Ronan and Piggy stood at the entrance of the dungeon, torches flickering against the damp stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of mold and something... rotten.
"Let's finish this dungeon first, then we'll talk about the next move," Piggy suggested, gripping his axe tightly.
Ronan frowned. "And what if we get killed?"
Piggy swallowed. "D-Don't say that, man! You're scaring me."
Before Ronan could respond, a chilling scream echoed from the north. They both froze.
"What the hell was that?" Ronan whispered.
"Only one way to find out," Piggy said, already sprinting toward the sound. Ronan followed, his sword drawn. They weaved through the jagged tunnels until they came to a clearing. A grotesque lizard-like creature stood there, its long, slimy tongue wrapped around a helpless adventurer.
With a sickening crunch, the lizard squeezed, the bones snapping like twigs. Then, in a blur, it shot its tongue toward Piggy. Before he could react, the tongue coiled around his waist and yanked him forward.
"Shit! Piggy!" Ronan roared, charging. He swung his sword with all his might, slicing the lizard's tongue in half. The creature shrieked and staggered back, blood spraying across the ground.
Piggy tumbled onto the floor, coughing. He grabbed his axe, panting heavily. "You motherf—! You're gonna pay for that!"
The lizard growled, then lunged. It moved too fast. Before Ronan could react, it grabbed him by the arm and twisted hard.
CRACK.
Pain shot through Ronan's fingers as they snapped. He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream. Piggy hurled his axe at the lizard, but it dodged at the last second. Just as it prepared to strike again, a spear whistled through the air and embedded itself into its waist.
Ronan gasped as he saw three familiar figures stepping out of the shadows: Luna, Hikaru, and Wood.
"Took you long enough!" Piggy grinned, wincing as he got up.
"We ran into some trouble," Luna said, nocking another arrow. "But we're here now."
The lizard hissed, furious, and launched itself toward Ronan, ready to finish him off. But Ronan clenched his teeth, bit down on the creature's arm, and with his free hand, drove his sword deep into its gut. With a final, guttural growl, the lizard collapsed, blood pooling beneath it.
Ronan exhaled and dropped to the ground, exhausted. "Finally..."
Hikaru crossed his arms. "Hey, that was my kill."
Ronan smirked. "Oh, my bad. Thanks for the assist."
Luna crouched beside Ronan, her brows furrowed. "Your fingers are a mess. We need to—"
Before she could finish, a small shadow darted into the clearing. Everyone tensed, gripping their weapons, but instead of attacking, the creature waddled toward Ronan and placed a flipper on his broken fingers.
A soft green glow spread through his hand. Ronan gasped as warmth flooded his body, his bones realigning. The pain vanished instantly.
"What... the hell...?" Luna murmured, eyes wide.
Piggy's jaw dropped. "A penguin?! A goddamn penguin just healed you?!"
The tiny penguin puffed out its chest and gave Luna a flirtatious wink. Everyone stared in disbelief.
"This day just keeps getting weirder," Wood muttered.
Luna shook her head, then refocused. "Alright, let's move. This dungeon isn't over yet. We still have to go deeper."
She pointed toward a massive hole in the ground, pitch-black and foreboding. A strange energy pulsed from within.
Piggy adjusted his grip on his axe. "Great. Because everything so far has been so easy."
Hikaru cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't matter. We're finishing this."
Wood nodded. "No turning back now."
Ronan clenched his fists, testing his healed fingers. The pain was gone. He tightened his grip on his sword, standing tall.
"Alright, let's go."