"How did I get myself into this mess?"
Rune clutched a wound on his arm as his grip struggled around his axe.
"All I had to do was tell that god no when she asked me to come and save a whole world. How am I supposed to save a world if I can't take three measly crystal spiders?"
He was in a cavern filled with crystals growing jaggedly out of everything, each of which pulsed with swirling lights. In front of him were three spiders made out of that same crystal.
"I have been coming to this dungeon for a week now. I have not remembered anything, let alone made much progress. The best I am doing is making just enough to resupply healing potions and paying for my lodging."
One of the spiders charged, one thing Rune had learned was the little ones' attack patterns. He dodged out of the way and drove his axe down on top of it as it passed by, breaking off pieces of its crystal body.
"Today... today I am not going to run away after killing just one. I am going to take out all three in this room."
The two other larger ones came at him at the same time, he leapt over one, getting behind it, swinging wildly, hacking off chunk after chunk.
His axe slid perfectly into one of the cracks he had made from his wild barrage and reached the center of the spider. This is where the monster's light originated from, causing it to let out one final bright burst before falling to the ground.
"Yes! I got a bigger one this time."
While he was celebrating, the smaller one had returned and bit into his leg. Blood started rippling out. As Rune reeled in pain, he blindly started hacking at the monster, trying to get it off of him.
Crystal ore flew everywhere, until it was impossible to tell it had ever been the body of a spider. Rune reached into the pouch strapped to his leg, pulled out a red vial, and poured it over the wound.
"Ok, lesson learned, never lose focus when there are enemies still around. Come on Rune, you should know that's like rule number one."
The red liquid made a sound like fire crackling around a burning pot as the bite in his leg stitched together.
Rune bit his lip. "Ugh, I hate these cheap healing potions. They say the higher quality ones don't feel like you are putting hot oil on your skin."
Rune stood up straight and started limping towards the last spider. His arm, which had been injured earlier hanging at his side. This one was twice the size of the others, as big as a small horse.
"Ok lets put everything I have into this."
He charged, going under one of the spider's crystal legs as it jabbed trying to spear him. Rune hacked at its underbelly as he slid across the cavern floor. When he moved past the other side of the creature, his axe hitched and caught itself in the spider's body.
"Damnit! That was my last weapon. Should I just run?"
Light leaked out of the cracks Rune had put in the spider as it turned to face him. It moved fast, before he could react, it had speared two legs through each of his shoulders, lifting him off the ground.
"Come on rune. You are supposed to be something, someone. Do... anything!"
As he said those words, he felt a pressure forming around his heart. Something moving, something alive. It was taking hold, swelling outward.
His hands that were holding each of the spiders legs started to glow. One with the brilliant light of the sun, and the other with pure black shadow.
That energy flowed from him through the spider, colliding within it. Each opposing energy smashing against each other, as well as the natural light of the spider until the monster exploded, chunks flying everywhere.
Rune fell from the air to his knees.
"I need…I need to hurry before I lose too much blood."
He reached into his pouch and fumbled around, finding his last two red vials. Removing their stoppers with his teeth, he poured them both on each of the places the spider's legs had just been.
The wounds seared closed on his body, Rune's voice sounding relieved. "The struggle was all worth it. I can do this on my own! Without the handouts the others get."
"It only took a week or so of nearly dying. I unlocked my element, and I got two of them!"
All of the other humans brought to this world are gifted their element right away by the Unnamed One. Being outside of that system, Rune had to unlock it on his own.
This feat was impossible. Only the races that were born in this world had the ability to awaken their own element. Rune had done something no human had done before.
He forced himself to stand up and started to pick up all the crystal ore laying around and put it into his pouch.
"I am really glad that blacksmith leant me this rune pouch. Having something that has a magical space inside to carry all of this, sure makes things easier."
He looked around, satisfied that he'd collected everything. For the first time, he had cleared the first room alone, without help from anyone or anything, and walked away with his element unlocked.
"I need to get back and sell all of this, and make sure I make it to the healer before they close, to patch me up fully, or I will have to sleep in all this pain again, and I hate that."
Rune made the trek back to town, limping and unable to fully move his arms. The healing potions patch you up, but they can't heal muscle fully.
"Pspp…Rob, isn't that the weird guy who doesn't die?"
"Shhhh, he will hear you, he's staying with that one strange guy at that inn in a dead part of the city."
"They say no matter how hurt and wounded he is, he always comes back and never revives in the temple."
"But why? He could just die and everything would be healed, also it doesn't leave scars like the healers do."
"I really don't know, people are starting to call him 'The Crazy Immortal' since he never dies.
Rune had heard all of that and couldn't help but laugh out loud, only furthering the rumours that he was crazy.
'Immortal huh? If only they all knew I am the furthest person from being immortal in this whole world.'