Chapter 69 Dangers

While the crabs continued to mercilessly tear apart the helpless lizard in the ravine below, I shifted my gaze toward the second lizard, who stood on the opposite side of the ravine.

The reptile seemed shaken by the gruesome scene unfolding before its very eyes. Its scaly body quivered uncontrollably, and I could see its nostrils flaring as it struggled to catch its breath.

"..."

However, I couldn't muster any empathy for the creature. In fact, a sense of satisfaction washed over me as I watched it tremble in distress. Just moments before, the lizards had been chasing after me, but now the tables had turned, and now one of them was forced to experience the terror of being preyed upon themselves.

Click... Click...

The crabs pinched their claws together, creating a haunting clicking sound that seemed to reverberate off the walls.

The female lizard, aware that it could be the next victim of these ruthless predators, scurried away in a desperate bid to save its own life. The sound of its panicked footsteps echoed behind it as it fled deeper into the tunnel.

Meanwhile, I stood there, silently observing as the crabs began dragging the lifeless skeleton of the male lizard toward the shimmering blue shore.

Gradually, they retreated to their hiding spots, their bodies disappearing into the sand and the gaps in the walls.

It only took a few minutes for the ravine to fall completely silent once again, as though the brutal scene that had just unfolded before my eyes had been nothing but a distant memory.

The only evidence of the chaos that had transpired was the new skeleton of the unfortunate lizard, lying in the sand.

"Scary..."

I whispered to myself as I shuddered involuntarily. Feeling a sudden urge to break the oppressive silence that hung in the air, I rubbed my hands together and reached for a nearby pebble.

Without hesitation, I hurled it down into the azure lake below.

Splash...

The pebble made a satisfying sound as it hit the water, causing ripples to spread outwards across the surface.

Suddenly, hundreds of dark eyes emerged from everywhere, staring intently at the disturbance in their otherwise tranquil domain.

Click... Click...

A lone crab emerged from the sand, approaching the shoreline with its claws raised in anticipation. Maybe it was expecting a second meal?

Watching the crab, I suddenly had the urge to test the durability of its chitinous armor.

I reached for a medium-sized rock that was conveniently located nearby and raised it high above my head.

Whoosh...

The boulder fell straight onto the creature, smashing its shell into pieces and leaving it motionless on the sand.

Purple blood, thicker than I expected, began to seep out of the creature's body, staining the sand beneath it.

Click... Click...

Other crabs came to their kin, looking at its lifeless carcass and snipping their claws together as if communicating.

One of them lifted its eyes towards me, but it seemed that its vision was poor, as its gaze skimmed past me with no recognition.

"..."

I watched as the other crabs began to approach their fallen kin, their sharp claws clicking together as if communicating with each other.

Click... Click...

One of the crabs looked up in my direction, but it appeared to have poor eyesight as its gaze quickly passed over me without recognition.

Silence lingered in the air as I watched the crabs slowly drag the lifeless carcass of their comrade away.

They buried it in the blue sand, hiding it from view as though it was a method to conceal any evidence of something being at the bottom of the ravine.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as I realized just how calculated and strategic these seemingly primitive creatures could be.

"Gotta go..."

I muttered to myself, realizing that staying here any longer would be fruitless and potentially dangerous.

I threw one last glance towards the deadly ravine before quickly turning around and heading towards a tunnel that was dimly lit by some purple moss growing on its ceiling.

The faint glow of the moss provided just enough light to see my way forward, but the shadows seemed to be constantly dancing on the walls, making me feel on edge.

Shadows had become a bad omen of mine, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was lurking just beyond my sight.

I fully expected one of them to suddenly lunge at me, but fortunately, nothing did.

Tap... Tap...

My footsteps echoed loudly in the tunnel as I quickly made my way forward. Despite the unnerving atmosphere, I couldn't help but feel a sense of peace in this quiet space.

After several minutes of walking, I found myself at yet another dead end. The cave system was incredibly complex and maze-like, making it difficult to navigate through

At one point, I started to collect some of the moss and drop it onto the ground, hoping to create a trail that would help me find my way back out.

"..."

Glancing at my wristwatch, I realized that an entire night had passed since I had entered the dungeon. Although I didn't feel hunger or thirst yet, I knew that it was only a matter of time before my body would start to crave these basic needs.

I found a nearby boulder and collapsed onto it, taking a moment to catch my breath and clear my mind.

"..."

I was fucking lost. I didn't know where I was, where to go, I was simply lost in this maze of tunnels.

Growl...

Suddenly, a low growling noise interrupted my thoughts, and I spun around, drawing my black Katana in one swift movement

Two red eyes were gleaming in the dark and I frowned as I realized I had stumbled upon another dangerous creature.

It was a massive cave troll, its matted fur bristling with aggression and drool dripping from its sharp teeth. The monster loomed over me, standing at least three meters tall, and brandished a massive club in one of its muscular arms.

Cave trolls were F Rank monsters and were relatively strong, yet very stupid and slow.

Roar...

The troll lifted its club above its head, letting out a deafening roar that shook the entire cave system.

The monster charged toward me and I braced myself for impact, but just before it reached me, I sidestepped and swung my black Katana with all my might.

My blade sliced through the troll's thick hide, however, it only managed to wound the creature superficially, making it even angrier.

I knew that fighting the cave troll head-on was not the best option, so I decided to use my agility to my advantage.

Boom...

The troll swung its massive club, but I dodged it. As the monster's club collided with the ground it caused a small quake that nearly knocked me off balance.

The creature then tried to catch me with its hands, but again, I managed to avoid it.

It was getting pretty obvious that this fight is going to be a long one.

"Come on..."

I taunted the troll, swinging my Katana in a flashy movement to provoke the monster. Luckily the creature fell for it and charged toward me with blind rage.

Growl...

I saw the club descending onto me and I rolled to the side, barely avoiding the deadly blow.

Whoosh...

Golden threads began to form in my palm as I started to gather my Mana, supplying my skill with the necessary power.

Swish...

My Aura Blade easily sliced through the troll's wrist, causing the club to fall from its hand.

At first, the creature didn't even understand what had happened, looking at the empty spot where its hand used to be, confused.

Roar...

Quickly the sensation of pain replaced the confusion and the troll started to roar in agony.

I realized that this was my chance to end the fight, so I darted forward and plunged my Aura Blade into the troll's eye socket, pushing my blade as deep as I could.

At first, the troll tried to rip me off its face, but I kept on pushing the blade deeper, until the creature finally went limp and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

I wiped my blade off to the side of the monster's fur, taking a deep breath and surveying the aftermath of the battle.

There were some craters in the ground from the troll's club strikes and some moss had fallen off the cave's ceiling.

"Moss!"

I hit myself in the forehead. I finally understood how the troll found me. The creature probably followed the trail of moss thrown on the ground, reaching my resting location.

Realizing that I would need to abandon my current plan of making a trail of moss to guide me out of the cave, I sighed.

"Time to do some brain exercise..."

Leaning against the monster's corpse, I started slowly recalling how I came here. If I managed to store my path and every turn I've taken whilst traveling through the cave system, I might be able to retrace my steps and find a way out without leaving any moss behind.

I once again thanked myself for having built a 'Memory Palace'.