[Change of location: First floor- fourth district]
As he entered the dungeon, the sudden change of the environment bothered him. Knowing the difference between being under the sun and only a grey roof was something he never thought he would miss.
The wet environment and the constant hisses of the rats continued bothering him, but after a few minutes he got used to it again.
Turning back, he could see that the entrance didn't disappear, and he could leave if he wanted.
"So, this only happens if I go deeper? I hope this will be fast." Letting out a sigh, Naruto continued. He didn't want to stay here.
But there was work to be done, it was time to kill other rats and seek for the next clue. He didn't think that killing the four guardians was all the clues, there would be more, or it would be so easy.
Putting his senses on high alert, Naruto could feel that this place was also infested with rats. He didn't go straight to the boss, just to take his time and search in the exterior section.
But first, he needed to fill his inventory with stones. It's to kill the rats with them.
Passing through the rooms for rocks and searching for hints, Naruto continued like that for several hours. With the dungeon in the same shape, he didn't worry about missing a spot and could search the whole place until he went to sleep.
At first, he thought that the districts would be different, but it was almost the same. The only small difference he found was this place didn't have open spaces and the entire way was just a large passage. Even the rats were the same.
Losing interest, he just passed through it and only entered the rooms he suspected had something. As he continued like that, a room attracted his attention. It was the same design as the others that had a pool, but the only thing inside was a broken statue in the same position and a small portion of water could be seen in its interior.
"What's this? Should I just break this thing?" Channeling chakra in his hand, Naruto hit the statue. It just broke into hundreds of pieces, and a small piece had a bright light on its surface, like other items he had picked up before.
[You have obtained [Wooden key 1/2]]
"Good, finally something new, but it's only two pieces? Mm, it should be in the other districts. The second one I demolished to search but nothing happened."
With his first objective clear, he started to seek a bedroom to rest for the day. He spent almost the whole day just searching for it and now he felt exhausted, he couldn't make much noise because he didn't want to lure the rats.
It was easy to deal with the big ones, but with a pack of the small ones, he didn't know how to kill them all quickly. His attacks just didn't have an impact area and only could kill them one by one with stones.
Sneaking through the dungeon, Naruto continued on his way, his speed much faster than when he first arrived.
With nothing more to do in this place, he just continued walking for another 20 minutes until he found a bedroom.
Closing it, he went to sleep.
The next day.
Leaving the room, Naruto went in a straight direction to the deeper zone. It was the same as the other. A bunch of rats were guarding the entrance to the inner circle. Seeing that, he just threw some rocks at them and entered after he killed most of them, just taking the opportunity to pick up more gold.
Walking through the dark passage, Naruto starts searching for traps. He wanted to pick up other types of arrows, but nothing more than darts appeared. Feeling annoyed, he continued his way and found a big rat, but this was different.
As he could see, its body was smaller than the other big rats, but its nails were longer and sharp.
"Aha, I know it, there will be some difference, or it doesn't make sense to create another district." He checked its information.
[Big rat 45HP]
"Even the HP is a bit low, well, that doesn't make any difference." Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto took his position.
Channeling chakra into hands, he landed a strike straight on its head. The rat didn't notice it until it was dead.
[The Big rat takes 67 DMG]
Naruto nodded satisfied. His training was only to control his power, it wasn't much different than before, but at least now he could do a stable amount of damage without hurting himself. And considering that was on its head the amount of dmg was good.
Breaking down the rat's body, Naruto could see two items on the ground
[Soul fragment] [Rat claw fragments: gather 5 to create a rat claw]
"Eh? isn't leather anymore?" He was a bit confused, but he understood, the other two districts should be the same. Giving other pieces of the rats as items.
"The leather was because it was their most valuable part, and the claws are for these. The royal guard should be the same. Mm just practice a bit with these." He thought that it would be easy to kill them, but he wanted to do it, receiving the least amount of damage or nothing.
So, instead of going directly to the boss, he preferred to use some days to kill a bunch of rats and collect some claws.
Picking up the item, he went deeper. Just find the boss arena first and have a place to sleep some days.
A few minutes later he found the bedroom. Now, he could start it.
A month passed in a blink of an eye.
He killed so many rats that now he had three full stacks of claws, and he understood their attack patterns
Taking a sip of water and filling it again, Naruto left the bedroom and went to the boss arena.
[Do you want to challenge the Royal Guard?]
"Yes"
Without any doubt, Naruto entered the room and went directly deep inside. There was nothing in this place that deserved his attention.
When he was near the arena, it wasn't an open space. The entrance was a passage and at the end of it he could see the rat.
"Let's see if I can get some arrows."
Activating the trap with a rock, Naruto waited until it stopped. Being in a narrow space, only 4 arrows survived the crash against the wall.
With pity, Naruto picked it up and continued on his way.
