A grim smile tugged at his cracked lips despite the pain.
"Let's fucking go!" Damon gripped his guantlets tightly as he saw a wave of rats rushing towards him.
Claws and teeth tore into his legs, chest, and arms in a frenzy.
His HP plunged from 7 to 0 in a second. Pain exploded through his body, then everything went black.
{HP Depleted}
{Respawn activated}
{5 hours of Lifespan deducted}
{HP fully restored}
Damon's eyes snapped open. He stood in the same chamber, water lapping at his waist, body completely whole again.
HP: 100/100
The Rusted Dagger was back in his right hand. He took a slow breath, the system's cold message still ringing in his head. Five hours gone, just like that.
He gripped the dagger tighter and refused to switch to the gauntlets yet. Dagger gave him reach; he would stick with it until he had no choice.
Shadow Step activated the moment he stepped into the deeper shadows between mold patches, sharpening his movements by a small but noticeable margin.
The next wave of five rats came from the left. Damon lunged first this time. He followed with three quick dagger stabs:
-10
-10
-10
The rat died on the seventh hit total. One down. The others closed in. He danced sideways, Shadow Step letting him slip one claw attack.
Another rat bit his thigh.
-9 HP
"Come here you little shit!" Damon trapped the unfortunate rat and stabbed it five more times.
-50
Then finished with a sixth strike.
-20(Critical Strike)
Two down. The remaining three piled on. A claw raked his side.
-8 HP
Damon continued to drill his dagger into anything moving with a tail. Eight hits per rat was the math now burned into his brain. He finished the wave with steady, controlled thrusts.
"So this is what Dungeon Hunters go through every raid? It's not easy, but I'll pick it over slavery any day."
Damon spoke to himself as he wandered the dungeon. With those rats dead, he pressed forward into the next chamber. He was constantly checking his HP.
HP: 88/100
Waves three and four came faster, six rats each. Damon stayed in the shadows along the wall, using the environment instead of raw power.
Then six clean dagger strikes to drop it. The others tried to flank, but he kited them into a narrow gap between broken platforms where only two could reach him at once.
Each rat still needed eight dagger hits, but his timing had tightened. A rat snuck up on him but was only able to deliver a single bite.
-10 HP
But Damon didn't break his rhythm. By the end of the fourth wave his HP sat at 79/100. The constant chittering no longer rattled him the way it had on Section 1.
The rats that were very difficult to kill now died in the exact number of strikes he expected. He was learning their patterns, predicting the lunges.
The fifth wave brought seven rats in a section where the water rose to his chest. Movement slowed for both sides, but Damon used it to his advantage. He settled into pure dagger work. Eight strikes per kill, one rat after another.
A claw slash his forearm.
-11 HP.
He ignored it and finished the seventh rat with the final three stabs.
HP: 78/100
He allowed himself one deliberate switch. The gauntlets would let him end fights faster if he paired them with Double Strike.
He swapped weapons in a narrow alcove between waves, the two-second delay protected by the tight space. With his Gauntlets equipped, Damon waited for the next wave.
On the sixth wave, eight rats ran out of the shadows striaght for Damon. Damon activated Double Strike the instant the lead group closed in.
20 MP spent.
His gauntleted fists blurred as it struck two rats. Two crushing blows in one second
-24 damage.
-24 Damage
He hammered the next one with four normal punches dropping it in six hits total instead of eight.
Rats tore into his sides and legs—-13, -9, -12.
HP dropped to 54/100.
Each rat now fell in six or seven hits. He finished the wave bloodied but standing.
HP: 44/100
The seventh wave tested him. Nine rats poured from overhead pipes. Damon kited them in tight circles, using Shadow Step to dodge and reposition.
Every punch landed clean.
-12.
Six hits per rat.
A deep bite to his shoulder dropped him several health points down.
-14 HP
He pushed through the pain, refusing to panic. The eighth rat died under a final flurry. The ninth nearly ended him with its claws raking his chest.
-15 HP
He was down to 15HP but he crushed its skull with two more punches.
HP: 15/100
He leaned against a mold-covered pillar, breathing hard. The difference between this and Floor 1 was obvious. He no longer felt like he was poking bricks with a toothpick.
Rats died exactly when the math said they should. His kiting was tighter, the timing of his attacks were precise and his weapon choice was deliberate instead of frantic.
The chittering around him shifted again. It deepened into a single low, guttural squeal that vibrated through the water.
The mold on the walls pulsed faster, casting red reflections across the cistern. Something much larger moved in the darkness ahead, heavy splashes echoing from the passage that led further down.
Damon hands had stopped shaking. He gripped the Rusted Dagger and took one step toward the next slope.
"I guess this is where I meet the Boss," Damon said, taking cautious steps as he entered a different section of the dungeon.
Every step sent ripples across the murky surface. The chittering had become a single deep rumble mixed with frantic squeals.
The mold on the walls pulsed with red-tinged light, casting shifting shadows that made the tunnel feel alive.
Damon looked at his HP bar.
HP: 28/100
Even though he had enough lifespan to survive another respawn, he rather reduce his errors.
The passage opened into a vast circular chamber.