Leaving town, we walked for about an hour and saw a few people. There was a wagon pulled by two piggish horses, three people pushing handcarts, and a group of four that I suspected were adventurers. At first look, they didn’t stand out—all wore regular clothes, not armor. But two of them had swords, and one had a bow slung over his shoulder and a quiver of arrows. I assud the last one was a mage, since he had no visible weapons. A few minutes after they disappeared around a bend in the road, I stopped and facepald. Why didn’t I use Identify on them instead of guessing?
Oh well, maybe next ti.
When Rue and I were about an hour’s walk from town, we reached a fork in the road, waited until two separate people saw us at the fork, and left the road, walking deeper into trees. The forest contained mainly conifers, which at least sowhat resembled the trees on Earth. They were different, like cedars, but much rounder around, with a more pointed top end. Christmas tree farm owners would go crazy over these trees; they were so symtrical. Still, the thread of familiarity was welco. I already noticed that many things in different worlds looked different, but they were also similar. It is as if they all started from the sa source but developed differently in each world.
Deeper in the forest, the temperature dropped, and the air was cleaner and fresher. The sll was amazing, green and alive, without the town slls of sweat and food. Here, it was just nature. A carpet of dry needles carpeted the ground, muffling my footsteps. Rue, of course, walked like a shadow. Despite his size. When he padded, I couldn’t hear him. I could hear the thump of his paws hitting the ground while running, but not when he was walking.
Once hidden from view, we both cast Invisibility and flew back toward the town, heading straight for the copper mine.
The townspeople built a half moon barricade at the entrance to the mine—they piled big stones with skins draped over them. There were buckets of water all along the barricade and three guards stood behind it: two with spears and one with a bow. The area seed quiet, with no monsters in sight. Two guards were relaxed, leaning on the barricade and talking quietly, while the third was alert, looking into the mine entrance. I recognized two of them as people I had healed from burns. The third was unfamiliar; he was older and scowling. It was unclear if it was at the mine or at the other guards for not being alert like him.
Rue and I quietly flew past the barricade and toward the mine entrance. “Activate stealth,” I told him telepathically. “Let’s make sure they don’t hear us.”
When we entered the mine, the atmosphere changed again. The tunnel was about three ters high and wide, with rough-hewn walls that felt damp and cold to the touch. The air was stale and musty, with a faint scent of tal and sweat. We had to land just a few ters in because the ceiling kept getting lower. Al would have needed to stoop here. After another twenty ters, we reached a larger chamber with three tunnel openings.
“Can you sll which way to go?” I asked Rue, hoping his nose might give us a lead.
After a minute or two, he replied, “Rue not know,” sounding frustrated.
“It’s okay, buddy. We’ll find the right one.”
I chose the right tunnel, and we continued further in. The mine beca even quieter as we went deeper into the right shaft. The air was thick with dust and had a more pungent tallic scent. It beca darker and harder to see. I still saw where we were going, but I was sure regular people needed lanterns.
Or maybe miners have dark vision?
Who knows?
The tunnel wound and turned, leading us further in. We ca to a fork in the tunnel three tis, and I chose the right side each ti. After what seed like forever, the path abruptly ended at a solid rock wall. We turned around and retraced our steps. In the sa way, we also checked all the branches, but each ti, it led to a dead end. After what felt like hours of walking back and forth, we had to return to the main chamber.
In the main chamber, we now took the middle tunnel. The air here was cooler, and the walls were slick with moisture, making them appear darker. At first, the tunnel seed like a good idea—it descended gently, the air growing damper, the scent of earth more pronounced. But soon, the passage narrowed, squeezing in on us until it was barely wide enough for to walk through and Rue had to squeeze in. For a mont, I was worried he would get stuck, but it didn’t happen. Finally, the tunnel ended in another dead-end chamber filled with loose rocks, debris, and broken mining tools. Rue let out a short, angry huff, his frustration mirroring mine. We turned back once more. At least in this tunnel, there were no branches; it was just one long tunnel to the dead end.
