Ba-bum.

  I had finally managed to escape the realm known as the "Magic Rails," only to find myself in another prison. This time, however, it was my body that was the true captive, wrapped snugly in a cocoon as I underwent a slow and, dare I say, rather uncomfortable healing process.

  Ba-bum.

  At least I’d picked up a new trick during my time in the Magic Rails: the ability to see beyond my own physical form. Talk about a major upgrade! It’s like getting a new set of eyes that can’t roll in their sockets. How delightful.

  So here I was, lying helplessly, my body wrapped like a gift nobody asked for, peering into the void. And let me tell you, the view isn’t exactly five-star.

  Though my reach was limited to a one-kilometer radius from my body—or more precisely, from the heart of my lair—I was keenly aware of its boundaries. Beneath my oval chamber in the earth, a pulsating tendril connected me to my cocoon, anchoring me to Lair's heart, where it was steadily growing.

  ba-bum… ba-bum…

  I had never laid eyes on a heart quite like this one before. It was a strange, pink mass of organic flesh, sprawling across the stone floor, and it was undeniably part of Lair itself. I found myself wondering how vast it would eventually become.

  ba-bum… ba-bum…

  With my [Dungeon Eye], I surveyed the expanse of our domain. How I knew to do this was a mystery; it felt like an instinctual knowledge flowing through me.

  Our domain was defined by the reach of Lair's tendrils—an intricate web through which it pumped its lifeblood, exerting our dominance over the dark tunnels. The corridors I once navigated felt entirely different now. They twisted and turned, creating a labyrinthine network that was both familiar and foreign.

  This was our dungeon, my kingdom, and Lair's home. Yet, despite this newfound perspective, two issues loomed heavily on my mind.

  ba-bum… ba-bum… ba-bum…

  First, I still couldn't access Maleck's study. Although Lair's tendrils could extend throughout a one-kilometer radius, they were unable to penetrate the barriers of that study. The door remained resolutely closed to me.

  The second—and far more urgent—concern was the five intruders who had recently trespassed into our domain. They had managed to evade our vanguard, the corrupted pillbug that served as an organic trap.

  'Kill! They must die! They cannot advance any further!' I thought, a primal instinct rising within me.

  ba-bum… ba-bum… crack

  The rhythmic pulse of Lair's heart matched the growing urgency in my chest as the threat of these intruders stirred something feral within me.

  *crack* *rumble* *crack*

  Fingers POV

  In the suffocating darkness of the tunnel, a hushed voice broke the silence.

  “Everybody ready?” [Brute] spoke, his voice low yet resonant enough to reach every ear in the group. They had opted for speech instead of their usual sign language, as Mat was still a stranger to their silent communication. The others nodded slightly, their expressions tense.

  The air was thick with apprehension, so dense it felt as if a knife could slice through it.

  They had extinguished the torch earlier, wary of drawing attention to themselves. But as they approached their destination, the dim glow from the bioluminescent mushrooms faded abruptly, leaving only an inky blackness ahead.

  A heavy aroma wafted through the cave, reminiscent of beef and greasy pork. Yet the Fingers recognized it for what it truly was—death. The acrid scent of burnt hair would cling to their nostrils for days, a grim reminder of their peril.

  “Something died here recently!” [Enrik] whispered, a chill creeping up his spine.

  With weapons drawn, they crept toward a bend in the corridor, pressing their bodies against the damp stone wall. Enrik took a cautious peek around the corner.

  “A four- to six-meter tunnel leading into an equally dark room. No light, nothing... Wait! There’s something in the far back, maybe twenty meters away… Too dark to see clearly.” [Enrik] reported, straining his eyes.

  Enrik lacked dwarven vision, but after adjusting to the darkness with his [Night Vision] and employing his innate talent for mapping spaces, he was able to decipher the scene. Such skills were essential for an assassin.

  “Can’t see anything else?” [Brute] pressed.

  Enrik shook his head; the darkness concealed too much.

  Jenn, having smeared some glowing mushroom pollen on her hands, caught their attention. She signed urgently to Jenkins and Enrik.

  ‘Switch, let Jenkins take a look!’ [Jenn]

  Both men nodded in affirmation, and Jenkins took Enrik’s place at the front.

  “Yup, I see somethin’ alright—a door. But beyond that? It’s darker than a bottomless pit in here…” [Jenkins] replied, his tone laced with unease.

  For a dwarf known for his keen vision to declare the darkness unnerving sent a wave of tension rippling through the group.

  Mat, who had been lingering at the back, chimed in. “What n—” [Mat] began, but Jenn quickly covered his mouth, a finger pressed to her mask.

  “Are you daft? Do you want to give away our position?” [Enrik] hissed.

  Jenn lowered her hand, letting Mat speak, though his voice was barely above a whisper. “But there’s no one there, right? You didn’t see anything, did you?” [Mat] asked, glancing nervously at his companions.

