TravelingDreamer

  The day after we cleared the valley, the three of us needed a break. Even after casting Heal Muscle, I still felt sore, more from mental exhaustion than physical pain. I set up some wn furniture outside the house, and we spent the day with our feet up, reading. The only sounds were the rustling of pages and the soft wind.

  Even Rue, usually on patrol, napped beside me with his head on my p. His soft fur tickled my skin, and his rhythmic breathing had a calming effect. The only thing I did all day, besides reading, was scratch his ears occasionally and sna fruits and dy. I figured I deserved the treat after yesterday’s effort.

  Lumis had an incredible mana level. I went to bed with just under five hundred mana and woke up fully replenished, feeling the energy flow through me. I didn’t check my regeion rate yesterday, but not having to worry about mana was a relief. The air seemed to hum with magical energy, a subtle vibration I could almost taste. I asked Al and Mahya about it, and they said they could feel the higher mana levels, but not like I could. I figured it was a wizard thing a it at that.

  The day, Mahya approached me. “ you give me all the crystals you’ve collected from the monsters?” she asked.

  I nodded and started pulling out the crystals from my Ste, ying them on the breakfast bar. As the pile grew, Mahya’s eyes wideogether, we ted them.

  “Five hundred and thirty-seven crystals,” I said. They ranged in size from a grain of rice to a lentil.

  Mahya picked up one of the smaller crystals and tur over in her hand. “ you bihem inter crystals about this size?” She showed me a circle about the size of a grape.

  I focused my mana, feeling the magic flow through my hands and into the crystals. They merged, the smaller ones melting into each other. By the end, we had seventy-four crystals of the desired size, each humming with densed magical energy. I also discovered my regeion rate was twe units per minute, which retty good.

  Mahya retur on her motorcycle, Al returo the kit to his mushrooms, and I returo practig my flight skill. I ected to the wind again, feeling the familiar rush of air as I floated. The sed day was just as frustrating as the first. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get myself to move. The wind whipped around me, but I stayed put in the air.

  It wasn’t until the afternoon that I figured out I could lower myself by slightly redug the e and rise higher by strengthening it. But that was about it. I tried to think, intend, or will myself forward, backward, or sideways, but nothing worked. I started sweating from trating so hard and even got a slight headache—but with nothing to show for the effort.

  The wind wasn’t cooperatiher. Trying to vince, persuade, or coax her into moving me didn’t get me anywhere. I could feel her amusement at my helplessness. I figured she wasn’t helping because she found it funny to see me hanging there, stu pce.

  She wao keep pying with paper airpnes, so I made some ahem flying. She grabbed and tossed them all over. Rue got excited about the game and started chasing the pnes, his paws thundering against the ground as he ran. Occasionally, he tried to jump up and cate, his powerful legs propelling him into some pretty high jumps. Every time he did this, the wind would lift the pne higher, just out of his reach.

  I thought he might get frustrated ry, but judging by his tail wagging, he loved the challenge. His tongue lolled out, and his eyes sparkled with joy. After a while, he approached me and said, “Wind good friend. Rue love wind,” with a childlike glee filling his mental voice.

  “You unicate?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yes! John wind friend. Rue wind friend.” His tail wagged even harder.

  It seemed I had aal dog. The realization was both exg and overwhelming.

  “Have you tried to ect to another element?”

  “No! John friend element. Rue friend element. John first.”

  How y dog khings before me? I shook my head in resignation.

  Ie afternoon, Al approached me with a murderous look. I immediately sensed something was wrong.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  Without a word, he turned around, revealing holes in his pants and blood trig down. “Pim,” he said through gritted teeth.

  I chuckled inwardly—no reason to get him more upset—and quickly healed his butt. Feeling generous, I even cast Mend on his pants.

  “Thank you,” Al muttered.

  “I thought you were i all day. How did the pim get to you?” I asked, armed.

  “I went to gather more mushrooms,” he replied, shaking his head. “A single one of those ing critters was lurking under a huge cap.”

  On our third day in the valley, I left my wind training. The stant failures annoyed me. I knew nothing would work with that mi. I found the to-do list I’d made for myself earlier:

  Practice mind-splitting and increase the number of splits.Practice mana trol.Learn advanced aspects.Create a loot spell instead of just mana manipution—may wo spells, one for monsters and the other for the rest.Build a ranged spell.tinue practig affeg matter through mana.Learn how to el external mana.Learn to el mana through Rue.Wind or air spell.Find a painless way te the sedary els.Selective Profile popping out.The Selective Profile seemed the simplest, so I practiced it first. After about two hours, I could easily dispy only the parts I wanted from my profile. Satisfied, I deleted the item from the list. I stuck my to at the wind to let her know what I thought about her ck of cooperation.

