[You have reached level 5.]

It was time. Creep had received Flying at level 1, now it was time for him to receive another skill. However, unlike before -when the knowledge of flying had first appeared inside his mind- this time, the noises elaborated and let him choose.

Actually, he couldn’t choose.

Before the seamless entity haunting his mind could show Creep his choices, the choice was directly made for him.

[A mysterious entity has overridden your choice and given you a skill.]
[You have received a unique skill: Devour: Trait]

[Devour: Trait][Active][Lv- 1/1]
[Devour: You can devour one trait from your hunted prey and make it yours. Devour only works on one trait per species.]
[There is no mana consumption.]

Creep didn’t know any mysterious entities! He didn’t even know much about his colony and himself. He still hadn’t reached an answer to what or who he was! How was he supposed to solve a question whose variables stemmed from a completely different system? But he didn’t panic. It wasn’t in his system to panic.

Knowing that his understanding was low at this point, he dropped the subject.

The bats in the chamber looked at him with interest, especially the adults. Behind the disappearing dead bodies and the scared younglings, the teens moved toward him with fervor. They called him. He went to them. They asked him how he had managed to kill the human while they had failed. He told them about the weapons- The objects which they had been ignoring. The bats showed confusion. They fluttered their wings. Then one of the adults came forward. It asked Creep to show itself how he did it.

Agreeing to the request without any hesitation, Creep found a sword on the ground and flew toward it. Grabbing its handle with his feet, he took flight. He had come a long way since the first time he had tried to lift a weapon. Unlike before -when he had hurt himself trying to lift a short sword- he effortlessly flew with the sword in hand. And to display its strength, he stabbed the female’s body, aiming at her heart. The sword effortlessly penetrated her vest and chest, showing its lethality.

His display not only intrigued the teens, but even the adults showed interest. Following his example, the bats -young or old- all started scavenging the floor for weapons. With the dungeon slowly digesting the leftover equipment, whatever wieldable equipment was there at one point, was already gone. Some found rusted lumps of iron and others, functional oddities. Only a few managed to find complete lethal weapons, but not everyone could lift one. Only three usable tools were found. The younglings failed at lifting them miserably. The teens preserved. Only one out of the three adults showed enthusiasm. The other two went back to sleep after seeing the lackluster result. Chipped Swords, broken spears, maces, broken arrows, axes, and battered shields made the most numbers. Daggers, there were none. The humans knew the limitations of short ranged weapons. Creep was very lucky to find one.

Eventually, the only adult interested in Creeps method came forward. Following his example, it tried to grab the sword but got his feet cut by the blade instead. Few younglings and teens stepped away in fear. The adult, however, preserved. It had seen humans kill his kind with these tools. It knew how different the fights would become if they learned the way to break the priest's shield and the warrior’s armor. It tried again in a fit of frightened excite. It took the adult bat a few ties and wounds before it prevailed. Having managed to grab the thing without hurting its feet, it flapped its wings in glee and took flight. His balance broke. The sword tip refused to rise. The sword was too heavy for it, but it didn’t listen, and eventually after trying for who knows how long, the adult bat managed to fly with the sword held parallel to the ground.

His success changed the atmosphere. Those who hadn’t cared before stepped forward. Those who had left out of fear returned to try the weapons again.

Next, Creep showed them how to use the weapons. Although he himself had only killed once using his dagger, he had observed and learned enough from the humans to have a basic understanding of the weapon. And with his dagger mastery helping him from the side, he taught the fortunate ones how to attack with them.

The bats screeched in happiness. Even those who couldn’t lift a weapon enjoyed. Eventually, the bats gained a small amount of proficiency in the art of weapon mastery.

Other than that, Creep told them the benefit of ambushing humans. He told them that he could kill the archer only because she didn’t see him coming, and was therefore not able to defend herself.

Other than teaching, he also asked around about the human’s motive. Most knew nothing, and those who did... refused to tell him. They were the sorry lot who had no interest in tainting themselves with human filth. Or they knew something which had turned them so nonchalant. Eventually, he was helped by an adult bat. It told him about the door. He had noticed the door because of its appearance but didn’t know what it was. We have to protect the door. He was told. As for why they had to protect the door? The answer wasn’t so inspiring. Because mother tells me to,

What was behind the door? Why did humans need to enter it? He had no idea. Lost, he tried to enter the door, but the others stopped him. They told him the door would only open for humans. Many have tried before, but it doesn’t budge.

