Slithering Madness

Sylas' feet kicked at the water. In the depths of the darkness, the only thing that provided a light was the dungeon pumping with Aether in the distance. It must have been at least 20 meters beneath the surface, but had it been the light of day, Sylas wouldn't have noticed it at all. 

Though Sylas thought about the possibility that this dungeon would take place entirely in the water, according to his grandfather, there would be a small introduction to the dungeon before you entered. It could only be said that if the dungeon was truly underwater, he would be doubly screwed. At that point, he could only try to store as much water as he could in the gourds and hope it rained more often. 

It didn't take him more than a few seconds to reach the cave opening. 

'Dexterity seems to be more important in the water than Speed…'

Sylas gave some breath to a fleeting thought before a flash appeared in his mind. 

[Slithering Madness (F)] 

[Level Maximum: 0] 

[Recommended: 50 Physical] 

[Description: Lurking in the depths, high in the trees and on the forest floors, they are natural predators, unfettered and unbothered. So scorned by the skies, they've been restricted to a life of crawling on their bellies. But their day to rise again is not far off.]

Sylas would have sucked in a cold breath if he wasn't submerged in water right now. 

According to his grandfather, 20 Physical was recommended, but Sylas knew his grandfather well. Ever since Sylas was young, his grandfather had been trying to manipulate him using information, not out of maliciousness, but rather kind intentions. 

Sylas seemed to very easily see both sides of a situation and could rationally pick a middle ground that fit well with what was in line with reality. This was a trait not taught to him by his parents, but rather his grandfather. 

Ever since he was about 16, he could see through his grandfather's intentions and somewhat knew that Magnus was trying to pull him toward a certain direction. But despite his demeanor, Sylas loved his family and felt no need to expose his grandfather for something so trivial. 

Magnus had learned very early on that Sylas couldn't be pushed and pulled with appeals to emotion and fallacies. The facts were what one had to manipulate or obstruct to get at him.

This was all to say that when his grandfather said he would need 20 Physical, it was almost certainly less than that. Sylas had guessed that most dungeons probably had a recommended entry of around 15 Physical, maybe even less. 

But, 50? Why would this dungeon's recommended stats be so high? That was more than double that of the most dangerous creature he had seen until now, the titanoboa. 

That aside, what about the explanation? How could it be considered a description at all? It only barely confirmed to him by the comments about trees and the ground that it at least wouldn't be underwater.

And yet there was no other choice. 

[Will You Enter?]

[Yes][No] 

The words practically taunted him. But he never hesitated when he made decisions. 

The world blurred around him. 

… 

 Sylas' eyes focused, and what appeared before him was an odd world. 

The first thing he felt was the cobbled stone beneath his feet. As he continued to look around, he pulled out his bundle of clothing and slipped on the mud- and blood-caked cheap pair of pants and shirt the system had given him. 

The world was dark in an odd sense, because the skies were pitch black, without stars or a moon in sight, and yet he could see just fine, almost as though the ground and the objects on it gave off their own weird light. 

It was hard to see anything that deviated away from the cobbled stone path, though. So, his eyes could only focus on the forked road ahead. 

Down one path, the cobbled road curved and seemed to lead toward more stone. Down the other, foliage began to appear, grass grew from the cracks of the stone and the faint outline of trees could be seen in the distance. 

'A choice?'

Sylas didn't rush. He had expected to be thrown into danger immediately, or even die a sudden death before he could get a lay of the land, but this was unexpectedly peaceful. If he didn't take the opportunity to take a breath now, he might never get another chance. 

'The description should clearly be about snakes, but in that case, why would there be a path that seemed to lead toward a civilization of some sort? Unless the "snakes" the description referred to are one of those alien races grandfather mentioned?'

In the end, Sylas walked toward the path of dense foliage. Ultimately, only one thing mattered to him and that was maximizing his chances at survival. 

Civilization sounded nice and cozy, but it would also plummet his odds of living to zero. There would be no terrain to take advantage of, no place to hide, and everything would be up to his raw ability. 

On the side of the wilderness, he at least had a small chance. The only silver lining in all of this was the fact that the animal he was the most confident in dealing with was the snake…

Not that it would matter if they all had 50 Physical. 

However, Sylas had his own opinions on that. The recommended Physical should be proportional to the best challenge this dungeon had to offer. In that case, it should mean that the BOSS of this dungeon would take 50 Physical for one to have a shot at defeating it, but that didn't necessarily mean all the challenges would be at that level. 

If he could pick and choose his targets like he had with the red fox, he had a chance. 

The last red fox he had dealt with already had 18 Physical. There was a ray of hope, even though it was small. 

The cobbled stone path slowly disappeared and Sylas watched as the skies above his head began to gain color as the previous path vanished. 

'Did I make the right choice?'