Eyes closed, Ethan exhaled slowly. Then, focusing on his right arm, he triggered his wand.

Mana rushed down his right hand, but it also wanted to head down the left. Ethan’s frown deepened as he tried to pull it back.

Only the right. Only. The right.

The mana heading to his left slowed, while a comfortable heat surged around his right. Opening his eyes, he saw the fire-coated claws only on his right hand, while his left was normal.

Ethan grinned, then grimaced at his sore posterior. He’d been sitting on the hard stone floor for the last half hour or so. Unfortunately for his behind, the uneven stone was not very comfortable.

Well, hopefully Martha would wake up soon. In the meantime, he could continue practicing with the new wand. A quick glance around told him the other two were doing the same, with Liz having lined up a few dead lizardlings against the wall to use as target practice, while Gerard was swinging his sword in a chopping fashion, repeating the drill every few seconds.

His movements were less awkward than they’d been an hour ago. Same for Liz and her accuracy. She wasn’t getting head shots, but she was hitting more dead lizardlings than she was missing them.

It was definitely gruesome, but they didn’t have proper target practice, so he didn’t begrudge her the mild desecration of lizardling bodies.

Ethan focused back on his own exercise and looked down at the flames licking up his hand.

Alright. With one hand, this should consume less mana.

Ethan pictured a roaring fire. Heat that could melt into whatever he touched.

Responding to his will, the wand pulled on his mana hard enough for him to groan. But it was worth it.

The fire around his clawed hand went from an almost gentle coating to a roaring, blinding blaze that lasted for a few seconds before Ethan had to pull it back.

The young man panted, leaning over, but even though he hadn’t lasted any longer than the first few tests, the flames were much stronger this time.

Mana rushed into his chest as the wand regeneration continued its work, but it was a mere pittance compared to what he’d just burned through. Literally.

Yeah, that settles it. Need to invest more in the Mana stat and mana regeneration.

Ethan did just that. He assigned the point, then upgraded his mana regeneration twice with his remaining fragments, which now put his Mana stat at 5 points, while his percentage was up to 8% regeneration per second.

[Mana regeneration: Increase by 0.10 - 3 fragments]

[Mana regeneration: Increase by 0.20 - 4 fragments]

The unique wand trait was worth it. He’d just barely started testing it, but it was clear; there was a lot that could be done with this trait. He wanted to try condensing the flames. Or pushing them outward, like a flamethrower. But boosting and controlling the flames cost a lot of mana, so he needed to raise that.

He also learned he couldn’t control the flames of the lit torches. Only his own flames obeyed his will.

As he waited for the upgrade to finish altering his body before he tested his fire control again, Ethan glanced around and stilled.

Martha was awake.

***

With both hands alight, Ethan walked down the dark tunnel into which the archer and his companions had gone. Behind him Gerard was supporting a still dazed but understandably silent Martha, while Liz had her crossbow loaded and ready.

Ethan was ready for ambushes.

Their steps echoed in the dark tunnel. The flames on his claws weren’t too bright in their base state, but thanks to his recent mana upgrades, he could strengthen his flames without going into a deficit. Empty sconces lined the walls, and something tickled his mind as he recalled the first lizardling camp.

Where were they finding wood? Both camps had wooden torches.

I should have examined them closer. I was too focused on the fire to pay attention to the rest of the torch.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Ethan shook his head. He’d find out soon enough.

A few minutes later and after many side corridors and more stairs leading upward, they found the flight of stairs leading down. Ethan went in first, nerves on edges, but nothing happened. No ambushes. As his claws illuminated the space around, he found himself in some sort of antechamber with another flight of stairs leading down.

They had said two stairs down.

As they descended, Ethan noticed a slight difference in the stairs. They were in a worse shape, somehow, and when he reached the final step, his foot didn’t land on cut stone.

They were in a cave; a cave that extended downward. Further down, he saw the fires.

A camp.

As the four cautiously approached the loose camp, a couple of archers raised their weapons for a second before lowering them, while someone carrying a spear called out.

“Markus told us about you four. Come on in.”

