Chapter 56: First Time Entering the Dungeon
A forest with an eerie and gloomy atmosphere that was downright creepy. The ground here was dry and black, and on top of that, the smell was horrible.
The trees were dozens of meters tall, yet they were dry and stiff with not a single leaf on them. The tree trunks were even stranger, with purple veins glowing with a faint but eerie light.
Small streams snaked through the area before eventually gathering into a huge pitch-black lake. The water here was both black and hot, as if it were some kind of deadly chemical.
Hanging in the sky was a blood-red moon, radiating a mysterious red light. Thick layers of dark clouds moved at incredible speed, causing the light to come and go, making this place even more dangerous.
This terrifying environment was unsuitable for any normal living creature to survive in. Even the strongest animals and insects had no way of surviving in such a harsh environment.
In that damn place, Mark was trembling as he hid inside a hollow tree. His face was pale from blood loss, and his eyes were dark from not getting any sleep for several days.
His trembling right hand was tied tightly to the shaft of his spear with a piece of cloth because he no longer had enough strength to hold it.
His whole body was covered in badly wrapped bandages over his wounds. On top of that, there were countless bruises, making his condition absolutely miserable.
Beside him was a backpack with several holes in it. Inside, there was still some dried meat, a little water, a few pieces of bandages, and some medicine.
"Master... When is this going to end?"
Mark whispered, his voice so quiet that no one except him could hear it. He really wanted to scream as loudly as he could, but he no longer had the strength for that. His entire body was sore to the point that even the slightest movement could make his muscles ache.
The reason for Mark’s miserable condition had to be traced back to three days ago...
After completing the first lesson, Mark and Nexus finally went to Mark’s place for the first time. It was just a small, cheap, old apartment, and the electricity and water would occasionally get cut off because of problems with the system.
In this run-down place, Nexus didn’t have any complaints either. Even though the room was extremely dirty, not even a speck of dust or a bit of foul smell could stick to his body.
[What a stupid and useless mortal, you don’t even have a decent place to live. If you hadn’t been lucky enough to be born in a place with a developed economy, I’m sure you’d be hiding in some hollow tree just to survive.]
The system talked as if Mark were some ancient human who didn’t know how to do anything. But Mark didn’t want to argue with such a stubborn existence as the system.
"Master, what is the second lesson you mentioned?"
Ever since he heard about the second lesson, Mark had been unable to sit still. But Nexus remained completely calm, deliberately putting off revealing it.
"What’s going to change if you know a little earlier? I’ll give you half a day to rest; are you sure you don’t need to sleep?"
The calmer Nexus was, the more anxious Mark became. His instincts kept warning him, but they wouldn’t tell him exactly what danger was coming.
After dying twice, it seemed like Mark’s instincts had leveled up too. As long as they sensed danger, they were almost always right.
"How can I sleep right now? Besides, after merging my body and soul, I feel pretty refreshed, like I just had a good night’s sleep. I don’t need to rest, we can start now."
This feeling wasn’t without reason because Mark’s body had just been recreated. The system had restored Mark’s body to the best condition that was reasonable given his recent circumstances.
"Fine, I’ll go along with what you want. System."
Nexus wasn’t the type of person who talked much. Since Mark was certain that he wanted to start early, there was no reason to keep delaying.
[Got it. I’ve already prepared everything.]
The system and Nexus were mentally connected. As long as Nexus wanted to, he could directly communicate with the system through his thoughts without having to open his mouth.
"Prepared what?"
Mark stared blankly at his master and the system, who were secretly doing something suspicious. Whatever made the two of them keep it such a secret was definitely something terrifying for Mark.
A large backpack appeared right in front of Mark. Inside was a pile of dried meat, drinking water, medicine, and some medical supplies.
This backpack had to weigh at least ten kilograms. For a skinny guy like Mark to carry it around for a long time while constantly moving was practically impossible.
"What does this mean?"
Faced with Mark’s confused gaze, the system only gave him a knowing look like some bastard playing with someone else’s life.
[You useless mortal. Don’t die too soon. You can’t revive infinitely.]
"The second lesson officially begins. Staying calm when your life is in danger is the lesson."
The moment he heard the lesson, Mark rolled his eyes. Judging by Nexus’s words, there was definitely a chance that he would actually die for the third time this time. He didn’t know whether he could be revived or not, but getting beaten to death wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
"Master..."
Before Mark could even finish a sentence, the space around him changed, startling him so much that he fell flat on his butt into a puddle of water.
The hot black water soaked through his pants, making Mark jump to his feet in shock. The burning sensation on his butt immediately made him grimace.
"What the hell is this place?"
The gloomy scenery around him was so creepy that it sent chills down Mark’s spine. Although he had never studied much about things related to hunters, he immediately realized that he was inside some kind of dungeon.
Judging from the scenery, this was definitely not an F-rank dungeon because the natural conditions in F-rank dungeons were very mild.
This bizarre place had to be at least D-rank for an environment this strange to exist.
Mark bent down to pick up his spear and dragged the backpack over to hide it inside a tree hollow. Then he found a corner that was easy to hide in and crawled inside.