Eli froze, trying not to make any sudden movements as his heart dropped in his chest. He was able to get a better look at the creature that slowly inched closer. It was chest height while walking on all fours, resembling a horned chimp made of unpolished rock. The only other major differences being the four eyes that looked to be made of actual obsidian, and the fact its jaws looked like an assortment of jagged stone daggers.

The creature glanced at him one last time before it turned its interest towards the mushroom. It cocked its head to the side. Eli internally cursed as he immediately understood his mistake. The mushroom acts like a lantern to creatures with Dark Sight, and that meant that he was walking around with a torch. The creature must have come to investigate.

The creature didn’t look like it was very intelligent, little more than a beast. Perhaps this was an opportunity. Eli slowly crouched on the ground and placed the mushroom in front of him. He cautiously backed away. He thought back to the description of the mushroom and the system prompting him to eat the thing.

You better be poison!

The creature approached the mushroom, sniffing it briefly before it gobbled it up. The creature then just stared at him and he stared back.

*grumble*

Eli's instincts screamed at him to run. He started to shift to the side, ready to bolt, when he noticed the beast was not following him with its eyes. The creature just stared off into nothing as if it was frozen.

*grumble*

As he started to move backwards, Eli watched as small black veins started to slowly appear on the beast. They spread out like roots of a tree, slowly getting thicker and thicker. The Dark around them slowly being sucked towards the beast, until it turned into a whirlpool that was being devoured by the roots until they covered the creature like a cocoon. Eli wanted no part of whatever magical fuckery that was going to happen next. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he darted towards the other side of the room, ignoring stealth. The cocoon was quickly making more and more of the room visible.

*grumble* *grumble* *grumble*

There were six other creatures in the room that had now awoken and started moving towards the commotion. Eli tried to give them a large berth as he ran past them, but they seemed to have no interest in his presence. He wasn't even sure they were hostile at this point, but he wasn't going to test that theory. After they got within 10 meters of the cocoon, they simply stood on and watched whatever transformation was occurring. Eli was moving as fast as his legs would carry him at this point in a desperate search for an exit. but the Dark had once again started to blind him, forcing him to slow down. However, it was becoming noticeably easier and easier to see by the second. Soon he was able to make out a small and easily scalable cliff ledge. He was soon at the base and was about to climb on top of it when the rock started to shake.

*GRUMBLE*

Eli darted back as the cliff quickly rose and shifted into a giant horned gorilla. He had to crane his neck to look at the beast. The creature partly resembled a cyclops with its single obsidian eye in the middle of its skull, while a single large horn crowned its head directly above it. As the gorilla raised itself to its full height, it brought all four of its arms, that had to have the thickness of an Oak tree, above its head before it slammed them into the ground. The debris narrowly missing him as he tried to take cover.

*Ding*

Insignificant – Lv. ??

Eli watched in equal parts horror and awe as the giant ape glared across the room. He followed its gaze and looked back towards the cocoon, which had now transformed into a massive tower-like mushroom.

*ding*

Dark Deathshroom

An exceptionally rare type of mushroom. It tries to trick creatures of Dark to eat it, where it then absorbs their essence to grow. Once a Deathshroom reaches adulthood, it explodes into spores which can directly infect creatures of Dark.

The giant ape started to pound the ground again before it charged the Dark Deathshroom as it released a deafening roar.

*ding*

You have been frozen in Fear for 30 seconds!

Eli couldn’t believe how fast the creature was, having crossed the room in seconds. The other creatures started to scatter, apparently unaffected by the shout. Once the ape got close enough it leapt onto the Deathshroom, slamming into it with all four fists. The ground shook and the surrounding rock formations shattered, exploding outward from the force. As the dust started to settle, the Deathshroom looked completely unharmed.

The ape became further enraged and started to pound the mushroom as it roared in anger. The Deathshroom started to slowly vibrate, which encouraged the ape’s efforts. It started to speed up in its attacks, its roars of anger turning slightly more victorious. After another round of enduring the blows, the Deathshroom was almost about to rip itself from the ground with its vibrations.

Eli felt himself able to move again, the Fear finally ending. His heart sunk into his chest. He knew it was probably too late. He still couldn’t even see a possible exit from the cavern with all of the rock formations masking his surroundings. Unlike the ape, Eli was starting to realize why the System labeled them as “Insignificant”. Why name something that will soon cease to exist?

The Deathshroom started to collapse in on itself. The ape quickly stopped its attacks to give a roar of victory while pounding its chest. But suddenly the Deathshroom exploded into a massive cloud of Dark dust, instantly plunging the world into silence.

Eli didn’t even have time to scream before the spores hit him.

*ding*

You Have Been Infected by a Dark Deathshroom!

Having your Essence devoured is a bold choice of Death

-25% Essence Per Second

Eli’s world exploded into one of Pain. It completely devoured his senses, he couldn't even think as his mind and soul seemed to be getting ripped apart.