《Useless Bones》


 Failure at Life

    I jolt awake, almost flinging myself out of bed. My heart is pounding out of my chest, and I¡¯m drenched in my own dried sweat and feeling parched as a wasteland. I look up at my ceiling, half expecting it to be something from a nightmare, but all I see is the same small ceiling of my dorm that I remember so familiarly.


    The window I had not completely closed the night before was now covered in a dull morning dew refracting the morning light. I wipe my hands on my bed but to no avail. Surprisingly, I step out of bed, find the world spinning, and fall to my knees. Trying to recollect myself, I wonder why I am like this. I don¡¯t remember having any nightmares, and I¡¯ve never been one to dream much at all. The night before seemed relatively uneventful; after another unsuccessful date, I returned to my dorm and tried covering my feelings by studying.


    I look over to the small desk beside my bed with slightly crinkled papers that look like drops of water have dried on it. I wince and look away, and my eyes catch on my rusty white mini fridge; I stumble over, holding onto anything I can. I pull the door hard, which slides the refrigerator along the cheap brown carpet towards me. I stand up straight, step back a few steps, and pull my right leg back. With a swift kick of my heel to the fridge latch, it slams against the wall with a bang, and I notice the dent where I kicked it getting more profound.


    The door to the mini fridge slowly sways open without a sound despite having to kick it unlocked. The light inside flickers like a horror movie, which it just about was. In the dim morning light and the flicker of the fridge, I see a bag of bread and an open plastic bottle of a slightly clear liquid. The label is hard to make out in the dim light, so I grab it and hope it isn¡¯t too expired. I drink the whole bottle within seconds, barely tasting anything.


    I sputter up what was left in my mouth, and a sour and bitter taste lingers in the back of my mouth. I toss the bottle in my overflowing wastebasket next to my door, attempting to remind myself to take it out. I gain my composure and saunter into my tiny bathroom, which leaves nothing to the imagination. The sink and toilet are right in front of the door, and the shower is closer than elbow distance. Cramped would be an understatement.


    When I see myself come into focus in the mirror, I let out a deep mix of a sigh and a groan


    ¡± Ugh, I look like shit. How did I get like this.¡±


    I wet my hand and slick back my longer brown hair to see my eyes. I know it won''t be long before I have to leave for class, so I slick my hair back with some water and splash myself some more to attempt to remove my sweat. I grab my small cup of herbs I found a few days ago. They appear to be withering despite having enough water in the cup.


    ¡±I guess I have to get some more after class.¡± I think


    I take the herbs from the cup, crush them in my hand, and use them like deodorant.


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    After throwing on fresh clothes, I yank my phone out of the home-made charger for it. I found the phone buried in mud when I was in the military, and having to live with what I had, the chargers for that type had long faded into obscurity, so I made my own out of scrap wires I found in recycling. I grab my backpack at the door, and just as I am leaving my room, my phone finally turns on, and I see what time it actually is.


    ¡±Oh Fuck! I¡¯m late!¡±


    I toss my phone in my pocket as I open my door to see the sun''s reflection clearly through the large center balcony inside the dorm. Despite the building being almost 60 years old, I still found it modern-looking. There was a large center section in between two walls of rooms with windows enclosing the center. With all the windows they added, it would be a waste to have solid floors. Each side of rooms had about 5 feet until a railing where a 15 foot gap in the floor divided the rooms. On both my left and right were looping stairwells where it would loop back once before coming to the next floor.


    I start sprinting to the stairwell to my left, knowing it would be a long way down, as they kept adding floors to the dorm without adding an elevator. I glance through pipe railing as I ran, and felt a creeping feeling of inferiority looking down 24 floors and knowing that I am who I was born. I can¡¯t go up or down faster, and no matter how much I trained, after a year of these stairs, I have not improved in the slightest, and I know that even a four-story drop would definitely end my life, let alone 24.


    I run down the stairs, my mind stuck in the mud of human experience. I was always the kind of person who wanted to do everything and know everything about anything. But I soon learned that you could only learn so many things before you couldn¡¯t learn anymore or forget what you had learned.


