22. Beasts By Nature

- Alert! -

Dungeon spotted nearby!

12 metres

Ardan burst out into a small intersection for… people? There was no road here, only large streets leading this way and that. The buildings looked different too. Instead of shimmering skyscrapers, there were authentic red-brick houses with wooden overhangs. Colourful flags and banners hung from these overhangs, waving in the slight breeze. Strange, but fragrant smells wafted from some of the stalls in the buildings, and he watched plainly dressed people carry bowls of noodles to tables. However, although the food smelt nice, the heavy stench of cigarette smoke laid over the entire area.

A sign- or symbol on the side of a building pulsed as water splashed out from the side. A truly strange sight to see. Now that he noticed it, there were many other symbols in the area. Some were imprinted into the floor, some glowed, some looked to be in the shape of an animal, some just looked like scribbles.

Peeling his eyes away from his surroundings, Ardan glanced back to the dungeon tracker. Twelve metres away. He glanced back into the tunnel, where he’d killed the rat. No. I didn’t kill it. It was an accident.

Twelve metres wasn’t that far, just a few steps away. That meant it should be right in front of him…

He walked forward those twelve metres, ending up in the middle of the street. No dungeon. No monsters.

Hell, it was just empty space.

Ardan sighed, half disappointed and half glad to have his point proven. Then his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he’d forgotten to eat breakfast. To his right was one of those noodle bars. An old man - Ardan assumed he was a chef due to the clothes he wore - walked past him bearing a plate of colourful rice which smelt especially good. The man smiled at him warmly, revealing pink gums, before setting the plate down on a table.

He turned back inside and the door swung shut behind him, all while Ardan stared on. Since he was here, he might as well have some food right? Not having money was one problem, but the people here looked nice… maybe he could trade for something?

Cautiously, Ardan pushed open the large wooden door and stepped inside. A strange feeling filled his head, similar to the one you’d get if you hung upside down, and his ears popped as he walked through. When he came to his senses, the first thing he noticed was that it was empty.

Where had that man gone?

The bar was set up like any other, with stools lining a long wooden counter. However, instead of drinks being stacked on the back shelf, all sorts of cooking utensils and bowls were. A glass screen allowed a view into the cooking space, where a large pot of fish broth was bubbling. Three sieves filled with noodles, all dipped into some sort of soup, were next to it, also boiling away. The floor was made of yellow and white tiles, making for a checkered pattern that ran up the walls. Posters and menus lined these walls, depicting tasty food and attractive women.

And it was quiet.

“Hello?” Ardan called out. “Is anybody there?”

Silence.

“Alright, I guess they don’t want me here…” he muttered, closing the door behind him as he walked out. “Jeez, people are so strange.”

Keeping his head down, he walked back out into the street where his skill had said the dungeon was. Nothing had changed. He took a deep breath in, forgetting about the extensive amount of smoke that hung in the air.

But it was clear.

The air was clear. The smoke was gone. Nothing like some good old fresh air, he thought to himself, still not realising the significance of the smoke disappearing. Then, the rational part of his brain kicked in and he continued his walk. Whoops, now everyone probably thinks I’m high.

It took him at least a minute of walking to figure out what was ticking him off.

The silence.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Where had all the people gone?

Spinning around, he eyed each individual stand, surprised to see that the people he’d seen before had all disappeared. Their food was still there, but the people themselves had all just vanished.

And then Ardan saw the notification on the bottom right corner of his vision.

- Alert! -

You have entered [Amon, The Black Dog's Dungeon] (Lvl. 10)

“Oh no. Oh no no no no. This can’t be real. Withdraw Halcyon.” He spoke in short, hurried sentences, beginning to panic slightly.

Halcyon appeared, dropping into his outstretched arms. Unfortunately for him, Ardan began bombarding him with questions as soon as he had come out. “Halcyon. Halcyon. What happened to all the people? Where am I? This isn’t a dungeon, is it?”

Halcyon made an annoyed tsking noise. “Seriously. How many times do I have to tell you before you stop doing this? YES. We are in a dungeon, happy? You didn’t want to listen to me before, now you’re going to have to pay for it. Oh dear. The Black Dog’s Dungeon?” He read aloud. “Now that’s not a good first dungeon, especially for someone as weak as you. Oh dear indeed. Level ten? Did you bring a party? No. Of course not. Seriously, why did she make me have to stick with you of all people? I mean, I get it, you’re her-”

“What is it? What is it? Why’d you stop? What is going on?” Ardan asked frantically, a thought creeping up into his head. A thought that, since maybe Halcyon was right with the dungeons, maybe he was right about the monsters…

“Ardan! Focus! If you want to get out of this alive, you’re going to do exactly as I say, understand?”

Grrr.

Instead of responding, Ardan turned around slowly, coming face to face with a very familiar canine face. He stood stock still for a moment, staring at the wolf in shock.

Grey Wolf Lvl. 4 HP 350/350 AP 23

“Ardan? Ardan? Listen to me. Stay still for a second while I think of a plan-”

Too late.

“AHHHHHHHHH!” Screaming in terror, Ardan sprinted toward the alleyway, trying to put as much distance from between him and the wolf as possible. He was panicking too much to listen to Halcyon.