That left the third tunnel. We descended a slope, steeper than before, with each step becoming more challenging as the walls and floor grew slick with moisture. Even Rue slipped a few tis. I lost count of how often I had to steady myself against the wall. The air was thick, almost like breathing in coppery soup, making it hard to catch a full breath. We passed four intersections—three with two branches, one with three—and each ti, I took the left. After what felt like hours, the tunnel twisted sharply, only to end abruptly at yet another enormous chamber, another dead end. It was getting frustrating, and I was regretting not asking more questions back in town.
We returned to the main chamber with the three tunnel entrances, and I tried to think what to do. As I stood there, trying to figure out our next step, movent caught my eye. A red lizard ran out from the left tunnel, claws clicking against the stone as it dashed toward the mine’s entrance. Instinctively, I tensed, ready to strike, but then relaxed. A single lizard wasn’t a threat, and the guards at the entrance could handle it. But I got an idea as I watched the creature disappear toward the entrance.
“Rue,” I sent, grinning. “We’re going to follow the lizards.”
We waited in the chamber, watching the dark tunnel entrances. It wasn’t long before another lizard ran out from the left tunnel, darting past us, following the sa path as the first. I felt delighted that the lizards didn’t sense us. The chamber was relatively close to the entrance. If we fought, the guards would’ve heard us for sure.
We moved slowly and quietly down the left tunnel. We had to wait at every fork in the tunnels for another lizard to show us the way. Sotis, there was just one; other tis, two or three. The lizards seed to know the mine better than any map could show, guiding us through the labyrinthine passages. It was slow, nerve-wracking work, but better than wandering aimlessly.
At one point, as we hid in the dark, waiting for another lizard, I heard faint voices echoing down the tunnel.
I tensed and sent to Rue, “Push yourself against the wall at the widest point, as high as you can under the ceiling.”
The voices grew louder, and soon, three figures erged from the darkness. I recognized them imdiately—the three adventurers from the inn.
We waited quietly, keeping a safe distance. They were moving carefully, holding oil lamps and always checking the map they drew on paper. Now and then, they stopped and talked quietly among themselves. We followed them, tracking their movents as they easily navigated the tunnels. They seed to know the mine better than us, or their map did. After several more turns, they approached a narrow tunnel.
As they approached the opening, three lizards leaped out of the darkness, hissing. The lamp holders quickly got back and placed the lamps furthest away from the lizards while the third drew his sword.
“Stay back,” he growled in a low voice.
The other adventurer nocked an arrow, and the third held a sword in one hand and a wand in the other.
Rue and I remained in the shadows, watching the battle unfold. The lizards moved startlingly fast, darting in and out of the adventurers’ reach. Their red scales glead in the dim light, giving them an almost ethereal quality. The adventurers were skilled, but the confined space made it difficult for them to maneuver.
Suddenly, one lizard pulled its head back, thrust it forward, and spat fire at the group. The guy with the wand quickly cast a barrier. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it. The magical shield blocked the fire and kept the rest of the party safe. The archer ducked just in ti as one lizard lunged at him. His arrow hit the lizard in the side. It let out a high-pitched screech and fell over in a heap. As the last two adventurers pressed the attack, their blades flashed as they killed the other lizards. The barrier caster continued to protect them from the lizards’ fiery breath.
After the last lizard died, the adventurers looked around for any other threats. Once they were sure they were safe, they turned back toward the tunnel. The sharp and tallic sll of lizard blood hung in the air. The lizards began to dissipate.
Yep, definitely monsters.
We waited for them to move ahead before slipping through the entrance ourselves. We followed the adventurers, keeping a safe distance as they navigated the caves. Occasionally, they stopped to consult their map before pressing on, their path illuminated by the faint glow of their lanterns. They had to fight twice more, but it was much quicker since it was one lizard each ti.
