“Wh…at?”

I recently woke up, I wasn’t in the fit condition to do anything, I was just teleported then passed out, I had no recall or memory before my teleportation though, which was a bad thing.

I tried moving my body parts it’d be the best thing to do currently, I needed to warm-up before my little vacation in this demon-filled cave where every part, hole, route is filled with walking monsters that can immediately rip you to shreds then eat your entire body in one fell swoop.

But my left hand didn’t move nor feel it move, its presence was gone, I looked at my left shoulder to see what it was and I was a fool to forget three times that my left arm was already gone, whilst though it was gone, I didn’t bleed, instead it somehow stopped which was a good thing for me.

I still felt my entire body being somehow crushed by a large object and I also felt that I was shackled to the brink, I felt as if my arms, body, head, legs were all tied up and restrained like an animal. But I didn’t see it, only feel it.

Is it the [Chains of Despair]? So, this is what It feels like.

But what I needed to do was either survive or just die like I wanted before I was transported to the audience of the God of Death. I was sure that before I was summoned to his audience I wanted to die and live like the ocean, forget everything and with millions of droplets, live freely and go with the flow, I didn't want to be ordered like a mere pet being trained.

Come to think of it, my suicidal thoughts seems to have disappeared, plus even though I was treated like an object and shit after what I’ve done to them, I can’t seem to have any suicidal thoughts to push me to the brink.

I lifted up my body from the ground and sat on the floor, I looked at my surroundings and my vision was able to clearly see what was in the cave’s interior, more or less. But I can’t do anything other than sit here and die of thirst and hunger.

I am in no position to run nor fight, I can’t cast magic and I don’t have a weapon, I don’t know what to do, that was the first time I thought like that, I felt defeated, I couldn’t do anything to help myself from dying from such path, a path that I followed.

That was when I remembered what my father told me.

When there is a wrong solution, then there is a right one… Not everyone is correct, it’s just that somebody also needs to show and understand a certain path to get the correct solution.

From that moment of my misery, I remembered my father, he was also a military officer, just like he said he followed a certain path and instead of finding the correct solution, he didn’t return, as he didn’t say that he can return from that certain path.

A one-way path… tell me… did I choose the correct path? Because I don’t see anything!

“Old man, I don’t see any path… I can’t see anything right… It’s all WRONG!”

In that moment of my depressed state I couldn’t do or think anything, I just returned back to a different self, a self where I wasn’t a cold and bloody man, I wasn’t a military dog, it felt like I was back in my past.

A past where I enjoyed, I played, I loved, I lived like somebody different to me now, though I was in no time to daydream and think about my past, I still continued to reminisce my past.

As I reminisced about my past when I was still in earth. I almost forgot something so important yet also not, I was also a human being.

“Oy, Theo, did you forget who and what you are…”

I started talking to myself to try and least get myself some motivation to continue.

“you’re a human being just like those that betrayed you… you’re a young military officer that committed so many atrocities you were named as the Grim Reaper… As for the lives you took you took them without mercy and guilt, you did it for so long and so many times that it became normal.”

Heh… what am I even saying…

I knew it wasn’t the time to get depressed, after all my nickname and title as the Grim Reaper was officialized by death itself, I’d rather die a way that death would accept, surely, he doesn’t want to find his subordinate committing suicide just because he was betrayed and used whilst lost everything.

“Now then, I got back my motivation, oh what shall I do anyway…”

I tried walking and touring the dungeons, discreetly and careful to avoid any confrontations with those that inhabited this dungeon, I can’t forget that all of them are high-tiered and high-leveled demons and monsters that lurk in the shadows, I must be cautious whether it is the main route or the corners, even the shadows, I must be cautious.

***

A few minutes of walking inside the cave’s dark and wide hollows, I was currently...

FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! How did they sense me! They're smart!

From what is currently happening, I was certain I was about to get caught and then hunted down like prey in the hunting grounds, if only I knew what kind of monsters resided in dungeons.

During the 9 months that passed when I was still respected as a general and hero, I heard most of the heroes went to dungeons to level up, since they have the [System] it was possible. But for me, it wasn’t possible, just like the humans of this word, they couldn’t level up like the heroes, they didn’t have any system to help and guide them.

Knowing this, I didn’t hesitate to leave them be, while they were leveling up in these so called ‘dungeons’ I was in the north, south and east, fighting and fending of the demonic force’s invasions and not to mention I entirely did that using mercenaries.

Though I made an unlikely ally, the second prince of Seclosia, Timothy Silia Seclosia, he didn’t bother in giving and sending me thousands of troops and even agreed to support me for times to come, but this didn’t last long, his siblings and his father hated that he was only supporting me and not the generals or nobility of his country, he was bias, they thought.

So to fix this and to not start a civil war in the midst of a global war, I moved north with my trusted mercenaries, during that time the demonic forces pulled their forces from the south and east to focus on the north, to be honest their strategist was bold and smart.

The north was like the alps, filled with heavy snow and blizzard whilst having mountains to cross, since they were demons it was obvious, they could last longer than the normal human in a blizzard.

