It didn’t matter to him. So long as his strength held out, he would be able to drag himself out using only his arms. He took a few more deep breaths before hauling upward, pulling his body up and off the ground. The strain on his arms was immediate but manageable. After all, having a lame leg had forced him to develop stronger muscles in his upper body. He reached up for the next rung, pulling his legs partway off the ground. He was about to reach for the next rung, when his worst fears finally came to pass.
A low, rumbling growl echoed throughout the cavern, sending a chill up his spine and his hair standing on end. Turning his head back, Roy watched wide-eyed as a massive ferret-like creature slunk into the room. It was easily five feet at the shoulder and must have weighed well over a thousand pounds.
Its small black eyes glimmered in the moonlight, and its pink nose twitched in his direction. Its body was long and sinuous, covered in a thick layer of brown-white fur. It opened its mouth as it slunk towards him, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Roy felt his heart practically in his mouth as he scrabbled for the next rung, desperately pulling himself higher. His legs finally left the ground, but as soon as they did, the Beast exploded into motion. With a loud hiss, it covered the distance between them in an instant, its body trailing a stream of black Essence behind it- Darkness Essence.
Roy screamed as the Beast’s teeth sank into his right ankle, feeling the white-hot pain from before come back in full force. The Beast shook its head violently, and Roy was yanked clean off the wall and tossed halfway across the room. Landing hard on his back, he felt the air explode out of him.
He gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air, as the shadow of the creature loomed over him, and he desperately attempting to scramble back.
So. He was going to die here, after all.
The Beast planted one heavy clawed foot on his chest, driving his back into the ground and stopping him from moving back any more. He groaned again as the creature brought its face close to his, mouth open and saliva coating its teeth. Roy felt the hot breath on his face and debated closing his eyes.
In the end, he decided to face death head-on. There was no changing the outcome, so why cringe now?
He glared up at the Beast, his eyes hard. He took in a deep, shuddering breath, and let it out in a single, loud bellow. He yelled until his voice cracked, and his throat was raw and bleeding, facing death with defiance.
Miraculously, the unthinkable happened. The Beast stopped moving. It cocked its head to the side, fixing him with one beady black eye. It removed its foot from his chest and took a step away from him, sitting down on its haunches and staring at him.
Roy stared back, wondering why the creature would stop. It wasn’t like he was complaining or anything, but it made no sense.
“Tell me something, human. Why don’t you have a core?”
Roy jumped as a voice sounded in his mind. It sounded male and vaguely curious. He looked frantically around until his eyes alighted on the Beast. He blinked, staring dumbly for a few moments before responding.
“Are you…talking to me?” he asked the giant ferret, wondering if the stress of his situation had finally caused him to go mad.
“Not the Beast, you idiot,” the voice responded, sounding exasperated. “Up here.”
An image of a spot right above the Beast’s head flashed through Roy’s mind. Training his eyes to the indicated spot, he saw as the stone began rippling. It then parted and a brilliant white light spilled out from within. A moment later, Roy realized what he was looking at - the Dungeon’s core.
He’d heard rumors that some Dungeons could gain sentience if they were old enough, but he’d never imagined he would actually be talking to one. He watched as the core was fully revealed, floating out of the wall and coming to hover a few inches above the Beast’s head. It was pure white and roughly three inches in diameter. Its surface was faceted, giving it an appearance akin to a gemstone.
“You’re…a Dungeon core!” Roy exclaimed, not really sure what else to say.
“Obviously,” the core replied. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why do you not have a core? Everyone has a core.”
Roy felt his mood sour at that and shrugged.
“I don’t know. I guess I just never developed one.”
“How interesting,” the core responded. “Tell me then, human. You are so weak. You do not even have the strength of most children. I can sense that you have a deformity as well. So why do you persist? Even facing death, you are defiant. Why?”
Roy was taken aback by this question. In truth, he wasn’t exactly sure where it had all come from. He’d been beaten down his entire life for his weakness, but in the face of death, he had indeed been defiant. Why?
The Dungeon was silent as Roy thought over his answer. Finally, Roy spoke up. He wasn’t entirely sure if the Dungeon would like what he had to say, but he hoped that it might let him go if he impressed it enough.
“In truth, I don’t actually know, myself. I’ve been treated poorly my entire life, due to my deformity. I have no family to speak of, and the ones who took me in would just as soon kill me as feed me. I guess that for once in my life I wanted to stand up for myself… to be defiant…”
He trailed off awkwardly, not entirely sure that what he’d said would make any sense. The Dungeon seemed to glow brighter at that.
“Tell me something, human. If someone were to offer you power… the ability to cultivate… What price would you be willing to pay?”
“Anything.”
Roy didn’t even have to think about it. He’d been fantasizing about gaining power his entire life.
“There is no price that I would not pay.”
The core’s white light pulsed even faster at that.
“Very well, then. Just one last question then. If I gave you the power you so desperately seek, what would you do with it?”
Roy wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He knew what he wanted to say but didn’t know if the Dungeon would accept it.
He shrugged to himself then. He’d never thought any of this could even be possible. It shocked him that he was so calm in a situation like this, but then again, he’d been afraid for so long, that it seemed his fear was all used up.
“This world is filled with injustice. Where the powerful can do as they please, and those like me can do nothing to stop them. I would become the most powerful Martial Artist this world has ever seen,” Roy said, his voice growing hard. “Then, I would take revenge on those who made my every waking moment miserable. I would obliterate the Shah clan! After that, I’ll move on to the next, taking down everyone who believes themselves to be superior to others.”
“Those are some very ambitious goals you’ve set for yourself, but I can understand wanting revenge. I want revenge as well, so if I give you power, you will be making some very dangerous enemies- enemies that can destroy countries in an instant and raze mountains to the ground. Are you prepared for that eventuality?”
Roy nodded, agreeing immediately. He had said he’d be willing to pay any price after all. He wondered briefly if it was even possible for a Dungeon to fix him. No one else had been able to. Though, in the Dungeon’s defense, no one had ever tried.
“How exactly would you give me power?”
“Just stick out your hand. Mind you, this will be a tad unpleasant, but in the end, you’ll thank me.”
Roy did as he was told, extending his hand forward and keeping his eyes locked on the Dungeon core. It floated towards him, bobbing up and down as it neared his hand. The white light emanating from it intensified as it drew nearer, forcing Roy to squint his eyes. He felt warmth on his palm as the core came closer; then, it made contact with his skin.