  She ruffled my hair a me a feeling of mirth.

  I just shook my head—resigned.

  , I added to the list the things Lis instructed me to practice. However, I still didn’t feel fident enough to practice with the stones as he had instructed:

  Mana Sense.Mana Oneness with all the elements and progress to Unity.Moving things all over the Mana Sense Field.Rotating the stones around me.I spread my mana sense as far as possible, pushing it further with each attempt. I estimated my mana sense had already reached nearly twenty meters arouhis felt like a moal achievement, especially since I remembered Mahya mentioning that she could oend her mana seo three meters after years of training.

  This piqued my i, and I went looking for Al. I found him i, chopping mushrooms. “Al, you spread your mana sense?”

  He looked up, slightly puzzled, but nodded. “Of course.” His hands tiheir steady work.

  “How far?”

  “In the immediate surroundings, about teers around me.”

  “How long did it take you?”

  “Over the course of several years,” he said. “What distance are you capable of reag?”

  “About twenty meters,” I answered, trying to sound casual but uo keep a hint of pride from my voice.

  He stopped chopping and looked at me like I was the alien.

  Hmm, in Lumis, I was actually an alien. That thought made me chuckle—I didn’t miss the irony.

  “What is the sourusement?” he asked.

  “I just realized I’m an alien here.” I grinned.

  “Yes, that alsht me some amusement in the first world I traveled. Now, I have gotteo it.”

  I stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air to clear my nose from the mushroom smell—it was much strohan regur mushrooms. I spread my mana sense again. The world around me came alive, every living thing buzzing with its own unique energy. I sat there for what felt like hours, pushing my senses further. The sun tracked across the sky, its warmth shifting on my skin, indig the passage of time.

  At some point, I noticed denser mana ing from a specific direy curiosity kicked in, and I honed in on it. I stretched my mana sense like a nstead of a sphere in that dire. I figured I reached about thirty? Forty? Meters, but I wasn’t sure. The mana in that dire was richer, so I went to check it out.

  As I moved closer, I felt something off—dirty mana creeping into my sensing range. Determio be smarter this time, I pulled out my crossbow. Within a minute, I spotted a pim. Its yellow eyes gleamed with malice, cws scraping the ground as it closed in. After taking it out and verting it into a crystal, I kept moving in the same dire. Along the way, I had to deal with seven more pims, eae a blip on my mana radar. My crossbow twanged again and again, bolts hitting their marks.

  Finally, I came across a rge rock with a bck portal in its ter. It looked eerily familiar, just like the portal of doom I’d seen in Tuohe dark energy pulsing from it made me shiver.

  It was a dungeon!

  Despite my excitement, I was also hesitant. Quickly, I rushed bae to tell Mahya and Al about my find. Bursting through the door, I found them sitting in the living room.

  “I found a dungeon!” I excimed.

  They both looked up. Al set down his book, and Mahya stopped tinkering with something that looked like it came from the bike, a wrench still in her hand.

  “That’s amazing!” Mahya said. Al nodded in agreement, a grin on his face.

  “I thought thirty-something mana worlds like Lumis didn’t have many dungeons. How did I find one in the first pce we came to?” I asked.

  Mahya leaned back, thinking for a moment. “It’s not surprising at all. This valley is pletely enclosed by mountains, with no way in or out. So no one discovered this dungeon.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  It was already te afternoon, so after sulting, we agreed to visit the duhe day.

  The air turned colder as roached the dungeorance, sending a chill through my bohe bck portal looked ominous, as always.

  We stepped inside, and the first floor was eerily silent. The yout mirrored the outside, with ponds and rge, glowing mushrooms giving the p otherworldly vibe. The air was thid heavy, carrying a musty st.

  “Rue smell something dangerous,” Rue said, soundied but also cautious. “Big teeth and sharp cws.” His fur stood on end, his body tense.

  “That’ll be pims,” Al said, hefting his mithril shield and sword. “Stay alert.”

  Mahya turo us, her eyes sharp, and in a businesslike tone, said. “John, be ready to heal. Al, take the lead. Rue, stay close to John and fnk when necessary.”

  I nodded, gripping my two shorter Katanas. We moved forward cautiously.

  The pims emerged from the shadows, their big yellow eyes gleaming with malice. Mahya was the first to move, her MK47 carbine spitting out shots before she dashed forward with her sword. The loud bang of gunfire filled the space as her strikes hit their targets with deadly accuracy, each strike being followed by the solid thud of her sword. I closely watched her back, ready to heal any wounds she might take.

  Rue charged in, his size and strength making him a terrifying force. His jaws snapped shut on a pim, the ch of bone loud even amidst the chaos. Holding his position, Al used his shield to ward off the pims’ strikes while his sword swiftly dispatched them.

