Starting out as a Dragon Slave-Chapter 18 - : Stone dungeon

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Isaac stepped forward first, feeling a strange invisible resistance as his body crossed the undulating surface of the portal. It was like plunging into icy water, the world around him wavering for a moment before reforming.

A sudden shock caught him in the chest. The air here was heavier, denser.

His pupils quickly adjusted to the surrounding darkness.

They were in a long stone tunnel, its rough walls oozing humidity. The place was eerily silent, barely disturbed by the crackling of torches fixed at regular intervals to the walls. A flickering light danced across the surfaces, casting disturbing, shifting shadows.

Isaac tightened the grip on his katana. The smell of the place made him frown.

A metallic smell. Nauseating. A mixture of damp earth and... blood.

- "An underground dungeon, eh..." murmured Kraig behind him, observing the surroundings with a pensive air.

- "I hate these damn tunnels," growled the bald giant, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Smells like a trap."

The woman in the sweatshirt, meanwhile, crouched down and tapped the floor with her fingertips before sniffing.

- "Normal moisture, no toxic gas." She raised an eyebrow in Kraig's direction. "But there's clearly been some stuff going through there recently."

The dark-haired man with the revolver took a step forward, gun already out.

- "Like what?"

She shrugged.

- "Nothing too too big, but still... and they're pack creatures."

Isaac concentrated, trying to feel the energy fluctuations in the air. But all he perceived was the unpleasant cold that clung to his skin.

He glanced at Kraig, who seemed to be thinking.

- "We're following the standard training. Me in front with Isaac. Darren, you take the back. Jules and Hannah, in support. Everyone ready?"

Nods.

Kraig then moved forward, entering the tunnel at a slow but confident pace.

Isaac followed, his katana drawn, his heart beating faster than he would have liked.

The group moved slowly through the labyrinth of tunnels, their footsteps echoing on the cold stone. The air was oppressive, as if the weight of the earth threatened to collapse at any moment. The wall-mounted torches grew sparser and sparser, plunging the corridor into an eerie semi-darkness.

Isaac kept his katana firmly in hand, his senses on the alert.

Then there was a sound.

A dull rumbling.

A deep echo from the depths of the dungeon.

- "Stop." Kraig's voice cracked like a whip.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks.

A heavy silence fell over the tunnel. And then...

Cracking.

Something was moving right in front of them.

Isaac squinted and saw the shadow of a colossus emerge from the darkness.

First, there were two red dots, glowing like embers at the bottom of the cavity. Then a massive form took shape, its silhouette as wide as a wagon.

A stone golem.

Its skin was not made of smooth rock, but of a pile of rough stones, roughly assembled, as if torn from the walls of the tunnel itself. His torso resembled a huge block carved with ancient runes, and his arms, long and heavy, hung like masses ready to fall.

He was at least three meters tall.

Then another noise, behind him.

A second golem. Then a third.

- "Shit..." breathed Darren, his revolver already raised.

- "They're slow, but ultra-resistant," whispered Jules. "We're in for a rough ride."

Kraig clutched his sword.

- "We're testing their weak points. Attack formation."

The first golem charged.

Its fist as big as a tree trunk slammed into the ground with unheard-of violence, sending out a shockwave. The stone exploded into sharp splinters, forcing Isaac and the others to leap to their sides.

Isaac quickly got to his feet and dashed forward.

His katana split the air in a swift arc, aiming for a crack between the rocks in the monster's torso. The steel bit into the stone... but barely a scratch.

- "Tch... it's pure, hard stone."

Another golem raised its arm, sweeping the air in a circular motion. Jules narrowly dodged, his body rolling across the floor as the huge arm struck the wall with a deafening noise.

- They're really strong, those bastards!" he exclaimed.

Kraig reached the side of the first golem and thrust his sword between two boulders, forcing the blade to try and destabilize the creature.

Nothing happened.

The sword wasn't penetrating enough.

Darren fired his revolver. Three well-placed bullets into the golem's "head".

No reaction.

- "Fuck, it's useless!" he growled.

Isaac leapt back, dodging another titanic punch. The golems were slow, but each impact was a cataclysm. One well-placed blow could crush them like insects.

- "They're taking it too well, we're not going to make it at this rate!" cried Jules, her breath catching.

