Although he had no idea how long he had slept, Liam stretched out his sore limbs and groaned. Whether due to the journey through the caves, sleeping on a hard surface, or a combination of the two, his entire body ached. On top of those things, his broken arm hurt more than when he had gone to sleep. Stretching out of habit aggravated it further, too. On the other hand, the tent still stood. That was a plus.

“Been a while since I felt this worn out...” He grumbled. “Should have made a splint with the leftover torches last night. Guess I'll try to make one before diving into this place.”

With that, he forced himself to sit up and open his inventory.

Inventory:

Available Slots: 5

Blanket: (In Use)

Leather Tent (Small): (In Use)

Flint (worn): 1

Steel Pot: 1

Waterskin (Small): 1

Unlit Pine Torch: 3

Magic Stone (Grand): 1

Merediem Aqua Crystals (varying sizes): 238

(empty slot)

(empty slot)

(empty slot)

(empty slot)

“Da hell is this 'in use' supposed to mean? Does it still take up a slot even outside the inventory?”

Grimacing, he glanced around the tent and contemplated whether or not he could place it back inside the inventory in its current state. Holding his prickly chin in thought, he recalled when he first put his belongings inside the inventory. The pile of items definitely outsized the inventory screen back then. Perhaps he could do the same by simply touching the tent and screen together.

Before taking care of the tent, however, he needed to make a splint. Swiftly, he retrieved two unlit torches from his inventory. Then, he tore some cloth off his pants, all the while wondering whether he would even have clothes left by the end of this journey. In spite of having one arm out of commission, he eventually managed to fasten the makeshift splint around his now swollen arm.

Looking at the splint, he thought, Even if I'm down on my luck, I'll live through this if it kills me.

Next, he haphazardly tossed the blanket back into his inventory, partly to test if it would still get sucked in even with minimal contact. It did. Now he needed to try the same thing with the tent, which would likely be trickier. He stepped outside to the same scene as before. The strange carvings and statues still leered at him. The undying torches still burned.

“Man, this place gives me the creeps.”

Amidst his grumbling, he realized the light filtering through the gaping hole in the cave ceiling shone as bright as when he had gone to sleep. Seeing it made him wonder just how long he had slept, not that it mattered all that much.

Yawning, he grabbed a corner of the tent and pulled the fabric until it touched the inventory screen. Immediately, the inventory sucked the tent, pegs and all, into a vortex. Even though it happened right before his eyes, Liam had trouble believing it. What sorcery was this?

“This thing is actually kinda scary.” He said, glaring at the inventory screen. As helpful as it had proven to be, Liam started doubting the safety of it. A frustrated sigh slipped from his lips. Even if he worried about it, nothing would change. Therefore, he simply needed to move on. At the moment, that meant delving into the structure before him.

Without further ado, he closed the inventory and waltzed right through the front door like he owned the place. In fact, he may as well have planted a flag and claimed it as American soil.

Considering he had given this area a quick look over previously, he wasted no time in reaching the stone door. At least, it looked like a door, even though he had no idea how to open it. Etchings surrounding the door probably gave some sort of clue but that kind of thing was beyond Liam's expertise. Interpreting ancient rocks could be left to those twiggy archaeologists, like his old friend Sam.

The sudden reminder of life back on Earth unnerved him slightly, but he quickly shrugged it off. Pursing his lips, he glared at the stone like an old enemy. Some good ol' C-4 would certainly do the trick. The only problem would be the lack of any on his person.

“Tch.”

Fed up with thinking, he kicked the stone out of frustration. The initial crack of his boot against the stone came as no surprise but losing his balance as the stone crumbled away certainly did. Although he did not fall, he blinked a few times, perplexed by the unexpected good fortune... or perhaps lack thereof since a huddle of mummy-like creatures on the other side immediately noticed him.

“You've got to be kidding me. Is this always going to happen to me?” Liam grumbled angrily. Of course, when it rains, it pours.

Eerie groans sounded out from the mummy huddle as they waddled toward him from the middle of the hallway he had revealed. Their gait certainly garnered hilarity, but the humor in it died as soon as the stench of rot and decay reached his nostrils.

“Lemme send you guys back to hell, yeah? I'll just go ahead and free you from this not-life, yeah?” Liam jeered while drawing his dagger. Perhaps the creatures lacked the ability to comprehend the taunt but saying it certainly raised his confidence.

Ignoring the pain in his left arm, he bolted toward the creatures. If he had learned anything from movies, it was to destroy the brains of his targets. Of course, brain damage could be fatal to any creature, so it only followed that even these strange mummy zombie things would have the same weakness.

The blade sunk into the skull of the closest enemy. Surprisingly, the bone gave way much quicker than he anticipated. In order to stay away from the other mummies, he hopped backward, taking care to avoid the rubble from the door he had smashed.

You have slain Restless Walker!

Earned 59 exp.

Ignoring the notification, he used the little space available to circle the mummies. Even though he wanted no less than to tear the creepy things to shreds, a little voice cried out in the back of his head to tread carefully. After all, he had no idea what might happen if his HP fell to zero. Taking on two at a time could prove dangerous. Therefore, he would dispatch the one trailing at the rear.

Another skull pierced. Another notification. Two down, five to go.