The spear-wielder was a tall man wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Even had a hat on.

[Human - Level 6]

Ethan took in the camp from a distance. There were a couple of modern tents. A few campfires here and there with people just sitting and staring at the fire.

Beyond the camp, the cave stretch wider and deeper and on that side, a lot more participants were holding watch and as his eyes adjusted to the distance, Ethan picked up more details and wondered if they should have stationed more.

There were more dead giant toads on that side, as well as the recognizable shapes and colors of lizardfolk and, further out, a small pile of bodies in modern clothing.

That made his stomach twist a bit. He didn’t expect there to be so many dead already.

Looking behind, Ethan wondered how the toad he’d fought had made it up there.

He turned to the three. Liz and Gerald looked him in the eyes while Martha kept staring at her stump. “Guess I’ll see you all soon. I’m going to go exploring a bit.”

Gerard nodded to him and began helping Martha forward, only pausing when he was right next to Ethan. “Thanks,” said the man, then moved on.

Liz scratched the back of her head and smiled. She nervously eyed the camp for a second before speaking. “I really appreciate it. I think I’ll… get my bearings for now. Maybe next time I can head out with you? No pressure, of course.”

Ethan smiled. “Sure.”

They both nodded awkwardly for a second. Then Ethan recalled something. “Oh, could you ask around if there’s an old man by the name of Luther Voss? I doubt he’s around, but just in case.”

Liz nodded. “Sure thing. Least I can do,” she eyed the camp and the archers above before glancing back to him. “You sure you don’t want to come in?”

Ethan nodded. He didn’t need the protection of the camp and, frankly, he just didn’t trust it. Not when the archer he’d met a few hours ago had been eying him like a fine piece of meat.

But Liz and Gerard should have no trouble blending in, and Martha could get her bearings.

“Well. See you around then.”

Liz surprised him with a small hug, then went on her way.

Ethan sighed, then began making his way around the camp. He attracted a few stares and glares, but ignored them. Even when some of the scouts tried to call out or threaten him, he kept walking.

He was probably right in keeping his distance from this camp and its politics, but maybe he’ll come back to check up on his ex-companions once he was confident no one in it could threaten him. There could be some interesting news for him then. For now, though, it was exploration time.

Ethan followed the downslope for longer than he expected. On his way down, he met two groups of participants, to whom he nodded while they stared. None of them were above level 8.

I wonder who’s got the highest level in that camp. How about the whole world? It must be more than 12. I’ve had a lot of breaks and stops since this started, so I can’t be the highest. Also, how in the hell is this place not collapsing on itself?

The tunnel was almost the width of a stadium. Pretty damn high as well, and there were no support pillars he could see anywhere. It made no sense.

A handful of minutes later, the slope eased up and the cave somehow opened into an even larger cavern. One that was literally teeming with life.

Ethan couldn’t believe his eyes.

Large—no, giant clumps of purple and glowing mushrooms filled the cave, while blue-tinted shrubs and vines spread around their stems. All sorts of animal calls reached his ears; some familiar, like the toads, while many more he had no idea of their origins. Some were screechy. Some were so sharp and high it made him flinch. Close-by, he heard rustled leaves and broken twigs, which immediately broke him out of his wonder.

[Toad - Level 22]

Nope. Well…

As Ethan reconsidered his reticence and tried to hype himself to take the fight, another resident of this odd underground forest showed itself.

[Mystic Toad - Level 31]

Ethan took a step back. He was still pretty far, but… No. This wasn’t a fight he had any hope of winning. He needed to start smaller. But as he backed away and considered the route he should take, he watched the two toads face each other. They started squeaking at each other. Then the lower leveled toad shot a purple-tipped tongue and smacked the mystic toad, who squeaked in protest, though it didn’t look like it took much damage. Then, the larger toad opened its mouth, and a purple beam shot through the brown toad, splattering everything behind it in a spray of smoking entrails.

Ethan watched from afar, heart beating fast in his chest. He couldn’t help the smile that drew itself on his face.

He had his work cut out for him, that’s for sure.