relatively safe room, there I found a place to prepare food, a statue of a woman with a crow on her arm and a bed.
I don't need to sleep and eat anything now, but I made a note in my agenda and ripped the sheet right away, leaving the sheet on top of the bed with a stone on top, serving as a weight.
The note talked about this room being safe the first time you slept in the bed, but if you tried to sleep a second time, you would have to flip a coin and if you missed, you would find Crow Mauler. I sketched the monster on the back of the paper. If any of the main characters will still enter the dungeon, I hope that helps.
I also took the opportunity to make some notes.
"Help Cahara find the treasures and make his S ending?"
"Save Le'garde? If so, let him become a new god? He's not exactly evil and he cares about humanity. Explain to him the truth about the new gods? If not, stop D'arce from reviving it and creating the second game's antagonist?"
"Save the girl? If so, let her become the Goddess of Fear and Hunger?"
"Recruit the Floating Head?"
"Recruit Moonless? Yes!"
"Learn necromancy and make an army of the undead?"
"Become a new god?"
Now I was facing the big hall again, if I went forward I might get a stronger weapon, but I don't have any cursed weapons to face the ghosts.
The worst part is, I'm saying this as if Iron Shakespeare isn't an issue, and I left a note about the monster followed by a sketch at the entrance to the hallway.
With no other choice, I walked down the hall. Suddenly the ground started to shake, heavy metallic footsteps echoed through the darkness, I pointed my cell phone ahead.
In addition, there was Iron Shakespeare, slowly advancing towards me, wasting no time, I cast Glimmer of Truth. Green smoke engulfed the knight's head, and then he started screaming and thrashing, his arms reaching for something that wasn't there. Looks like he still has some sanity left in him.
I ran around the corner of the hall, past the pillars, and sprinted across the hall, only to nearly be crushed when one of Iron Shakespeare's hands knocked one of the pillars down in a hail of stone. I thought the knight was trying to kill me, but he was still attacking the air.
I quickened my pace and ran towards the stairs leading down to the prison, letting the knight fight whatever he was seeing.
"I'm a little disappointed that you ran away."
"Don't give me that talk, I'm in no condition to face that thing and I'd rather never have to do that."
"Better watch what you say, the dungeon is listening and she has an ironic and sadistic sense of humor."
END OF CHAPTER
Thanks for reading this far. Leave your opinions about what you think of the story, comments and suggestions are welcome. Until the next chapter!
By the way, this is our protagonist, the art was made by AI.