The monster is a weird lizard-like creature, and I curse my past self for nearly completely calling what the enemies were going to be, because this lizard is basically a beefed-up Komodo Dragon, with sharp teeth that protrude from its jaw and porcupine-like spines covering its back.

Thankfully it’s not looking at me, too busy using its sharp teeth to tear apart its meal. The sound of wet flesh being torn and chewed echoes faintly down the hallway.

I tighten the grip on the spear in my hands. ‘It’s distracted,’  I think to myself, weighing my options of how I want to deal with this monster, ‘spear then my mace? Or mace first and then back up to use my spear?’

The creature noses at its meal and knocks something away that clangs with a sharp metal sound against the wall. My stomach drops as I stare at the metal gauntlet, still attached to a humanoid arm.

Suddenly this all feels far too real. I stop my breathing, feeling the panic clawing at my throat. I can’t freak out now, the monster hasn’t spotted me yet, but it certainly will if I start having a panic attack.

Carefully I back up, retreating around the corner, till it’s out of sight.

I grip my spear tightly in my hands, forcing myself to breathe. I scoff at my own weakness even though I can’t get my hands to stop shaking. ‘I’ve already killed before, and people at that,’ I remind myself, forcing my brain to flashback to Night and all the other dead in the starting zone. ‘I can handle one monster.’

But somehow everything feels suddenly far more real. Systems and magic and dungeons are all so crazy and even though I knew I wasn’t really treating it like it was real. Maybe I had just been riding the adrenaline high from the starting zone all this time or somewhere I still thought this might be some sick nightmare and I would wake up to my brother’s worried frown. Seeing a monster, a real living breathing monster, one who is so happily eating a person, really throws this whole situation into reality. This isn’t a game, no matter what the system or Hacker say. ‘I just need to finish this level, find Zeke, and then figure out how to get us both out of this hell hole.’

‘Okay,’ I think to myself twisting the spear in my hands as I think, ‘I need to attack it. Who knows when I will get a better chance to test my skills? I might be a healer like everyone keeps saying but I can still hold my own.’ And I needed to find out what combat was really like in this place before a slip-up cost me my life. This is still the tutorial; this monster should be easy to kill. Key word on should.

In the worst-case scenario, it overpowers me, and I run. Then, I follow the marks back to the starting room, yell at Hacker, and choose a different door.

“You can do this Nova,” I whisper to myself, trying to steady my breath. I couldn’t panic, I needed to be levelheaded, or this would be ten times harder.

Steady as I’m going to get, I adjust the grip on my spear, holding it out in front of me, but keeping it low to my waist, tip angled down. I had zero belief I could throw the spear effectively, which left just stabbing the monster.

Carefully I approach the lizard beast, its back is still turned to me, busying itself with ripping flesh out of the corpse. I can’t see the person’s face as they are lying on their stomach, but they don’t look much older than me, dressed in a ill-fitting chest plate, a shatter sword just out of reach. The panic claws higher.

But I don’t let it control me.

I take a breath and raise the spear higher, tightening my grip.

‘1,’ I count in my head, taking a deep breath, ‘2,’ I square my feet, getting a firm stance, “3!” I lunge forward impaling the monster in the back, right between the spines.

“ROAR!” it yells trashing and twisting, trying to reach back and snap at me. I’m starting to lose a grip on the beast as it forces my spear out of it during its thrashing.

“Stay down!” I yell, pushing forward again, shoving the monster into the wall where it knocks over a vase with a loud crash, sending glass shards scattering. One knicks my leg, cutting through the fabric of my pants. It stings but I hold my ground.

The creature must smell my blood because its eyes go a vibrant green and it thrashes with renewed vigor. I can barely hold on as it keeps wiggling, screeching, and yelling as it flails, uncaring of its own mounting injuries from the glass. Its teeth come dangerously close to my ankle and before I’m truly aware of what I’m doing, my foot is coming down hard on the lizard’s head.

It snarls and, in a panic, I shift my weight, keeping it pinned beneath me as the spear slides in an extra inch. The monster howls.

