[CEDRIC POV]
As we stepped out into the bustling town, Tania called out from the Iron Acorn.
"Try not to die, it's bad for business if my regulars don't come back."
I nodded back dutifully, while Rowan waved back cheerfully.
"No promises!"
I rolled my eyes.
They have a weird relationship.
Outside, the city was just beginning to wake in earnest.
Grayridge in the morning felt sharper than it had the night before—less forgiving. Merchants shouted prices while unloading carts, guards changed shifts with clipped exchanges, and adventurers compared scars, contracts, and rumours with equal enthusiasm.
The streets were so crowded that even walking together, it felt as if Rowan would slip away at a moment's notice. I clutched my satchel tighter as I navigated the crowds.
"Rowan, could you walk a bit slower?"
Rowan just ignored me.
"If I walk any slower, we might never get to the dungeon before sunset."
"I'm serious."
"You're always serious."
"Why couldn't we take a carriage like yesterday?"
Rowan glanced at me and grinned.
"And miss the beauty of my city? You have no sense of exploration, Young Lord"
Cedric adjusted the satchel strap across his shoulder again. The movement was automatic. Inside, Felix shifted sharply in response.
"See? Even Felix agrees with me."
"No, he doesn't. I adjusted the bag's grip!"
"Still, the murder lizard probably has a bit more curiosity than the Young Lord"
RRRrr—
"Do not provoke him."
"Oh?"
Rowan blinked, then laughed.
"Alright, alright. Didn't mean to offend the tiny murder lizard."
RRRrr—
"I think he doesn't like the term murder lizard"
"Is that right?"
"Call it a hunch"
They resumed walking.
Grayridge's outskirts gave way to uneven ground and thickening roots, the noise of the city fading behind them. Rowan whistled softly, spear resting over his shoulder.
"So," Rowan said. "First real hunt."
Cedric didn't respond immediately.
Rowan continued anyway. "You nervous?"
"No"
"That was fast."
I exhaled.
"I'm concerned, not nervous; there's a difference"
"Oh yeah, and how exactly is that different?"
I didn't answer that question.
Rowan just chuckled to himself as we continued walking.
After a few hours we arrived at a clearing where a stone marker was embedded to the ground—worn, half-sunk into the earth
LOW-LEVEL DUNGEON ZONE
ENTRY POINT SEVEN
Rowan tapped it with his spear.
"Ah. Memories."
"You have been here before."
"Yup, during my early adventuring days"
"Welcome to dungeon diving."
As we stepped past the marker, we could feel the forest closing around us.
Unlike an underground dungeon, the forest dungeon feels both open and closed off at the same time. The vines and roots spread overhead and under them, forming a jagged canopy and an uneven, treacherous floor that seemed determined to trip them at every opportunity, while above them, the dense canopy allowed only filtered sunlight through, creating deceptive shifts in depth and shadow that distorted their perception and made the route easy to misjudge.
Rowan turned to look at me as he spoke
"Alright then, as you can clearly tell, this dungeon difficulty is more based on manoeuvrability and surprise attacks than monster strength, so it only makes sense to keep our formation loose. That means you don't rush and you don't chase after anything."
I nodded,
That makes sense.
"Also," Rowan added, glancing at the satchel, "you don't panic when he does something stupid."
I said nothing
Rowan smirked.
"Silence means yes."
We stopped near the dungeon mouth—if it could be called that the intertwined roots formed a sloping hollow, pulsing faintly.
I found a large boulder at the base of my feet, braced myself, ready to supply mana at a moment's notice, knelt and opened the satchel.
"Felix, it's time"
[FELIX POV]
Let's just get this over with.
I braced myself and walked out of the protective runes inlaid satchel.
Immediately, I could feel myself dissolving, but almost as soon as the thought entered my brain, the pain receded, and I stabilised. I could feel my core being held by Cedric's mana.
I turned to watch him grit his teeth at the strain of supplying me mana.
"Wow, I had no idea you were so far gone"
Rowan commented, amused.
"Alright, little menace, it's time to earn your keep."
RrRRRRr-
Cedric summoned a blue mana potion from his ring and kept it at the ready. He huffed with the effort as he spoke.
"Explain… what… Felix should… do."
Rowan straightened, looked at Cedric's face and then back to me.
