First Step Into The Abyss

"Have I fallen?"

Darkness, darker than any night I've seen. Pitch black as far as the eye can see; it wasn't bad, though. The darkness was almost .. comforting. If this is the abyss, the darkness that engulfs Nightmare City, then maybe I was wrong.

I've questioned those who've fallen; I ridiculed them for giving up so quickly, yet here I am, finding comfort in it.

"I guess that makes me worse," I spoke aloud into the great void, well, I thought I spoke out loud, but I heard nothing in return.

All noise seems nonexistent here, almost like it was never a thing in the first place. Not only that, but I couldn't feel my body, almost like it was gone. Yet, I knew it was there, only inaccessible; something was blocking me from using the rest of my body, only allowing movement of my head.

Closing my eyes, I noticed no difference from when open; opening them, a faint white light appeared on the horizon. I'm sure it wasn't there previously. I wanted to see what it was, what could shine through the abyss; alas, without the function of my body, I could only hope I would float in that direction.

Staring at the blinding light, I realized something. That comfort I felt wasn't from the darkness surrounding me; no, it was from this light—a bright, shining light piercing the darkness.

Before studying it further, the light engulfed my vision, the previous black replaced with white.

"What is going o-" I was cut off by a sharp pain in my head. It was far worse than what Eric and George inflicted on me.

"AHHHHH!" My scream pierced the white light.

The pain was unimaginable, like a hot knife slicing my mind. My eyes felt heavy, threatening to close.

My eyes were about to close along with my conscience, and my lips slightly curved. I don't know what the consequences were, and I don't care. If I'm to die, then so be it. At the very least, my pain will end. I was happy, happy this pain would end.

--

"Mmm"

Opening my eyes, light assaulted me, forcing my eyes to their previous closed state. Wasn't I just in the void? Why, no, how am I alive?

I am alive and feel better than ever like I've been reborn. But that doesn't make sense; I was on death's door. I was in the void, so how?

While I tried to rack my brain around my current situation, I squinted my eyes to adjust to the light.

The first thing I noticed was the world was sideways. Shaking my head, I lifted myself off the ground and looked at my surroundings. I saw abundant brown grass and part of a round orange object.

With my eyes adjusted and fully opened, I saw the orange object was a pumpkin. Something I'm very familiar with. Pumpkins, plants, and vegetation would always grow at the start of each season without delay.

No one knew how they grew; some thought it was a deity taking pity on us. While others thought it was a guardian angel. Both of those seemed foolish, but hope was rare to come by, so I never voiced my opinion.

And it wasn't like I had any better idea of why they grew, but I'm thankful they did. It was the only source of food I had.

Along with brown grass and pumpkins, green plants and leaves were scattered in the field connecting to each pumpkin.

The clear blue skies made it easy for me to spot the white beam descending to the ground in the distance. The white beam signaled the next dungeon level or, as some call it, floor. Each dungeon is different not only in the number of floors but also in the content.

My father used to tell me stories about dungeons and what to look out for—mentioning the pillars of light and guardians. Each floor had a guardian, only allowing those who defeat it passage to the next floor.

Of course, that is only a dream for someone like me. Dungeons were made for groups to adventure together and conquer them, not solo. Even if it was possible, I don't know if I'd want to. Leaving would only mean facing my 'friends' again.

"Ahh" Sighing, I shook my head. I don't know what to do or think anymore.

Looking closer at my now-healed body, I realized how bad it felt to be weak. Like an apple waiting to be picked, I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was miserable, something I never wanted to feel again. I don't know if I should be happy, but the mark on my left hand is still there.

It seems even my hair was cleaned, from what I could see. My white hair wasn't long nor short, if I wanted to, I could cover my entire eyes with my bangs, but I'd rather put it to the side.

Looking down at my body, I see my torn rags for clothes. Despite initially being white, they looked more brown. With enough holes, it was practically useless to wear. At least it covered enough.

While looking at myself, movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

Just behind a pumpkin, a long, gray tail was sticking out.

I knew monsters lurked inside the dungeons, but I did not know what kind or what they could do. Monsters are beings with little to no consciousness. Without complex thoughts, they rely more on instincts. Where and how they came to be, I don't know.