In the next three invasions, done by groups of humans ranging from three to five members, the bats didn’t stay in the open to be blinded by the light and have their bodies impaled without any restriction! They instead hid in the darkness by the stalactites, hid in the water on the ground, and dug holes in the walls. Those bats whose bodies were too big -like the adults- though found it difficult to develop stealth. They stayed in the open as bait to reel those foolish bags of muscles into the trap. Creep found that the reduced numbers of bats in the chamber comforted the humans, giving them false hope.

Creep and his group of bats used the next two fights to learn the timing. The third fight against a group of seven well-equipped humans, however, went extremely well. The lack of bats surprised them. The slow start made them comfortable. Unable to participate, three of their tankers and sluggers became sluggish, leading to slaughter. Because of no barrier to stop them, once the hidden bats attacked, they were able to deal the maximum damage, taking the life of one and mortally injuring another two. And when one of the adults occupied by the warriors suddenly snatched a sword and attacked, the humans collapsed. Some screamed. Some ran. Only two managed to get out of the chamber. The rest died.

Creep learned that the element of surprise was a force greater than a full frontal attack. His dagger mastery rose the moment he understood, even though he hadn’t used it to fight on the front line.

[You just had an insight into the methods of war.]
[Wisdom +2]

[Dagger mastery has risen to level 2.]
[Strength+2, Agility+2, Intelligence +1]
[Dagger mastery lv-2; an inter-dimensional weapon storage space is now available to you.]

 He fought two more battles with this group of bats, raising his level by one. He received +4 points to his stats for surviving until he reached level eight. Other than that, his skills, echolocation, flight, stealth, analyzes, and sound sense also went up by a level. Then he moved away from the group. He was once again stuck. Not that he was in any kind of hurry. He simply was eager to know what was behind the door. His will had long evolved from a toddler curiosity or a child’s stubbornness. Gone were the days when he had no urge to understand, to move forward, and to achieve something. He had grown; not in size, but in mind, and will. He flew to the door with hopes of getting past, but it didn’t budge.

Two days later a group of four humans killed everyone in the chamber and entered the door. Creep, like always, stayed hidden and saw them walking inside the door. Actually, Creep knew that one of the humans -a red-haired female mage- had noticed him and had spared him for some reason. He watched her evaporate his companions with the snap of her fingers.

His emotionless state of mind didn’t let him fear them, but he decided not to follow the humans. They were too dangerous for him. There is no way someone of his kind, bound by rules, and confined inside the chamber could have walked inside anyways. His lost companions had made it clear to him. But then again, he wasn’t going to give up.

An hour later, the chamber vibrated for a second, shocking Creep. Right after, a bright white light filled the whole chamber. Creep shut his eyes. When he opened them back, he wasn’t alone anymore. Two of the three adults -including the one who had learned to wield- hung at the back of the chamber. Following this, a hole opened in the floor from where tens of teens and younglings flew into the chamber, guided by another adult.

Creep hadn’t noticed this phenomenon before. This was new to him. How could the dead adults come back to life? Where did the hole come from and how did it close again? So many questions but not a single answer.

He asked the adults, and received nothing. The situation repeated once again half a day later when another group of humans left through the door after killing everyone excluding him. And he noticed that he had stopped receiving experience.

Understanding that the unusual was related to the door, he decided to follow the humans. He took twenty minutes to take the decision and when he flew to the door, it opened. Just like that. This time it didn’t stay closed. Questions appeared in his mind and answers followed.

-Why hadn’t the door opened before? Why did it only open for humans? What made humans different? Why did it open now?

The door didn’t open on his first try because he wasn’t alone then. His companions were still alive. The door only opened for humans because they were different. They were the invaders. The door opened for him because everyone else was dead. And he was different.

Why am I different? Creep thought but found no answer.

Left with no choice- stuck between leaving and staying- he entered the space behind the open door which closed behind him.

Inside, there was no chamber. Instead, a cave -housing tens of bats: adults, teens, and younglings- greeted him in silence. The bats hung from the roof, sleeping. Their eyes closed. Their bodies still. A few near him opened their eyes. They flapped their wings -as if greeting their unusual guest- then went back to sleep.

