Welcome to the Dungeon!

Prologue

"Welcome To The Dungeon!" That little message had assaulted my eyes, the brightness glaringly contrasting within the utter darkness of my room at night; wrapped under my duvet somewhere around midnight, I'd downloaded an app. I'm still not sure if I should regret having that app. There was a popular rumor in my school that if you downloaded "Dungeon" you'd vanish. Of course something like this glanced off as little more than superstition to me: yet I had to check. As of now, I have decided the rumours were right; the install hit 100%, that message popped up then suddenly my vision went white.

It was odd. The warmth of my bed was utterly gone, cold now.

A throbbing sensation burst through my head, unable to resist, an overbearing groan escaped my lips. It took a few seconds as my own eyes snapped open and glanced around. It was apparent that I was located inside a cave, the rough stone scraped at my knees and caused small but deep enough to bleed grazes as I picked myself up off of the freezing floor.

Then a tap. Another. And another, louder this time: then finally, a snarl. It felt as if everything had suddenly become even colder than it was earlier, my hair was on end as my body spun around to face what I instinctively knew was a threat.

Something shocked me. The demonic, otherworldly presence that sent shivers down my spine and almost immobilised me was... A 2-foot tall humanoid creature with a pointed snout and angular jaws. It was thin and wore a tribal-stylised feathered headdress like a hairband on it's protruding forehead. It snarled, but it reminded me of an angry, anorexic dwarf. I burst out laughing. An action I would regret. The small creatures eyes widened, seeming even larger than their already massive, pure black shape. They glistened in the darkness.

When I say darkness, it wasn't quite darkness; my eyes could see perfectly well for a few meters radius around me, then utter darkness. Something must've been wrong however; not a single light was in this dank cave, yet I was able to view everything in perfect clarity around me. Yet these pitch black eyes glistened back. The creature was salivating as it stood there and stared. A shock like thunder boomed through my spine as my nerves began to tingle. There it was. It wasn't just one pair of deep black eyes that looked back at me. No, some hung from the walls, others just at the borders of my vision. But one thing I knew, there were dozens. Just one was laughable, but altogether, I could sense this hordes killing intent. My muscles tensed and bones froze.

A thought came to me as they advanced slowly.

I am going to die.

I am going to die now.

I am going to die, yet I have no idea where I am.

The scuttling was replaced by frenzied screams, so close that vile air forced it's way into my nostrils from the first creatures vomit-inducing breath. The world seemed to slow to a snail-like pace, every tiny sound was clear to me. Claws moving through the air, the growls of the deadly dwarfish creatures, the gentle drip of water as droplets crashed to the solid, un-porous floor.

Then a new sound, violent and wrapped with the occasional clink and clank of metal, like a knight running in heavy armour. The feral screams of the beasts continued for a few milliseconds, though the sound was much deeper and guttural, desperate in fact. Then the screams stopped, and something warm splashed onto my face with odd force.

The smell sickened me, it trickled onto my lips and to my tongue, slow. The taste hit me, coppery. Blood!

My eyes snapped open to glare at the figure that stood before me. The creatures no longer moved. Everything seem to be tinted a light crimson. Darker shaded droplets dropped off the glimmering edge of a thin, angelically white blade. Held by a paler girl in a white garb, similar to that of a clergymen. She glanced at me once, then a throb pounded through my chest. It felt like my heart was about to stop. Tears welled up as my vision kept growing darker and smaller, eyes closing every few seconds at a slow pace. Blackness came again. Now nothing. Nothing.

Nothing but blackness in this unusual cave.

Nothing but blackness in this dungeon...