He was blinded for a moment, but then appeared in a cave, quite dark, but illuminated with stones on the walls and ceiling that projected a purple light. He hadn't heard about this, but he knew very little. He'd been avoiding all possible information about this place for years. He didn't need anything to interfere in his sanctuary and threaten his way of life after all. And in the end, he'd ended up coming here for refuge. Depressing, but one had to do what they could to survive.

  [TUTORIAL DUNGEON ENTERED] [Difficulty: Beginner] [Objective: Defeat the Guardian and Reach the Exit]

  He hadn't brought equipment. There was no need. It was prepared for him. They'd made that clear. On one side was a table. On top, a sword and a shield. The next visitor would receive the same, although he couldn't see any others. They'd simply appear. How? Well, with magic, like everything else. There was no other explanation.

  He grabbed the equipment. The shield was wooden, normal. But the sword too. That must be normal, because it was a tutorial. But the idea of facing monsters with a wooden thing didn't reassure him. That sounded like a suicide mission.

  The man who'd spoken to him before entering still hadn't appeared. He'd chickened out thinking about it. Or he'd simply appeared somewhere else. He clicked his tongue. What did it matter to him? Even if he'd appeared here, he wouldn't have helped him. And he wouldn't have wanted his help. He'd manage on his own anyway. He had to manage on his own, as always. He had no one else. Depending on other people would quickly transform into a bad habit you couldn't depend on. It was a new beginning, but his way of life wasn't wrong.

  He raised the shield and sword, feeling clumsy, feeling like an impostor. And he went deeper into the cave. It didn't take long to encounter his first monster. He was so surprised his heart leapt to his throat. And for a moment he thought he'd pass out. This time for real. Not like beside the fountain, where he'd barely held on. But no. He wasn't going to pass out. That's not what he felt. Just fear. Just the urge to turn around and run away.

  It was a green bug. No, with spikes. Come on, a troll. Anyone would recognize that beast. It was enough to have played any RPG. But it wasn't very big, or very muscular. Of course, it was a dungeon for mere beginners. If it were a bit bigger, how could he defeat it with a wooden sword?

  The monster roared. James trembled from head to toe. In fact, he wasn't even sure he could defeat it now. The troll jumped toward him, with the club raised above its head. He barely raised the shield in time. The force of the impact made his arms tremble, but he didn't drop the shield.

  He knew nothing about fighting. He'd never fought with anyone, not even with fists. Of course, he had no fucking idea about fencing either. Beyond having to stick in the pointy side. Of course, haha. He tried to return the blow. Failure. The troll jumped back, still roaring, shaking feverishly. He'd say beside himself, if it weren't that it was a monster and he wasn't sure if it had ever been inside, or what that could mean for something that only lived to murder human beings.

  Anyway, a second attack. With the shield. Barely, again. But what mattered was the result, at the end of the day. Fuck, how it hurt. He hadn't received a direct hit yet, but how his arms already hurt. Damn it all.

  He swung the wooden sword, taking advantage. But this time not toward the chest. This time he tried to catch one of its legs. He'd said the only thing you could do was hit them with the pointy side, but of course, it was a wooden sword. There was no pointy side. The only thing he could take advantage of was its weight. So at the end of the day it wasn't very different from the club that bug was carrying.

  The blow made it kneel and let out a little sound of pain. Adrenaline set fire to his veins. He couldn't believe he'd done that. Put a monster like that on its knees. Really hurt it. Good, good, he thought. This has just begun. He hit its hand several times, trying to snatch the weapon away. He succeeded. And that came accompanied by another rush of adrenaline, so strong he overlooked the punch that hit him square in the chest. It lifted his feet off the ground and slammed him against the nearest wall.

  He took a deep breath, or at least tried. He coughed hard several times. This is crazy. I'm going to die here, he thought. No, it's just begun, he thought.

  The monster crouched to pick up the club. James kicked it, sending it rolling far away.

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  "Don't underestimate me. Everyone thinks they can beat me up. But that's over."

  He swung the sword.

  The troll grabbed his weapon with its bare hand. Why not? It was just wood, not steel. Surely it wouldn't be hard to break the sword like paper, not wood. But it wasn't going to have the chance. The attack with the sword had been nothing but an option. His shield resonated against the beast's skull. This time its whimper of pain was much louder, deeper, more satisfying.

  "I've got you!" he howled from the depths of his throat, throwing himself on it, attacking with shield and sword alike.

  He didn't stop until he burst its skull, until its brains were scattered on the floor beneath him.

