I’m done for! What is this!? Where did these monsters come from!?

  Hundreds of insanely powerful auras surrounded me, crushing me with unbelievable pressure and nearly tearing me apart. Seriously, I hate my luck! Barking, roars, the crack of hooves, and sounds like an entire zoo rushing straight at me.

  Hordes of terrifying hellhounds emerged from the tunnels. Dogs at levels 20 to 30 and some weird two- and three-headed mutations, with blood-red eyes full of murderous intent, some of them surpassing the level of Borg's bear! Pure Madness!

  I thought to myself, I’m finished, I stumbled into this cursed pack, or something sent this doom upon me. Some strange bird-monster hybrids screeched above the horde — all with curved claws and levels no lower than elite warriors of the green nation. If they charged me, truly nothing could save me.

  I felt crushed, as if a hundreds stones were pressing me into the ground. Life flashed before my eyes. Past life and present — which so far was definitely no better. There were moments when I felt like I was somebody, that I would amount to something, that maybe I wouldn’t waste my second chance. Now none of that mattered.

  I accepted that this was the end of my adventure.

  All I could do was growl and bare my fangs. It was more a desperate instinct than anything that could actually help, but it was still better than pissing myself in fear…

  My heart wanted to leap out of my chest, my paws felt like cotton, and a shiver ran down my spine. Still, for now they didn’t attack.

  Several dozen ogres and orcs — a gang next to which Hakku and his crew looked like a village mutt next to a wolf — came running out from behind them. Among them were minotaurs, one of which was massive — level 99! A huge beast with red eyes — furious and radiating an aura of fiery rage. An absolute monster.

  There was no time to think; everything happened so fast. Right behind them, some huge tiger-human wielding four sabers ran in, his over two-and-a-half-meter frame almost killing me just by looking at him. Level 118!!! INSANE!

  And a thousand, no, even 10,000 goblins wouldn’t stand a chance against this band! Where did they come from!? Why did I have to run into them!? All thoughts and hopes of becoming someone powerful in this world vanished. Winning a school math contest doesn’t make me a brilliant mathematician. Fooling some goblins and achieving something with them doesn’t mean I’ll conquer the continent!

  Apparently, this world, though so wildly different, still wasn’t much different from Earth at its core. It teemed with geniuses, monsters, and powers beyond my comprehension. Just like I couldn’t imagine building rockets from scratch back then, I can’t imagine defeating this crew here. Well, at least I saw that my daydreams of having my own kingdom have been brutally reality-checked.

  Among the torches and hostile stares, I noticed something else. Or rather someone. Someone before whom monsters parted. An ogre in black robes leaning on a staff walked calmly with his eyes closed. His aura was overwhelming, muddy-brown, dense and vast, engulfing the entire cave, reaching into every corner. Level 123…

  I’m losing it… Bigger beast, more dangerous opponent with every second.

  He slammed his staff, and the horde fell silent. Incredible. The aura exploded, crushing not only me. Even the minotaurs bowed their heads. Some mentally unstable woman climbed down from a freakish creature — which, as I got a closer look, turned out to be human! I stopped being afraid, I knew I was going to die, and I took a step forward. I looked closer.

  A young woman with black hair and a stunning face, and an INSANELY high level! 139!!! Next to her, a chubby freak at level 132 and another tall, slim woman with horns at level 127… HOLY SHIT!!!!

  I froze… I went dumb… All I could do was stand there and hope they’d see me as worthless, just food for the horde. Maybe then it wouldn’t end in torment and disdain. I had seen how Hakku treated weaker ones in his fortress — no better than a German treating a Jew during the war…

  I couldn’t hear voices; growls and fear overwhelmed my senses. It stole my rational mind and any control. Instinct took over my body; the second head hissed — trying to hide its fear behind a false look of rage. Then the black-clothed figure, Valeria’s height, approached and, ignoring everything, condensed her dark-blue aura, which turned into chains at her fingertips, quickly binding my body. They burned my aura, cutting my scales. I lost consciousness; soon great flames consumed my body.

  Then I felt strange, as if I was rushing but standing still, flames all around me that didn’t burn me to death. Walls seemed to fly by, the aura spinning like it was in a blender, and all physical sensations vanished!

  I don’t know how long it lasted, maybe a minute, maybe two? Soon I shot out like from some portal. My insides felt like they wanted to explode, as if someone hit me with a hammer in the head and poured boiling water down my throat… I writhed like a snake, and above me stood a bunch of ogres and orcs, some of whom — especially the orcs and hybrids — showed signs similar to mine. One vomited, another landed on his knees and let out a furious roar:

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Cursed she-dragon! The fucking walks of hers!”

  Another nodded, and another cursed under his breath in words I recognized from Earth.

  “For fuck sake! We run like slaves for hours just to not even fight!? One shitty hydra, and she already drags us back with her cursed flames. My damn ears will ring until tomorrow!”

  I didn’t know where I was; my throat still felt the heat, nostrils hurt from every breath like each inhale was burning my lungs. I barely managed to open my eyes, then got kicked and hit with a whip. Three ogres grabbed the chains and dragged me across the stone floor like a plush toy

  Two of them were level 53, and one slightly bigger — 55. They looked like leaders of the gang gathered here, as orcs wouldn’t dare disrespect them.

  Something strange happened, though; I felt their aura wasn’t much stronger than Gege’s! My own had dropped drastically, probably from the travel or the chains digging into me. Poor Zod. I can’t imagine what he must endure, carrying hundreds of chains — heavier, bigger, and stronger than these!

