SSS Unknown: Dark Knight's Legacy

The fire was little more than glowing embers, casting faint shadows against the cold stone walls of the cave.

The air was still, thick with silence. 'Unknown' felt a shiver crawl down his spine, not from the chill of the cave, but from the unsettling stillness that clung to the space.

Can't sleep…

His hands moved instinctively, grabbing stones and chipping away at fragments of crystal, his fingers working in the dim light.

He shaped the shards into sharp spearheads, each one taking on a jagged, dangerous edge. Only one was finished, the others were left in his bag for later.

With the glowing spear in his hand, exploring the dungeon became easier—less treacherous.

The cave's winding corridors and dark chambers were no longer quite as mysterious, but the eerie quiet remained.

Days, or maybe weeks, had blurred together. The cycle of eating, sleeping, and resting stretched out endlessly.

Time didn't matter much anymore. At first, the fear had gnawed at him, but now, it was simply a part of the routine.

But the unease never quite left. He stayed vigilant, always alert.

And the system didn't pop back ever again. And it makes him cautious.

'This dungeon is safer than I thought...'

'maybe it's just because I haven't strayed far from the center.'

He squinted into the darkness. But that's the problem. 'Why is everything so empty? Why are there so few creatures around?'

A soft scuff of movement broke his thoughts. His gaze snapped toward the source. Something was approaching, slowly, cautiously.

'Does it not see me?'

His mind raced. Creatures that evolved in the dark often lost their sight, but they should still be able to sense the faint glow of his spear.

The creature came into sharper view. It was larger than a human, its skin pale and patchy with warts.

Its body was odd, proportions skewed, a bulbous head and nose, and eyes—empty sockets where eyes should have been.

'It looks... exhausted?'

The creature clutched a stone spear, its movements jerky and uncoordinated. The air seemed to thicken with tension as it drew closer.

'Should I kill it?'

He paused, weighing the options. The creature was armed, which suggested some level of intelligence.

It might even be a part of a larger, hidden civilization. But that thought lingered uneasily in his mind.

'It could understand me. Or it could be a threat.'

'To it, I'm the monster.'

The decision came quickly, driven by instinct rather than logic. He raised his spear, his breath steady. The weight of the choice didn't faze him. With a sharp exhale, he threw it.

The creature didn't have time to react. The spear found its mark with a sickening thud. It crumpled, its blood splattering across the ground, as it tried to claw at the weapon embedded in its flesh.

Before it could recover, a stone—sharp and quick—sliced through the air, striking it in the head. The creature stumbled, its legs giving out beneath it. It tried to run, but its body betrayed it, collapsing under the weight of its wounds.

A shadow moved swiftly from the dark. A blade, swift as death itself, pierced its neck.

"Done."

The words felt hollow, as if they were whispered into the abyss. It was strange. Killing something that resembled a human should have stirred something inside him—guilt, maybe, or revulsion.

But there was nothing. Just emptiness.

"The system didn't pop up…" 'Unknown' muttered.

'Unknown' pressed his hand against his chin, eyes narrowing as he examined the creature with a mix of curiosity and wariness.

Every detail—the pale, warty skin, the awkward proportions—seemed to hold some silent answer he couldn't quite grasp.

'Should I eat it?'

The thought snaked into his mind. The system had only activated the last time when he ate the rat.

'Maybe eating is the key to getting stronger.'

He considered the idea seriously, the weight of the decision settling heavily on him. There was something primal about the urge, something that felt both logical and dangerous.

But then, a new thought made him recoil.

'But eating something that looks like a human... '

His stomach turned at the idea, and he instinctively pushed it aside.

He took a deep breath, shaking his head. No, he couldn't do it.

"I'm not a monster." The words came out firmly, almost like a vow. He couldn't bring himself to cross that line, not even for strength.

Looking down at the [cave goblin] corpse, 'Unknown's gaze shifted to a large mound of dirt beside it, the ground disturbed as though something had been digging relentlessly.

His eyes traced the marks in the earth, noticing the faint glow of his spear reflecting off something buried beneath.

'What is it...?'

He crouched closer, his fingers brushing aside the dirt, revealing the outline of an object. His pulse quickened.

'A key?' It looked incomplete, as if it had been half-formed and abandoned. But why was it here?

'Is there somewhere in this place where a key is needed?'

'Unknown' hesitated, but then something gnawed at the back of his mind. 'No, I need to figure out why there's a key here. What does it unlock?'

Determined, he dug deeper. The air in the cave felt colder, the stillness pressing down on him like a weight.

After a few more moments, his fingers brushed something that made his blood run cold.

'Human bones.'

He recoiled slightly, staring down at the small, decomposed remains scattered in the dirt.

The skull, though weathered, was intact enough to confirm the tragic truth. The bones were from something humanoid, once alive—just like him.

 face remained expressionless as he sifted through the bones, methodical in his search. He found nothing useful, save for the key, a few tattered scraps of cloth, and a curious object that looked like a map.

The map had three distinct areas marked on it.

A clue to this place.

But without any understanding of the terrain or his current position in the dungeon, he had to tuck it away.

It was another puzzle piece in a maze of unknowns, and right now, he didn't know where it fits.

"just wait, I will find it."

***

The further he moved away from the dungeon's center, the clearer the "flow" of the place became, and with it came an increasing number of dangerous creatures. Most notably, the spiders.

Unknown felt a constant ache in his head whenever he faced them.

The need to stay vigilant—aware not only of the ground beneath him but also the ceiling above—was exhausting.

