All the Bugbears had fallen, but no exit appeared in the sealed room.
Looking closer, I realized some of them were only unconscious. They weren't dead yet.
Apparently, I wouldn't be allowed to leave this room until I finished them off for good.
I scanned the floor and found a Bugbear fang that had broken off during the struggle. I picked it up.
Using the jagged tooth as a makeshift dagger, I went around the room and delivered a final blow to every monster still clinging to life.
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Monster subjugation confirmed.
Skill points acquired.
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I see. As long as I dealt the finishing blow myself, I would receive the skill points.
There were three Bugbears left with breath in their lungs. I killed them one by one.
As the last one died, a heavy tremor shook the floor. I looked up to see an exit finally manifesting in the wall.
I could finally get out of this room.
Out of curiosity, I wondered how many skill points I had accumulated. I opened my Status Screen.
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Skill Points Held: 16
<Provocation Lv1>
Remaining Skill Points Required for Level Up: 10
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It looked like I had enough to raise Provocation to level two.
However, I wasn't entirely sure what the benefits of doing so would be. Since there was no immediate rush, I decided to put the level-up on hold for the time being.
"And now, I'm starving," I muttered, rubbing my stomach.
Normally, an adventurer would bring ample supplies before entering a Dungeon. But I had been exiled to the Dungeon Depths as a punishment; there was no way they would have let me carry food.
"If I'm going to keep moving, I need to eat."
I needed water, too.
Fortunately, I wasn't completely without resources. The corpses of the Bugbears lay right in front of me.
The meat would fill my belly, and the blood would quench my thirst.
Monster meat was a common sight in the markets, and I had eaten it before. But without any way to start a fire, I would have to eat it raw.
The thought was mentally revolting.
"Still... it’s not like I have a choice."
I set to work with the Bugbear fang, trying my best to butcher the carcass. The flesh was incredibly tough, making the process painfully slow.
Eventually, I managed to hack off a piece small enough to manage.
I bit down and tore a chunk away.
"Disgusting..."
The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth, followed by the thick, musky stench of a wild beast.
If only I had fire, this might have been halfway decent.
After finishing my grim meal, I butchered a few more pieces of meat and tied them to my waist in case I needed them later.
Then, I finally took a step out of the room that had held the Treasure Chest.
Beyond the doorway, the Dungeon's corridors stretched out once again. The paths branched off in several directions like a labyrinth. Honestly, I didn't have the slightest clue which way to go.
"Where even am I...?"
All I knew was that I was in the "depths."
The Kataroff Dungeon was infamous as an S-Rank Dungeon that had never been conquered. Because of that, no one actually knew how deep it went or where the bottom floor was located.
"To escape, it's probably smarter to aim for the entrance rather than the exit."
In a Dungeon, the further you progressed toward the end, the stronger the monsters became. Logic dictated that heading toward the entrance would increase my chances of survival.
"The problem is, I don't know which direction the entrance is in."
I suppose I just have to keep moving and hope for the best.
With that thought, I set off deeper into the Dungeon.
Arc 1 —End—