  One of the pims lu me. I skillfully raised one of my swords and deflected the creature, the sound eg loudly. With a quick strike, I fi.

  The battle was over quickly. After the valley clearierday, we were experts in dealing with pims. The air hung heavy with the st of blood and spent gunpowder.

  “Everyone okay?” Mahya asked, cheg for injuries.

  “I’m good,” I replied, casting on my swords. The blood and grime vanished from the bdes. Rue wagged his tail pletely unscathed, and Al grunted in the affirmative and nodded.

  “ we use the sleeping potion?” I asked.

  Al shook his head. “No, it will not work on monsters. Monsters do not fit into the category of true liviies.”

  Bummer. It could have been so easy.

  On the first floor, there was a creepy atmosphere created by the ponds and glowing mushrooms. The water was dark and still, refleg the mushrooms’ soft glow. The air was filled with spores, visible as tiny motes dang in the light. We entered more pims, but they were no match for us. I fought occasionally, but mostly healed the small bites they received.

  As we progressed, the air grew thicker and the spores dehe soft squish of our boots on the damp floor and the occasional spsh, as we navigated around the ponds, were the only sounds breaking the silence.

  We found the first-fluardian in a rge chamber. It was a massive pim, rger and more menag thahers. Its eyes glowed with eerie light, and its cws scraped against the stone floor as it advanced.

  “Spread out,” Mahya instructed. “John, keep us healed. Focus on taking it down, everyone.”

  Mahya and Al moved in from opposite sides, their ons at the ready. Rue circled, looking for an opening. The guardian roared, the sound boung off the walls of the chamber. It lu Al, who blocked with his shield. The force of the blow knocked him back, but he mao stay on his feet, redireg most of the impact to the side.

  Mahya struck from behind, her sword biting into the creature’s legs. It howled in pain and turo swipe at her, but she was too quick. Rue leaped onto its back, biting and g, his weight causing the guardian to stagger. The creature’s roars of pain filled the cave. The guardian was strohan the small pims and its hide was tougher and more resistant. But our teamwork was stronger. As it staggered from Al’s strike, I shot it with crossbow bolts, oer the other.

  With renewed vigor, Mahya and Al attacked in unison, their bdes cutting deep. The guardian’s blood, a strange phosphorest green, spttered the ground. Rue tore at the creature’s back, his telepathic cheers spurring us on.

  The guardian roared o time before colpsing to the ground, defeated. The chamber was quiet now. I quickly verted the guardian into a crystal.

  “One floor down,” Mahya said with a tired smile. “Now, let’s collect everything.”

  It took us hours to harvest all the mushrooms and pnts. The work was tedious, but necessary. We carefully uprooted eat, the earthy smell of freshly turned soil filling the air. The mushrooms were slippery and sometimes required careful maneuvering to remove without damaging them.

  Al let out shouts of joy every few minutes, his enthusiasm iious. “This species is incredibly rare!” he would excim, or “The alchemical properties of this fungus are extraordinary!” His eyes sparkled with excitement as he carefully packed each spe away.

  After we finished colleg all the pnts, I hahe ones I gathered over to Al, since I had no use for them. Then, we collected the soil. After the soil, we collected the stohe stones varied in size and color; some were smooth, others jagged.

  When we finished with the stones, Mahya said, “Now the water.”

  I looked at her in shod asked, “The water? Are you serious?”

  “Yes,” she replied firmly. “We told you, we take everything.”

  Fortunately, some of my water tanks were empty. I felt unfortable st water aing it float around in my Ste. Colleg the water was time-ing and messy. The water was id had a strange, metallic taste that lingered on my tongue when I actally spshed some into my mouth.

  Following several hours of work, the first floor was finally empty. The once lush and mysterious cavern now looked barren and lifeless. We were exhausted, our clothes damp with sweat and dungeon water, our bodies sore from the stant work. We had no desire to move on to the floor, but I remembered that if we left, we wouldn’t be able to return until the dungeeed.

  Mahya positioned her camoufge poles, and I took out my gmpi, which I hadn’t used since Shimoor. The familiar sight of it was f in this strange pce. We ate some takeaway food, and the taste leasant reminder of home after the otherworldly experiences of the day. All those things helped ground me and gave me a sense of normalcy that was very weled. We split the night into shifts, each taking turns to watch while the others rested.

  When we woke in the m, a few new pnts were emerging, tiny green shoots pushing through the barren floor, but no pims. That was a relief. The air felt fresher, as if the dungeon was slowly rec from our thh harvesting.

  The air grew colder as we desded to the sed floor, the darkness pressing in from all sides. My and Mahya’s light ball spells barely peed the gloom. There were more monsters on this floor and they were mgressive and with better coordination. I stantly used my healing abilities, using Healing Touch to heal injuries and regrow flesh for deep wounds.