After about twenty minutes of following them, the adventurers reached the point where the miners had broken into the caves. Their movents beca more cautious, their voices hushed as they discussed their next move. I couldn’t hear most of their conversation, but from the words I caught here and there, I could piece together the context. They had no map for this part of the mine and planned to rely on the lizards to guide them.
Ha! I thought of it first!
There was no need for Rue and to continue tailing them—they were just as uncertain of the way forward as we were, and I wanted to reach the dungeon before they did. We passed through the hole in the wall and found ourselves in a large cave with a high, vaulted ceiling. The walls were jagged, lined with stalactites that hung like the teeth of so ancient beast, while the floor was uneven, scattered with sharp rocks and the occasional glimr of quartz embedded in the stone. A faint, cool draft blew through, carrying with it the earthy scent of the underground.
We flew up, taking advantage of the height to navigate in the air. I sent a telepathic ssage to Rue, “Stay as close to as possible.”
The cave connected to another, and then another. We had to land and sneak on foot in the second cave because the ceiling was much lower. The third opened slightly, its floor littered with broken stones and lizard tracks winding through the dust. The fourth was bigger, with a low ceiling that forced us to fly close to the ground, but not low enough that we had to walk. Like the maw of so great beast, the fifth had a jagged arch at its entrance with stones sticking out like teeth, and the air inside was thick with the sll of damp earth and sulfur. Occasionally, a lizard would run past us, disappearing into the shadows as quickly as it appeared. I could hear the group fighting behind us and judged that they were further and further back.
The last cave was the largest, easily the size of a football stadium, with a ceiling that soared high above us. Massive rock outcroppings jutted along the walls, forming natural platforms Mahya would have loved. They were perfect for her to jump on. In the far corner, almost hidden by the gloom, was the portal of doom. We found the dungeon.
When we entered the dungeon, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. We entered a cave identical to the one we had just left, down to the last rock outcropping. It was strange, like entering Alice’s mirror world. It was that identical. The only difference was the air. Outside, the air was musty and humid, and it clung to my skin. Here, the air was dry, hot as a desert breeze, with a sharp, biting scent of sulfur that burned the back of my throat.
At the end of the cave, we stepped through an opening, and it was like walking straight into hell. The ground, scorched and cracked, had rivers of molten lava winding through the landscape like fiery snakes. Off in the distance, a massive volcano lood, its peak lost in ash and smoke. The heat hit like a wall, the air thick with the stench of burning sulfur. This dungeon was huge—a sprawling wasteland of destruction stretching as far as I could see.
I rembered a story Lis told when we were still living in London. He described an ancient dungeon he cleared that had no floors. Instead, the dungeon expanded in width, and he described its size as bigger than the English Channel. In the middle of the dungeon stood an enormous mountain, and because of the sheer size of the place, it took him and his party several days to reach it.
Inside the mountain was a labyrinth, and the final Guardian was at the center of the labyrinth. Looking at the size of this dungeon, I was sure it was the sa scenario. It was too vast to have floors along with this imnse space.
The volcano lood like a hulking beast, a fiery giant that looked ready to tear the sky apart. It belched ash, with rivers of lava spilling down its sides, carving bright, blazing paths across the scorched ground. The lava’s glow cast an eerie light over the jagged rocks, making everything look sinister.
Dark clouds churned above, lit up by bolts of red lightning that crackled with energy, each strike booming across the empty landscape like a drum. The air reeked of sulfur, and the heat from the molten earth made it feel like we were breathing in smoke.
This wasn’t just any mountain—it was pure destruction. The whole thing felt alive, angry, like its rage was vibrating in every tremor under our feet and every lightning bolt cracking through the sky. I had no doubt this was the spot for the dungeon’s final guardian. Or maybe it was the final guardian—a massive force of fire and fury, ready to obliterate anyone who ca close.
We retreated to the entrance cave. I had to co up with a different strategy that accounted for the sheer size of the dungeon and the hundreds of lizards I saw. Charging in blindly would be suicide.
