In a cave, there was a sudden rumbling that would make stactites fall. A second rumbling occurs and it causes a sudden quake in the ground.

  Once the light of minerals shines on the surface, Theo can be seen running away from two gigantic arachnids. But they can't pursue the goblin together as the tunnel they are in is just too narrow for them all to fit.

  The goblin, instead of being butt naked... this time has a dirty rag as his clothes and is covered in a brown cloak and red fabric on his face covering half of his head. He is also carrying a leather bag and a sword hanging on his back.

  The gigantic spider on the front tried to pierce its sharp legs into the goblin but he managed to evade it, leaving a deep hole in the ground.

  "goblin goblin goblin GOBLIN GOBLIN"

  They muttered louder and louder as they approached, but Theo remained calm and collected, anticipating the unpredictable movements of the arachnids. When they reached a certain spot, faces of other goblins emerged from the side of the tunnel - upon closer inspection, they were just heads pnted on sticks.

  The spiders became momentarily confused, giving Theo the opportunity to execute his next move. He threw a red stone towards the ceiling, causing a small explosion that sent sharp stactites raining down on the spiders, pinning them to the ground.

  Drawing his sword from the sheath on his back, Theo dashed towards the spiders. The incapacitated spider tried to defend itself by shing out with its legs but missed. Without hesitation, Theo jumped towards the spider's cephalothorax and plunged his sword into its exoskeleton, piercing its brain.

  "Heh, quit squirming around fucker"

  The spider continued to squirm, even after Theo had destroyed its brain.

  The second spider, now on its back, attacked in the same way as the first, but its attack only succeeded in piercing the head of the first spider, completely destroying and killing it.

  "Tsk!"

  Theo jumped immediately to avoid the monster's attack and threw an item from his bag towards the spider. The spider sliced the object diagonally, releasing a green gaseous substance. It was actually a concentrated sleeping gas, much stronger than nitrous oxide, which Theo intended to use to induce drowsiness. However, since spiders do not have noses, it had no effect on the creature. Instead, it temporarily blocked its line of sight, causing it to lose track of the goblin.

  The spider sharpened its senses, trying to detect any motion where Theo might appear, only to have the goblin suddenly appear on its back. Theo quickly dashed towards the spider with his sword, attempting to pierce its head. When he reached it, he plunged his sword into the spider's exoskeleton, causing a yellowish fluid to emerge from the wound, along with all the maggots.

  "That's it? Can't you even give me more thrills? Too easy!!"

  Theo smirked as the spider slowly died. After fighting this type of monster for many days or months, he had become adept at using his surroundings against them. After facing and defeating many different monsters, he would turn their bones into weapons, use their blood as bait, and use their scent as camoufge. He would also turn their skin into clothing and experiment with their fluids to mimic the effects of potions. He was becoming accustomed to this kind of life.

  The smug expression on his face was unmistakable, and the level of arrogance was astounding. However, when he heard rumbling and screams, he immediately snapped back to reality and began to panic.

  "Oh shit!"

  He recognizes the voice where there is mumbling, the smug on his face disappearing repced by the paleness of his skin. He immediately hides behind some stones where there is a pit of darkness, deliberately avoiding whatever will appear in the tunnel.

  "He he, corpse, corpse, corpse, corpse, corpse..."

  Amidst the ughter were continuous chants of words. Theo took a peek and saw the head of a giant old man with the voice of a baby. Its skin was badly distorted, but it kept on smiling. The head was so rge that it nearly filled the entire tunnel, and if Theo got any closer, he would surely be discovered.

  The creature was a centipede with a human head, and its supposed legs were repced by human arms that kept on wiggling. Theo felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw how their hands opened and closed with gentleness. Its mouth kept salivating a yellowish, gel-like fluid.

  'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!'

  Theo kept chanting inside his head, his legs shaking uncontrolbly. He was so terrified that he almost wet himself, if he was wearing any pants at all. The fear was evident in his eyes.

