Unexpected Ascension Chapter 25

Adrian ran. 

He was used to it now. Ever since he arrived in this world, he had been running from death again and again and again. But those times, he had no idea what he was doing. Like when he was given the general direction of where to go by the Dark Wizard, he was utterly clueless about what he was doing.

Sure, Adrian had known he could find the City of Dorn if he kept running in the right direction. But he wasn’t acting on his own discretion. And the same thing happened when he had been trapped down in the Silk Mines the first time around with Neel, Chavi, Kavi, and Aarush. 

They had known the area more than Adrian, so even if he led the way, they were the ones who gave him direction.

Now though, Adrian was being chased down into the Silk Mines while being fully aware of the layout down here. He had mapped it out mentally, while also following the markings he had left alongside the walls. 

Behind him, a group of seven dwarves clamored after him. They were thugs sent by Madam Chanda, and they were making the mistake of following after him into the Silk Mines.

They wanted the human dead. Or at the very least, injured and captured. But soon enough, Adrian knew they would be the ones who would be lying on the floor and bleeding.

Adrian darted down the tunnel leading out of the crust and into the first floor of the Silk Mines. Behind him, the Level 64 dwarf threw a flurry of needles his way. With a [Double Jump], Adrian narrowly avoided the attack and turned a corner at the bottom.

“How is he so fast for his level?” the Level 64 dwarf’s voice echoed down the tunnel.

Adrian glanced back, seeing the seven dwarves pour down into the first floor of the Silk Mines too. But right as they reached the bottom, they were ambushed by a few dozen chirping creatures, coming out of the ground.

“Gah, silver mites— annoying pests!” the Level 64 dwarf cursed as he kicked one of the many clamoring silver mites off him.

His companions screamed and shouted as the surprise attack from the monsters caught some of them off guard. It was not enough to kill any of them, however they were slowed down just enough for Adrian to turn another corner.

He had seen those silver mites lying on the ground at the bottom of the tunnel, disguised like rocks on the floor. That was why he had jumped over them, even if it seemed like he was only trying to avoid the oncoming needles.

He continued running as he heard the sounds of fighting stop after a brief moment, then the pursuing footsteps continued giving chase after him.

Adrian’s eyes flickered as he caught a glimpse of something right ahead, before he glanced back. He saw the approaching shadows of the dwarves as he got an idea.

The seven dwarves turned the corner. The Level 64 dwarf was unscathed, while the other six had some small cuts on their legs. They all paused when they saw a dead end there. But that wasn’t all. There was a group of crystal rats lying there, deep in slumber.

However, Adrian was nowhere to be found.

The seven dwarves started down the hallway with narrowed eyes.

“Where did he go?” the Level 36 dwarf asked, glancing around. “I could’ve sworn I saw him go this way.”

“Keep an eye out, and don’t make too much noise,” the Level 64 dwarf said. “We don’t want to wake up those monsters—”

And right as those words left his mouth, the group of thugs passed where Adrian was hiding. His [Stealth Step] came to an end as he leapt out, targeting the lowest-leveled of the dwarves at the back.

“What—” the Level 21 thug started, only to have Adrian jam the paralyzing fang into his throat.

The other six thugs spun around as Adrian yanked out the dang and hurled it at the crystal rats. The attack bounced off the closest crystal, waking it up. It looked up and saw all eight figures standing in the hallway right in front of its little lair.

And it let out a terrible shriek, waking up its kin.

The Level 21 thug dropped to the ground as the paralyzing toxin made him struggle to move. At the same time, Adrian sprinted back as the Level 64 dwarve hurled even more needles down the corridor.

However, before any of the other thugs could react, all of the crystal rats woke up, shrieking one after another. Adrian ran away from the dead end as the Level 64 dwarf cursed.

“Shit—”

And the crystal rats lashed out, charging at the dwarves. Adrian heard the fighting break out— he heard the shrieks and the sounds of clashing metal.

A terrible, guttural scream echoed out at one point. And Adrian heard a ding, followed by a blue screen flashing before him.

Ding!

You have killed a [Dwarf - Level 21] — You have earned less experience for defeating an enemy at a lower rank than you!

The crystal rat got at least one of them, huh? Adrian thought as he smirked. Perhaps that was a callous way to react, but he knew that these thugs would’ve killed him, so he offered them no sympathy. They may rule the streets, but they can’t survive down here in this Dungeon. 

However, Adrian didn’t slow down as he ran away from the fighting. He was under no illusion to believe that the crystal rats would’ve been able to hold off the thugs for long. The lone Level 64 dwarf could’ve dealt with all of the crystal rats.

But Adrian at least thought that the crystal rats would’ve slowed down the group for longer. And they did. However, not in the exact way Adrian thought.

“I’ve got you now!” a voice bellowed from the corridor behind Adrian.