    I am jolted to the real world when a face suddenly appears walking up the stairs. A small woman with a pretty face and a sprinkle of nervousness bordered by golden brown hair that brushes her shoulders like the branches of a willow. I stumble a bit, reminding me I¡¯m still going full speed down a flight of stairs. I try slowing myself by sliding my feet, but they slide right out from under me, and my head starts heading towards the ground.


    I quickly push my legs off the railing to help right myself, but instead, I am sent flying sideways towards the woman down the flight of stairs. My eyes meet hers as I pass by her. She had beautiful, deep purple eyes, but my eyes were pulled lower down.


    ¡±Holy FU-¡°


    Before I finish my comment, my head hits the railing with a short bank cut off in black. I start to feel again, and there is this bizarre feeling in my head; it''s a mix of dizziness and other things. I hear a faint female voice, and the feeling in my head gets worse as I wish I would rather die than endure it more. The woman¡¯s voice becomes louder as I can begin feeling my limbs crumpled under myself. I mumble to what I can only assume is, ¡°Are you ok!?¡± With an ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± when I clearly am NOT.


    After what feels like hours in my own personal hell, I feel my self-conscious coming back. I take a deep breath as I open my eyes and see the beautiful face of the lady who was coming up the stairs. Her short brown hair hangs over as she¡¯s inches from my face, and it feels like our personal hideaway. I lift my head closer to hers, and our lips almost touch; then she sits up.


    ¡±Oh, good! You''re okay!¡± she says, relieved.


    I notice she¡¯s sitting on her knees next to me on the platform to the stairs. She¡¯s wearing a short black dress that I¡¯ve only seen in movies, and I never thought anyone would actually wear one. Above it, she wears a dark blue suit, and her square glasses, which she picks up from the floor, tie it all together.


    ¡±You look beautiful,¡± I say without thinking


    I slide myself up against the railing and bring my hand to my face to hide my embarrassment, and my fingertips feel wet; I pull my hand away and see some blood on my hands. Of course! I must have had a concussion; whywould I try to kiss someone I had just met and then comment on their look?


    She jolts me out of my head.


    ¡±Oh, thank you. But we should worry about you.¡± It could have been my concussion, but I think I saw her look aside and cover herself, blushing.

 Just a Normal Class

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

 I don鈥檛 even have stealth skills.

    The new room I found myself in looks like a big hall with white columns going up to a dome ceiling about 15 feet tall. In Front of the group of my other classmates stands a few knights dressed in shining armor holding spears. In the middle of them stands an old-looking man with a long grey beard, and the top of his head shines like the room we are In. He wears a pristine white robe embroidered with gold that looks like a cross.


    As my classmates stop looking at me and the room we are in, he speaks;


    "Welcome heroes of another world. We have brought you here because our world is on the verge of collapse, and we need your help to take it back from the monsters."


    In the crowd, I hear a few people give a cheer of


    "HELL YEAH!"


    Almost everyone knows a little about stories of going to another world, and everyone hopes to be the main character to save everyone. I mean, what the hell was that explanation? They know we came from another world, but that''s all they have to say? Our old life is gone, and who knows what the hell awaits us in this strange place.


    "Follow me. I will explain as we walk."


    He says as he turns around and begins to walk, as the guards in the room surround the group. I stand in the corner next to a pillar in a dimmer light, but they forget entirely about me. I don''t know how I''m the tallest in my class, and the last one people notice.


    I am alone in this big marble room as everyone walks out the door. I should look around. There must be some catch. As I peek out the doors, I see my class heading down a hallway to the left. To the right is another hallway unguarded with more doors and windows to the outside.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    As I quietly walk down the hallway, I look out the window and see a nice-looking fantasy medieval-looking village in a white mid-day sun. Past that is a stone wall with the building, and I am in the center. Past that wall, you can see more run-down shacks and fields.


    I come up on the first door in the hallway, an average-looking wooden door for this world, and peek in. I see a small room with a round table and 12 cloaked figures sitting around it.


    "The summoning was successful. Now we won''t have to sacrifice the lives of our followers."


    "Agreed, but we must lead them on this "Hero" facade, or they may turn sword towards us."


