The Primal Hunter's
Death & Courage

As the timer went down, he assessed the situation. He knew what to do about the snake platform, and since he had been given a dagger, he assumed it had something to do with disabling the winged snake symbol or the wyvern symbol.

If his entire theory of evolution was correct, it was likely that he would have to do something with the winged snake symbol. The image was the same as in the previous room, depicting a winged snake flying over humans and animals, all of whom bowed before the beast.

If he had to feed the mushroom-eating snake mushroom, would he have to feed the winged snake as well? Seems likely. There's only one small problem. The only thing other than her in the picture is another living being. And he was the only human or animal present; he didn't like where his logic went.

But he had to think of something. The knife was clearly there to cut something, and the only things he had to cut were stones, mushrooms, and himself. And as much as he wanted to rampage slicing and cutting mushrooms, he was pretty sure what to cut. Well, no one dares, no one gets .

He raised the knife and made a small incision in his palm. Because that's what you're supposed to do, isn't it?

He hissed in pain as he started bleeding. Standing on the edge of the platform, he threw out a few drops of blood, fortunately hitting one of the symbols with a winged snake. When the blood touched her, the blue light disappeared, just like when she fed the small snake mushroom.

Smiling at himself, he nodded at his brilliance. Not too difficult . He started looking for a pattern that he had to jump over as he wrapped his hands on the cloth of his robe. The path of this room was slightly longer than the last one, but it should be manageable. All right so first there .. then there ...

Seconds by second passed as he mapped out the route in his mind. But he soon realized a problem. Not in the way he wanted, but his hands. It did not stop bleeding; in fact, it felt increasingly worse.

"Fuck me," he swore loudly because he had just put himself in a tighter timer.

He quickly followed the pattern he had decided on and started throwing mushrooms and blood around him as he jumped on the first platform. It made his bloody hand hurt as it opened from his robe, but to be honest, he wasn't sure it could get any worse.

As he was a little more than halfway through, he started to feel dizzy and almost tripped. His blood came out at a frightening speed, and his attempt to suppress his wound was unsuccessful.

He continued to push forward as his hands began to feel a chill, a chill that immediately spread to his arms. A sense of weakness began to envelop his entire body as he finally made it to the final platform and, with a half-hearted leap, tried to jump into the next passageway.

His half-heartedness resulted in him not getting all the way, hitting the ledge hard. He managed to hold on with his barely functioning arm, but his feet barely touched the water.

As they made contact, he felt a stinging pain. He lifted himself up with a stream of adrenaline, but when he tried to stand up, he heard a strange sound like someone was squeezing rotten fruit.

Falling to the ground, the feeling of pain and dizziness was very strong. He looked back and saw the fate of his legs. Both of them were stumps that rotted as darkness spread to his feet, already reaching his thighs.

He tried to crawl forward, but his knees gave up even his bones were rotten. He was so close to being along the hallway.

Desperately, he used his hands to claw himself forward. His entire body was cold, but the debilitating pain from his legs made him focus. Even then, his vision began to blur as he continued to crawl. The vision in his left eye suddenly disappeared, followed by his blind right eye. The foul had spread to the lower half of his body now, already reaching the navel.

His mind was empty, yet he continued to claw the ground, moving it forward inch by inch. It's not even clear if you can call him unconscious any longer. His instinct to survive is the only thing that still survives. Fouls had already reached parts of his lungs, and breathing became impossible. Soon it would reach his heart, and no matter how strong his instincts were to survive, it would be the end.

As death stayed a while longer, he crawled the last few centimeters, fully entering the passageway.

Challenger is fully restored. Challenge continues.

Up to the other side of the hall: 2/3

Time remaining: 14:59

Jake opened his eyes in a jolt as all the feelings returned to his body. He had already stood up before he could process what had happened. His body was healed, knife wounds and rot were all gone, and even his clothes were restored.

His heart was still pumping fast, and his entire body was stiff. It took him about a minute before he finally calmed down, fully aware of what had just happened. Realizing that he was no longer in danger.

He has died more or less. He felt himself dead. While the feeling of coldness and emptiness was physically gone, it still dominated his mind. For the first time since he entered the tutorial, he actually faced death. His bloodline abilities gave no warning, and he had no response to his slowly devoured body.