Entering the arena, he could see it. This guard was almost the same size as the big rats, but its claws were longer and the muscles on its limbs were visible. A royal guard specialized in speed.
He couldn't see other rats in the arena, but he was sure that they were waiting for him.
Turning his gaze to the rat, he checked its information.
[Royal Guard- Fer 200 HP]
"Mm even the HP is less. killing a boss while it's enraged would be more valuable than killing it in its normal state, right?" Naruto said with malice. All of this place always mentioned the History and feats, so he wanted to try it.
Waiting in the entrance, Naruto expanded his senses, and he could feel them hidden in the shadows.
Looking at Fer with its helmet and bracers, Naruto was sure that the others would have the same. At least he was sure about the helmet.
Taking a deep breath, he entered and made a leap at the same instant. Using the small bricks as support, Naruto started to move around the arena throwing rocks at them. Even if they were fast, didn't have enough agility to dodge them.
[The Big rat takes 26 dmg] [The Big rat takes 21 dmg] [The Big rat takes 29 dmg]
The rocks didn't hit their heads but their bodies. Only one of them could dodge it. As the rats reacted to the sudden enemy, Naruto took a sprint and channeled chakra into his legs.
[The Big rat takes 64 dmg] [The Big rat takes 59 dmg] [The Big rat takes 60 dmg] [The Big rat takes 63 dmg]
In a few seconds, all the rats were killed, even the one who dodged the first stone. Fer was trying to follow his steps, but he was too slow and couldn't catch him. The moment all the rats were killed, Fer entered into the second phase.
[Fer's mate died] [Fer heals his whole HP] [Fer enters in rampage and deals 3x dmg] [HP Increased to 250]
"Ah, it's the same. How disappointing." Naruto was waiting for something different but it was just the same, the only thing that changed was their name and the amount.
This time he didn't wait until Fer approached him, Naruto took the first step and burst forward at his max speed.
In just two seconds he was in front of Fer and landed a kick on its ribs. Fer tried to dodge it, but the kick hit him in its paw instead.
[Fer rat takes 45 dmg]
"Well, the dmg is decent." Nodding satisfied, Naruto continued.
Fer tried to grab his leg with its paws, but Naruto stepped back and threw some rocks at it to distract it.
Fer continued dodging it, he didn't know that the rocks were almost useless against him, a mistake that it made for Naruto's benefit.
Channeling a small amount of chakra on his leg and using 4 points of the red one to heal it, Naruto charged against Fer.
Kicking Fer in quick succession, Naruto used his hand to grab him and not let it fly away.
[Fer rat takes 37 dmg] [Fer rat takes 41 dmg] [Fer rat takes 35 dmg]
Feeling the pain on his body, Fer tried to bite Naruto's hand, and he could only release its grip.
Fer was coughing blood from the internal injuries. He hissed at Naruto and tried to retreat to heal before continuing the fight.
"No, you will not go anywhere. Just be obedient and fight with me." Noticing his intentions, Naruto ran towards him and kicked his legs. It was enough to break it and now Fer couldn't continue to run and become a punching bag.
[Fer rat takes 27 dmg] [Fer rat takes 32 dmg]
[Fer 33/250 HP]
[Fer rat takes 25 dmg]
[Fer 8/250 HP]
The moment its HP went below 10, Naruto noticed that Fer began to writhe, and his stat changed. Feeling curious, he waited until Fer stopped and his atmosphere changed. The savage aura dispelled a little and even its posture changed. His claws grew bigger as Fer straightened its posture and looked at Naruto.
[Fer recovers a fragment of his soul and enters in the third phase] [Unable to recover his identity][Fer deals x5 DMG for 60s]
[Fer 10/10]
[Survive for 60 seconds or kill him]
"...Well, I guess I shouldn't have let that happen, huh." Naruto had a bitter smile, he didn't expect this and now he felt danger coursing through his whole body.
It was a level of danger he had never felt before, if he makes a wrong move, his head will fly off. He knew that was only the sensation Fer gave off now, but that made him take the fight seriously.
Tensing his legs, Fer just watched Naruto calmly. It was a battle of patience.
Naruto had sweat running down his back, the pressure he felt continued to hit his mind.
[48 seconds]
Fer stood in his place without any hurry.
Every second felt like an eternity to Naruto, he had been going backwards since the timer began, but he didn't remember that this wasn't an open arena. This was a prison, only one can survive here.
[40 seconds]
Naruto had his whole-body tense and the moment his back touched the wall, he felt something wrong.
Fer disappeared in front of him.
Oh shit...
Before he could realize it, Naruto felt a sudden pain in his leg. Fer was beside him trying to stab him with his claws, but the greaves saved his leg, at least for this time.
Naruto tried to hit him but the pain on his leg slowed him and Fer stepped back safely.
"That's only a fragment? How strong was this bastard?" Naruto felt a bit scared. Fer was faster than he could react.
