Chapter 70 Cavern

"There, here, then to the right..."

I kept mumbling to myself, trying to remember the path that led me here. Although I was making progress the process was slow.

I had to make sure that every step was put into my 'Memory Palace', so I wouldn't accidentally get lost.

After around an hour of trying to remember the intricate twists and turns, I finally had my trail mapped out in my mind.

Feeling confident, I slowly rose to my feet and looked at the corpse of the Cave Troll that lay in front of me.

The creature was soaking in purple blood, which created a weird glow with the dim light that emanated from the mossy ceiling of the tunnel.

Pluck...

I plunged my Katana into the monster's chest, quickly slicing it open. My eyes wandered around its ribcage, searching for a core, but it seemed that the troll didn't possess one.

"Unfortunate..."

Grimacing, I quickly sheathed my Katana and glanced at the tunnel in front of me. Everything looked the same, but I knew that I had to move forward.

"..."

During my walk, my eyes became accustomed to the dim purple light, and I started to notice that the walls were covered with strange symbols and letters.

My curiosity was piqued, and I approached the symbols, trying to decipher their meaning.

"It's Demonic!"

I instantly recognized the language from a few engravings that I've seen used by demons in Leclentia.

The texts looked very old, and as I ran my fingers over them, the smoothness of the stone made it clear that these symbols had been carved into the walls a long time ago, possibly by Ancient Demons or their worshipers.

Bzzzz...

Suddenly, I heard a faint buzzing sound from down the tunnel, which snapped me out of my thoughts.

I scanned the area for any signs of life, but there was nothing in sight.

I didn't dare to just ignore it, so I slowly rose to my feet and gripped my Katana tightly, preparing to face whatever was around the corner.

With my heart pounding, I steadily walked down the tunnel, stopping a few meters before the corner.

"..."

I paused to listen more carefully, but the buzzing sound had stopped.

Taking in a deep breath, I peeked around the corner and saw that the tunnel trailed further, however, something seemed off. It was too dark.

Even the moss growing on the ceiling was illuminating the path with an eerie glow, but past the corner, there was complete darkness.

I tried to make out something in the darkness, but it seemed to swallow all light, making it impossible to see beyond.

Bzzzz...

The same buzzing sound echoed through the darkness, and I took a step back, contemplating my next move.

I didn't have a fear of the dark, however, there was a slight issue.

The buzzing sound was coming closer.

"Whatever it is, I don't want to deal with it..."

I quickly turned around and retraced my steps, coming back to where I'd killed the Cave Troll.

Although the buzzing sound was now faint, I could tell that it was coming in my direction.

"..."

I rushed to the last intersection and turned left. Maybe I could lose whatever was following me in the maze of tunnels?

I came here for the artifact, however, I first had to beat this labyrinth.

Although I had no map of the maze, I hoped to beat it easily. Oh, how wrong was I!?

I cursed myself, for using Protagonist's superior senses to just locate the artifact, without thinking much about the path I need to take. I simply followed the arrows that pointed toward it.

In the game, it was so easy...

But here in reality it was a completely different story.

Bzzz...

After a few minutes of running, I stopped, since the buzzing sound had faded away.

"..."

I glanced around to make sure there was imminent danger before I kneeled in front of the cave wall, looking at the Demonic symbols etched into the rock.

I stared at the engravings, slowly deciphering their meaning. I kept reading line by line, trying to uncover the clues leading to the artifact, however, the texts were written about something else entirely.

The symbols mainly spoke about Seven Deadly Sins, but I already knew everything about them, from playing the game.

After half an hour or so, the buzzing sound returned and I was forced to move.

Huff...

Running through the tunnel, I noticed that the moss growing on the ceiling was becoming blue.

"Yes!"

The Blue Moss was a sign that I was getting closer to the artifact. I remember seeing the same color moss in Leclentia.

With renewed energy, I increased my pace and ran even faster, darting around the corners, following the faint glow of blue moss that lit up my path.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern.

The space was massive and filled with the glow of the strange crystalline formations and moss growing on the walls.

There was even a lake in the center of the cavern, its surface shimmering in the blue light.

"..."

I approached the water, placing my palm on the surface, causing small ripples to dance across the lake.

I've finally found it, the entrance to the second floor of this maze.

Although there were no strong monsters within this dungeon, the Artifact that I was seeking just couldn't be found easily.

At this pace, it would still take me a day at best to reach the final destination.

I was way too confident when I thought I could get the Artifact with ease. Sometimes reality can be harsh.

"I hope you have no fear of the depths..."

Speaking to myself, I took off my clothes, threw them into my Spatial Ring, and prepared to dive into the lake.

Splash...

I gritted my teeth and submerged myself in the icy water, my body tingling as the cold enveloped me.

"Here we go..."

Taking one last deep breath, I began to swim down into the depths of the lake, the blue glow fading away as I descended further into the darkness.

After a minute or so of swimming, I began to feel a sense of pressure in my ears, indicating that I was reaching great depth.

Soon after, my limbs became numb from the frigid water temperature, and I had to circulate my Mana to resist the cold.

Another minute went by and my lungs were starting to ache from the lack of air.

However, I didn't panic.

With calm and steady strokes, I inched deeper and deeper into the dark waters.

"..."

Finally, I spotted a faint glimmer of purple light in the distance. I didn't hesitate, kicking my legs harder and pushing my body toward the light.

As I got closer, my consciousness started to fade, due to the lack of oxygen, but I pushed myself to reach the Purple Mana Circle shimmering at the bottom of the lake.

Thud...

My fingers finally brushed against the surface of the Mana Circle, and with the last bit of my strength, I pushed my Mana into it, causing the shockwaves and ripples to reverberate throughout the lake.

Boom...

As if something exploded, the water around me swirled and I felt myself being pulled by a powerful current.

My body was tossed and turned mercilessly as I was pulled toward the surface of the lake within seconds.

Splash...

I crashed against the shore, completely exhausted and gasping for air.

Lifting my eyes I instantly noticed that I wasn't in the same cavern as I was before diving into the lake

I was transported to a completely different location, onto the beach of a vast and unfamiliar island.

Splash...

The strange purple sea waves crashed against the blue sand, creating some kind of weird mist that rose into the sky.

"..."

Pushing myself to my feet, I took a deep breath, gazing around the beach with a sense of unease and curiosity.

The second floor of this Dungeon was completely random, one could find himself transported to an unknown location.

One time as I played with Kai, I found myself in the middle of the desert with nothing, but sand dunes around me.

I died after a few days of dehydration.

This time I was quite lucky to find myself on an island since it meant that there was a possibility of finding food and water.

However, I didn't plan to overstay here too long.

The way to clear this floor was to find the Boss and defeat it. It sounds easy, but the issue is that the Boss could be anywhere on the island and could be even hidden.

Glancing over the beach, I saw that there was an eerily familiar forest of skeletons in the distance.

"Hell no!"

I didn't even hesitate before going in the opposite direction, there was no way I was going anywhere close to the Crabs that tore an entire Lizard apart within minutes.