If the system doesn't cure him when it does, he'll die. There's nothing he can do about it. He enjoyed fighting; he enjoyed dancing between life and death, dodging fatal attacks by the skin of his teeth. To feel the rush from coming out on top.

But against that water, or whatever liquid it is, it's not actually an enemy. It's just right there. If he died against a powerful opponent, even if it was a ferocious beast without the ability to understand his sentiments, he could accept it.

Dying here alone, her only best friend is a mushroom. He wanted to die fighting, not lying on the ground helplessly, slowly corroded by the annoying poisonous underground water.

At that thought, what's with this shitty dungeon? Wasn't the dungeon supposed to be a cave filled with loot with powerful enemies and cool bosses? It wasn't just a bunch of ugly halls with worse traps. Is this one of those puzzle dungeons that nobody likes on videogames? Can you call this fucking hole a dungeon?

His despair and worry turned to anger as he turned his attention back to the present. He's lived, he's alive, and he's not gonna die in this fucking place. With a newfound determination, he proceeded to the final hall.

On the way, he picked up the bone dagger that had been placed in the passageway with him. He had dropped it during the last challenge, but it seemed the system wanted him to be quiet.

If the next challenge was like any other, he might have to cut off his hand once again. This time, however, he vowed to make his injuries smaller and less rambling before starting. Also, to not be a fool and cut off his palm. Why is it even something? The palm of the hand has a lot of nerves in it, and you move it all the time, making it even more painful.

The next hall was almost the same. Except for the pedestal with the dagger and the pattern of the symbol, nothing changed. But when he saw the design of the platform, he was shocked.

No more mazes. Instead, all platforms are neatly arranged in rows, which means one can make the entire trip while stepping on only one type. Does this mean that one could just throw some mushrooms and go the easy snake route?

No, it feels wrong. Jake tried to throw the mushroom onto the snake platform, and it did die for 10 seconds just like the others. Is this a free room? A mind game? A trap?

He looked at the line and noticed that only the middle row consisted of only wyvern symbols. Wyvern was sitting at the top of a mountain, roaring towards the sky. Nothing else is shown in the picture.

The other he had to feed them something, give them what they wanted. But what does this wyvern want? There are only two objects in the whole picture, wyverns, and mountains. He doubted a little blood, or one or two mushrooms would satisfy him.

The only clue he could see was that he was staring towards heaven as he roared. Is it angry at the sky? But that begs the question..why is it just sitting on a mountain? His wings opened as if he wanted to fly.

A thought suddenly entered his mind. He wasn't sure if it was his own intuition or perhaps the dungeon itself that instilled that thought. But somehow, he felt like Wyvern was in sight. He wasn't sure if 'fear' would be a better word, but something inside the wyvern held him back. The roar was not anger or anger, but doubt.

It was just a feeling, but his intuition told him he was right. At least partly. What wyvern really needs is courage. The will to go forward and face his fears. As he thought of this, the platforms seemed to respond as their light increased.

At the same time, every other platform except the one with active wyvern is turned off. Jake instinctively knew he could go down one of the different paths to the exit and continue safely. But he didn't do it.

Instead, Jake decides to feed the wyvern courage. Without hesitation, he dashed towards the platform that was still shining with the blue symbol of the wyvern. He jumped onto the first platform, and his sense of danger instantly went insane.

He did not stop for even half a second as he jumped onto the next platform with the wyvern lit up. Through his ball, he felt the platform behind him being consumed by a burst of acid water gushing out.

He repeatedly jumped up, jumping from one platform to another until he reached the end, each platform behind him being consumed by water.

As he stood there, the challenge passed, he looked back and saw all the other platforms crumbling into dust. He turned to the doorway and exited the hall, leaving the entire room behind him in a mess.

The Challenge of the Underground Prison: Arriving at the other side of the hall using the platform. The time limit per hall is set to 15 minutes.

Arrive on the other side of the hall: 3/3

Challenge passed!

All Statistics Restored. All skills are reactivated.

An overwhelming feeling coursed through his body as all his stats returned. It only lasted a few moments because everything was back to normal. He was amazed that he did not need to adapt to his drastically strengthened body.

