Chapter 15: Down the Rabbit Hole

When I woke it was not to a pair of pearly gates or a flaming pit, but grainy dirt. I made a face and pushed myself onto my hands and knees before spitting out. The taste of soil lingered, but it was better than the coppery taste of blood or death. I knelt on my knees as I took careful stock of my body. No broken bones, pain, or blood; not even a bruise. Which was odd since I had jumped into a dark hole.

I looked up and blinked in surprise. Both because the rocky ceiling was far above and there was no hole that I could see. Where the hell even was I?

I stood and glanced about, noting the trees, the grass, and the smell. It reminded me of the one time Uncle Dylan and I had gone camping. It hadn't ended well and the first thing I had complained about had been the smell. The smell of nature, which wasn't as unpleasant now, but also completely unexpected.

From the lack of a sky and the fact there was a ceiling I was still underground, but definitely not in some tunnels anymore. If there was no sky then there was no sun, so where was the light coming from? Was it ambient?

I shook the thought away. It wasn't really important at the moment. I needed to figure out what to do. I still had my backpack and everything on me. It only took a few seconds to find my gun which had landed nearby, or had it appeared with me? Had the dark hole really been a hole at all?

I was alive, which was good, but I also had no clue where I was. The trees around me looked like abnormally large oak trees, though the trunks seemed thinner than what was normal, although I wasn't exactly an expert on trees so I could have been wrong. The grass seemed like common grass and grew from hard-packed dirt. There were other types of flora about like a number of blue flowers growing near the trunk of a tree or a bush here and there. It looked like a typical forest. Only this one was underground.

"Could be worse."

That one and only time we'd gone camping, my uncle had taught me quite a bit and though most hadn't stuck, there were a few things I could remember. One of which was the importance of finding shelter. That was what I'd do first. Find shelter and then go from there. For all I knew there could and probably were monsters here as I was still in the dungeon which meant I couldn't relax. I had to stay alert.

I swapped my pistols magazine, refilled the empty mag, and placed it in one of my vest's pockets before drawing my shortsword. The trees were far enough apart that I didn't need to squeeze through any spaces, and the terrain was fairly flat with some small hills and other things to break it up.

As I moved at a sedate pace, I noticed the silence. There were no insects or smaller animals about, at least none in clear view. Did the dungeon only have monsters or had I just not seen a non-hostile creature?

I tried not to think about the situation as I moved through the forest, instead trying to occupy my mind by looking for somewhere to stay. Maybe a tree if I could find nothing else, though I was scared I would fall off a branch if there even were branches large enough to lie down on.

What was close to an hour passed with no success when I finally came across something different.

The small green creature stood at around two and a half feet tall with dark green skin and black eyes. Its head was disproportionate to its body and sort of triangular with pointed ears and nose. It wore nothing, leaving me an uncomfortable view of its privates which I noted were also humanoid, though that was all I saw before I looked away.

It stared at me for a long moment, unmoving except for its slow blinking. Then It let out an odd little shout and leapt at me, nails extended. They scraped against my chest and did absolutely nothing.

A moment later my blade was passing through its neck, decapitating the small creature which I assumed was a goblin. It certainly looked like the typical green humanoids found in so much fantasy fiction.

The headless body and head, which was now rolling across the ground, vanished, and where the larger part of the corpse had been was now half a dozen small cubes of reddish meat.

Yeah, there was no way I was eating goblin meat. At least not until I was desperate. I tapped the pile with a foot and it squished in a sickening way that my stomach curdle. The pungent smell wasn't any better. It smelled like rotten meat. Definitely not to be consumed unless I was desperate.

With its nails and its size, I counted the trees out for possible shelter. I could imagine these goblins climbing up with their nails and jumping about like small green monkeys. If they were anything like goblins in games, then alone, a goblin was no danger, at least not against a competent human. It was when in groups that they were deadly.

After making sure there was no other loot, I carried on, now keeping an eye out for anything small and green. The goblin's skin color was a similar color green to the leaves and grass which meant they could blend in if they were smart enough. Typical video games goblins were stupid, always the enemies games would start off with.

