The Dungeon of 99.999 Levels

On the morning of his fifteenth birthday, Zane woke up earlier than the sun. Truth be told, he didn know the precise day of his birthday, so he selected a safe date and used the extra time to practice all the skills he got.

When the old village was getting illuminated by the sunlight, Zane was leaving his old shack with a backpack. He closed the door without thinking about locking it. Most likely, he won ever return, and there was nothing inside to be stolen, so that was a waste of time.

Even without telling anyone, all of his neighbors knew what Zane was planning to do once he got old enough. For four years, they watched the boy turn into a tall strong young man. His light brown hair was always messy due to his constant hard work, and his eyes of the same color showed unwavering determination every single day.

Kids around his age worked to help their families, but they also began to fool around while also looking for their partners. Zane didn have a single friend or a girl in his heart. Day and night, he only had the dungeon in mind…

The villagers that had to work early in the morning saw Zane crossing the old village. When they saw the sword on his waist, they confirmed once again that the boy had turned into a man. They silently nodded at him, and he did the same to them until they saw him disappearing in the distance.

For two weeks, Zane traveled toward the dungeon, and he saw the commotion when he stayed in some villages, and the people there received the curse of the dragon god. It was around that time of year again, and yet, as if the dragon god was mocking him, he didn receive the curse.

”I will make you fall from your high horse… ” Zane muttered while showing his ice cold eyes.

When he was younger, Zane thought of traveling the world. However, after crossing half of the country, he only found small villages a few hours away from each other. Lots of forests and fields… maybe the world was all like that, and there was nothing to see. It didn matter now… he was going to the dungeon, and legends say that something that deep could be the largest thing in the world.

On the last few days of his trip, Zane saw a lot of people traveling in the same direction. Some in groups and some by themselves. It was common to look for others to work inside the dungeon, but it seemed that year, not many people thought that they would survive for long, even in a group.

Eventually, Zane reached the area of the dungeon. The entrance was like a small shrine surrounded by many tents of soldiers and some others of travelers and people that would have to enter the dungeon. It was really simple, and it didn look any special. It only served as an entrance to the first floor.

”I heard that the dragon god obtained unlimited power when he reached the final floor, and he cursed everyone to find an opponent worthy of himself there. ”

”I heard that there is a statue of a goddess that can grant you any wish. ”

Those who wanted to challenge the dungeon because they had confidence in their strength and knowledge said such things. None of them had ever been chosen by the dungeon, but they still came. Thanks to that, a lot of people that didn have any other choice despised them. They failed to understand that many people got lucky and were never chosen because people like that existed.

Zane didn have time for that crap. If that thing about power and wish was truly real, he would wish for the power to destroy the dungeon. That was all.

The people around him saw him walking toward the entrance of the dungeon, unfazed. Young but robust, armed with a sword, but his clothes made of leather wouldn protect him from anything. The thing had balls, but perhaps it lacked a brain since it hadn been chosen.

Some guards blocked his path when they saw him heading to the dungeon and then looked him in the eyes. Even if they could see his determination, they still felt that they had to ask.

”Were you not chosen, boy? ” The guard asked.

”No, ” Zane replied.

”Are you going to leave your family behind? ” The guard asked.

”All of them were chosen by the dungeon and the dragon gods curse, ” Zane replied.

”… Are you going to ignore the kindness of the dungeon shown to the last member of your family? ” The guard asked.

”No… I just need to thank the dungeon and the dragon god in person for the mercy, ” Zane replied.

”… I wish you good luck, young warrior, ” the guard said and moved from the path.

Zane nodded and then entered the dungeon. At the entrance, he saw some stairs that were leading him downward. For some reason, the interior wasn dark at all. That worked well for him since he won have to keep a torch in one of his hands.

While the stairs were made of stone, the walls were rough, like a simple hole dug into the earth. Soon, Zane confirmed that the ground was rough as the walls when the stairs ended.

”Nothing yet, huh… ” Zane muttered. ”It seems that this place wants to surprise me more often than not. ”

Zane didn let that faze him, and he began to walk with his sword already in hand. He has trained to unsheath the weapon and attack in a single motion, but attacking in an ordinary way was still better.

After walking for a few meters, Zane found the path splitting in three. He also had expected that such a thing would happen. That was one of the theories why people believed that it was impossible to navigate inside the dungeon… it was like the worst maze possible.

”Lets start with the left side… ” Zane said.

After walking for ten meters, Zane found a dead end. He quickly turned around to move, but then he stopped when a single blue sphere emerged from the ground. His grip on his sword increased, and then he dashed to attack. However, the blue sphere suddenly expanded until it became a skeleton that was holding a sword as well… the dungeon was finally showing its true colors.