Sewer Dungeon (3): Desperate Pursuit

A sticky sensation crept up from behind.

It wasn't mere intuition.

A fishy stench stabbed at my nostrils, and at the same time, the whoosh of something slicing through the air battered my eardrums.

But once again, my body reacted a beat faster than my brain's commands. Just like when I'd twisted Park Dusik's wrist, instinct seized control of my nervous system, bypassing my thoughts entirely.

Snap!

I ducked without even turning to look. A cold draft from the tentacle grazed just past the back of my head in that split second.

I sprang forward at once, putting distance between us.

'Ugh... it's even grosser up close.'

There stood a roper, the staple monster from any ya-game.

If I had to compare it, imagine an octopus without eyes or suckers, just dozens of legs sprouting from it.

The surreal visuals sent chills racing down my spine on reflex.

The roper wriggled its tentacles slowly as it approached.

Thankfully, those floppy limbs meant it wasn't all that fast or threatening.

I could probably outrun it if I wanted... but in these narrow sewers, getting flanked from both sides would be trouble.

'Take it down here!'

I drew the kitchen knife I'd grabbed from the cafeteria and charged at the roper.

It was a crude blade, but infused with Mana Armament, it hummed with cutting power rivaling a master sword.

"Kieek!"

A test thrust severed one tentacle effortlessly. Pinkish fluid sprayed from the stump.

Sensing victory within reach, I closed in to finish it quickly.

The thing flailed its tentacles wildly in resistance, but to my eyes, it all moved in slow motion.

I swung the knife along their paths. In an instant, tentacles flew, exposing its bulbous body.

Without hesitation, I plunged the blade deep into its core.

Squish!

A thrill shot through my fingertips as the hard nucleus shattered.

The roper slumped lifelessly, not even managing a death rattle.

"Phew... not so tough."

I caught my breath for a moment, relaxing—

Then a round bubble erupted from the water's surface.

A slime.

"Eek, out of nowhere?!"

If the knife had been free, I'd have crushed it in one go. But the blade was still lodged in the roper's body.

On reflex, I raised my arm to block.

But true to its liquid nature, the slime slithered up my arm and onto my body.

"Get off me...!"

No need for a weapon against trash like this.

I slammed my palms together like swatting a bug.

Clap!

The mana-charged strike pulverized its core in one shot.

Its fluids splattered everywhere at the same time.

"Ugh... so disgustingly sticky."

The fight was short, but I was already drenched head to toe in roper and slime secretions.

I shuddered at my slime-soaked clothes clinging to my skin.

Fighting with just this short knife made dodging their fluids impossible, it seemed.

"Should've picked up some basic spells."

Who'd have thought I'd wander this deep without a proper weapon?

It was my own stupid fault for getting lost like an idiot.

Putting aside the urge to slap my past self, I hurried onward in search of the exit.

How much time had passed?

The sewer's darkness robbed me even of my sense of time.

Only the crude bulbs Doctor Slime had rigged provided any light.

Day and night had long lost meaning.

All I knew was that the sun had surely risen outside by now.

"Haa, haa..."

Roper and slime—an simple combo, but brutally efficient.

The roper's myriad tentacles forced short, decisive battles. Add in slimes popping out unpredictably from the sewers, and they steadily wore down my mental fortitude.

After endless cycles ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of slashing, running, and slashing again, my stamina was nearly gone.

The battle high had faded ages ago. Suppressed sensations screamed in protest.

My wrists trembled, unable to bear even the weight of a small shard of metal.

Even with Body Transcendence, my base stats were just too low.

Then, another roper blocked my path ahead.

Behind me, the horde I'd accumulated trailed in a cluster.

Only one choice: breakthrough.

I gritted my teeth, regripped the knife hilt with both hands, and thrust into its body with all my strength, ignoring defense entirely.

Squish!

I felt flesh parting around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the blade, but something was off compared to before.

I'd lacked the power to pierce the nucleus.

"Ack...?!"

The roper, spared a fatal wound, lashed tentacles at me. Dozens coiled around my arms, binding tight.

The crushing pressure sapped the strength from my grip. I dropped the knife.

"Damn...!"

I strained to push the blade deeper somehow, but it shoved back desperately with its tentacles.

Exhausted as I was, I lost the tug-of-war.

My feet lifted off the ground. The tentacles hoisted and fully restrained my upper body.

"Guh! Quit groping me...!"

The roper's tentacles blatantly fondled my chest.

I twisted to shake off the gross appendages, but with my arms pinned, there were limits.

'Fuck! Come on, move, body!'

I clenched my jaw and wrenched my waist. Using the momentum from my still-free legs, I kicked out long and hard.

Crunch!

The tip struck the knife still embedded in its body.

The blade, short by a handspan, now pierced the core clean through.

The roper died on the spot. I tumbled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down from where its tentacles had held me suspended.

Thud!

"Kyaa! Hng... it hurts..."

I groaned rolling on the floor, but there was no time to rest.

Slimes always swarmed right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when you were vulnerable. Had to regroup fast or get jumped again.

I braced against the wall and barely hauled myself up.

The retrieved knife was chipped to a sawtooth edge.

With no mana left to sustain Mana Armament, I couldn't one-shot the roper.

My sweat- and slime-soaked shirt clung disgustingly tight.

Through the undone buttons, my chest heaved dramatically.

"Haa... haa...♡"

A strange heat mingled with my ragged breaths.

The moment I noticed, I whipped my head violently.

No way some aphrodisiac effect gets to me! I chanted the twisted belief to myself.

Thank heavens—the experience from that roper pushed me over the edge into a level gain.

Unlike games, it didn't restore full stamina, but even a little stat boost would help me hold out.

"2 into Strength, 3 into Dexterity..."

My level had reached 3 before I knew it.

But utter exhaustion meant I couldn't really feel any stronger.

Splash, splash...

Unpleasant friction sounds echoed from not far off again.

These ropers had freakishly good ears; once they locked on, they pursued relentlessly.

"This never ends..."

The encirclement was tightening.

If they caught me here, the outcome was obvious.

Doctor Slime's guinea pig—no, broodmother—churning out monsters for life.

...Just imagining that bad end gave me goosebumps.

I pushed on for dear life. And after who-knows-how-long...

I sensed a faint change.

'...That way?'

The mana density thinned sharply beyond the left fork.

Not the lab's artificial mana, but fresh air flowing in from outside.

A sign of the exit.

I squeezed out my last reserves and sprinted that way.

Couldn't stop with tentacles scraping the walls hot on my heels.

But that hope didn't last.

"Ah..."

A massive underground canal blocked the tunnel's end.

Unlike the others, no dry path for footing.

Mysterious blue liquid filled it to thigh height.

But ordinary passages continued left and right—the ones I'd wandered through.

'Direction's right. If I bust out of the lab... signal should work.'

But crossing this canal—how much farther to the next tunnel?

And wading that dubious blue liquid? No clue on time.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The wriggling in the dark grew louder.

Choices lay before me.

Dive into the water and seek escape?

Or detour for a safer path?

I stared at my disheveled reflection in the blue ripples before the canal.