This wasn't a game though and until I could confirm those suspicions, I would take extra care. I would stick to the blade for as long as could and only use my firearms if I really needed to. After all, I didn't know when I would get the chance to get more ammo. Conserve the strongest weapons for greater threats and for when needed.

The goblin had given me more XP than a rat but not by much. Perhaps these things were the common monster in this area? Like the rats seemed to be for the tunnels. I shivered, thinking back to that horde that would likely have torn me apart had I stayed and not made the jump. Thinking about it more, I realized I should have checked my uncle's journal. He'd mapped the Rat Den out which meant he'd been there before, and likely had written about it. If he'd gotten in and through, it meant he had a way; a way I could have learned had I just prepared a bit more.

In any case, there was no point thinking about it too much. I had made a mistake and learned so that I wouldn't repeat it again.

As I continued on, to my surprise, it actually began to darken which suggested there was a day and night cycle controlled by something. Something was manipulating the ambient light. Whether it was the dungeon itself or some natural system put in place by the dungeon I didn't know. Perhaps it was even something that had naturally occurred, though I doubted it.

I was beginning to lose hope I would find somewhere suitable when I hit a stone wall. It reached up and up, all the way to the ceiling which could mean that I was at one edge of this space. I didn't know how wide it was, but I had a plan to get a general idea. That was for later though.

I moved along the wall until finally, I came across a gap between it and a bent tree. It was a small space, but hidden and could only be seen from one angle. It was the best place I'd found so far and I didn't really want to keep searching. It was getting darker and darker, and soon I would be forced to use a flashlight which would be a beacon to any potential nocturnal monsters out there. I might as well wave a flag about and shout free snack rather than use a flashlight in pitch darkness whilst in a forest that had monsters.

I set my backpack down and just rested for a moment, leaning back against the wall and taking deep breaths. I wasn't really that tired. It was the stress of the day caused by unfortunate events.

As true darkness began to set in, I pulled some food from my bag and a bottle of water. I ate it quickly and didn't drink any more than needed from the bottle. Until I found water and food I would need to ration what I had which wasn't much. At most the food would last maybe two weeks if I stretched it as far as I could, but that wouldn't be ideal as it would leave me feeling weak.

So finding food and water was a priority along with getting an idea of where I truly was. Finally, there was leveling which would always be beneficial as it would increase my survivability.

It was difficult to see in the darkness but after fumbling around I was able to get into a fairly comfortable position using my backpack as a pillow. The armor I had on kept me warm and protected. I wasn't going to be taking it off. I probably did stink, but I didn't really care as there was no one around to smell me who mattered unless monsters would be attracted to it.

That thought made me pull my pistol out.

As I settled in for the night, I began to hear faint sounds. The howls of what I guessed were wolves, and other stranger noises like clicking and hissing. It seemed the nightlife was waking up. A few times they came close and I tightened the grip I had on my pistol, but nothing found me. Thank god, I had found this place and not climbed a tree. I would not want to be out there right now. Well, technically I guess I was out there, but just not in what sounded like the thick of things.

It was harder to sleep with the background noise of monsters but, eventually, my mind tired itself out and I found my eyes drooping shut. Sleep took me into its silent and welcome embrace.

When morning came, I was glad for the silence of the forest, which I much preferred over the cacophony of noises that had occurred through the night. I'd woken up twice to loud noises, one of which had been the particularly disturbing noise of what I guessed had been a dying monster. I pulled some food from my backpack and ate slowly as I glanced around my small abode. I'd had a very faint and tiny hope that I might just wake up in my home. That this would all have been a dream. No luck.

When I was done, I contemplated leaving the backpack behind, but in the end, I decided to take it with me. I didn't want to risk goblins or some other monster coming across it.

The first order of business for the day was getting a sense of where I was. I knew I was in a forest but I wanted an idea of how large this place might be. For that, I would need a vantage point. Lucky there was plenty.