  [ENEMY DEFEATED: Cave Troll] [+50 XP]

  James could do this, probably. His first battle hadn't been that bad. After all, his body didn't even hurt. It couldn't hurt, because the monster hadn't managed to hit him, although he supposed the adrenaline would have mitigated the pain even then. Just for that achievement, he gathered the courage to continue.

  What he found beyond the darkness weren't more enemies, but an abyss. A drop so great you couldn't see the bottom. Fantastic. And the only way was up.

  Well, it's a tutorial dungeon. It's always the same. It's a design made by someone, which meant they weren't really dangerous like the others. They were just enough for new explorers to test the water before diving in. If others could do this, he could too. It wasn't the first time he'd thought it. It wouldn't be the last.

  Maybe it was a fragile comfort, if he thought about it. But comfort nonetheless. He took a deep breath, gathering all the courage he had.

  He put a hand on the wall, looking for support. He took his time. Why not? He had all the time in the world and nothing to return to. Besides, it was a matter of life or death. Then he tried with the other hand. It was much easier to find gaps to put his feet; the entire wall was designed with those gaps to facilitate climbing. Although it was only relatively easy, of course.

  "Ah, fuck!"

  But what else could he do? He started climbing. Little by little. Very carefully. He just had to stay calm. One false step and he'd fall rolling, and his body might not touch the ground for a long time. But if he stayed calm, nothing had to happen to him.

  One of the gaps broke even more. And suddenly he wasn't holding onto anything.

  Suddenly he was falling.

  His heart leapt to his throat, but at the last instant he managed to grab onto somewhere else. He barely managed to avoid ending up falling into the abyss, because it was a close call.

  "This is crazy."

  "There's nothing crazy about it. It's the only path left for me. I'd be crazy if I'd chosen this, but since there was no other way out, it's the most sane thing."

  True, true. And that was the greatest madness of all. He almost laughed. Almost. But he stopped just in time. He didn't want to waste the oxygen.

  Eventually he reached the top. It felt eternal, like the climb that had taken him to the fountain that had granted him this power, although he still didn't feel like a power. In both cases what mattered was having reached the goal. For now everything else could wait, no matter how anxious he was.

  He kept going deeper into the darkness, illuminated by stones and the occasional torch from time to time. Very occasionally.

  He thought some monster would get in his way. Maybe more than one. It wasn't like that. The next danger he encountered was nothing more than a wooden bridge. Just as he was about to step on it, it collapsed.

  He'd been saved just in time. That was a convenient thought, but not true. The bridge must have been knocked down on purpose by his proximity, because just enough had remained standing for him to make his way to the other side, jumping from piece of wood to piece of wood.

  Madness, no doubt. Even easier to kill himself than with the climbing. But once again, there was no other way.

  "Maybe I'll regret it. But fuck it."

  He was starting to talk to himself. He hoped it wouldn't become a habit.

  "I'm not going to get that far. I'm going to turn around now. And hey, if I regret it, at least it won't be for long."

  Cold comfort. But comfort nonetheless.

  He jumped to the first piece of wood. It was simply too far. Upon landing, some dust and pieces of wood came loose, and the platform trembled. Oh, but how close. All this was madness, but it had just begun. He put a hand against the wall to feel more secure.

  Don't look down. And that's it, he thought. Just don't look down.

  Another jump. More dust and splinters, but the wood didn't come down under his weight. Of course not. It was designed to hold. This wasn't an adventure, a danger. It was an obstacle. It was a designed obstacle course. He knew that perfectly well, but it wasn't enough to calm his racing heart. His legs were trembling, and that wasn't ideal when he needed to jump so much and so precisely.

  By the time he finally, finally made it to the other side, he fell to his knees, feeling completely exhausted. Almost empty, as if his soul had been sucked dry. He thought he'd vomit. He didn't, but maybe because he hadn't eaten anything in two days. And that's it.

  "It'll be easier," he murmured. "With time. Leveling up. Gaining skills... It'll be easier. It'll be like being..."

  A god among men, he finished the sentence in his thoughts, because saying it out loud felt too ridiculous, whether it was true or not.

  He forced himself to get up and keep going. It was a training dungeon. He'd only fought one enemy, jumped and climbed a bit. But he didn't think it would last much longer, right? He was already looking forward to resting his head in a real room, sleeping with a stomach full of good, hot food. It couldn't last much longer. It couldn't.

  And James was right. Maybe.

  Maybe.