  I slowly regained control of myself; the second head lost some of its energy as I focused my will to calm it. Its hissing ended, only to be met with a punch from the strongest ogre-guard. Around me, I heard thuds and terrible screams. It smelled bad and was stifling. Everywhere I looked, stone walls and torches. They led me through some passage toward massive doors. When I got close enough, they released me from the chains, which vanished immediately, then pulled me inside.

  I found rows of huge holes in the floor — each stretching hundreds of meters to the far wall. Above everything loomed a giant hornless dragon sculpture spanning hundreds of meters across the ceiling. They carried me maybe a minute before throwing me into one — three meters in diameter.

  “Have fun,” one said as they left.

  I slid down some tunnel like a steep slide for several seconds, then fell maybe ten meters straight down onto a bed of grass and weeds. Darkness surrounded me, lit strangely by glowing crystals in the walls. I sensed dozens of auras around — very weak, like a bison — only basic strength. No magic or powerful force, not even reality-warping will, could awaken without a strong aura.

  At least this calmed me somewhat. Nothing here seemed to threaten me.

  Imagine my surprise when I saw above me a huge lizardman, level 73! Soon a dozen more, weaker but still strong, levels 40–60, surrounded me. They watched me suspiciously, each walking on two legs, marked with tattoos. Though they looked like mangy dogs and hungry, I could feel tremendous power from them…

  “Look, Jo’Xa’Jaru! Did they give us a snack or someone new? A two-headed lizard,” one smaller red-scaled lizard asked the 3-meter tall blue-scaled giant leader. “What do we do with him?”

  I wasn’t going to let them eat me. I survived the previous monsters; I wanted to survive those ones too.

  “I’m a hydra!” I said, and they stopped talking and looked at me. “I don’t know where I am or why I’m here, but most likely, like you, I ended up here against my will. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “A real hydra? Impossible. And talking? You won’t find many hydras on Montara anymore. A few might still skulk in the depths, but surely you weren't fool enough to enter the Black Dragon Kingdom of your own free will?” asked the highest-level one.

  I stayed silent for a moment, collecting my thoughts.

  “San’Xa’Hu thinks he came in. He’s an idiot…” blurted some emaciated creature, and the rest laughed. He spoke strangely, like talking to some San’Xa’Hu, though he was probably the one…

  I really was an idiot. I should never have visited Vort’Ayem on my own. I should have run as soon as I sensed that insane aura. What the hell was I expecting?

  “May the swamp gods have mercy on him. With that intellect, you won’t survive long, brother. And the games will start soon.”

  Hungry, scared, and crushed, I barely understood his words. For now, I got up and took a few bites from the huge pile of weeds I had fallen on. The largest lizardman didn’t even look at me, and instead kicked me in the ass.

  “Don’t take! Many who fell broke their necks or limbs before we set this up. Eat what you want, but leave that alone. We get fed twice a day, and there are edible mushrooms all over the walls. You’ll survive without that green stuff.”

  I composed myself and didn’t provoke them further. Maybe their aura was weak, but in my current state, I couldn’t handle even one of 53 of them. I later learned more than 20 had fallen in the arena or had been taken away. We were above the arena — at least that’s what Jo’Xa’Jaru said, and I saw no lie in his words. Since my rebirth, he seemed like the most responsible and mature one.

  Well, except for Isma…

  How I missed those green idiots. Their everyday kindness and gifts of grass and weeds, which were abundant in the Great Southern Forest.

  Here, I licked some wall mushrooms of different colors and tastes, listening to the stories of how my fellow captives ended up here.

  “We were unlucky. The neighboring tribe escaped in time; we had to fight until the young and females got away…”

  I learned that his tribe had fallen victim to a raid by dark elves, who came down from the Great Mountains of the Black Forest west of the Endless Swamp, the western border of the Great Southern Forest.

  Great. First ape-people, then goblins, then orcs, underground monsters, lizardmen, and now dark elves!? Angels are missing! What is this, some Warhammer or Heroes 3? How could Valeria survive long-term with goblins around, with such races nearby?

  I got lost in thought, but that didn’t matter for now. I heard the massive doors open, and several orcs entered carrying corpses of vermin and troglodytes, along with steaming cauldrons of something that was probably supposed to be soup, but looked more like a witch’s poisoned brew… I wouldn’t be surprised if it contained dead rats or excrement.

  I vomited. The orcs laughed, cursed, and gave a few kicks to the lizardmen and me as they left, closing the gate behind them.

  We were alone in this vast place, something like a cell, more like a huge cave that could fit a thousand people with houses… Emptiness, darkness, cold, and stench. Hell with a touch of extreme boredom.

  The lizardmen kept a stiff upper lip and said little. They were too tired to speak more than necessary — especially with some random stranger they had no attachment to. Luckily, they weren’t savages and didn’t eat me. When I learned that of 15 swamp gods, they worshipped a timid skink, I felt relieved. Don’t start trouble, and you won’t find it. That was their motto. Apparently stupid since they ended up here…

  About five hours passed since I ate half a troglodyte and hundreds of wall mushrooms, which caused vomiting and sickness in the lizardmen. Resistance to poisons had grown; I became completely unaffected by the harmful effects of some of them. Lucky in misfortune…

  While I lamented ending up here, something suddenly broke the endless silence with the lizardmen. I heard a bull-like roar and several cracks in a row, then something fell from above and hit the bed of weeds.

  Someone joined our cell. Dangerous? Harmless? I didn’t know yet.