I wasn't an expert at tree climbing but with my enhanced stats I was able to make it up the tallest tree I could find.

What I saw when I broke the surface of the tree tops was both good and bad. Good in that it looked beautiful and bad in that wherever I was, it was large, it was very large. I was near one side of an enormous space. As I had first thought a forest stretched out before me in all directions, only broken by an occasional hill or gap in which I assumed it was more flat terrain though considering everything, it was likely not so simple.

I moved my gaze over the sea of trees and stopped when I spotted something to the south. Something that seemed to shine slightly. It took a few seconds to make sense of it but when I did I felt a small weight lift off my chest. It was a body of water. Either an underground lake or something similar.

You could survive a while without food if you had water; not that I planned to starve. I would find food as well if need be or even hunt if I had to, though the idea of eating goblin meat did not sound pleasant.

As I made my way down the tree, I considered just how perfect this was. This body of water could very well be a watering hole for the monsters in which case, it was food, water, and XP all in one. I still needed to find a way out, but that could wait for now. First came survival.

I pulled my shortsword from my sheath and drew my pistol as I made my way to the source of water. I moved as stealthy as I could, but I'm pretty sure I was doing a bad job of it, not that I seemed to draw too much attention. Either this place was far less active in the day or I'd just gotten lucky so far.

I very much regret that thought as not even a minute later I stumbled into a group of goblins who were fighting over the remains of what looked like a giant beetle. Its carapace was torn open and the goblins were shoving their hands in and pulling out huge gobs of flesh. Two were fighting over its pincers while another was rubbing his hands up and down what looked like a horn. He also had on a necklace that looked far too intricate to have been made by him.

They all froze at the sight of me, and this time I didn't wait for them to make the first move. I activated Quickstep and was at the side of the two fighting for the pincers. They had no armor and so when my blade came down there was no resistance. The first was decapitated and the other only managed a half turn before I stabbed him through the chest.

By now, the others were screeching and making odd little shouts. One bolted while the goblin with the black horn charged at me, wielding his insectile body part like a club. I shot a Force Bullet at him. These goblins must really have been weak because it actually penetrated his skin. He stumbled and fell, getting a face full of dirt. From the twitching, he was still alive. I ended that.

The last two were having a back and forth, shouting unintelligible words at each other. I swear it sounded less like an actual language and more like baby speak. My eyes moved from one to the other and I shook my head before appearing behind the one to my right. My blade bloomed from its face, coating the other in blood. He screamed and ran, but didn't get far. I ended him in a single swing like the rest.

When I confirmed there were no more around, I let out a sigh. That had been far easier than the rats. I guess they had the typical goblin stupidity. One had gotten away, but I was neither a tracker nor did I really care much about hunting down a single goblin.

As I moved through the piles of goblin meat, I turned my attention to my level progress. It had gone up, but unfortunately, these little green idiots hadn't given enough to reach the next level. I stopped when I finally came across the pile with the necklace I'd noticed. I had worried for a second it would vanish with the corpse but there it was.

It was beautiful. The chain was more like a golden thread. It was thin yet felt very sturdy. The main attraction however was the compass. It looked like any other compass I'd seen just more ornate. It was blue and circular with odd little symbols that shone with faint light. I placed it in my backpack to inspect later. For now, I needed to get going. The smell of this meat could very well attract other monsters and I still had a watering hole to get to.

I didn't run into any more goblins before I arrived at the watering hole. The tree ended a few meters from the edge of the lake, and I crouched as I noticed the assortment of monsters. I saw a group of goblins bunched up, nervously glancing at the other monsters, a wolf-like creature that I thought was just a wolf until it looked up and I saw its third eye. It was the final monster that was the worst, however. I'd seen the beetle, but I'd been hoping against this.

It had to be giant insects.

A centipede drank from the water, its body flat and curled against the ground. It had to be at least five meters long and half a meter wide. Its body was a mix of green and yellow, and the pincers looked deadly, to say the least. I took a deep breath, calming myself. It looked dangerous, but I could probably beat it in a fight with all tools I had, not that I was eager to test my luck.