While thinking about what to do next, a lizard dashed into the cave. I fired a lightning bolt at it without a second thought. But to my shock, the lizard rely touched the ground with its tail, grounding my lightning as if it were nothing more than a mild inconvenience. Its eyes locked on my locations, and with a swift, sharp motion, it pulled its head back before thrusting it forward, spitting fire in my direction. Only the reflexes honed by countless hours of playing aerial hockey saved from being scorched.
Two more lizards ran into the cave, their eyes glinting with malice. This was bad—my most effective weapon, lightning, was useless against them. The first lizard looked unfazed, as if the lightning had no effect. The thought of the fire hitting Rue sent a jolt of fear through —his thick fur would ignite instantly, which was a risk I couldn’t take.
I quickly instructed Rue, “Stay at the top near the ceiling, don’t go down. I need to figure out what to do.”
I fired a mana dart at one lizard. Two mana darts streaked toward it, but the lizard was too quick. One dart missed completely, and the other only grazed its leg. It did slightly injure the lizard, making it turn slower with a limp, but the damage wasn’t nearly enough. These lizards were too fast, almost impossibly so.
As soon as I released the darts, the three lizards reacted with unnerving synchronicity, pulling their heads back before flicking them forward, spitting fire in the direction the darts had co from. But I wasn’t there anymore—I’d learned my lesson from the first lizard.
I opened my profile, trying to think of a solution as I flew around, positioning myself behind the lizards. With a quick decision, I cast Exude Mana on one of them and imdiately shot back up into the air. The lizard I targeted slowed noticeably, as if the spell drained its energy, but the other two remained as fast and deadly as ever. They both spat fire at the spot where I had been, and then the third one joined in, unleashing its flas after completing its turn.
This wasn’t good.
I drew out a crossbow and quickly shot at one lizard, imdiately shifting my position. The bolt struck true, embedding itself in the lizard’s body. This ti, the lizard wasn’t too fast to dodge—but the bolt ignited, burning as the lizard screeched in pain.
This book's true ho is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Again, I had to dodge the incoming fire spits. My mind raced, searching for a solution. I tried sothing different. Once again, I flew behind the lizards and cast Exude Mana on one of them. When the third lizard turned and pulled its head back to spit fire at , I quickly clamped its mouth shut with telekinesis. The lizard began convulsing violently. As the third one prepared for another attack, I shot it with a mana dart. This ti, it wasn’t fast enough to dodge. The first lizard collapsed, dead, and so did the third. The second one continued convulsing before it, too, fell lifeless to the ground. I relaxed, but just then, two more lizards ran into the cave.
My thod was effective, but limited. I couldn’t keep it up with too many lizards. As I searched for another solution, I rembered the guns Mahya had left for . Turns out she was right—”just in case” happened. I quickly pulled out a rifle and loaded a magazine, but I realized too late that the gun wasn’t invisible. The two lizards imdiately charged at , forcing to dodge more fire.
I flickered into visibility and then quickly returned to invisibility, this ti ensuring the rifle vanished along with . I aid and squeezed the trigger, the sharp crack of the shot echoing through the cave. The noise worked to my advantage; one lizard fell dead instantly, and the second lizard whipped its head around, searching for but unable to locate my position. Probably, the echo confused it.
Just then, three more lizards ran into the cave. I floated even higher, knowing how far their fire can go, and aid my shots carefully. I picked them off one by one. Only one dodged the first shot, but not the second. The other two died imdiately. The solution I found didn’t thrill —I preferred to handle things with magic, and still strongly disliked guns, but this was the situation. I had to adapt to the circumstances.
I turned all the lizards into crystals and said to Rue, “Stay in the cave. If more enter the cave, don’t go near them unless you want to get set on fire.”
I flew out of the cave and practiced sniping on the lizards scattered across the area. The heat in the air was intense, making my lungs feel like they were drying out, and sweat imdiately began pouring down my face.
