The moment Haku poured his mana into the crystal beside the door, it opened, the cold air inside sending a chill through both Haku and Ryusei.
The moment they stepped inside, they saw a world of pure white. Grass that had lost its color crunched beneath Haku's feet as he walked deeper into the space—an enormous open area where two ash-colored wolves stood motionless. Pieces of their flesh were missing, revealing their ribcages.
They locked eyes with Haku and attacked, spitting out balls of white swirling flames toward them.
"Haku!"
Haku held his right hand out in front of him.
"Gale Wind."
A wall of air appeared in front of them, shielding them from the balls of fire, which dispersed upon impact into harmless sparks.
The beasts rushed toward them next, side by side, growling.
Ryusei used Black Hole. The small black orb expanded, the ground crumbling beneath the wolves as they got sucked into the rotating mass—only death awaited them.
Their first battle went well, but it wasn't over. More wolves emerged from the shadows, growling as if to show their hostility, numbering around ten.
The onslaught of projectiles began as every single wolf charged up and fired white flames from their slobbering jaws.
Again, Haku used his skill to create a shield of wind, but this time, the sheer number of flames was too much to block. The crackling fire started to gnaw through the wind.
Before the flames fully destroyed the barrier, Haku jumped to the right and commanded, "Spear!" A weapon appeared in his right hand.
"Ryusei, hold on tight!"
Not even a second after those words, he accelerated so fast that the grass beneath his feet parted from the force of the swirling wind current behind him.
In an instant, he appeared in front of the wolves. With one horizontal cleave of his spear, he decapitated the four in front, their bodies turning into dust before crystals dropped from inside the dust cloud.
The six in the back leaped toward Haku, trying to sink their teeth into his flesh.
With a stomp to the ground, Haku planted his foot, the earth beneath it splintering due to the force.
He then let out a shout so powerful that it generated a shockwave outwards. The gust slammed into the wolves hurling them into the into the dungeon walls. It was so powerful that it almost blew Ryusei off of him.
Some wolves died, dropping crystals, while others were still wincing and growling as they got up.
Ryusei took this chance to use Black Hole. Like before, they all got sucked in—crystals and all.
They remained on guard, expecting more wolves to attack, but the dead silence was interrupted by a ding.
—————
[First floor cleared]
[Generating rewards...]
[Mana Orbs × 10]
[Skeletal Wolf Bones × 40]
[Rotten Meat × 11]
[Splitting Items...]
—————
As soon as the window dissolved into particles, those particles seemlesly flowed into both Ryusei and Haku's inventory rings. Ryusei flinched at first but quickly realized what had happened. Haku, on the other hand, looked as if he had known from the start.
They eased up taking a deep breath as the tension in their shoulders disappeared. The first floor was cleared, meaning no more wolves or monsters would spawn there, giving them a short breather.
The spear in Haku's hand disappeared like scattering particles, just as it had appeared.
Afterward, Haku crouched and sat down with his legs crossed.
He then summoned a few bones and the rotten meat from his ring.
Ryusei looked at him in confusion before speaking.
"Haku, aren't we heading to the second floor?"
Haku stacked up the bones, and with a snap of his fingers, they caught fire, crackling with a emerald heat.
He then spoke as he skewered the meat on the tip of his spear roasting it over the flames.
"This is probably the last time we'll be able to rest and eat. The dungeon gets more dangerous the deeper we go."
Ryusei uncoiled himself from Haku's neck and slithered down his left arm, curling up next to him.
"You talk like you've already been through a dungeon."
Upon hearing this, Haku briefly stopped, his expression darkening before he continued what he was doing.
"I... was born inside a dungeon. You could say I'm a dungeon monster."
Ryusei's eyes widened. He wanted to scream, Whaaaaat?! but held it back, thinking it would be a 'jerk move.'
Instead, he hesitantly asked,
"Does that mean you were like those wolves?"
Haku stopped roasting the meat and stared at Ryusei, the corners of his mouth twitching before he burst into laughter.
Ryusei was surprised. Was what he said so funny? He also couldn't believe that Haku could laugh like that.
After a short while, Haku's laughter died down.
Ryusei looked a bit annoyed.
"Are you done now?" he asked, a soft frown on his face.
Haku glanced at him before letting out a final chuckle.
His expression then returned to its normal, calm state.
"Sorry about that. It's just that you're the second person to ask me such a dumb question."
Ryusei's eye twitched.
"What? What do you mean by dumb?!"
Haku went back to roasting the meat, the foul smell filling the air. But he didn't seem bothered by it.
Ryusei, on the other hand, looked absolutely disgusted. Although he couldn't taste, he could definitely smell—an awful mix of old meat and rotten fish.
Haku continued speaking.
"I wasn't created by the dungeon. If I was, I wouldn't be able to leave. My mother just gave birth to me there and then left."
After hearing that, Ryusei decided to change the topic. He didn't like hearing sad backstories—it only reminded him of his own.
He then decided to change the topic.
"Let's talk about something else. Haku, tell me more about these Mythical Skills."
Haku lightly sighed.
I guess I should be thankful he didn't ask me about 'those' beings again.
"Mythical Skills are very different from other skills. You don't just gain them through evolution or by receiving a skill name."
"You first need to achieve a title..."
"Title?"
Haku continued while roasting the almost-finished meat.
"A title is what you receive for achieving something extraordinary. Say, for instance, you save a forest from destruction, and all the inhabitants treat you as its savior. You'll likely gain the title of a Savior and then be bestowed with a Mythical Skill."
"Mythical Skills are in the realm of the gods. If you do get one, it will destroy all your other skills because it cannot coexist with lower ones."
Ryusei's eyes narrowed.
"What?! Then why would people even want such a skill?"
Haku chuckled with a smirk.
"Do you know how powerful 'such a skill' is? Let's say you get the Mythical Skill to control water. That would mean you gain the ability to control all the water in the world—and not just water, but any kind of liquid."
Ryusei wiggled his tail.
Doesn't that mean Mythical Skills are extremely overpowered? But a title... So people need to treat you like some sort of king or god... wait! What if there are kings and royals in this world? Does that mean they automatically have Mythical Skills?
A chill went through his body as he realized this. He decided to ask Haku.
Haku began to answer, though he looked a bit concerned as his grip tightened around the spear.
"Yes. If you are a pure-blooded royal, you gain a Mythical Skill. But people need to have very strong emotions toward that person—be it hate, love, jealousy, anything goes. That's also one of the reasons humans are considered one of the strongest races."
Haku took a bite of the meat from his spear. Although he could taste it, he didn't show any sign of disgust.
Ryusei wasn't even paying attention—his mind was still processing what he had just heard.
He realized that, just like in his previous life, humans were still a powerful race—even on this magical planet called Majestiar.