Artificial Dungeon

Looking at the approaching skeletons, I knew I had overestimated myself a bit. Not only was I extremely weak strength-wise, I didn't have an actual weapon to attack with. I could pretty much only defend or run in my current state.

There was also the chilling killing intent being directed at me, but it didn't prevent me from moving despite it being bothersome. I did have to survive on the streets by myself for some time in my last life after all.

'Too late to regret, gotta move on forward.'

Shaking my head, my gaze suddenly sharpened as my thought process shifted.

"Can't take them all on at once, can only defend without a weapon. Agility boost from skill? Unknown."

While muttering about what I could do, I moved closer to the group of skeletons while switching to a reverse grip with the training dagger in my right hand while being wary of an incoming attack.

The two skeletons wielding swords rushed ahead, swinging their swords at me while the archers stayed behind.

*Woosh!*

*Screeee!*

With my agility, I managed to dodge one of their strikes while barely being able to deflect the other strike with the training dagger, right into the other skeleton and they both fell over for a few seconds before getting back up.

*Thud!*

An arrow from one of the skeleton archers missed me and hit one of the warriors instead.

Seeing this gave me more useful information.

"Team coordination is low, can use this to my advantage."

Though I didn't let my guard down after figuring this out.

Now having a plan in mind, I started running away from the skeleton warriors while still being aware of them, bypassing them to the side and towards the archers who were not that far behind them.

['Nigerundayo' has been activated. Agility has been raised to 'D-'.]

My running speed suddenly increased, allowing myself to reach the archers faster.

"Activation noted, the conditions?"

*Woosh!*

With my increased agility, I easily avoided another strike from one of the skeleton warriors before dodging another arrow.

Now within range of the archers, I kept circling them, constantly harassing them with small but constant drive-by hits with the training dagger while making sure to target their leg joints.

The two skeleton warriors managed to catch up as I was harassing the archers.

Noticing their arrival, I kept myself placed between the warriors and the archers, fending the archers off while waiting for the warriors to strike.

But as I was defending, something happened.

['Nigerundayo' has been deactivated.]

Upon hearing this announcement, I immediately started to dodge but I was just a tad bit too late.

"Gah!"

The skeleton warrior closest to me managed to leave a nasty slash on my right arm.

*Crack!*

Luckily for me though, the other skeleton in an attempt to slash me, ended up hitting the other skeleton's hand, breaking it and dropping the sword that was held in it.

While clenching my teeth from the pain, I 'ran away' from the skeleton archers while aiming for the sword on the ground and the notification appeared like I thought it would.

['Nigerundayo' has been activated.]

I shot forward, grabbing the sword with my left hand and spinning, all in a single motion, the momentum being carried throughout every movement in my horizontal slash.

*Shick!*

The skeleton that had dropped the sword was bisected at its waist.

"Haaaa, need to finish this soon. Hup!"

The skeleton archers were about to fire an arrow again.

Panting, I shot forward to move out of the last skeleton warrior's range while aiming for one of the archers.

The archers fired as I quickly approached my target, with myself being able to dodge one of the arrows by twisting my body to the side but my target's arrow managed to hit me on my right shoulder.

I clenched my teeth in pain while continuing to spin despite the pain, and aimed for the back knee of my target.

*Bam!*

Although I wasn't able to cut it off like I intended, I managed to trip the skeleton, which didn't really do much in the long run as it just got back up within ten-or-so seconds.

"Haaaaa, haaaaa…"

Feeling my body shaking from exhaustion and pain, I knew that this couldn't go on for any longer else I would die.

'Time for Plan B.'

Without any further pause, I started running off further into the dungeon.

*Clack clack clack.*

Judging by the noise not far from behind me, the skeletons were chasing me which I wanted them to.

"Should be close now."

Now that I was deeper in the dungeon, I would soon be encountering traps. My plan is to use those traps to take care of the monsters for me.

"There's one."

Up ahead a few meters, although it was barely visible, there was a clear ish thread around the level of a person's ankles.

Avoiding the tripwire, I jumped over it then continuing for a few more meters before turning around.

Just in time to see the skeletons to trigger the trap.

*Bang!*

The ceiling above the skeletons collapsed onto them.

Despite seeing the skeletons being crushed, I waited a bit to make sure they were either dead or couldn't move.

['Nigerundayo' has been deactivated.]