  Mahya’s speed was invaluable in the open spaces, dartiween the glowing mushrooms and ponds. Al held his ground against the nonstop attacks. Rue telepathically unicated vital information, helping us navigate the treacherous terrain. His voice was a bination of enthusiasm and resolve. “Danger ahead! Rue smell lot’s bad things!”

  The monsters here were rger and more ing than the pims, attag in coordinated waves. We had to adapt our tactics, fighting back with everything we had. Our teamwork and individual skills meshed more and more with each fight.

  At one point, we entered a vast cavern, the ceiling lost in shadows. The sound of dripping water echoed around us, creating an eerie rhythm. The ground was slick with moisture. While we advanced cautiously, a pack of creatures resembling giant wolves ambushed us, their eyes glowing a menag red in the dim light.

  “Rue, fnk them!” Mahya ordered, raising her rifle to provide c fire.

  Rue darted to the side, his telepathic ughter filling our minds as he ehe wolves. “Rue is fast! Rue is strong!” His giant form was a blur of motion in the gloom. Mahya moved like a specter, her bdes cutting through the air with deadly precision. Yelps of pain from the wolves followed the whistle of her sword. Al stood beside me, defleg the wolves’ assaults while slig through them. The csh of cws against his shield and the sound of his sword hitting its target created a grim symphony of battle.

  One wolf poune, fangs gleaming in the dim light. But I was ready. I eled mana into my sword, feeling the energy course through my arm and into the bde. I released a burst of energy that k back, the wolf yelping in surprise and pain. With a swift motion, I decapitated it.

  The fight was fierce, with the wolves fighting with ferocity. Their howls e and pain echoed throughout the cavern. But we were stronger, and our bined skills overwhelmed them. As the st wolf fell, we took a moment to catch our breath, heal our wounds, and regroup.

  “Everyone okay?” Mahya asked, cheg for any wounds.

  Even though our voices were tinged with exhaustion, we answered in the affirmative. The toll of stant fighting was wearing on us, but we kept going, determio finish the floor.

  We tihrough the sed floor, entering more wolves and ser pims. Every time, they tried to surprise us, but they couldn’t surprise Rue’s senses. Deeper into the floor, the air thied and became filled with faintly glowing spores, creating an eerie atmosphere. The st of decay and something alien filled my was sweet and cloying, like a strainky perfume.

  The sed-fluardian was a serpentine creature, its scales glimmering in the light. It looked like a cssical snake, with over a hundred small legs. Freaky. It moved with terrifying speed, its fangs dripping venom that hissed and smoked where it hit the ground. I had to cast ralize Poisoedly, eve only touched our skin.

  The guardian was formidable, its attacks swift and deadly. Al took the full force of the blows while Mahya and Rue attacked from the sides. The sound of the creature’s fangs screeg on Al’s shield echoed in the chamber, while Mahya’s sword nded accurately and Rue’s teeth pierced the scaly skin of the guardian. I focused on healing, using every ability at my disposal to keep us in the fight.

  As they fought, the guardian’s movements grew more erratic as it took damage. Its hisses of pain got louder. I couldn’t tribute much to this fight because of the poison that kept flying around. With a final, coordinated effort, they brought it down. I quickly verted it into a crystal the size of an e.

  We took half an hour to rest, drink, a something and then started harvesting. After hours of work, the sed floor was finally pletely empty. On this floor, we collected simir things to the first one, but more of them and some ore. The process was exhausting. The ore was challenging to extract, requiring careful maneuvering to avoid damaging the valuable minerals. My mining skill got a workout, at least. It didn’t rise in level, but I felt I got better at it.

  We were exhausted and didn’t want to tio the floor, so Mahya set up her camoufge poles again. After the intetles and harvesting, I set up the gmpi. We ate, split the night into shifts, ao bed, grateful for the rest.

  The third floor was a byrinth of twisting passages and hidden traps. There were roots that tried to entangle us, thorns shooting out of the walls, and sudden mud pits that twice we had to pull Al out of. The air was heavy, filled with strange echoes. We moved cautiously, Rue’s keen senses alerting us to the dangers ahead. He gave us a stant stream of warnings, “Trap ahead! Smell danger! Lot’s creature near!” The monsters here were smart, using the terrain to their advantage. But ted.

  At one point, a group of monsters ambushed us. They were bck, and it was hard to distinguish their shape; it seemed to ge from something resembling felio lizard-like to bck blobs. Freaky stuff. They seemed to melt out of the shadows. Mahya dashed along the walls, her bdes fshing as she cut them down. Moving so swiftly, the only signs of her progress were the brief fshes of steel and the sharp sounds of flesh parting. Al and Rue held the liheir birength holding off the attackers. Al’s shield rang like a bell, defleg blow after blow while Rue bit any creature that got too close. I focused on healing, shooting bolts, and occasionally using my swords. The space was full of the sounds of battle—the twang of my crossbow, the etal, and the yowls of the creatures.

