‘That makes the last one,' Jake thought as he watched the last ebbs of life trickle from the moss-covered beast. A Grupine, one of the lesser monsters he remembered. A supposed fan-favorite, gaining the nickname ‘Dirt Puppy’.

Yanking the weapon out of the still carcass, he slid the weapon back into its holster before kneeling down. Setting his hand on the corpse, he let a small breath escape him before closing his eyes.

Reforge.

Feeling the heat wrap around his arms, he brought a few images to mind. A cylinder of ivory, a roll of cured and treated leather, a Core like that of a gem. Everything he should expect.

As he felt the heat fade away, he opened his eyes to see the materials he envisioned. Putting the materials in his pouch, he made his way around the other corpses before doing the same thing.

Putting the last of the materials in his bag, he suddenly paused as he noticed a shift in the air. It became tense, as if a threat was hanging in the air.

Something is close. Strong, if the air shifted so much.

Observe.

As the world shifted to glow, he quickly scanned his surroundings, focusing on the more dense clumps of mana. As he turned his head, his eyes caught note of a particular chunk of mana. Glowing a bright brown, it stuck out from the similarity of the rest of the world, like a lighthouse sticking through the fog.

In other words, its corpse would be valuable.

As he started to walk towards the source of the mana, he slowly brought his hand to his belt, resting his palm right below the axehead. The closer he got to it, the more the air around him seemed to change. The scent of both blood and grass seemed to permeate the air, almost as if a warning.

As he broke through the trees, he found himself in front of a massive beast. The hide a verdant green, patches of oak-like chitin covered its body, similar to a suit of armor.

'A Vinleon, huh,' he thought as he looked over the sleeping beast. He never expected to find one of these monsters today. At most, he was just planning to waste some time gaining materials.

Eh, best to not really question it.

Bringing the ax to bear, he rested the weapon on his shoulder as he silently made his way closer to the leonine creature. Reaffirming his grip on the handle, he let a small breath escape him as he raised the weapon above his head. Feeling a strength bleed into his arms, he brought the ax down on the resting creature, the blade digging between the plates in its body. As its eyes snapped open, he quickly brought out his pistol before jamming it into the eye socket and letting loose a barrage of gunfire, causing it to cease moving. Putting his weapons away, he set his palm on the stomach of the corpse before closing his eyes.

Stolen story; please report.

Reforge.

Feeling a heat wrap around his body, he brought familiar images to mind. Rolls of cured and treated leather, cylinders of gleaming ivory. However, he quickly brought two extra images to the front of his mind. One was a piece of chitin, similar in size to a coaster, with the toughness of iron. The other, meanwhile, was a fang, around the size of a pocket knife.

As the heat seemed to leave his body, he opened his eyes to see the items he envisioned on the ground in front of him. Quickly packing away the materials, he made his way deeper into the forest, picking a random direction.

As he made his way through the forest, he watched as the tree canopy twisted into itself, the leaves and branches blocking out most of the sunlight. Despite that, the flora seemed to persist, growing to full maturity despite not having a vital resource.

Suddenly, as he continued past the towering trees, he suddenly heard something, causing him to pause. The sound of wood creaking under pressure, the sound of rustling leaves, the light clicking of mandibles.

Observe.

As the glow of the world appeared in his sight, he turned his gaze upwards into the treeline. Seeing over a dozen dense blobs of mana, he brought his gun to bear before firing near them. As he watched them scatter, he holstered his pistol before continuing on his way.

As he continued on his walk, killing the occasional monster, he paused as something caught his attention. A small whistling seemed to cut through the trees, cutting through the creaking of wood. Something about it felt familiar, as well. Like he heard it his entire life.

'Might as well check it out,' he thought before following it. Making his way towards the source of the whistling, he noted how everything slowly changed around him. The whistling seemed to begin to surround him, coming from everywhere. Outcrops of Luminore seemed to grow on the tree's roots, lighting his way.

Eventually, as he broke through the treeline, he found himself in a small meadow. The flowers, nearly up to the thighs, were a multitude of colors, all bleeding into each other. However, throughout the sea of color, stood a single tree. As the wind passed through its branches, it seemingly played a melody for both everything and nothing.

As he stepped forward, he felt something bump into his foot. Looking down, he saw a faint brown in-between the multitude of blues, pinks, and whites.

A book.

Picking up the small book, he quickly skimmed over the pages, looking for just what exactly this place is. However, one word stood out to him.

'A dungeon, huh,' he thought before closing the book. It'd make sense, considering the odd mana density in the area.

Observe.

As a barrage glowing gray met his eyes, he pushed it aside as he scanned the area around him. Eventually, his eyes caught a beacon of light that was nearby, gleaming like a gem.

Making his way towards the light, he was met with a decently sized tunnel, a mixture of plant and stone in front of the entrance. Bringing his ax to bear, he let out a small breath before stepping into the tunnel.

Let's do this.