The cavern air was damp and smelled faintly of moss and wet stone. Blue glowshrooms lined the walls like scattered lanterns, flickering with gentle pulses of light. Their glow was soft enough to see but dim enough to hide danger in the shadows.
Zayle took in a slow breath, letting the faint mana of the rift settle around him. His hand rested lightly on his sword hilt. His boots sank slightly into the moss-covered ground with each step.
System Message: Minor Dimensional Rift DetectedRecommended Caution: Low to Moderate
Zayle smiled faintly. "Moderate. Good. I'd be bored with low."
The cavern tunnel stretched ahead in two branches. The left path descended deeper into darkness. The right path curved upward toward faint, echoing growls.
Zayle rubbed his chin. "Growling usually means something with teeth. Teething creatures mean loot. Loot means money. Money means food."
His stomach grumbled.
"Decision made."
He moved toward the right path.
As he walked, he kept his posture relaxed but alert. His pace steady but ready to sprint. It wasn't fear. It was instinct. His past life had taught him that the moment you stopped paying attention was the moment something ugly took a bite out of you.
The tunnel widened into an open chamber.
Moss carpeted the floor. Glowshrooms formed natural clusters along the walls. And in the center stood a creature the size of a large wolf, its fur made of shifting black mist and its eyes burning like embers.
Zayle froze.
"Ah. Perfect. A shadowfang."
Shadowfangs were low-grade beasts, but they hit harder than their rank suggested. Most beginner adventurers avoided them unless in groups.
Zayle grinned. "Let's say hello."
The shadowfang turned its head sharply, sniffed the air, and growled. Its body tensed. The mist around it rippled like boiling smoke.
It lunged.
Zayle dodged left, his agility helping him slip just out of reach. The beast skidded past him, claws scraping the stone floor.
He swung his blade.
Clang.
The blade hit the mist-fur and barely did any damage.
"Right," Zayle muttered. "Physical resistance. Annoying."
The shadowfang whirled around and lunged again, jaws snapping dangerously close to his arm. Zayle jumped back, rolling off the ground and pushing himself upright with one smooth motion.
He took a quick breath. He wasn't at risk of losing, but he wasn't going to win easily either.
System Message: Advice Mode ActivatedShadowfang Weakness: Light-based manaUser Mana Control: Currently unstable at low-level
Zayle groaned. "So you're telling me the exact solution, but I'm too lousy to use it properly."
System Message: More or less.
Zayle lifted his sword, the blade trembling slightly with the faint mana he tried to infuse. The light flickered.
The shadowfang charged again.
He blocked the strike with his forearm guard, feeling the impact jolt through his bones. Then he twisted, slashing upward with a burst of mana.
The blade flared with partial light.
Partial was enough.
The beast shrieked, stumbling back as the light sliced through its mist fur. Parts of its body shuddered like ink in water.
Zayle staggered from the recoil, nearly dropping his sword. "Ow. My channels hate me."
System Message: Mana Flow Instability Level: ModerateSuggestion: Stop forcing mana through fatigued channels.
"Suggestion denied," Zayle said, cracking his neck.
He took a deep breath. Another. He felt for the faint threads of mana inside him, messy and chaotic but still there. He pushed gently this time, trying not to force anything.
The blade glowed again.
Not bright.
But steady.
Zayle lunged forward.
The shadowfang tried to dodge, but Zayle outpaced it with a sharp burst of speed. He slashed across its flank, then jumped back before its claws could swipe him.
The beast staggered, growling weakly.
"Come on," Zayle whispered. "Just fall already."
The shadowfang made one last desperate leap.
Zayle ducked under it, slid across the moss, and thrust upward.
The blade pierced the beast's core. The glowing mist inside exploded outward like dust in the wind. The creature dissolved completely, leaving behind a few dark shards and a faintly glowing crystal.
Zayle fell onto his back with a groan.
"That was harder than it should've been."
System Message: Victory AchievedStats Increasing SlightlyMana Control Progress: 2 percent
Zayle checked his stats quickly.
Strength: 35Agility: 27Stamina: 19Spirit: 26Perception: 22
Visible to others:
Strength: 20Agility: 16Stamina: 11Spirit: 15Perception: 12
"Nice," he said, lifting the crystal.
He tucked everything into his bag and stood up again, stretching until his spine popped.
Then he froze.
A sharp laugh echoed from deeper in the cavern.
A human laugh.
Zayle turned toward the sound.
From the shadows stepped three figures. They wore dark cloaks, faces obscured. Their movements smooth, confident, practiced.
Not academy students.
Not regular adventurers.
Zayle's hand went to his sword. "Let me guess. More people claiming they own this rift."
The front figure tilted his head. "Hardly. We couldn't care less about the rift."
Zayle narrowed his eyes. "Then what do you care about?"
"You."
Wonderful.
The middle figure stepped forward, removing his hood. He looked older than Zayle by a few years. Sharp jaw. Cold eyes. A faint scar across his lip. The type of guy who would start a fight just to end one.
"I saw you earlier," the man said. "Outside the outpost. You beat up three adventurers."
"To be fair," Zayle said. "They challenged me first. And they were bad at fighting. Truly disappointing."
The man smiled thinly. "I like your mouth. But I don't like your attitude."
Zayle rolled his wrist. "My attitude doesn't change for strangers."
"You remind me of someone," the man said. "Someone I don't like."
"That sounds like a you problem."
The man drew a dagger coated with faint purple poison. It shimmered ominously.
Zayle exhaled. "Of course you have poison. Why wouldn't you."
The other two figures circled him slowly.
He wasn't scared.
He was annoyed.
"Before we fight," Zayle said, raising his hand. "Can I ask one thing?"
The man paused. "What?"
"Are you affiliated with the Li family? Just in case I need to put you on my list."
The man blinked. "The Li family? No."
"Great," Zayle said. "Because I already have too many of them to deal with."
The man flicked his dagger. "You talk too much."
"Compliments make me shy."
Zayle struck first.
He dashed left, slicing toward the figure trying to flank him. The cloaked fighter blocked with a short staff, but Zayle kicked him in the knee, sending him crashing to the ground.
An arrow flew toward Zayle's head. He ducked, rolled, and kicked off the wall to dodge another poisoned strike. The main fighter moved fast, far faster than the previous adventurers.
Zayle's thoughts sharpened.
He needed to win.
But he needed to win smart.
He feinted right, then pivoted left, forcing the poison dagger guy to overextend. Zayle kicked his wrist. The dagger flew out of his hand and clattered across the cavern.
The archer cursed and fired again.
Zayle sliced the arrow mid-air.
He charged forward before the archer could nock another and slammed the man into a mushroom-covered wall, knocking him unconscious.
Two down.
The last guy snarled and rushed him barehanded. Zayle exchanged blows, each punch echoing through the cavern. Blood filled Zayle's mouth when a fist caught his jaw, but he didn't stop. He twisted, elbowed the man's ribs, then headbutted him.
The man fell.
Zayle stumbled back, breathing heavily.
His face bruised. Arm scraped. Mana low.
But he stood.
He wasn't shaken by the danger.
He was exhilarated.
System Message: Hostility EliminatedStrength Increase MinorSpirit Increase Minor
His stats shifted subtly.
Strength: 36Agility: 27Stamina: 19Spirit: 27Perception: 22
Visible (post-ring): unchanged.
Zayle wiped his mouth and spat out blood. "That's what you get for ambushing me after school."
He stepped over the fallen attackers and walked deeper into the cavern.
Trouble came to him.
He accepted it like an old friend.
And he wasn't done yet.
Not even close.