Haku reached his hand down.
"Hop on. We'll be searching for the dungeon."
Ryusei hesitantly slithered up Haku's arm toward his shoulder. He twirled around Haku's neck.
Haku gave one glance at him. "Hold on tight."
Two black wings sprouted out of his shoulder blades, spreading outward. For a second, this startled Ryusei, but he was more interested in what the "dungeon" Haku spoke of was.
Haku placed one foot forward and planted the other firmly behind. He tensed up his muscles, and like a jet taking off, they reached the sky in seconds, leaving a trail of wind behind.
As Haku levitated above by flapping his wings at incredible speeds, he looked around as if searching for something—that something being the dungeon.
Ryusei opened his mouth to speak.
"Haku, what's a dungeon?"
Haku turned to his shoulder, meeting Ryusei's eyes. He looked like he couldn't believe what the snake had just asked.
He sighed. "A dungeon... where should I start? Roughly five thousand years ago, beings known as bosses roamed the planet. They brought destruction everywhere they set foot... that was until they appeared—the humans known as heroes.
Heroes weren't your average humans. They possessed Mythical Skills..."
Mythical Skills? I've never even seen or heard about those.
"... if it weren't for that, the human race would have already been wiped out by..."
As Haku spoke, he abruptly stopped, hesitating to continue, but after a while, he proceeded.
"...'those' beings. Although the heroes sealed the bosses in certain areas around the world, they still couldn't fully contain the mana these bosses possessed, and as a result, dungeons began to form around these beings, spawning monsters inside them. The bosses later became known as dungeon bosses."
Ryusei nodded. He understood what a dungeon was thanks to Haku's easy explanation, but he was curious. What were those beings Haku spoke of? He decided to ask.
The moment he mentioned that, Haku immediately silenced him, holding his mouth shut.
He glared at Ryusei dead in the eyes, his gaze sharp—just like his voice. "Ryusei. Don't get too curious about them." He lowered his voice. "Their names bring destruction."
Ryusei quickly shook his head up and down.
Haku then slowly removed his hand from Ryusei's mouth before letting out a deep sigh, dropping his shoulders.
That curious nature... Ryusei, I hope you don't end up like my companion because of it.
He then focused his eyes back on Ryusei before speaking under his breath.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you..."
Ryusei tilted his head.
"Huh? What what was that?"
Haku broke eye contact and peered into the distance as the beautiful sun rose from behind the ocean.
"Nothing... Let's go find this dungeon," Haku said with a faint smile on his face.
For some reason, Ryusei felt happy when he saw Haku's smile. Was it because he wasn't suppressing his emotions like before or because he felt as though they had grown closer?
Well, whatever it was, it made Ryusei chuckle a bit.
***
After flying over the forest for a couple of hours searching for the dungeon, they saw it slowly come to life as the sun rose. Small monsters the size of rabbits and even larger ones that looked like deer roamed around.
The forest was peaceful with the Troll and Shaman gone. There were even some monsters Ryusei couldn't believe existed, but one monster caught his eye.
Huh? What's that. A fox?
A fox, white as snow, but all four of its paws were wrapped in flames—yet it wasn't showing any signs of burning. For a split second, they made eye contact before the ruby-eyed beast disappeared into a bush.
A Kitsune?
As he pondered for a while trying to make sense of what he had just seen, Haku finally sensed something that could only be described as a tower of mana. It was the dungeon. But why was it there?
Haku descended faster than he wanted to, the wind current almost blowing Ryusei—wrapped around his neck—away.
He landed on the cliff, with an opening etched into the ground that looked like a sword mark. He looked over at the stunned Ryusei.
"Haku! Don't tell me..."
Haku looked at the hole in the ground and then back at Ryusei.
"Unfortunately, yes."
It wasn't that Ryusei was mad—he was just frustrated.
"Why! I just left this stupid cave, and now I have to go back?! At least I'll get the things I forgot, but still..." Ryusei pouted with puffed cheeks.
Haku tapped on his head twice.
"Don't worry. What's a month to a monster?"
Ryusei sighed, letting out all his unneeded anger.
"So? How do we get into this trash dump?"
Haku shrugged.
"There's probably an entrance around here somewhere, maybe a magic crystal or lever."
"I'll look for it." Ryusei said.
He used Thermal Vision to see where mana was concentrated. This was the original use of the skill. He figured this out only when he faced the Troll. The colors indicated how much mana something possessed.
He searched around. He saw many green outlines and one orange just down the stairs behind them.
"Found it! It's down those stairs."
Haku nodded and proceeded to walk toward the stairs and down them. He looked at Ryusei's eyes. They were a crimson red. He had always noticed that his eyes would sometimes change from blue to red.
Which wasn't exactly strange—he knew it was due to a skill. But what type of skill could it be? It wasn't like his Night Vision—it seemed more versatile in its use.
Ignoring his thoughts, he descended the stairs until his eyes caught a golden gleam embedded in the wall at the bottom—a magic crystal.
He placed his hand on it and poured a bit of his mana into it.
With a sudden chill and startled eyes, they looked back as a gust of mana came rushing at them. The ground crumbled, revealing a staircase leading down.
"Is this the dungeon? I thought it would be inside the cave..." Ryusei asked with an uncertain voice.
Haku gave a slight nod.
"You felt that wave of mana, right? This is definitely the dungeon." He glanced over at Ryusei. "Are you ready?"
Ryusei swallowed.
"Yes... But why do we have to do this again?"
Haku didn't answer, but he had a serious expression as he stared down the pitch black darkness of the stairs that looked never-ending.
Ryusei decided to push that thought aside and trust that Haku had a valid reason.
Haku walked toward the stairs and entered the tunnel leading down.
They could feel the mana density was much higher inside the dungeon entrance. How would they even survive here for a month?
Each step they took, they felt mana from several monsters on the level of the Troll.
They continued heading down, passing well-lit torches lined on the walls. The sound of water dripping and their footsteps echoing filled the tunnel until they stepped off the last stair.
It was like silence was the only noise.
A huge door made of iron, with strange symbols written all over it, blocked their path. White grass could be seen reaching out from beneath the door. And growling could be heard.
This was the true entrance. Ryusei didn't know what was waiting for them inside, but he steeled his resolve.
The first dungeon he would try to clear.
Colorless Reality, Ranked D.