It wasn't until the next morning, after Wilhelm had slept for a good portion of the day, that the eye adverted its gaze, moving back into its lair. The dust in the dome-like room had just about settled, and the blood was beginning to dry up, entirely.
It took a few moments for Wilhelm to realize where he was, to which he carefully scrutinized his surroundings. The tunnel which had been behind the spider was covered up by some thick rocks, and the pathway behind him was closed off by even more. The aftermath proved to be worse than Wilhelm had initially thought, leaving him with only a few possible options.
He sat up and crossed his legs, stroking his mighty beard in the process. His hair was nearly entirely black at this point, regardless of the white strands of hair, but he wasn't yet aware of such a change. Instead, he was much more worried about a separate issue—where in the would he acquire water.
If he returned for whence he came, then it would take at least a day or so to uncover the huge rocks. In contrast, if he moved forward, he could leave the dome-like area in a matter of a few hours. He hadn't drunken anything for an entire day, and now he was forced to choose two separate paths for survival.
Using common sense, it was only natural that there was a water source up ahead. How else would the monsters above even live? The main issue was distance, and if any creatures happened to make the body of water their territory.
Wilhelm contemplated for another few moments, resolving himself after around a minute of deliberation. He was far too lazy to travel backward, so he was going in for broke. He cracked his neck and stretched his limbs, heading for the front entrance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Wilhelm, now reinvigorated with adequate rest, decided to start hurling the large rocks away from the frontal entrance. He sat both of his daggers on the ground and used his strong upper body muscles to efficiently open up a pathway. He was a firm believer in always finding a path toward success, but if he couldn't find one, then he would make one himself.
The veins on his muscles protruded out as his arms moved at a deathly quick rate. A small gust of wind was wafted about by the sheer velocity he moved at. The boulders of varying sizes coursed through the air and landed in a relatively neat pile. Some of them cracked upon impact, causing a loud echo to reverberate throughout the small grotto.
His movements continued for an entire hour; he didn't deem his body worthy of rest until the task at hand was completed. Over time, the pile behind him grew larger and larger, while small holes were gradually appearing within the front entrance. Dust and darkness permeated from behind the cavern as it slowly opened up, releasing a strange scent from behind.
It smelt of rotten eggs and decomposing filth. The stench was nearly as putrid as the cooked grottenburgs, but Wilhelm persisted. He began to move the rocks in a particular order, forming a rather small hole that only a normal-sized human could pass through. He figured that the spider-domain would prove to be a good hideout at a later date. If he removed every single rock, then there was a good chance that all sorts of monsters would trespass, but this way, it could remain somewhat solitary.
He made a few more preparations before grabbing his daggers and stashing them inside of his loincloth. He then crawled through the slim hole, resulting in all sorts of dirt to attach itself to his body. It was a two meters long passageway, and Wilhelm didn't have too much trouble making it to the other side.
The strong stench was even stronger once he popped out, not to mention the extraordinarily thick and musky surroundings. Unlike the bottom floor, the current terrain was much more humid, perfect for insects, fungus, and plants to thrive. On top of the less than satisfactory cavern, it was still quite dark.
Small and unused cobwebs streaked across the coarse walls, and a strange liquid fell from the roof. Wilhelm was forced to use his upgraded night-eye ability to even perceive the things a few feet in front of him. The new environment was vastly different in comparison to the bottom floor— it gave off an unpredictable impression.
Wilhelm was still wide awake, and most of his wounds had already healed by some miraculous stroke of fate. He was not worried about too much danger, but he still moved cautiously, making sure not to step into any traps. After the skeleton army fiasco, he decided to become much more circumspect around unusual things.
His daggers hung at his waist as he trod along, marking his path with his sharp fingernails. Fortunately for him, he was used to being alone in dark places. If it were an average person, they would've gone insane already. Granted, that's assuming Wilhelm still had a few strands of sanity remaining.
As he continued down the dark corridor, his vision became more and more impaired. The cavern gradually became wider as well, branching out into a few different paths. None of them were very different from each other; they merely smelt peculiar. In contrast to the bottom floors catacombs, it was as simple as turning left.
Wilhelm was a simple man. He knew of his terrible luck, so since he felt compelled to move left, he went right. Although the philosophy used for this decision was lacking, Wilhelm was far too lazy to actually map out his future path. He was much more inclined to go with his gut feeling and find a water source as quickly as possible.
The extensive corridor was even narrower than the last, forcing Wilhelm to slide through, turning his body horizontally. The grime on the wall felt quite icky, but after what he had been through in the past few days, he couldn't even care less. He transversed the anti-claustrophobic passage with a little bit of effort, a shimmering light faintly gleaming from the exit.
His pace quickened as he quickly departed from the ravine-like rocks, scratching his arms in the process. Heated breath escaped from his mouth as he surveyed the unfamiliar terrain, surprise running through his veins. A small stream of flame-water ran through the spacious cave, falling down a relatively large cliff—a natural made waterfall.