But to think my neglectful mind and thoughts of not having or being able to use the [System] would bite me back in the ass, I wasn’t prepared for this.

There are fucking wolf-related beast here!

When I was still walking in the halls of the cave, I stayed and pushed myself against the walls to try and limit my shadow and silhouette from appearing in the dark halls, I knew there were monsters with keen night vision, I didn’t know how many there where but there were also beasts with a strong sense of smell and I didn’t how many of them were there.

I noticed and sensed a presence nearby and its blood-red eyes can be seen from afar, and since it was a dark environment, those blood-red eyes can be seen glowing, when I noticed its eyes, it reacted by moving, how did I know in the midst of the darkness, the eyes move from one side to the other.

And that was when I knew it was smart enough to change locations, he knew I would be cautious so it feigned a retreat by walking away but after a few more minutes I sensed its presence again, this time, there were more eyes, I counted roughly 20+ red glowing eyes, and they were pack.

I tried to bewilder them and escape by moving more slowly and stand like a statue so that they’ll think I’m not a live object and try to make them think that their eyes were playing against them.

When they noticed what I had been doing, they growled and prepared their attack and that was when I knew…

I Fucked up!... Big Time!

I am currently running away but it had just been a few minutes and my fatigue is already catching up to, slowly my body became more and more heavy every step I took, they became heavy like I was carrying 10 human-sized military equipment on my back.

Keeping my distance and running away from it, it had started its pursuit, I knew it was a four-legged creature by their speed and closing distance I knew it wasn’t fair, I was already about to collapse, the [Chains of Despair] they’re wearing me down.

Fuck! I… can’t contin-

I suddenly tripped on a rock and fell on the ground which started my left shoulder bleeding again, it had recently stopped earlier but now it started to bleed again, if that monster loved blood then I am currently it’s meal.

But I didn’t want to stop there, even though my body was about to give up I continued to run even though the chances that I will collapse were huge I risked it, I kept running and running and I didn’t look back, that was when I knew my legs suddenly went numb and I was unable to feel them, as that happened I pushed myself near a fence or railing of something, I didn’t know where I currently am, but I still didn’t shake those beast off my tail and already my sweat is already flooding and I’m gasping for air like I was sealed in an airtight room.

As I pushed myself on the railings, I felt a strong cold breeze, I took the time to analyze my surroundings that I was on a wide stone bridge, it had stone railings and was meters off the ground, and when I say meters of the ground, somewhere around 40 or 50 meters high.

This dungeon’s interior is more complex than I thought I am meters above the ground and there is even a cold breeze in here, was it that large? well it was rumored to have 200+ floors, so I can’t do anything,

[Human! You have been running for far too long!]

Shit! it can fucking talk too!

Crap, I didn’t guess that it could talk, I can’t run anymore but I can try to jump of the railing and into the water, but I have a 50/50 percent chance to survive this hell, can I risk it?

[Human! Speak!]

“Uh… Fuck Off!”

I said without hesitation, I doubt it could know the meaning of it, I also wanted to relieve my stress more or less, but from the distance I could see their red glowing eyes were slowly getting closer, if I don’t jump I’ll be eaten and die as food but if I jump there is a chance that I’ll drown and also die, either way, both choices can result in my death, the other option on the other hand has a 50-50% survival rate, so that’d be a better choice.

I soon heard its paws getting louder and louder, from what I heard it was like metal being hit and thrown on the ground as it walked, I finally get a glimpse of that beast’s face and body.

Its body was massive, it had the body of a dog, near a Pitbull or something, but it’s head was fare more fearing, it had 5 heads sticking out of it’s neck and some I think on the back, that was just one, there were also more that followed it.

And I thought they were normal wolves.

[Human, you are already dead, I sense a large amount of impurities in your body, it has made you unable to cast magic and has now made you unable to escape, accept your fate!]

It arrogantly said to me, as if it was the landlord of the room that I rented when I was in high school, but I knew that, I knew I was already dead to begin with, the magic that was casted on me was an SS-class spell then I was thrown into this dungeon to rot.

[Human, make your choice, we will give you a fitting end for having come this far…]

It added, it looked at me like I was an ant, like I was their food willing to surrender, but I’m not that pitiful, I’m not accepting such a death without a fight.

“Fine, I surrender… But on my terms!”

I then pushed myself off the railing and fell to my watery grave, in that scene I saw those monsters run over to my body and salvage what was left, but they were smart enough to avoid death, they stopped their pursuit and only looked at me fall to the ravine.

I placed remaining hand on my chest and prepared for my death and to be honest I was currently falling first on my head, it’d be quick and painless.

I heard the splash of the water and my consciousness fading, in that brief moment I remembered something that my subordinates called me… what was it again… I couldn’t remember, it’s just that I heard a voice that made me remember it, but I wasn’t able to remember it In time, I just heard the voice talk to me.

But I knew I no longer feared death like the time of my execution, I accepted my death, but I was also scared of it, but now… I’ve forgotten my fear, I no longer fear death.

[Fear of Death is no longer present]

[Requirement 2/3]

[Reward: Access to the [System] and ability to summon [Familiar]]