Breathing heavily, he turned back for a moment, only to spy the wolf snapping at his heels. “AHHHHHHHHHH!” He screamed once more for good measure, coming close to crying. Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to me-

His thoughts were cut off as he slammed into an invisible wall blocking the alleyway.

- Alert! - You have taken 12 damage.

What is this? He thought, feeling whatever it was that was blocking his way while rubbing his nose.

Grrrr.

The wolf growled from behind him once more, and Ardan turned, whimpering. His back was pressed against the wall, his only escape route. This felt familiar.

“Ardan. Move slowly, alright. Make any sudden movements and it will attack you. You hear me? Now put me on the ground slowly.” Halcyon advised him.

“Put you on the ground? You’re my only weapon!” He jerked his head down to face Halcyon. “Do you have any other ideas?”

“Too late.” Halcyon whispered as the wolf pounced on him.

Crumbling to the floor under the weight of the full-sized wolf, Ardan managed to bring up Halcyon just in time to block the deadly slashes coming for his face. The wolf slobbered and snarled, dripping saliva onto Ardan’s face, who was desperately trying to keep it off him. It scrabbled for a moment longer, before rapid notifications appeared in Ardan’s vision.

- Alert! -

You have taken 5 damage.

You have taken 4 damage.

You have taken 10 damage.

“Get… off of me!” He cried, kicking the wolf off of him as best he could. Surprisingly, it actually flew relatively far. But he had no time to celebrate, as it got to its feet quickly, licking its chops.

- Alert! -

You have dealt 24 damage to [Grey Wolf].

“Ardan!” Halcyon shouted, sick of being ignored. “I am a weapon! Use me as a weapon!”

Now that the adrenaline had begun to wear off, Ardan had returned to his senses. Quickly, he glanced down to see how badly injured he was. The only injuries he had were a few scratches on his stomach. Nothing too serious. He hoped.

He scrambled to his feet and held the staff in a two-handed stance, the tip of it touching the ground in front of him.

“What in the bloody heavens are you doing? Do you think I’m a shovel or something?” Halcyon asked, disgusted.

The wolf paced towards him, bloody footsteps trailing behind it. Ardan slowed his breathing and his heart, but never took his eyes off the wolf.

- Alert! -

You have activated [Element Sense].

He smelt the rancid stench of the animal’s skin and the bitterness of his blood.

“Don’t make me kill you.” He said slowly, shaking his head. “I’ve already killed one thing today.”

Of course, the wolf couldn’t understand him. It took two steps forward, then broke into a sprint before leaping up for Ardan’s face.

“Hyah!” He screamed, bringing the staff up, behind his shoulder and smacking it down onto the wolf’s head. It desperately tried to twist in mid-air for a second, but it was too late. It slammed into the ground with a thump.

But it wouldn’t go down that easily. With just over half its health left, it nipped at Ardan’s ankles, tearing through his jeans. He swung Halcyon randomly near his legs, trying to keep the wolf off him. Damage indicators flashed everywhere, so Ardan resorted to a good old fashioned kick.

Thankfully, it connected and the wolf was booted a few metres away, tumbling several times before coming to a rest against a wall. Its health was critically low.

One leg dragging on the ground behind it, the wolf got to its feet and trotted slowly towards him. Anger gleamed in its eyes, and blood trickled down its face. It would not back down.

“Why are you making me do this?” Ardan cried. “Just go. Leave. Look at you. I don’t want to hurt you any more.”

But still, it advanced.

For some unknown reason, tears began to well up at the corners of his eyes, and Ardan walked forward to meet the wolf.

Thump.

“Why?”

- Alert! -

You have dealt 42 damage to [Grey Wolf].

Thwack.

“Are.”

- Alert! -

You have dealt 57 damage to [ Grey Wolf].

Thump.

“You.”

- Alert! -

You have dealt 49 damage to [Grey Wolf].

Crack.

“Making.”

- Alert! -

You have dealt 51 damage to [Grey Wolf].

Thwack.

“Me do this?”

“Ardan. It’s dead.” Halcyon said softly, now coated in a sheen of crimson liquid.

The wolf’s crumpled body sprawled on the concrete in front of Ardan, a mess of blood and skin. Bones stuck out at random angles, creating a horribly disfigured abomination. Though its cracked skull was splattered with blood, its eyes stared lifelessly at him.

- Alert! -

You have slain [Grey Wolf Lvl. 1]

You have gained 102 EXP (x79)

Ardan panted for a second, out of breath from the battle. If you could even call it a battle. It was more like a one-way slaughter.

And then he vomited all over the wolf’s corpse.

Halcyon was silent. The only sound came from Ardan, who was pouring his eyes out. “I’m not a murderer,” he repeated in between sobs. “I’m not a murderer.”

All he could do was try to avoid looking at the crumpled corpse lying on the floor in front of him.

Owoooooooo!

Unanimous howls broke the silence, stirring up a dreadful feeling within him. Slowly, Ardan looked up and wiped his eyes to see what the noise had come from.

The silhouettes of dozens of canines surrounded him. On the rooftops, in the streets, slinking out from houses and stalls. They didn’t look happy.