  As we ventured further into the maze, the corridors appeared to twist and turn with no disible pattern. The walls seemed to shift and ge, making it hard to stay oriehe monsters kept attag from the shadows and using the byrinth to their advahis fusing maze was giving me a slight headache. The sudden shifting fused my senses, and our footsteps echoed strangely iwisting passages.

  We fought our way to the third-fluardian, a hulking bck brute, with three legs and two tails that he used like clubs. It stood in a rge, circur chamber, its tail-clubs leaving craters in the floor with each impact. It swung wildly, the force of its blows shaking the ground. Al stepped forward, ag as a buffer against the onsught of attacks. Mahya and Rue attacked simultaneously from different dires. The sound of the tails impag Al’s shield was like thunder, reverberating through the chamber.

  I tinuously used my healing abilities, repairing wounds almost as rapidly as they happened. It was so fast that even Mahya and Rue were hit occasionally. I tried shooting it, but the bolts bounced off its hide.

  Al kept it focused on him, blog its strikes, givihe cover I needed. With his prote, I positioned myself and drove a give into the monster’s side, aiming for ots. Rue bit its leg from behind, and Mahya used the walls to run up, jump on its head, ssh at its neck, and jump away. At least it was stupid. She did it over and over, and every time, it looked for her, but when Al cut it, and I stabbed it again, it returs attention to us, giving Mahya another ce to strike.

  At st, we defeated the guardian. The ground shook as it fell, and then silence desded. We harvested the floor after verting the Guardian inte crystal. Now, there were fewer pnts but a lot of stone and ores. The work was grueling. To tinue w, I tinuously cast Heal Muscle ohree of us. I had te my Ste again. I suspected I went overboard with my shopping oh—amount-wise. Now, my Ste was 85,184 m3—the size of a warehouse. The thought was both exhirating and a little frightening.

  It took us two days to harvest the floor, and we occasionally got lost in the byrinth. But finally, it was a bare space. After another day to rest and recuperate, we moved on.

  The fourth floor was a stark trast to the previous ones. It felt colder, and I could feel magi the air. It took me a while before I pinpoi as dark magiana. The walls seemed to close in, the sense of dread growing with each step. Strange whispers echoed in the darkness. The monsters here were twisted and deformed, and eater left us feeling drained, not just physically, but mentally as well. I used ralize Curse to protect us from the dark magic, feeling the evil energy dissipate. I also occasionally cast Fortify Life Force to ter the life-sug effect of this floor and the creatures.

  Mahya’s ability to bounce around every possible terrain was crucial, and her bdes blurred as she cut through the monsters. Al was a blessing since he mostly protected me, allowio cast aralize the effects of the floor, at least partially. Rue kept saying, “Rue, strong! Rue protect friends!” And didn’t stop fighting for a minute.

  The monsters on this floor were stroheir attacks infused with dark magic that seemed to sap our strength with each blow. At one point, we found ourselves in a rge chamber. The floor ched under our feet, littered with bones, and the walls exuded dark mana. As we moved cautiously forward, a group of mohat seemed to slither out of the walls ambushed us. Their forms stantly shifted, making it hard to nd a solid blow.

  “Stay together,” Mahya instructed, her voice te trolled.

  Mahya glided silently, her bdes effortlessly slig with lethal accuracy. Al was by my side, using his shield to bear the force of the creatures’ assaults. Rue quickly darted bad forth, biting the monsters. I alternated between healing and offense, my hands glowing with healing energy one moment and wielding my ons the .

  We fought for what seemed like hours, but iy, it probably sted no more than ten or fifteen minutes. Shrieks filled the air, a cacophony that made my ears ring. As the st creature fell, the chamber fell silent, save for our heavy breathing and the persistent whispers that seemed to e from the walls themselves.

  “Everyone okay?” Mahya asked again.

  “Just a scratch,” I replied. Rue wagged his tail, uninjured, and Al gave a thumbs up.

  We pressed on, entering more twisted creatures. Each fight tested our endurand skill, but we pushed through. The oppressive atmosphere of the fourth floor weighed heavily on us but also made us push hard to plete it as fast as possible.

  The fourth-fluardian was a nightmare made flesh. It was a mass of writhiacles and eyes. Besides shing with its tentacles, it shot darts of bck mana that sapped our strength and made me feel wobbly. It was hard to keep track of all its moving parts and darts, and I felt like being attacked from three hundred and sixty degrees simultaneously.

  I used Fortify Life Force to keep us going. My mana reserves dwindled as the battle tihe guardian’s lightning-fast tentacle strikes tested Mahya’s acrobatic abilities as she dodged them and sought vulnerable spots with her bde. Al protected us both, while Rue found openings to tear off ks of the guardian’s flesh.

