Earth: The Second

Giant of The Dungeon

Adma opened his eyes in a chamber at one of the rooms in the dungeon. His body is laid on one of the elevated floors that are shaped like a place for bedding. After he opened his eyes, Adma pulls his body and sitting at the side of the bed.

“Where… Is this…?” he asked to no one. Adma is feeling clueless, there is nothing he can think of, and nothing seems really important and urgent.

“I… Want to get back to sleep,” muttered Adma again, his eyes are heavy, and yawn coming out his mouth. As he slowly losing awareness, Adma feels that he would go any second now.

“A...d...Ma! Ad...ma! Adma!” out of nowhere, an echo penetrates into his brain, immediately returned him back up.

“What is that…?” muttered Adma. He noticed that waking up is taking much effort, and this is the first time he feels that tired. Usually, because his body is made out of a machine, sleeping is just a way to cool down his system and have no relation to tiredness, or his health in general.

This time, Adma got up for real. Besides the bed, this chamber also has a bed and chair. Its window showing straight to the blue sky outside.Until Adma noticed something. 

No matter how far the sky reaches. Adma can’t see the forest or the mountain on the horizon. Even though the dungeon is massive and high, at least he would be able to see other landmarks outside.

“It’s no use, no matter what I see, there is only sky outside,” said Adma, he sticks his head out of the window, checking outside of the dungeon. “The dungeon seems like flying… or floating somewhere else,” he mutters.

“Am I still in the same place?” thought Adma to himself, eventually, he remembered the previous voice inside his head.

“Rika? Gon? Hepaetus?” he shouted, but no one is answering. “Navigator?” 

“Ad...ma…?” again, a mysterious voice appeared and penetrate his head.

“Navigator!? Navigator is that you!?” shouted Adma again. this time his worries are tripled.

“Ad...ma! Wa...ke … U...p!” the voices are keep being disrupted because of the noises.

“I have to get out of here quickly!” he shouted. Then, Adma ran past the corridor that connects the rooms with the central lobby of the structure. 

Adma just noticed that he probably is not in the real world right now, judging from what the outside looks like, and he is instantly transported to another place from where he once before.

“I remember now, I was once inside the central command room… I was supposed to download the data from the computer, but…” mutter Adma, “Don’t tell me… that this is a virtual space!?” he shouted, but of course no one is answering.

Soon after that, Adma gets out of the corridor into the spiral road that he sees in the center of the dungeon.

“Where should I go…” not knowing his way, Adma’s only objective that he knows is to backtrack his way toward the central command center that is located at the top of this building.

But right when he is going to take the first step, a figure appeared at the center of the lobby.

Wearing a black coat that suspended by belts are over his body, his face is covered with a white mask decorated with snake imprints. Adma is literary get caught by surprise, from the floor, some kind of black ghostly hand suddenly grabbed his body, not letting Adma escape.

“Magnificent! You are able to see through my facade so quickly! I’m impressed!” said that person. From the voice tone, Adma determines that the figure is probably a male.

“I see, apparently I got caught into your trap,” said Adma, tried to keep a calm tone in his voice.

“Instead of trap, please call it a playful surprise,” said that man. He makes no sense, but Adma decides to hear him out. “I guess you have noticed it, but right now, we are at the dungeon’s Virtual Space. Your body is outside, but please don’t worry, since it will be protected,” added him.

“Protected? What are you talking about?” asked Adma.

“Project Adam… I have heard about you before. The living Artifact, the remnant of the magnificent past that is hidden. You are the proof of the existence of an ancient civilization that used to thrive on this planet, before the occurrence of a catastrophe.”

Adma is still can’t shake the giant hand that is holding him off, apparently, he has no choice but to comply with that mysterious man.

“I see that you know a lot about me,” he said. “Care to explain what is your actual plan after catching me?” asked Adma.

“Oh, where is my manner? I’m too impressed by you, it makes me forget to introduce myself!”

With those belts that holding him off, it’s difficult for him to do any movement that would show his emotion. But at least, his voice tone is enough for Adma to determine how dangerous is he.

“My name is Serpentia, a hidden fact about me is that I’m the owner of this dungeon,” said him.