    They all nod in unison, and I feel frightened that I might get noticed if I keep watching. I close the door and hurriedly rush down the hallway, taking lefts and rights, looking for my class, hoping to warn them.


    I saw one of the knights escorting my class enter a large double-door room. I slowly open the door, peeking in, and see the backs of all my classmates in what looks like a throne room. I slowly slink into the door and join the back of them. I see a large man on a throne with a displeased look talking to my class.


    "Your skills are a gift to you by the great goddess of this world that will help you on your quests to save this world. Now, I ask all of you to tell us your first skill."


    I then hear everyone in the class say


    "Status"


    And a few of them Oooo and Ahhhh, so I follow suit and see a slightly transparent tab before me. I see what looks like a 3D scan of me in a box, and my stats and skills are just like a game info screen.


    My only skills are Of Mind and Body and Skeptic. When I push my finger on the name, it brings up another page that explains the skills.


    Of Mind and Body: One has mastered the skill of completely controlling one''s self.


    Skeptic: Your experiences in your previous world have gained you an expert eye on when something seems wrong.


    What the hell? Of Mind and Body doesn''t explain what the fuck it''s even for!? And skeptic!? I can''t tell them that! I''ll get executed on the spot! I''m useless!


    I hear my classmates say their skills in a line, and they all have one skill based on combat or support. On my turn, I tell them of mind and body, and they get confused looks.


    "We have never heard of that skill before. There are rare cases where the goddess makes new skills for summons. Please tell us what it does."


    The man on the throne asks. I tell them the description, and they look even more disappointed.


    "Seems rather useless."


    He grumbles under his breath rather loudly. He waves his hand away, and the guards surround us. The older man in white robes leads us out the door, walks us to a lower floor, opens a door that looks like a bunk room and says.


    "This is where you will stay until we have accommodations set up."

 Night of Distrust

    I find myself in a relatively small stone-brick room with wooden bunk beds on each side. The beds are stuffed with straw and lit with light, dim orange stones held with metal rods and impaled into the stone bricks.


    With us being so-called "Heroes" and them having been planning to summon us, they sure don''t feel genuine. A few guys run to the closest beds and crash onto them with a loud creak. I also see Daimarion jump onto a top bunk and about break it with his weight.


    "This is going to be fun!"


    He says as he laying back, looking around the room. I claim a bunk towards the back of the room and see a wooden chest next to my bed. It opens with a rusty metallic creak, and I see a heavily rusted sword and what looks like a remnant of what used to be a helmet. The helmet is so rusty that it crumbles to pieces when I pick it up.


    The room is rather dark, with just the strange glowing crystals lighting it and no other windows besides the ones in the hallway. The slowly dimming sunlight from the hallway signals that everyone should go to bed.


    The dimly lit bunk room reminds me of something similar I went through on Earth. During the Wyoming Revolution of 89, I was drafted for the revolution when I was 10. All the soldiers had to stay in barracks similar to these; there, I learned many things; there are more who would eagerly kill for the smallest gain.


    All the chatting and excitement in the room died down, and most talking became a low murmur. It''s the best time to warn everyone now.


    "Hey guys, I heard some people talk-"


    Before I could finish, I was interrupted by a familiarly annoying voice,


    "HA! You''re still here!? I thought you''d have run off by now with an introduction like that! Let me guess, Do you have a stealth skill? What a fucking useless ability."


    A few friends joined him in laughing, which was clearly fake, while the rest were annoyed by his humor. What I would do to give him a kick in his fuckn'' nuts, but I turn over in my bed to face the wall. If they are too blinded by the fantasy of becoming a hero to some weird church, they won''t hear my warning, so that''s their problem. I''ll be safe in another country or back on Earth when they get manipulated into morally wrong actions. And then I will be laughing at them.


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    I never was one for sympathy. Even as a kid, I thought, why should I go out of my way to give someone another chance when they made the wrong choice? Now that I think about it, my father''s perspective might have rubbed off on me. At least I''m still more open than he was.