  The guardian grew more desperate in its attacks as it tio take damage. The atmosphere crackled with sinister energy, and it felt like the very nature of reality was dist and refog. It was very fusing and disorienting. Thankfully, with each successful strike, the guardian’s form seemed to destabilize further, and the disorienting effect lessened.

  With a final coorditack, we brought the guardian down. As the guardian’s form began to disie, I rushed forward and verted it to a crystal, feeling the rush of mana as it transformed intem.

  After the intetle, we agreed to harvest the floor only the day. We were too tired. As we set up our camp, the uling whispers of the dungeon seemed to grow quieter, and the bck mana seemed less densed. It took us ahree days to harvest the floor thhly. I was still good on Ste, but not for long.

  The momeepped onto the fifth floor, the surrounding air ged. It became heavy and oppressive. The darkness swallowed the light from ht balls. Strange, shifting shadows da the edge of our vision, always disappearing wheried to focus on them.

  “Stay close,” Mahya whispered. “Something’s nht here.”

  As we cautiously moved, the floor beh our feet shifted and ged. What started as solid stone gradually gave way to a strange, spongy material. The walls, too, began to twist and uhe air smelled strange, a mix of ozone and something anic.

  “By the Spirits,” Al muttered. “What manner of pce is this?” His grip on his shield tightened.

  Before anyone could respond, a deep, reverberating voice echoed through the chamber, seeming to e from everywhere and nowhere. It didn’t speak any nguage I knew, but I uood it.

  “INTRUDERS,” it boomed. “YOU HAVE PERSEVERED THROUGH MY TRIALS, BUT YOUR JOURNEY ENDS HERE.” The voice was a and powerful, filled with malice.

  Suddenly, the anic matter around us came alive. Tendrils shot out from the walls and flrasping at us. We sprang into a, and our earlier training oher floors paid off. The surrounding space filled with the sound of tearing flesh as we fought against what felt like the living dungeon itself.

  Mahya’s rifle cracked, each shot severing a tendril with precision. Al cleaved through the attag appendages. Rue’s teeth cmped down on any tendril that came too close. “Rue protect friends!”

  As for me, I alternated between offense and defense. My twin swords sliced through the anic matter while my staff deflected attacks aimed at my friends. It took me a few mio get the timiween st the swords or staff aing the on, but I quickly got the hang of it.

  But for every tendril we cut down, two more seemed to take its pce. The voice spoke again, its tone mog.

  “FOOLISH MORTALS. YOU OT HOPE TO DEFEAT ME. I AM THE DUNGEON GUARDIAN. I AM ETERNAL.”

  With those words, the chamber’s structure began shifting. The ceiling desded, threatening to crush us. The floor rippled and buckled, throwing us off bance. And from the ing mass anic matter, a colossal form took shape.

  It was a nightmarish fusion of every creature we had faced in the dungeon. I could see elements of the pim, the wolves, the giant snake, and the tentacled creatures, all melded into a chimeric bck abomination that didn’t have a stable form but kept shifting. At its ter, pulsing with evil energy, was the creature’s heart—it alternated between pulsating bd red, sending out strange mana that tasted like blood and rots in my mouth, and then it disappeared, covered with the malleable flesh.

  Mahya reloaded her rifle with practiced ease. “That thing looks like it could shrug off a barrage of artillery,” she said in a worried tone.

  Al hefted his shield. “We will o increase our efforts,” he said, his voice steady despite the fear evident in his eyes.

  I quickly assessed our situation. The guardian was immes various parts w in deadly harmony. We o disrupt that harmony, to create an opening for a decisive strike.

  “Okay, here’s what we do,” I said, dug under a swipe from a massive, cendage. “Mahya, I need you tet its sensory ans – eyes, ears, anything that looks like it might be used for perception. Al, keep its attention. Make it focus its attacks on you. Rue, you’re our wild card. Use your speed to harass it from different angles.”

  “What about Rue’s John?” he asked.

  I grinned. “Me? I’m going for that core. I’ll use every tri my arsenal to get close and take it out. But I’ll need all of you to give me that ce.”

  My friends nodded.

  “Alright then,” I said, gripping my swords tightly. “Let’s show this dungeon why it should never have let us get this far.”

  With that, we unched ourselves at the Guardian. While Mahya shot the creature’s sensory ans and Al made it angry with his swings, I powered up my mana for the most crucial battle ever.

  The battle against the dungeon’s guardian was unlike any challenge we had entered. Its massive form twisted and writhed. The air crackled with malevolent energy, and the very fabric of reality seemed to around us. Strange, discordant sounds filled the chamber.