“Owner? So you’re like the boss of this place or something?” asked Adma, which then responded to Serpentia’s laughter.

“There you go! The terms that only be used among people from that era! You don’t know how unique that was!” shout Serpentia.

Adma is just spouting things from various entertainment media of the past, he does not know what makes this person is very excited.

“Enough about that. Just tell me already what do you want from me!” he replied.

Serpentia ended his laugh. “Project Adam… No, Adma… You have caught my interest ever since I heard about your rumor. Moreover, when you infiltrate one of the computers in this area, you proved that that ancient knowledge still remains inside yourself,” said him. “I wonder how far that knowledge will take you to?”

Adma’s eyes are glaring. Again, he attracted some kind of weird person, but not an ordinary weirdo.

“I can confirm that you’re the ‘new master’ of this facility then?” he asked,

Serpentia is not answering. Instead, he waves his hand, and a pool of black shadow appeared beside him. From there, emerge a figure that wearing a black hoodie, and bright red eyes that are hidden beneath.

Adma quickly notices that is the AI that terminates Clara.

“I see, so you are the one after all,” said Adma.

“I don’t understand, why are you putting that much compassion into tools. Aren’t they created with a purpose to serve their master?” asked Serpentia.

“A slave and master relationship… are never ideals in the first place,” said Adma. “Human once make another human slave. Stripping away their identity and worth to serving their owner. Generations after that, they create another slave, this time from the machine. But where does lead to? Does humanity end with glory?” Adma ends his words with a question.

Serpentia going quiet for a while before continue. “...Then? What would you do knowing I’m the one who pulls the string?”

“I don’t know, probably I would punch you once and twice, and then force you to re-operate Clara again,” said Adma, a cunning smile appeared on his face.

Second, later, Serpentia burst into a laugh. “People from the old world are so interesting!” he shouted, after a while his laugh finally died down.

“Alright then, Adma. How about this? If you manage to escape this place, you will get the honor to meet me face to face. Over there, you will understand the secret that is hidden from this world, and i don’t know? Maybe you’re interested to bring back the civilization you once were, and shape this world into a place that you wanted to be?” shouted Serpentia. 

“Bring it on!” replied Adma.

“Very well! Thereby, I declare, that the battle is commenced now.”

After saying that, both Serpentia and the AI disappeared into clouds of 0 and 1. Meanwhile, Adma is still grabbed by the giant hand, which refuses to let him go. His grasp on Adma’s body goes even tighter until that creature showed its true form.

emerge from the floor, like a ghost who can pass a solid object. That creature is half the height of the dungeon, with a humanoid body, and dozens of hands that facing toward or backward of its body. Two of its eyes are glowing yellow, and even though without a mouth, it can let out a shriek that hurting ears.

At a first sight, that creature resembling the Dark Monster that he once fought at the ruin where he was awakened.

“Damn it, you’re pretty big after all,” commented Adma, sweat coming from his forehead.

The creature screamed, then, he swings the hand that grasped Adma toward one of the walls.

Like a bug that squashed into the wall, Adma can see and hear the wall around him destroyed because of the giant’s hand.

When that creature lifts his hand up, Adma is already being pressed into the crater made by that attack.

If we are talking about the real world, maybe Adma’s body has already been crushed or destroyed. But because this is his virtual body, there is no physical reaction that really happened to his outside body.

Except, in this place, Adma’s data is at stake. He remembered what Navigators once said.

Operating systems are just souls for the hardware, without them, Adma’s bodies are the same as empty shells.

When Adma lost all of his data, it’s the same as game over for him.

Getting up from the damage caused by his enemy, Adma looking at the threat that looming above his head.

“Now… What should I do to beat this guy?” mutter Adma. 

Followed by that, a shriek comes out from that creature, and a fist flies towards Adma. Fortunately, because of the size of its body, the creature moves slowly. 

Although it did cause big damage, as long as Adma can predict its movement, they all are piece of cake for him.

“Adma! Can you hear me!?” suddenly Adma can hear another voice inside his head. 

“What… that voice...Rika?” asked Adma. Although confused, he still has to focused on dodging the attack from the giant.