"Something is waiting for you ahead, boy. A gentle greeting."
The familiar voice sounded behind Exitus. The boy startled and spun around, his surprise quickly replaced by calm.
"So it is you, you damned old man. It seems you are talking more than usual."
"Can you feel the Nightmare energy saturating this place, boy? That is why I can act freely. Welcome to the Nightmare Abyss, a place that tests whether you are worthy. We will likely have many conversations in the future. For convenience, call me Jester."
"Fine, Jester. What exactly is your goal? I have obtained the stone. Where is my wish?"
"Only beautiful dreams grant free wishes, Exitus. This is the realm of Nightmare. Wishes do not come from what you want. A wish is something you need."
The old man laughed cryptically, stroking his long beard, his eyes narrowing with depth.
"The stone, once claimed by its owner, becomes a Nightmare artifact. It will possess immense power. In your case, the artifact is the Book of Monsters of Madenes. You can feel it within your body, can you not? Summon it, and I will guide you through what comes next."
Exitus fell silent. He focused inward. Certain sensations felt deeply engraved in his instincts. And there it was, floating within what could be called the "Inter Space". A pitch black, mysterious book. Vein like patterns of different colors rose across its surface, twisting into a vortex at the center of the cover, a profound and endless black hole.
"Speak its name, Exitus. Call it, and it shall manifest."
"I call upon you, Book of Monsters of Madenes."
A ring of cracks spread from his arm as black currents surged forth, rapidly gathering into the form of the book.
"It is empty. There is nothing inside."
Exitus was stunned. He flipped through it again and again, waiting for powerful spells or at least ancient knowledge to appear upon the pages. But there was nothing. Only blank pages, dark brown with age, empty and ordinary.
Jester burst into laughter, his smile twisted and sickly. He left behind one final sentence before fading as he always did.
"Do not rush. Move forward. That place will answer your questions. Go forward, Exitus. Something is waiting for you."
Exitus stared into the dark void before him. Though he saw nothing, the sounds of gnawing were unmistakable in his ears. He was certain that a living creature lay ahead.
"This is my trial? What I must overcome is a monster? Damn it, Enesur. I am just an ordinary person."
Exitus struggled between moving forward and staying still. If he remained, he would be trapped here forever, imprisoned by fear and despair. He wanted to escape, to awaken from this nightmare.
"What could possibly be worse? My life is already as bad as filth."
Determination gradually surfaced on the boy's face. Step by step, he advanced toward the sound. From the darkness and the flickering torchlight, a grotesque form slowly emerged. A monster gnawing on white bones. Its eyes were blood red. Its skin was blotched with boils and sores. Patches of peeling flesh mixed with coarse tufts of fur. Its jaw gaped wide, bearing only two long fangs, sharp and yellowed.
"A rat."
Exitus calmly observed the creature. Though deformed, repulsive, and as large as a dog, it was not as terrifying as he had imagined. Indeed, the most frightening things were always those unknown and not understood.
The monster suddenly stopped. It caught the scent of fresh flesh. Abandoning the bone it had been gnawing, it searched frantically for the source. Then it saw the boy. Its blood red eyes burned with hunger as it slowly approached, mouth agape and dripping with saliva.
Exitus sighed, disappointment evident as he looked at the ugly rat. His mind rapidly analyzed how to slaughter this vermin.
"The only thing that can deal real damage are its long incisors. The claws are rather small, dangerous but not fatal. I can use these long bones as weapons. Stabbing the eyes will be decisive."
His gaze shifted to the flickering torch nearby.
"This is probably far better." He smiled with grim satisfaction.
The rat did not wait. When the distance closed, it lunged at the boy, baring its sharp fangs as if to sink them deep into his body.
Exitus grabbed the torch and swung it hard into the rat's head while slipping aside to avoid the collision. Its fur ignited instantly, searing its flesh and making it shriek in pain. Exitus bent down and seized a long bone, perhaps a thigh bone of some creature. He charged forward, plunging it into the monster's eye while repeatedly burning its body with the torch.
The rat writhed in agony, screaming in despair, until it finally lay motionless. The stench of burnt flesh spread through the foul air.
"Is that all?"
Exitus spat contemptuously at the rat's corpse. Suddenly, within his mind, the Book of Madenes trembled. A blank page slowly filled with letters, accompanied by a vivid image of the rat.