  Mahya’s rifle emitted a rapid succession of shots, eae hitting its target. Al was a formidable oppo, his shield ringing like a war drum as it blocked blow after blow. His sword moving in deadly arcs. “Whatever pns you may have, John,” he grunted between strikes, “it is in your best io act quickly. I am uo sustain this indefinitely.”

  Rue dashed around, his massive form belying incredible agility. He skillfully avoided the guardian’s attacks and chewed on its ots. “Rue bestest wild card!”

  I ushing myself to limits I never knew I had. I alternated between a give and swords. But I khat ventional ons alone wouldn’t be enough t down this monstrosity. The guardian’s regeive abilities were astounding, wounds closing almost as quickly as we could inflict them.

  I wove my mana into increasingly plex patterns, bining my healing and offensive abilities. My trol Blood ability, usually used for healing, I now turned into a on, disrupting the flow of vital fluids in the anic parts of the guardian, allowing us to cut them off it. I somehow bined Purify and into one spell that was very effective. Every time I cast it, it hit the guardian and seemed to weaken it and disrupt its cohesion. But the guardian was relentless. Every wound we inflicted seemed tee twice as fast, and its attacks grew more frantid desperate.

  Then, I saw our opportunity in a moment of crity amidst the chaos. The guardian’s core, pulsing with dark energy, became visible for a split sed as it reared back for a massive attack.

  “Everyoo me!” I shouted. As everyohered, I gave them a quick rundown of my pn. “I’m going to create an opening, but I’ll need every ounce of power you give me. When I give the signal, hit it with everything you’ve got!”

  Without waiting for a response, I eled every unit of mana and life force I could muster. I drew upon every ability I possessed, weaving them into a single, trated point of power. Everything arouarted to look strange, as if reality was ing because of the crazy energy I ying with. I could feel the mana flowing through me, more than I had ever eled. I thought that I might have even absorbed some mana from the enviro, but I wasn’t sure—it was too hard to trate on anything else.

  “John,” Mahya’s worried voice cut through my tration. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s tearing you apart!”

  She was right. I could feel my body beginning to break down uhe immerain. My muscles burned, my vision blurred, and I could taste blood in my mouth. But I couldn’t stop noere too close.

  With a primal roar, I released the pent-up energy in a searing beam of pure, unfiltered power. It struck the guardian’s core like a battering ram, creating a spiderweb of cracks across its surface. The sound was deafening. The air itself seemed to ignite, filled with crag energy. I roared so loud that I felt one of my eardrums rupturing.

  “NOW!” I screamed.

  My friends were quick to act. Mahya emptied her rifle into the weakened ter, each shot widening the cracks. Al charged forward, his sword plunging deep into the fissures. Rue jumped and bit down hard on the fragile surface. His mental voice was a wordless howl of triumph.

  For a moment, everything seemed to hang in perfect stillness. The chaos of battle faded away, and I could hear nothing but my heart pounding. Then, with a sound like a thousand thundercps, the guardian shattered like gss.

  The effect was immediate and catastrophic. The guardian’s shape crumbled, its monstrous blend of creatures and elements breaking apart. Waves of energy pulsed outward, hitting the very foundations of the dungeon, sending cracks through the whole thing, and throwing us into the walls. The chamber’s walls crumbled, and the air filled with dust and debris, making breathing hard or seeing difficult.

  “We o get out of here!” Al shouted, already moving towards what looked like a.

  “We he core. I’m not leaving without it,” Mahya shouted back. She ran up the crumbling wall, defying gravity, and jumped from one falling stoo ao grab the core h he ceiling. She nded beside us, clutg the pulsi of the dungeon with both hands—it was huge.

  “Touch it to get the rewards,” she said urgently.

  When I touched the core, a staff and armor fell to the floor. I stored them without cheg. I was too out of it.

  Al and Mahya ran around, st all the falling stones and everything else around them, and began moving toward the exit.

  But as I tried to follow, I found my legs wouldn’t respond. The massive expenditure of energy had left me pletely drained. I could feel sciousness slipping away, my vision growing dark. The world seemed to tilt and spin. I was moments away from colpse.

  The st thing I remember was the sensation of being lifted, Rue’s mental voice eg in my mind. “Rue not leave John!” The loyalty aermination in his thoughts gave me a st surge of hope.

  As darkness cimed me, I caught a fleeting glimpse of light ahead—the exit, our salvation. We had do. We had quered the dungeoed its guardian, and lived to tell the tale.

  I woke up in my bed with the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life, and my mouth felt like the Sahara Desert. When I tried to move, I found that my whole body hurt, too. I tried to cast Healing Touyself and whimpered in pain. All my els burned. I y in bed, feeling miserable. After some time, I took out a water bottle from my Ste. Even that small aade my els burn and my head spin woozily.

