Satchel? Check

Knife? Check.

Rations? Check.

Remembered to get dressed? Check.

The morning had been a whirlwind of activity for Myles. One minute, he was sleeping sounding in his magical mattress, the next he was being given his supplies, moved to a holding room, and given the simplest of instructions on how to use what he was given.

The pointy end of the weapon goes in the enemy if you find one.

Gather as many vouchers as you can to secure a good home after the first night.

Don’t die.

Though really, what else did he expect? The paperwork had covered almost everything anyways.

On his person, Myles checked everything again. The knife was at his side, and the satchel was secured over his shoulder. The rest?

“Inventory.”

In a flash, a crystal blue window opened just like another had when he called for the interface. The Satchel of Holding was one of the first magical items he’d ever held, so of course he’d nervously play with it while waiting for the gates to open to his impending victory...

Or doom, but he didn’t want to think of that too deeply.

Inside was nothing special. The window showed each item, no matter the size, in one of the twenty slots. There was the lesser slime core he’d gotten, the rations with the number ten next to it, a whetstone, a canteen, and a few bonus items he’d dished out his remaining savings on: a basic cooking set, an emberstone for starting fires, a journal, some jars of black ink, and a proper fountain pen.

Of course, that hadn’t been the expensive part.

Myles saw the value in keeping notes on things, and in his mind, keeping track of the development of monsters, his supplies, and paths in the dungeon would prove more useful than anything else. So, having a pen with an ‘expanded’ ink reserve and a quick dry inscription on it would keep him from running out in the middle of a project and stop things from smearing.

No, he was as ready as he could be, but that didn’t stop him from opening and closing the inventory every few seconds to check that his contents were still there.

Nerves? Electric.

Body? Tense.

Heart? Pumping.

His feet took him from wall to wall of the small waiting room. There was a bench, but he couldn’t sit. If he did, his muscles might knot and keep him in place. There were no windows since the room was situated against the inner wall either. No, just two doors, one where he had come from made of thick, rolling stone, and another mirroring it, just as thick but inlaid with deep, blue lines guiding light in a way that Myles didn’t quite understand. If it was a magic script, which it probably was, he didn’t want to touch it and find out what would happen if he interrupted the flow of power.

The blue light was his only friend for the longest time, that and the light of his inventory and interface screens.

Then?

Then the announcement rang out.

In the room, it wasn’t loud enough to hurt or deafen him, but it made the message loud and clear so that not a single word could be dismissed.

***

“It is time!” Darwin began, throwing his hands to the sky and drawing the attention of all who could hear.

Which was everyone in the nation of Kess, but who was keeping track?

“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The moment of truth! The moment that separates the wheat from the chaff, the heroes from the farm boys, the men and women from the boys and girls. This year, we have one of the largest crop of Runners the Great Dungeon of Kess has ever seen! [Mages], [Rogues], [Factotums], and [Farcasters], heroes in the making all!”

At that, the collective people of Kess cheered. The air hummed with an excitement not seen in nearly a decade, maybe not even since the last king was crowned.

Who could blame them?

It wasn’t like heroes were born every day.

Darwin drank it all in. He could feel his body quiver with excitement. He knew what they were feeling. He’d felt it himself more than once, but he also felt the tensity of the participants below him. There were a few hundred of them, almost all specializing in combat classes but a handful, but many wouldn’t last past the first day. That was the nature of things though. Those that couldn’t cut it didn’t deserve the gifts they were given. Deep down, he was hoping to see the non-combatants go all the way. It had worked for him after all.

Despite that thought, Darwin knew better. There was a motion to it all, and he was excited to see where the dance would take this bunch. There were a lot of younger competitors than usual, and the young always took the best risks.

With the moment’s aside, the sun was now peaking over the eastern wall of the arena. It was time.

“Without further ado, these young heroes in training must survive the first night and collect their vouchers from the world to build their homes for the run! Think they can do it, my friends?”