Monster: Ratta
Race: Gnawing Beast
Traits: Gray fur, large eyes, extremely sharp fangs, red eyes capable of clear vision in darkness. The smallest individuals are comparable to dogs, the largest to rhinoceroses. Forelimbs are reduced, hind limbs are well developed, allowing rapid leaps toward prey. Their fangs sink deep into victims. Their saliva contains a numbing agent.
Weaknesses: Fear of fire. Their fur ignites easily. They are quite stupid, their attack patterns predictable and easy to evade. Although their fangs are sharp, constant gnawing makes them brittle and prone to breaking upon strong impact.
Strength: Smaller individuals possess strength comparable to ordinary humans. The strongest individual ever recorded, Matta the Gnawmaster, possessed strength comparable to a Warlord.
Common monsters of tedious dungeons, symbols of filth and disease. Weak and foolish creatures that prefer to roam alone. Matta is an exception. It deserved its name. Madenes
Page Ability: Rat's Stomach
Rat's Stomach: Enhances digestive capability. Allows consumption of any substance, even waste, without falling ill.
Exitus was astonished. He touched his abdomen, sensing an energy reshaping his body. The dull stomach pain caused by moldy bread and filthy water gradually vanished.
"That is a page. The ability of your artifact. Wonderful, is it not? Monsters bring fear, but they also bring gifts. Imagine your power once you possess countless pages."
Jester suddenly appeared behind him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and whispering.
"This is only the beginning. Surely you did not think it would be this easy. The deeper you go into the Nightmare Abyss, the darker it becomes. The monsters will grow stronger. And so will the Wardens."
"Listen carefully, boy. By linking your mind to the book, you can leave the Abyss. But do not die here. Death here means you will never return to the waking world. You have passed the first trial. For now, awaken, and return when you are prepared."
Jester's voice faded along with the scene before Exitus. Everything twisted like a vortex within the pages of the book until only darkness remained.
Exitus jolted awake. Around him, the slaves still slept deeply. Time within the Nightmare Abyss seemed not to affect the real world. One thing was certain. Everything that had happened was real. A book floated within his mind. And the lingering pain in his stomach was truly gone.
"Damn it, Enesur. What exactly have you given me?"
Exitus felt both joy and unease. He sensed that he had become a pawn of some mysterious higher power.
...
Another dawn rose over the hell of Allblack. Nashor sat quietly, feeling the gentle warmth of sunlight slipping through the opening of the dungeon hatch above his head. It was a rare, luxurious pleasure for the chief warden before the light faded, swallowed once more by the oppressive walls of the dungeon.
"How long has it been? I am about to lose my mind." He whispered the question he had repeated countless times.
Once a general of Golden, Nashor had been exiled here as a dungeon warden, a cruel joke of fate. Though he had once been a Warlord, his strength had withered within this mana deprived prison. No matter how much he longed to escape, he could not defeat the monster guarding the gate.
"That damned beast. If it were me at my peak, killing it would be effortless." He muttered.
His daily work was unbearably monotonous. Beating slaves, torturing prisoners for information, or sitting idly lost in empty thoughts. Supplies were delivered periodically through the hatch, always accompanied by new prisoners. The only thing worth striving for was that sometimes the information he extracted could be exchanged for a jug of fragrant Meli wine, something that allowed him to endure another day within this mad, death soaked place.
However, recently he seemed to have found another interesting pastime. A boy with strange eyes, frighteningly calm. Every day, the child carried a pickaxe and dug at the same fixed spot, searching for something. He could sense that what the boy was doing was far from ordinary. The child was hiding a secret. He wondered whether it might be an escape passage out of this place.
"What if it truly is a passage?"
The warden narrowed his eyes. He preferred to believe it was real. After all, there was nothing else to do in this damned place. Perhaps he should make contact with that boy. Of course, in a gentle way.
As usual, Exitus continued digging with his pickaxe. Even after finding the stone, he did not stop. He was smart enough to know how to protect himself. What he needed was time. Time to search for more pages that could strengthen his own power.
"Hey, kid. Exitus, was it?"
A coarse voice sounded behind him. A slovenly officer, careless and indifferent, clad in tattered, ragged clothing.
"Are you well, Warden? You are not wearing your uniform?"
"I dress like this to stay cool. So what? Which soldier would dare complain? In a place like this, who cares about regulations."