  The Fingers exchanged glances, Jenkins shrugging slightly.

  “The door seems thick enough. We should be fine talkin’ normally,” [Jenkins] replied, attempting to ease the tension.

  “Yeah, sure. So, a door inside a cave. It must be Maleck’s base of operations, right?” [Brute] suggested, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

  It was a rhetorical question, but Mat pondered it seriously, scratching his chin. “Probably. Like I said in the debrief, I’ve never been inside these caves before...” [Mat] admitted.

  The group exchanged knowing looks, some rolling their eyes, but only Jenkins could see in the gloom and chose to remain silent.

  “And a natural-born dungeon... You think all this is the work of that loner mage?” [Brute] ventured.

  Silence hung in the air, the uncertainty palpable as no one had enough information to respond.

  ‘Okay, who goes first?’ [Jenn] signed, her hands casting a faint glow in the dark.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  The Fingers turned their gazes toward the tunnel entrance, tension thickening once more.

  “Trick question, right?” [Enrik] quipped, his eyes narrowing at Mat.

  “Hu? What?” [Mat] replied, confusion evident.

  Without warning, Enrik shoved Mat forward, sending him stumbling into the darkness. Mat’s feet flailed as he struggled to regain his balance on the uneven stone floor.

  By the time he regained his footing, he was already standing in the pitch-black oval room, the oppressive darkness enveloping him like a shroud.

  Mat's POV

  “Anything happening? I wanna see!” [Enrik] exclaimed, his excitement cutting through the tension.

  Cold sweat trickled down my back, and I dared not move. Had Enrik just pushed me into an unscouted room? I tried to reassure myself. Jenkins and Enrik had surveyed the area, showing no signs of danger. But their observations had been limited, and they hadn’t checked the two sides of the room. Anxiety pooled in my stomach as sweat dripped from my brow. I turned my head to the right, a habit of being the right-hand man.

  Darkness. Nothing but darkness.

  I slowly turned my head left, and there, lurking in the blackness, was... more darkness.

  I sighed in relief as my tense muscles relaxed. I spun around to face the Fingers.

  “Guys, it’s nothing here!” [Mat] called out, trying to dispel my own fear.

  “Aw! I wanted to see some bloodshed! So was that big bug the dungeon’s boss?” [Enrik] whined.

  One by one, the Fingers emerged from the shadows, their footsteps echoing ominously against the stone floor.

  clang... clang... clang...

  “Guys! Which one of you decided to put on steel boots now?” [Mat] joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  Just then, Jenkins lit the torch, and the flame flickered to life, casting light that pushed back the shadows and illuminated the oval room. The moment the light spilled over the walls, I saw Jenkins's face go pale as snow, and the others followed suit, shock etched into their features as they froze in place.

  “Oy, oy! What is that red orb hovering in the air?” [Enrik] gasped.

  clang... clang... clang...

  Panic surged through me.

  “G... Guys! W... What is happening!?” [Mat] stammered, my voice rising in terror.

  I turned around again, as I always had to.

  clang... clang... stops!

  Into the dim light, something materialized. No, it emerged. A towering figure, two meters tall, stepped out of the darkness, clad in tar-black armor that seemed to merge with the shadows. The armor was studded with spikes, most prominently forming a twisted crown atop its head.

  It loomed over me, and through a T-shaped slit in the mask, I glimpsed the only visible part of its face—a glimmering red left eye. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the right eye was missing, replaced by a fresh wound from which blood oozed like a macabre waterfall, pooling around the jagged edges of flesh. It was as if something had taken a monstrous bite out of it. Yet the armor was untouched, gleaming ominously in the flickering light.

  The giant raised its left arm over its right shoulder.

  In an instant, my head spun, flying through the air, my vision a blur of darkness and horror as I looked down at my headless body, a gruesome sight of blood spraying into the room like a grotesque fountain.

  Narrator:

  The severed head of the young boy rolled to a stop before the group known as the Five Fingers, leaving a crimson trail upon the cold stone floor. His headless body slumped forward, blood gushing from the neck in a grotesque fountain, splattering the towering, tar-armored giant before him. The giant, momentarily taken aback, glanced down at the lifeless form.

  “...” [tar-armored giant]

  But before the giant could fully process the scene, a fist crashed against its armored face, tilting its head back.

  “Sorry, but you’re looking the wrong way!” [Brute] said with a defiant grin.

  The tar-armored giant barely flinched, though a sharp pain blossomed in its neck as Brute wrenched its wrist aside.

  “Lucky catch, guys! It’s just an infant dungeon. This must be its only boss monster!” [Enrik] chimed in, a manic glee in his voice as he pressed his dagger deeper into the side of the monster. But the dagger barely pierced the armor; it slid harmlessly off the impenetrable surface.