Each step seemed to bring new dangers, and as he ventured deeper into the cave, he finally entered a new area.

The walls were cloaked in thick, damp moss, and the glowing crystals had grown large, their greenish light casting an eerie glow on the surroundings.

"Damn it, more spiders!"

Before he could react, a massive spider dropped from the ceiling, its eight legs skittering noisily as it immediately attacked.

It extended its sharp claws and leapt toward him, fangs bared, hungry for blood.

Unknown's calm exterior betrayed none of the panic building inside him.

The thought of those venomous fangs sinking into his flesh sent a wave of unease through him. The very idea of being pierced by them made his skin crawl.

He'd learned quickly that avoiding direct combat was the best strategy.

He dodged whenever possible, relying on speed and wit more than brute strength.

The spider screeched and hissed, its patience wearing thin after several failed strikes.

Its eyes glowed a blood-red, and its hairy legs twitched menacingly as it prepared for another assault.

It backed up, gathering momentum, the muscles in its rear legs coiling like a spring.

Unknown held his breath, tightening his grip on the stone spear. He had to time it perfectly.

Hissss!!! With a shriek, the spider lunged. Its fangs were poised like daggers, aiming straight for his throat.

Unknown had predicted the attack. He thrust his spear forward, but the spider's fangs still grazed his cheek, tearing a chunk of flesh in a searing line.

Blood dripped down his face, but he pushed through the pain. With all his strength, he drove the spear deep into the creature's abdomen.

The spider let out a high-pitched, agonizing scream, but it didn't die.

Even as it writhed with the spear lodged inside it, it continued to fight. Its body convulsed as it fired a sticky web from its rear, entangling Unknown's limbs and momentarily slowing him down.

Before he could regain control, the spider lunged again, this time sinking its fangs into his hand.

The pain was sharp and instant, but Unknown barely flinched. He gritted his teeth, determined not to let the creature take control.

His free hand shot to his side, drawing the knife from his belt. Without hesitation, he drove the blade into the spider's head, stabbing again and again, each blow faster, more frenzied.

The spider's body jerked and spasmed, but Unknown didn't stop until its central nervous system was reduced to a pulpy mess of flesh and sinew.

Only then did the creature go still, its legs twitching one last time before falling limp. Unknown exhaled slowly, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his sleeve, his heart still pounding in his chest.

The fight had been brutal, but he'd survived. And in this dungeon, survival was everything.

"Huff… huff… this is such a hassle."

Unknown gritted his teeth as he carefully bandaged the wound on his hand, the pain from the spider bite still fresh.

He then turned his attention to the dead creature, methodically beginning to dissect it. His goal was simple—retrieve its silk pouch.

The material was strong, durable, and sticky, perfect for whatever purpose he might need it.

'It's not as easy as I thought... ' He couldn't shake the thought that two more spiders like this one could be the end of him. The thought lingered, a quiet nagging in the back of his mind.

'I should make a shield.'

His eyes drifted over the thick carapace of the spider, considering the idea. But he quickly discarded it.

'That type of fighting doesn't suit me.' The weight of a shield would slow him down, and that wasn't the way he fought.

He was quick, unpredictable—moving fast and hitting hard.

'Besides,' he thought, glancing down at the now-closing wound on his hand,' I'm getting stronger. Carrying a heavy shield isn't necessary.'

But as the thought settled, he realized something that unsettled him. His body was changing.

The wound, which should have taken hours to heal, was already closing up.

It still hurt, a dull ache, but the bleeding had stopped.

He looked at his hand, then at his chest where old scars from previous battles had almost completely vanished.

His healing was faster than it should be, especially in places where the "flows" of the dungeon seemed the strongest.

It was a small but undeniable sign that something inside him was different—something off.

"Unknown Mutation." He muttered the name of the ability, his voice low, as though testing the words on his tongue.

It had to be the system. There was no other explanation. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the system had altered him in ways he couldn't fully understand.

This was no ordinary change—this was something deeper, something fundamental.

'Maybe it's giving me the ability to adapt, he thought,' the realization striking him with a mix of awe and unease.

His accelerated healing, his increasing strength—it all pointed to something evolving inside him. Something not quite human.

He ran his fingers over the newly healed wound on his hand, still tender to the touch. The pace of his body's changes had become undeniable.

The system was shaping him, like a sculptor working a piece of raw stone.

But for what purpose? What was it preparing him for?

'Survive? Maybe.'

But there may be a more sinister undertone to it.

'Whoever erased my memory must have been related to it.'

Shaking the thought from his mind, he retrieved the map from the fabric bag he'd taken from the cave goblins.

He'd marked his starting point and the route he'd traveled using pieces of charcoal he found along the way.

He had covered a long distance since entering the dungeon.

But still, nothing special.

He frowned as he scanned the map. There had been no sign of anything worth noting—no treasure, no unusual markings, no answers to the questions that gnawed at him.

His stomach growled faintly, but it didn't bother him. He hadn't brought food with him, but the abundance of monsters in this dungeon had made up for it.

'Kill and eat' he thought, 'kill and eat. That's been my life since I got here.'

"Life as a wanderer isn't so bad," he muttered to himself, the words sounding hollow even to his own ears. "You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, kill whatever you want."

Yet as he said it, an uncomfortable feeling twisted in his gut. There was a disconnect, a gap between what he told himself and how he felt.

'But why don't I feel free at all?' The question lingered in his mind, unanswered and heavy.

'Why don't I feel at ease when killing them?'