[Current Location: Sunken Ruins - Inner Chamber]
[Depth: Unknown]
[Status: Invisible, Terrified, Still alive somehow]
I've been sneaking through this dungeon for what feels like hours.
The guardian crab is still patrolling the entrance—I can sense its vibrations echoing through the stone corridors behind me. But I've gone deeper. Much deeper.
This place is HUGE.
The ruins aren't just a single room. They're a labyrinth of corridors, chambers, and passages. Ancient stonework covered in barnacles and algae. My Basic Vision picks up faint bioluminescent light from the walls, just enough to give everything an eerie, ghostly quality.
[Entity Detected: Dungeon Crawler - Level 12]
I freeze, pressing myself against the wall.
A creature skitters past—some kind of crustacean thing with too many legs. It doesn't see me. Doesn't sense me.
Intermediate Camouflage is carrying this entire run right now.
[MP: 7/16]
But it's draining my MP. I've been invisible for a while now, and at 2 MP per minute, I'm going to run out soon.
Can't risk turning it off though. Not here. Not with these level 12+ monsters everywhere.
I continue forward, moving as slowly as possible to avoid creating vibrations.
The corridor opens into a larger chamber. My vision picks up movement—lots of it.
[Entity Detected: Stone Barnacle Cluster - Level 8]
[Entity Detected: Abyssal Crawler - Level 11]
[Entity Detected: Dungeon Eel - Level 13]
This room is FULL of monsters.
Okay. Think, Yuki. You've played stealth games. You've done Metal Gear speedruns. You can do this.
I plot a path through the chamber, timing my movements to avoid the patrol patterns.
One pulse forward. Wait. Another pulse. Wait.
[MP: 5/16]
I'm halfway across when my Prey Sense suddenly screams a warning.
Something MASSIVE is moving. Above me? Below me? I can't tell.
[Entity Detected: ???]
My vision can't pick it up. Too big? Too far? But the vibrations—
A mouth.
A GIANT MOUTH.
Opens right in front of me.
SHIT—
I try to Pulse Burst away but it's too late.
The current drags me forward. Into the mouth. Into the throat. Into—
[Warning: You have been swallowed whole]
Darkness. Tight. Crushing. The throat muscles contract around me, trying to push me deeper.
NO NO NO NO NO—
[HP: 22→19]
The pressure is INSANE. I'm being squeezed from all sides.
THINK! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT CAN I DO?!
My tentacles! I still have my tentacles!
I extend them as far as I can, pressing against the throat walls.
[Skill Activated: Poison Sting Lv.1]
The familiar tingle as venom pumps through my tentacles into the creature's flesh.
The throat convulses.
[HP: 19→17]
It's trying to swallow me! I need MORE venom!
I activate every single tentacle. All twenty of them. Stabbing. Stinging. Pumping as much poison as I can into the surrounding tissue.
[Poison Sting Lv.1 repeatedly activated]
[Target: Suffering from venom accumulation]
The creature thrashes. I can feel its whole body moving, shaking, trying to dislodge me.
But I'm STUCK. Wedged in its throat. No way forward. No way back.
So I do the only thing I can.
I hold on.
And I keep stinging.
Time becomes meaningless.
Sting. Wait. Sting again.
[Poison Sting activated]
The throat muscles spasm around me.
[HP: 17→15]
I'm taking damage from the pressure, but my Self-Heal is keeping me alive.
[Self-Heal: +1 HP restored]
[HP: 15→16]
Sting. Breathe—wait, do I breathe? Whatever. Sting again.
[Target: Venom accumulation critical]
The creature's movements are getting weaker. Slower.
But it's been HOURS. I think. Maybe? I can't tell anymore.
My tentacles are numb. My body aches. I'm running on pure spite at this point.
You tried to eat me. YOU TRIED TO EAT ME.
So guess what? I'M GOING TO BE THE WORST MEAL YOU'VE EVER HAD.
[Poison Sting activated]
[Poison Sting activated]
[Poison Sting activated]
The creature convulses one more time.
Then stops moving.
[Entity Defeated: Abyssal Gulper - Level 19]
[+850 EXP]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 3]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 4]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 5]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 6]
FOUR LEVELS?! FOUR LEVELS FROM ONE KILL?!