  “...” [boss mob]

  “What the—!” [Enrik]

  Retreating just in time, he dodged a retaliatory strike from the giant. The boss turned its gaze back to Brute, its grip tightening around the burly man's wrist.

  “What's wrong with this guy?” [Brute] grunted, struggling against the vice-like hold.

  “...” [boss mob]

  With a sickening crack, the giant crushed Brute’s wrist, eliciting a howl of agony that echoed through the chamber.

  “WOOOoooOooO!” [Brute] roared, clenching his teeth against the pain.

  In a desperate move, the berserker snatched up his axe, hooking it onto one of the spikes on the giant’s crown and yanking with all his might, trying to throw the beast into the wall. But the giant stood its ground, the spike breaking off cleanly as the berserker stumbled back, blood dripping from his now mangled arm.

  “Aaaaaarrrrr!” [Brute] screamed, the pain coursing through him.

  Freed from the grip, he didn’t have a moment to rest. The giant was already lifting its arm again, poised to strike just like it had with the boy.

  “NOW!” [Jenkins] shouted.

  The berserker dove to the ground, covering his ears with his one good arm just as the cavern trembled with the force of Jenkins's attack.

  Confused by the sudden noise, the giant looked down, its focus shifting from the berserker to the dwarf standing defiantly before it, a tall stick aimed squarely at its chest.

  BLAM!

  The cave shook with a thunderous roar, the sound reverberating like an explosion. The giant was sent tumbling back, but with an uncanny agility, it braced itself with its hands, halting just short of crashing into the red door at the far end of the room.

  Jenkins, sitting on the ground, laughed maniacally, his makeshift earmuffs askew as smoke curled from the end of his weapon.

  “Boya! How d'ye like me boomstick!? Bwa Bwa Bwa!” [Jenkins] exclaimed.

  The giant slowly rose, dislodging its hands from the rocky floor. Its claws reshaped back into the form of armored gloves, but the Fingers were transfixed on the gaping hole left in its armor. Beneath, gray skin glistened, scarred from countless battles, fresh wounds still oozing blood. The damage from Jenkins's blast had been significant, but the armor had absorbed most of it.

  “…!” [Boss mob]

  “Bloody hell, be me eyes deceived, or is that armor regenerating?” [Jenkins] said, astonished, his jaw hanging open.

  From the shadows, Enrik emerged, slicing into the giant’s exposed belly, carving a deep gash before the armor could fully regenerate.

  “It’s just a living armor on a beast!” [Enrik] declared, his face lighting up with revelation.

  Jenkins noted the different shades of gray pooling around the giant's wounds, indicating its blood loss.

  “Me see it! We’re makin’ him bleed! Leader, what’s yer orders?” [Jenkins] shouted, glancing at Jenn for guidance.

  “Keep pushing it,” she commanded, resolute.

  Meanwhile, the berserker struggled to stand, his arm mending at a horrifying pace, but still lagging behind the healing armor.

  “Bloody arse! Jenkins, reload! That potion cost me a fortune, you damn mutt!” [Brute] growled, eyeing the giant's glinting left eye that bore down on him.

  “Oh!? You don’t like bein’ called a mutt? Well, you, mutt!” [Brute] taunted, his bravado masking his fear.

  Jenkins hurriedly filled the barrel of his weapon with black powder, fingers trembling with urgency.

  “I dinna think ye should...” [Jenkins] started.

  “OOOOOAAAAA!” [Boss mob]

  With its face turned to the ceiling, the giant roared as its armor shifted and twisted grotesquely, spikes bursting forth like a porcupine. Its features contorted into a fearsome snout, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs, transforming it into a demonic entity, radiating overwhelming malevolence.

  “Keeper? HA! The mutt barks! Tell me, what are you a keeper of? Treasure, perhaps?” [Brute] taunted, a glimmer of greed in his eyes masking his terror.

  “Enrik! Good old one-two!” [Brute] shouted.

  With a guttural war cry, the berserker charged, unleashing his fury against the beast. The two collided in the center of the room, a clash of titans.

  A right hook, a left claw. A surprise uppercut, a desperate bite into empty air as the berserker dodged at the last moment.

  BLAM!

  “AAOOOOOOOWW!” [Keeper] roared, pain echoing through the chamber as Brute’s axe struck its side, the flesh turning a darker gray from broken ribs beneath the armor.

  But the fight was far from over. As Enrik sank a dagger deep into the giant’s side, the beast howled in agony, the armor attempting to heal itself around the embedded weapon. Enrik retreated into the shadows, but not before a jagged spike shot out from the beast’s back, slicing through the air and into his arm.

  “Rott!” [Enrik] cursed, stumbling back.

  “Hn?” [Jenkins] snapped to attention, eyes wide.

  He was the first to notice as the cave trembled once more, rocks beginning to rain from the ceiling in a deafening rumble.

