Two hours later...
"How big is this goddamn place?"
In the network of tunnels deep underground.
Kev grumbled like a frustrated old man who was tired of seeing his only son donate his hard earned money to an e-girl who didn't even know he existed.
He had walked for over three hours and crossed more than fifty tunnels. However, he still hadn't discovered a way out of this underground space.
At the end of every tunnel he'd crossed till now, he had only come across a turn that led to yet another wide and winding tunnel, making him feel miserable.
Faced with such a situation, his frustration was more than justified.
"Don't let it get to you. Frustration won't get you anywhere," Kev was reminded by his guide.
"I know," Kev sighed.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing to walk down the tunnel he had arrived at after crossing over 50 tunnels.
The reason he was walking instead of running was simple.
He was trying to conserve his energy for life-threatening moments and battles with revenants, the man-eating inhabitants of this place.
Anyways.
This time, as he rounded the corner,
there was a difference.
"Is that... light that I see?"
In the distance, there was a warm and bright glow.
"You're not seeing things," His guide said.
"It could be the way out," Kev exclaimed, rushing toward the light in the distance.
For some reason, Natasha used the book she was using to spy on Kev's situation to quickly stop him.
Kev watched with narrowed eyes as his guide blocked his path and fluttered open.
A warning appeared on its one and only page.
"Calm down, it could be a trap," Natasha warned.
"You sound paranoid," Kev said.
"You say that because you don't understand how dark the abyss truly is," Natasha replied. "What you've seen and come across so far? It's just the tip of the iceberg."
"What do you propose I should do?" Kev asked.
He wasn't the dumb, arrogant type. He knew far less about the Abyss than his guide. So he believed he should listen to her even if it seemed like extra work or unnecessary.
Natasha's reply came swiftly, appearing as inky black words in the book hovering before Kev's eyes. "Advance with caution and be prepared for a fight. Anyone or anything with the intelligence to set a trap is not easy to deal with."
Kev had experienced that firsthand, so he knew he was going to face a lot of trouble if the light he was seeing was a bait cast by someone to catch unsuspecting passersby off guard
He respectfully heeded his guide's advice and moved cautiously toward the warm sunlight in the distance, his weapons at the ready.
As he reached close to it, he realized the warm sunlight was coming from bioluminescent fungi that grew along the walls and ceiling of the tunnel he had just stepped into.
"Damn, this is so disappointing."
It wasn't the way out like he had expected.
He was still trapped, with no exit in sight.
Thus, his excitement died down, replaced by immeasurable disappointment.
In that moment.
The words in the book fluttering before him changed.
"You should be glad," Natasha said.
"Glad?" Kev raised his eyebrow.
"Think about it like this," Natasha continued. "You could have encountered something much worse. But you didn't. Isn't that something to be glad about?"
"You spoke too soon, damn it."
Kev said as his scalp tightened.
A numbing sensation spread from his head all the way down to his neck.
The life-saving aspect of his trait had been triggered.
The only reason it would be this intense was if he was in some kind of life-threatening danger.
Now, he couldn't see where it was coming from.
It was invisible even to his eyes, eyes that could see clearly in the dark.
But he could feel where it would strike and what it would do.
If he wasn't wrong, it would hit his head with such force that it would pop like a balloon.
Even though he had ascended to the ranks of a class holder, he wouldn't survive such a lethal injury.
He has to evade it at all cost!
With life-threatening danger just an instant away, Kev heightened his senses, relying on everything he had to survive.
Suddenly.
His ears twitched, catching the sharp whistle of something slicing through the air.
With no time to waste, Kev dropped to the ground instantly.
Whiz!
An arrow flashed past the spot where his head had been an instance ago and struck the wall behind him, embedding itself nearly four inches deep into it.
It was clear for all parties to see.
Had he been even a second slower, he would have met a miserable end!
"That missed?!"
A surprised voice rang out from ahead.
Kev looked up and saw something strange.
A person had appeared in the exact same spot where there had been no one just a moment ago!
It was a tall and slender man with hair that reached down to their waist, a prominent Adam's apple, and sharp, angular facial features that gave them a regal yet menacing appearance.
The man held a bow in his right hand, and a gourd was strapped to his waist.
The gourd had no lid. Its open mouth revealed only a deep, dense darkness.
There was another strange thing about the man's appearance.
He was using a bow, but there was no quiver or arrow in sight.
Kev frowned slightly.
How had this man suddenly appeared fifty meters away from him?
He could see in the dark, and his gaze was sharp. Not to mention, the tunnel was brightly lit by the bioluminescent fungi. He should've seen the man approaching from a mile away unless, of course, he was using a skill or item to hide himself in plain sight.
Yes. That had to be it.
"I chose the most lethal method at my disposal to assassinate you, and yet you survived even that," the man said, his voice laced with disbelief. "No wonder my slave and pet met their demise at your hands. You are one tough fucker."
Hearing his words, Kev immediately understood who he was, exclaiming in shock. "Dakun?"
Dakun smiled. "Looks like someone has been expecting me."
"Fuck." Kev cursed in his mind.
The worse has come to mind.