Can I even defeat it? Do I want to defeat it?

Over and over, I've been told it's kill or be killed in the dungeons. Yet I don't know if I can kill, and I don't think I want to be killed either.

Do I want to live?

It's been so long since I've felt this good; it's almost addictive. I don't want it to be taken from me, especially from a tiny monster in a starter dungeon, even if that dungeon is in Nightmare City.

I don't have to engage if I don't think I can win anyway. Just a peep won't hurt; a quick use of {Inspect} and escape.

One of the few system abilities I know, {Inspect}, allows the user to see name, race, species, and level if the target is within 25 levels or lower than the user.

Whatever it may be, I doubt anything too outlandish would be on the first floor—a 'starter' monster or perhaps a weaker species.

Lowering my body toward the ground, I slowly walked toward whatever monster awaited me. Making sure to avoid anything that could make a sound, I carefully maneuvered around and over the plants and pumpkins that littered the ground before finally getting closer to the horrific monster.

It was standing at a foot tall, with clean brown fur, long white whiskers, and long sharp nails. Hunched over, gripping a pumpkin with its strong hands, munching on the pumpkin. Its long, flat teeth quickly tore through the pumpkin, guts flying everywhere.

"{Inspect}!" With a simple command, a panel regarding the monster's information appeared before me.

{Man-Eating Mouse}

{Tier:0 Level:1}

Man-Eating? How great the first thing I encounter is called Man-Eating Mouse. Its short stubby arms can't reach me, but I would be a goner if it were to jump on me. At least it hasn't noticed me yet, but how can I fight against it?

There isn't even anything I can use against it, just pumpkins and plants too fragile to make anything with. Would a pumpkin do anything to the mouse? It would surely do something if I smashed a pumpkin on the mouse's head.

Retreating a few feet, I looked for anything useful but was disappointed.

At this rate, I'll be on this floor till I die. If I want to survive, I need food and water. I can eat pumpkins if I have to; now I need to worry about water.

Unless these pumpkins are like the fruit and vegetables in Nightmare City, there has to be a water source nearby. But considering this is a dungeon, they probably are similar. A phenomenon where plants magically grow at the start of a season; yeah, it's best to assume it's the same inside a dungeon, a place no one can understand the depths of.

Ahh. Looking around, I spotted a small pumpkin, perfect for testing with. Walking toward it, I made small movements with limited sound.

Hopefully, once I get far enough away, the mouse won't hear the impact of the pumpkin. Crouching in front of the pumpkin, I placed my foot on the stem and forcefully broke it, freeing the pumpkin. Fortunately, I have sandals protecting my bare feet.

Breaking the stem made little to no sound, so I wasn't worried about the mouse hearing me. I picked up the small pumpkin and realized it weighed more than I had predicted. Or perhaps I'm weaker than I thought.

Whatever it was, I walked past where I woke up, ensuring the Man-Eating Mouse wouldn't hear whatever noise I made.

Walking for only a few minutes, I felt like it was enough. Pumpkins were everywhere I looked; if the mouse did hear something and my test went how I thought it would. I'm sure I will be fine, probably.

Raising the pumpkin as high as possible, I smashed it down with all the force I could manage. Smashing into the ground, the brown grass cushioned most of the sound. The pumpkin exploded into pieces, guts flying as far as fifteen feet.

"That was a lot better than I thought." I spoke aloud; hearing my voice, I noticed it held more power than before.

This should cause a decent amount of damage to the mouse. If I'm lucky, it will disorient the mouse and give me enough time to smash it with another pumpkin.

Unfortunately, there's only one way to level up here. I need to get stronger if I want to leave or survive for a few more days. And the only way is to defeat monsters and gain experience.

Picking up a pumpkin slightly bigger than the one I just smashed, I made my way back toward where I found the mouse.

Making sure to avoid stepping on any plants or leaves, I returned and found the mouse munching on a different pumpkin.

Despite my careful planning, I failed. I stepped on a leaf; it felt like the sound echoed throughout the entire floor, alerting every unknown monster of my position.

The mouse stopped eating, looked toward my position, and only after a few seconds of looking, turned back to the pumpkin. It was almost like it thought I wasn't a threat or didn't care about my existence.

