Den

Crunch...crunch...crunch. The gravel crunched beneath Ethan's feet as he walked towards the mana barrier. He stared at the blue, pulsating structure in front of him. The mana barrier looked a lot like the portal that had transported him to Hydragyros. But much larger. It was also a two dimensional shape, unlike the spherical. three dimensional portal. Maybe they looked similar because both were made up of mana?

Crackle! Bzzzzz! The barrier shimmered slightly as Ethan walked through it. Whoosh! The space around him distorted as a large, stone doorway came into view. A red coloured pentagram was inscribed on it, just like every single gate in existence.

"Let's go!" Creak! Stones grinded against each other, moving about as the doorway slid upwards, revealing a large pathway. This was a G rank, no, an F rank gate. Hopefully a lower ranked gate that had monsters up to F-4 rank. That was the only way he'd be able to survive.

Tap...tap...tap. Ethan followed Noah into the narrow pathway, bending his head downwards as he walked forward. Tap....tap....tap. Their footsteps echoed, the sound bouncing of the narrow walls multiple times making Ethan feel slightly unnerved.

Screech! Suddenly, an unhuman noise sounded throughout the pathway. Crack....crack...crack. The walls shook slightly, dust falling from the ceiling as the terrible noise echoed. What the hell was that? It sounded familiar for some reason. Shing! Clat...clat...clat. Ethan Drew out his kusarigama, grabbing it with both of his arms as he tensed his body.

Tap...tap...tap. Noah's footsteps echoed as he continued to walk forward, uncaring about the monster. Screech! The monster was closer now. Ethan could hear a light scurrying sound as the screeching grew louder and louder. He closed his eyes.

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[Mana Sense(G)]

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Ethan's perception widened instantly, spreading out as he searched for the monster. Suddenly, his eyes widened. It was an F-1 rank monster. A Rat Lord. The same monster that Ethan had killed in the SMEPT. It wouldn't be too tough to deal with. Especially considering the fact that he was at G-6 rank when he killed it. But that didn't mean that killing it would be easy.

Screech! "It's coming!" Ethan's eyes shot open. Suddenly, a large, rat-like monster came into view. Its eyes were a mellow brown colour, less threatening than its wide mouth that was open in a snarl, showing two rows of glistening white teeth. Its black skull protruded out of its head, forming a tough crown. Its entire fur was pure white, covering its tough, protective skin.

Screech! It screamed in rage, jumping towards Noah with its arms outstretched, claws pointed at him. Shing! Noah unsheathed his sword, smashing the flat of his blade against its head. Smash! Screech! The monster crashed into the floor, its large body smashing into the rocky floor as it screamed in pain.

Ethan stared at the monster's quivering body. This creature was slower than the rat lord he'd fought against in the SMEPT. Its movements were slower and more bulky as compared to the speedy tank he'd killed. But it was definitely a rat lord. So why was it so slow? Maybe captive monsters were more ferocious?

Screech! The monster raised its head, staring at Noah defiantly. Wait a minute. This monster was wounded. It didn't have a tail! Its body simply ended in a bloody stump that was covered in dried flesh. Large gashes ran across its body, making its original white fur now dull in colour. Its wounds didn't resemble any marks left by swords or any other sharp weapons. Maybe the monster was being hunted by another creature in the dungeon.

Slam! Noah's sword descended from above, crashing into the monster's head once again. Crack! The black crown chipped slightly, cracking under Noah's heavy blows as the monster screamed in pain. Crack! Screech! Crack! Screech! Crack! Noah kept slamming his sword against the monster's head. He didn't bother using its sharp blade. Right now, his sparkling green weapon was nothing more than a blunt club for him. It was like he'd forgotten that he was holding a sword.

Slam! Ethan winced as he stared at the gruesome sight. It was brutal. Noah was torturing the monster, making it suffer as he gave it a painful death. Just how he had killed the emerald krait. Slam! CRACK! Suddenly, a loud crack rang out from the rat lord's skull. It fell down limply, its eyes staring ahead emptily as its screams stopped. Its white fur was caked with dark, red streaks. A large crack ran through its black crown-like skull, completely shattered under the weight of Noah's incessant blows. The rat lord was dead.