All the monsters seemed to be giving it a wide birth, and the goblins seemed to be purposefully keeping their eyes off it as though that would make them unnoticed by it.

There was a truce around the water, but I couldn't be sure that would apply to me. I had never seen two types of monsters together, and I wasn't sure if my being a human meant I was an attack-on-sight no matter what.

I would name this place the three-in-one. I would wait for less a busy time to refill my bottles, which meant food and grinding it was. I holstered my pistol. There was no way I was using it near this place, and it was good to have a hand free. It made it less awkward to use abilities like Force Bullet. The first monster to leave was the centipede which I let go for another day of course. Not because the way its legs moved made me shiver. That definitely wasn't going to haunt me.

The next was the wolf. It growled at the goblins who raised stones and shouted until it left. I waited until it was a meter from the trees before I began to move. I wasn't too far from it, and it didn't seem it had noticed me which was good. This would be easier with an element with a surprise.

I moved towards its location only to find that I hadn't been the only thing to come up with the idea of waiting. The three-eyed wolf let out a whimper as the centipede dug its pincers into its side. They cut into the flesh like knives. That wasn't all. The centipede moved its body to surround the wolf who was attempting to bite the centipede. Its fangs did little to the insect's shell.

A moment of indecision came before I steeled myself. Was I really going to let myself cower before an overgrown bug? This thing would be a footnote in my journey at best. More XP.

I readied my blade and focused on its head, which was not armored. There was a small gap between its head and the first segment of its armored body. A perfect place to strike, and with its body low to the ground, I wouldn't have to do any climbing.

I used Quickstep in tandem with Heavy Impact. I burst from the bush I'd hidden in and was at the centipede in seconds, leaping onto its back. The giant insect let out a clacking sound and bucked, but I grabbed onto the gap between its unprotected head and first segment. I brought my blade up and then drove it down. Heavy Impact increased the kinetic force of the attack and my blade sunk hilt dip.

The centipede swung back and forth like mad, and even with my tight grip, I felt like I would lose my hold. There was no way it was still alive after that. My thought was confirmed as its movements slowed down. I jumped off and stared as it fell onto its side before curling up.

It vanished leaving me alone with its loot, and the wolf which was still alive, though barely. It bit at the air as I neared, but in its state, it could do nothing as I brought my blade down into its head. It let out one last whimper before stilling and joining the centipede in death.

I let out a breath and a small whoop. That had been exhilarating and I felt alive in a way that I just hadn't before the dungeon.

The notification that appeared after the fight helped my mood even more.

-----

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

You are now Level 12!

You have (5) undistributed Attribute points.

-----

As I considered where to put them, I walked over to the centipede loot pile. One of its pincers and a large chunk of meat sat there. I stored the pincer away and left the meat. I wasn't desperate enough to eat insect yet. Besides, there was wolf. The wolf had dropped one of its eyes, and three hunks of meat in the shape of steaks. they smelled like normal raw meat, not rotten like the goblins.

"Wolf steak it is."

I would have to figure out a way to cook it but when I did, I would be eating good tonight. I pulled a plastic bag from my backpack and stored the steaks inside there. I'd brought them just in case I needed to store anything that I couldn't just fling in my backpack. Once it was all secure, I picked up my shortsword and turned my attention to my stats. I put two in constitution as that was very much important right now and I wanted one stat to be at the human threshold. One in perception and sense as both were important in environments like this and the last point into endurance. My strength was ok for now. If the centipede was the strongest type of monster here then I didn't have to worry too much about strength. I had heavy impact to provide an extra kick. I wouldn't ignore my other stats. I just knew that for now, I had to play it smarter.

I was just about to head to the watering hole to see if I could kill those goblins and refill my bottles when I heard a shout. At first, I thought it was a goblin or another sort of monster but then it came again and this time my eyes widened.

The shout sounded human.