The roar of approval nearly brought a tear to his eye as they called out a variety of names, places, classes, and everyone, everyone was sure they’d make it.

Darwin, of course, still knew better, but smiled none the less as he began the count down.

“Ten!”

“Nine!” echoed the crowd.

“Eight…”

“Seven!”

“Six!”

“Five!”

“Four!”

***

“Three… two…” Myles repeated, fingering the weapon at his side, eyes locked on the door leading to the outside. “One…”

***

Darwin grinned as the final number struck its chord and called to the world. “Without further ado, The Seventh Kessivan Dungeon Trials have begun!”

***

Myles couldn’t hear the crowds cry out in their jubilation.

He couldn’t hear the way the time dilation bubble snapped into place behind him, locking him from the outside world.

He couldn’t see the way the enchantments locked onto him to keep tabs for anyone willing to pay to keep track of his vitals and accomplishment.

All Myles could see was the door to the dungeon open as the blue streaked stone pulled into the wall and a white blur cross the threshold. He barely had time to register the feral rabbit with bleeding red eyes jump into his chamber and attacked him with reckless abandon.

The game was on.

Myles fell onto his back from the assault, but only just as his right hand slashed out with his unsheathed knife, nicking an ear on the rabbit and adding red to its white pallet. The unearthly, yelping cry of the creature nearly unnerved the [Monster Tamer], but he wasn’t having it. He’d come too far to be undone by a murderous rabbit of all things! His lungs burned as he looked at the creatures eying him as he got back to his feet and stared the creature down as a raging indignation defined his features.

“You tried to kill me, already? Really?!”

The nerve of it! It had been camping his door! Was it the same for everyone?

As if giving its answer, the creature was poised for another strike in the small stone chamber, standing between Myles and the doorway out, but he was ready for it. His skills made sure of that.

As it leapt again, Myles’s hands moved faster.

The murder rabbit seemed to hang in the air as his dagger hand slashed, slicing it across the stomach before it slammed into his chest, splashing blood and less savory bits across his shirt as it slumped weakly to the ground at his feet.

Myles looked at it for a moment as it twitched weakly in a growing pool of its own blood, and, just for a moment, felt sorry for it.

That lasted about as long as it took for it to kick itself over and leap at him again.

Myles fell back to try and dodge the leaking life from the rabbit. It was slower than before, but the way the teeth moved made him extra cautious.

When it landed behind him, Myles didn’t hesitate and slammed his boot into the thing’s skull. There was a resounding, sickly cracking squish of its skull before the foot and the rabbit stuck in place.

Myles cringed, pulling the boot back to see the damage, but to his surprise, the body didn’t stain his boot.

The majority of the gore dissolved into flickering motes of aether, leaving behind two pristine items on either side of his boot: a chunk of pink meat and… was that a foot?

His new lore skill quickly identified as he picked them up.

Rabbit Haunch

Value: 2

Food

Description: The lean meat of a rabbit’s haunch.

Detail: A rabbit haunch is the lean hind quarters of a rabbit. The meat can be delicious when tended correctly. It can also be sold for a low price due to the small nature of the creature.

Lucky Rabbit’s Foot

Value: 50

Accessory/Alchemical Reagent

Description: The concentrated luck of a rabbit (for you).

Detail: Wearing the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot is said to increase the natural luck of an individual. Depending on the rabbit’s foot, these are usually worn as a bracelet, earing, or kept as a token for your keys.

Effect: Increased Luck (?)

Myles wasn’t one to believe too much in luck, but every little bit helped. He slipped the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot into his pocket and opened his inventory to store the rabbit haunch where it wouldn’t rot. Food was a good thing to have, after all.

Turning back to the door, Myles cautiously looked outside for any other waiting murder rabbits then made his way into his new world. He paused as he passed the threshold as a feet and stomach left him for just a moment.

The screams of the dying had a way of doing that to him as the forest was alive with the song sung to murder and gore.