Chapter 6 Chapter 6

I continued walking through the dim tunnels with my newly imprinted sword in my right hand and the small round shield on my left arm. The waterskin swayed gently at my waist. For the first time since falling into this place, I felt somewhat prepared. The path had been sloping upward for quite some time, giving me real hope.

“Maybe this time… I’m actually getting closer to the surface,” I whispered to myself.

The blue ore veins on the walls were brighter here. That had to be a good sign. I even allowed myself a small smile as I took another sip from the waterskin. The slightly strange taste no longer bothered me as much.

But that hope didn’t last long. As somehow… 

The next monster I encountered was a massive armored beetle, far larger and tougher than the previous lizard. Its glossy black shell looked almost impenetrable. The fight was long and exhausting. My shield shattered twice during the battle, forcing me to imprint new ones mid-fight. By the time I finally killed it, I was bleeding from several new wounds and my body felt completely drained.

I sat down heavily on the ground, trying to catch my breath.

“This isn’t right…” I muttered.

I looked at the path ahead. It still appeared to be going upward. But something felt terribly wrong. Even the air here felt like what people called plague by dungeon miasma. The monsters were becoming noticeably stronger. And the blue glow of the ore veins was slowly starting to dim again. 

Despite the upward slope, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was actually going deeper into the dungeon.

So, was that glow early on the ore vein mean that it’s not the lower level yet… At least that what I am feeling right now. 

I stood up and kept moving, but doubt was growing stronger with every step I took.

A few hours later, I ran into a pack of six stone-skinned wolves. They attacked with terrifying coordination. I fought desperately, blocking with my shield and striking with my sword. But one by one, my imprints began to fail under the pressure. 

The shield broke first. Then my sword snapped during a hard block. I had to keep imprinting replacements as fast as I could, but the stronger the enemies, the faster everything shattered.

By the end of the fight, I was barely standing. My body was covered in fresh cuts and bruises. My stamina was almost gone by now… 

“I thought I was getting stronger… but the monsters down here were much better than me all of a sudden,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

I harvested what I could from the wolves and continued forward. The path kept sloping upward, yet every step made me more certain. I was descending. The dungeon was playing tricks on me, leading me further into its depths for sure. 

Then the tunnel suddenly opened into a much larger cavern.

The moment I stepped inside, a heavy, suffocating pressure pressed down on me. The air was thick with dark miasma. In the center of the cavern stood a creature that made my blood run cold.

It was an Apostate Beast.

Not as enormous as the one I encountered with the party before I fell, but it was still an Apostate Beast. Its body was covered in writhing shadows, with jagged bone spikes protruding from its shoulders and glowing purple eyes. The miasma surrounding it made the air feel poisonous and heavy.

Seeing an Apostate Beast here confirmed my worst fear.

I really was going much deeper than I thought possible.

This kind of monster should not appear in the upper or middle layers of a dungeon. The fact that I was facing one now meant I had descended far beyond where normal adventurers should ever go.

The Apostate Beast slowly turned its head toward me. Its glowing purple eyes locked onto my body. It let out a low, distorted roar that vibrated through my bones and shook the cavern walls.

There was no running. The only way forward was through it.

I raised my sword and shield, my heart pounding violently in my chest.

“This is bad… really bad…”

The Apostate Beast charged.

I barely managed to block its first strike with my shield. The force was overwhelming, sending me skidding backward across the ground. Before I could regain my balance, it attacked again with its clawed limb wrapped in thick miasma. I dodged at the last second, but the miasma still grazed my arm, burning like acid.

I counterattacked desperately, slashing at its side with everything I had. My imprinted sword cut into its flesh, but the wound was shallow. The beast roared in anger and swung again. This time, my shield cracked loudly from the impact.

The fight grew more intense. I moved around the beast, trying to find any weak points while constantly reinforcing my belief in my weapons. Every time I landed a solid hit, the Apostate Beast retaliated with even greater fury. My newly imprinted shield started cracking again. My sword was already showing signs of breaking.

I was breathing heavily. My vision was starting to blur from exhaustion and pain. Blood flowed freely from the reopened wound on my side.

The Apostate Beast suddenly gathered a large amount of miasma around its claws and lunged forward with terrifying speed.

I raised my shield at the last moment.

CRACK!

The shield exploded into pieces. The force of the blow sent me flying across the cavern. I crashed hard into the stone wall, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs.

Before I could stand up, the Apostate Beast was already charging toward me again, its claws raised high for what looked like a finishing strike.

My body refused to move fast enough.

This is it…

I desperately tried to imprint a new shield, but my focus was slipping.

The beast was only a few meters away now, its purple eyes glowing with killing intent.