With the sound of a snap, fire burst from Himmel's glove. The projectile screamed through the damp air, a streak of orange light, and smashed into the reptile's underbelly with a thunderous boom. The blast left a charred patch across its slick black scales. The beast landed heavily beside Himmel, water spraying up from its body, its eyes still gleaming with savage intent.
In a flash, Himmel leapt skyward, muscles straining as the tail whipped beneath him. The air hummed with the force of the strike—it would have shattered bone if it connected.
"Texan, Abbot—do something!!"
"Fuck, fuck—O-fucking-KAY!!" Texan surged forward, sword raised. His blade cut down in a desperate arc, sparks scraping as steel met scales, carving only a shallow chip from the creature's skull. "Oh, goddamnit! Abbot, where are you?!"
Texan's head whipped around just in time to see Abbot bolting for the northwest passage. Both Texan and Himmel thought the same thing at once: He's running?!
The beast saw it too. Its head snapped toward the fleeing elf, and in a blur of motion its massive body slithered away from Himmel and Texan. The ground shook under its charge. The speed gap was terrifying—if this thing wanted to escape, nothing could keep up with it. Abbot was still a stride from the doorway when its jaws clamped around his foot with a sickening crunch.
Abbot's scream tore through the chamber, echoing off stone walls. He was yanked toward the pool like a ragdoll, his fingers clawing at the floor. The black water hissed and frothed as it pulled him closer to the abyss.
But Himmel was faster. Another snap, another fireball. It slammed into the beast's flank, exploding against its scales. The shock forced the monster to loosen its grip, and Abbot's shredded leg slipped free. Whimpering, he stumbled backward, potion already in his hand. The reptile recoiled, sliding back into the depths with a hiss, its eyes vanishing into the black pool.
"The fuck are you doing, Abbot?!" Texan roared, fury raw in his voice as he stormed up to him.
Abbot tipped his potion back, golden light stitching his wound closed. Texan's face twisted with disbelief. "Now this bitch is drinking his potion—good god."
"Hey," Abbot shot back between gasps, "I was given this potion, and it's up to me when I want to drink it. Anyway, I was trying to find some loot before coming back. Jeez."
"No, no, no—I won't be taking that sorry excuse for your cowardice!" Texan shoved him, his voice shaking with rage. "The hell is wrong with you?! You didn't even try to help Himmel or me in the fight!"
"I don't have a fucking weapon! How the hell do you expect me to do anything?!"
"Scream! Shout! Distract the thing! But no—you ran in silence like a coward!"
"I don't give a fuck!" Abbot spat. "You've got water to give you strength, Himmel's got his magic, and I've got jack and shit!"
"What the fuck does it matter, huh?! You ran like a bitch—and you did it terribly! You got caught and had to waste a potion!"
"Jesus, Texan, can I not be scared?! Can a level 1 not be scared in a dungeon? Is that a taboo I don't know about?"
"NO! I'M TERRIFIED!" Texan's voice cracked. "Himmel just threw me into water—I can't even swim! But guess what? I trusted him. I thought to myself, he won't let me die!"
"You have a WEAPON. I do NOT."
"Both of you, stop arguing."
Himmel's voice cut through the chaos. He planted his sword into the floor, face-palmed, and shook his head. "Stay in the fight, like Texan said. Trying to loot before the fight is over is how people die."
Then he grabbed Abbot's half-healed leg and slashed it open again with his blade. Blood spilled across the stone, soaking into the water. Abbot screamed.
"This is how you'll repay us for your cowardice."
The bait worked instantly. The crimson trail seeped into the pool, and the water stirred. The beast's shadow surged upward, unable to resist the scent. Himmel hurled Abbot backward toward the entrance, tossing him a potion.
"Texan—aim for the body."
Texan nodded grimly, sword in hand.
The beast erupted from the pool, eyes fixed on Himmel, its claws raised. Himmel braced. He twisted, slashing upward with the sharp butt of his throwing axe, perfectly parrying the strike. Texan slid beneath the creature's bulk and carved across its belly with a swift stroke, leaving a fresh gash.
But the monster spun, its massive tail whipping out in a full 360 arc. Neither Himmel nor Texan had time to react.
WHAM!
The blow sent Texan skidding across the stone, crashing into the dungeon's entryway, and flung Himmel hard against the west wall. Pain tore through him—his chest burned, his limbs screamed.
Abbot, wide-eyed, had his chance. He could have snatched Texan's fallen sword, charged the beast, done something. Instead, he knelt beside Texan and poured the last of his potion between the siren's lips.
Himmel staggered up alone, vision swimming. The beast loomed, claws rising high, ready to carve him apart.
"Oh… it's my time, huh?" Himmel's mind wandered for a breath, bitter acceptance seeping in. Have I lived a good life? No. He knew he hadn't. Anger boiled in his gut. His fist clenched. His teeth grit.
"It is not my time."
SNAP.
A fireball tore into the reptile's chest.
SNAP.
Another slammed into its ribs, detonating scales into the air.
The beast reeled, its underbelly exposed, bleeding now where it had once been impenetrable. Texan seized the chance. With a grunt, he vaulted high, fins shimmering in the torchlight, and came crashing down, sword first. Steel punched shallowly into the flesh, but it was enough to stagger the monster.
Himmel downed his potion in one gulp, his veins thrumming with energy. He charged. But the beast thrashed violently, throwing Texan loose and forcing Himmel back with a sweep of its claws. Then, with desperation in its movements, it turned to flee.
"Fuck NO!!!"
Himmel grabbed Texan's sword, lunged, and drove his blade through the reptile's tail, pinning it to the floor. The beast screeched and whipped around, jaws snapping down toward Himmel.
But he was ready.
