NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Spellbook
The monster chased Mike to the dungeon door, and no more, then it turned, body moving swiftly for something so big, its growls reverberating through the whole dungeon.
Even though it has no eyes it sniffed the air.
Terror hit Jael like a lightning bolt. The monster is hunting him, that's for sure. He reminded himself to breathe, but it was shaky. Jael knew he was going to die. There's simply no other possibility for him.
What's the rank of this monster? Silver? Gold?
He shuddered. 'I can't even handle bronze rank by myself!'
'But maybe I can find a way out of here. I don't have to fight the monster, do I? I don't!' His thought kept spinning. 'Calm, calm' he tried to think of everything he knew about dungeons.
One thing was clear to him though, a monster like this was not supposed to be in a dungeon this weak. That means there must be something wrong here. 'Maybe if I can find out what's wrong, I can find a way out of here,' but Jael nearly scoffed out loud. When has life ever gone the way he wanted?
He was hiding behind a broken pillar, staying as still as he could. He peeked and looked at the monster again; it stood in front of the door, head swishing from side to side. 'So it can't see'
That makes him feel better, but that's only a temporary solution; Jael need to get the hell out of here, forget about the essence, and getting fully Awakened for now.
Only those alive have things to worry about.
'If it can get me through smell, then I should be dead by now.' Jael reeks of sweat, blood and fear. That leaves the monster with only one way of tracking. Through hearing.
He picked up a small stone, and slowly, very slowly, he stood and made sure not to shift his legs so as not to step on the bones. He threw the stone, and it sailed through the air before it landed on the beds of bones with a loud clatter.
The reaction was swift and terrifying. The monster was on it in a flash, mouth open wide to swallow everything in the place where the stone landed. Fangs dug into the dungeon floor and it swallowed everything.
Jael shuddered, and a shiver ran through him. "I'm screwed. Very, very screwed. Not only did Mike and his party scam me, but now I has no essence and I'm about to die
Almost as if he hustles for his own death. Jael almost began to start laughing. He's going to die here with all the dreams he had and all the truth he would never know.
This is exactly the situation that Jael never wanted to find himself in again. It was exactly like the night a dungeon appeared in his house and the monsters killed his family. He was just as helpless as then.
"I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to climb the Tower. I want my name to spread through the Tower like all those famous climbers." He whispered furiously. It awoke a feeling he didn't know he had in him, something stirred at the back of his mind.
Up on the altar, a soft glow began to surround a book as black as night itself.
For all his bravado words, all Jael did was hide behind the pillar and begin to look for a perfect opportunity to run out of the dungeon. He can't beat the monster, that's clear enough but the idea of outrunning it played in his mind.
The problem is that the monster is close to the dungeon door. Jael had to find a way to make it get far away from the door, but he couldn't think of anyway as he sat there.
He didn't know how long he sat behind the pillar but it was long enough for his limbs to stiffen. And he wasn't the only one who wasn't moving; the monster also stayed as still as a statue, and Jael was beginning to think his luck was out when it moved.
The monster slithered up into the altar and coiled around the podium. Jael leaned far in that he saw what the creature was coiling around, a book that was so dark it was the faint green glow around it that outlined it for him.
'Time to run. I will let it rest a bit then I'll run for all my life is worth'
That was what he thought, but why were his eyes returning to that book like a moth to fire? His heart was beating fast as something crazy occurred to him. He had often heard about artifacts found in the dungeons. Powerful treasures that could set him up for life.
And not only in terms of money. Treasures and artifacts are the world's cheat for the un-Awakened and the Halfs. Just one powerful artifact and you might go head to head with a silver rank or even a gold.
And boss monsters guard it with their lives.
Jael clenched his hands. 'If that thing is guarding the book on the podium then it must be a powerful artifact, and maybe I can find a way to trick it somehow'
Jael was stalling. If he should step out of this dungeon without fully Awakening, then he should kiss his dream bye-bye. Suddenly, idea of going back is getting more scary than getting eaten by an undead.
So Jael stopped thinking. He picked up the biggest stone he could find and with all the power in his half Awakened body, he threw the stone towards the door.
He waited for the clatter and the hissing monster to pass, then he began to run towards the alter. The monster heard the crunching bones beneath him and bellowed in fury at the trick.
But Jael was already on the alter, and he gripped the book; it resisted him, but he was a desperate man, and he pulled it with all his strength towards himself.
Magic sparked, green fire ate up his hand, and he screamed as fire devoured him. At the same time, the monster opened its mouth and bit down.