Born in apocalypse

As Dhruv complimented the beauty of the cave in front of him, he began to observe it deeply.

With some further observation, he found out that the narrow cave he was in had led to an even larger cave. The larger cave in front of him is stretching out to infinity, and he can’t see the end.

The cave in front of him was immense in size, illuminated by soft bioluminescent moss growing on almost every corner of its body. To further light the place, there were crystals growing from the ceiling and floors as well.

The entire cave was bathed in hues of deep indigo and silver, creating a surreal and enchanting atmosphere. There were many hidden pockets on the grounds for the monsters to hide as well.

Enchanted by the beauty, Dhruv’s gaze was wandering all over the place like a free spirit. Suddenly the corners of his eyes began to pick up something on the floor of the cave. He finally noticed the inhabitants of this beautiful cave.

Just like how there were many types of monsters in the jungle, there were many types of monsters here as well. There were bats, snakes, rats, ants, centipedes, and, not to forget, the main monsters, the spiders.

While he was curiously observing them, he suddenly found a pair of them fighting out of the corner of his vision.

This was a battle between a bat and a snake. The bats and snakes weren’t normal, unlike what he had seen outside the dungeon.

The bat-like monster was covered in shimmering, iridescent scales instead of normal flesh. It was hanging from one of the stalactites with some of his companions.

The snake-like monster, instead of slithering on the floor, was gracefully moving through the air. It wasn’t flying; instead, it was slithering with the help of web-like structures that were everywhere in the cave.

Just like the scales on the bat, the serpent also had iridescent scales that reflected the bioluminescence, creating a mesmerizing display.

Full of curiosity, Dhruv began to watch the two monsters whose fight was about to start.

Hanging from the stalactites, the shining bat probably utilized its echolocation to pinpoint the Lunar Serpent’s graceful movements toward him and his companions.

As the serpent slithered through the cave’s intricate web-like structures, its scales reflecting the bioluminescence, it cast illusions that entranced the bat-like creature.

Even Dhruv was awed for a second, but then he refocused on the battle. While focusing, he realized that the snake had moved a meter away from his initial position.

’So, it uses illusions on the enemy and then moves forward while the enemy is in a trance. Nice,’ Dhruv took note of this ability, as he was also an illusion user.

The Lunar Serpent used this technique to confuse the shining bat while attempting to get closer while the bat was still entranced by the illusions.

Being a monster with the same powers, the shining bat was not easily deceived. With a swift and agile motion, it summoned its magical ability, creating a dazzling light show that outshone the serpent’s illusions.

Blinded by the brilliant display, the Serpent faltered in its movements. Due to navigating the thin wire-like structure, it took the serpent some time to correct itself.

In that critical moment, the shining bat seized the opportunity, launching a calculated attack. With razor-sharp fangs and talons, it struck at the Lunar Serpent, its shimmering scales piercing through the serpent’s iridescent defenses.

The serpent writhed in pain, unable to recover from the blinding assault. After a few seconds of constant attack, the snake finally fell from the height.

The bat didn’t follow the snake and waited for a few moments. When it was sure that the monster wasn’t moving anymore, it flew down and landed near its defeated opponent.

With sharp fangs, it took a hard bite, the bat was about to fly with the snake to a secure position when an invisible metal spear hit it in the chest, killing it instantly.

On his side, Dhruv looked at the notification in front of him and smiled.

[You have killed a monster: Adult Glimmerbat]

[You have earned experience.]

[You have earned 1000 CC.]

Looking at the last sentence of the notification Dhruv concludes one thing.

’So, the bat was at Tier ⅠⅠ. Does that mean there are no floor systems in this dungeon? Does that mean every dungeon will be unique? Sounds pretty exciting, to be honest,’ Dhruv grinned as he began to descend to the surface level of the cave.

His intention wasn’t to hunt monsters. No, he had come down to collect some of those shining crystals to identify their name and perhaps even collect some to use as light bulbs on the island.

As Dhruv approached the bottom of the cave, numerous monsters came to attack him, but all of them met their demise at his hand.

One thing Dhruv noticed was that the monsters here were only at either Tier Ⅰ or Tier ⅠⅠ, and the number of Tier ⅠⅠ monsters was very limited. He hadn’t encountered any monsters at Tier Ⅲ yet.

This observation led him to suspect that the deeper he would go into the cave, the higher the tier of monsters he might encounter.

Moving toward a cluster of crystals that were illuminating light, Dhruv bent down and picked one up. Even after being uprooted from the ground, the crystal continued to shine.

Dhruv quickly wore his glasses and examined the crystal’s information. This time, his luck was good, and the item description was unveiled in just one try.

[Description: The Luminous Crystal Shard is a small, translucent crystal that emits a gentle, soothing light. Its primary purpose is to illuminate dark areas and provide a source of steady, comforting radiance.]

’Nice! Now this could be used as a light source to illuminate the island,’ Dhruv thought as he read the description.

After collecting a few more crystals, Dhruv was about to return to the portal when he remembered something.

’Should I keep the corpse of the snake? Maybe its scales could be useful to craft some type of item." With this thought in mind, Dhruv wandered back to the area where the bat and the snake had fought.

He picked up the snake, which was about 1.5 meters in length and about 30 centimeters in width, and quickly stored it in his ring. He even picked up the bat which was about 1 meter in length and half meter in width.

After packing both corpses, he didn’t linger in the cave and made his way towards the portal. As Dhruv entered the portal, his mind went blank once again, before he came back to his senses.

’Man! Why is there a side effect of traveling through these dungeons,’ Dhruv thought as he touched his head and began to made his way outside the bathroom.

He quickly exited the prison and got a full view of the work that was happening in front of him.

With hundreds of undead working along with three hundred people the work was going just too smoothly. Dhruv smiled as a thought appeared in his mind.

"If things proceed like this, maybe in one week the houses will be ready,"