Either way, it made what I was about to do much easier.

Creeping behind the savage mouse, whether it heard me or not, it did not turn back toward me. I raised my pumpkin far about its head, making it virtually impossible to miss my target.

Sucking in a deep breath and slowly exhaling, I was ready. Using every muscle I could, I brought down the pumpkin will all the might I could manage. This is the only way, the path to power.

Upon impact, a loud cracking noise erupted from the mouse. The pumpkin split in two, and pumpkin guts flowed down the mouse and flew in every direction, even at me. The mouse and the pumpkin fell to the ground with a moderate sound.

A ring from a familiar mechanical bell sounded. Where? Huh. Two small icons waited for my use in the far right bottom corner. The first icon is a box, with a grey outline of a person with a blue background, while the second also inside a box is a grey bell with a red number two also with the same background

Upon my will, the system panel opened up, and there it was, waiting for me.

{Welcome to Nightmare Playground!}

{Earned 50 Experience Points!}

"Nightmare playground? ... ha. This must be the name of this dungeon. I got this notification before I blacked out. But... to think, I actually killed something. With my two hands, I killed a monster. Hahaha." Uncontrollable laughter erupted from my mouth, only to die down a few seconds later. "What is wrong with me?" I whispered, hoping for an answer.

I feel nothing. No disgust, no happiness, nothing. From the act alone, I feel empty. It's the after-effect I'm scared about. Knowing you can take a life, even if it's a lowly monster, it's so... exhilarating.

Nothing changed, well, physically. I can't imagine the effects leveling up will cause me. Oh, but I can't wait to see it.

My right hand traced over the mark on my left.

"What are you?" I asked this question so many times I've lost count.

But I'm done wondering; I will find out what caused so much pain to Nightmare City; I'll find whatever branded us.

It's a big, dark world filled with monsters beyond my imagination, but that makes it fun. I might be weak right now, but one day, I will uncover the truth and set myself free from the bounds of this world.

All heroes and villains start at the same place. The beginning. What will I become?

Oh well, for now, I'll focus on leveling up.

"{Status}!" With the system command, a blue panel with all my physical and mental prowess as a numeric value appeared.

{Name: Kai Venator

Race: Human

Class: N/A

Level: 1/50- 50/100

Hp: 100/100

Energy: (Locked)

Magic: (Locked)

Mind: 9

Vitality: 4

Strength: 4

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 3

Dexterity: 3

Resistance: 2

Attribute Points: 0

Equipment: (Click To See)

Inventory: (Click To See)}

Ah, classes, mana, and magic; they seem like a dream, a fantasy. I know one way to unlock mana and magic. That was to advance to tier: 1, but I'd first have to achieve level 50. As for any other energy, it was a mystery to me.

My strength stayed the same; I guess it shows the highest your stat is in perfect condition. Maybe I was in decent enough condition the last time I checked; I can't remember. My mind stat is, for some reason, far higher than my other stats. I'm not complaining, but I wish my other stats were higher.

And soon, I'll use my inventory. Inside I can store any non-living organism within a certain limit without worrying about weight. I just don't know what the limit is.

"Now I can use the last system ability I know!"

"{Collect}!" Saying the system's ability out loud, a cloud of white mist manifested, covering the entire corpse. I wouldn't have known if the mist was there if I wasn't watching—no change in the air around me or a sound alerting me of its arrival.

Like thousands of bugs, the mist ate away the corpse, leaving nothing in its wake.

{Collect} allows the user to harvest the corpses of those you've killed. Gaining items without manually skinning them yourself. Which is pleasantly helpful for someone like me. With no prior knowledge of skinning. I'd definitely damage all and any goods.

The mist faded away, revealing an open space where the corpse once was.

{Obtained, Basic Hide x8, Large Mouse Teeth x4}

When using {Collect}, you don't get all the resources you would when skinning it manually, but I don't have a knife or skills for it. I've heard tales about being able to upgrade or improve system abilities to the point where {Collect} is better than manually skinning.

It would be great, but I don't know if that's possible. I could also store some mouse bodies inside my inventory if they fit and bring them to someone who will skin them for me. But that's for later once I leave this place.

For now, it's time to hunt!