As he walked around the market, it was clear that the time zone of this area was... off, not the same as the time zone in Bangdesh, which he was used to; it was daytime.
He scoured the market until he saw himself before a shop, a shop with an insignia of a long sword in the shape of a cross, sideways with somethiched onto it, something written in a nguage he didn't reize, but it was a sword, so clearly it was a bcksmith's shop or a pce that sells ons or swords at least.As he opehe door and walked in, a bell chimed from above; to his left were swords of various kinds: longswords, zweih?nders, and some swords that looked like a ese Dao. and even some katanas and so much more, not including the daggers, maces, and hammers even, and all of these ons looked uhe metal came in various colors, and some even looked like they were shimmering and glowing.
"You buying or selling?" asked a grumbling voice.It was from behind the table at the back of the room; there stood a bulky man with broad shoulders and a long, fluffy brown beard. He had muscle, and it was clear that he got them w in the furnace. His plexion was that of a tan, and his hands were calloused and still covered in ash and soot.
"ht, sorry, I was looking to buy a new dagger or a sword, something I rely on," replied Ax.
"Take your pick; most of my wares are affordable, and you y your life on them.', expihe man.
"How much... is that one?" Ax poi the silver sword o the table."Three silver Totas.""Oh, lord, okay, that one," Ax poi the bck short sword o it."Two silver and two brohe... silver dagger?" he asked sheepishly."Seven broas or one silver and two bronze; how much do you have anyway?" asked the man.
Ax slowly reached for his pocket and pulled out five broas. The man raised his eyebrow and just stared at Ax whe his hand in his pocket.
"Sorry, this is all I have," said Ax."No, that's not why I'm... show me yger," demahe man.
Ax took out his fky, blunt dagger and his bronze gun he found in the box."So, you're new here, I assume," asked the man."Yeah, how'd you know?" asked Ax."Because—never mind, you'll figure it out, but give me the dagger and the s," the man demanded once again."Okay, I guess.". Ax said as he gave him his s and on.
The man took the s, and they just vanished into his hand; he then took the dagger and tossed it aside by the scrap pile behind the ter.
"Hey, what? Why did you—how did you—" asked Ax.
The man interrupted him by pg a , brand new bronze dagger oable and said, "This is a 'Ranker Certified' dagger, not my ware, not even as reliable really, so if this breaks, it's not my fault, but this should be enough for what you're looking for. You will have a lot of questions because you're new, I tell, but all you should know is that you should keep moving forward no matter what. What you are, or will be at one point, is a 'Summit Seeker.' You'll know why, and e back when you do bee oh your rewards, and I'll fix you up with something, ahe gun with you; it'll e in handy."
" I still ask you some questions?" asked Ax."No, and don't bother asking anyone else; they'll refuse to answer your questions," expihe man.
"Alright, how do I go back to... one of those bck-doored rooms?" asked Ax.
The man nodded in a dire behind him; as Ax turned around, he saw... the same door made of bck wood, the ohat killed him once already.
Ax then walked up to it and just stood there, pting in front of the door, just staring at it...
He took a deep breath.
He then tied his hair behind his head and opehe door standing in front of him."Godspeed, newer," said the man.
Ax o him and walked in.
As he walked in, the room was still the same color, except it was bigger this time; the opposing bck door was still shut. He prepared; he took his newly given dagger in his left hand ahe gun in his right hand; he then kicked the door behind him shut.
The door in front of him creaked open slowly, and out walked two goblins this time.
As he took a final deep breath and said, "I guess I should've tested this beforehand, but... here it goes." he then aimed at the green imp-like creature on the left and-
*Shatter*
The gun shot a gss bullet that crashed into the goblin's chest, shattering into pieces, but only after pierg the goblin's chest, causing the shattered gss fragments.The shattering sound came from the gun's barrel, and not from the bullet itself.
"Oh?" Ax then aimed at the goblin right o it, which was disoriented because a fragment of the bullet went into its eye.
*Shatter*
Another bullet exited the barrel with the same velocity and crashing sound as the first, pierg the skull of the goblin and killing it instantly.
Dwellers Sin
"That was... way easier... did I seriously die to that thing?".Ax then walked around the bodies and found seven broogas on the ground.
k
As he shoved them down his pocket, he looked around and saw three more doors, one blue and two bck doors. If he wins again, there will be another bck door, behind that, another door... and another one... and so on.
Deep breath
Dwellers SinDwellers SinDweller sinDwellers SinDwellers SinHours have passed sinbsp;
The st couple of doors introduced walking skeletons with tattered clothes, sometimes none, sometimes they came with goblins, all of them carrying more varied ons this time. To Ax, this was parable to a 'Roguelike' video game where more and more enemies kept ing.
Sometimes the skeletons came with bows and arrows, which he pared to a different videogame.
"Just o one; let's see if I get somethihis time. All the other ones just gave me s. My pants are getting heavy; I wanted a neon before I hit the hay." Ax talked to himself before he opehe st door.
As he walked in, the room was... a ju was a jungle, and he could not see the end of the room, meaning it was massive—REALLY massive. This might be a hard room.
"I should leave and e back with better gear, right? Yeah, this might be a tough one; doing that would make it easier, way easier."
Ax smmed the door behind him shut.
"Like hell I will; this is the most fun I have had in months!" he excimed, clearly enjoying the st couple of hours.
