We've been exploring the large cavern for about four hours now. It seems to go on forever. Obviously it doesn't literally go on forever, but with how big it is, it might as well.

{This one looks good.}

[Got it.]

A few of the waterfalls around the walls of the cavern have small caves behind them, so we decided to use one of them as a shelter for now.

The inside of the cave we chose has a soft dirt floor, perfect for digging.

{Now, get digging!}

Since it's probably going to be our main strategy, Gloria will practice digging until she's really good, and hopefully we’ll get a skill.

Gloria begins to dig, and it immediately becomes obvious to me that I was right in thinking these claws were meant for digging. After a minute, she's already made a hole deep enough to fit our entire body, and wide enough to fit two of us side by side.

Two minutes in, the hole has doubled in depth.

Two and a half minutes in, the hole begins to collapse.

{Shit, run!}

Gloria tries to climb out, but it just makes the hole collapse faster.

{Keep our mouth above the surface of the dirt!}

…We’re buried.

In a hole we dug.

Is the dirt here too soft? I thought soft dirt would be best for learning to dig, but maybe not…

I guess this cave is a bust.

It takes her a while, but Gloria eventually unburies us.

[What now?]

{Let's try to find an area with better dirt.}

[Ugh, no!]

{What do you mean no? If we stay here, we’ll never get better at digging!}

[I don't care!]

{Do you want to die? Because that's probably what’ll happen if we waste time like this!}

[Sure, why not! I'm starting to think dying might be better than being stuck in this cave forever anyway…]

{Well too bad, because I don't want to die. If you don't want to do any work, then just let me control the body and I'll handle everything.}

[Fine!]

Our body goes limp as Gloria releases control.

Man, how is she so good at that? She's gotta be some kind of prodigy. Too bad her personality sucks…

Well, whatever.

I take control of the body and leave the cave.

Most areas of this cavern seem to be pretty safe. We haven't seen any hostile monsters so far, so I'm not too worried, but it'd still be good to be cautious.

Some of the areas with lots of trees are pretty dark, so I assume that's where the hostile monsters are.

Now, time to find a cave with some higher-quality dirt!

I'm pretty sure the dirt was a bit tougher back in the direction we came from, so I think I'll just go that way.

I begin walking, stopping to taste various kinds of plants on the way.

Man, this place is so cool. Usually, you'd think of caves as dark, boring places, but this cave has a whole forest inside it! I don't know what those glowing yellow stones are, but I assume the light they emit is similar to the sun’s in a way that allows plants to grow. That's so cool…

But, wouldn't the ecosystem be pretty messed up if they were always spewing out that light? The forests on earth probably wouldn't last if the sun was up constantly, so I doubt this forest could take constant sunlight either.

In that case, do the stones stop shining during certain times, emulating a day night cycle? If they do, that explains the relative peace there is right now, while it's ‘day’ down here. I imagine the carnivorous monsters come out when the lights go out.

Wait, wouldn't the lights be going out pretty soon if they do go out? Let's see, if it had just become ‘day’ when we first got here, then…

Uh oh.

I should probably hurry up. If I'm right, I don't have much longer until it gets dark and the carnivores come out…

Eh? That doesn't mean I'm right, does it?

I'll pick up the pace just in case…

Phew, made it into a cave. The waterfall covers this one pretty well, so I should be pretty hidden. I already tested the dirt, and I think it's pretty good.

Might as well get to diggi-

The light outside slowly starts fading, causing the already dark cave to become pitch black.

Ah, so I was right.

Damn.

Well, at least I made it into a cave, I think I'll be pretty safe in here. Hopefully.

I wonder what kind of hostile monsters come out during the ‘night’ here?

Since it's a forest, it's gotta be wolves, right?

A loud howl from outside my cave confirms my theory.

Ah, yep, wolves.

That howl sounded pretty far away, so I don't think I have to worry about them, not for now at least anyway.

This cave should be pretty safe from wolves, too, since the waterfall will obscure any scents on me.

Welp, now that I'm confident in my safety, it's finally time to dig!

I walk to the back area of the cave, and find a spot I think will be pretty good for digging.

Alright, let's do this!

I plunge my claws into the dirt and throw it to the left of me. Then I do it again.

Then again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, after five minutes straight of digging, I've dug a hole that can fit…

…Half my body.

What? How come!

Gloria dug double this amount in one fifth the amount of time! No, she dug even more than that, because my hole is way less wide than hers was too!

Is it the dirt? It is different after all.

