The silence of the Fifth Floor was treacherous. Not like in the cave where Kael had awakened, but something more… conscious. The air seemed to watch, to wait. Every step he took, every dark corner he avoided, seemed to shift with his presence, as if the Dungeon itself responded to his existence.
Kael moved slowly, barefoot on the living stone. His body still trembled from what had happened with the goblin. He hadn't just defeated it… it was as if, by touching it, he had absorbed more than its life energy. Something deeper. Instincts. Reflexes. Even vague emotions: fear, anger, an urgency to hunt. All of that had entered his blood like a sweet poison.
Now, as he walked, his senses were sharper than ever. He could hear the flutter of bats tens of meters away. He could distinguish fresh kobold tracks in the cracks. Every corner of the Dungeon whispered to him in wordless murmurs.
But that wasn't the worst.
The worst came when, after facing a three-eyed, tough-skinned reptilian creature, something appeared before him.
A floating screen, bright and distorted, like a tear in the air. It wasn't like the ones adventurers had, which he'd heard about in fragmented memories. It had no clear columns or organized stats. It was like a broken mirror: fragmented lines of text, illegible symbols, numbers blinking erratically.
[ERROR] | BLOOD ECHOES DETECTED…| SKILL ABSORPTION: ACTIVE |[CLASS ???] - UNDEFINED ENTITY - LV: —| INCOMPLETE CONNECTION TO FALNA |
Kael froze. He felt that, by looking at that screen, a part of him sank deeper into something unknown. His humanity slipped like sand through his fingers.
"Skill absorption?" Was he copying skills? Instincts?
He remembered how, facing the goblin, his body moved with more agility. The reptile he'd just killed… he did it with a leap he didn't know he could make. Even now, after killing the lizard, he felt a new stiffness in his skin, like a thin layer of hardness.
It was as if every creature he touched left him… fuller. Stronger. And more unstable.
"What am I… and what am I becoming?" he whispered, but the stone gave no answer.
A part of him wanted to stop. To stop fighting. To stop feeding.
But the Dungeon offered no choices.
In the distance, a deep roar shook the ground. He couldn't stay. He had to move. And so, as if destiny pushed him, Kael climbed the stairs to the Fourth Floor.
Upon stepping onto the new level, the air changed. It was less suffocating, but more unsettling. The walls were no longer gray stone, but covered with fungi pulsing with a sickly light. There was dampness and the smell of wet earth that hid other scents: something ancient, something alive.
He soon faced his first challenge.
From the shadows emerged two unarmed kobolds, only claws and sharp teeth, and an armed goblin, ready to attack.
Kael took a deep breath, body tense and alert. The first kobold lunged at him with a sharp cry, trying to scratch him with its claws, but Kael dodged with a quick sidestep, feeling the stone beneath his bare feet. In response, he used his momentum to slam the kobold against the wall, leaving it stunned and out of combat.
The second kobold advanced quickly, trying to bite him, but Kael blocked its attacks precisely, maintaining full control and avoiding serious damage.
The goblin, taking advantage of the moment, tried to sneak close. Kael felt the cold brush of a dagger but reacted instinctively, gently catching the goblin's arm and halting its advance.
On contact, Kael sensed a strange feeling, like a cold current spreading through his hand. Gradually, the goblin lost strength and fell to the ground, weakened by a mysterious effect.
Kael stayed alert while the goblin weakened, but two kobolds still stood. Their eyes gleamed with a mix of focus and determination.
The first kobold, recovering, tried to attack with its claws, but Kael anticipated the move. With a quick spin, he slipped aside and used his momentum to neutralize it, leaving it stunned and too weak to continue.
The second kobold, seeing its companion fall, charged with more fury, trying to overwhelm Kael with rapid and erratic attacks. But Kael moved with a new, almost animal fluidity. His reflexes seemed to act on their own, dodging every attempt and seizing every chance to counterattack without taking mortal damage.
