Anvil's scream wasn't due to agony but the sight in front of him.
Just a little further ahead, he saw two bright azure eyes.
The hole he had jumped into led to a pitch-black room. It was dark, and he couldn't see anything.
But in the darkness, a pair of glowing azure eyes lit up—drawing in anyone's attention.
Anvil's back was drenched in sweat. His rags, soaked through, clung to his skin, making him uncomfortable.
Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, burning them. Yet Anvil couldn't look away.
Various scenes flashed in his mind.
Those azure eyes were familiar. He had seen them once before.
At the event that took his parents' lives—the massacre in the previous slums where he used to live.
These same eyes had belonged to the monsters that attacked the slums.
These monsters weren't mere mutated animals. They were strong and heavily armored—so much so that even mana guns, which were said to be able to melt concrete, couldn't pierce them.
They were fast, strong, and some were intelligent too.
Now, seeing the same eyes made Anvil tremble with a mix of emotions.
But the most visible on his face was rage—and fear. Rage from his parents' death, and fear from the overwhelming strength these monsters possessed, strong enough to crush him like paper.
"Ha hu... ha hu... ha hu... ha hu... ha hu... ha hu... ha hu... ha huuuuu... haaaaa huuuu…"
Anvil's breathing was ragged. He gasped for air, but no matter how much he tried, he felt suffocated. Despite his efforts, dizziness crept in.
His body trembled uncontrollably. Had he not peed in the morning, he would've already soiled himself.
His heartbeat pounded so violently, Anvil feared it might burst out of his chest.
His mind was blank, his body frozen stiff. He couldn't move a muscle.
But by some miracle, he calmed his nerves—just enough to focus on the situation.
The monster wasn't moving.
Anvil noticed that.
His fear lessened slightly, but his hands and feet continued to shake. He leaned against the wall, attempting to stand.
His quivering legs made balancing hard, and he stumbled. Fortunately, his weight was already supported by the wall, so he didn't fall.
Slowly, he stood up and walked toward the monster. He fought the urge to flee and steeled his resolve.
Despite his overwhelming fear, he reached the glowing eyes.
But his legs, still trembling, gave out. He stumbled forward.
Thud!
"Ugh… This sucks." Anvil cursed. He had hit something with his chest, and it hurt—but not unbearably.
He lay sprawled over some unknown object. Trying to regain his balance, he pressed down on it—only for his legs to slip again.
He collapsed once more, striking his chest again.
"Ah, ugh. Fuck! Shit!!" he cried, frustrated and in pain.
Suddenly, his hand touched something—something round, like a ball.
Still trying to steady himself with one hand, he picked up the rolling object with the other.
As he looked down—unable to see the object in the darkness—his eyes instead locked directly onto the azure eyes.
Anvil froze. His instincts kicked in and he pushed himself back.
He fell onto his back, but kept his gaze on those glowing eyes.
The eyes didn't blink or move.
Anvil exhaled in partial relief.
He stood up and spread his hands out, trying to feel for anything in the dark.
But he only grasped the empty air.
Anvil dropped to his hands and knees, crawling cautiously—until he suddenly heard a Click!
"Oh shit!" he hissed, as a Swoosh! sound followed.
Swoosh!
He heard it again—closer this time—close enough to feel the air whip past his cheek.
Something darted by again, grazing him slightly.
"Ah!" he yelped in surprise, pain stinging his cheek.
He touched his face. It was wet. Blood flowed from a cut.
Anvil's eyes widened in alarm. He rolled to the side on instinct—but it was too late.
"AHH!" A scream of agony tore from his throat.
Something sharp had pierced his leg.
He reached down and felt it—a wooden shaft. An arrow.
He pulled it out, groaning. Not the wisest choice, but he quickly tore his ragged clothes and wrapped them around the wound, ignoring the risk of infection.
More swooshing sounds followed, then several clicks.
Anvil crawled to the wall, trying to press himself into it, praying he wouldn't be hit again.
Arrows flew close by, but by some miracle, none struck him.
Then suddenly, one arrow hit something—perhaps a button.
Girrrrrrrrrrr! Thud!
A section of the wall shifted and opened—revealing a hidden passage.
Light from the passage spilled into the dark room.
Finally, Anvil could see.
"Woah." he whispered, awestruck.
The room was surprisingly empty but riddled with arrows.
Dozens of them were embedded into the walls, making it look like an arrow storage chamber.
Then he saw the place where he had hurt his chest.
It was a large stone stand with a smooth, flat top. From his angle earlier, he hadn't seen the base—but now he did.