Splat! Noah ran his palm along his sword, sweeping off the red liquid as he stared at the corpse in front of him. Shing! A metallic sound rang out as he sheathed his sword. He hadn't flinched slightly this entire time. He had methodically and strategically rained every single blow, making the monster suffer as much as it could before it died. But why?

Clat...clat...clat! Ethan's kusarigama morphed back into a dagger. Shing! He sheathed his weapon. Well, it didn't matter. Maybe it was in Noah's nature to be sadistic. He didn't recall any such aspects of his personality from 'The Ghost System'. But, then again, there were a lot of things that weren't mentioned in that book. Perhaps it wasn't vital to the way the world worked. And, if he could choose a system in exchange for a burning desire to torture monsters, he'd take it. Who wouldn't?

Tap...tap...tap. Their footsteps echoed as they walked through the pathway. Ethan's fingers ran along the rocky edge of the pathway. They'd probably reach the inside of the gate soon enough. Drip....drip....drip. Suddenly, a loud, dripping sound echoed through the pathway. Ethan put his hand on his dagger instinctively.

What was it? Was it a monster? Drip....drip....drip. The narrow pathway slowly widened, becoming larger and larger as they moved forward. The dripping noise grew louder. Ethan's fingers curled around his weapon. Had they reached the monsters?

Drip....drip....drip. Squelch! Suddenly, he felt his feet land in something squishy. Clat! Clank! Smash! He jumped backwards as his kusarigama shot out, destroying the ground beneath him. What was it? Was it some kind of a monster? His eyes were fixed downwards. No. It was just a stupid puddle of water. He looked up.

Noah was staring upwards, looking at something wordlessly as his cold eyes stared ahead silently. Drip...drip...drip. Ethan followed Noah's gaze as he looked at the ceiling of the pathway. Drip....drip....drip. He froze. It was a rat lord's corpse! Its eyes were full of blood, staring ahead emptily. Its mouth hung loosely open, showing its broken teeth.

Three large claws were stuck in its cheet, nailing it to the rock firmly. "Ugh!" Ethan took a step back. Seeing normal monster corpses was one thing. But this? This was worse than Noah. It was as if the creature had been killed grandly as some sort of a spectacle for others to enjoy.

Drip....drip....drip. Thin lines of blood ran along the wall, falling to the floor as they pooled to form a puddle. Ethan glanced at his foot. Yup. That was what he had stepped in. His suit was dyed in red blood. He glanced up.

Noah was staring at the corpse wordlessly. There was no emotion on his face. No revulsion. No joy. No sadness. He was simply staring at it as if it was a random car passing on the street. Slash! Suddenly, his sword shot out, slicing the monster's head off in one fluid motion.

Splotch! Drip...drip...drip. The dripping noise intensified as the streams of blood grew thicker. Splash! Noah kicked the decapitated head into the dark red puddle. The drops of blood fell on its lifeless face as it disappeared into the shallow puddle.

Crunch! Tap...tap...tap. Noah's footsteps echoed as he started walking forwards. The pathway widened, growing larger and larger as the end came in sight. Slash! Noah waved his sword, holding it in front of his face as he slowed down. Shing! Clat...clat...clat. Ethan unsheathed his kusarigama, grabbing the cold metal chain with both of his arms.

Roar! Screech! Primal roars ran out as the pathway widened into a large cave with no ceiling in sight. The entire sky was coloured blue, making it look like they were stranded in a large plain- something that didn't exist after gates crashed all over the world. Tall, green grass lined the flat plains. They were short enough that Ethan could see far into the distance yet tall enough to conceal any creatures- both predator and prey.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he stared at the large, flat plains in front of him. The Flat Den. That was what this gate was called. A den was the resting ground of animals. Mainly large predators. He gripped the metal chain tightly. He was wandering into a beast's den. Either he'd come out as a predator, or be consumed as a prey. There was only one way to find out which one he was. He stepper forward, gripping his head tightly as he headed into the gate.