I feel better than I have since waking up in this cave when I wake up. I beat a tough monster, got good equipment, and I feel like I can take on anything else this cave has to offer. I can do this. I smile, knowing it is only a matter of time before I escape from this place. Picking myself up, I get moving quickly, ready to finally be free from this hellish place.
I get back into my routine of endlessly walking through these tunnels that are too long to be naturally made. Someone must have built these for some reason. That is not important, so I push the question from my mind. The only thing that matters is getting out of here and figuring out where the hell I am.
Nothing has changed from my exploration routine as I avoid groups of monsters and take out lone wandering ones. The only thing that has changed is I now have begun to take out the giant snakes instead of hiding from them. They are a lot weaker than I thought they were, and I wish I would have started killing them sooner. I keep up the pace for twenty hours, killing multiple goblins and giant snakes along the way, and I find myself resting and enjoying a breeze. I am still in the cave, but now that I feel that breeze, I know it is only a matter of time before I escape. I find a safe spot to rest, so I do not have to go the whole way back if I die.
When I woke, I headed straight for the source of that breeze. I just know I am about to be free, and my hope is fulfilled when I see the sky for the first time in days. I can see the sun rising and a bright, colourful countryside. It must have been raining recently because puddles cover the ground. I am finally out. I fall to my knees, feeling relieved that I am finally out. It is too good to be true. I stand up and look around, hoping to see a village or town, but I see nothing but green hills and pockets of trees. I am not out of the woods yet, but at least I am out of that monster-infested cave. But as I stand up to leave, a sudden roar fills the air, and the ground starts to shake.
It is not an earthquake. I have experienced multiple of those during my life, and the way the ground shakes feels different to what I have felt before. Looking around, I fear a new powerful monster has appeared, but I cannot see anything. Birds take flight from every tree branch, and even the animals do not even know where to run as I see them scatter in every direction possible. Then finally, I see it, or I see them to be more accurate. Massive meteorites fall to earth covered in flames and leave long trails of smoke in their wake. I have never seen one up close before. They fly right over my head, and the explosion from when they land is so massive the shockwave nearly knocks me over.
I cannot believe what I am witnessing. Massive clouds of dirt and dust tower into the air, illuminated by giant columns of fire. I have seen pictures of massive explosions, and that is precisely what I am looking at right now. It is almost unbelievable, but I know I am not seeing things. It does not take long for things to settle down, but monsters and animals alike continue to panic. I see a giant creature fly overhead that looks like a tiny dragon. It could be a baby dragon for all I know, but I was too busy finding a place to hide to figure that out. Fortunately, it does not see me and flies away.
I let out the breath I was holding and came out of hiding. If that thing attacked me, there was no way I would have won. But it is gone now. Taking another look around, I spot a nearby hill and head that way, hoping I could spot civilisation from there. I hope that dragon looking creature does not decide to come back as I head out.
0
It is oddly quiet. There are now bird tweets, no insect noises, or any sound at all apart from my footsteps. It is hard to believe those meteorites fell to earth just an hour ago. Unfortunately, I am starting to feel hungry and thirsty again. My resistance has slowed down their effect, but it is coming back slowly. I hope I find someplace soon so I can get something to eat. I wonder what the food here is like in this world.
