[One year ago]

'Is this a dream? No. This is a memory from a year ago. It's so vivid as if it's happening right at the moment.'

In front of me, a menacing dark apparition stands. "You have stolen a Pharaoh's ancient relic, and you will bear his curse."

The apparition's voice is deep and thunderous, and it echoes across the dungeon cave of Mount Blight.

"Cursed be thou, Jasper of Uruk, that which thou striketh shall perish."

'Uruk??? This guy should learn to move on. He definitely needs some therapy.'

I am dressed in a hat, khaki slacks, a light tan shirt with several pockets, leg boots, and a bag, and carrying a baseball bat.

The apparition steps forward, towering over me as he grimaces, stepping back into a defensive stance. My piercing brown gaze is fixated on the figure. I shake with dismay as I tremble and cower like a rabbit before the Lion.

Poof!

The figure is gone. The apparition has vanished.

I look around, the silence weighing heavily on me, confusion clouding my mind. As soon as the mysterious figure disappears, a skipping record explodes an unnerving sound that pervades the air, inflicting audible suffering on me.

My mind is seared, as if a thousand souls scream in my mind. I fall to my knees, my mind too distraught to do anything else.

Then, the muffled sounds of a roaring jet engine assault my senses.

I grip my bat, staring around.

The sound of the jet engine continues, getting louder.

I grab my earplugs from my pocket, close my eyes, and insert one into each ear, drowning out the sounds.

It is then that i finally speak. "Ugh...."

I shake my head, looking down at my body as I clench my stomach, turning away from the scene.

"It's a good thing I brought my items!"

I stand, feeling the need to move. The need to...

To...

To do something. Anything. Anything to stop the noise.

I reach over to my bag, lifting the flap and yanking it open. A brown leather bag with a drawstring, and two objects inside.

I pull out the objects, and see that one is a pickaxe, the other a spray bottle.

I turn, and stare at the strange dungeon. I feel a shiver crawl up my spine.

The noise has been coming from behind a large boulder, which I have been unable to see.

Now, I see it, and it is not what I expected.

The boulder is carved with an etching, depicting a rather odd, multi-legged creature. I hold my bat ready, staring at the carving.

The creature stares back at me, two bulbous eyes, one on either side of its head, poking out from the rock. It's becoming alive!

The beast stares back, as I take several steps back, shaking my head.

A growling, grating voice emanates from the creature, as it utters a long, low, menacing sounding sentence.

Stumbling back a step, I shake.

The beast's voice stops, as I clench my teeth and grip my bat tighter.

"I am the Nightmare Tyrant. A thousand nightmares haunt this land, and so I have punished them all." The beast speaks again, this time as if it's inside my head.

It appears to be some sort of large, spider-shaped creature. Bigger than a tiger, and as black as the darkest night. Its eyes burn with a red color, and it roars at me.

"A spider-monster," I say.

The spider-monster moves forward, walking on eight hairy legs. It looks about the size of a minivan.

The monster stops, staring with ferocious look, ready to lunge at me.

"Sting Ray! I need Sting-Stun-Gas! Must get it out!"

The spider lunges at me and smashes right at me, pushing me like a bulldozer, sending me flying back hammering to the wall and I drop to the floor. The drop sounds like a drum, and the vibrations are causing my eardrum to shake. A sharp pain shoots throughout my nerves.

The spider prepares to strike once more. The brute force of the attack misses, as I am able to duck and twist out of the way of the monster.

I swing my bat in a wild arc, smashing the creature's legs.

It yelps in a pitiful fashion, and slumps forward, as I stand ready to deliver a killing blow.

The beast is almost upon me, in a matter of seconds, and I swing my bat with a newfound fury, smashing another leg.

The creature howls in pain, and falls into a sprawl, rolling to a stop.

The beast lunges at me again, swiping a claw at my head.

I raise a hand, deflecting the strike, but the bat slips from my grip, and the creature is able to roll to a stop.

I try to back away, but the creature is faster. The spider charges for another attack, this time probably for a bite. It's large black body is moving forward quickly. It's coming down like a bull while I scream like a little girl.

"STING! STING!" I command as I spray the gas at the creature's feet.

The spider stops, and attempts to shake off the gas, but succeeds in only spreading it all over its body.

The gas causes it to writhe about, and it growls in pain. It begins to hop about, before finally losing control of its body. It starts screaming in pain, a sound that's half groan, half howl. It twists and turns, tearing its own arms off to flick itself, before finally ending up a heap on the ground, making a "thud".

"The gas brought him down."

I look around, seeing nothing. I step forward, staring around. The source of the noise is behind a large, boulder-like mass on the wall of the dungeon cave.

I step forward, moving through the darkness towards the source of the noise.

The source is revealed, as a large metal machine, resting on the ground. A thick, metal rod extends from the speaker, to a small lever on the side, to a large crank at the other end. It's a phonograph.

I grin with malicious delight, and smash the thick metal shaft of my bat into the metal base of the phonograph, breaking it down into a million pieces.

The racket has been stopped, the evil sound destroyed, and now nothing but the sound of the wind whistling through the cracks in the rocks, fills the air.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I stand. I turn, and begin walking towards the exit of the dungeon, thinking that the next portion of my journey will be a lot easier, now that the curse has been stopped. My goal was to obtain the item from this dungeon and I have already managed to do that.

The item is a small golden urn.

It is cool to the touch, and heavy in my hand. A small inscription is engraved on the side of the urn, and it reads:

'Urn of Sefita Rayne'

The urn is an ancient Egyptian artifact, and therefore priceless.

I smile, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Well, not really. Because now I have to lug this object with me wherever I go, and anyone who sees it, might just take it from me.

'I better keep it safe at my home, and if I don't, well, it's not like I can do much about it now, can I?' I think to himself.

I take the urn with me to the home, placing it in a secret compartment that no one sees.

I've finally opted to verify the collected artifact after a full night's sleep, a hot shower, and a cool drink.

A red light emitted from the urn no sooner than I had opened it. In front of me, a bright red light shines. The crimson light entices me in, tugging at my heartstrings and beckoning me in.

I feel a surge of energy pour through my body, as if my entire being is vibrating at the speed of light. My awareness slips in and out of the scene in front of me. The magic of the ancients is coursing through my body. I feel like a million bucks.

Then, within my thoughts, I hear a feminine voice I have never heard before.

[Completion requirements for the ‘Secret Quest: pass the divine test of Amun.']

Secret quest? Completion requirements were met? Amun? I don't understand any of that.

‘No, hang on a minute. Besides all that, where did that voice come from?’

Unfortunately for me, the voice dismisses my questions and proceeds on.

[You have acquired the rights to become the successor of Amun. Will you accept?]

I have acquired a right? Accept what, exactly?

‘Sounds like I’ll be given something….’

Never did I refuse a freebie because that I had at each moment been poor since that I was a child.

I am unsure whether or not I am hallucinating.

‘….If you’re giving it to me, then just give it to me already.’

There is no need to utter anything out at all. I simply thought about it in my head. Even then, the voice of the female replies to me immediately.

[Congratulations on becoming the ‘successor’.]

In front of me, a floating panel displays something called "stats."

It’s like this:

Strength : 10 Agility : 15 Health: 10 Mana: 0 Special Skills: None.

After some thought, I realized it's displaying my current strength, speed, and health status, which is most likely my life force. I'm not sure what Mana points are for, but I'm guessing they're related to magic. Aside from that, I'm not sure what "special skills" actually implies.