[HP: 22→24→26→28→30]
[MP: 16→18→20→22→24]
But I'm still stuck inside a dead monster.
Okay. Phase two: GET OUT.
The throat muscles have relaxed. I can move now. Sort of.
I push forward—no, that's deeper into the body. BACKWARD. I push backward.
Slowly, painfully, I wiggle through the dead creature's throat.
It takes forever. The body is already starting to sink, the weight pulling it down toward—
[Warning: Approaching dungeon floor]
The impact is soft but sudden. We hit bottom.
I finally, FINALLY, manage to push myself out of the creature's mouth.
Free. I'm FREE.
I pulse away from the corpse, my whole body trembling.
I was inside that thing for HOURS. HOURS!
That was the worst experience of both my lives!
[Tutorial Phase Complete]
Wait, what?
[Congratulations on surviving your first major encounter]
[Level progression system updated]
[Previous System: Skill selection at each level]
[New System: Skill Points awarded per level]
[Skill Points can be spent in Skill Shop]
[Current Skill Points: 3]
There's a SKILL SHOP?! Since WHEN?!
[Skill Shop unlocked at Tutorial completion]
[Tutorial completion requirement: Defeat enemy 10+ levels above you]
So you're telling me I had to almost DIE to unlock the shop?! Why didn't you TELL me this?!
The system, as always, doesn't respond.
Typical.
But I have three skill points! And a shop! I can actually CHOOSE my build now instead of just taking whatever the system offers!
I'm about to open the shop when my Basic Vision picks up something.
The cave around me is... glowing?
Not bioluminescence. Something else. Something pulsing with soft, rhythmic light.
[Prey Sense activated]
No prey nearby. Just me and the dead gulper.
I drift closer to the walls. The glow is coming from moss—no, algae—covering every surface.
What is this?
I need to know what this is.
I quickly pull up the Skill Shop.
[SKILL SHOP]
[Available Skills: 847]
[Filter by: Category / Cost / Level Requirement]
[Current Skill Points: 3]
Eight hundred and forty-seven skills?! How am I supposed to choose from—
Focus. I need information RIGHT NOW.
[Search: Appraisal]
[Result Found: Appraisal Lv.1 - Cost: 3 Skill Points]
[Description: Identify creatures, objects, and materials. Provides basic information on level, type, and properties.]
Three points. All my points.
Worth it.
[Purchase: Appraisal Lv.1?]
[YES]
[Skill Acquired: Appraisal Lv.1]
[Skill Points: 3→0]
I immediately use it on the glowing algae.
[Appraisal activated]
[Target: Manabloom Algae]
[Type: Magical Organism]
[Effect: Absorbs physical nutrients from deceased organisms and converts them into ambient mana. Smaller creatures in proximity receive passive mana enhancement. Creates self-sustaining ecosystem loop.]
[Warning: High concentration of mana attracts predators]
Wait.
Wait.
It converts dead things into MANA?
And there's a MASSIVE dead thing right next to me.
The Abyssal Gulper's corpse is already being covered by the algae. I can see it—even with my Basic Vision—the moss spreading across the body, glowing brighter.
[Manabloom Algae is absorbing nutrients]
[Ambient mana levels increasing]
And then I feel it.
A tingling sensation. Not painful. Almost pleasant. Like warm water flowing INTO me.
[You are absorbing ambient mana]
[MP: 24→25→26→27]
My MP is INCREASING?!
[MP: 27→28→29→30]
It's not stopping!
[MP: 30→31→32→33]
This is INSANE! My MP just keeps going UP!
[MP: 33→34→35→36]
I drift closer to the corpse, right into the thickest concentration of glowing algae.
[Mana absorption rate increased]
[MP: 36→38→40→42]
THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE INFINITE LEVEL GLITCH!
I can just FARM this! Kill big creatures, let the algae convert them, absorb the mana, get stronger!
This is how I get OP! This is how I speedrun to level 50!
[MP: 42→45→48→50]
Hours pass. I just float there, basking in the mana flow, watching my MP climb higher and higher.
[MP: 50→52→54→56]
The algae keeps glowing. The corpse keeps decomposing. The mana keeps flowing.
