Michael rushed his way through the series of nearly identical rooms— it was like a crypt of sorts, each room filled with coffins, no larger than maybe ten feet across. But he didn’t slow to take in the details of each individual room.

  Instead, he rushed straight to the source of the voice. To the fighting that he heard erupting in the distance. Because there were people here in this dungeon, which meant only two thing…

  The first was that they’d have food and water on them, and the second was that they’d know the way out of here.

  And Michael could finally escape this dungeon for good.

  Sprinting through room after room after room, he finally exploded out of a doorway and saw the fighting inside of the room.

  [Zombie Mummy - Level 8]

  [Zombie Mummy - Level 6]

  [Zombie Mummy - Level 9]

  [Zombie Mummy - Level 5]

  [Zombie Mummy - Level 7]

  …

  [Human - Level 7]

  [Human - Level 8]

  [Human - Level 7]

  There were two men and one woman. And they were surrounded by about at least a dozen or two zombies, each one wrapped in bandages like a mummy. While these zombie mummies weren’t the highest-leveled, they still heavily outnumbered the three humans backed up into the corner of the room.

  But that was not all. It seemed that one of them— a burly man who wielded a sword and shield— was injured, his stomach bandaged, but still bleeding. Despite his wounds, he was still trying to get to his feet to help his two friends, who were standing protectively over him,

  The woman was casting spells, creating a small fire arrow, and the other man was swiping out wildly with a dagger to keep the zombie mummies back.

  It was clear that they would be overwhelmed soon. So Michael sprang into action.

  He activated his [Physical Overdrive] and grabbed the closest two zombie mummies to him— the ones at the very back of the group. He smashed them together, causing their heads to quite literally explode, all the while drawing attention to himself.

  The woman and the man with the daggers looked up at him in confusion.

  “Who—” the woman started as she stared at him.

  But Michael ignored her as he moved, kicking another zombie mummy which turned to him. That strike split the undead in half, causing its rotting flesh to splatter across the wall.

  These zombie mummies… they’re so weak, Michael thought, before he decided to charge straight into the group of undead.

  Most of them turned their attention to him, moaning and swiping out at him with claw-like hands. But they were too slow. He tore through their numbers, easily ripping them apart limb from limb, even while severely outnumbered.

  One of them eventually managed to catch him, swiping at his back with its claw. But while the attack hurt— while it drew blood— it was nothing compared to being quite literally stabbed through the stomach by a sword.

  So Michael just spun around and slammed a [Weaker Lifedrain]-infused fist into the undead, healing his wound in an instant as he completely pulverized his assailant.

  A few of the zombie mummies still ignored this fighting, focusing their attention on the three humans backed up into the corner of the room. The woman saw them coming, and she squeaked, sending a flaming arrow into the stomach of one of the undead.

  Her attack managed to finally bring it down. But a second zombie mummy reached her as she backed up. Her friend— the man with the dagger— was preoccupied with fending off one of his own zombie mummies, and he was unable to help her. And the injured man tried to force himself to his feet as he cried out, holding up a hand.

  “Lexa—” he started as the woman backed up in terror.

  But Michael moved faster. He reached the zombie mummy in an instant and picked it up as it thrashed wildly in his arms. Turning to the last zombie mummy that was still swinging at the man with the dagger, Michael just hurled the undead with all his strength— and the two zombie mummies exploded in contact with each other.

  And the battle was over.

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Zombie Mummy - Level 7] - Less experience is awarded for killing a lower rank enemy!

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Zombie Mummy - Level 9] - Less experience is awarded for killing a lower rank enemy!

  …

  Michael looked up and took in the room full of destroyed rotten corpses. He hadn’t even gained a single level from that fight, but that was to be expected, because leveling up from killing enemies at the same level was already difficult, let alone a lower level than him.

  Dusting himself off, he turned to the two men and one woman who were gaping at him— surprised by his sudden entrance. The woman stepped forward, looking at the young man with round eyes.

  “You saved us—” she started.

  But Michael just grabbed her by the shoulders as she blinked. Her two friends tensed, and Michael just met her gaze.

  “Hey,” he said in a serious voice. “Do you guys have any food?”

  The three of them just blinked as they exchanged a confused glance.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  ***

  Lexa hadn’t even been keen to enter the pyramid in the first place. But apparently, according to her two friends, Justin and Aiden, this was a dungeon that nobody had been to yet. So there was bound to be plenty of untouched loot and treasure for them to take for themselves.

  The only caveat was that this dungeon— the Tomb of the Lich Pharoah— was an F-Rank dungeon. And that was why nobody had dared delve into the inside of the pyramid just yet.

  After all, it had only been about ten days since the world as everyone knew it ended, and Earth was integrated into the Multiversal System. With the very landscape of most cities and towns being terraformed at the same time as monsters spawning around every street corner and all forms of modern technology coming to a sudden halt, it was sufficient to say that the first day of this apocalypse was… a bloodbath.

  Those who survived were mostly the ones who hid and waited for the chaos to calm down, before banding together and forming a large commune— which was where Lexa, Justin, and Aiden had been hiding out at for the first week.

  Only a few brave souls were willing to go out and explore the dungeons. Most didn’t return. But those who did spoke of glory and treasures that waited within these giant structures. Of course, they also mentioned the dangers that lurked inside.

  But both Justin and Aiden seemed to have somehow failed to hear the latter part. And despite Lexa’s apprehension, they had convinced her to go with them to enter this pyramid that was already more dangerous than most other dungeons.

  It wasn’t like they had come here without making any preparations— they packed rations, and they didn’t rush in and threw all caution to the wind. That was the only reason why Lexa had even listened to her friends in the first place.

  That was the only reason she was willing to enter the Tomb of the Lich Pharaoh in the first place.

