Its form was an unstable black mass that vaguely resembled a human’s upper body. Silver eyes began opening across its body, their opening seeming to constrain its form into something more interpretable. Its head became more distinct, and fingers sprouted at the end of its gangly limbs. A massive silver eye opened in the center of the head, and the moment it did, the temperature dropped.

  The whale song intensified. The sound wrapped around me, flooding my ears, and vibrating my skull.

  I bolted, leaping to the next stone with renewed urgency.

  But then, a shadow stretched from the side. I barely registered the arm—if it could even be called an arm—before it grabbed me.

  A force like collapsing earth squeezed my torso. My breath shot out of me in a gasp.

  I was off the ground, ripped from the stone cap and yanked upward like a doll in the hands of a violent infant.

  My teeth squeaked from how hard my jaw was clenched. My vision spun as the cavern turned into a dizzying blur. My stomach twisted. Air rushed past my ears.

  I didn’t want to find out where I was going to end up. I opened my mouth and clamped down on one of the fingers below my chin.

  The whale song warped, as pained notes rippled through the haunting melody. There was a sudden jerk. I was thrown in the next instant.

  “Level On!” I yelled, just barely shielding the back of my head with my right hand.

  I hit the wall just like a doll thrown by a child would.

  Pain exploded across my back, ribs, and spine as the impact rattled through my bones. A wet, ugly gasp ripped from my throat as the air in my lungs was forced out all at once. Even so, I snapped back into clarity quickly.

  Gravity took over. I slipped down the rock, driving my right hand into the stones. It scraped wildly against the rock, fingers splaying, nails catching. Sparks of agony spread up my arm as my skin peeled away in strips. My shoulder wrenched. My palm burned until it was raw. But it was all worth it when my rump slammed against the bottom of the shallow pool and my tailbone didn’t just shatter.

  Cold, shallow, and slightly welcoming, the water helped cushion my fall. I sat there, in the knee-deep clear water, thanking everything. My back smacked against the uneven stone behind me as I let out a breath. The shock of the whole ordeal was still with me.

  Before I could even glance at my HP and wounds, the water erupted in frantic movement. A horde of tiny creatures—translucent newts with oversized eyes, shrimp-like things with spindly legs, and something that looked like a bloated, half-formed fish—scattered away from me in a panicked frenzy. Some buried themselves beneath the submerged pebbles. Others launched themselves against the cavern walls, their thin bodies bending unnaturally before vanishing into unseen cracks.

  One thing, small, squat and slimy, clung to my arm. It had no eyes, just a circular, puckered mouth lined with tiny barbs. This leech–as if doing me the decency of showing me its tool of choice before using it–pierced my arm. A sharp sting flared across my arm as it suctioned onto me, pulsing like it was tasting me.

  “Oh, fuck off.”

  I plucked it off and flung it away, watching it flop through the water before vanishing into the pebbles.

  I groaned. It was strange. My wounds were gone—voided—but I could still feel the echoes of pain, like a phantom sting or throb just beneath the skin. I looked at my right hand. Every wound was sealed, but the sensation still lingered.

  I checked my HP. I was at 5 points. That was some damn good damage-to-HP-reduction ratio. Better than expected. Activating my Levels had probably helped.

  And then I realized the whale was still singing. I looked up. The titan Shadow Beast’s massive eye stared down at me.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I smirked. “Thanks for letting me get my bearings.”

  Suddenly, the water sloshed around. My eyes tracked the subtle trails cutting through the pool as they approached me. It was like invisible snakes were in the water with me.

  The trails suddenly stopped forming. Aside from the whale song, the water was quiet. And then all at once, thin tendrils of water shot out. They wrapped around me, capturing my legs, my neck, and my arm, with more launching out to catch me.

  The tendrils had no hesitation, no mercy. They coiled like living ropes, pressing, dragging me down as if the pool had suddenly deepened beneath me.

