COUGH!
I coughed, and a jet of salty water came out of my mouth along with a sharp pain, but finally, I could breathe again.
I took several deep, labored breaths, my back feeling like it was on fire. For a moment, I just lay there, unable to move, eyes shut tight, my mind still foggy. But one thing was certain.
I was alive.
I opened my eyes with effort. A soft glow lit up the walls around me.
Now that my head was clearer, I could feel the stagnant air, but it was definitely better than suffocating.
I got up with difficulty, my body exhausted. I looked down at my still-bleeding arm, but the real issue was my back. I could see the pool of blood beneath me, and when I tried to feel the wound, even slightly, it seemed to run down my entire back, and it was deep.
Realizing how serious it was, I glanced at the rune on my wrist, which still glowed ominously.
"Son... of a... bitch."
I knew there was no point blaming the rune, which only activated when my bad luck was at work, but I needed to let it out.
It had been inactive for two days, only to activate and send a Grade 4 monster after me, inside an underwater cave, with my air almost gone—and now I was inside a damn dungeon! And it still refused to deactivate!
Taking a deep breath, I looked back at the portal I had entered from. I was tempted for a second, but the risk of that monster still being on the other side was too high.
Luckily for me, monsters could only come out of dungeons, not enter them, otherwise I'd have already been eaten. The problem was that I didn't know what category this dungeon belonged to.
In the stunned state I'd been in, I hadn't noticed the portal's color.
So now I had two options left:
First, leave and get devoured by the monster.
Second, keep moving forward in this unknown dungeon while weakened.
"Both choices suck..."
I highly doubted I'd crossed a green portal, and with my bad luck active, it was far more likely to be yellow, or worse.
Sighing, I turned toward the only visible tunnel and started walking.
It was completely silent, the only sound being the echo of my steps. Looking around, it didn't take a genius to realize this was the second type of dungeon, the one divided into floors or zones, depending on the structure.
The upside was that this kind of dungeon usually had lots of scattered treasures, and I needed two things in particular. First, something to help heal my wounds. Second, the return stone. An item usable inside dungeons that let you return to a location you'd visited in the last twenty-four hours, and right now, it was my only way out.
The main entrance was off limits, and the second possible exit would be destroying the dungeon core, protected by a boss stronger than all the other monsters inside.
If, and that's a big if, this was a green-category dungeon, the boss I'd have to face would be peak Grade 2, and with my current condition, that was just impossible.
"Where to now..."
The path ahead of me split into three. I paused for a moment to think when I heard dragging footsteps and an unpleasant creaking sound. Then a figure emerged from the darkness, slowly pulling itself forward in jerky, disjointed movements.
It had no skin. Its face was nothing but a blackened skull, covered in scraps of flesh. The armor it wore was corroded, covered in moss and rust. In its eyes, two blue flames.
"Of all things, undead? At least this confirms it's a yellow-category dungeon... hopefully."
If the first monster I encountered was Grade 1, it was likely that this was the base for the weakest monsters, increasing the chance it was a yellow-category dungeon. Starting from red and above, you didn't find monsters this weak.
The monster staggered forward, and behind it, two more appeared. One carried a broken spear, the other had a weapon so rusty it looked fused to his arm.
I moved to the side, sliding behind the first undead, and with a swift thrust, pierced its skull from behind.
The body collapsed like an empty sack, but the other two turned toward me, letting out a dry, raspy growl.
The second one attacked with the spear, and I barely dodged it, feeling a jolt of pain in my back. Still, I used the momentum of the spear to redirect it into the other skeleton, pushing it away.
With a quick move, I swept the skeleton's legs, making it fall. I lifted my foot and crushed its skull with force.
The third one tried to lunge at me, but activating the scale armor, I took no damage. I used the spear from the earlier skeleton to pierce through its head, finishing all three.
Phew...
I leaned against the wall, aching. Normally, I could tolerate pain, but my Grade 1 body didn't seem to have the same resistance as my mind. Also, it seemed like the befael's tentacles had something that increased pain sensitivity; otherwise, this much pain made no sense.
"I'm losing too much blood."
Seeing the blood trails everywhere, I needed to find a potion fast. The problem was that with the undead around, my Shadow Veil ability was useless; those monsters didn't rely on sight. That meant every time I met them, I had to either run or take them down fast.
****
I continued through tunnels and forks. The undead grew more numerous the deeper I went. Luckily, their slowness helped me escape when there were too many, though I still had to fight often.
I was tired, my wounds ached, but I wasn't about to give up.
Then, suddenly, the stench of death gave way to something else—something raw.
I peeked from the corridor, looking into the next room, and the sight made my eyes light up.
Three reptilian creatures crouched, busy devouring an undead. Their eyes moved intelligently, their forked tongues tasting the air. Pale scales, slender claws, and a crest running from nose to tail.
I identified them immediately: Skarridi. Grade 1 monsters, known for their speed and ambush tactics.
I smiled coldly.
I threw a stone far off, and as expected, two turned sharply toward the noise, while the third stayed to guard the meal.
Good little beasts.
I activated Shadow Veil and dashed toward the one left behind. My blade slit its throat before it could even hiss. The other two whipped around.
The monsters split and attacked in sync. I managed to dodge the first, but the second still scratched me, even through my protective scales.
I tried to strike back, but it moved incredibly fast and dodged, while the one I had avoided tried to get me from behind.
Predicting this, I blocked it with my dagger. With a quick movement, I thrust the broken spear I had hidden into its leg, piercing it.
The second skarridi tried to hit me with its speed, but I rolled toward the wall so they couldn't flank me anymore.
Now, one of them was limping, while the other was still in full shape, and that was the real threat.
The healthy skarridi hissed and darted toward me. I threw the spear at it, which it easily dodged, but that wasn't the real attack. In that moment of distraction, I activated Shadow Veil, making it harder for it to track me, and ended up with my dagger plunged into its throat.
The limping skarridi tried to attack, but what could it do in that state?
I dodged its claws easily, then drove the tip of my dagger into its head.
Breathing heavily, I got to work immediately. I placed my hand on the monster and activated my Predation ability.
[Predation activated.]
[Dracoline heart (0% → 0.5%)]
[Physique: 1.25 → 1.27]
[New ability: Quick Step Lv1.]
[Quick Step]
[An ability that allows faster movement. Can be upgraded.]
That felt like music to my ears, except for one detail: the core increase.
Half a point was just cruel, but maybe it made sense. The higher the existence grade, the bigger the gap between levels.
Let's break it down.
When I had just become Grade 0, I could barely manage to defeat a fresh Grade 1, since you only needed one unit in mana, physique, or vitality. Mind was a bit special and not tied directly to the existence grade.
Anyway, if we consider when I was Grade 7, fighting a Grade 8 head-on was impossible. That's because, to level up, you needed to increase one stat by a whole eight units.
So yeah, there's a big difference between a one-unit gap and an eight-unit one.
This very trait was what convinced the Hero to invite me, since I could kill Grade 8 enemies with my strength stuck at Grade 7. Of course, all that was only possible after weeks of watching the target and preparing for every possibility, but in the end, I always came out on top.