Escape!

The screams were soon extinguished. No doubt that whoever it was, they had fallen at the hands of the invading monsters.

I abandoned any thoughts about sneaking away and stormed outside. I tried to identify the enemy, but it was an impossible feat on such a dark night.

Thankfully, my instincts were up to par, allowing me to dodge a leg sweeping downwards.

"What is happening here?"

The villager came out from his house that was behind me. He was carrying a torch. That helped me because I could finally identify the enemy: giant spiders crawling from all directions.

While their bodies were smaller than mine, their legs were easily over 4 meters long. A true nightmare that could attack from a distance while protecting its body.

Some of them were waving spider webs covering the houses. Some were climbing the trees surrounding the village while dragging some kind of cocoons with them.

The villager was split in half only five seconds after he came outside. Even the torched was smashed in two, along with a significant part of the house.

Taking advantage of the raging monster, I sneaked away. Taking advantage of a narrow passage between two massive stones, I managed to leave the village safely.

Or that was what I thought when suddenly a long leg came from behind me. It pushed me with such force that I felt all the air in my lungs being forcefully expelled.

I looked behind me, and 5 pairs of eyes glared at me while a fire raged in the background. It had inserted two legs into the crevice, trying to reach me.

I rose while trembling and advanced towards the depth of the tunnel, away from the horrors behind me.

******

I had fallen asleep at some unknown time. I had no idea how much I had advanced, but there was no ending to that tunnel.

I was lucky that I had no significant injury.

I ate some food, and when I was looking for some water to drink, it dawned on me! I forgot to take water!

Well, it wasn't that I forgot. You could always find a stream to drink some fresh water in a forest.

I touched the dried walls, searching for the slightest sign of water.

Nothing. Even the ground was made of hard stone.

I couldn't go back. Those monsters would definitely make their nest on top of the village. At least until they finished eating all the people there.

Should I continue? Gulp!

It was a gamble with my life on the line. If I didn't find the exit in one day, I would be finished!

Let's do it. If there is no sign of an exit after a day, I will go back! I would take advantage of the sleeping monsters and bring some water from that well!

That's what I will do!

******

How much did it pass? It seemed like an eternity.

Judging by my aching stomach, it was barely 6 hours.

I...I don't know if I should continue. I kept seeing figures in the darkness. I was startled many times, only for it to be my imagination.

What if there are ghosts? I heard that they liked obscure things... just like this place.

Brrr. Better stop thinking about weird things. There was no way that ghosts still existed.

*bam*

Hm? What was that? It was coming from the direction that I was coming from.

*baam*

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam*

Don't tell me! Ghosts? But that's impossible!

At the same time, the ground started vibrating.

*Bam!* *Bam!* *Baam!*

Didn't it sound like someone was digging the stone? It was coming from the direction of the village.

But who would do such a thing? Wasn't that place infested by monsters?

*BAAAM!* *BAAAAM!*

Dirt started falling from the ceiling. Just who was doing that?

Wait! The tunnel was wide enough for humans to enter. So, the one who would need to dig to get inside....

My body froze after thinking of that possibility. In my mind, a huge, dark monster continuously hit the entrance, rocks splashing in all directions.

I got up in a hurry and started running. There was no way that I would go back now!!

******

A lot of time passed again. I was lying on the ground, with blood all over my body.

It wasn't a good idea to run while not being able to see what was ahead.

I lost count of the times I bumped into the wall. I had even fallen to the ground, scraping my knees.

At least the sound had long since stopped.

I looked in the direction I was walking, and something flickered in the distance. The sun!

I got up, thinking I would finally be able to get out.

I walked slowly as my body ached from where I got hurt. But the light, along with my joy, was getting bigger and bigger.

******

I was sitting in the middle of a vast field. So vast that I couldn't see its end.

Not grass. It was a field of moss.

I was expecting to get outside, but the tunnel led me here.

Looking behind me, I couldn't see from where I had come. The walls were also covered in glowing green moss, making it difficult to distinguish the exit.

And there was no airflow. That meant that I had arrived in a closed space.

But I wasn't that discouraged. My family had always taught me to see the brightest parts of any situation.

First, I was tight on water. And if there was moss here, there should be some kind of stream nearby!

I started searching for it. It seemed like the goddess of light didn't abandon me, even if I was underground.

A little stream of water was making its way silently through the moss, like a snake through a forest.

I immediately crouched down to drink from it. But that action seemed to end all of my luck.

The pot full of food shifted on my back, dragging me toward the ground. My foot also slipped on the wet moss.

And all of it ended in me sliding through a hole in the ground that I didn't notice it was there!