He glanced back, still running as he saw the Level 64 dwarve, alone and giving chase. The other thugs were nowhere to be found. Not dead, but probably left behind.

“You can’t run forever!” the Level 64 dwarf screamed, a savage smile on his face. “I will catch up to you eventually!”

I know that, Adrian thought as he turned another corner. But that’s exactly why I was running this way.

And as he turned the corner, he finally found what he was looking for. He saw a tunnel that led even further down into the second floor of the Silk Mines. Standing right there, were a pair of giant spiders. Not just any giant spiders, but jewel spiders.

To be specific, there was one sapphire spider and one gold spider.

[Sapphire Spider - Level 42]

[Gold Spider - Level 61]

The Level 64 dwarf slowed right behind Adrian when he caught a glimpse of the two monsters standing there. His eyes went wide as Adrian glanced between the pair of monsters and the chasing thug.

“You can’t be serious, right?” the Level 64 dwarf whispered, knowing what Adrian was going to do. “That’s suicide—”

But Adrian didn’t stop to listen to what had to be said. Instead, he ran forward, charging straight for the pair of jewel spiders. They raised their scythe-like legs to strike him down, but he used a [Double Jump], followed by a [Sneak Step] to narrowly avoid their attacks. As he did, the Level 64 dwarf cursed and tried to give chase.

“Come back here you damn—”

But he immediately ran into the two jewel spiders as Adrian landed at the entrance of the tunnel leading down into the second floor of the Silk Mines. Glancing back once, Adrian watched as the gold spider and the sapphire spider focused their attention on the Level 64 dwarf.

The Level 64 dwarf glared at the human, shouting something. But Adrian didn’t even wait to hear it. He continued running down the tunnel until the sounds of fighting disappeared. And Adrian was lost deep into the second floor of the Silk Mines.

***

Had it been a risky ploy? Perhaps it was. But Adrian knew how to survive— both in general, and specifically in this Dungeon. So he continued to run as he made small markings on the walls to know the way back out. 

There was always the risk that the Level 64 dwarf or the other thugs would continue chasing Adrian. So that was why even when he was already deep in the second floor of the Silk Mines, he ran until he couldn’t run anymore. It had to have been at least an hour of running before he finally stopped.

Slumping over inside of a small alcove, he let out what was almost a gratified sigh of relief. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. His short and shallow breaths calmed his racing pulse. The sweat that drenched his forehead ran down to his clothes, leaving him soaking wet. 

But Adrian didn’t pass out, nor did he go to sleep. Once he had calmed down, he waited. He listened, taking in a bearing of his surroundings. There was a lot he had to be wary of down here in the second floor of the Silk Mines. And he wasn’t thinking just about the pursuing thugs. No, he was worried about…

Adrian’s brows snapped together as he heard a scratching coming from down the corridor. He didn’t peek out of his alcove, but instead, he slinked further back inside, seeing the massive shadows drawing closer. He waited with bated breath for whatever it was that was coming closer to come into his field of view, before he activated his [Sneak Step], while remaining idle. That was when he saw the monsters.

[Ruby Spider - Level 55]

[Sapphire Spider - Level 46]

[Sapphire Spider - Level 43]

Three jewel spiders. All of them incredibly dangerous. Especially for Adrian, considering his level. 

Let them pass, he told himself as he held in his breath. As long as they do not attack me, I will be fine.

The three jewel spiders continued to walk past him as he remained silent. As he remained unmoving. He waited, seeing them make each step very slowly. Even though he knew how fast they could be, they weren’t in any rush. Not like they had to be. After all, they had overtaken the entirety of the second floor.

Soon, they would start pouring out of the Silk Mines. And that was going to be a massive problem for the City of Dorn.

Adrian wondered when or if the city or the Delvers would ever try to deal with this problem. But that idle thought was quickly dismissed as he focused fully on surviving at this moment. Not like he even knew what he would do if the jewel spiders discovered him. He knew he would be ripped apart.

Fortunately for him, the three jewel spiders passed without noticing anything amiss. However, Adrian only let out a breath once he was certain they were long gone. He closed his eyes, finally thinking he could rest and sleep. 

But as he began to doze off, he heard a scratching sound come closer. His eyes snapped open and he looked up just in time to see a creature peek into the alcove.

“That’s—” he started, his eyes growing wide as he produced his platinum fangdagger. 

[Silver Mite - Level 18]

And Adrian paused when he saw the tiny bug-like monsters standing at the edge of the alcove.

“You scared me,” he muttered under his breath. 

The silver mite hissed and leapt at him. But he easily sliced it in half with his weapon. I didn’t think there would be any silver mites down here. Maybe the jewel spiders haven’t conquered as much of the Silk Mines as I thought.

Shaking his head, Adrian closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. And even though he was far from civilization, surrounded by dangerous monsters, he never felt more at home.

He felt like he belonged here.