The fourth floor is much like the third floor. The monsters are all Skeleton Knights on Level 3 to 4. There are also a few bats, so I am sure from now on there wouldn’t be a problem to refill my Blood Power. But well, I would like to refrain from doing so. So I continue to use my sword to proceed through the dungeon. By the end of the fourth floor, I manage to reach Level 6.

When I enter the fifth floor, the scenery changes for the first time. This time there is not another maze but a room. The room is about four meters wide and five meters long and at the end of the room there is something that looks like a door, but it’s blocked by a stone wall with an inscription. In the middle of the room, there is a small altar.

But that change of scenery is not everything. There was a weird sensation when I entered the room. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it felt like I passed through something. I turn around to see what it was, but I can’t see anything there. But when stretch out my hand I can’t go through. What is this? No matter how hard I try, I can’t get through it. Is this some kind of barrier? I can’t think of anything else. But that would mean I was locked in this room with no way to go back.

Let’s put that aside for now and let me check the rest of the room. The altar seems to be nothing special. It is about a meter high and it is empty. But it is engraved with a weird symbol. I am quite curious, but for now I refrain from touching it, since I do not know what will happen. Next, I inspect the inscription. I never saw these characters before, but for some reason I can read them.

Pay the price and I can be a powerful companion,
but pay too much and I can be your greatest enemy.

How will you use me?

“What the heck does this mean? Is this some kind of riddle? I guess I have to solve it to proceed… How long did it take to proceed until the fifth floor? I have no idea, but it is actually really stressful. There is no daylight at all and I have no way of telling how much time already passed. But I can tell that I am already getting tired, so I want to get out of this shitty place. And now they want me to solve a riddle? The people who did this to me must kid…”

I continued to rant like this for a few minutes. It felt great to get everything out, even if there was no one to listen. I am still tired, but at least I can focus on the important thing again. My thoughts wander back to the barrier. Are the skeletons able to pass through this barrier? Do they even go on another floor on their own accord? I know they can follow me through the stairs that already happened when they followed me during my Blood Rage. But will they try to come up here without having me noticed before? And if they try, can they even pass the barrier?

It is quite the gamble, but I am leaning towards the decision to actually take it. I sit down on the floor and think about it for a while, before… “Yep, let’s do it. Let me take the gamble.” I move to the area between the altar and the blocked exit with the inscription. Like this, I should have some time to react when I hear a Skeleton Knight coming up the stairs. Then I lie down and go to sleep.

---

Hm? Ah, right… I am still inside that shitty dungeon. When I woke up, I was confused for a moment, but as soon as I opened my eyes I remembered that I got transported a different world and that I am a vampire now.

It felt great to sleep for a while and I actually feel refreshed. Despite that, the floor was quite uncomfortable. So, after checking my surroundings and make sure that nothing changed, I started doing some stretches. Now I need to make sure that I find a way to leave this room. Because even if I am “safe” here, I still need blood which is unavailable here. But this time I don’t need it for refilling my Blood Power, this time it is normal hunger and thirst. Of course, I would prefer a normal breakfast, but I don’t think I will get it until I leave the dungeon.

That’s why I am starting with analyzing the riddle. It is talking about someone who will be a powerful companion, but why would he be my enemy if I paid too much? Hm? Wait a minute. In riddles, often objects are personified and the other way around. If I think about this not as a person, the solution is quite obvious, right?

“Blood Power”

I say the solution, but nothing happens. So it’s not triggered by voice, well I already expected it. I think I have to solve the riddle at the altar, but how? Maybe with the help of that engraved symbol?

I open my Status, just to be sure and touch the symbol and still nothing happens. “Come on, I know that the solution is my Blood Power, so let me open that damn door.”

When I say this, I finally feel a change. It feels like something drains my power. And I see my Blood Power decreasing.

9/10

So how much will it take to open the door?

8/10

7/10

Do I even have enough Blood Power?

6/10

5/10

4/10

Well, it doesn’t matter, since I can’t leave this room without paying. So there is no way to refill my Blood Power inside this room, anyway.

3/10

2/10

1/10

And it stopped… I hear a noise in front me and see that the stone door finally opens. For real? Did I really have just enough Blood Power to open the door? I let out a sigh of relief. I tried to play it cool, but I only realized how nervous I was after the door actually opened. But to think that I almost didn’t have enough Blood Power… Or was the purpose maybe to drain my Blood Power down to 1? It would make sense, if I think about the last sentence of the riddle.

Now that the door is finally open, I can proceed through the dungeon. I am actually a bit nervous, since I am again in a situation where I can’t use my Blood Power. So I have to be careful, to not make the same mistake again I made last time.