The first thing I learned about dungeons is that they are very loud.
Not in the constant screaming way, though there was some of that, but in the way silence feels wrong. Like the air itself was holding its breath, waiting for you to make a mistake so it can laugh.
I landed hard on the the cold unforgiving stone floor with zero cushioning. I lay there for a second, face-down, arms spread, trying to decide if I was dead.
I wiggled my fingers.
They wiggled back.
"Okay," I muttered. "So this is… happening. Not a dream. Got it!"
The moment I acknowledged that, the air pinged.
Not a sound exactly, more like my brain got tapped on the shoulder by something that definitely hadn't been there before.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
Synchronising consciousness…
Linking physical body…
Establishing dungeon parameters…
"Oh, no."
The text wasn't floating in front of my eyes. It was inside them. Etched directly into my vision, translucent but impossible to ignore. Like the world had suddenly installed a very invasive pop-up ad.
[WARNING] Challenger status detected.
Hunter Registration: FAILED
Awakening Status: UNCONFIRMED
"That sounds bad," I said to the empty dungeon.
The dungeon did not reassure me.
I pushed myself upright and finally looked around.
Stone walls surrounded the area with a narrow corridor leading into an unknown room. Torches burning with a sickly blue flame that definitely wasn't normal fire. The air smelled metallic, like blood and ozone and something old.
'Great no minimap or helpful arrow. Wasn't I supposed to get a tutorial or something.'
Clearly this was no ordinary dungeon, in fact the fact that this trial had taken place without the hunter association's verified gates meant that everything happening was far from normal.
Usually individuals would pre-awaken at a young age, around 3 years old. The preawaken would give them a basic outline of their powers and what type of abilities they'd get down the line, and thus when they turned 16 they'd be taken to their local hunter association branch to undergo a trial in one of the dungeons portals where they'd undergo a challenge. It was here once complete that they would fully awaken their abilities.
My situation now was different, it was something akin to a dungeon absorption. I got sucked into a dungeon, instead of willingly travelling into a portal. So yeh, I'm screwed.
Looks like I would have to operate with the knowledge that it was just me and what I'd scraped from being a forum user.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
You have entered an Unrated Dungeon.
Dungeon Type: Trial Instance
Clear Condition: SURVIVE
I laughed.
It slipped out of me, sharp and a little hysterical.
"Survive," I repeated. "Very clear. Very helpful. Ten out of ten."
The system did not respond.
Instead—
[SYSTEM QUERY]
Would you like to view Dungeon Difficulty?
▶ YES
▶ NO
My finger moved on instinct.
▶ YES
[ERROR] Difficulty cannot be disclosed.
Reason: Insufficient Data
"Of course," I sighed. "Naturally."
I stood, legs shaky but functional, and checked myself over. Same clothes and body. Same deeply unremarkable physical stats. I had no sword or armour. No magic staff which I could conveniently leaning against a wall or use to cast destructive spells.
"Please be an easy trial. Please be an easy trial. Please be an easy trial."
I prayed with my hands clasped together. For all of my complaining I still wanted to live. I mean who else was going to watch the new season of Mumutsu Maisen for me.
"Okay, Keiko," I whispered. "Think."
Hunters, dungeons, systems. I knew all this stuff theoretically, after all the time on the forum how couldn't I, the world ran on it.
Hunters awakened abilities. Abilities gave ranks. Ranks determined guild eligibility and guilds controlled dungeon access, loot distribution, political influence, and whether you lived comfortably or died broke in a C-rank cave.
Ranks went like this:
F.
E.
D.
C.
B.
A.
S.
Most people peaked at D or C. B-ranks were rare. A-ranks were monsters in human form. S-ranks were walking disasters with PR teams.
And me?
I wasn't even F-rank.
I was nothing, but what happened if I succeded. If someone with no talent managed to clear an unknown dungeon, surely the rewards would be great.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Challenger detected with no Rank.
Assigning Temporary Classification…
The air buzzed.
Something pressed against my skull, not painful but invasive like a hand rifling through my thoughts.
[TEMPORARY STATUS GRANTED]
Rank: F (Temporary)
Affiliation: None
"Wow," I muttered. "Even the system hates me."
It was then wet heavy sound echoed down the corridor.
Something was very wrong.
Trial Dungeon Initialised
I flinched instinctively, raising a hand as if I could swipe the message away. I could not.
[TRIAL NAME]
Escape the Land Eel
I stared at the words for several seconds.
"Escape," I said quietly. "That means I am not supposed to fight."
The system did not respond.
The ground beneath my feet shifted.
It was not violent enough to knock me over, but it was deliberate, as if something massive had adjusted its position beneath the surface. The movement sent a vibration through my legs and straight up my spine.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Target Entity Detected.
Trial Difficulty Assessment in Progress…
Relative Rating: S
"Woah...Woah, woah. Wait a moment S rank!"
My laugh came out broken.
"S," I wheezed. "I'm not even ranked officially."
[SYSTEM CLARIFICATION]
Difficulty ratings are relative to the Challenger.
Unawakened survival probability: 0.3%
I did not wait to see what it was detecting. I turned and ran.
The moment my foot struck the ground, the earth behind me exploded upward. Soil and stone burst apart as something enormous surged through the cavern floor in a straight, unstoppable line. I risked a glance over my shoulder and immediately wished I had not.
The creature was massive, its body long and thick, covered in slick, dark hide that reflected the dim torchlight lining the cavern walls. It had no visible eyes. Its head was nothing but a circular mouth lined with rotating layers of teeth that ground together with a sound like stone being crushed.
A land eel.
"F*ck, f*ck.... F*CK!"