A skeleton lay beneath the stand. The entire structure had been built atop it.
The thick bones clearly didn't belong to a human. While the creature's body had turned to bone, its eyes remained intact.
Those same eerie, beautiful, azure eyes.
It felt as if the skeleton was staring straight at him.
Anvil stood.
"Ugh." he grunted, his leg aching.
He staggered forward and looked at the top of the stone stand.
There was a small, round hole.
Then he looked at his hand—and saw a black, round object.
It felt metallic but was surprisingly light.
Anvil had no idea what it was, but decided to keep it. Maybe he could sell it.
There were people who dealt in these strange items. He didn't have to worry about being killed over it; those people wouldn't do such things over a few coins.
And he wasn't stupid enough to show it off to any random strangers.
"Should I go into the hidden room... or go back?" he thought. There was no telling what waited inside, but it couldn't be anything good.
Still, he had no clue whether the giant mouse had left either.
He hesitated, then decided to press on. If death awaited him, so be it.
A small part of him hoped for treasure. Something that could change his life. Something that could let him live in the city.
That hope stirred his heart.
He leaned on the wall for support and limped forward.
Pain throbbed through his leg, but he kept going.
The hidden room led to a stairway. On the walls, glowing stones illuminated the path with blinding light.
Anvil carefully descended the stairs.
At the bottom stood a massive stone door.
It was huge and thick, covered in strange carvings Anvil couldn't decipher.
He placed his hand on the door and gave it a gentle push. He had no hope of opening it—and was ready to turn back.
But suddenly—
Thud!
The door opened on its own.
Anvil stepped through, eyes wide with wonder.
The chamber beyond was gigantic.
He couldn't even see its end.
Dozens of stone doors lined the walls.
A paved path led to the center of the room, where something was glowing.
Four giant statues stood at the sides of the path.
These statues were humanoid but had no faces. They were painted black and looked more like shadows than statues.
Anvil didn't know what these statues represented, so he didn't care.
He walked straight to the center.
In the center of the room was a stone stand, the same as in the room where Anvil had been before.
But this one was glowing and had various patterns. It looked more beautiful and had the same round hole on it.
Anvil looked at the object he carried and decided to place it in the hole.
The object fit perfectly.
Suddenly, the stone stand moved and descended into the ground.
As it lowered, something came down from the ceiling.
An orb.
It was a dark orb.
A dark aura emitted from it. It floated mid-air, stopping right in front of Anvil's eyes.
The aura grew thicker.
Anvil's mind suddenly went blank, and his eyes dimmed.
He felt an overwhelming urge to eat the orb.
He stretched his arm and took it.
The aura stung.
It was painful, like thousands of sharp needles stabbing into his hand.
But under the orb's influence, he ignored the pain and brought it to his mouth.
He swallowed it immediately.
Then he froze.
"Ah," he let out a soft grunt.
And fell to the ground.
His body began trembling, then writhing.
"Ahh! AHHH! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Anvil screamed.
His screams were loud—raw and full of pain.
He rolled on the ground, his body covered in black marks.
A dark aura began emitting from him.
He felt extremely cold, and his body stiffened.
Inhuman screams escaped his throat—sounds no human should be able to make—so terrifying that any normal person would flee immediately.
Anvil's eyes were wide open.
Tears flowed like rivers.
His entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just come out of a shower.
The black marks seeped into his skin.
Gradually, they faded, and the dark aura retracted inside him.
His body relaxed. The pain faded.
His leg wound began to bleed heavily again.
Blood flowed from every orifice.
But he didn't feel any pain.
Anvil felt salvation.
An overwhelming sense of satisfaction washed over him, followed by extreme exhaustion.
Despite the blood loss, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
So deep, even if he was burning in fire, it wouldn't wake him.
A dark aura emerged from his body again.
It covered his injured leg.
The wound vanished.
The blood disappeared too.
It looked perfectly fine, as if there had never been a wound.
Blood that had flowed from his orifices returned—literally flowing back inside.
His body glowed. He looked completely healthy, as if nothing had happened.
The dark aura faded.
Then—click.
The four statues in the room opened their eyes.
Their white pupils shifted to the sides of their heads and fixed their gaze on Anvil.
They stared for a long time till their eyes disappeared again.
The room shook.
A hole opened beneath Anvil.
Two long hands emerged and grabbed him.
They pulled him down.
Anvil was swallowed by a darkness so deep that not even light could escape.
But even as he was dragged in, he had the brightest smile on his face.
Anvil was dreaming of something pleasant.