Jay let out a cry of pain as a set of claws raked across his chest, tearing straight through his armor and shredding the suit and tie he was wearing underneath. He stumbled back, gripping at his chest and pulling his hand away, newly-coated in a fresh layer of blood. He gritted his teeth and lunged, dodging another sweep of the wolf-like creature’s claws. It continued forward, unable to stop its momentum, as Jay slipped in close and shaped a line of Spirit into a sharp blade before slamming it into the creature’s lower jaw. It let out a cry as its body flew up, slamming into the ceiling before crashing back to the ground in a crumpled heap. Not taking any chances, Jay stomped down one last time, making sure it would not get back up. He panted, leaning against a nearby wall while cycling his recovery skill.

  “Three down,” he muttered as he reformed his armor.

  He had entered a Level 19 dungeon, just like he had discussed with Lan. While every room he had entered so far had broken his armor and injured him in some way, he was happy to see that, overall, he could handle it. He had resorted to using a style where he focused almost completely on offense, using the buffing effect of his armor combined with his other skills to overwhelm and destroy his opponents before they could do too much back to him.

  This, however, led to his current issue. While Reflexes was his second-highest stat, it was still lacking compared to the creatures in this dungeon, easily allowing them to land a hit that cut straight through his armor. The upside to that was that his Regeneration Boost had reached Level 10, but the downside was the multiple wounds that had accumulated on his body. None of them were that bad, in the grand scheme of things, but they had slowed him even more, allowing that last wolf-thing to land a firm strike on his chest.

  This adventure had definitely been worth it, though. Jay had finally made it to Level 17 and gained a new skill called Basic Spirit Aura, which was what allowed him to shape his Spirit into a weapon. He had gotten fed up with not having an offhand, and with the fact that he could create armor, he knew there had to be a way to form it into a weapon. His first two attempts had been somewhat effective, but it wasn’t until he figured out how to add the desire for his Spirit to cut using a bit of Will Control that the weapons started to actually be useful. He was still quite limited in what he could do at the moment. If he wanted an object to be sharp, then it had to actually resemble a blade. If he wanted it to have the impact of a hammer, then it needed to have a shape with heft. He could feel that the ability would eventually let him break those confines, but he just wasn’t sure how to push it to that point yet. As his armor finished reforming, Jay let his head rest against the wall.

  Gonna take a twenty-minute nap. Can you wake me up?

  “Sure,” Lan responded.

  Jay smiled as he closed his eyes. He had half-expected her to make some sort of comment about him pushing forward, but this was just another thing to prove that she did actually have his best interests in mind. His Spirit was only down to 400 points, and his will was almost maxed, meaning he could take on the next room if he needed to, but it would be much safer to wait, especially because he didn’t know what the symbols above the two doors at the end of the hall meant yet. He had been avoiding it since he entered this dungeon, as he didn’t think it would be anything good, but it had gone and given him two rooms, both with the symbol. They bore a depiction of a wolf with a man’s lifeless head in its mouth.

  He walked to the two doors, and, with a sigh, entered the one on the left. A small room with a shrine shaped like a wolf’s open maw sitting in its center opened before him. He stepped inside, letting the door close behind him. Text was carved into the base of the shrine in some strange language that Jay was only able to read thanks to his translation skill.

  “Make an offering, huh?” he muttered, walking up to the altar.

  “Hmmm.”

  What is it, Lan?

  “Oh, nothing, I would say you probably shouldn’t put any body parts in there.”

  Are these rooms common in dungeons?

  “Eh, not really. It depends on the theme. This dungeon seems to have some type of sacrificial ritual to create those wolf creatures as its theme. I’m guessing this altar will either attempt to turn you into one, or give you a reward based on the sacrifice.”

  Uhh, that’s not a risk I think I want to take…

  “Suit yourself. This seems like a weird loot room, so you might just be able to continue forward without interacting with the altar. However, that also comes with the risk of the dungeon perceiving it as you sacrificing nothing.”

  Jay groaned. So, what should I do?

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Throw one of those artifacts you looted in there.”

  No.

  “Just do it. They’re meaningless at this point, anyway.”

  Anger bubbled in his chest. They were pieces of his history--and everyone else on Earth. He knew Lan was right that, at the end of the day, it didn’t really matter anymore, but the thought still pissed him off.

  Glad everyone on my planet and their past and struggles is meaningless to you.

  Lan let out a sigh. “That’s not how I meant it, but yes, it is meaningless to me, Jay. You mean something to me, now, as I probably mean something to you. Think about it this way, though. Do you give a shit about where I came from, or what goes on on my planet?”