    I should learn about this place and what brought us here. But right now, I''m worn out and need to sleep. I glance back at everyone and see everyone back to usual chit-chat. Just as I''m about to turn back over, I see someone''s eyes meet mine. I think her name is Arceil. She looked at me as if expecting me to finish what I said. I scoff at her and turn back. She didn''t question this much; we didn''t even get that good of an explanation on our first day. I guess you can be intelligent but ignorant at the same time, I think, with a sizzling spite building up within me.


    I wake up to the creak of a board. Through my sleep, I see figures in white robes next to everyone''s bed casting what looks like spells with dim blue lights coming from around their hands. I see one look over to me and know that I''m awake. He whispers something to the others, and a few raise their hands towards me and see more dim blue light. My head feels instantly heavy, and I crash back onto my straw pillow.


    I wake up with a blurry, fading memory of what happened over the night. It feels more like a dream than anything else. I stand up from my bed and realize I feel like I have a terrible hangover. My head hurts to move, and I can barely stand upright. That confirms that my dream was not, in fact, a dream but reality because I would have no reason to feel this was other than a side effect of that magic they used; what could they have been doing?


    The older man who met us before stands in the doorway, tapping the doorframe with a large stick that looks like it naturally grew around the blue orb at the top.


    "Everyone, grab your gear from the boxes. We are doing hands-on training now."


    "Awesome!"


    A few people shout in anticipation of seeing more of this world. Everyone grabs their gear; it''s mostly the same: a sword, chainmail, and a helmet. None were as severely damaged as mine, though. I pick up what''s left of my helmet and my sword. It looks like it could kill more people with tetanus than its blade. As everyone was walking out the door, I caught the older man glaring at me, and I couldn''t help but fear for my life when I saw it.


    I slip past him, fearing a dagger in the back. But he leads the group down more stairs and out into the front of what I can now tell is a large castle with horse-drawn carriages waiting. The carriages look average, not as modern as in our world, but not as bad as expected. The wood is sanded, with windows made of foggy glass and red curtains covering them.


    The older man ushers us inside them, and with a lurch, the carriage starts. It''s filled with five students and a knight holding a short sword across his lap. The carriage rattles down the cobblestone road, and I would like to know if they have leaf spring suspension; I could make something out of my knowledge here.


    The carriage stops, and I hear a large gate being opened, and we start going again. I''m sitting on the same seat as the knight but with someone in between us. He sits there staring forward like a British royal guard. As I want to learn more about this world, I grab the carriage curtain and am about to pull it open. I see a shining sword lunge at me as I hear a sharp whistle of air cut.

 Baby鈥檚 First Dungeon

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 I suck at Dying

    Shrouded in darkness, the air rushing past me, falling in silence, I think of how terrible my life has been. I came to a magical world and died before I even used magic. I didn¡¯t learn anything and couldn¡¯t change my fate of being the one at the bottom, even though I¡¯ve yet to hit it.


    The only notable thing I did was during the revolution of 89 that I got drafted into. I was too busy crying in a trench to hear my commander yell at me to shoot back. I was kicked and beaten to follow the order, but I just couldn''t.


    Soon, my platoon got overrun, and I was spared the trial for treason for my young age, and that I was too much of a wimp to fight back.


    My last thought was, ¡°god, I am useless.¡± Then a heavy *Thwack* a shooting pain through my whole body for the shortest of a moment.


    I awake suspended in a strange, heavy liquid; my whole body hurts more than I thought even imaginable. This must be hell.


    The heavy liquid burns at my skin. I open my eyes to see darkness, but it fills my eyes with a burning pain. I flail my limbs frantically, trying to get to the surface as I gasp for air, but instead, the liquid fills my mouth and floods my lungs, and it feels like it¡¯s eating away at them with stinging pain.


    I break through the surface, coughing and gasping at the cold, damp air. I can see a faint outline of something I can grab onto with a dim light. I reach for the ledge, but my arm only slaps at it, and I see half of my arm flop to the side as I realize it¡¯s shattered in half.