  After a while, the centipede retreated to where it came from. It was so incredibly rge that it couldn't turn around, but instead, it walked away backwards, slowly being consumed by the shadows of darkness.

  "Is he gone?"

  Theo asked himself. He noticed that the corpse of the spider are turned his way it seems like it is looking at him.

  "The fuck you looking at! I am not scared!"

  He raised his two middle fingers to the corpse. With all the obstacles out of his way, it was finally time for him to accomplish his goal.

  Theo then proceeds to locate the spiders' spinnerets, the gnd responsible for producing spider silk. He carefully pulls a strand of the white web from the gnd, and to his amazement, the strand just kept getting longer and longer no matter how much he pulled. The amount of spider silk he collected was so abundant that he didn't need to hunt down another spider to collect more of it.

  "Yosh! Webbings acquired!!"

  After collecting the web, he tried to break it by pulling it from both sides only to fail and cut his own hands from the friction.

  "This web is so strong. I can't even break it"

  The thickness of the silk is around 0.35 mm as sharp as a bde but it is stronger than regur steel.

  "With this, I could create more weapons and clothes, my wife will be happy."

  He said excitedly.

  He then returned back to his base, meeting the thing he called wife.

  "I'm home Iris. How's your day? cough"

  There is a huge space inside a wall and using glowing stones he made it his official home. Looking to his right, he saw a handful piece of organs from a creature contained in jars. A bluish eyeball met Theo's eye as he call it a name, Iris...

  The organ didn't respond obviously because it is not conscious, it is already dead. The only thing that keeps it from rotting is the chemical fluid inside the jar. The skin of the monster is also dispyed on the wall, being stretched along with the lips attached to it.

  "Haha! So you spend your day staring at the wall. Isn't that disturbing?"

  He is simply talking to himself, the thing he called his wife is simply a delusion. Any sane person who may see him in this state will definitely call him crazy beyond hope.

  Theo then puts his collected materials on the ground and starts crafting something with the spider silk he collected.

  "Huh? Me? I still can't find my way out. Is there even a way out in the first pce?"

  Theo spoke into the silence as if he was talking to a real person, as if trying to communicate with something. Perhaps his long isotion had damaged his brain over time.

  "Or am I just being too optimistic..."

  As the silence engulfed him, Theo felt a wave of depression wash over him. He couldn't help but think about the possibility of there being no way out of this pce, of him dying here or slowly getting eaten by maggots inside his own flesh.

  The feeling of scratching his throat from the inside grew stronger and he coughed until he saw spttered blood on his hands. Theo ignored these signs of deteriorating health, as he usually does, neglecting himself and making things worse.

  "Hmm? You want me to stay here forever... You're too sweet"

  Theo continues to talk to the dead organs while being crafty with his hands.

  "Forever, here, in the darkness, with those creatures... in the abyss... family... without lies"

  For a moment, Theo felt his mind go bnk. His mind is getting drawn to the unknown which gets stronger and stronger by the day.

  "He he"

  Then his body comes to a halt.

  "NO! Stop thinking!"

  Theo spped his own cheeks to stay alert and focused. He knew that if he let his mind wander too much, he would spiral into madness. His only source of comfort was his delusion of talking to Iris, but he was aware that it was not a sustainable solution. The darkness in his mind kept creeping in, threatening to consume him at any moment.

  "Oh... Where is my scissor?"

  Searching through the pile of items, Theo crawled to reach for his scissors. As he stood up, his face came closer to the jars containing the preserved organs he had collected, and the graphic scene made him recoil in shock.

  "WAh!!"

  The fact that those things are his own creation made him feel bad for Iris.

  'Why am I like this!'

  He asked himself in guilt.

  Now that Theo remembered, he was meaning to ask something to his wife.

  "That's right... Hey, Iris. Do you think there are huge monsters in the third tunnel?"

