Chapter 2

The immense magic power of the Flame Dragon Emperor.

The dungeon that fortunately obtained it continued to grow, absorbing the magic power.

The area devastated by the battle between the two Dragon Emperors had turned into a magical realm that people could not easily enter.

Of course, no one dared to venture into the dungeon at the center of this magical realm.

An undead creature was born in such a dungeon.

Though it lacked reason, it seemed to have had an excellent physical body in life, and it continued to grow, and even "evolve," by defeating other monsters—

◇ ◇ ◇

“...?”

I suddenly woke up.

Huh?

What was I doing just now...?

I found myself standing alone in a dim cave-like place.

Where am I?

“!? ”

I noticed it and instinctively braced myself.

Right in front of me lay a huge creature.

It was a snake monster.

And it was terrifyingly large.

With a diameter of nearly two meters, it initially looked like a wall.

But upon closer inspection, it was covered in scales like cobblestones.

Its total length was probably about a hundred meters.

This is bad.

What the hell is this monster...?

Even a Blood Serpent, which is considered a disaster-level monster, shouldn’t be this big.

Could it be a major disaster-level monster...?

Oh no, if I get attacked by this thing, I’m done for.

From the fact that it wasn’t moving at all, it seemed to be sleeping.

I had to escape while I had the chance.

I cautiously started to flee, trying not to make any noise.

But after putting some distance between us and looking back at the giant snake, I quickly realized that there was no need to run.

Its head was crushed.

Whatever happened, it couldn’t possibly be alive.

“Ugh...”

I tried to say I was saved, but a strange sound came out of my mouth instead.

That’s odd.

How do I speak again?

“Aa, uu, ee”

I practiced my vocalization for a while.

It seemed there was nothing wrong with my throat.

I just hadn’t used my voice in a long time, so I couldn’t produce it properly.

...A long time?

The word felt right, even though I had doubts.

Faintly, my memories started to return.

That’s right.

I was supposed to have died from a fatal wound in this dim cave, no, in this dungeon.

But it’s said that the bodies of people who die in such dungeon-like places sometimes turn into undead and start moving.

It seems that’s what happened to me.

For what felt like an eternity, I wandered aimlessly through the dungeon.

Moreover, as an undead, I had lost my reason and continued to kill monsters one after another, driven by instinct.

Faint memories of that time lingered in the back of my mind.

That’s right.

The giant snake lying dead in front of me.

It’s hard to believe, but I think I killed it.

Right after I did, I felt a surge of power throughout my body...

“What’s... going on...?”

My voice was still a bit off, but it was better than before.

But it was strange that I could speak at all.

Why did I, as an undead, regain my self-awareness?

Of course, I shouldn’t be able to think like this.

Could it be that I’ve come back to life...?

Many questions arose.

But what I wanted right now was just one thing.

—I want to die quickly.

I was exhausted from wandering the dungeon for so long.

As an undead, I felt no physical fatigue or pain.

But my mind was worn out and exhausted.

I had no attachment to life.

I wanted to fall into eternal sleep as soon as possible.

Even as an undead, I wasn’t invincible.

If my head was destroyed, I wouldn’t be able to move, and if I was hit by a purification spell, I would disappear.

I started walking slowly, as if to match my current state of mind.

It was frustrating how light my feet felt.

“...If this...”

After wandering for a while, I found a trap.

It looked like ordinary ground.

But for some reason, I could sense that it was a trap.

I stepped on it myself.

The next moment, the ground disappeared.

It was a pit trap.

After a brief sensation of floating, I fell into darkness.

There were spikes at the bottom of the pit.

If they pierced my body with this momentum, I might be able to die.

...It’s strange to say “die” when I’m already dead, but...

I slowly closed my eyes and waited for that moment.

Snap!

A sound like metal breaking echoed.

Immediately after, I was slammed into the ground headfirst with great force.

But I felt no pain at all.

When I opened my eyes and looked around, I saw part of the spike nearby.

It seemed to have broken off halfway.

On the other hand, my body was completely unharmed.

Even my head, which had hit the ground, was completely fine.

It wasn’t just that my pain receptors were numb.

I hadn’t been injured at all, despite falling from such a height.

Confused, I decided to get out of the pit since being at the bottom wouldn’t help.

The walls had almost no handholds, but I started climbing using the few protrusions.

Surprisingly, I made quick progress and soon found myself outside the pit, not even out of breath.

“Grrrr...”

At that moment, a monster appeared as if it had been waiting for me to come out of the pit.

It was a bear monster.

It was about four meters long.

Its entire body was covered not with fur, but with thick, armor-like skin.

I remembered its name in the back of my mind.

Armed Grizzly.

A disaster-level monster.

It had overwhelming defensive power, impervious to normal attacks.

Its claws were as sharp as swords forged by a master craftsman, making it a terrifying monster with both defense and offense.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, it had two additional arms on its sides, making it either a higher or a variant species.

The trap didn’t work, but if I was attacked by this vicious monster, I would surely “die.”

Honestly, it was a less pleasant way to die compared to jumping, but at this point, I didn’t care.

“Grr...”

But for some reason, it didn’t attack me.

Instead, it slowly retreated while keeping its eyes on me.

...Is it being cautious?

For such a strong and ferocious monster, it’s surprisingly cautious.

Maybe it was attacked by a human and suffered a painful defeat.

Indeed, to a monster, a human’s appearance is no different.

If I approach it, it will probably attack, right?

Thinking this, I went towards the Armed Grizzly.

“Grr, GRRRRRRR!”

It let out a determined roar and pounced.

The four powerful arms came at me.

I just stood there, waiting for them to crush my body.

Thud.

The impact was much smaller than I imagined.

Despite being squeezed by four tree-trunk-like arms, my body wasn’t crushed and didn’t receive any damage at all.

“GRRRRRRR!?”

Instead, the Armed Grizzly seemed to be in pain.

Upon closer inspection, some of its claws were broken.

It turned and fled at high speed, eventually disappearing into the darkness.

After that, I encountered several more monsters.

All of them were disaster-level or even worse.

A disaster-level monster can cause significant damage to a city with just one individual.

This dungeon was teeming with such monsters.

When I was still alive, this dungeon wasn’t this dangerous.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have considered exploring it solo.

But what’s most surprising is that despite encountering such vicious monsters, I haven’t taken any damage at all.

“This body... What’s going on with it...?”