  I--

  “Don’t say anything. It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry. I know it means something, and I know that you care about it. If you really don’t want to get rid of any of them, then I would recommend you throw something you value in there, instead.”

  Jay inhaled sharply, calming himself down. As much as he hated it, Lan had a good point. He really couldn’t see himself caring much about a planet he didn’t know anything about. He tried to tell himself that he would--that he would be upset, or do something about it. Still,he knew at the end of the day, he would probably just say whatever had happened was terrible, and then go on without anything changing.

  Two items materialized in his hands. One was an old ring encrusted with diamonds with an inscription designating it as a gift between two world leaders from a long-forgotten era. The other was a printed photo depicting him in his graduation clothes, standing next to his mother. It was the last photo he had taken with her, and very well the only way he could ever see her face again. He thought about everything Lan had said, and how he would feel before finally making his choice and letting the ring tumble from his hand and into the wolf’s open mouth. The altar’s eyes flashed red as its mouth snapped shut. The room rumbled for a moment before a new screen popped up.

  **Sacrifice accepted! 400,000 Points have been added to your final reward.**

  Jay couldn’t even feel happy. That was double what he had earned in the last dungeon he’d completed, and it just felt so hollow. If he was being honest, he had no clue who the owners of that ring were. He was never the best at history, but the feeling that another part of his world had just been permanently destroyed ate at him. How long would it be before no one even remembered what this planet was like before this fucked up game was forced upon them? He knew his life would have eventually been forgotten anyway. Hell, he’d just been a limo driver living paycheck to paycheck, but he had still expected his planet and everything that happened on it to outlive him. It was a weird experience, coming to grips with the fact that that might not be the case--with the fact that parts of history would only survive if he wanted them to. If he protected them.

  Fuck this. Fuck everything about this.

  He sighed, placing the photo back into his storage space, and walked to the next room, trying to push the ring from his mind. It didn’t work, but he hoped this would. Without even considering the other symbols, he pushed one open that he knew led to a strong enemy. A life-or-death fight seemed like the best way to get his mind off things right now, and that only made everything feel more strange.

  A buff version of the creature he had been fighting that stood upright on its hind legs charged Jay as soon as he entered the room. Claws lashed out, swinging for his neck in an arcing motion. He ducked the attack and delivered a swift kick to the creature’s left leg. It let out a pained howl and fell to the ground. It tried to push off with its front limbs, gnashing its teeth in Jay’s direction, but he had already stepped far out of its reach. Spikes formed on his gauntleted fists, and he lunged at the downed creature.

  What happened next was still a blur in his mind. He had broken, and that poor creature had gotten the brunt of his anger. All that remained when he finally snapped out of it was an unrecognizable bloody pulp. He panted, and his fists hurt as he took a step back from what remained of the creature. That was terrifying. He had never felt that level of anger before, and the only thing running through his head at that moment was how happy he was that it was just a dungeon enemy that he had lost his shit on.

  Jay stepped back and took a seat on the cold stone floor, still panting. He hadn’t used much Spirit in that fight, despite everything, but he still wanted a moment before he went through the single door at the end of the room and the final section of the dungeon--the boss fight. He got his breathing under control pretty quickly, but he still sat for another thirty minutes thinking about the past few days before he finally stood. He hadn’t noticed how much of a toll everything was taking on his mind until that moment. On the surface, he felt fine. He felt happier than he had felt in a long time. Below that, though, he knew what was likely happening around the world. He knew the greed and torment his fellow humans were probably inflicting on each other.

  Not ?much has changed, then, he thought with a hollow chuckle.

  Still, something had changed. Jay wasn’t powerless anymore, and, even if he still wasn’t quite ready, he would be, soon. He didn’t know exactly what he would do when he was, but that was an issue for a far distant future. For now, he needed to focus on the challenge in front of him. With that in mind, he pushed on the door and entered the final room. It opened, revealing a colosseum-like space with a shirtless man kneeling with a sword twice his size lying in front of him. The man stood as Jay entered and lifted the sword as his muscles swelled and hair began sprouting from every part of his body. His face extended, taking on the wolf-like qualities the rest of the creatures in this dungeon had. His feet shifted, sprouting claws and fur as they morphed, becoming larger and more wolf-like as well. He held the sword that was now properly sized in both hands and got into a ready stance, pointing the weapon at Jay.

  “You have managed to defeat my siblings, but this is where your journey ends. Well met, warrior, and goodbye,” the creature growled before launching at Jay with lightning speed and thrusting the sword straight toward his chest.