After taking down a few lizards, I descended to a lower altitude and turned them into crystals. However, I quickly encountered two significant problems. First, more and more lizards started swarming into the area where I was, making it impossible for to land and transform them into crystals without risking being burned alive. The second issue was that the rifle in my hand was heating rapidly, becoming so hot that it was already hurting my palms.
I retreated to the cave, but six lizards followed inside. I couldn’t tell if they had sensed or if the entrance was just conveniently located for them. Without wasting a mont, I shot each one, turned them into crystals, and quickly healed the minor burns that blistered on my hands. I slipped on a pair of leather gloves—much better.
Steeling myself, I flew out again and resud sniping at the lizards. But as I continued, a creeping sensation of dread settled in. Little by little, I felt worse and worse. My breathing beca labored, each inhale dragging in the air that seed to scorch my lungs from the inside out. The oppressive heat was relentless, searing my throat and making every breath a painful effort. My skin, already slick with sweat, felt like it was burning from the inside, the heat radiating from my core.
But it wasn’t just the heat. There was sothing else, sothing I couldn’t quite put my finger on. My limbs felt heavy, as if invisible chains weighed them down, and my head pounded with a dull, throbbing pain. A strange weakness crept over , seeping into my muscles, making it harder and harder to stay in the air. My vision blurred at the edges, and I blinked rapidly, trying to clear it, but the feeling only intensified.
The surrounding air seed to grow thicker, almost like it was getting solid, as if it was more than just heat—it was like I was breathing in sothing heavy and unnatural, which clung to my lungs and weighed down my entire body. My thoughts beca sluggish, and I struggled to focus, a deep sense of unease settled over . I was getting weaker and more dehydrated with every passing second, my energy draining away as if sothing was leeching it right out of .
I returned to the cave again, feeling the oppressive heat finally taking its toll. I quickly drank at least two liters of water, gulping it down as if it were the elixir of life itself. No lizards followed this ti, and the montary reprieve was a relief. After finishing the water, I felt a little better, but sothing was still off—I wasn’t completely fine.
Curious and concerned, I checked my profile. Health: 1,208/7,150. That didn’t make any sense! I wasn’t injured, and the fire didn’t touch , so how co my health dropped so much?
I cast Healing Touch, expecting the usual surge of vitality. My health increased, but only by five points. That was even more illogical. When I first got this spell, I had to cast it multiple tis to close a cut or wound, but as the spell leveled up, it beca significantly more effective. When it maxed out at level 25, a single cast was enough to close a gunshot wound, even after making a deep cut and digging out the bullet. And now, my health has increased by just five points. I didn’t understand what was going on here.
The situation felt increasingly bizarre, and I couldn’t shake the growing dread that sothing was wrong, sothing I couldn’t yet see or understand.
I continued to cast Healing Touch, but my health only increased by five points each ti. After five casts, frustration mounting, I tried sothing different. I cast Fortify Life Force, and my health jumped by two hundred and fifty points this ti. I stared at my profile in disbelief for a minute or two, trying to process what was happening. Then it hit —the air inside this dungeon wasn’t injuring in the usual sense. It was draining my life force.
For the first ti, I truly understood why health was tied not just to Constitution but to Vitality as well. The dungeon was sapping my vitality, the very essence that kept alive. I might be more resistant to this effect with a higher Constitution, but the actual victim here was my Vitality. This dungeon was a relentless, unseen predator, slowly wearing down without leaving a visible mark.
As I mulled over this revelation, four more lizards ran into the cave. I quickly shot them down and turned them into crystals, my mind still racing with the implications of what I’d just discovered. I also understood why Mahya was always so affectionate with the rifle and kept kissing it as if it were so lucky charm. While I didn’t feel the urge to kiss the gun myself, I felt an almost overwhelming need to give it a reassuring pat and say, “Good boy.” I held back to avoid making Rue jealous.