[36 seconds]
Taking a deep breath, Naruto channeled red chakra to his leg to stop the bleeding. Lowering his posture, he stood in his position. Fer was faster than him and if he started running, he would be caught in an instant. This place was so small to hide from him.
Putting his senses in high alert, Naruto waited for the next attack.
Fer was patient, he didn't move more than necessary and only hit Naruto on his leg.
After a few hits, the greaves were destroyed and Naruto needed to dodge it more actively. But he couldn't dodge every attack, a few landed on him and his HP went down.
[ 623/990 HP]
He was using the red chakra to heal it, but he couldn't waste all of it. He didn't think that Fer would only waste his time attacking him in the same position in the remaining time.
[21 seconds]
Time continued passing slower than ever. Even if he was near death, Fer didn't make any sound and just continued fighting as he had the advantage on time.
He learned from Naruto and now he was even throwing stones at him before the attack.
Why is this bastard imitating me?!
Naruto needed to increase the amount of chakra on his skin to protect against it, but that meant that in other places the chakra was dispelled.
[10 seconds]
Only ten more and I will be safe... Naruto tried so many times to attack him, but the pain and the constant attacks made him unable to do it. Fer dodged most of his attacks, Naruto wouldn't let things like that happen. He was waiting for an opportunity.
Fer stopped in his place, looking at Naruto without any expression.
[3 seconds]
As they were looking at each other, Fer disappeared, and Naruto felt a chill on his arm.
The gloves can't protect me from this
Making a decision, he channeled most of his chakra into his arm to protect it. Naruto smiled, waiting to see Fer's astonished expression.
And... he was wrong.
Fer didn't attack that arm, he went for the other.
It was like a prick, then, the pain came. Turning his gaze, he could see it. Fer claws were deep in his arm and Fer was looking at him, with only calmness in his eyes.
Fer didn't stop there and stabbed him again before he stepped back. He knew that he couldn't kill this kid.
Feeling the pain, Naruto tried to kick him, but he couldn't reach Fer's body.
Fer didn't take a single hit since the fight began.
[Fer 10/10]
Looking at his arm, he could see that it had several cuts, and the shape of claws could be seen. It was enough to reach and cut his bones.
When the adrenaline disappeared, the pain came. Naruto let out a scream, he couldn't move his arm and only pain remained.
Tears threatened to form in his eyes, but not this time. If he didn't get treatment quickly, the pressure on his arm would destroy him.
"I can't cry at every inconvenience...just endure it, as always..." Containing his tears, Naruto turned.
With his eyes red, he looked at Fer. He stood in his place, as if he had never attacked him. Just looking at Naruto.
Naruto didn't have any opportunity to attack Fer as he dispersed into dust, leaving some objects in the ground.
[You have survived against the Royal Guard-Fer] [You obtained 1000 gold] [You have achieved a victory against a challenging opponent.] [Your strength permanently increases by 5%. Your agility permanently increases by 15%. Your Dexterity permanently increases by 10%.] [Unable to increase the other stats. You have obtained a clue to the hidden secret] [You have achieved a feat(unrated) in your history]x2 [You have achieved a feat(low-fragment) in your history] [The third district stopped the changes. You can leave the dungeon now.]
"This bastard just disappeared like that?..." Gritting his teeth, Naruto took out his bottle and drank it all, but it wasn't enough. He needed to go to the fountain.
With his whole body exhausted from the battle, he picked up the items Fer dropped.
[Soul fragment: agility 10 %] [You have obtained the Royal Guard- Fer claws: It has imbued the protector will, even if is only a fragment is enough to craft a good weapon] [You have obtained the meat of the Royal Guard] [You have obtained the teeth of the Royal Guard] [You have obtained a skill fragment]
Naruto didn't look at the rewards; he just wanted to leave this place.
"Hey! Open the door!" He shouted at the roof.
Naruto continued walking to the wall and when he was near it, the wall disappeared and the fountain appeared in front of him.
Leaving the dungeon, Naruto didn't look behind him.
The wall appeared again.
As he left the scene, all the things returned to its intact aspect. Even Fer remained in silence, as he didn't remember what happened.
"Naruto?"
Without anything more on his mind than pain, Naruto ran towards the fountain and submerged his arm in it.
This time he could see how his arm reassembled itself and the damaged parts were dissolved, and new pieces appeared in their place.
The fountain could heal you, but you need to endure the pain and the consequences.
Naruto's body fell to the ground from exhaustion and pain. He tried to not scream, but it was more difficult than he thought.
The Dwarf looked at the scene without saying anything, just waiting.
This isn't normal...
When the healing ended and Naruto fainted, the Dwarf took him and carried him to the bedroom.
"Rest well, Naruto."
Closing the door, the room fell into darkness.
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Thanks for reading!
These chapters will be 3k words long, once I publish up to ch 32, I will change it to a length of 2k words. Otherwise I won't have enough time to write every day.