Chapter 2 - Welcome
Welcome to the dungeon, we take it day by day
If you want you're gonna bleed but it's the price to pay
-Axe L
Jim woke slowly to a soft scraping, a rhythmic, almost deliberate sound. It wasn’t natural, not like the rustling of wind through trees or the gentle creak of old furniture settling.
His fingers brushed against damp leaves, some brittle, others fresh and green. He sat up, yawning, muscles aching from an awful night’s sleep on bare concrete.
His arms stretched high, joints popping, and for a brief moment, he thought he was in Dick’s office.
Then, he felt it—the air.
It was too humid, too heavy. The lingering scent of mildew and wet paper filled his nostrils, mixed with something deeper—earthy, almost metallic.
As his mind caught up to his eyes, confusion sank in.
Dick's desk—or what was left of it—was nothing but rotting wood, aged to the point of crumbling. Grass had forced its way through the carpet, breaking through concrete cracks, claiming the space like nature reclaiming a ruin.
The only light in the room came from the window, a soft, eerie glow filtering through. Jim turned his head toward it, expecting to see the city skyline.
It was gone.
Instead, the world beyond was nothing but a dense, opaque fog, swirling in slow, hypnotic waves. The sunlight diffused through it, casting an unnatural brightness that gave no indication of time.
A chill ran down his spine.
As he stood, his legs protesting the movement, his surroundings felt off. The entire room felt different.
Where was his office? What was this place it felt like...
It was a ruin.
An ancient, hollowed-out husk of something long forgotten.
Jim’s fingers twitched at his sides, instincts telling him to move carefully, to listen.
Then, his vision flickered.
Not his eyes—something else.
A set of notifications forced their way into his mind, flashing rapidly.
[Your one-hour tutorial has ended]
[The significant death energy in this area has spawned a dungeon. You have three hours to vacate the area]
[Danger! You are entering a suggested level 5-7 dungeon as a level 1 character with no party.]
[Title Gained: BDE]
[Perk Gained: Ruff Diver]
[Welcome to the safe zone. You have one hour before the safe zone disappears.]
[You have 30 minutes before the safe zone disappears.]
10…
5…
1…
[Good luck, adventurer.]
Jim staggered slightly, pressing his fingers to his temple as the last notification faded from his mind.
“Dungeon?” His voice was hoarse.
He barely had time to process it before he heard it again.
The noise.
A scraping. Closer this time.
His blood ran cold.
Something was moving.
“Hello?!” The word left his mouth before he could stop himself.
The moment the sound echoed through the room, Jim slapped his forehead.
Stupid.
Instinct had betrayed him.
The rustling grew louder, deliberate. Something was coming toward him.
Jim dropped low, ducking behind the remains of a mahogany desk, his breath steady but quick.
Peering over the edge, his eyes locked onto a large, jagged hole in the wall, thick with vines and hanging roots.
Then—movement.
Fingers—long, blue, and clawed—pushed through the tangled greenery.
Jim’s heart pounded.
His fingers scrambled over the ground, searching for anything usable as a weapon.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
His old paper cutter blade? Rusted junk now.
His hands closed around something heavy and familiar.
A weighted stone paperweight.
Not great.
But better than nothing.
Jim tightened his grip on the stone and peered over the desk again.
The creature stepped through the vines.
It was humanoid, but barely. Thin, sinewy limbs, sickly blue skin stretched tight over sharp bones. Its eyes were too large, bulging slightly from its skull, unblinking.
Its mouth split into a grin—yellowed teeth jagged and uneven.
It was staring right at him.
Jim’s breath hitched.
“Fuck.”
His eyes darted toward the door.
Still barricaded. No escape.
His throat tightened.
The goblin-thing took a slow, deliberate step into the room.
“Looks like a fucking goblin,” Jim muttered, gripping the stone tighter.
His vision flashed again.
[Skill gained: Inspect]
[Level 5 Gobloid Gatherer - HP 50]
“Umm… System, can I pull up my stats.” He realized after saying it he just needed to think to bring it up. He was so nervous he felt almost fidgety.
Name - Jim Trekkin
Brik-a-Brawler (Epic) Level 1 150/200 EXP until next level
HP - 10/20
Mana - 10/10
PROFILE - +3 unplaced
Power - 7
Reason - 5
Odds - 8
Finesse - 6
Insight - 5
Lure - 4
Endurance - 6
Skills: Throw Something, Swing Something, Stop the Bleed, Inspect
Perk: Another Man’s Trash, Ruff Diver
Titles: Legacy of Cain, Murderer Murderer, Edging, BDE
Jim’s stomach dropped.