I stayed in the cave, repeatedly casting Fortify Life Force until my health was back to full. With my health restored, I returned to the hellish plains again, shooting more lizards. But when I wanted to turn them into crystals, I couldn’t. A swarm of over thirty lizards ran toward my location, forcing to retreat once more to the relative safety of the cave. Again, I was losing focus and becoming disoriented. The cave was still unbearably hot, but at least it wasn’t the inferno on the other side.
Once again, I restored my health and began thinking of another solution. So lizards ran in, but with the rifle, it was easy to handle them. anwhile, Rue had to land—he was running low on mana. I instructed him to stay in the farthest corner of the cave, well away from the opening.
I tried a different tactic. Standing at the mouth of the cave, I made myself visible and shouted, “Hey, you stupid lizards, co and get !”
Imdiately, I retreated into the cave, turned invisible, and floated in the air, ready for the onslaught. A hoard of lizards charged into the cave, drawn by my taunt. I picked them off one by one. Only three of them required more than one shot. I also closely watched Rue’s area, first killing any lizards that ventured too close to him.
This strategy worked much better. I turned the lizards into crystals, but I had a new problem. The fire they spat during the fight had raised the temperature in the cave even further, and the air beca more oppressive, thick with the lingering heat and the stench of burnt blood.
I checked my profile, and sure enough, my health had dropped again, though more slowly than on the hellish plains.
After healing myself, I rested and waited for the temperature to drop. It was taking too long, so I asked the wind for help. In this place, it was much harder to connect to her. There was air here, so she was here, but diminished, or maybe weakened. The breeze that generated was weak and hardly made a difference, but it was better than nothing. It took a while, but the cave beca tolerable again. I went out, beca visible, shouted at the lizards, and returned to the cave invisible.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
Another swarm of lizards.
Heal myself and wait for the cave to cool down.
It went on like this for hours and hours. I lost count of how many tis I had to reload the rifle, nearly emptying an entire crate of bullets. Little by little, the number of lizards I pulled decreased. At first, over thirty ca each ti, sotis even fifty. Now, it was down to twenty or less. I was also feeling exhausted. I didn’t know how long I had been at this, but from experience, I knew many, many hours had passed.
While I preferred to sleep at night like a normal person, I could stay awake for a very long ti if I had to. When I first built my loot spell, I was up for maybe three or four days straight before I had to sleep for a few hours and continue working. But now, I was done.
During the breaks, when I healed myself, Rue napped. I was sure he would watch over if I got so sleep. The problem was that he didn’t have an effective way to deal with the lizards. Their fire was too dangerous, and he could only catch one at a ti with telekinesis. More than one, he would be in trouble. I racked my brain trying to find a solution; then I rembered Al had given so stamina potions, or “endurance,” as he called them.
I took out one potion and drank it. Within seconds, a rush of energy washed over , refreshing my body and sharpening my senses. I was awake and sharp, like I slept eight hours and had a good al on top. But then, after less than a minute, another sensation crept in, subtle at first, just a warm tingle down my spine. The feeling intensified more and more, and after two or three minutes, that tingle was more like a raging fire. I felt...charged, in a way that went way beyond physical energy. I was in trouble.
With each passing second, the heat inside intensified, flooding my thoughts until it was the only thing I could focus on. This wasn’t just a casual flicker of desire; it was a full-blown, relentless horniness, overwhelming and impossible to ignore. My mind filled with images of sex and my body trembled. I had goosebumps all over my body, and even the slightest breeze felt like a caress. It made want to close my eyes and get lost in the feeling. Every nerve felt hypersensitive, and my vision blurred further.
My jaw clenched as I tried to shake off the effects, to push down the urges that had taken over my body. But it was pointless. The potion had hit like a magical Viagra, and there was no switching it off. Concentration? Forget it. The only thing I was concentrating on was getting rid of this unbearable heat. I couldn’t function like this. All my ntal faculties were in my penis. Shaking my head did nothing, except make the goosebumps and tingles worse. It took iron will to clamp down on the sensations and my mind to continue to function.