[MP: 56→58→60→62]
I'm going to be SO POWERFUL. I'm going to be—
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 7]
[HP: 30→32]
[MP: 62→64]
[Skill Points: 0→1]
YES! Another level just from STANDING HERE!
This is BROKEN! This is—
My Detect Vibration suddenly screams.
Not a warning. An ALARM.
Something MASSIVE is moving. In the walls. No—ON the walls. THROUGH the walls?
[Warning: Boss Entity Detected]
[Entity: Dungeon Apex - Abyssal Reaver]
[Level: 35]
THIRTY-FIVE?!
[Boss Type: Mana-Sensitive Predator]
Oh no.
[Warning: Your mana signature has attracted the dungeon boss]
OH NO.
[Manabloom Algae high concentration = Hunting ground]
I immediately activate Intermediate Camouflage, turning invisible.
[MP: 64→62]
[Camouflage Active]
The vibrations get closer. MUCH closer.
Then I see it.
Even with my Basic Vision, I can make out its shape. It's HUGE. Some kind of crustacean—but wrong. Too many legs. Too many segments. Armor plating that gleams even in the dim light.
[Entity Identified: Abyssal Reaver - Level 35]
[Type: Ancient Dungeon Guardian]
[Special Ability: Mana Detection]
Wait.
Mana Detection?
[Warning: Intermediate Camouflage only affects visual detection]
[Boss can sense mana signatures]
YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS NOW?!
The boss turns.
Directly toward me.
It can SEE me. Not with eyes. With MANA SENSE.
I'm invisible but I'm GLOWING with mana!
[MP: 62]
All that mana I absorbed. All that power.
It's a BEACON.
The Reaver MOVES.
Fast. SO FAST.
It's on the walls, the ceiling, the floor—moving in three dimensions like gravity doesn't exist.
[Boss Pattern: 360-degree mobility]
I Pulse Burst away.
[MP: 62→57]
The boss follows. Not just follows—TRACKS. It knows exactly where I am.
I dodge left. It cuts me off.
I pulse right. It's already there.
[Warning: Boss is herding you]
IT'S SMART?! THE BOSS IS SMART?!
The Reaver circles, its massive pincers clicking together. Making calculations. Planning.
I can't outrun it. I can't hide from it. I can't—
It LUNGES.
I Pulse Burst straight up.
[MP: 57→52]
The pincers snap shut on empty water where I was a millisecond ago.
The boss immediately pivots, climbing the wall, repositioning.
It's FAST. It's faster than me even with Pulse Burst!
I try to think. Try to plan. But there's no time. The boss is already moving again.
It feints left. I dodge right.
Exactly what it wanted.
The pincer comes from above.
[Critical Hit Incoming]
I see it in slow motion. The massive claw. The razor-sharp edge. Descending.
Right toward my center mass.
MOVE MOVE MOVE—
I Pulse Burst with everything I have.
[MP: 52→42]
Not enough.
Not fast enough.
The pincer catches me.
[HP: 32→???]
There's no pain. Just... pressure. Then nothing.
I look down—with my Basic Vision, with my Detect Vibration, with every sense I have.
My body is in two pieces.
The pincer cut CLEAN THROUGH.
[CRITICAL DAMAGE: Body severed]
[HP: 32→2]
[Warning: Fatal damage detected]
[Self-Heal attempting to stabilize...]
[Self-Heal: INSUFFICIENT]
My two halves start drifting apart.
I can feel both pieces. I'm still conscious in BOTH pieces.
But they're separating.
The top half with most of my tentacles.
The bottom half with my bell.
Both pieces.
Both dying.
[HP: 2→1]
[Time until death: 10 seconds]
The boss watches. Waiting to confirm the kill.
No.
NO.
I didn't survive the abyss. Didn't survive being swallowed whole. Didn't unlock the skill shop and find the mana exploit—
Just to DIE HERE.
[HP: 1]
[Time until death: 5 seconds]
My vision is fading. Both halves losing coherence.
There has to be SOMETHING. Some skill. Some ability. ANYTHING—
[Warning: Body cohesion failing]
The Reaver moves closer. Making sure.
[Time until death: 3 seconds]
Please.
[Time until death: 2 seconds]
I don't want to die again.
[Time until death: 1 second]
My consciousness flickers.
Both halves.
Dying.
Separated.
Gone.