Supernatural beings have existed since the birth of humanity—demons, ghosts, vampires. They go by different names and take various forms, but one thing remains constant. These otherworldly entities were somehow linked to Earth. And the medium of that connection… was THE DUNGEON.
A small TV continued to play in the room, which was messy, cramped, and filled with piles of cup noodles. The only furniture in the old space was a small drawer and an antique table. The curtains looked dirty, and the yellow, withering room had black marks of burn decorating it.
It's been 100 years since scientists discovered the existence of dungeons—portals to other dimensions, guarded by monsters and governed by god like creatures, with their only ambition to break into this world.It's been 80 years since humans conquered the first Red Dungeon.
Since then, humanity has evolved—making groundbreaking discoveries, unlocking the road to immortality, and walking the path to unimaginable power.
"FUCK...NO..." A teen muttered, lying on his makeshift bed, his body covered by a blanket and pajamas. He tried to block out the noise with a pillow, but the TV was too loud. In a burst of frustration, he picked up the nearest solid object and threw it directly at the switch mounted on the wall. A perfect aim that turned the TV off.
This was Max, in his late 17s, trying to sleep back again, but his aching bladder made it impossible. Max had no options left, as he rolled through his bed, standing up with the support of the wall. Messy black hair and eyes half closed, still sleepy, he dragged his body towards the bathroom.
Despite his tender age, his body was well-structured, filled with decent muscles and scars. Many scars. A small minute, and Max finally found his way to the bathroom. The toilet sheet was before him. Max took his water gun out and was ready to aim... but just then, he noticed something was different.
Before him was his regular toilet sheet, open, but inside that sheet was a continuously rotating black spiral of energy, as if it were about to engulf anything that came before it. Max rubbed his eyes. He wondered if he was still dreaming.
But it was too real for a dream; the spiraling vortex was unlike anything Max had ever seen. But right now, a far more pressing question filled his mind. "Where the hell am I supposed to take a pee now?"
He made a face of utter disgrace. Then, as if struck by genius, "Can I just flush this thing away?"Almost without hesitation, Max pulled the old, rusted lever—completely unaware of the consequences.
Like a chain reaction, the spiral inside the toilet began to spin faster. It rotated with unnatural speed, forming a hypnotic illusion. Max felt his consciousness being dragged toward it. This was enough to dart him fully awake.
"No, wait—" He barely had time to react. Max turned back to run, but the world around him distorted like the vortex itself. And the next moment, Max was sucked into the black spiral, too distorted to see.
The gurgling flush echoed one last time, like a big burp after eating one's fill; the spiral stabilized again, and silence returned to the bathroom.
But Max, on the other side, was still falling inside the black spiral. Distorted colors and glitched sounds hurt his brain in a way he hadn't experienced before. And suddenly, it all stopped, with a thud, as he fell flat on the ground.
"Bluuuhhh!"
Max almost vomited his guts out, collapsing to the floor in pure agony. His stomach churned like it had been put through a meat grinder. For minutes, he kept throwing up everything he'd ever eaten.
Eventually, as a bit of clarity returned, he lay flat on the ground, gasping, staring at the sky above.
He blinked once. Then again. His brain couldn't process i -. What was happening? This was definitely not his room.
"Am I hallucinating?" Max could only ask as he looked above at what seemed like the sky. But something was different; it wasn't dark blue, filled with black carbon clouds, nor was it pitch black like night. It was a deep, crimson red, with yellowish and purple taint, constantly swirling like oil on water. But the most shocking part was that the sky wasn't empty. Chunks of land—massive brown rock formations—floated above him, drifting through the red clouds. Some were small, the size of baseballs. Others were so enormous he couldn't even compare them to anything he'd ever seen.
A sight both magnificent and horrific at the same time, almost like Max was looking at some asteroid belt, up close. Sensation renders his speech, and the only thing he could say was, "This is not Earth."
Questions flooded his head. He was too overwhelmed to react. Memories began playing back in his mind: The spiraling vortex. The flush.The sudden pull.Then, waking up in this impossible place. There was only one explanation Max knew of.
"This is a dungeon... definitely a dungeon?"
Max wasn't in dungeons and portals; in fact, he was intelligent and well-informed, which is why he didn't dare to move; he looked around him. It was a land chunk similar to the ones floating above. The ground was solid and filled with reddish dust.
Max tried to get up, but his whole body ached in agony, 'Is it from training yesterday? No, it's definitely more than that,' Max thought as he struggled to get up, almost as if the gravity itself had been doubled.
Now he could see it: the end of the landmass he was standing on. It wasn't very far. Next to him was a similar black spiralling portal on the ground. Max's brows furrowed, "A black portal?"
Portals and dungeons began to appear on Earth after the 21st century came to a close. Since then, countless research projects, wars, and dungeon breaks have taken place, to the point where it was common knowledge that portals appear in the colors VIBGYOR, with violet being the weakest and red being the most dangerous. And so was another common knowledge: as soon as you spot a portal anywhere, you are supposed to call NSDR: the National Subdimensional Dungeon Regulatory body.