    I gag at the sight and cough up more of the thick liquid as I feel lightheaded from all the pain. I try my other arm, and it flops limp like a noodle. Maybe my skill can hold my arm straight so I can pull myself up. I think


    I focus on the muscles in my right arm, set my arm straight, and hold it there as I grab for the edge. The ledge squishes under pressure, but I pull myself up. I lay on my back, coughing and retching up what''s left of the heavy liquid in my lungs, and I feel the ground ripple with every cough.


    I jolt awake with even more pain than I had before and can say with certainty that every bone in my body is broken. A cough shakes the ground and startles me enough to stand up, but my legs crumple into themselves. I yell out in pain, but it comes out as a strange sputter. Realizing I wasn¡¯t the one who coughed, I wonder what it could have been.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I put my head to the ground and hear what sounds like a faint heartbeat. Just as I tune into it, it fades to a stop. A blue window appears in front of me like the ¡°status¡± window.


    ¡°Congratulations! You are the first to kill a Dokushi Lizard. Your name will be remembered for generations to come.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I say, confused, and again, only a strange gurgle comes out rather than my voice, but nothing happens in response. The window just closes, and another one opens, saying I have gained 100 levels. I don¡¯t know if that''s good or not. High levels could be 1,000, although I do hope it¡¯s a lot to help me get out of this place.


    I crawl in one direction. Dim light seemingly everywhere outlines the edge of whatever I''m on. I carefully slide down it and land near what feels like the leg of a giant lizard.


    It must have broken my fall. Somewhat. And I got the credit for killing it; it¡¯s pretty handy if you ask me.


    I crawl forward into nowhere until my hand touches something that feels like wood. I should start a fire so at least I can see, and a long rest should make me feel better.


    I find more wood-like sticks and two rocks that feel similar to flint. I take some straw still stuck in my clothes and chip the stones at each other.


    Sparks alight, and I see the giant lizard behind me with blueish-green scales. The ground is nothing but a smooth, black, layered stone-like shale. Past the campfire''s light is an abyss darker than the blackest black.


    A shine lodged in the back of the lizard catches my eye. I crawl over to see the tip of my sword embedded in the lizard''s side. I grab it and see that it looks sharper than before; maybe the lizard''s blood is acidic, so it must have eaten off the rust.


    I dig the tip of the sword into the lizard''s scales as a roaring hunger overwhelms me. I cut a slice of flesh off it with the scales and place it on the campfire.


    While it cooks, I practice putting myself back together. I can hold my bones in place and re-grow the bone. It''s a lot faster than expected, but it would take me a couple of days of focusing on healing to recover fully. So, I leave my bones in a partially fractured state for now.


    I pick up the lizard meat as it becomes a crispy-looking brown. I hold it up before me, and it smells surprisingly like a well-seasoned chicken, with the blood acting as some kind of acidic glaze. Just as I¡¯m about to take a bite, I look past the fire and see a mangled pillar of dry sticks on the edge of the campfire light I had not seen before.


    I follow it up about four stories and see three massive white eyes staring at me, accompanied by drops of what sound like water hitting the solid rock. One lands near me, and I see it resembles sap from a Tree, then one falls on the fire, and it explodes in a massive fireball, instantly burning my meat to a crisp. Then, the pillar moves up into the dark with a creek and a groan of wood. I only see it again when it comes within sight of the campfire as it falls toward me.

 Reversing A Dungeon

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

 Too Close to Dying

    The beak pierces through the right side of my chest and goes clean through. I cough a dark red ooze on its face as I feel my life slipping out. As the bird stands lifting me into the air, staring me down on the end of its beak, I see another window pop up saying.


    "Skill used


    Death-defying - prevents instant kill attack.


    Cool down seven days."


    I feel myself stop fading and am left with only the pain of a giant bird''s beak in my chest. I try to yell as I attempt to push myself off of its beak, but I fail, and all that comes out is a weak gurgle. My throat is crushed, and my right lung is gone.


    With another chance at life, I use all my strength and slam my fist down on the bird''s head. The whole body of the bird goes flying to the ground with a snap, but I left, where it was holding me with its beak, still impaling me.


    As I fall to the ground and land on my hands and knees, I hear more crowing from further above me, and I start sprinting towards the tunnel on the opposite side of the room.