  And the first day went well. The first floor of the pyramid was actually… not all that dangerous. In fact, Lexa felt like it was safer in that first floor of the dungeon, than it was outside of the dungeon.

  Because there were all kinds of monsters that were roaming the terraformed landscape of Earth, some strong, others weak. But on the first floor of the dungeon? It was just a… desert.

  A replica of a desert, at the very least. Sand dunes and all, with a fake sky on the ceiling.

  The most dangerous monsters that roamed the area were these little horned desert bunnies which ranged from Level 1 to Level 3.

  And even for Lexa, Justin, and Aiden, who were all around Level 5 at the time they entered the dungeon, these little monsters were relatively easy to kill.

  Unfortunately, there was no real treasure down on the first floor. At most, they had found only small bags of a few dozen credits— nothing more than that.

  So they left the dungeon on the first day disappointed, returning to the nearby camp they had set up. But while they were dejected, Justin and Aiden were also emboldened by the fact that the first floor of the dungeon was such a breeze.

  And they made a proposition to Lexa which she had initially vehemently opposed.

  What about instead of leaving the dungeon every day to recover, they just stayed inside the dungeon?

  After all, they had plenty of resources on them, right? And it was not like a dungeon was as dangerous as they had thought?

  So it was in their best interest to spend as much time in the dungeon as possible and loot everything they could, before others got there first.

  Of course, Lexa had argued against it. But Justin and Aiden had made it clear that they were going to do this with or without her. So, eventually, she acquiesced, following along as they scoured the rest of the first floor of the dungeon for the first night they spent in the dungeon, before moving onto the second floor at the start of the third day of the expedition as a whole, or the second consecutive day inside the dungeon.

  The group of three expected the monsters on the second floor to be more dangerous than the first floor— that was common sense. But what they found surprised them.

  And it was that the floor was filled with undead.

  They were mummies— zombie-like mummies which stank and had claws for hands. And despite only being between Level 5 and Level 9, they were much stronger than the horned desert rabbits in the first floor.

  It was during their first encounter with the monsters where Justin, as their [Warrior], made a mistake and was struck across the stomach by one of the monsters. Even though he was wearing armor, the attack shredded through the metal and drew blood. That incapacitated Justin, and he would have died there, if Aiden, as their [Rogue], hadn’t quickly moved to save the injured man, before Lexa cast a small fireball and finished off the zombie mummy.

  At that moment, the group had already intended to flee and leave the dungeon. Unfortunately, more zombie mummies crawled out from the nearby coffins and gave chase to them, keeping them from reaching the exit.

  So the group was forced further into the second floor, running and avoiding any kind of battle at any costs.

  Their only saving grace was that the zombie mummies were slow, despite being physically strong. That was how they were able to evade any further battles with the monsters.

  Eventually, the three of them found themselves in a room with no coffins and no zombie mummies. They thought they were safe there, so they set up a small camp, before tending to Justin’s wound.

  As a regular [Mage], Lexa wasn’t capable of casting any healing spells— she only knew offensive magic. But the group had packed some healing ointments and bandages they brought with them from the settlement they came from.

  And it was while they were resting— while Justin was recovering— when they were attacked by a large horde of the zombie mummies. There had to have been at least thirty of them. Many times more than Lexa and Aiden could have handled on their own.

  Lexa thought they were goners. That it was the end of the line for them.

  But that was when a strange, muscular half-naked man with black hair, brown eyes, and covered in scars barged into the room, killed all the zombie mummies, and demanded they feed him.

  Lexa was at such a loss for words, she simply gave him what he asked for. And neither Aiden nor Justin even dared to protest either. So they just watched in silence as he scarfed down what was practically all of their rations over the next hour or so, while taking the occasional gulp of water to drink.

  When he was finished with the last bag of rations, he turned to Lexa and held out a hand.

  “You got any more?” he asked as he wiped at his mouth.

  Lexa stiffened and turned to her two friends for help. Aiden hesitated, but it was Justin who spoke up, despite his injury.

  “No, we do not. We’ve already given you everything we have.”

  It was a stern response. Perhaps too stern for Lexa’s liking. She would have preferred if the [Warrior] had spoken with a gentler— perhaps more placating tone— but Justin always saw himself as the protector of the group. Even before the world as they knew it ended, only to be replaced by this video game-like world.

  In response, the stranger who saved them grunted and looked up. He suddenly rose to his feet, and Lexa felt her heart practically jump in her chest. She backed away nervously as she shot a half-glare at Justin.

  Justin, you idiot, what are you doing? she thought as she pursed her lips. You’re going to get us all killed!

  Aiden seemed to be thinking the same thing. He backed away hesitantly. But Justin just stood tall, even if he was evidently hurting from his wound.

  The stranger— who was still very much half-naked and dressed in rags— walked forward with a hardened look on his face. Even still, Justin didn’t back up, even as the stranger came to a halt a few inches before him.

  With a jerking motion, the stranger held out a hand, and Lexa winced, closing her eyes. She thought that he was about to punch Justin for that disrespect. Maybe even kill her friend. But as she cracked an eye open, she just watched in shock as the half-naked man began to heal Justin.

  “What…?” Lexa tried to work her jaw.

  There was no mistaking it. She had seen [Healers] at work back at the settlement, and she recognized this as a healing spell. Just… far more effective and refined.

  Justin blinked a few times as he looked down at himself as the stranger continued healing. Before, finally, the stranger drew back, and Justin undid the bandages covering his stomach. The wound was completely gone.

  “You… healed him?” Aiden was the one to point out the obvious, staring at this entire scene from the side in shock. “Just who are you? How did you find us?”

  And the stranger swept his gaze over the three of them and nodded. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Michael, and I’ve been trapped here in this dungeon since the world ended.”