Kopii decided that it did not matter right now. They had saved him, asking nothing in return. So why should he worry about it? Kopii could only thank his luck. Perhaps he was simply destined to be saved. With these thoughts, Kopii fell asleep.
The next morning…
Beginning his descent into the dungeon, he did not want to waste his strength on weaker enemies, time and energy, so he decided to run to the sixth floor, skipping all the monsters he would meet. Reaching the sixth floor, Kopii finally heard the sound he so longed to hear – the sound of a monster being born. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a War Shadow. It was alone. Kopii rushed towards it without hesitation. The Shadow responded in kind.
The sword in Kopii's hands whistled, cutting through the air. The War Shadow answered with a furious roar, baring its claws. The clash of metal and the beastly roar merged into the cacophony of battle. Kopii moved quickly, dodging the Shadow's attacks, measuring every strike. The blade of his sword glided across the dark flesh, leaving glowing traces behind, until the Shadow crumbled to dust.
After the kill, Kopii watched as the War Shadow vanished, and as a magic stone fell. A muffled sound rang out, and the sword dropped from his hands. Kopii collapsed to his knees.
AAAA… AAA… Kopii screamed, clutching his head with his hands. Images of that day when he had been betrayed began flashing in his head. And at the same time, he began to feel fury and the thirst to live, to kill everyone, in order to survive.
Kill in order to survive.
One moment began swirling in his head: his resistance against the ants. Despair overwhelmed Kopii; if he did not kill, he would die.
He began to lose control of himself, sinking deeper into that day, until he was completely immersed in that feeling.
«To live, I must kill everyone.»
The thirst to live seized him; he thought that if he did not kill, he would die. But he did not want to kill.
Then a toad appeared before him; without thinking long, he shot at it, and it shot its tongue at him. But he simply cut through it, closing the distance. Without hesitation, he plunged his sword into the toad's eye. It did not have time to close it before Kopii repeated the attack again and again, until it vanished, leaving behind a magic stone that fell to the dungeon floor.
«They all want to kill me!»
– Must kill.
– Must kill.
– Must kill.
He muttered, not realizing that with every second he was becoming more and more insane.
He broke into a run, controlled by this feeling. Completely losing himself in it. He knew only one thing: if he did not kill them all, he would die. He must kill everyone he met.
Kopii descended to the seventh floor of the dungeon, not stopping for a second. He ran and finally saw needle rabbits. There were quite a lot of them.
Kopii felt a wave of madness wash over him even stronger. He threw himself at the rabbits, his sword flashing in the dim light of the dungeon, chopping them to pieces. Blood sprayed in all directions, but this did not stop Kopii. He moved like one possessed, feeling no fatigue, only the thirst that devoured him from within. Every rabbit killed only intensified this feeling, spurring him to new kills.
To survive, he must kill more and more. The rabbits vanished, leaving behind only magic stones, which he did not even notice, and he did not want to notice them.
Kopii kept running, feeling neither pain nor fatigue. He no longer understood what was happening to him; he was completely immersed in this madness.
And the more he killed, the more it seemed to him that it was too little. He wanted to kill everyone, even more; everyone he met had to die.
A few moments later, Kopii fell upon killer ants. There were very many of them. At that moment, his madness reached its peak.
He hacked and slashed, giving the ants no chance. The sword danced in his hands, not stopping for a second. Acid sprayed, chitinous shells cracked under the blows, but Kopii felt nothing except an all-consuming thirst and hatred. The ants seemed to multiply, but their number did not matter. Kopii was a whirlwind of death, sweeping away everything in his path. He continued until the last ant crumbled to dust, leaving behind only a pile of magic stones. But the thirst did not subside; it only flared with new force.
Kopii was gasping for breath, but he kept running; his legs carried him deeper into the dungeon. He saw killer ants again; it was the pheromones; without hesitation, he rushed towards them.
Kopii fell upon the ants with fury, his sword flashing in the semi-darkness, tinted with crimson light. He hacked, stabbed, crushed, giving the insect swarm no respite. Chitinous bodies flew apart, acid burned through his clothes, but Kopii felt no pain. The thirst led him forward, forcing him to move faster, stronger, more mercilessly. Every ant killed only inflamed his will to live, making him crave more.
He fought until the last ant turned to dust. A mountain of magic stones grew underfoot, but Kopii paid them no attention. He was gasping, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, but the thirst did not retreat.
Kopii did not know how much time had passed. He remembered only the unbearable thirst, and that was all. Kopii did not understand how he had ended up here. He roughly realized that he had somehow found himself on the third floor again. Kopii tried to stand, but could not. His whole body trembled, refusing to obey him. Kopii looked around and saw only small magic stones. He no longer felt hatred or the thirst to live. Continuing to survey his surroundings, Kopii's gaze settled on his own body. His whole body ached and throbbed, demanding rest.
His clothes were torn again. Kopii saw his hip bag, opened it, and took out a healing potion, which had miraculously remained intact, and drank it in one gulp. It became easier for Kopii to move, and then he tried to stand again. With difficulty, he managed to rise, but his legs still trembled a little. Kopii drank a second potion, and only then could he move normally. He headed to the second floor, fleeing from all monsters. Kopii was lucky that there were many low-rank adventurers, so it was not difficult for him to run from the monsters. As he ran past the adventurers, one of them tripped him, and Kopii fell. The whole group of adventurers burst into laughter.
– Where are you running? Scared of goblins? Running to mommy's skirt? – After these words, they burst into laughter again.
– Run, run! There is no place here for weaklings and cowards like you, just scum like you. Cowards are not needed in the dungeon!
Kopii got up and kept running. He felt their contemptuous gazes on him and heard their words after him:
– Trash.
– Agreed, but what else can you expect from a coward?
Kopii kept running; the sound of their laughter faded, and at last, he reached the first floor of the Tower of Babel.
– Finally. – He said with relief. He immediately headed for the exit. Right now, he just wanted to get home and collapse onto his bed, just relax, enjoy the softness of the mattress, but before that, he needed to take a bath. But first, he had to reach the "Blue Pharmacy," which seemed impossible to him. The run he had made in the dungeon had only worsened Kopii's condition.
Every step was a feat for Kopii. With each step, he understood that he would not make it to the "Blue Pharmacy." Kopii had already begun to fall when someone suddenly caught him. He felt someone's supporting hands. Kopii raised his gaze and saw a familiar face. It was Miach.
– There you are, Kopii. I was starting to worry. I see you didn't listen to my warning about not pushing your body to such a state. Aiya aiya. A bad boy doesn't listen to his god. Aiya aiya.
– Sorry. – Kopii lowered his gaze; he was ashamed to look Miach in the eyes.
– Well, alright, Kopii, let's drop this topic. The main thing is that you're alive, and that's all. But still, you've pushed yourself so hard that you can't even walk on your own, Kopii. You mustn't overexert yourself like that.
– ...
He did not know what to say; he himself did not know how he had driven himself to such a state.