Chapter 45: Dungeon

Summer swallowed the remaining piece of the last Elite core with a satisfied crunch.

A familiar blue holographic screen flickered directly in front of her dark ruby eyes.

[Status]

Name: Summer

Evolution: Elite Zombie Girl (1/1000 Elites)

Racial Traits: Undead body, Shadow Mirage

Class Skill: Elite Puppeteer

Level: 15 (0/1500)

HP: 320

Mana: 250

STR: 30 | AGI: 35 | CONST: 32 | INT: 25

Free Attributes: 28

Skill(s): Gravity Compression (Common)

Equipped Gear: Iron Brawler Gauntlets (Common), Swift Strider Boots (Common), Void-Bound Chestplate (Uncommon)

Summer upgraded five levels simply by eating the cores saved by Three, though these cores did not add to the required Elite cores for her to evolve.

She blinked her large red eyes at the dark numbers on the glowing panel. Eating all those sweet treats had pushed her strength up very fast, but her progress toward the grand evolution remained stuck at just one single Elite monster.

The system instantly chimed inside her head to clarify the minor details.

[Only the Elite zombie cores you slay directly with your own hands will count toward your evolution meter.]

[Consuming stockpiled cores gives you vast amounts of experience points, but it cannot satisfy the evolution conditions.]

Summer let out a tiny sigh and closed her status panel with a quick flick of her pale hand. She did not mind the little limitation at all. As long as she got to chew on delicious candies and grow stronger, she was completely happy.

She turned her small body around and started walking deeper into the dark stone passage. Three floated closely behind her head like a tiny green cloud, letting out soft purring noises while trailing behind its sweet new master.

[The appearance of dungeons will create strange natural occurrences. A desert may get rainfall like a rainforest in a short time, or a sandy beach may suddenly turn into a desert.]

[Each of these natural occurrences depends on the dungeon type.]

The system explained the mechanics as Summer walked along the damp tunnel, searching for more candies. Her quiet footsteps echoed softly against the rock walls. The dim light inside the corridor made the gray stones look pale and slick.

She kept her eyes wide open, hoping to spot another shiny crystal on the ground. Beside her ear, Three wiggled its soft green body in the air, floating left and right with endless energy.

[Every dungeon will begin with tunnels. Tunnels are what connect the dungeons into reality. As you exit the tunnel, you will enter the dungeon itself. Since the appearance of this place dried out a whole river, the chances of the dungeon being a desert—]

’Plop.’

Before the system could ever finish its sentence, Summer stepped onto what appeared to be a solid surface, but it was actually a wide hole large enough to swallow her whole.

"Aaah..."

’EEEk!’

Summer and Three yelped as their bodies fell freely through the dark pit. Well, Three did not actually fall, but it dutifully imitated its master’s fall and even matched her high scream.

The narrow opening swallowed her before she could even react. The vertical drop was pitch-black and completely lined with strange, thick slime.

The hole was wet and slippery; it felt just like an endless water slide. Summer zipped downward through the curving darkness at a terrifying speed.

Wind whipped wildly through her long dark hair as she rushed down the smooth pitch. Three screamed in absolute terror, wrapping its soft wispy threads tightly around her ear while shaking like a tiny leaf against her pale skin.

Summer held her breath as the tunnel twisted sharply to the left. Her back bumped against the slick mossy sides, sliding along without any painful friction.

After some time, Summer actually began enjoying the wild slide.

The fast wind felt cool against her pale cheeks as she shot around smooth corners. It was much more fun than walking through boring dark tunnels filled with plain dirt.

She even let out a small, breathless giggle as the track curved again.

[Ahem... it seems this dungeon is a bit special.]

’How so?’ Summer asked as she continued sliding through the dark.

She noticed the speed of her rapid fall was increasing far too much. The dark walls were becoming steeper with every passing second of her descent. If she smashed into a hard surface at this crazy speed, her clothes would get messy.

Summer focused her mind on the dark mana flowing inside her small core and activated her skill, Gravity Compression.

A translucent gray wave flared out from her body, instantly covering a five-meter radius around her. The invisible gravitational force pressed against the slippery walls of the narrow tunnel.

It generated heavy drag against her falling weight, drastically reducing her downward momentum.

The heavy pull gripped the surrounding air, creating a dense cushion beneath her boots.

