"None of you ever came here before," I asked four other prisoners sent with me. "Or any of you ever saw someone who survived."

Surprisingly Brick was the first one to answer me. "It's been five years since they put me in that goddamn cell, and I never heard of someone who survived from this place."

"Three years and neither I heard too," Optimist added. "But I am not surprised. Just look at what they gave us, some hard biscuits, a bit of water, and weapons they probably wanted to scrap anyways."

Sadly Optimist is right. We all know their main goal is not recapturing the dwarven city or stealing much treasure as they can. It is getting rid of the prisoners they don't want anymore.

"I am glad we have high odds of survival, and hey, look where we are." I pointed to the gate of the dwarven city.

Well, the remnants of it.

Our group began moving inside the city. Roads, similar buildings, open areas that once used parks, this city has modern planning.

But debris closing the roads, giant roots that spread through the city blocking streets, destroyed buildings, and most importantly, the remainings of dwarfs once lived here. "And those are the other side of the coin."

Some of them still had their equipment on them, others were missing some bones, but I can read the tragedy of this city from them.

"Stop," Grumps raised his hand. "Your human senses might not work properly in this place, but there is a Hollow nearby, a big one. So, stop and wait until he passes."

"But how did you sense it."

Grumps closed my mouth with his hands. "Just shut up for a second." He whispered.

Hollow showed up, and it is the single most terrifying thing I have ever seen. A giant chunk of flesh made out of human body parts.

I can describe this Hollow. It is a neckless horse made out of human corpses melted each other, and arms made out of flesh spreading from every part of its body.

The creature didn't stop for a second and kept moving, almost like it was after something.

"How these things didn't notice us."

I whispered to Grumps.

Don't be afraid to talk now. Hollows are not good hearers. They prefer sensing the mana coming from living creatures (or their remains), and their only purpose is tracking and consuming that mana."

"Let me guess. It can't sense us because of these collars" I tapped the collar.

"Probably you are right." He answered.

I never thought getting my powers blocked could make me happy one day, but I wonder if Hollows are undead creatures, can I control them?

"It will be a weird question to ask, but how strong these Hollows are, I assume their strength changes by the amount they consumed, so for an example, I say the one we just saw."

Grumps began playing with his beard once again. "Let me tell you a story. Empire once tried to take this city back, but they failed, and because of their failure, the Hollows managed to consume thousands of men."

I add. "So, this is the result of that attempt."

"No, the only thing empire got was a new ballistas capable of firing a projectile eight times bigger than their regular counterparts, so they can stop Hollows if they ever escape."

Not messing with that guys, I got it.

Grumps once again began talking. "I don't have lots of memories about that place, but if you follow me, I might find an artifact or something valuable, but it will be risky."

"How much risk are we talking about?" Optimist asked directly after.

"The house I was born in."

Optimist raised his voice. "And what is the risk? Do you dwarves have built booby traps inside your houses?"

Grumps temper raised. "Now, tell me do you want to search every house around us and take more risks than you could survive, or will you join me and take only one risk you know."

"Fair enough," I said. "I saw a walking Hollow, and I don't want to mess with something like that."

"Whatever." Optimist said after me.

Brick grabbed Grumps's beard. "Listen to me. If I found myself in a near-death situation because of you, I will be very pleased to kill you with my hands before monsters can do."

I should probably put Brick into his place before he causes any more problems.

"That's enough Worlds Scariest Man." I tapped Brick's shoulder.

"What did you said punk!" He released Grumps's beard and turned towards me.

He overreacted, and I need to beat his ass before he gets too cocky. "I said what I said. Who are you trying to scare anyway? You are nothing better than us. Remember, a slave and a dead man! Now stop messing with people, or I beat your ass."

He smiled. "Oh, I want you to try tha-"

He spat as I landed a punch into his guts and grabbed his throat. It was a cheap shot but necessary for now.

"Listen to me, tough boy. You are not even worth dirtying this already rusty scimitar's blade." Even after losing my magical powers, I still had the enhanced physical attributes I gained by killing monsters.

Thanks to them. Even with the lack of proper meals and my missing arm, I am still strong.

But, constant beatings and hard labor wore my body, and I shouldn't try my chances too much, or tides could change in any second.

"Did you understand? I killed monsters twice your size without dropping single blood."

"Yes." Brick barely managed to say that.

"Good, now get the fuck up." I pulled him up and pushed him forward.

"Mud walker!" Young dwarf shout.

"Don't shout you, idiot. You will draw more." Grumps hit the kid's head.
"And yes, a mud walker found us in its territory. We will either run or fight."

A lobster-like monster, more than two meters in size and five meters in length, turned from the corner. It is screeching aggressively.

And look at that, gods finally gave me an opportunity. "Before the running, how a mud walker tastes like, is it any good for consumption?"

Optimist began licking his lips. "Oh, I understood what you want. Yes, it tastes good. Nobles pay a good amount of money for its meat."

"We all know our chances of survival are low, and we all probably die without lasting even a week, so I say let's eat something good for our last meal."

From the day I came here, I have never been able to eat like before. Even one decent meal could change everything.

So, even if that means fighting a bug almost the size of a car, I will still risk my life to hunt one down.