    Stumbling and gasping for air with a giant beak sticking out of me, I barely make it to the tunnel and turn around to see a colossal crow head looking through the tunnel at me, unable to fit inside.


    I stumble up the tunnel and get to an opening at the end of it. I see I am back in what looks like the area I had entered, with a small winding path going up the side of a massive pit.


    I stumble up the pathway, dragging my hand on the outside wall, trying to stop the bleeding from my chest. The outer wall soon crumbles away into nothing, and I am left with a brightly lit plateau covered in large, multicolored fluorescent mushrooms.


    Completely out of breath and feeling like I''m about to pass out, I stumble under one of the giant mushrooms and lean back on it. Even with all the pain, I either pass out or fall asleep.


    A sharp pain in my right side wakes me, and I try grabbing at it, but the large black beak still sticking out of me stops me from bleeding. I figure I should probably pull it out.


    I wrap my hands around it and yank it out with one fluid motion. More pain overwhelms me, and I pass out.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I wake up with two halves of the beak sitting on my lap. I don''t know how long I''ve been down here, but it feels like weeks since I''ve had a meal. I look up at the mushroom that I''m resting on, and I attempt to say


    "inspection "


    But all I hear myself do is let out a slight wheeze as I feel out of breath and lightheaded. I looked down at my chest, where my right lung should be, and I see the hole that the crow left.


    I put my hand up to it and see it''s about the size of my whole hand. I put my hand into the hole and feel the cold, hard mushroom behind me.


    I wretch forward, gagging as I''m trying to throw up from the awful feeling of being able to put my hand through myself. But as expected, nothing came out.


    I wipe my mouth, feeling my chapped lips, and wonder if there is anything to eat or drink here.


    I stumbled to my feet and look around the plateau I''m on. And I see that it circles the giant pit in the middle, but all I see are giant glowing mushrooms.


    I pick up a piece of the beak and stab it into the mushroom behind me. A glowing blue liquid flows from within the mushroom and pools inside the beak.


    I have a feeling that if I don''t drink anything soon, I might die. I lift the beak above my head and pour the liquid into my mouth. It has a sour taste, but it''s not revolting and tastes rather refreshing. I sit down again, and I hear a wet pop from inside the hole in my chest.


    When I look down, my eyes fixate on an organ that has popped out of my chest and is now drooping down in front of me, being held on by a few blood vessels and a tendon.


    Before I could think of anything, I quickly grabbed it and pushed it into an open spot. Forcing myself not to think about it. Whatever that was, I hope it wasn''t necessary.


    Hunger is the next feeling that comes over me, and I notice some flesh stuck to the end of the beak that I am holding. Disgusted by it but still needing to eat, I rip a piece off and pop it in my mouth. I do this a few more times until the beak is cleaned.


    I wake up lying under a glowing mushroom, and it reminds me that I am still in a dungeon and have a lot more to go before I get out. That means I will likely have to face more foes before I can escape, and at the moment, I don''t have any weapons or armor.


    I rack my head for anything I could use to defend myself and land on the bird''s beak. One half is larger and broader than the other, and I could use them as a sword and shield.


    One of the beaks had what looks like a piece of the crow''s skin with feathers on it. It is the size of a robe, so I rip it off and put it on my back. And I start shaping the beaks with the sharp stones I find on the ground.


    After a while of shaping the beaks and multiple broken rocks, I finally have an acceptable-looking sword and shield.


    Fueled by my anger towards the archbishop, I venture upward into the dungeon to get revenge.

 Fear of Fire

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 Awakening

    I am once again alone in a black void, but there is no pain, no suffering, no guilt. I float in the nothingness, feeling completely calm in the truest sense of the word. I don¡¯t feel happy that I died, but I am okay about it as all my regrets fade away.


    I am then showered with a blinding blue light illuminating the darkness as a notification window appears before me.


    ¡°You have cleared the dungeon of Mother Earth solo and have failed to escape with your life. And you have succumbed to the dungeon.¡±


    Just as the window closes, another red broken window appears.