With a decisive move, Kael grabbed the kobold's claws and immobilized it, making the enemy lose balance and unable to continue the fight.
Kael breathed deeply as he looked at the three enemies: the goblin and the two kobolds, all weakened and out of combat, but alive. They were creatures without consciousness or reason, mere obstacles in his path. There was no room for mercy; he had to eliminate them to move forward.
Then, an unknown energy emanated from Kael. His hands glowed with a cold, soft light that seemed to absorb the life essence of his enemies.
One by one, Kael touched the goblin and the kobolds. He felt the life energy flow toward him, an invisible torrent filling him with renewed strength. The monsters fell empty, their bodies losing all vigor, but without visible wounds.
When he finished, Kael felt a strange weight, a mixture of power and responsibility settling inside him. He knew what he had done distanced him further from his former humanity.
His body vibrated with renewed strength, but also with a chill of uncertainty.
He wasn't just stronger. He was different.
Kael walked in silence, wishing the blood on his skin was only sweat. But he had no time to reflect.
Footsteps. Not monsters. Humans.
He hid behind a rock upon hearing voices. They were neither erratic nor clumsy. Not beginners. Three figures approached with purpose: two men and a woman. High-quality armor and weapons. Coordinated. Cold.
A group of veteran adventurers.
The woman in front was tall, dark-skinned, with braided hair. Her gaze was sharp, analytical. A curved sword rested at her hip, its edge gleaming in rhythm with her breathing.
"Did you feel it?" she asked quietly.
The lancer nodded.
"Something drained the energy from the environment. Something… aberrant."
"It's not a monster," said the third, bulkier, with gauntlets sparking contained magic. "It's close."
Kael stepped back. A stone rolled under his foot, hitting the floor with a dry echo.
The three heads turned instantly.
"There!"
The spear flew like lightning. Kael reacted instinctively, barely dodging, but the blade grazed his cheek, leaving a burning mark.
"Capture it before it escapes! Don't let it touch you!" the leader shouted.
Kael ran.
The Dungeon responded to the chaos with eternal indifference. Irregular corridors, living tunnels pulsing with ancient energy, stone chambers smelling of echoes from forgotten battles. Kael moved with the agility of a wild animal, his new instincts guiding every step.
Behind him, the hunters didn't stop. They advanced methodically, ready to catch him.
His chest burned not only from exertion. The spear had left a strange sensation, as if something invisible tried to penetrate his being.
He turned down a narrow hallway but found only a closed chamber at the end. No exits. No hiding places.
A dead end.
He turned, back against the wall, breathing heavily. Wounded. Exposed.
The group entered seconds later, weapons ready, eyes determined.
"Stay still, creature!" ordered the largest, advancing with contained power.
Kael jumped aside, barely dodging the attack, and climbed a nearby rock. The spear flew again, this time grazing his shoulder and leaving a strange sensation that stunned him.
He fell sideways, trying to regain control.
The woman advanced, with a magical net ready, vibrating with contained energy.
"Lord Ikelos will be pleased," she said coldly as the net flew toward Kael. "Take him to Dix's lair."
Kael tried to respond but only a weak growl came out. His body was at its limit.
The net flew toward him.
But his survival instinct pushed him.
Kael managed to see the crack barely visible, covered by moss on the cave wall. The narrow space was so thin it almost seemed like a shadow, but he knew it was his only escape route. There was no time to lose.
He rolled toward the crack in the wall and, with a desperate effort, slipped through the narrow tunnel. The net struck the entrance with a flash of energy, unable to catch him.
"Damn aberration!" spat one of the adventurers. "It's heading to the intermediate floors!"
Kael crawled with difficulty, gasping. The pain burned in every muscle, and the wound on his shoulder throbbed with a strange… almost living sensation. But he managed to move forward.
He had escaped.
Not because they had forgiven him.
But because his slender, small body had slipped through a crack no one else could have passed.