"Simple, you hunt low-level beasts. I intervene only if you're about to die."
RrRRRrrr-
Cedric's frowned.
"Define… 'about to.'"
Rowan thought about it for a few seconds.
"When I feel like I'd regret not stepping in."
"That is completely subjective."
"Welcome to field training."
I looked at him in disbelief.
Fantastic.
Rowan started walking deeper into the forest.
"Enough talking, let's go"
We followed without question, first me, then Cedric.
My first steps in this new life feel very wrong. My instincts pulled me forward while my brain protested violently. My tail dragged behind me, flicking irritably. The wings fused to my arms twitch uselessly, half-opening and snapping shut again like they can't decide what they're for.
Well, no use complaining now.
My one consolation in this body has to be my heightened senses. My sight—sharpened a thousandfold—maps the forest in ruthless detail, every root, every strand of vine exists clearly in my awareness long before my feet reach them. I move without hesitation, never tripping, never slowing, slipping cleanly through the fractured patterns of light created by the dancing, disco sunlight above.
Cedric, however, did not share this advantage.
He stumbled for the third time in as many minutes, biting back a curse that still escaped through clenched teeth. I could tell exactly where his boot would land wrong even before he committed his weight, the shadows playing tricks on depth and distance on the human eyes.
Rowan, however, moved without stumbling, from what I could tell, and navigated this dungeon solely with experience alone.
With my new sense of smell, the forest no longer smelled like a single place, but a layered composition—wet soil beneath old leaves, sap bleeding slowly from a wounded tree, the faint musk of small beasts hiding nearby. And with the added advantage of my heightened hearing, I could never be surprised again.
Sshhhshs~
Slowly, I lowered my pace.
"Oh, looks like your meal has arrived"
A few feet in front of me, a creature appeared with brown fur, almost like a shell and long ears larger than its body.
"A Stone-hind Hare"
Rowan commented from behind me.
"Yep, basic F-rank beast very common in this low-ranked dungeon, a little fast but low strength. Should be no problem for a wyvern, you ready, little terror?"
My stomach tightens.
RRRRrr—
Let's just get this over with.
Cedric watched my reactions closely.
"Felix… if you can't—"
RRRRrr—
I bare my teeth at him.
Of course I can. I must.
But my body betrayed me by trembling.
After watching our little exchange, Rowan stepped forward, drawing his spear casually.
"Maybe you need a little demonstration first?"
As I turned to look at him, Rowan moved.
There was no buildup. No flourish, no showing-off and no unnecessary movements.
One moment he's standing there next to me, the next he's behind the hare. His spear flashed once—clean and precise—and then the hare collapsed without a sound.
Dead.
Rowan crouched, cracked up the skull with practised ease, and plucked out the mana core and tossed it to me.
"Only the first one is free," he said cheerfully.
"So don't get used to it."
The core lands in front of me, warm and pulsing faintly.
"You'll need to hunt your own," Rowan adds. "I'm not feeding you through this trip."
Cedric frowned but said nothing.
I stare at the bloody core for a few seconds.
The phrase Kill or be killed flashes through my mind.
Before I could change my mind, my jaws closed around the core, and I ate it.
The moment the core broke inside my mouth, it dissolved like cotton candy. Mans flowed through my circuits to my core; only then did I realize how serious the damage was.
The mana was barely enough to slow the unravelling it wasn't enough to fix anything.
A faint white shimmer flickers across my vision.
[SYSTEM — HIBERNATION MODE]
Core Integrity: CRITICAL
Energy Intake: INSUFFICIENT
Recommendation: CONSUME MORE ENERGY
…That's it?
Feels anticlimactic.
"How's that feel?"
RRRRrr—
"Good, you need more go get it yourself"
Cedric clenched the potion as he panted.
"The core... barely counted, but… there was… improvement"
Seeing him so drained, I suddenly felt a little better about myself.
Rowan pointed ahead.
"So you ready to face the next one?"
As Cedric's mana presses against my core through the bond—steady, controlled, supportive, I make my resolve.
I hate the idea of relying on him more. I hate the idea of hunting these beasts.
I roar with all my strength.
RRRRRRRRR-
"That's the spirit, tiny terror"
Rowan crackled at my display.
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AN: What did you guys think of the chapter? Comment, review, and gift power stones.