I looted the place. Most of it was either squished or broken.

  'I should have spent some time looting while that goblin was resting...'

  I sighed, resting against the entrance to the Eighth Circle's doorway.

  Squished bread. Shattered potion bottles. Scraps of things that used to be useful.

  'Only after breaking everything do I feel hunger and thirst creeping up on me. Fuck my life.'

  I gulped, feeling the dryness in my throat.

  'Well. Nothing of value was lost. I hope.'

  I shook my head.

  'When was the last time I ate...?' My eyes widened slightly. 'Months ago, was it? My last proper sleep was before I even came here... I guess I could drink this bitter stuff whenever I feel thirsty. It does quench it, and kills the hunger for a few hours at least...'

  I looked at what had survived the fight:

  [Super Life Elixir x97] [Super Mana Elixir x46]

  I reached into my inventory and drew one out. A bottle the size of my palm, dark liquid, wooden cap.

  "[Inspect Item]."

  [Item: Super Life Elixir x1] [Rank: Legendary (SS)] [Description: A mere drop — when consumed — cures all negative status effects, afflictions, and fatigue, fully restores satiety, and immediately heals any wound upon drinking.]

  'Haaah...' I put it away. 'Such a gaudy rank for what it does. I could just die and get practically the same effects... Hmm. Though I suppose I could use it mid-fight if I need to finish something now instead of fifty deaths later.'

  I looked down and exhaled.

  For that, I'd have to survive more than one hit first.

  'As for the second one — I can already guess. Restores mana. Same story. If I'm in a pinch I can always just kill myself...'

  A pause.

  'Right.' The thought settled. 'I never actually killed myself.'

  I swallowed. The dryness scraped down my throat again.

  'Those two monsters did it for me.' My eyes drifted toward the hallway leading to the Final Circle. 'But I never actually cut my own throat. Or slit my own wrists... No. Actually...'

  My fingers curled. I clenched my fist, lifted my head.

  'I stopped thinking about suicide only after I came to this world.'

  A short chuckle escaped before the quiet returned.

  'Kazuya was nothing like a murderous mutt. Nothing like a skilled assassin either. He never gave me mortal wounds...'

  My hand tightened again, trembling slightly.

  'But now he's capable of all that and more, no question...' My eyes narrowed as I pushed myself up, fingers still locked white-knuckled.

  'I need to keep moving.'

  I stepped through the Eighth archway.

  The air changed immediately. Cooler. Cleaner. The stone beneath my boots was polished, almost glossy. No rubble. No dust. No broken doors.

  'I'll map this place properly in time.' I pointed straight ahead. 'My North… Is that way.'

  I walked.

  Ten paces in, a thick red carpet beneath my feet. Torches lined the walls in iron sconces, real flames dancing orange and gold.

  Light.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Actual light.

  Not the cold blue mushroom glow I'd lived under for half a year.

  I stopped. Stared at the nearest flame until my eyes watered.

  As if I'd forgotten warm colors existed.

  The corridor stretched wide, doors every few meters on both sides. Dozens. Hundreds, maybe. All identical — dark wood bound in iron, perfectly spaced, perfectly intact.

  'More rooms per hallway than the Ninth,' I noted. 'This place is orderly. You'd think there's a maid roaming around, cleaning every speck of dust.'

  I compared them automatically.

  Mutt's floor was the messiest.

  Goblin's, second.

  This one was spotless.

  'Could it be a non-strength type then? Even less so than the goblin?'

  "Anyway." I shook my head.

  I kept walking, counting turns under my breath to anchor my makeshift compass.

  Left at the statue of a hooded knight.

  Right at the tapestry of a burning tree.

  Straight past the fountain that somehow still trickled—

  'Water. Actual, clear, flowing water.'

  I stopped.

  Stared at it.

  'How long has it been since I drank water...?'

  I gulped, already tasting it.

  'But I can't just drink it. It could be infected. Or a trap. It has to be a trap. I can't know unless—'

  'Right. [Item Inspect]!'

  I leaned over the fountain and cast it.

  The result came back quickly.

  [Item: Poisoned Water]

  [Rank: A]

  [Description: Water with enough neurotoxins to make a dragon foam. Not recommended for use.]

  'Well. What did I expect?'

  I kept walking after a short sigh.

  'Could collect it as a splash potion like in that famous block game I played obsessively that I can’t name for reasons I’m not sure of... Hmm. No, it said poisonous. Probably only works when ingested...'

  I turned into another hallway.

  A single figure waited in the center.

  Human-shaped. Cloaked in tattered red robes that fluttered without wind. Bones gleamed beneath the hood. Two pinpricks of sapphire fire burned where eyes should be.

  'A skeleton mage.'

  'Humanoid this time,' I thought, rolling my shoulders. 'Let's see what you've got.'

  It raised a staff of blackened wood.

  The air ignited.

  A lance of white fire screamed toward me faster than thought.

  I twisted on instinct.

  Too slow.

  The spell grazed my left pauldron. Metal flashed cherry-red, then liquefied, dripping off in glowing rivulets that hissed against the carpet.

  'It melted my armor...' The molten steel kissed the skin underneath. 'It's warm. Not burning.'

  'Is it my Resistance? Vigor? Both... I still don't know what either of them actually do.'

  I shook it off and charged — the ground cracking beneath me as I burst forward. The red carpet folded messily as I dashed, causing me to slip slightly.

  I should really be mindful of my surroundings.

  My fist crossed the last meter.

  Slammed into nothing.

  An invisible wall stopped me dead, arm shuddering from wrist to shoulder, right in front of its face.

  'What—!?'

  The skeleton tilted its head.

  The staff glowed again.

  Compressed air condensed into a spear sharper than any blade and punched straight through my chest.

  My lungs forgot how to work.

  Vision tunneled.

  Black.

  Respawn.

  I opened my eyes in the Ninth Circle. Cold stone. Chest whole. Armor pristine.

  I stared at the ceiling.

  'A mage with barriers and instant-cast spells.'

  I sat up slowly.

  'This one won't let me touch it.'

  A small, tired laugh.

  'Fine.'

  I stood.

  'North is still that way.'

  I walked back through the archway.

  First order of business — map the area. I carved a thin 5x5x1m slab of granite from the dungeon wall and got to work.

  'Tsk...' I sighed, halfway through the first corridor. 'If this floor ends up bigger than the Ninth, going back and forth will take forever. I need to take the map with me.'

  'But there's a good chance it breaks if I run into that mage. Or if I get clumsy. How do I carry it without...'

  A moment.

  '...!'

  I thought back to killing the goblin. Filling the Ninth Circle's rooms with deep granite slabs. Standing seven meters from the doorway, opening my inventory, easing them out gradually.

  'I could just—'

  I heaved the slab up and dropped it into my inventory.

  [Item: Granite Slab (5x5x1m) x1]

  'And then open my inventory mid-movement... and instead of pulling it all the way out, just let the smooth face poke through...'

  I did exactly that.

  'A mobile map.' My eyes lit up. 'Though it's too tall like this. Have to use it sparingly. Don't fill the whole surface...'

  I nodded to myself.

  'Alright. Let's go.'