No, this difference is way too large for it to just be the dirt. Gloria’s just a super prodigy at everything I guess.

That's not fair!

I'm the one who actually wants to survive, the one who actually cares about getting stronger, yet I'm horrible at everything!

I'm not good at taking control of the body, I'm not good at digging. Hell, as stupid as it was for her to try to climb that wall earlier, I couldn't have made it nearly as far as she did!

This is bad, I'm beginning to realize just how useful Gloria was.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

But her work ethic is horrible…

This is the worst! If I had just been the sole owner of this body, I'd never know what I was missing out on. But because I've seen how good Gloria is at controlling the body, I'm aware of how bad I am…

Argh! I need to convince her to come back!

{Gloria!}

No response.

{Gloriaaaa!}

No response

{Gloriaa-!}

[What!?]

{I need help.}

[With what?]

{Digging.}

[No.]

{Pleeeease?}

[No! Do it yourself!]

{I tried! Look!}

I point towards the pitiful hole I dug.

[That's not that bad.]

{This took me five whole minutes!}

[Five minutes? Wow, you suck.]

{I know! That's why I need you!}

[I already said no!]

{Pleeeease? What would it take you to come back?}

[Nothing!]

{Oh, so you'll come back?}

[Wha- no! That's not what I-]

A loud howl interrupts our conversation.

[...what was that?]

{A wolf. Probably.}

[...let me fight it.]

{What?}

[Let me fight the wolf.]

{What?! Are you crazy? We’ll die!}

[I'll only come back if you let me fight the wolf.]

{...let me think about it.}

She's trying to get us killed, right? No person with an in-tact sense of self-preservation would want to fight a wolf! Especially since we’re a weak little… mole? I still don't know what we are.

We have bad eyesight, and are good at digging, so I'm leaning towards mole, but we don't really look like a mole. Especially because of those giant ears.

Ah, whatever, that doesn't matter.

The fact remains: Gloria wants to fight a wolf, and won't start helping again unless I allow her to.

But we’ll definitely die if we fight a wolf!

Head-on, that is.

My idea from earlier, digging trap holes. Wouldn't that work?

Before, the problem was that we didn't have anything to cover the top with, but now that we’re in a forest we have tons of options.

The only problem now is, I don't know if Gloria would accept trapping a wolf in a hole as ‘fighting’ it.

I guess I should just ask, I don't have any other ideas.

{Ok, I'll let you fight the wolf.}

[Really?]

{Yeah. But not head on. We’re going to trap it in a hole.}

[Gwahaha! Good enough for me!]

That's good, looks like she's fine with it.

{But we can't fight it yet. We’re not prepared. We need to get better at digging.}

[Fine by me! As long as I get to fight a wolf, I'll do whatever!]

{Good.}

I release control of the body, going limp.

{Then get digging.}

[Yes sir!]

Now, I'm gonna rest for a little. I walked way too much today…

[Oi! Fir! Look at the hole I dug!]

{Hm?}

I stop zoning out and look at the hole Gloria dug while I wasn't paying attention. It goes down for about three body heights, before turning slightly until it's horizontal.

{Oooh! Impressive!}

[Hehe, thanks!]

{Did you get a skill related to digging yet?}

[Nope.]

{Damn.}

I guess it won't be that easy.

{Is it day yet?}

I already explained the day night cycle to her a while ago, when she tried to take a look outside the cave and wondered why it was so dark.

[Not yet. The night’s probably halfway over by this point.]

{Mm. Alright. Keep digging then. We’ll go out and gather some sharp sticks and rocks once it's day.}

[Got it. But y'know, I'm starting to get kinda tired.]

{Tired? Oh, I forgot!}

[Hm?]

{We probably have to sleep, we’ve been up for a long time now, haven't we?}

[I guess? So, should we sleep?]

{Yeah. Go into the hole you dug first though, we’ll be safer that way.}

[Got it.]

We crawl into the deepest part of the hole, and lay down.

I wonder how this is going to work?

When Gloria passed out, me and the body were still awake. Will both of us have to sleep in order to get the body to sleep? Or will the body going to sleep cause both of us to sleep as well?

Well, I guess I’ll find out soon enough…

The sound of a campfire emanates in the darkness around me.

Slowly, the sound gets clearer, and the darkness fades away.

The first thing I'm able to see is a log with an axe stuck into it.

Next, I see a small fire.

Then, I see a muscular woman sitting in a chair behind the fire.

She holds a metal stick, with a piece of meat on the end above the fire.