- "We've got to concentrate on just one!" yelled Kraig. "All on the one on the right, in the same place! We're going to test their breaking point!"

The plan was simple: hammer a specific point until the stone gave way.

- "Darren, cover us with your shots!"

- "I'm on it!"

Darren raised his revolver and aimed at one of the golem's joints, where the stones seemed connected by a darker material. BANG! A bullet flew, striking the rift head-on. A sliver of rock jumped out, but the creature didn't flinch.

- "It's starting to crumble!" he shouted. "Keep going!"

Jules arrived first. He thrust his hunting knife into the same crack, then twisted the blade violently. A sinister crack sounded.

- "Damn, I can feel it letting go!"

Kraig rushed into the breach, brandishing his sword.

- "Get a move on, kid, I'm gonna drive this in deeper!"

With a powerful thrust, he planted his blade in the same spot and twisted violently.

CRACK!

A shrill sound split the air. Part of the golem's joint shattered, revealing a wider crack.

- Isaac, your turn!" shouted Jules.

He didn't hesitate. Clutching his katana with both hands, he threw himself forward.

His breath caught for a moment. He had to hit exactly the same spot, where the rock was already crumbling.

He struck.

CLANG!

His katana bit into the stone with unprecedented force. Another crack, deeper this time.

The crack widened.

The golem wobbled.

- Keep going!" shouted Kraig.

The whole group lashed out at the same crack, striking again and again, their weapons echoing off the rock like an anvil struck by a hammer.

CRAC.

The golem's leg snapped clean off.

With a deafening crash, the creature collapsed to the ground, unable to get up again.

Isaac caught his breath, his heart beating wildly.

- It's working!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement.

Isaac tightened his grip on the katana, his gaze riveted on the weakened golem.

Around him, the group panted, covered in sweat and stone splinters. The monster was tough. Too tough.

But they had come to understand its weak point.

- The core! We've got to break it!" Erik had shouted earlier.

Since then, they had focused on a single point: the golem's chest, where a pale blue glow pulsed faintly behind the cracked rock.

Each attack, each blow to that very spot, had weakened him a little more.

And now it was his turn.

Isaac inhaled deeply.

His muscles burned, but he refused to weaken. He lunged, his katana tracing a swift arc through the air.

Steel met rock.

CRACK!

The blade penetrated the crack, sinking deep.

The golem staggered. His whole body shook, cracks spreading like a spider's web across his chest.

But it wasn't enough.

Isaac roared and pivoted on his feet, bringing his katana up to strike a second time in the same place, with even more force.

- FALL!" he roared.

BAOUM!

A deafening crash echoed through the tunnel.

The golem's chest exploded, hurling fragments of stone all around.

The blue core, now exposed and vulnerable, pulsed one last time... before shattering into a thousand pieces.

The golem stopped dead in its tracks.

Then it collapsed.

A cloud of dust rose as the monster returned to an inert state, its limbs dislocating under its own weight.

Silence fell.

Isaac remained motionless, his katana still raised, his breath erratic.

Then, a familiar glow appeared before him.

[Monster absorption available]

[Absorb physical stats]

[Absorb physical skills]

His pupils contracted.

An unhealthy shiver ran down his spine.

He still felt that hunger. That urge to absorb.

He glanced at the "physical skills" option and, without hesitation, made his choice.

The pain was immediate.

A liquid fire raced beneath his skin, as if his own body were rejecting the intrusion.

He gritted his teeth, restraining himself from screaming.

His flesh vibrated, mutating under the effect of absorption. His cells restructured, strengthened, became... denser.

His fingers trembled as a strange sensation took hold of him.

His skin was changing.

He looked down and saw his arms turn a grayish hue.

[New skill acquired: Stone Skin (active)]

[Effect: Reinforces skin into a surface as hard as rock].

[Cost: 1 stamina point per minute].

Isaac inhaled sharply.

He clenched his fist... and activated the skill.

Immediately, his skin became as solid as the stone in the tunnel. He could feel it: a new rigidity, a robustness that made him almost insensitive to touch.

Curious, he drew his knife and placed it gently on his forearm.

Then, with a jerk, he pressed down.

NOTHING.

Not a scratch. Not even a mark.

He smiled suddenly and refocused his attention.