  RUMBLE!

  “EARTHQUAKE!?” [Jenkins] shouted, panic rising.

  The ground beneath the melee fighters shuddered violently, causing them to lose their footing and tumble into the darkness below.

  Jenkins POV:

  Rusted doorknobs! I lost the torch!

  In the chaos, I had been the only one to react, but now I found myself engulfed in darkness, disoriented and alone.

  Where’s the boss? I fumbled for my boomstick, but the shadows swallowed me whole.

  Clang... Clang... Stops

  A faint red orb glimmered above me, illuminating my surroundings with a ghostly light.

  “Naeeee!” [Jenkins] shouted, dread filling his heart.

  Brute's POV:

  As I regained my bearings, I realized I was trapped in a small, bowl-shaped chamber, barely wide enough to accommodate my frame. I tried to rise, but the ceiling loomed just out of reach.

  Where were Enrik and the boss? Had I fallen alone?

  But this felt strange.

  I had never seen a dungeon create a pitfall in an invasion instance before. Had this always been here? No, it was too mundane to be a natural pitfall. It was too shallow to cause permanent harm, no spikes, not even acid...

  “Oh, don’t tell me…” [Brute] muttered, irritation lacing his voice.

  Suddenly, the ground beneath me began to crack. I stepped back, heart racing, as slim, brown arms clawed their way up from the depths, followed by a swarm of similar figures.

  """Screeeeech""" [???] they screeched in unison, the sound grating on my ears.

  They were no larger than children, with scrawny arms and bulging bellies, their eyes impossibly large and devoid of wings.

  Cave imps! The drudges of demons!

  “Curses! I’m in a summoning pit!” [Brute] cursed, realizing the dire situation I have landed in.

  Enrik's POV

  I wrapped my cut-up left arm in makeshift bandages, trying to stabilize it while I took a moment to survey the area. My heart was racing as I replayed the chaotic scene in my mind. I had managed to escape the chaos purely by luck and agility, grabbing the edge of the pit just in time and pulling myself up with my one good arm.

  But some of my companions hadn’t been so fortunate. Our berserker had fallen without a chance to react.

  And the boss... something felt seriously off. This didn’t seem like a typical level 1 boss.

  break

  I hear something in the dark. Through my [Night Vision], I see the outline of Jenkins, the dwarf in our group, collapsing to the ground, flailing desperately against an unseen enemy.

  Fighting for his life.

  I barely have time to think before I’m on my feet, the boss swinging its claws downwards. Jenkins tries to shield himself with his broken broomstick, a futile gesture against the overwhelming force.

  Crack! The sound echoes in the cavern, followed by a blinding flash as the powder ignites.

  Bang! Flash!

  When my eyes finally adjust, I see the dwarf coughing up blood, his boomstick shattered beside him.

  “Dw... Dwarf? Jenkins!” [Enrik]

  I sprint to his side, my heart racing. I carefully lift his head, blood seeping from his mouth, half of his face burned by the explosion.

  “…cough That’s yer first time… cough yer calling me Jenkins,” he says, forcing a smile as blood drips over his beard.

  “Be quiet, you old fool. You’re getting blood all over your beard,” I reply, fighting back tears.

  I try to administer an expensive potion, but Jenkins pushes it away weakly.

  “Ta think… a tree hugger like yer self would care so much… about cough… a cave dweller like me… cough…”

  “You bloody know why! Now drink the damn potion!” [Enrik]

  “Nay, wheeze ye will need it. wheeze That ain’t nae boss mob… That’s a… cough Dungeon Lord~!”

  A cold sweat runs down my spine. A Dungeon Lord—the embodiment of chaos, destruction, and death. Even if we kill it now, it will regenerate later. We must flee!

  """Screeeeech!!!""" The cave imps echo in the darkness.

  “RUN, you damn half-blood!” [Jenkins] shouts with the last of his strength, shoving me aside with a force only a devoted dwarf could muster.

  I take off running, feeling the rush of air as a hand slices through the darkness behind me.

  “AAAAARRRRRRR!!! This is where ye die!” [Jenkins] bellows.

  I hear the click of flint and tinder, and suddenly, the whole cave shakes with an explosion.

  BOOOM!

  In an instant, Jenkins ignites the oil and gunpowder, sacrificing himself in a fiery blaze. The room is engulfed in light as his body burns bright against the darkness.

  The explosion propels me back, slamming me into the wall. Pain radiates through my side, and the reduced oxygen levels make my head spin. Tears blur my vision—was it the smoke or something else? No! It was only platonic!

  “It was only platonic!” [Enrik] I shout, striking the ground in anguish.

  In the corner of my eye, I spot Jenn, unconscious on the stone floor a few meters from the entrance. I stagger toward her, driven by a desperate need to save her.

  If anything, I must honor my promise to him!

  Chapter 9 End.