  A thicker tendril than the others rose from between my legs and seemed to stare. I cursed out loud. I was getting a horrible sense of deja vu. The sound of water moving reached my ears first, and then I felt a gentle mist.

  I locked eyes with the tip of the tendril, a spiraling, churning drill of water. Its form rippled like liquid glass, a twisting, fluid thing, but I had no doubt about its purpose. I could already see it drilling into my flesh, carving straight through me, twisting through my ribs, through my stomach, through my spine. Might as well just poke a hole in my heart while it’s at it.

  “Goddammit, man!”

  I thrashed, but the tendrils slithered around my torso, wrapping tighter. The drill neared, aiming straight for my eye.

  “Level On!” I roared, twisting my body with everything I had left.

  Five seconds is what I could enjoy. The boost kicked in. I felt a little stronger, and my senses were a little crisper. The instant of clarity was all I needed. I braced my legs against the uneven stone beneath me and launched myself to the side.

  Water exploded around me. I felt the tendrils strain moments before I tore free. Using my right hand to catch myself and as an extra boost, I pulled myself into a sprint. It was narrow, but I escaped the drill!

  My heart pounded. Adrenaline revisited my veins. Tendrils were rising all around me like me running through the water was a piper’s call.

  Just then, my ears picked up something–a sound I had only heard on earth. There, with serpentine tendrils rising all around me, I spied water flowing from a crack in the wall on the other side of the room.

  My mouth dropped. What were the odds that the flowing water counted as fresh water? My HP and SP had taken hits. I could seriously use the refresh.

  I charted my path. There were small stepping stones dotting the pools, and some longer patches of stone that more or less created divisions between pools. I could run to the other side, running on stone when I could. I had four seconds of my Levels left. I could do it!

  I adjusted course and leaped onto the first stepping stone. Dodging a few tendrils, I hopped onto the next one, and then leaped onto a healthy patch of stone.

  “Still in it!” I cheered, gassing myself up.

  The moment my boot touched stone, I slipped, landing hard on the slick surface. My left shoulder cracked against the rock, sending a jolt of unusual pain through my body. I scrambled to my feet, but the wet surface betrayed me, my boots skidding and forcing me into the worst splits of my life.

  Then something snagged my ankle. It wasn’t like before when the tendrils simply wrapped around me. This time, sharp pain pierced through my leg. My body jerked as it yanked me back, dragging me toward the pool. I could hear the damned drill again, its sound clawing at my ears.

  I quickly grabbed the edge of the dividing stones and pulled myself forward with so much force that I tumbled headfirst into the next pool, my leg free. Losing one point of HP in the process, I scrambled to my feet, the adrenaline rushing as I broke into a sprint.

  My desperation was at an all-time high as I leaped from stone to stone. I cursed at every tendril that popped into view, practically willing myself not to slip. I had a plan. Catch a sip of that water from the crack, and then I’d make a run for what looked like another passage.

  I still had options.

  Those few seconds on the rocks gave me just enough of a lead. I landed on the final stretch of stone, between me and the water spout. I embraced the slickness, letting it guide me straight to the wall.

  I slammed into it with a heavy thud, gritting my teeth as I pulled myself along, using the wall’s protrusions to move, right into the flow of water pouring from the crack. With no time to waste, I drank deeply. Three gulps. It had to be enough. Tendrils rose behind me, one by one.

  I got up, pushed forward, and sprinted.

  A chime echoed. I rejoiced as the screen opened up in front of me.

  ***

  ? Drink fresh water.

  +1 Level.

  ***

  YES!

  Renewed, I sprinted, enjoying the obvious difference that one extra point could do. The next tunnel was in sight! My run through the caverns wasn’t coming to an end just yet!

  And then another chime cam.

  ***

  Level 3 Milestone Achieved.

  Entering Decision Terminal.

  ***

  “Eh?”

  A white portal opened up in front of me and swallowed me whole.