Damon hit the ground hard, the breath driven from his lungs.
He rolled once, then pushed himself upright, dust clinging to his clothes.
"That was… weird," he muttered. "Where are we?"
"Where's the captain?" the Hellion demanded, striding toward Damon with a scowl. "What did you do, slave?"
"I didn't do anything," Damon replied, scanning their surroundings. "And I'm guessing that isn't part of the dungeon raid." He pointed forward.
Roughly a hundred meters away, a colossal humanoid figure lay slumped against the far wall of the cavern. It was at least twelve feet tall, its body wrapped in massive iron chains. Some links had been driven straight through its flesh and bone, pinning it to stone pillars embedded in the dungeon walls.
The chamber itself was circular, carved from black rock veined with dull crimson lines that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat. Ancient torches burned along the walls. The stench of old blood and rust hung thick in the air.
The giant was sleep.
Its breathing was slow, deep, each exhale stirring dust from the cavern floor.
"Lower your voice," the Wolfkin warned. "If that thing wakes up, I'll kill you myself before it gets the chance."
"Call me a slave one more time," Damon said calmly, bending to pick up a small stone, "and it'll be the last word you ever say."
The Wolfkin bristled. "How dare-"
"That's enough boys!"
The Bunnykin healer stepped forward, her voice soft but firm. "If we're getting out of here, we'll need to work together. Insulting each other won't help."
Reluctantly, the tension eased.
One by one, they introduced themselves to Damon. None of them saw how befriending a Human was going to get them out of a SSS-Rank Dungeon but they did it anyway. The Hellion was Richter, D-Rank Tank Class. The Wolfkin was Tyler, D-Rank Striker. The Elf was Legolas, nah just kidding, Eryx ,E-Rank Archer Class. Lila was the Bunnykin, E-Rank Healer Class
A black portal shimmered behind them.
Then Jake dropped out of it, boots scraping against stone as he caught himself.
"Finally," Richter muttered. "Now that you're here, maybe you can tell us what kind of hell we just fell into."
"Where are we?" Jake asked, more confused than the others.
His eyes met Damon's but moved to the chained giant. His expression tightened. The black portal made it obvious he was in an SSS-Rank dungeon.
As a B-Rank Striker that was thousands of leagues above his strength. Even the pressure in the air made his skin prickle.
The Giant was the only one in the large room with them. They had cleared a few hundred dungeons together and nothing like this had ever happened before.
"Killing the giant might trigger the exit portal," Tyler began.
The giant snored.
The sound boomed through the chamber like distant thunder.
"…Scratch that," Tyler muttered.
They didn't have their weapons. Even if they did, waking a chained giant in a sealed SSS-rank trial chamber was suicide.
While the others were brainstorming a way out of the dungeon that didn't involve attacking a literal giant most likely at SSS-Rank, Damon was observing the dungeon.
He moved round a few times and observed some carvings on the floor. Circles, and in the center, drawings. What caught his attention wasn't the large circles, but the carvings inside.
"Guys, check this out," Damon alerted, "There are carvings on the ground. This one looks like an Elf."
There were six carvings on six different spots around the dungeon. Each had the likeness of one of the seven Races on Earth.
"I have an idea, but it's a gamble," Damon announced, scratching the back of his head.
"Spit it out, Human."
"There are six carvings and six of us. Each carving representing each of the races we belong to. What if standing on the carvings trigger the exit portal?" Damon explained his theory with a bit of skepticism in his voice.
There was a brief moment of silence before Richter spoke up, "Fine, lets do it. It's not like we have another option."
They started to search for a carving that matched their race to stand on it. Eventually, Jake was the only one not standing on his carving.
"What if standing on the carvings is what frees that monster?" he asked, glancing at the giant.
Everyone took a step back from the carved circle, when they heard him. Except Damon.
"That's the gamble," Damon shrugged.
"You better be right, Damon." Jake said before entering the circle. "I'm not dying here."
Seeing their captain put his faith in Damon's idea, they decided to trust him too and return to the circle.
Immediately they all stood on the carvings, bright golden light shot out of them. A line of light connected the points where they stood to form a star shape.
It lasted for some seconds then stopped. When it did, they could see a holographic box materialize in front of their eyes. The writings were done in red.
"I'm not the only one seeing this, right?"
{I ride inside flesh, but I am not flesh.
I feel pain without nerves, and fear without blood.
What am I?
1/10}
{30}
{29}
{28}
"This has to be a sick joke," Elf said with a scoff. He tried to leave the circle but his legs refused to move. "Captain, I can't move my legs."
"What do we do captain,"
Panic spread into their hearts like a wildfire, but the timer kept counting.
{22}
{21}
"We answer the fucking riddle," Jake spat in frustration. "Everyone think."
"And what happens if we don't get it right?" Lila asked with uneven breathing.
"A soul," Damon answered boldly. "The answer is a Soul."
The room went silent when they heard the chime of a bell and the writing on the alert box disappeared. Following was a loud thud sound as one of the seals on the large marble door was released.
Damon was beginning to understand what had to be done. There were 10 riddles. All they had to do was answer six correctly and the door would open. Probably on the other side was the exit portal.
The others thought so to.
Another riddle materialized before them.
{I command armies, yet have no soldiers.
I break the strong, yet strengthen the weak.
I am feared by rulers and worshipped by the desperate.
What am I?
2/10}
"I've got it," Tyler said quickly. "Authority."
The riddle left the screen and they all turned to the door, expecting the second seal to be released, but instead the sound that greeted their ears was the sound of iron chain hitting the ground.
One of the three main chains, holding down the giant was loosened. The next sound was body hitting the floor.
"Aaaahh!" Lila screamed.