Rattles
Ax stood quiet, reizing the slithering and the hissing that followed the rattle.It was a snake...
"Usually they are small..." he thought to himself... but he k would not be that easy; even if it was, it would be a rattleshat would kill him even if a faly grazed him.
As Ax stood still, he saw neon green beads with a slit in their diameters stare at him as the slithering got closer and closer... he saw it.
It was a ginormous sh green shimmering scales and a scarlet forked tongue."I should've gone bae," he muttered to himself.
The snake lu him; its head was already the size of his shoulder's, but it unhis jaws, and it grew even wider, and he was swallowed whole in a blistering speed, before he could even think. It was as if it was as fast as lightning; he didn't even feel a hint of pain as he was being swallowed whole.
Ax closed his eyes... knowing that this was the end."Should've said something, should've gotten back to them for the gig... sorry Ace, Hamz, Nasri, and of course, how could I ever fet. I'm sorry, A-," it was too te; before he could finish his thought, his eyes shut and—
He woke up, in front of the door, fag the jungle in front of him, face to face with the snake again.
"What? Huh? I swear I—" the s his head.
He woke up again; this time he sprio the side, causing the so ram its massive head into the iructible door behind him; this disoriehe snake.
As Ax ran, many questio ing up: Did he die? Is this a video game? Did he just e back to life? Is it a loop like one of those anime he used to watch? But all he really knew was he felt the paiime, and there was no way to leave, so he had to fight and kill this thing before it kills him again.
All this went through his head in a fra of a sed, as if time slowed down for him. He took his gun in his right hand and—
*Shatter*
He shot the s the side of its head, behind the joint where the snake's skull was attached to its spine.
It khe so its side, and it didn't die.
"I am so screwed, aren't I? At least I don't have to worry about dying." He thought to himself as he kept running in that dire while looking at the snake and
Slip
His foot caught onto a vine, and he fell. He turned around to see the snake slithering at him; he tried to cut the vines off his foot, actally nig his boot over and ain, arying to shoot the s the same time, but he kept missing his shots. One missed its head by a hair, the snake dodged the three, and one bullet lightly grazed its body, and—he's out; he shot all six shots.
To reload his revolver, he just o air out the der, but that o be doh two hands, and the s his head again.
He woke up, again, in front of the door. He ducked instinctively, but the snake was o be seen, and his gun was in his right hand and dagger in his left. As always, he was safe.
He ventured into the jungle, ready to be ambushed at a moment's notice by that 'Basilisk,' but it never came. As he walked through the jungle, he lost sight of the door behind him, and he was surrounded by the darkness and a deep shade of green and brown all over.
...
Ax walked on and on, and he found bones and skeletons, thankfully not the living kind, undead? No idea what to call them, all he knew was that the snake was the only dweller that was in this room.
He walked around and rummaged through the different skeletons he could find, and one had... a singur golden Tota.
"Jackpot." Ax found his first gold Tota, and as he tucked it into his pocket... he realized that it felt awkwardly light. As he dropped the , he noticed the ck of the k he was used to; he put the gun in his other pocket and patted his pockets and found nothing, not a single bronze or silver Tota; his progress was lost as he was rummaging through his own clothes...
A thick, scaly green tail ed around his body.
"You...", he said to himself...
The snake had slithered its way ba, and it started strig him more and more, making its body around his, causing him to be trapped us suffog, strig force.
Only his arms were free, but that's because the snake didn't bother; it khat its scales could not be peed by a measly bronze dagger.
"ime, I'll make sure you bite the dust, you disgusting serpe-bingo." Ax noticed blood drip from the right side of its head, right behind its skull.
Ax waited for the so get closer and closer...
"Now!" he screamed as he rammed his dagger into the already inflicted wound of the snake.
It was still ten times strohan him, but he has a ce this time.
He grabbed the dagger with both of his hands and shoved its head to the side, against its body that was strig him, using its own force against it.
Axton screamed as loud as he could, exerted as much force as he could, and as he was being crushed by the suffog strength of the basilisk, he was about to lose sciousness due to being lightheaded, but the adrenaline going through his veins, the blood rushing through his body, went all into his arms, awisted the dagger and shoved it in deeper and deeper, twisting it again and again, all within seds, and finally.
The crushing force of the sarted to subside, and its eyes dited, toopped hissing, and tail stopped rattling.
Ax did it; he killed the stupid snake as he fell onto his back, on the limp body of the beast he just killed.
Dweller Sin
Axton o catch his breath, so he just id there, the muscles of the snake were... soft... a bit... too soft.
Axton realized that he was lying on its stomach. He got up a it with his hands, and it wasy, it had something in it.
Axton tried stabbing it with his dagger, but it was no use.
*Shatter**Shatter**Shatter*
No use; it someierced its skin, but he o improvise.He got an idea.*Shatter**Shatter**Shatter*He shot at the gums of the snake and broke free two of their fangs; very gently he grabbed them, careful not to nick himself, and as he ig them up, he noticed that his boot had scratches on its heel.
"No..."
Ax hurried to the snake's stomach, almost fetting his fatigue eveed, and stabbed it with both of the fangs; it went in like a ko leather.
He mustered the st of his strength and ripped through the stomach, and out fell... three bodies and—
A metalligle could be heard.
Those were the bronze and silver s he collected... and the three bodies were...
"These are... me?"