Confused, Creep hovered at the entrance. He wasn’t actually expecting more bats. He was expecting something different, something he hadn’t seen before. Not bats. NO. Why would the humans try so hard to get inside here to fight more bats? Not knowing what to do, he tried to communicate with others. The language of bats wasn’t very sophisticated, but it was enough to hold some simple exchanges. However, no one responded, directly.

But he heard a voice. What he heard wasn’t clicking -the structure less jargon of bats- but a very sophisticated and complex version of the language those humans communicated in.

Like the voice with no owner, which informs Creep of his improvements from time to time, the voice also spoke in his head. He didn’t understand a word, though. The voice grumbled and paused at his silence. Then a bat nearest to him woke up and flew to him. It told him to rest on the roof and Creep complied. He felt no danger, so he didn’t have to waste time by hesitating.

This time the bat spoke, but in a familiar tone- A tone which every human spoke with, a tone full of emotions.

“What are you?” the voice asked.
“I don’t know.” Creep said. “Why do humans fight us.”
“To grow strong,” the voice said. “Do you know how they grow strong?”
“No.”

Once their conversation started, they talked for hours. The voice asked him whether he knew the reason. Creep told about his findings- about the experience and the skills- and the voice applauded him for his observational skills. Creep never stayed on one topic for long. He kept the conversation small and precise. He asked about the lair, the humans, their reason, about the phenomenon he had witnessed; and the voice asked him about himself, his skills, whether he was strong, how he killed and why he did so?

From the conversation, Creep came out with much more than his companion did. He learned that the lair was a dungeon and everyone was a part of it. The humans invade to get stronger. He learned about the experience which one gets for killing, about the level up which was the proof of their struggle, about the skill points which one receives upon leveling up and can be used to enhance one’s physical ability.

In return, Creep told it everything about himself: about his skills, his days, his methods, which impressed the voice's owner.

“Humans invade to kill us because it makes them stronger?”
“Yes, that’s right. Not only them,” it said, “we also grow by killing them. It’s a win-win situation.”

“What’s outside the dungeon?” Creep asked.
The voice hesitated. “That’s where the humans live.”

“Can we go there?”
“I don’t know about you, but I can’t.”

“Why?”
“Because the portal to the outside only appears upon my death.”

“Will you appear again after death?”
“The dungeon inhabitants never really die, because we are not truly alive. Everything, including the walls, the floor, the tunnels, that door, you, me and everyone else is a manifestation of the dungeon. Because the dungeon is, we are. If the dungeon is not, we won’t be either. Even the humans, once dead, become a part of the dungeon in one way or another.”

“What are the skill points?”
“That I don’t know. Do tell me though, why do you use a human weapon?”
“It’s efficient.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Yes.”

Creep taught the elder how to wield a sword.

[You have managed to teach a new method of fighting to all the generations of a species.]

[Title: Teacher unlocked]
[Charm +5, Intelligence +5]
[Effect: You receive an extra point in wisdom every time you level up.]

[You have unlocked the skill: A teachers wisdom: Learning & Teaching.]

[Teaching: You can impart the basic knowledge of skill to any intelligent being. And receive a part of their insights and skill experience as the fee.]

[Learning: You can forcibly learn one skill from your student.]

[Both teaching and learning depend upon your wisdom. The higher your wisdom, the greater is your chances of learning or teaching a skill.]

With the knowledge of weapon-wielding spreading through the dungeon, Wield became a skill which the bats could pick at level five. Not only did it lead to a huge increase in the infamy of the dungeon, but also made the dungeon more dangerous for the humans. Unknown to the proprietor of this change, the dungeon was banned for novices and only humans with a job were allowed to enter in parties, leading the dungeon bats to grow stronger.

“If you are able to leave, I hope you can come back once you are strong.” the elder bat said.
“Why?” Creep said.

“I want you to free us all from this eternal prison.”

Two days passed. A group of humans arrived in the boss room. They battled the bats in the chamber and managed to kill the elder who appeared after everyone had died. Two swirling black portals appeared in the room at his death.

The humans entered one of the portals which immediately closed. Creep undid stealth and entered the remaining portal as the elder bat had told him too. He was advised to remain hidden and not participate in the skirmish whenever it may happen.

Underload

strong>This chapter completes vol-1. I advise new readers to stop here and let me edit the succeeding chapters. Next chapter will come a week later. Bye.