"Got youuuu."
He yanked the blade free, then slammed Texan's blade downward, this time through the monster's jaw, the steel wedging deep into both bone and the cracked stone beneath. The beast was pinned, head wrenched to the ground.
SNAP. "Die."
SNAP. "DIE."
SNAP!
The underbelly ruptured. Guts spilled across the dungeon floor, blood spraying against the walls in thick arcs. The beast convulsed once, twice—then fell still.
At last, silence.
The monster's scales glistened in death, jet black with coarse, beautiful patterns. It was magnificent, even as a corpse.
The trio finally let themselves collapse, gasping. They had won their first real battle together. Himmel had landed the killing blows, Texan had struck when it mattered, and Abbot… had healed. Barely.
Texan grinned weakly. "Ay, you know what, Abbot? You ain't do much in the fight, but you can finally help out."
"Yeah, and how's that?"
"You can make us armor!"
"…Huh. I actually can."
With surprising focus, Abbot dug into his pack, pulling out a small, well-kept sewing kit. Using the scraps of their leather armor and the creature's black scales, he set to work. His hands moved with the precision of someone who had spent years with a needle and awl. Every stitch, every placement of scale was deliberate.
Himmel and Texan watched, exhausted but intrigued. It took the elf nearly an hour, but the results were undeniable. The armor gleamed, layered in overlapping plates of jet-black scales that caught the torchlight in sharp patterns.
The problem became obvious as soon as Texan tried his set on. The weight was immense. The armor was clearly level 2 gear. Himmel bore his new plates with ease, moving fluidly despite their heft. But Texan and Abbot staggered under the burden, their shoulders hunched and steps awkward.
"It's fine," Himmel said firmly, adjusting the straps of his own set. "You'll grow into it. Heavy now means strong later."
While Abbot worked, Himmel and Texan dragged the carcass apart. They stripped long slabs of meat from the belly and legs, stacking them neatly on bed sheets scavenged from the herd. Then they built a fire in the dungeon chamber, feeding it with armfuls of firewood carried down from Riaz and the others.
The smoke rose into the ceiling, yet to their relief, it slipped away into unseen cracks rather than choking the chamber. Soon, the scent of sizzling meat filled the dungeon, rich and gamey. Oil from the beast's flesh dripped and popped in the fire.
Texan sat cross-legged, chewing on a strip with wide eyes. "So, uh, question… how the hell do these dungeons even work? The entrance is just a hill, right? No way in Neptune's name it's big enough to hold this whole sewer."
Abbot dabbed sweat from his brow, still sewing. "Dungeons aren't part of the world. They're another dimension—pocket realms stitched into our own. Haven't you noticed how time feels slower here?"
"Fuck's that got to do with anything?" Texan muttered around a mouthful.
Abbot smirked faintly. "Elves are seen as superior because of our long lifespans—and because we have innate talents for everything. Out there, my leatherwork would be twice as efficient, sharper, stronger. Here? The dungeon cancels that edge. It strips away the extras. Makes us… glorified humans, as you'd say."
Texan barked a laugh. "So basically, you're just a bitch in here."
"…You didn't have to put it like that."
When the meat was cooked and packed away, the trio pressed deeper into the sewer. They checked every chamber methodically. The chests held little—spare clothes, rotted scraps of food. The rooms were eerily empty, as if abandoned in a hurry.
"Goodness fuck," Texan growled, kicking an overturned barrel. "What the hell? There isn't shit here."
It was what they all thought. Such a dangerous beast should have been guarding something more valuable. Himmel frowned, suspicion gnawing at him.
Then Texan, in his frustration, stomped on the floor. The sound rang oddly—hollow, different from the rest of the stone. Himmel's eyes narrowed. He knelt, pressed his ear to the ground, and followed the resonance.
The water. It wasn't just draining—it was flowing west, slipping beneath a wall through barred grates. With a growl, Himmel grabbed the bars, braced, and ripped them free with a grunt of effort. A hidden passage revealed itself, dark and tight, sloping downward.
One by one, they descended—Himmel first, then Abbot, then Texan. The tunnel twisted and grew brighter, until at last they stumbled into a chamber unlike any other.
The walls, floor, and ceiling all shimmered with a radiant glow, as if the room had been carved from starlight. Every surface was studded with cerulean pearls, luminous and breathtaking. The glow bathed the three in pale blue, reflecting in their eyes.
Texan gasped, his voice cracking. "Neptune almighty… cerulean pearls. With this much, we could buy a manor. No—ten manors. We could buy kingdoms!"
It was more wealth than any of them had dreamed. But reality hit fast.
Himmel ran his hand across the wall, pearls cool under his palm. "We can't take them. Not yet. No tools to mine, no way to carry this much. And even if we could… selling them now would mark us for death."
Abbot nodded slowly, eyes still wide. "He's right. A find like this would get us hunted. Kidnapped. Killed."
"So what then?" Texan muttered, still trembling with awe.
"We leave it," Himmel said, voice firm. "We come back when we're stronger. Level 4 at least. Then we take it all."
Both nodded, reluctant but understanding. The pearls shimmered behind them as they turned away, a promise of future fortune.
They emerged back into the daylight, packs heavy with meat, scales, and scraps, but minds burning with the secret of the pearls. Riaz and the herd waited patiently, the horses pawing at the dirt.
Together, the trio mounted up and set out toward the capital.
As the plains rolled by beneath the hooves, Himmel spotted something strange in the distance. A village—or what looked like one. But it was wrong.
The settlement ahead bore the marks of new wood and fresh stone, as if the old village that once stood there had been torn down and replaced overnight.
Himmel narrowed his eyes. A shiver crawled down his spine.
Something about this land was changing.