"Does the Warden have any orders? I am just a kid. I do not know if I can be of any use to you."
Nashor fell silent for a moment. Indeed, standing before him was only a child. Had he truly become so delusional as to seek help from a child?
"Come to my room. We have something private to… negotiate."
He emphasized the word "negotiate". Exitus frowned. He could not help but think poorly of the situation.
"Warden, what is there to negotiate between a young boy and a middle aged man in a place like this? If that is the case, you might as well kill me now. I will resist, and at least you will have some time to play before everything turns cold and foul."
"What? You brat, what nonsense are you thinking? Do you know who I am? I am Nashor, leader of the SilverFang clan, a mighty Warlord. I swear on my honor, I would never harbor such filthy thoughts as the ones you just spoke."
"What are you staring at? Get back to work. Do you want to die?" He roared at the slaves who were watching, then leaned in and whispered to Exitus.
"I want to negotiate an escape from this place. I know you have a secret. I can help you."
Exitus was startled. Then it suddenly seemed obvious. What kind of child did not need to worry about food yet still dug every day? Even an idiot could see that something was wrong.
"A passage would be a good excuse to buy time," Exitus thought, then nodded.
"Noble Warlord. Of course, as you wish."
Once again, he emphasized the word Warlord. Clearly, he did not truly trust the man, even if the chance of betrayal was small.
Inside the warden's crude room, it looked little different from a slave cell. The only distinction was a bed, a table, and a chair. Nashor quickly sat down like a hospitable host and asked:
"Some water? Rest assured, it is clean. You will not get a stomachache."
Exitus did not reply. He did not dare drink either. He simply stood there and spoke directly.
"There is a tunnel. I can sense the flow of mana. I feel a very weak current seeping through the rock walls. That is why I keep digging. It should lead outside."
Nashor was stunned. He did not expect such blunt honesty. He jumped up and grabbed the boy's arm, feeling his flesh.
Exitus flinched and exclaimed:
"Remember your oath, noble Warlord."
"Stop. Be quiet. I am checking the sturdiness of your body. It is very normal. If you had absorbed mana, your body would already be stronger. But you are very weak."
"I am not lying. I wish I could prove it to you, but my body no longer has any mana," Exitus insisted.
"No one in this dungeon has mana anymore. But if this is true, you are a genius. Sensing mana before even reaching the Fighter rank is the talent of a mage."
Nashor looked at the boy as if he were a precious gem. Afraid the child did not understand his own worth, he continued:
"Mages are as rare as a queen ant in an entire colony. They are strategic weapons. Take a grand mage of my rank, for example. Give him enough time, and he could set up a formation that would wipe out an entire army led by a warlord."
"That terrifying?" Exitus feigned shock.
"Of course. A child like you could be my ticket out of this place. It is just a pity that you carry the blood of Hesmor." Nashor sighed.
"To be honest, if I had such power, the first thing I would do is burn the Golden capital to the ground."
Exitus spoke calmly, as if stating an obvious fact, utterly unaware that a Golden officer stood before him.
"If that day truly comes…"
The warden's eyes flashed with hatred. But it was not directed at Exitus.
"If that day truly comes, you would not mind letting me pour a little more oil on the fire, would you? Hahahaha."
His laughter shattered into fragments. Just another miserable soul, Exitus thought, wondering what nightmares tormented this man.
"I believe you, kid. If there truly is a tunnel, we will escape. But if you are hiding something, your dark thoughts will become reality. Not because of me. I swear on Enesur that I have never broken an oath. But the twisted slaves out there would be very happy to do so."
Exitus returned to his cell. The digging site was now filled with strong, healthy slaves. The sound of pickaxes striking stone rang out in rhythmic clanging. The efficiency was thousands of times greater than when he worked alone.
When night fell, Nashor's voice echoed faintly in his ears.
"Seven days. Before the next supply convoy arrives. If nothing is found, I think you should tell me the truth about your little secret. Otherwise, you know what will happen to you."
"Time is tight. I hope the Abyss will grant me something useful."
Exitus thought to himself. He closed his eyes and connected to the book. The black patterns upon it twisted like a vortex, dragging him inside.
Exitus awakened within the Abyss. A familiar figure, one everyone knew, was already waiting. He stood there like a statue, wearing a bewitching smile.
"Welcome back, Exitus."