Another Dungeon 2

The tunnel narrowed the deeper I went. Every step echoed back. The air was damp, humming faintly, the walls pulsing with that eerie blue glow. My head was still spinning from the mana loss. Three Skeleton Soldiers, that was all I could manage. And honestly, it was already too much.

My knee brushed the slick floor as I steadied myself. The pressure in my skull was constant now, not pain exactly, but a weight. Three minds tugging at mine. Three hollow sets of eyes waiting for commands.

“Forward,” I muttered.

They obeyed, bone scraping stone in perfect rhythm. The sound was oddly comforting, like a mechanical heartbeat keeping me grounded. I walked just behind them, hand pressed to the tunnel wall. Every flicker of light made me flinch, every faint hiss of air felt like movement.

Then I heard it.

Clicking. Soft at first, then layered. Dozens of legs tapping against the crystal floor. Crawlers.

Shapes shimmered in the mist ahead — six of them. Their chitin glistened, black ichor dripping like tar, mandibles twitching. The first hissed and leapt.

“Attack!”

My soldiers moved instantly. The two on point swung in a cross formation, blades screeching against the Crawler’s carapace.

Sparks flared, ichor splashed, and the first creature collapsed before it even hit the floor.

The others didn’t hesitate. They swarmed.

The tunnel erupted in chaos. Claws slashing, swords clanging, bone scraping against stone. I could barely keep track. One Skeleton Soldier lunged too far; I jerked his movement back before a Crawler took his head off. Another soldier parried high while the third tried to cover the flank. Every command had to be precise, like threading needles through a hurricane.

“Left! No—back!”

Too slow. One Crawler rammed a Skeleton Soldier against the wall, mandibles crunching into rib bone. The soldier twisted, driving its sword through the creature’s midsection before crumbling under the weight. Bone shards scattered. I felt the mental snap the moment he fell, a sharp jolt behind my eyes.

Two left.

“Forward!”

The remaining soldiers advanced, their blades moving in tandem, cutting down another Crawler. Then another. But there were still too many — the rest circled, clicking faster, their bodies slamming against the walls trying to overwhelm us.

I dropped to one knee, vision tunneling. My heart was pounding, my brain screaming. The effort of splitting focus three ways — myself and the two soldiers — was burning me alive from the inside.

The last Crawler lunged. One soldier caught it midair, both tumbling across the slick floor. The second skeleton hacked at its legs until it stopped moving.

Silence. For a second. Then a rumble.

From deeper in the tunnel, heavy footsteps echoed. Thicker. Heavier. I knew that sound.

Crag Beetles.

Their hulking silhouettes appeared through the haze — four of them this time. Each one the size of a motorbike, covered in jagged shell plates. Their claws scraped gouges into the walls as they advanced, eyes glowing faintly orange.

I wiped blood from my nose and straightened up. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

The first Beetle charged. The impact shook the tunnel. My soldiers met it head-on, blades slamming into armor that barely cracked. One got tossed aside like a ragdoll. The other managed to roll under and stab upward, piercing the soft underbelly. The Beetle screamed — a low, guttural metallic shriek — before collapsing and dissolving into mist.

The others didn’t wait. Two came from the sides, trying to crush us against the walls. I split focus, controlling both skeletons manually. Left sidestep. Counter. Parry. Swing. Sparks flew as steel hit chitin. The sound was maddening — sharp, endless, relentless.

One Beetle slammed into a wall, breaking off a slab of glowing stone. My soldier took the chance, plunging its sword through the creature’s eye socket. The other Beetle barreled forward and rammed the remaining skeleton, sending bones flying.

I winced as the second link broke. Another jolt of pain spiked through my head. My vision flickered.

One left.

The last Skeleton Soldier moved without hesitation. I barely had to guide it now. Muscle memory, instinct, or maybe it was just me losing track of who was in control. The Beetle raised its claw for a killing blow. My soldier spun, and slashed upward with all the force I could muster through its body. The sword split the Beetle from jaw to chest.

The creature convulsed, glowing fissures spreading through its body before it exploded into mist and shards of blue light.

Then there was nothing but the sound of my breathing. Ragged, uneven, too loud in the narrow tunnel.

