The dungeons had all sorts of dangers inside. My first run, for example, was supposed to be a low rank dungeon, yet it had vampires, which were stronger creatures, and I also found Bob.
So, one shouldn’t trust the Internet blindly. Ethan had said this rift was rank F, but the chances of something more sinister being inside were still there.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Once I was up in the tree canopy, looking at the horizon, I saw it. A massive eye. I couldn’t even tell the exact size, but it was fucking big.
It had tentacles around it, moving nonstop. The creature was flying above the dense jungle, as if scanning the area. When the eye saw me up there, it attacked.
Dark energy formed around it. The creature shot a laser beam in my direction. The beam was really fast. I didn’t have much time to think. Blocking it would be impossible.
But my dimensional cube, in that life-and-death situation, moved without my consent. I didn’t need to control it with my mind. The cube moved on its own, standing in front of me, changing shape into a massive wall to block the attack.
The laser hit my cube, creating a loud bang.
My hair and clothes moved with the wind from the impact. I spotted a few cracks forming around the cube. It couldn’t block the attack completely.
When I realized the wall was about to break, I tried to get out of the way, but it all happened too fast. The laser hit me right in the chest.
It was much weaker now after the cube blocked it, but still way stronger than any attack I’d felt before. The beam burned through my clothes. It didn’t hit my face, but my body was a different story.
Not just the clothes, my skin burned too, turning red. I had no idea how bad the burn was on a scale, but damn, it hurt. A lot.
I had little strength left. When I looked ahead, I spotted the massive eye flying toward me.
How could I escape that thing? It wouldn’t be possible. I couldn’t move my body. Not in time, at least.
The creature was fast. It would reach me in less than 20 seconds.
With no other option, I decided to use my pocket dimension as my safe haven. I went in, vanishing completely from the dungeon.
The cube, now with a few cracks, disappeared from the tree canopy, reappearing right beside me inside the pocket dimension. I could basically disappear any time I wanted, and hide inside that place.
However, I had no idea if the creature could find me, or how long I could stay inside.
Bob came jumping toward me. He wasn’t quite back to normal, but normal enough not to try to attack me.
In fact, I wasn’t expecting his next move. Bob jumped on me, and his body melted, covering my whole body. A cooling sensation took over me, dulling the excruciating pain of my burns.
Bob was trying to heal me! The little creature was already quite impressive with his devouring ability, but healing too? What couldn’t Bob do?
The pain lessened a lot, but it was still there, almost unbearable. I kept screaming inside my pocket dimension, glad no one could hear it.
Slowly, I started feeling better. I could move my body again. The movements were stiff, and every time I moved, everything hurt, but I was moving, and that was a good thing.
Bob tried his best to heal me, but even his abilities had a limit. He shrank back to his normal slime form, closed his eyes, and fell asleep, snoring loudly.
I got up. My body was still burnt, making me look like a tomato, and my shirt and hood were completely gone. I was basically shirtless at that point. At least my underwear and pants were still holding up.
My plan changed. As damaged as I was, I couldn’t stay inside the dungeon much longer. Bob had eaten 30 crystals total. Not enough to get him back to normal, but he was sleeping now, so maybe I had a little more time before he went crazy again.
The best move was to get the hell out of that place before I died gathering monster crystals. Time was running, so heading back was the right call.
I left my pocket dimension, and when I did, I almost had a heart attack. The massive eye was really close, practically on top of me. Its back was turned to me, so it wasn’t looking.
Staying there would be stupid, so I jumped from the tree, grabbing onto the hanging vines and swinging from branch to branch, using my grip to control the fall.
The eye noticed my movements, but it didn’t chase me. For some reason, the creature just stayed up there, making sure no one climbed into the tree canopies.
Was it protecting something? I was curious about it, and I’d definitely look into this dimensional rift once I was out. Maybe even come back to explore more.
But the first thing I had to do was leave. I ran as fast as I could, which wasn’t very fast with all the wounds I had.
Monsters chased me, obviously, but I didn’t stop to fight them. My body was too weak, and my mind was so tired I couldn’t control my dimensional cube properly.
I went straight for the portal. The marks on the trees guided me to the exit. I looked back over my shoulder, spotting a bunch of wasps flying toward me. I flipped them off as I jumped through the portal, reaching the other side.
My body hit the ground, even catching a rock on the way down, making my back hurt even more. When I got up and looked around, I didn’t see anyone.
Ethan wasn’t there. The bastard hadn’t waited for me.