The pain came from three different spots on his body.
His arms hurt, they were badly bruised, but the worst pain came from his stomach.
It originated from the spot where the now-dead iron-clad giant had struck him so hard that he had puked blood. It was a wonder what lay beneath his clothes, but it sure as hell wasn't going to be a pretty sight.
Although overcome with pain, Kev's ability to think wasn't greatly affected. He understood everything clearly.
The adrenaline rush he'd experienced during the battle had faded away. It was the only thing masking the pain from the brutal blows the iron-clad giant had dealt him. With it gone from his system, the pain from his injuries was no longer suppressed by anything, and he was bearing the full brunt of it on his body.
His pain was interfering with his thinking and would no doubt become a hindrance in battle if left untreated.
But could he afford to treat it?
He took a quick look of his surroundings.
He was in a rectangular room that was about 100 feet long and 60 feet wide.
It was illuminated by a milky white light radiating from a stone embedded deep within the center of the ceiling.
Down below, the floor was made up of black and white tiles.
Oddly enough, each tile was marked with a symbol. His sharp gaze also picked up another detail, no two tiles had the same symbol.
The room didn't have a door. It seemed like it wasn't made for humans to enter. It was made by or for something that could phase through solid. The walls were gigantic, the ceiling was a considerable distance away from the floor.
There was a hole in the gigantic wall behind him; it seemed like the only way out of here.
As for how it came to be, if Kev had to guess, it had to be the iron-clad giant.
It must have drilled the hole in the wall to get into the room he was in.
But what was the reason behind it? What had made the giant go through the effort of drilling through a massive wall to enter this room? He decided to ponder over it later.
Anyways, there was no danger in sight. He could afford to tend to his injuries.
But he had to be quick on his feet and not waste time on excessive treatment.
After all, there was no telling when the next danger would approach. The death of the iron-clad giant could very well trigger a domino effect, attracting more danger his way.
"Let's just take two painkillers and get it over with."
His backpack contained a number of useful items, including water, a first aid kit, and medicine. He didn't want to waste time, so he didn't bother with bandaging his wounds, settling with swallowing a couple of painkillers to numb the pain for now.
Then, he began his investigation.
What made the iron-clad giant come all this way?
He wasn't in a hurry to explore where the hole led.
The reasons behind this were plenty.
Firstly, if the giant had companions, they would come looking for him sooner or later. Taking the hole meant crossing paths with them and having a deadly encounter.
Even if that wasn't the case, beyond the hole there could be other types of danger.
He preferred exploring his options first before heading blindly into danger.
He surveyed his surroundings, a thoughtful gleam flashing in his eyes.
Could it be a treasure?
It seemed likely.
A treasure that even it desired couldn't be ordinary. He had to get his hands on it. Perhaps it could resolve the most irksome issue he was facing. His limited ammunition.
His eyes stopped wandering as he set his sights on the iron-clad giant's corpse.
"Inspecting it might prove fruitful."
Its corpse carried a foul stench, as if it hadn't bathed in years. The odor was an overpowering mixture of rot and decay, mingled with a pungent metallic scent.
The closer he got, the more overpowering it became, clinging to the air like an oppressive cloud.
Was it even safe to breathe the air tainted by its stench?
Kev scratched the back of his head.
"I don't think I have the time to worry about such things."
Fearlessly, he suppressed his disgust and continued with what he was doing. He approached the corpse and began inspecting it, like a detective from an '80s movie.
"Hmm, interesting."
Kev discovered that the armor covering its entire body didn't have any gaps or joints. It was one solid piece, seamless from head to toe. There was no way to remove it—at least, Kev didn't find any. Perhaps the reason the corpse smelled so bad was because the giant had been trapped inside this armor for ages.
Further investigation revealed an even more disturbing detail.
The armor was fused with its skin and bones!
How the hell did that happen? How was its body fused with metal?
Just trying to imagine the dreadful method that could've made it possible made Kev's stomach churn.
Twisting flesh and metal into a killing machine was beyond the realm of science and sanity. Whoever was behind this was more monstrous and freakish than Frankenstein.
Kev was low key mind blown by the stuff he was discovering but he didn't let that stop him from going through the corpse thoroughly.
He couldn't remove its armor—he was too weak to separate it from its body.
On the armor, there were no pockets or places to store anything. Only a sheathed sword was strapped to its back by old leather strips.
"There might be a clue inside the sheath," Kev thought before he gripped the hilt sticking out of it.
It took both his hands to pull it free from its sheath.
The sword was massive. It was almost comparable to him in size, and he stood at 6 feet 2 inches. Its thickness was equally impressive. It was thicker than his waist. He found it quite hard to hold.
It would be inefficient for someone like him to use it in combat. Of course in certain scenarios it could be useful. He set it aside and focused on the things he should.
With the sheath now empty, he could look inside.
As he did, he spotted a folded-up piece of paper deep within.
"This might be it."
His eyes twinkled with delight as he pulled it out and quickly unfolded it.
It was almost blank, save for a series of symbols written in its center.
This wasn't the first time he was seeing such symbols. He had seen them on the floor before. Their resemblance was uncanny. They were a perfect match.
"This seems like a puzzle. What could it be pointing to?"