After descending into the sewers, Jake opted to spend some time exploring them instead of heading straight to the dungeon door. Following the city upgrade, all the monsters had grown more powerful, including those residing in the sewers. He wanted to gauge how much stronger they had become and whether new types of monsters could now be found in the dank depths.
Over the next few hours, Jake roamed the underground tunnels, slaying their unsettling inhabitants. It turned out that the System’s area upgrade hadn’t introduced any new monsters in the sewers, but the two existing types of monsters—mutated rats and devourers—had become significantly stronger. Still, Jake was much better prepared for the area upgrade than the regular survivors were, so while battling the sewer monsters was undeniably more challenging than before, they still didn’t pose much of a threat to him.
For a while, Jake wandered through the sewers, taking down all the monsters in his path. The mutated rats, a bizarre blend of rats and kangaroos and as large as the latter, charged in numerous groups. In contrast, the devourers, resembling alligators but with the size and physique of grizzly bears, were solitary creatures.
Jake employed a range of abilities in the fights against the mutants, mostly relying on claws, smashfists, and bladed tentacles. Since he had the Skeleton Key stashed in his mouth, he refrained from using Acidic Spit to avoid melting the key. At some point, he discovered that Spikes were extremely useful when dealing with packs of mutated rats. Upon activation, numerous long spikes erupted from his body—his legs, arms, and even his head became adorned with them, jutting out far from his form. These spikes were not only long but also remarkably durable, proving to be impressively hard to break.
Jake liked to sprout the spikes from his body when a group of mutated rats surrounded him from every direction. Another trick he enjoyed was running into the middle of a horde of monsters, activating the ability, and impaling the unsuspecting creatures. Since the spikes sprouted from his body at a moment’s notice, the mutants had no time to react. Those lucky enough to evade being impaled scattered in every direction, keeping their distance from him afterward, hesitant to get too close. In these situations, Jake also made use of an upgrade that allowed him to launch the spikes like missiles, sending them flying in all directions. Although they didn’t travel far, they struck the mutants with enough force to kill them. It was definitely a useful and fun ability, but since each use consumed a hefty chunk of his mana, Jake refrained from using it too often.
He traversed the underground tunnels for a while, following his usual routine of slaying its inhabitants. At some point, he gained a level.
You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level has gone up from 78 to 79. You have gained 5 SP.
Jake took a moment to consider where to allocate his skill points. With none of his skills or abilities having reached 100% yet and all available upgrades already purchased, the only option left was to improve his attributes. He thought for a second and then assigned his skill points.
He continued to wander through the underground tunnels, killing monsters and gaining XP until finally, there were no more enemies left. It was time to head to the dungeon door, but before doing so, he took a moment to review his stats.
Race: Ex-Human Morphus
Evolution Stage 2: “Savage Ascent”
Claws: Rank III (44%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Swords: Rank III (37%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Bladed Tentacles: Rank III (38%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Mind Reader: Rank III (10%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Smashfists: Rank III (29%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Gravity Leap: Rank II (45%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Cloak: Rank II (51%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Acidic Spit: Rank II (12%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Spikes: Rank I (11%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Serpentine Form: Rank I (16%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Senses: Rank III (40%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Agility: Rank III (42%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Intelligence: Rank III (51%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Reflexes: Rank III (38%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Strength: Rank III (33%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Regeneration: Rank III (31%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Feral Instincts: Rank III (24%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Enhanced Durability: Rank III (29%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Adhesive Secretion: Rank III (15%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Toxic Resistance: Rank I (15%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Adaptive Armor: Rank I (8%) (Upgrades: 4 of 4) (Uncommon)
Finally, he reached the massive, ornamented door that led into the dungeon. It didn’t look any different from before. The towering double-leaf metal door was adorned with intricate patterns, and a rune was etched in each of the four corners. A relief sculpture depicting the skull of some kind of demonic creature, complete with sharp fangs and long horns, protruded from the center.
The door didn’t have a handle, only a large keyhole. Jake opened his jaws and tilted his head forward, allowing the Skeleton Key to fall from his mouth. He extended his hand, catching the key neatly in his palm. The top of the key was crafted in the shape of a demon’s head, strikingly similar to the demonic sculpture that jutted from the center of the dungeon door.
First of all, he issued a mental command to appraise the door, prompting a piece of text to materialize in his mind.
Name: The Maze of Torment
Recommended Level: 80-100
The recommended levels for the dungeon were 80 to 100, a significant increase from the previous range of 15 to 20. The number of floors remained the same: five. Jake couldn’t help but notice that, at Level 79, he was one level below the minimum recommended level for this dungeon. Would it become a problem? Would the dungeon prove too dangerous for him? Probably not. However, it was too early to think about that anyway. Being a mutant, not a regular survivor, he might not even be allowed to enter the dungeon. One point in favor of that theory was that he had never managed to find a Skeleton Key by himself and had resorted to stealing one from Los Demonios.
So, it was time to find out if the System would allow him access to the dungeon. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it. A loud click reverberated as the lock disengaged. Instantly, the runes at each corner of the door began to glow with an eerie red light. The eyes of the demon skulls at both the center of the door and the tip of the Skeleton Key also flared to light, glowing crimson. Jake sensed a faint hum emanating from the door and felt the air crackle with electricity, the telltale signs that magic was at play. He waited a moment, staring at the massive glowing door before him, but nothing else of note happened.
He pressed his palms against both leaves of the door and pushed. At first, the door seemed to resist, but then it began to yield to his pressure. Drawing on his inhuman strength, he exerted a mighty shove, and the dungeon door swung inward, wide open.
Jake remained at the same spot for a moment, gazing into the impenetrable black void beyond the open door. The darkness was so deep that even his nearly perfect night vision failed to reveal what awaited him inside. Jake couldn’t help but wonder why the dungeon was given that particular name. Was it named so because it was extremely dangerous and hard to complete? Or was it simply a thematic choice, featuring medieval-style corridors, torture chambers, and all the classic elements one would expect from a classic dungeon?
In any case, the path to the Maze of Torment now lay open before him. He crossed the threshold and stepped into the darkness of the dungeon.