It had twice his health.
This wasn’t great.
The goblin let out a low, guttural chuckle. “Stupid human looks tasty.”
Then, with a sickening grin, it drew a dagger.
Jim kept the desk between them, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“Oh hey, you speak my language! Maybe we can talk this out?”
The goblin tilted its head, considering.
“Sure, human. I have rope. I tie you up. Take you to goblin leader.”
Its gleeful malice made Jim’s skin crawl.
Yeah. That wasn’t happening.
Jim forced a grin.
“I don’t have anything. If I’m in your home, I’ll leave. Easy peasy.”
The goblin just laughed and leapt onto the desk.
CRACK.
One of the rotting legs snapped.
The desk tilted violently.
The goblin stumbled, arms flailing.
Jim saw his chance.
Teeth gritted, he lifted the weighted paperweight and hurled it with everything he had.
[1dmg]
The stone smacked the goblin’s knee.
Not his target, but enough to knock its leg out from under it.
The goblin collapsed hard, face-first, with a sickening squelch.
[Critical Hit - 20dmg]
Jim blinked.
“Wait, what?”
The goblin groaned, reaching for its face.
Then it pulled its own dagger from its eye socket.
Jim gulped.
The thing still had a shitload of HP left.
And now it looked pissed.
The goblin roared and flung the dagger at Jim.
He barely had time to react—
He dove sideways.
The blade thunked into the wall behind him.
The goblin lunged.
Jim’s hands scrambled blindly.
His fingers closed around something.
An office chair.
He yanked it up, holding it like a shield.
The goblin slashed wildly, its claws scraping against the metal.
“Hazzar kill you now, human!”
Jim staggered back, circling the desk as the goblin advanced. His heart hammered. He was going to trip, or slip, or—
Screw it.
He roared and charged.
With sheer dumb luck, he slammed the chair base into the goblin, pinning it against the window.
The goblin snarled and thrashed, but its arms were just short of reaching him.
[1dmg]
Jim frowned. That…didn’t seem like much.
Then he noticed something—the goblin was still bleeding.
From its eye.
His lucky shot.
Jim’s breath caught. “Holy lucky shitballs.”
He didn’t dare get closer, didn’t risk trying to finish the job. He just kept the goblin pinned beneath the chair, its weak flailing growing slower and slower as the blood loss did its work.
It took half an hour for the goblin to finally bleed out.
Not the quickest way to kill a goblin.
But it worked.
And better yet—he hadn’t even taken a single hit.
[You have killed a Gobinoid Gatherer. EXP Gained.]
[Level Gained.]
Jim shoved the desk against the hole in the wall, wedging it tightly to block any more unwanted visitors.
It wouldn’t hold forever, but it was better than nothing.
With a cautious glance toward the lifeless goblin, he crouched down and started looting.
Inside a small, tattered pouch, he found a handful of copper coins.
Not much, but hey, money was money.
A larger gathering bag held an odd mix of items; A few random herbs, their uses unknown. A small, dirt-crusted shovel that looked like it had been stolen from a gardening kit. A length of rough, fibrous rope, worn but still sturdy.
Finally, he picked up the dagger the goblin had thrown at him.
Up close, it was… disappointing.
[Crude Iron Dagger]
Damage: Low
Durability: Questionable
Quality: Absolute garbage
Jim sighed. “Not exactly a legendary weapon, huh?”
He gave it a test swing, feeling the poor balance, the dull edge.
It was better than nothing, but barely.
Still, he was out of options.
He tucked it into his belt, his fingers running along the frayed fabric of his shirt. His body still ached from the fight, his stomach grumbled in protest, but there was no time to rest.
Jim leaned against the window frame, taking a deep breath.
He needed to get the hell out of here.
The walls around him were silent now, but the ruins beyond this room?
Who knew what was waiting?
He had no idea how many monsters were lurking nearby, how strong they were, or if he’d get lucky again.
Jim’s gaze drifted toward the door.
Six floors to go before reaching the lobby.
Six floors of gods-knew-what between him and the exit.
This was going to be slow, dangerous, and require every ounce of luck and caution he had.
Jim clenched his jaw.
He couldn’t afford to stay weak.
It was time to level up.