  Theo's voice was filled with uncertainty and fear when he finally asked Iris the question. The blue eye stared at him silently, offering no response.

  "Do you think it's a good idea to go?"

  He asked again, desperate for any kind of guidance or reassurance.

  His voice hinted at his fear of encountering another infected monster, one that he had no chance of fighting back against. He thought about all his past experiences and hardships, and it seemed like they meant nothing. Even if he faced those monsters head-on, he would still be stuck in this endless loop of suffering.

  The eye continued to stare at him, unblinking. Theo couldn't help but feel that Iris was a very understanding wife.

  "I am scared... you won't hate me because I am such a weakling right?"

  The goblin started to tear up. His snort and everything made a mess on his green, fiendish face. In all honesty, it makes him more pathetic than ugly.

  His anxiety about his future continues to grow.

  The next day, he starts to pack his equipment and weapons to get ready on exploring the third tunnel. His fear sinks deep into his soul but he braced himself and walk forward, there is no turning back now.

  And the next thing he discovered, is a true spectacle.

  "This is... real water"

  What he saw was water, clear drinkable water that is continuously being emitted by thick roots from an unknown tree that extends outside the cave.

  "ITS! FUCKING! WATER!!!"

  The emission created a pond of clear water where Theo could see his reflection clearly. He felt offended by his own appearance and quickly looked away. As he touched the water, a cold sensation ran through his body, something he hadn't felt in a long time. The urge to drink the water became almost unbearable.

  But as soon as he drank the water, Theo felt something wrong with his stomach and immediately stepped back from the pond, doubling over as he began to vomit uncontrolbly.

  "Gwehhh"

  When he look at the content of his puke, he only saw yellowish fluids filled with maggots. He doesn't know how to react, should he express joy? Or should he express grief? His luck immediately turns into despair.

  He chooses to smile and think only about the good things that may come forward.

  "Days of drinking blood and piss are over!"

  As an alternative to water, he keeps on drinking the monster's blood and his own piss to hydrate himself. This causes several complications to his health but he managed to live. Now his body is slowly deteriorating.

  'Too much happiness means more suffering ter. I should enjoy this while I can'

  He said to himself, forcing a smile on his face despite the deteriorating condition of his body.

  He took out two cylindrical wooden containers from his pouch and filled them with clean water. These containers usually serve as his emergency urinal for times when he needs to relieve himself but is not too thirsty to drink it.

  After that, he drank some water for himself. The freshness of the cool water cleanses his body into deep rexation. It is so delicious that it is addicting. He wanted to take a bath with it but he thought that he must not defile this holy sanctuary.

  But it seems that the pond is a dead end that he cannot explore further. So he chooses to return for the day before some infected monster senses his presence and destroys this pce he now thought is a treasure.

  When Theo is about to return home, he senses a presence in front of him. Someone is watching him with malicious intent, but they seem to have some knowledge of hiding their presence.

  Theo is puzzled because being cautious is not something an infected monster would do. He concludes that this time it is a different being and appears to be professional, as he cannot hear their footsteps. However, he can feel them getting closer through his instincts.

  Theo creeps backwards carefully, trying to identify the creature he is dealing with. The entity is still in the dark, and although Theo has night vision, his field of vision is very short and blurry in the darkness.

  When Theo slowly moved backwards, he sensed the unknown entity becoming alerted and then suddenly, a projectile made of ice crystals was shot towards him, grazing his cheek. If he had not dodged that attack, it could have easily pierced his head and killed him. Fortunately, Theo had good reflexes and was able to evade it in time.

  As he saw something glowing in the darkness, he realized what was happening and the kind of being he was dealing with.

  A girl emerged from the shadows, holding a staff with some parts of her arms covered in shells of ice.

  Theo now knew for certain that he was facing a human adventurer - someone who specialized in killing monsters.

  [Location: Unknown]

  [Sanity: 55]