Her fast descent slowed down into a steady and gentle slide along the wet mossy surface. Three stopped crying and uncurled its glowing eyes, looking around in complete wonder.

[Dungeons are classified into two types: Ordinary and Special. Ordinary dungeons will have predictable conditions. Like, an ordinary desert-type dungeon will typically appear by drying out wet areas. But this dungeon isn’t a desert type, which makes it special.]

[Now we cannot predict what type of dungeon this is unless we explore further.]

Summer listened carefully while her small feet slid smoothly over the wet slime. Up ahead, she saw a bright opening and slid straight through it.

The sudden and overwhelming light blinded her instantly. She squeezed her eyelids shut to protect her ruby red eyes from the intense glare.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was standing in a place so deeply green that it looked unreal.

Everywhere she turned, colossal trees stretched out as far as the horizon could reach.

The air smelled intensely of damp earth, rich soil, and thick fragrant moss. She looked up with wide, curious eyes to see where she had just come from.

She had fallen right through the massive roots of a big tree!

The trees here were all gigantic; their exposed roots rose as high as a six-story skyscraper. Massive wooden trunks stood like unyielding pillars supporting a colossal canopy of dark green leaves.

The leafy roof overhead was so thick that it completely blocked out the sky above. Enormous roots curved out of the muddy soil like giant wooden dragon backs, while heavy drops of cool rain fell constantly from the leaves high above, splashing loudly onto the soaked ground.

Thick vines as wide as human bodies hung down from the high branches, and strange glowing mushrooms sprouted along the dark wooden bark, casting soft pastel lights onto the dim forest floor.

The sheer scale of this hidden world was completely breathtaking and grand.

"Wow..." Summer mouthed in awe. ’So this is a forest-type dungeon?’

[We cannot be sure. Special dungeons are tricky. They may appear as one type, but their inherent properties may be of a completely different type or a strange mix of types.]

Summer nodded quietly as Three nestled into her neck bowl, acting like a warm cloth. The little green furry ball squished its soft body snugly between her chin and collarbone, purring happily while releasing a faint, soothing warmth against her skin.

As a zombie, Summer did not feel cold at all. In fact, she liked the chilly air.

Her cold body naturally preferred chilly places over burning hot rooms, and the cold rainwater made her pale skin feel crisp and fully awake. She liked how the heavy drops trickled down her forehead and washed away the lingering dust from the slide.

She raised her small hand to catch a few heavy raindrops falling from above. The water pooled in her gauntleted palm before slipping off her skin.

She wiped her wet face casually with the back of her sleeve, prompting Three to let out a soft squeak and tuck its furry edges tighter under her chin.

Summer patted the tiny ball twice with her gloved finger before looking ahead.

’Now what should I do?’

[Just explore; we will eventually find out the condition to clear this dungeon.]

Summer took a solid step forward, her Swift Strider Boots sinking slightly into the soft muddy soil.

The wet earth squished underneath her soles with a low sound as she pulled her foot up effortlessly and began marching deeper into the primeval woods.

Three kept its soft body wedged safely under her chin, squeaking whenever a heavy raindrop splashed too close to them.

The towering roots formed massive arches and hidden pathways all around her; walking underneath unscathed was a task on its own because of the constant drips and slippery mud.

She kept her ruby eyes wide open, searching carefully for any signs of movement.

The dark shadows between the giant trees were thick and mysterious. Bright blue fireflies as large as apples drifted lazily through the falling raindrops, casting flickering light over the mossy ground.

Summer reached out her hand to touch a patch of glowing blue moss covering a giant root. The plant felt squishy, cold, and strangely smooth beneath her fingertips.

Where there were trees, there were bound to be monsters hiding in the dark shadows. And where there were monsters, there would definitely be high-grade candies waiting for her to harvest.

She licked her lips slightly at the sweet thought of finding unique forest Elites. Her small stomach gave a tiny rumble of anticipation for new core flavors.

Even the candy gods seemed to have heard her hunger, as a sudden rustling sound echoed from the heavy canopy high above her head.

Summer stopped in her tracks immediately and tilted her head upward.

Huge wooden branches creaked under the weight of something massive moving up there. Water splashed down in large waves from the giant leaves as whatever was hiding in the shadows shifted its stance.

Summer raised her iron gauntlets, her ruby red eyes glowing with faint excitement.

Her first real hunt inside this special dungeon was finally about to begin.