  After a while, Mahya checked on me and saw I was awake. “Thank the spirits you’re awake!” she excimed.

  “How long?” I croaked. That was the most I could do.

  “Three days,” she replied, her eyes full of .

  “Wow,” I muttered.

  Mahya didn’t waste any time. She brought me food and drink, carefully helpi up to eat. Her geoud soothing presence made the ordeal more bearable. She dabbed my forehead with a damp cloth and whispered words of fort.

  Over the hree days, Mahya stayed by my side, tending to my needs. She often pced her hand on my forehead, checked for fever, aiculously measured the potions she gave me to aid my healing.

  It turned out that Al had been w tirelessly for two days straight to prepare potions that would help me recover.

  “Yetting stronger each day,” she said, her smile warm and encing. “Just take it easy.”

  Slowly, my els returo normal, and I could finally cast Healing Toud Fortify Life Foryself without the searing pain. Each successful cast brought me closer to feeling human again.

  I finally felt well enough to sit up without help on the sixth day. “Thank you, Mahya,” I said. “I don’t know what I would have dohout you.”

  She blushed slightly, waving off the praise. “Just doing what o be done.”

  Feeling signifitly better, I remembered the two items I got from the dungeon. With some effort and slight pain, I pulled them out of my Ste. As the items appeared before me, I was stunned by their magnifice.

  I used Identify oaff:

  Mystic Healer’s Staff

  Item Type: Magical StaffDescription: Skilled artisans used ented oak, passed down through geions, to create this beautifully desigaff. Intricate mithril inys adorn the elegantly crafted staff, f a tinuous pattern of runes along its length. A sizable crystal orb s the staff, emitting a gentle, shimmering light.Properties:Enhanced Healing: Amplifies the strength of healing spells and abilities by 50%, facilitating quicker and more effit healing.Mana servation: Reduces the mana cost of healing spells by 30%, allowing the user to cast more spells without rapidly draining their reserves.Rejuvenation Aura: Emits a passive aura that gradually replehe health and mana of nearby allies within a 10-meter range, a stant flow of healing energy.Radiant Glow: The orb at the of the staff emits a gentle light that brings sod renewal, tributing a tranquil aura to the surroundings.Appearahe Mystic Healer’s Staff is six feet tall with a smooth, polished surface. The mithril inys catch the light, creating a mesmerizing visual effect. The crystal orb at the top emits a mystical gloturing attention.Lore: An a order of Druids created this powerful staff, known as the Mystic Healer’s Staff. Throughout the ages, each owner added magical enhas, making it one of the most revered healing reli existenbsp;

  , I Identified the armor:

  Aegis of the Light

  Item Type: Magical Leather Armor.Description: Crafters bined Lunar Wyverher with mithril pting for added prote to create this extraordinary set of armor. The armor emits a divine aura, symbolizing invincible strength. The ensemble includes a jacket and pants worn ur garments. It offers excellent maneuverability and fort while guaranteeing powerful defense. Intricate engravings decorate each piece, emitting a subtle golden glow.Properties:Dark Magic Resistance: Grants a 60% resistao dark magiing a powerful shield that absorbs and repels dangerous spells and curses.Enhanced Fighting Prowess: Enhances bat abilities by 25%, boosting the wearer’s strength, agility, and endurance.Radiant Shield: Projects a shield of light that grants temporary invulnerability to dark magid reduces physical damage for 10 seds.Valor’s Aura: Provides a morale-boosting aura to allies within 15 meters, enhang their bat effectiveness and fear resistance.Appearahe Aegis of the Light includes a fashionable leather jacket and pants in a stylish dark blue crafted from the Lunar Wyvern’s mystical hide. Strategically pced mithril pting enhances prote. Intricate engravings adorn every item, radiating a delicate golden shimmer. The armor offers unmatched mobility and defense.Lore: With the guidance of a powerful argel, Master Smiths crafted the Aegis of the Light from ented Lunar Wyverher and blessed mithril. They gifted this revered armor to a renowned hero appoio fight the emerging darkness. Many great champions have worn the armor, passing it down feions, and each has added their blessings and entments.

  “They’re amazing,” I said. Mahya’s eyes widened as she examihe items.

  “Mystic Healer’s Staff,” she murmured, running her fingers gently over the runes. “This will amplify your healing abilities signifitly and help serve your mana.”

  “And this armor,” I added, admiring the Aegis of the Light. “It’s desigo protect against dark magid enhance fighting prowess.”

  Mahya nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “With these, you’ll be a force to be reed with.”

  Well, I always cimed that I didn’t want to fight. But if those were the rewards, I thought I might resider my stance. I still didn’t see myself as a fighter, and I would defuse situations when possible. However, as far as I was ed, dungeons were fair game from now on.

  Pim