“Just die already!” I yell, putting more pressure on my foot and the spear, sinking it deeper with a wet squish sound that I know will haunt me. “Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be!”

It growls back at me, and comes dangerously close to biting my boot, pointed teeth tearing a buckle clean off. I take that as a ‘no’. 

Seems I'm going to need to do this the hard way.

Sticky green blood oozes onto the floor, staining my combat boots a sick puke-ish color. It has a weird rotten seaweed smell that almost forces me to heave. But I push through the stench and twist my spear. There’s a wet tearing sound as it cries out in pain and another gush of green blood spills across the tiles.

It’s fully subdued now, both of us know who the victor is, now it’s just a matter of when I’ll get my victory. While a spear was useful to keep my distance it was far from the most merciful weapon, the wound point is small and jagged. If I lifted the spear to stab it again the beast would wiggle free and I would be back at square one. If I took a hand off my spear to reach for my mace or dagger it would overpower me and throw me off. Which left only one option, to sit and wait it out.

Even with a small wound, I was preventing it from scabbing, constantly pushing the spear point deeper, making sure to twist and rend the muscles. This is a far crueler death than I intended, forcing this creature to slowly bleed out helpless and pinned. It almost makes me feel sorry for it, but then I glance over at the fresh body torn apart on the tile and harden my resolve. If I didn’t kill it first, it was going to kill me.

It takes only another minute, a painfully long minute before it finally stops struggling. Another minute and its eyes blink closed, breaths slowing to a stop. I wait another few seconds just to be sure.

And finally… it's dead.

With a sharp tug, I pull the spear free of the monster’s hide. Joy tangles with disgust in my chest, but the sagging relief of still being alive helps drown out any conflicting feelings I have about the fight. I had really done it. I had just killed a monster. My breaths are still uneven, and my arms burn from the strain of keeping the creature pinned till it bleed out, but finally, the deed was done.

There’s a strange crunching sound over my shoulder. I quickly leap off the monster and spin behind me, spear outstretched and ready, still dripping green blood.

Prowling around the corner is another lizard monster, glass shattering under its feet as it approaches. The quills along its back are raised and it’s making a low guttural snarl, eyes fixed solely on me. There’s an answering snarl from somewhere behind it.

I had forgotten the one rule about this maze, stay quiet.

“Damn it!” I curse, breaking into a run, skidding down the hallway, and quickly making a left turn. I had no time to carefully mark my path anymore, the snarls and crashes are getting louder. There is far more than just one lizard-porcupine chasing me.

I had just fought tooth and nail with one monster, and had been wandering this maze for hours, never taking a rest, fueled by the silly idea of finding Zeke early. Now it was coming back to bite, nearly literally as the monsters continue to chase me. I don’t want to admit it but I’m exhausted. I can’t keep running and there is no way I would be able to kill another one, much less the five or six that were chasing me. I need somewhere safe, and I need it quickly.

Scanning the hallway, frantically looking for anything that might be of help, I reach out along the wall and knock a vase off its cabinet. The beautiful artwork shatters across the ground, and while normally I might feel slightly bad, I don’t waste any time grieving over the vase. Better a pot than me. It wouldn’t do much, but maybe the jagged broken glass would deter my pursuers at least a little bit.

I keep knocking over vases and armor, aware that I’m making far too much noise, but I can worry about whatever else I might summon with the racket later. Survive now worry later. A good life motto that has helped me stay alive more than once.

Skidding around another turn in the hallway I nearly shout in relief at what I see.

A door!

It’s not the exit door, I had wandered too far for it to be so close. This door is small, nearly impossible to see against the wall, but the stupid misty sight is actually helpful for once and points it out like a lighthouse, the aura around it nearly glittering.

It’s most likely a trap or something even worse than lizard-porcine monsters, but I’m willing to gamble with maybe death over certain death. And if it is just a room, then that works fine, last I checked lizard monsters don’t have thumbs.

Taking the risk I lunge for it, scrambling at the handle, hoping and praying to whatever gods exist in this accursed game that it's not locked.

I twist the handle as far as it goes and push.

And push again.

And again.

The door doesn’t open.