Yaaaawn.

Man, what a weird dream!

Hm? Wait, what was it again?

Ah, whatever.

{Are you up, Gloria?}

[Yeah.]

Looks like we both wake up at the same time, good to know.

{Alright, we have lots to do today, so let's get started right away!}

We step out of the cave cautiously, checking to see if it's day yet.

As I thought, it is.

First thing to do today: eat!

We’re in a forest, so there's gotta be plants that are at least edible, right?

First plant of the day, a teal colored grass that grows in patches under trees.

It doesn't smell that bad, hopefully the taste is fine.

We take a bite, and…

It's not bad.

Because it's nothing. It tastes like nothing.

I'd prefer to eat something better, but if there's no other option, this is fine. However, it's not exactly the most common plant down here, so we’d inevitably run out eventually if this is all we ate.

Also, I thought it wasn't poisonous, but my mouth is starting to feel a bit numb?

Ah, yep. It's poisonous.

Next plant!

Actually, let's wait for the numbness to go away first…

Next up, we have a plant that looks like the leaves of a palm tree growing out of the ground. It has a powerful smell.

Let's take a bite…

Hm…

Crunchy. It has a tangy flavor.

Not bad! Unfortunately, this one seems to be a bit rare too, so we’ll have to find another plant to eat too, but this one is definitel-

Gloria suddenly spits it out.

{Hey! What are you doing, I was savoring that!}

[Look.]

She pulls the large leaves down, and points to the middle of the plant.

Huh? Is that… no, no way, right?

[It looks like the monsters use this plant as a toilet.]

It is! Bleh!

It's a good thing I'm not the one in control of the body right now, because I probably would have puked what little food we have in us out.

Ugh, let's move on to the next plant.

[That was it.]

{Huh?}

[That was everything I could find that seemed like it could be good.]

{Are you kidding? We’re in a forest, there has to be something!}

[Nope.]

Damn it!

{Well, let's head back to the cave and practice digging for the rest of the day.}

[Got it.]

Man, this sucks! What are we gonna eat, if there's hardly anything edible around here?

I would think about heading into the darker parts of the forest, but I'm pretty sure that's where the wolves go during the day…

No matter what we choose to eat, we won't be able to eat anything during the night, which sucks. If we ever need to hide out in our cave for an extended period of time, we’re kinda screwed. It would be nice if there was something growing in our cave that we could eat, but it's just dirt…

Wait, hang on. There's nothing growing in there right now, but what if we planted something? There's no light, so none of the forest plants would work, but what about moss?

Our cave is the perfect environment, dark, and moist because of the waterfall, it's the ideal conditions for moss!

Yes, this is perfect! We’ll start farming moss in our cave, so we won't even have to put ourself at risk by leaving to eat!

{Gloria! Don't go back to the cave yet.}

[Hm?]

{Remember that patch of moss we landed on earlier?}

[Yeah?]

{Go there.}

[Why?]

{We’re gonna start farming it.}

[Why?]

{Because... Just trust me on this.}

[...ok, whatever.]

[How much do we need?]

{As much as possible.}

[Ugh, this is gonna suck to carry…]

Gloria carefully cuts a chunk of the moss off, and puts it in our mouth.

[That should be enough.]

{No it won't!}

[I can't carry any more than this, stupid!]

{Cut a big chunk and drape it over our back like a cape!}

[...ok.]

She reluctantly does what I say, cutting a large chunk of moss, and storing it on our back.

[Is that enough?]

{Hm… sure, for now.}

[Good. Because I'm not gonna carry any more than this.]

Gloria begins walking back down the dark tunnel, walking slower than usual so the moss doesn't fall off our back.

After a few minutes, we finally make it back to the forest.

[Hey, doesn't it seem darker than usual?]

She's right. The yellow stones that line the ceiling of the cavern are unusually dark, and they seem to be getting even darker by the second.

Uh oh.

{Gloria, run!}

[What? Why?]

{Just do it!}

[I can't, the moss will fall of-]

She's cut off by the howl of a wolf, coming from deep in the forest.

[Yeah, ok, I'll run.]

Gloria begins to sprint, making the moss on our back bounce, slipping lower with every step.

[Shit, the moss!]

{Don't worry about the moss, just focus on getting home!}

The moss finally slips too far, and falls off our back.

Gloria stops, quickly turning around to grab the moss, but stops right before getting it.

Right in front of us, five pairs of glowing, neon green eyes stare right at us.