However, this didn't match what Max was seeing at the moment. A black portal was something unheard of, even in rumors and stereotypes. Max was scared; he constantly looked around. "Should I report this to NSDR? He asked himself, but didn't know what to answer.
Max stood conflicted, eyes scanning the unfamiliar landscape. He'd read about dungeons—how they worked, what they looked like—but never seen one in person. Never from the inside, at least.
There were no monsters, no beasts, not even threatening plants—just a barren brown ground, scattered with shards of crystal-blue stones jutting out at odd angles. The world around him felt eerily like an apocalyptic horror—floating land masses drifting in a sky of swirling red mist. It was terrifying… and beautiful.
He approached one of the jagged rocks. Its surface was greyish-black, unfamiliar. But in the center, embedded like a gemstone on a pedestal, was a radiant blue crystal. Roughly the size of a clenched fist, it gleamed with translucent light.
"A mana crystal…" Max whispered, eyes sparkling. Mana crystals were one of the key trades of the modern world, which could only be found inside dungeons. People used it for cultivation, increasing their strength and lifespan. Even the lowest grade of crystal sold for thousands of nits, which was enough to feed Max for a month.
Curiosity took over his senses, and Max quickly reached out for the crystal in the center of the rock. It was stuck at first, but with a firm tug, the crystal broke free with a sharp metallic sound. 'THUNGG'
Max fell back, but he looked at the crystal in his hand; his eyes lit up. This was definitely a mana crystal. Max was standing up when his ears picked up a faint sound from afar.
SKRRRREEEECHHH!!!
A deep, guttural scream echoed through the air. Max froze. A cold shiver crawled down his spine. Something heavy was moving nearby—but he couldn't see what. Another similar sharp scream, and now it was closer.
Fear kicked in, and Max didn't wait to find out more. He turned and bolted for the black spiral. His movements were clumsy, his speed lacking—still hampered by the gravity.
"Grrrrrr…"
The sound echoed again—so close it felt like a whisper in his ear. A cold sensation ran down his spine, and instinctively, he dove to the ground.
Woosh!
Something massive flew just above him; he felt it where he had been standing moments ago. It was fast and big; he could barely catch a glimpse, and it was enough to send him into despair. This wasn't an orc. Not a goblin. Not anything he'd ever read about. This was no demon—it was something worse.
It was a monster.
Large and heavy like an elephant. Its body resembled an octopus, with fifteen—no, seventeen—tentacles. Its head resembled that of an anglerfish, complete with a glowing green antenna. Its mouth stretched wide, filled with hundreds of jagged teeth. And on its back… two wings, flapping without making a sound.
It looked like something straight out of a nightmare. Max ran. Hard. His legs burned, breath shaky. The creature hovered through the air, silent and deadly, angling straight toward him. His mind was blank; there were no thoughts, only one goal. That was to run, run as fast as humanly possible.
He didn't need to look—he could feel it closing in right behind him.
"No… get AWAY!" he yelled. A faint brush was felt against his leg—like a tentacle grabbing at him, it was like a molten iron whip on his skin, his body overwhelmed with pain. But MaxMax continued to run; the black portal was closed, and a millisecond could cost him his life.
Max leaped with all his strength, aiming for the black spiral—but he had misjudged, the gravity pulled him down, and he could barely cover half the distance before falling with a thud. His face slammed into the ground. The portal was just a meter away.
Max turned over, panting. The monster was right there. He dropped the crystal and crossed his arms over his chest.
This was the end. The monster's jaw opened wide, large enough to swallow him whole. It loomed over him, less than half a meter away. A tear escaped his eye. He didn't even get the seven seconds to recall his life. It was all going to end. Regret flooded his thoughts.
'I shouldn't have stepped into that black portal.'
'I should've reported it to NSDR.'
'I should've jumped back when I had time… I shouldn't have picked up that crystal.'
THUD!
A heavy impact shook the ground. Max winced and shut his eyes. That must've been it. The monster had struck. He was dead. But…There was no pain. He was still breathing; was he still alive?
"Grrrrraaahhh!!"
"GRAAAHHHHHH!!"
The roars continued—angrier than before. Max slowly opened his eyes. The monster was still there—but not advancing. Between him and the beast stood a translucent, golden dome, an energy shield that held the monster at bay.
"GRAAHHH!!!"
It roared again, a flood of gooey spit spraying from its mouth, drenching Max from head to toe. But no matter how hard it tried, the creature couldn't break through. The golden barrier didn't even crack.
Max quickly backed away; the black portal was just beside him. From its center, the shield extended in a two-meter radius—protecting him. A thought clicked in his mind.
"Portal defense mechanism…" he muttered, his eyes wide in disbelief, as he struggled to breathe. He didn't need more signs. Without wasting a second more, Max dove back into the black spiral—vanishing from the monster's sight.