“I’ll tear him limb from limb!” I growled, fists clenched as I battled the overwhelming surge of desire the potion had cursed with. The fury and frustration mingled with that unbearable, primal need, fueling an urge that was equal parts rage and raw desire. The only thing I wanted more than to get this fire out of my system was to make Al pay for it.
At least it woke up. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity, so I pulled more lizards. This round was terrible. It was nearly impossible to concentrate on shooting lizards with a raging erection that consud all of my attention. I shot the lizards and cursed him—first in my head, then out loud.
“Son of a bitch!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Motherfucker!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Bastard!”
Bang! Bang!
“Dumbass!”
Bang!
“Asshole.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Dickhead!”
Bang! Bang!
“I’ll kill him!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Muthe fuking asshole!”
My horniness was getting worse and worse, and I had to take care of it. But just the thought of floating in the air in a dungeon more hellish than anything I’d ever experienced and jerking off was too awkward to even put into words. Plus, even though I was invisible, I was sure Rue would know precisely what I was doing. The connection between us was too strong; he would feel exactly what I was up to.
In the end, desperate and out of options, I bolted out of the cave and back into the hellish landscape, hoping the draining atmosphere out there would do a favor and suck this insane horniness right out of . If it could leech my energy, maybe it could drain this... problem, too.
The scene had shifted since we’d first co through. Where hundreds of creatures had sward before, only a few lizards were hanging around now. Slowly, I felt myself getting weaker, my energy fading along with that ridiculous heat.
It didn’t just vanish instantly; instead, it sort of unraveled bit by bit. My pulse slowed, the fire in my chest cooled, and I finally felt like I could think straight again. The intense need faded gradually, like a simr that finally ran out of fuel, leaving exhausted but grateful.
Thank you, Spirits.
I beca visible, shouted at the lizards, and waited for them to approach before shooting them. Finally, the horniness dissipated, just like the monsters on the ground. I didn’t even bother turning them into crystals—I didn’t want to go anywhere near the lava. I was also fully alert—as if I had just woken up from a few hours of good sleep. Apparently, the potion did sothing, despite the unexpected side effects.
Well, I suppose I’ll forgive him—and keep it to myself that I cussed him out.
There was no point in wasting my alertness, so I yelled at the lizards, drew them to , and shot them. Occasionally, I cast Fortify Life Force to keep myself going and combat the growing weakness. At one point, I yelled as loud as I could for a minute or two straight, but not a single lizard appeared.
Feeling weak and sick again, I checked my health: 1,090/7,150. I needed to find a solution to this problem. To conquer the dungeon, I needed to navigate it fully, not just linger near the entrance cave.
I deployed my Mana Sense, closing my eyes and focusing intently on the surrounding mana. It had a familiar flavor—sothing I knew but couldn’t imdiately place. I guessed it was fire mana, but it had sothing else in it as well. I didn’t recognize the mix by the “flavor” alone, but given the conditions, I guessed it had to be lava—not just pure fire, but fire intertwined with the essence of molten stone.
Lyura would have significantly benefited here.
With this understanding, I picked apart the separate threads of stone and fire. I was pretty sure the stone aspect wasn’t harming ; what was sapping my health was the fire aspect. I sank deeper into the fire aspect, probing it with my senses.
Determined to figure this out, I advanced a few feet at a ti, still hovering in the air, delving deeper and deeper into the aspect of fire with each step. The fire mana was richer and thicker the deeper I got into the dungeon. The process was slow—painstakingly so—and took a long ti. I kept my focus sharp, imrsing myself further into the fire aspect until it beca almost second nature, though the effort took its toll. The surrounding air grew hotter, and the sll of burning intensified, but I pressed on, too absorbed in the mana to notice much else.
