Monster

Everything turns black... or so he thought.

What he thought was the end turned out to be just a temporary pause. Just a minute after he blacked out, he started regaining consciousness. His senses were coming back to life, and he could finally feel and move his body again.

He twitched slowly, opening his eyes with a slightly blurred vision. He attempted to move his fingers, then his hand, his arm, and finally managed to get up on his back.

"I'm... alive?"

He wondered, feeling a bit numb and dizzy, but surprisingly, no pain at all despite experiencing a force that could kill even an elephant from a fall. His body looked and felt as if nothing had ever happened.

Still uncertain about his situation, he decided to do a reality check by giving himself a hard slap in the face.

...

"This is... not a dream..."

The slap was painful. He used both of his hands to smack his cheeks, and it immediately felt hurt and uncomfortable.

With that, he knew that everything was real. He is still alive despite receiving all the damages from the earlier battle. His body had somehow gone back to normal after being beaten up and broken multiple times.

He didn't know how this miracle was even possible. Was it the magical power that the mysterious voice offered earlier? It could be. Only after he accepted the offers and ate the mysterious white flower did he find himself gaining a strange amount of strength and the unnatural ability to heal almost any injury or damage his body got.

For now, that hypothesis seemed to be the most logical. So, he decided to see it not as luck but as the new magical power given to him - a gift from the sky to a powerless man like him.

"Hmm..."

After clearing his mind, he examined the surrounding area. From where he is standing, there are swords, knives, bows,... and corpses scattered all around. It seemed like many people had come down here before, and it also appeared that many of them hadn't come back.

Looking around, he saw there were many options for him: A super long and sharp sword, a short but big and heavy one, or just a simple normal-sized one. Being a total newbie, he chose the third type and picked the one that felt like it would last the longest.

Then there were also axes, bows, and many other types of weapons for him to loot. But he figured it would be a hassle to carry more than one weapon, so he just moved on with the one he got.

After picking his weapon, he turned back to the giant lizard's dead body. It was impaled by the massive stalagmite, lying dead upside down with its eyes turned white and the tongue sticking out.

"HUGH!!!"

He sliced the lizard's flesh, cutting down meat the size of a box. Then he grabbed the piece of meat, penetrated a wood stick through it, gathered anything that could burn like wood, leaves, and bushes into a pile, and started smashing rocks together to try and get a spark.

"ARGH! God dammit!"

Since he had no experience in survival skills, minutes of constantly smashing two small rocks together without getting even the smallest ignition began to make his hands feel sore and rash.

But no matter how hard it was, he needed to fill up his stomach to get the energy to do whatever he wanted after that.

Then, after a whole 15 minutes of trying and failing, a tiny fire emerged, and smoke began to appear. Seeing this, Shuku burst into joy and happiness. All those blood and stains on his hands weren't for nothing. He immediately got into position, surrounding the fire with his hands to cover it from the wind and blowing on it to make it bigger.

When the flames looked big enough and could sustain as long as there was "food" fed into it, Shuku prepared his meat and put it directly into the fire.

"Well, this doesn't taste so bad."

Unlike all the expectations he had previously about lizard meat, this one tasted not bad compared to what he had eaten throughout his life. Since it was the only decent meal he had in days, it felt amazing.

He devoured the large pieces of meat, biting and chewing to the bone. After he finished, he felt so energized that he could last for days without eating.

He took an hour break, lying down on the hard and cold rocks and just relaxing. He looked up and down, around and forward, while wandering in his mind. Perhaps this was one of the most peaceful moments he had since he got teleported to this world.

"I guess that's the only way then."

As he figured out, the only possible way to get out of all of this is to keep going down, deeper into the dungeon, and try his best to find and acquire the legendary Blood Blade - the only thing that he thought could solve all his problems.

Then, after getting enough break, he stood up, prepared himself, and grabbed the metal sword he had just looted earlier.

"Here we go..."

And began to move, continuing to walk down deep into the dungeon. Each step he took contained an indescribable amount of anxiety and uncertainty about his own fate.

...

...

...

"Hmm... This is scary, but it's rather peaceful."

That's what he felt after walking for 30 minutes. The deeper he went, the darker it got. So, he had to take a piece of cloth he found on the way, wrap it around a big stick, light it up, and use it as a torch.

Despite not being able to see almost anything, he could still navigate the surroundings, avoid dangerous places, and move rather safely.

However, he was terribly mistaken. It's true that the dungeon is scary, but it is not peaceful either.

SSHHHH!!

When he wasn't noticing, something was lurking in the darkness around him.

"What was that?!"

He startled. The thing appears to be getting nearer, staying in the dark like it's waiting for a chance to attack.

"Shit! Why do I have to Jinx myself?!" He mutters.

Since the thing is still stubborn and hiding in the dark, Shuku holds his sword tightly and swings the torch around to stay alert in every direction.

"COME HERE! SON OF A BITCH!!"

And confronts whatever monster is hiding in the darkness, head on.

...

Strangely enough, after Shuku shouted into the emptiness and prepared to fight for his life, it vanished.

The thing suddenly goes silent, with no more sounds or movements, as if it just disappeared into thin air.

"Where did it go?"

...

The silence continues for seconds, and the longer he waits, the more terrified he becomes. He starts looking around intensively, back and forth, trying to find the hiding monster as soon as possible-

SHREEK!

Shuku stops moving. He slowly looks down at his body, and the first thing he sees are three claws, each as long as a knife, piercing his stomach. Then, he turns his head back and looks behind to see a grey bear twice his size, standing there with saliva dripping from its mouth.

Almost instantly, his confidence and bravery vanish, and fear and terror once again fill his mind as he understands what will happen next.

"No! No no no!!"

He screams and yells in hopelessness as the grey bear easily lifts him up with its triple claws already piercing through his belly. Then, it withdraws the claws and shifts to grabbing both of Shuku's hands and legs with its large hands instead.

Holding him tightly so he can't move or use his sword, the bear moves him towards it. Slowly, it opens its mouth, full of saliva and dozens of finger-length fangs, ready to enjoy a fantastic meal after days of starvation.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-!!!!!"

The bear takes a massive bite, instantly gobbles, and swallows half of Shuku's stomach on the left side.

Immediately, all the liquids and organs inside his body begin to spill out, and Shuku can smell his own blood.

As a result, he faints away out of shock, terror, and pain. While the monster appears to enjoy its meal, it struggles to devour the meat in its mouth, considering all the hard bones, ribs, acid, intestines... Eventually, it decides to drop Shuku to the ground until it's done with the swallowing.

After being thrown to the ground, Shuku's eaten parts begin to regenerate. His missing bones and ribs grow out, his flesh, skin, and every missing organ that should be there all regrow and fill up the missing half within 10 seconds. With that, Shuku's consciousness comes back to him.

"Ugh...."

Upon waking up, Shuku quickly grasps the situation and what just happened. He immediately understands what he has to do right now. He has to kill this beast if he wants to continue his journey.

So he pushes his hands on the ground, forcing himself to stand up and reach for the sword he just dropped. As he does so, the big grey bear is still occupied with swallowing his half stomach, not bothering about the prey that it thought wouldn't be able to escape. After all, he's not the only one with weapons.

But Shuku wasn't planning to run, despite previously having doubts about his new ability to regenerate his missing body parts. Now, he is certain that whatever he does, he can't be killed.

With nothing else to lose, Shuku is ready and begins to rush towards and attack the bear with all he's got.