At the same time Naruto put the item in the Statue eye, a small passage staircase appeared beside the entrance to the safe zone.
It was small, but it had a small chest at the bottom.
It appeared for a moment before it got hiding once again.
The Dwarf was paying attention to that, it took longer than he thought at first, but it was fine.
"Finally, I can leave this awful place." As he let out a sigh of relief, he covered himself with his blanket again and went back to sleep.
The room was silent for a while, this place has no sounds other than monsters walking in the corridors.
The air currents brought a cool breeze that dissipated in the cold environment.
Even in this hostile place, grass can grow, even though in small cracks.
It continued like that until footsteps could be heard near it.
It was Naruto.
He was running throughout the whole dungeon looking for the secret room and without finding anything he could only return to the safe zone making a last attempt to find it.
"Where is this damn room?" Complaining about it, he started to go around the zone.
Using his senses at his max, he started to touch around the walls trying to activate a mechanism but nothing happened.
Naruto's starting to feel mad, but continue looking for it. Without finding anything in the walls, he changed his focus to the floor.
"Ugh... is it fun to watch a kid crawling?..." Naruto's face wrinkled with frustration, but his body was honest as he started to use his chakra to feel any abnormality in the floor.
The first day in the entry surroundings ended and he went back to sleep, he will continue tomorrow.
Next day.
Feeling better, Naruto continues searching in the other segment, this time, lady luck smiles at him.
He found it.
Containing his ecstasy, Naruto takes a step back and looks at his inventory.
Taking out the stick of one of the broken weapons he has used, he uses its tip to push down the small brick that he suspects.
Click!
A small sound like gears rubbing against each other was so loud in the silent place.
"Ehk!"
Getting scared of it, Naruto took several steps back as he covered his limbs with chakra, ready to fight.
The floor began to separate, and as the light filtered in the new place Naruto could see stairs on it.
"What's this? Another mushroom nest or something?" Naruto's little face was wrinkled. He didn't know how much frustration he was experiencing in this place, but he was concerned about his appearance.
He didn't want to become a relic like the old bastards in the village so quickly.
Taking a deep breath, he patiently waited until the mechanism stopped moving and the sounds were no more.
It didn't take long and now he's worried about going down or not...
"Huf... It can't be worse than that, right?" Trying to convince himself, Naruto saves everything in his inventory. Only his clothes and a Health Potion in his pocket were left.
Being cautious, he threw a few stones to try to activate the traps, but nothing happened. Although there were no signs of anything unusual, he did not feel safe.
He picked up a bigger stone and covered his arm with a thick layer of chakra.
"This will work." His eyes wavered, but he did not stop his actions.
"Please don't get angry."
Summoning his strength, Naruto threw the stone into the hole, but was met only by a cloud of dust...
Now he had no more excuses. While waiting to recover his chakra, Naruto looked at his inventory again. Seeing that everything was in order, he approached the stairs.
Covering his body with chakra, he started to go down. Putting his senses at high alert for any sudden event.
He was so cautious, but nothing happened this time.
Naruto continued down until he saw the chest. It was small and sat quietly at the bottom of the stairs, as if to say it was safe.
When he reached the bottom, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and Naruto began to look at the walls and floor. He was looking for a trap, but saw nothing.
Sighing with relief, he looked back at the center.
If this way wasn't the problem, the chest might be.
In the last section, he focused almost all his whole chakra in his legs so he could run at the slightest change.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto grabbed the chest and without any hesitation he started to run backwards.
He heard it, it was an unnoticeable sound, but he could hear it.
Oh shit.
The whole passage began to shake as it was collapsing itself. His legs hurt, but he didn't pay attention to it. The amount of chakra he was using was by far more than his body could resist at this point, but he didn't stop.
He couldn't do it.
The veins of his legs were pulsating at every step as if the small touch could break the thin layer that protected them.
Naruto's eyes were filled with horror, he could hear how the walls behind him began to come together, leaving no space.
But he was near the exit.
Taking a last sprint, he used the small amount of chakra he had and with it.
As he stepped out of the passage, he could feel freedom once again.
In less than 2 seconds he was out of the passage, and the walls started to crush the rocks that were in the passage.
If he was delayed, he would suffer the same fate.
His body couldn't resist more as he fell to the floor.
The pain on his body was horrible but he had a smile on his face.
He got the chest and most importantly, he survived. Now the only thing that separates him from the perfect clear is the floor boss.