I felt my body absorbing more and more fire, as if I were slowly transforming into the very essence of the elent itself. The sensation was intense at first, the heat searing through my veins like molten lava. Every inhale brought a surge of fire that seed to consu my life force, but I continued to cast Fortify Life Force; the spell becoming as natural as breathing.
The more I attuned to the flas, the more I felt them perate every fiber of my being. With each breath, the burning sensation grew stronger, a persistent heat that engulfed my lungs, but there was no physical harm—no burned skin or blistered lungs. Instead, the fire seed to consu sothing deeper, sothing intangible.
My mana.
I realized the fire wasn’t harming my body; it was burning through my mana, transforming it, reshaping it. With each passing mont, my mana beca more attuned to the fire, taking on its characteristics. What began as a painful, chaotic blaze gradually evolved into sothing more controlled, more integrated with my essence. The fire and I were no longer separate entities but becoming one.
As this transformation progressed, I noticed a shift in the nature of the fire itself. What had once been a wild, consuming force started to feel almost... familiar. The heat that had initially threatened to overwhelm now flowed through with a sense of belonging. It was no longer just fire; it was power flowing within , amplifying my strength.
Then, suddenly, everything clicked. The next breath I took felt natural, as if I were breathing ordinary air. The fire was no longer a foreign elent—it was part of , as if I had mastered it, or perhaps it had accepted . I was no longer just surviving in the flas, but thriving in them.
But there was a cost.
Sothing in the environnt changed. A strange sll—burnt cloth and singed hair—filled the air. Then, I realized I had felt nothing physically, but sothing was off. I turned off my invisibility, and to my shock, I looked down to find myself looking like a human torch. The fire incinerated my clothes completely.
I stared at myself, half in disbelief, half in awe of what I’d just put myself through.
I opened my profile, and sure enough, under Wizard abilities, there it was—Fire. The mana I had been absorbing had finally granted control over it. But as I looked at the new ability, I couldn’t help but feel that I still wasn’t at the level of a true mastery of fire. It wasn’t a specific feeling, but pure logic. My clothes wouldn’t have been reduced to ashes if I were a true master.
Absentmindedly, I reached up to run a hand through my hair, only to discover I didn’t have any. The realization stunned for a mont. My fingers t only bare skin where my hair used to be. I blinked, processing the unexpected change, but then a thought popped into my head that made chuckle despite everything.
Well, I wanted to get a haircut, anyway. Maybe not like this, but let’s just count it as a haircut.
I was exhausted, and I desperately needed to rest. A part of hesitated to open my house in such a dangerous place, but then I rembered what Lis had told —his house had fire protection. Knowing him, there was no way he hadn’t provided the sa protections for my house as well. Trusting that, I opened the house, activated the mana-absorbing shield, closed the shutters, and set the second-stage defenses. Although my lightning hadn’t affected the lizards much, I had nothing better at the mont.
Rue and I settled in for so much-needed rest. But even after sitting down, I could still feel the lingering fire buzzing under my skin. A cold bath was in order. I filled a tub with the iciest water I could manage and eased myself in, letting the chill sink into every tired, overheated muscle. At first, the cold was a shock—a jolt that hit like a wall of pins and needles—but slowly; it worked its magic. The tension in my shoulders loosened, and the relentless fire in my veins finally ebbed away.
I leaned back, closing my eyes as the coolness soaked into . My pulse slowed, and with it, the lingering effects of fire faded, like embers going out after a long burn. I stayed in that tub a long ti, letting the water work on until the heat felt like it had truly left my bones.
The one small rcy about this hellish landscape was that I didn’t have to worry about pit stops. Even after what must have been over fifty liters of water guzzled down in sheer survival mode, I never felt the need to pee. Everything just poured right back out through sweat, my body working overti to keep from overheating. It was a strange sort of relief, not having to haul myself up for that one last inconvenience. Finally, feeling cooled down and halfway normal, I climbed out of the tub and collapsed into bed, letting exhaustion take over as I drifted off into a deep, blissful sleep.
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