At the sides of the stream, small egg-like sacks were present, blistering profusely. They were green of color and looked rather vulgar. The stench was even stronger in the room, presumably being emanated from the eggs. On the other hand, a small sense of danger assaulted Wilhelm as he squinted his eyes.
It was unlikely that there was anything moving about in the room, but the eggs were laid by something of larger magnitude. Who knew how many small creatures would hatch, and if their parent was nearby? Wilhelm was hesitant, but his parched lips and throat were both matters that needed to be quickly resolved.
He used his slender and long legs to tiptoe toward the stream, letting his voluptuous and mighty beard sway within the wind. Unlike the bottom floor, he could actually feel a slight breeze up here, as if he was slowly getting closer to the end of the dungeon.
Like this, he slowly made it to the stream of water, where he dipped his mouth into the water and guzzled it with haste. The burning sensation was nearly nothing compared to his trained physique, so he hydrated himself rather swiftly.
Once he was done, the eggsack to his right warped ever so slightly, slowly congealing. There appeared to be something alive in it, so Wilhelm grabbed his dagger and stabbed downward with no hesitation. It penetrated the egg and caused green blood to splatter all over the place, but the movements inside stopped.
Wilhelm glanced at the dead creature with disdain. However, his arrogance was washed away with the abrupt movement to his right. He glanced upward, observing the hundreds of eggs hatch at almost the exact same time.
"Well, shit."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Wilhelm stared incredulously at the expanding eggs, they were splitting down the middle and releasing all sorts of strange creatures at a ludicrous celerity. Their bodies were covered in slime, and they convulsed on the ground as they awkwardly crawled toward the stream of water. Strange noises escaped from their tiny mouths, squealing into the air, causing Wilhelm to cover his ears and take a step back.
The eggs had produced hundreds of these small, grimy looking monsters. Even when they opened their eyes and surveyed the
ir terrain, it didn't take them long to find the water source. After all, most newborns required nutrition to live, especially the larger monsters that resided within the dungeon.
The gremlins temporarily ignored Wilhelm, so he stepped into the shadows and decided to observe for the time being. He could try and kill all of the striplings for free experience, but he decided to wait a little longer. There was no telling what would happen if the monsters' mother somehow returned.
The abnormalities fought both tooth and nail to be the first ones to arrive at the water, even opting to attack their own kin in the process. Cries full of anguish and pain erupted from the monsters as they fought each other to a standstill. Wilhelm was forced to retreat a few more steps back, covering his ears in the process.
He had already hydrated himself, so there was no longer a point to dally inside of the dangerous grotto. Thus, with a flap of his loincloth, he sauntered toward the exit and crept away, concealing his presence. He estimated that the small creatures would supply him with very minimal experience, so there was no real point to kill them. The egg that he had destroyed earlier did not even cause the system to ring.
His tall figure reached the exit with relative ease, to which he squeezed past the small crack. He inwardly noted his current location and decided to mark a path toward it, that is if he ever decided to return due to dehydration. His main goal had already been accomplished, so now, he just wanted to find a suitable home and secure more experience.
As his lean figure passed through the tight passage, he could hear a loud roar from behind him. It was not at all similar to the noise generated from the hatchlings, so it was an entirely new creature. That, or it was the mother, which was quite unlikely due to the fact that the cry was filled with rage and killing intent. Wilhelm squinted his eyes and quickened the pace that he moved at, shooting out from the rocks and landing back in the broad cavern.
Without much thought, he breathed a sigh of relief and dusted off his body, ridding himself of the grime that attached itself to him. The small gusts of wind plastered his loincloth to his back as he scrubbed, not caring at all about the chilly breeze. As a matter of fact, in the past, Wilhelm used to possess a small case of OCD—he detested dirty things. Naturally, it was drilled out of him as time passed, but he still preferred cleanliness.
He continued cleaning himself for another ten minutes or so, only opting to take a break after his body looked somewhat presentable. The breeze had gradually died down, leaving the eerie and humid cave relatively tranquil. Wilhelm straightened his back and stretched his limbs, glancing both left and right. He was in an affable mood today, particularly so because a few of his theories had been proven to be correct.
First of all, the dungeon was not at all like the ones in video games back on earth. It was practically alive; most of the creatures had minds of their own, and even breeding seemed to be possible. The only strange thing was the lack of stronger monsters on the bottom floors—why would they not hunt weaker beasts for food?
Wilhelm was an intelligent man, and he also knew that there was a reason that humans were brought into the Holy Land. If things went as he expected, then most of the first one percent of humanity will die before the next batch. Even he, a highly trained man back on earth, had only lived due to sheer luck.
Besides, the chances of other humans stumbling across dungeons were likely. Granted, Wilhelm assumed that there were plenty of easier ones. But on the flip side, there were also those that were harder. Many things needed to be tested, whether or not multiple people could enter a dungeon at the same time, or if the barriers were capable of being destroyed.