I slumped against the wall, every nerve on fire. The last skeleton stood over the dissolving remains of the Beetle, its blade still raised. One arm hung broken, a fracture running down its ribcage, but it was still there. Still waiting.

I managed a weak laugh. “Guess we’re… not dead yet.”

The skeleton didn’t react, of course. It just stood there, silent and obedient, smoke swirling around its feet.

I looked down the tunnel. The mist was thicker now, pulsing faintly with blue light. For a second, I thought I saw movement deeper inside, bigger, slower.

“Retreat,” I whispered.

The soldier turned instantly, standing beside me like a silent shadow. I forced myself to stand. Every muscle screamed, my head felt like it was about to split, but I was still breathing.

As we stepped over the remains of the fallen Crawlers and Beetles, I realized something strange. The amount of the first monsters, the aggression, this wasn’t a normal E-tier dungeon.

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A few minutes went by in silence. My breathing finally slowed, though the ache behind my eyes never quite left. The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, mist swirling around the faint blue veins in the walls. Only two summons were still active — the Skeleton Soldier standing beside me, and Jerry back at the apartment.

Even from here, I could feel the weight of both. That faint psychic tug, like two threads stitched into my mind pulling in opposite directions. Controlling Jerry from this distance shouldn’t even be possible, yet there he was.

Then I felt it. A shift in the air.

I squinted, trying to focus, and then I saw it — four legs, two razor-edged wings folded against its sides, a chitinous body glimmering with blue-black sheen.

“Wingcrab,” I whispered. 

A Wingcrab, basically a cross between a crab and a dragonfly, however that happened.

They weren’t supposed to be here. D-Tier monsters didn’t belong in E-Tier dungeons. That’s when it hit me: this place wasn’t E-Tier at all.

No wonder it felt off. The aggression, the sheer number of Crawlers — this was at least a D-Tier dungeon. I was so screwed.

The Wingcrab screeched, the sound bouncing across the tunnel like metal scraping glass. It lunged forward, wings spreading, claws clicking.

“Alright, think,” I muttered, gripping my temples. “Be smart about this.”

I extended a hand, a bluey circle formed on the ground. Another Skeleton Soldier clawed its way up from the stone floor. The summoning drained me. Not as violently as before, but enough that my vision dimmed at the edges. I steadied myself.

Then, with a deep breath, I added three more normal skeletons. Simple constructs, weaker, no weapon, lighter, and easier to command. Every three of them felt equal to one Soldier’s mental load, but by now, my brain was running on pure instinct.

I managed a smirk.

The Wingcrab shrieked and dove, wings slicing through the mist. The skeleton trio charged forward, clumsy but effective, scattering just as the monster struck. Bone splintered, claws tore through them, but the distraction worked.

“Now!” I yelled.

The two Skeleton Soldiers moved like guillotines. One ducked under the creature’s left wing while the other spun behind it. Their blades crossed in a perfect arc. A wet crunch echoed through the tunnel, the Wingcrab’s head fell, rolling once before dissolving into blue vapor.

I exhaled, chest burning. “Good teamwork,” I muttered, wiping sweat from my forehead.

But I didn’t have time to enjoy the victory. The air pulsed again, heavier this time. Two more Wingcrabs dropped from the ceiling, their wings slamming into the ground hard enough to crack the stone.

I clenched my jaw. Same plan. Same timing. I rebuilt the skeleton trio. My mana was dangerously low now, like scraping an empty tank, but it worked. The new bait shambled forward, drawing both Wingcrabs’ attention.

The monsters lunged. I gave the mental command.

The Skeleton Soldiers flanked, one high, one low, moving with eerie synchronization. Swords flashed in opposite arcs. Two wet thuds followed — twin heads rolling across the glowing floor before fading into mist.

The tunnel fell silent again, save for the faint crackle of dissolving mana.

I took a shaky step back, pressing my hand against the wall for balance. My lungs burned, my vision swam, but I was alive. Barely.

Then I froze.

Voices.

Human.

“Already!? It’s been like fifteen minutes!” I exclaimed. “The response time’s crazy!”

Hunters.

How can they already be venturing inside. Venturing inside only means the perimeter outside is secure.

My blood turned cold. If they saw me — the undead, the bone fragments scattered around — there’d be no talking my way out of it.