Drips of water fell onto Kai’s face. It was slimy and wet. As it fell repeatedly onto his face, it caused him to slowly regain consciousness.
As he opened his eyes, he looked around slowly. Then he felt it, drops of slimy, wet water falling onto his face, drop by drop.
He slowly looked up, then a scream tore out from his throat.
"AAAH!" Kai screamed.
He quickly rolled over before he could be eaten. The giant flytrap monster snapped its mouth in hopes of getting its prey inside.
Before the monster could raise itself again, Kai instantly got up, though parts of his body still felt a bit numb. The spider venom might still have lingering effects on him.
Before he could think further, he heard a screech. The plant might have figured out its lunch had gotten away. He couldn’t just stay still. Even if his legs weren’t fast right now, he still had to run.
The plant monster broke free from the soil and rushed towards Kai at full speed.
Kai immediately ran, his legs feeling heavy as he desperately tried to put as much distance between himself and the monster. The plant’s roots slammed against the ground behind him, tearing through the soil as it chased after him.
"Why the hell is this thing so fast?!" Kai shouted, glancing behind him.
The plant opened its giant mouth and snapped its jaws together, barely missing him.
Kai’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
He quickly turned into another path without knowing where it would lead. He only knew that staying where he was would get him eaten.
As he ran deeper into the cave, he suddenly heard a strange clicking sound above him.
Kai slowly looked up.
Several giant bats were hanging from the ceiling, their red eyes slowly opening.
"Oh, come on..." Kai muttered.
The bats suddenly flew down towards him.
Kai immediately ran faster.
"Why are you all after me?!"
He could hear the bats screeching behind him while the plant monster continued chasing from the other direction. Kai had somehow managed to attract every monster in the area.
His body was beginning to feel weaker. The venom was definitely still affecting him, and he hadn’t eaten anything since before entering the dungeon.
Kai stumbled but quickly caught himself against the cave wall before continuing to run.
He suddenly noticed something strange ahead.
A large flower was growing in the middle of the path. Its petals were beautiful and brightly colored, almost making it look harmless.
Kai slowed down.
"Please don’t be another monster." Kai muttered.
The flower suddenly opened.Inside was a large mouth filled with sharp teeth.
Kai’s eyes widened.
"Of course." he said under his breath already tired of being hunted.
The flower lunged at him.
Kai quickly jumped to the side as its mouth snapped shut where he had been standing. He didn’t wait to see what it would do next and immediately continued running.
At this point, Kai had no idea where he was going anymore. Every path looked the same, and the further he went, the more exhausted he became.
His legs were shaking.
His breathing was heavy.
His vision was beginning to blur.
He couldn’t keep going.
Kai finally stumbled forward and grabbed onto the trunk of a strange tree to stop himself from falling.
"Hori..." Kai muttered.
The image of the little boy hiding inside the tunnel immediately came to his mind.
At least he was safe.
Kai smiled weakly.
"I hope someone finds you..."
His vision slowly became darker.
His hand slipped from the tree as his legs finally gave out.
"That ramen..." Kai whispered.
"I really wanted to eat it."
His body fell to the ground, and everything around him slowly disappeared into darkness.
Kai had completely lost consciousness.
....
"CONTESTAN, WAKE UP!"
"CONTESTAN, WAKE UP, PLEASE!"
The voice echoed through Kai’s mind repeatedly, slowly pulling him out of the darkness. His fingers twitched before his eyes finally opened. He blinked several times, his vision blurry as he slowly looked around.
He remembered the spider, the venom, and then everything going dark. His body still felt strange, almost as if he had just woken up from a very deep sleep.
"Where am I?" Kai asked, slowly sitting up.
"YOU HAVE AWAKENED." The system said.
Kai immediately recognised the voice. It was the same system that had appeared when they were first transported into the dungeon game.
"Wait... what happened?" Kai asked, looking around. "Did I get eliminated?"
"CORRECT. YOU ARE THE FIRST CONTESTANT TO BE ELIMINATED FROM A DUNGEON LEVEL." The system said.
Kai’s eyes widened slightly before he sighed. So that was it. He had actually failed the very first level. He couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, especially after remembering how everyone else had rushed ahead while he had barely managed to survive for this long.
"Does that mean I’m dead?" Kai asked, suddenly becoming nervous.
"NO. WHEN A CONTESTANT DIES ON A DUNGEON LEVEL, THEY WILL RETURN TO THE STARTING AREA. DEATH WITHIN THE DUNGEON DOES NOT MEAN TRUE DEATH." The system explained.
Kai’s shoulders relaxed slightly after hearing that. At least he wasn’t actually dead. He still had Hori to worry about, though. The little boy was probably still hiding in that tunnel, and Kai had no idea what had happened to him after he lost consciousness.
"So what happens now? Do I get another chance?" Kai asked.
"ALL CONTESTANTS ARE REQUIRED TO CONTINUE PARTICIPATING. IF YOU WISH TO RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL WORLD, YOU MUST CLEAR THE DUNGEON." The system said.
Kai was quiet for a moment before another thought crossed his mind.
"Then what exactly is my status?" Kai asked. "I know I’m F-rank, but how bad is that compared to everyone else?"
"F-RANK IS THE LOWEST RANK AVAILABLE TO ALL CONTESTANTS. YOUR CURRENT COMBAT ABILITIES ARE EXTREMELY LOW. EVEN THE CHILD KNOWN AS HORI POSSESSES A HIGHER RANK THAN YOU." the system said.
Kai’s expression immediately dropped.
"Even Hori?"
"YES."
Kai stared blankly ahead, feeling his pride take another hit. He was a culinary student, not a fighter, but hearing that he was weaker than an eight-year-old still hurt.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Kai asked, rubbing the back of his head. "I can’t fight those monsters. I barely survived one."
"YOU SHOULD TRY YOUR BEST TO SURVIVE. AS YOU CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE, YOUR ABILITIES MAY DEVELOP. IF YOU ARE ABLE TO PROGRESS FAR ENOUGH, YOU MAY ONE DAY ESCAPE THE DUNGEON." The system said.
Kai looked down at his hands. He still didn’t know how he was supposed to accomplish that, but if there was even a chance of getting back home, he wasn’t going to give up.
"Alright. I’ll try." Kai said, determination slowly returning to his eyes.
"GOOD LUCK, CONTESTANT."
The system’s voice suddenly disappeared.
Kai blinked and looked around.
"Wait, that’s it?" Kai asked, but there was no response.
He sighed before slowly getting to his feet. His body still felt weak, but at least the venom wasn’t affecting him as badly anymore. He looked around the unfamiliar area, wondering where exactly he had been sent after his elimination.
Just as he took a step forward, something suddenly fell from above.
BAM!
A giant red coconut landed directly on Kai’s head.
"OW!" Kai shouted as he stumbled backward, immediately rubbing the top of his head.
The strange fruit rolled across the ground before coming to a stop. Kai stared at it suspiciously. It looked like a coconut, but its outer shell was completely red and it was much larger than any coconut he had ever seen.
"What the hell is this?" Kai asked as he crouched down and touched it.
The moment his fingers touched the fruit, a strange warmth suddenly spread through his hand and travelled throughout his body. Kai froze as a faint sensation awakened inside him.
A transparent window appeared in front of his eyes.
[ITEM NAME: GICOCONUT]
[STATUS: EDIBLE]
Kai stared at the window for several seconds.
"Gicoconut?" Kai asked, confused.
His stomach suddenly growled loudly.
Kai looked at the giant red fruit again.
"Well... at least it’s edible."
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Kai looked genuinely excited about something.
He had found food.