With a stroke of his beard, Wilhelm temporarily halted his contemplation and continued walking through the cave. He could predict and estimate the future all he wanted, but his main priority was escaping his current situation. He would be a liar if he said that he wasn't affected by the loneliness—it was slowly eating away at his soul.
…
Unfortunately, many of Wilhelm's premonitions were correct. Even though humanity was quick to adapt, the holy land was much more unforgiving in comparison to Earth. Not only was the weather rather hazardous and random, but all sorts of monsters would also come out of their domains to hunt the weak humans.
The world was full of abnormalities; the creatures that lived on it acted in completely unexpected ways. Humans that had achieved higher levels or classes tried to fight back, but they were unable to kill the stronger beasts. Thus, tiers, locations, and other information about dangerous monsters spread like wildfire.
A rather simplistic and crude listing was set up for the monsters. Judging by their strength and achievements, they were listed from F to A, with A being the strongest. At the moment, humans were only capable of barely dealing with F-level monsters, let alone the creatures they had yet to discover. Various intelligent figures estimated that a few S-class monsters ran amok at the core of the world, but no one dared to try and prove this theory correct.
Naturally, Wilhelm was unaware of all the happenings on the surface. He was still busy trying to survive inside the dungeon.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Wilhelm treaded along the rock-strewn cavern, the light breeze fluttering his hair, plastering it to the back of his head. An assortment of animal tracks littered the ground, varying greatly in size. Some seemed to resemble a reptile-esque creature, while others were similar to a mammals paw. They were still relatively fresh, causing Wilhelm to creep along the sides of the cave, concealing his presence to the best of his abilities. Since the grotto was riddled with monsters, it was better to be safe than sorry.
There appeared to be no order, nor repetitiveness when it came to the dungeon. Hence, things like grottenburgs and ants lived on the same floor. Mammals and insects co-existed with each other, even laying hundreds of eggs which bred man-eating larva. Rationality was nonexistent inside of the dungeon. It was like an entirely different world. Things such as expectations and assumptions would get you killed, while preparing for the worst would be your best bet at survival.
Wilhelm was painfully aware of this fact; thus, he tip-toed around the trail without a hint of shame. He held his daggers close to his side, pointing the tip forward in anticipation of an enemy. Low growls and all sorts of other sounds reverberated throughout the floor, a stark contrast in comparison to the bottom floor. No particular race held an advantage over the other, so constant chaos wafted about.
With a cautious frown, Wilhelm soon made it around the corner, a strange sight unveiling itself in front of him. The darkness was swept away by a piercing light that descended from the roof, showcasing the blazing sun that was hung high in the sky. The light was reflected off of a beautiful lake, glistering within it. Creatures of all kinds were busy drinking from the body of water, that, or fighting over territory.
It was big enough to incorporate hundreds of creatures, but only a few dozen or so were present. They drank from the water in packs, one at a time, their partners guarding their back as they drank. Giant wolves controlled the right side of the lake, while red, bear-like monsters were protecting the south. As for the other two sides, an enormous number of strange insects crawled about with no sense of direction. There appeared to be some form of tacit understanding among the beasts, but there were still some arrogant fellows trying to pick fights.
Wilhelm observed all of this within a few moments, surveying the terrain to every minute detail. The entire area was surrounded by thick rocks, encasing the sparkling lake within a dome-like prism. Smaller, and sharper rocks protruded out of the outer layer, seemingly creating an inescapable prison.
A natural, elevated plateau could be seen a fair distance away, bordering the eastern wall. None of the other creatures happened to be next to it, so Wilhelm decided to use this time to obtain an advantage. Unlike the animals that roamed about inside of the dungeon, Wilhelm possessed opposable thumbs. Perhaps, only the strange-looking bears could climb as efficiently as he.
With this in mind,
he dashed toward the eastern wall, alarming a few of the other creatures in the process. The wolves, in particular, raised their ears and jolted their heads in Wilhelm's direction, scrutinizing him. He was something that the monsters on the second floor had yet to engage, so their curiosity could be imagined.
Not to mention the fear of the unknown, Wilhelm also possessed quite the dangerous aura that surrounded him. His past training, on top of killing the giant spider, resulted in an almost supernatural atmosphere that warded vicious creatures away. Furthermore, the appeal of the water was far too great for any of the animals to stop and attack a single foe.
It was due to these reasons that Wilhelm reached the outer walls without much inconvenience. He then strapped his daggers onto his waist and began to climb up the wall, one protruding rock at a time. His goal was to reach the raised plateau so that he could gain a birds-eye view of the large lake. Possibly, he would even make it his temporary residence.
Like a monkey, he continued upward until he reached his destination, pulling himself over the ledge. Small rocks fell to the ground as he climbed up, ricocheting off of the surface and bouncing toward the lake. Thankfully, it was capable of holding Wilhelm's weight, not shaking in the slightest.
The Holy Land Page 15