Ignoring the notification, I kept my eyes on the pile of rubble for a minute before leaning against the stone wall, shaking and panting from exhaustion.

"Need to attend to my wounds…"

Tearing off one of my shirt's sleeve, I used it to tightly wrap the slash wound on my arm.

"This'll do for now, but what about this arrow?"

I couldn't just yank it out of my shoulder, that would just make the wound worse. It would have to stay in for now.

*Crack!*

I broke the shaft of the arrow off before wrapping it with another torn off piece of my shirt.

"This'll have to do for now."

After making sure the wounds wouldn't get worse, I dropped to the floor.

"Haaaa, I'm pretty sure that I'm only alive thanks to adrenaline and my agility. I would be dead if I was any slower."

I did have some battle experience, but that was limited to fighting dirty, street fighting, and living humans. I don't think the undead are on the list of opponents I've fought before. Especially with using skills. Unlike games where you could tap an icon or button on your skill to perform it, it just gave a description of what it does and the basic requirements to use it.

In video game logic, if you hit a vital area such as the head or joints, you would usually get a damage bonus. But the status doesn't list such bonuses as it is a representation of the skill itself. If you do hit a vital area, of course you are going to deal more damage.

With ['Nigerundayo'], I knew that retreating while looking for things I could use were the activation requirements, but I needed to confirm how reactive the skill was and how fast it would deactivate. Good thing for me though, my agility boost lasts a bit longer after I stop 'running away', though I didn't know so I got caught off guard.

Luckily for me, the wounds weren't too serious so if I wanted to keep on going it wouldn't be too risky.

Nope! Am I fucking stupid? Why would I keep going forward?

Sure I got off relatively fine in the end, time would heal these wounds. But if I'm struggling this much at the very beginning of the trial, I might as well give up now and come back later when I'm stronger. I don't mind suffering a bit to get stronger, but I'm not going down a path where it's extremely likely for me to die unless it's something worth dying for.

Besides, I still have plenty of time before the protagonist's group visit the dojo and yoink the inheritance.

"I'm outta here!"

I got back up.

The trial set by Alistar had an 'opt-out' feature, letting you give up midway through it. This artificial dungeon was actually a training course for the members of the Phantom Knights before they were wiped out. After the war, it was changed into Alistar's Inheritance Trial yet some key parts were kept the same. Only members of the Phantom Knights should know the phrase to give up though. Once the phrase was said, a exit portal would form and take you back to the entrance of the dungeon.

"It should be… [Return To The Void.]"

I cringed at how edgy it sounded.

'Thank god no one is here to hear that.'

…

Nothing happened.

I scratched my head in confusion. I know I said the phrase correctly, so why hasn't the exit portal formed in front of me?

[How strange, no one should be alive to know that phrase.]

A metallic voice rang out, though I couldn't discern where it came from. I knew who was speaking, but I was surprised.

'Alistar.'

Or to be exact, it was a [Soul Remnant] of Alistar.

A [Soul Remnant] is what it sounds like, a remnant of someone's soul after they died. By placing the soul into an object, the soul could somewhat be preserved for the time being but how long the remnant could last depended on what remained of the soul and how strong the person was while they were alive.

After Alistar died in the war, whatever was left of his soul was preserved thanks to a necromancer and a blacksmith who forged a vessel that could hold his soul. In fact, most of the Heroes who died in the war had their souls preserved and placed within their inheritance trials to choose the right person.

'…Oops.'

[You also do not use any of our techniques nor does it look like you have any professional training. You're weak overall, too.]

"…"

[Anyways, how do you know that phrase? Who are you?]

'Weeeeeell shiiiiiiiit. I didn't write anything about Alistar speaking so I thought he had faded away already.'

'Wait a sec…'

A few thoughts suddenly occurred to me.

'Even if this world is based on the novel I wrote, there's bound to be gaps in the world-building of this world if it's based on a novel since a novel can't cover everything, so the gaps were probably filled in naturally. Not thinking like it was because I didn't write any interaction, Alistar must've been too weak to let his presence known or that he disappeared completely by the time they arrived. He also could've not given a damn about the protagonist's group and ignored them.'

'This is also a great opportunity to learn from one of the Heroes! I was planning on figuring out the movement art by myself but if I have Alistar as my teacher, I'll grow far faster!'