But then again, only he returned to the same strength he had .. Damn, just half an hour ago.

As she read the message, she also realized that she could indeed have taken the easy path. If his guess was correct, then the previous room was a test to see if the challenger would take a clear and easy route, or take a risk like he did.

He smiled at his own stupidity. Well, he thought, at least I would die my own way if it failed .

Entering the next room, which he considered a bonus, he found himself in another hall . This one's a lot bigger, so it's something. There was no pillar like the first or the huge basin filled with murderous water like the next. It was just a long hall with a gigantic mural carved into the wall at the end.

He walked over, and as he did so, he could finally see the entire carving. It clearly tells a story. As he stared, the images began to move as he felt his consciousness being sucked into it. The moving image displays the same snake of the symbol as it crawls on the ground, eating the fungus.

It only lasted a few moments when the snake ate mushroom after mushroom. The same little snake immediately started fighting the giant beast, but they were all left half rotten behind him. The little snake slowly grew in size, before finally growing wings and soaring into the sky.

It flew over the landscape, spitting out the mist that consumed the ground beneath. At other times, humanoid creatures of various shapes were shown kneeling in front of a huge snake while lazing on the vast plateau.

The winged snake continued flying across the land, killing all who were blocking its path, with humanoids following it like its humble servant.

Finally, it showed a battle between a snake and an enormous bird-like creature. The snake won and once again soared into the sky as it grew bigger and bigger before finally turning into a wyvern.

This Wyvern then went on a rampage across the country, killing everything he encountered. The troops of the same type of bird that had been killed earlier were consumed by the poison fog surrounding the scaly beast. He had no rivals and massacred everything he encountered; even his humanoid followers were not spared from the onslaught.

Eventually, the wyvern finds itself on a mountain top, surrounded only by a remote world beneath. A desert of his own creation. While lying there, he roared towards the sky. The mural then shows the passage of time, when the wyvern is just silent. No new grass or trees grow, no new life emerges. The land where he grew up is dead.

Wyvern gazed towards the ground he had made and finally found courage, no longer hesitating. It opened its wings and soared into the sky. The sky shattered like it was made of glass, as a colossal explosion ate a huge wyvern.

The last part of the mural was a small snake that emerged from the exploding planet, now no longer a wyvern, but a dragon. It soared upward to the stars as the entire universe opened in front of him. The hunger was clearly visible in his eyes.

After the picture stopped, Jake stood in front of the mural long enough, just staring at it. It has shown the complete evolutionary path of small snake mushroom lovers, from small creatures to dragons.

He was amazed at the beautiful carvings, where the scenery was frozen on the wyvern image that pierced through the sky.

He placed his hand on the mural as a warm light entered him. At the same time, he heard the wall at the side open, showing the exit.

You have witnessed the will of a true dragon.

+10 willpower

As the light disappeared, he did not feel any different. His determination had always been his lowest stat, and now it was almost doubling. He's not quite sure what the stat really is, but hey. free stats are free stats. He decided to look at this status for the first time in quite a long time.

Status

Name: Jake Thayne

Race: [Human (G) – lvl 4]

Grade: [Harmer – lvl 9]

Profession: T/A

Health Points (HP): 350/350

Which Points (MP): 150/150

Durability: 238/240

Statisticians

Power: 24 (27)

Agility: 25 (30)

Durability: 24

Vitality: 35

Toughness: 14

Wisdom: 15

Intelligence: 15

Perception: 43

Willingness: 23

Free points: 3

He has experienced growth everywhere, especially in strength and agility with his new bracer. However, it seemed that his stats were not really active here within the dungeon.

The most pleasant surprise, however, was seeing her stamina refilled. When the system recovered it, it not only healed his wounds, but also completely renewed his pool of resources. This meant that he could continue walking even without potions or rest.

After closing his status menu again, he returned to the mural, trying to implant it in his mind. This is the path to power by extraordinary beings. He respected the snake, even though he was very fond of mushrooms.

Bending towards the mural as a sign of recognition, he turned towards the exit, walking forward. A ludicrous desire entered his mind.

I would love to fight that dragon one day.