His happiness didn't last long. His legs were almost mutilated by the brutal chakra.
"Ish... others can use it but when I use my chakra it hurts me." Naruto had a bitter smile, but he got used to it and took the Health potion he prepared before.
The pain got worse as the liquid went through his throat. His legs started to heal, but he had to feel how it repaired them. It was like having worms that twist inside them.
The veins popped out on his hands and face, but it didn't last long.
When he felt the effect disappear, Naruto began to pant.
"Hah...hah... Stupid place, can't give me something without trying to kill me." He complained, but when he looked at the chest, a tired smile appeared on his face.
Getting up, the awkwardness on his legs didn't disappear at all but he couldn't wait anymore. With the chest in hands, he walked back to the safe zone.
His mind was heavy, the physical exhaustion was a thing but the stress of the trap and maintaining the control of his chakra to not destroy his legs were another thing. Every time he uses it more than his limits, his chakra runs through his body like a beast.
He went straight to his bed and put the chest in it. Naruto's body surrendered to the bed.
"Hey, kid. Did you get it?" The Dwarf awoke and looked at Naruto on his bed.
"Kiddo?"
Naruto tried to answer him, but he felt so tired and weak that he fainted.
The Dwarf wanted to call him once more, but the only reply he got was the stable breath of the kid.
"Hah, what will happen with this kid?" The Dwarf was worried, but no one responded to his questions. Looking at the kid, the Dwarf was thinking about something but he couldn't decide it, at least for now.
7 hours later
Naruto awoke startled but feeling the bed beneath him, he relaxed his nerves and let out a sigh.
"This damn place... but I heard something before I fainted."
As he was thinking about it, the Dwarf approached him with a bowl of food.
"Take this, next time eat before you do something like that. It will not be fun if you died as a hungry ghost." His words were rude, but Naruto couldn't get angry with the only person who helped him in this place.
"Thank you, sir. I will follow your advice!" Naruto declared confidently.
"Haha, that's better. But you want to save the chest to the end or you will open it before the last dog?" The Dwarf seemed pleased hearing that and he asked with curiosity.
"Ah! The chest! Of course I will open it right now, I almost died to get this scrap." Naruto said resentfully.
"Then what are you waiting for? Do it."
"All right!"
Naruto rubbed his hands like a fly.
He didn't expect a reward like the last time but at least something useful would make it.
[Open the chest?]
Yes
As he acceded to it, a small item appeared in the couch and the chest disappeared in particles.
"What's this?" Grabbing the item, Naruto focused on it and a system window appeared.
[Thick leather gloves] [ Defense +6][ Shield 30/30 Protect the hands of the wielder .It can be charged by itself or any form of energy][Created by an average craftsman, it can block most of the teeth of small animals.]
"Eh? Gloves? But this doesn't look like that."
"Put them on your inventory or equip it, some items only show their forms when you use them."
Hearing that, Naruto equipped it and he felt a thin layer covering his hands and his forearm.
It had a different sensation from the chakra, it felt heavier but at the same time he couldn't control it. He doesn't know the difference, but it's ok as long as it works.
But one thing is clear. Now he can use his hands more often without getting injured at the first blow.
"It's a good piece, I have some of these but I couldn't sell it to you for now. Don't be disappointing, normally it rewards you depending on what you need. Last time was an exception." The Dwarf was satisfied, he felt happy for the kid. Every time Naruto returned to the safe zone, he could see how badly injured his hands were.
Naruto shakes his head "No, I'm not disappointed. Of course I was waiting to get something similar to the ring, but this can help me, hehe."
"That's good, now do you want to rest or continue cleaning the floor?"
"Neither of those, I have already killed the guardians and the other dogs don't have anything I need. I'm going to eat something, and then I'll start to look for him." Clenching his fists, Naruto replied. He needs to kill it before his birthday.
It's been more than 9 months in this place.
"Good, tell me when you want to go to the next floor." The Dwarf returned to his stall and covered himself with his blanket.
He fell asleep.
"Haha, it's my turn then."
He took a potion from his inventory and put it in his pocket. With everything ready, Naruto left the safe zone and began searching for the boss.
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The second floor is almost done, and the pace will be faster from now on, or it wouldn't be fair given the difficulties encountered on the first floor to continue like this on all the ones to follow.
I think the reward is fine. A energy shield is okay, it's not too OP, but is quite useful.
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Thanks for reading!
Have a nice day.