'But I shouldn't give away that I know who he is, that'll make him even more suspicious… aha!'

An idea came to mind. I turned my attention back to Alistar's remnant.

"Don't worry about that. Besides, shouldn't the overseer of the trial not interact with the participants?"

I deflected his question with one of my own while acting like I didn't know who he actually was.

[…It seems you are not surprised by my sudden presence.]

I was blunt.

"I'm not, so can you open the exit portal now? I'd like to get this arrow out of my shoulder."

[…]

"…"

Silence ensued between the two of us for a good minute before a corse laugh echoed throughout the corridor.

[Hahahaha! It's been a very long time since someone has talked to me like this. I wonder if you knew who I was, would you still be acting like you currently are?]

Nice, he reacted like I expected him to.

I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not I dunno."

Asking again if I can go, I feigned urgency.

"Can I go? Like you said, I'm weak and I need to take care of my wounds."

Alistar tutted.

[You're not going to die. Besides, you haven't answered my questions yet.]

I sighed and ran both of my hands through my hair as if I was frustrated from the questioning. Acting like I was annoyed, I responded.

"I'm just a nobody that heard a rumor about Alistar's inheritance here and decided to try my luck, that's all. Can I go now?"

[…Is that all?]

It seems like Alistar wasn't convinced by my response which I wanted him to not be.

[Because to me, you seem to be a little bit more than a 'nobody' as you had said. Despite being weak and having essentially no skill, you fought well against the skeletons.]

I was 'stunned' for a moment by his praise.

[To cover for being weak, you fight smart. For the most part, you move rationally when fighting.]

I kept playing dumb.

"…So? What are you getting at?"

[You have the traits I am looking for. Calculating and a strong will but knows when to back off. You are also essentially a blank canvas.]

Why are you dragging this out even more?!

Alistar didn't notice my fake frustration, or he chose to ignore it.

[Become my disciple. Although I do not have much time left, it will be enough to teach you the basics.]

I was elated to hear that in my mind, but I didn't show that on my face.

'Stay calm, stay calm, gotta keep the act up.'

I acted suspicious, 'confused' why a mysterious overseer would request that.

"Who are you? Why should I trust what you say?"

Alistar snorted.

[Hmph, do you really think a suspicious person would hide in a trial of one of Twelve Heroes?]

I shook my head and retorted back to him:

"The brightest lights can cast the darkest shadows. Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest."

[…]

Alistar went silent for a few moments before speaking again after a sigh.

[Haaaa, fine. To prove I am trust worthy, I will show you who I truly am.]

A blinding light filled the corridor shortly after he spoke.

I shielded my eyes from the light.

"What the—"

Not only that, I could feel my surroundings shifting or being distorted. It was a unpleasant feeling.

When the light faded, I found myself in a completely different location.

In front of me was transparent, incorporeal figure covered by a worn-and-torn black cloak looking at nine screens on the wall, displaying different parts of the dungeon.

'This must be the control room.'

Observing my surroundings there was a door behind me which was probably the entrance to the room. The room wasn't big either, being about five meters wide, eight meters long. There was a decent amount of head room as well.

The incorporeal figure turned around to face me, a grin plastered onto his face as he spoke.

[I am Alistar, one of the Twelve Heroes. So, do you trust me now?]

***

Somewhere else in the city…

It was late at night, raining. The bustling streets were now mostly deserted.

*Plop, plop, plop!*

Something small was running in and out of the alleyways.

It turned back while running before seeing its chasers were still behind it. They were dressed in dark clothing, with masks covering their faces.

The small animal couldn't help but curse.

"Haaaaa, haaaaa! Thwose bastards won't give up!"

It could hear its two chasers yelling to each other.

"Don't lose the target! The boss will have our heads if we do!"

The small animal kept running through the alleyways until it noticed a small gap in the wall on its left.

"…aha!"

"Oh no you don't!"

One of the two chasers saw what the small animal was trying to do, and sped up, hoping to catch it before it escaped. But alas, they were too late.

Using the last of its mana, it propelled itself forward before doing a hard left turn straight into the gap.

…

"Fuck! It got away."

The chaser that was ahead tried looking through the gap to see where it went, but no luck.

"Don't just stand there, find out where this path leads to! Do you want to suffer the boss' wrath?"

The two of them shivered in fear after briefly imagining their fate if they failed their mission before taking off again.