    ¡°ERROR - Can not consume.¡±


    as another broken red window opens


    ¡°Mind and body, you are always in full control of yourself. Making you immune to being controlled by the dungeon.¡±


    My eyes fly open, and I feel a warming heat coming from within where my eyes are and the cold, shiny black stone below me. I look around, unable to turn my head, and realize my head is just off the ground.


    I stand and hear the sounds of bones rattling together as I smoothly rise on my feet. I look around the dim cavern lit by the orange glow of the sunset coming from the entrance.


    I reach down to pick up my sword and am surprised to see a charred black bony hand reach for it, where it felt like my hand was. Surprised, I look at myself, and all I see are my charred bones where my body should be.


    ¡°AAAAhhhh¡±


    I yell in shock, as I doubly surprise myself as I hear my own voice again. I tap my chest, I hear a clank of bone and some of the char falls off my bones, and I notice I still have that hole in my chest except its just where the bones are missing. I hear a scurrying coming closer; I turn around to see that same rat holding half of the glowing mushroom scurrying towards me.


    It jumps onto my cape witch is now holding on to my spine and scrambles up it with a sound like scraping metal and jumps up into my skull.


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    ¡°HEY! GET OUT OF THERE!¡±


    I yell as I try to shake my head to get it, not wanting to reach inside my head. I stop and think momentarily, trying to feel what it''s doing, but it just curls up and sleeps. I turn what used to be my eyes around into my head, and I see the small rat or mouse curled around the glowing mushroom sleeping.


    The creature gives off a pleasant warmth, and It¡¯s not as bothersome as I thought it would be. Remembering the rat''s strange sound on my cape, I put it in my hands, and it felt like the feathers melted and created some kind of flexible metal.


    I pick up my sword again and consider going back for my shield. But I never used it anyway, so I start to the exit. The clacking of bones against stone every step I make will be hard to get used to.


    Exiting the tunnel, I am met with a bright sun directly in front of me. I raise my hand to block it, but it still shines through the many gaps in my bones. I turn back to the dungeon, flip it the middle finger, and yell.


    ¡°FUCK YOU! I FINALLY MADE IT OUT!¡±


    Just as I yell that, a broken red notification pops up, saying


    ¡°Surviving being eaten by a dungeon means you have climbed above them on the food chain.


    New Skill acquired:


    Dungeon Eater


    You can now consume dungeons and their powers when they are defeated.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Escapes my mouth as a gray wisp floats over from within the dungeon and flies into my chest, and I instantly feel stronger. When I look back up where the entrance was, it is now just a grassy field with no memory of the dungeon that was just there.


    I turn around and see the road that brought me here, and it reminds me of that damn Archbishop. I need to get a lot stronger if I want to be able to take my revenge. I would need to get through his guards, and he might have someone above him who is stronger than him.


    If I can get more strength from eating dungeons, then all I have to do is eat more. In no time, I should be able to reach his level. I start down the opposite direction that we came from, hoping to find another dungeon or a town to ask around in.


    I walk for the night, and a day before, I see a town in the distance. It should be dark enough that I won¡¯t stand out too much if I cover myself with my cloak. Not wanting to draw attention by holding a sword, I place it in between my ribs.


    I get into town as night falls, and I make sure my head and arms are hidden, and I tiptoe not to rattle my bones. Most people are going into houses lit with a warm orange glow, but some stalls are still open as they organize their sales for the day.


    I walk up to a scruffy, short man with short, dirty hair and a long, poofy beard who sells armor and swords and asks.


    ¡°Do you know of any dungeons nearby?¡±


    He startles at a customer after sunset, and he looks me up and down as I hide my face just out of light.


    ¡°I know there is one down the road where you came from. But if you want another, the Adventures Guild could help you with that. It¡¯s just down there. Might still be open.¡±


    He points down the road to a building with a sign that has an image of crossed swords on it.


    ¡°Plan on buying anything?¡± He adds


    ¡°Maybe later. No coin.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s clanking around under your cloak?¡±


    I realized my sword had been rattling around in my ribs as I walked, making a noise that sounded like coins. I rush off to the adventure''s guild building to avoid conflict with that merchant.

 Life of an Adventuerer

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 The town of Sorrow

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