Matt and Devi, gasping for air, somehow managed to partially shift the colossal boar corpse away from Mars. Their bodies lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to regain their breath. Devi marveled at Mars’ ability to breathe amidst the weight of the beast pressing down on them. Merely dragging it proved to be an arduous task, and the thought of being buried beneath its massive frame was terrifying.

She had been ignoring the blue box that had appeared in her vision, opting instead to help the person who had risked their life for her instead. She assumed that it said something about defeating their opponent anyways, something she had already figured out by herself.

“It’s okay guys, take your time,” Mars coughed out. “Only being crushed here.”

“Hey Devi, why don’t we run back to the clearing and see if we could get some people to help? And who knows, maybe stop for some food while we’re there,” Matt called over to her all the while wearing a shit-eating grin. “Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”

Devi was opening her mouth to respond when she heard a loud squeal, echoing through the forest.

Their conversation halted abruptly, and they surveyed their surroundings, wide-eyed in fear. The deafening squeal that pierced the air surpassed anything the boar currently laying on top of Mars had emitted, magnitudes louder. It seemed less like a mere squeal and more like a thunderous roar reverberating through their very souls.

As the ground quivered beneath their feet, a colossal presence drew near, unconcerned with stealth or subtlety.

Without warning, the towering creature shattered the tree before them, its immense tusked head bursting through the splintered remains. Though it resembled the boar the three of them had just fought, this beast was massive. It loomed over Devi, standing at least a full foot taller, with three pairs of piercing eyes radiating an intense, menacing glow, fixated upon them with an unsettling glare.

Bits of bark and branches clung to the deep red fur of the creature, accentuated by the crimson droplets that dripped from the tips of its formidable tusks. It opened its maw, unleashing a monstrous squeal that threatened to rupture Devi's eardrums, before forcefully shouldering its way through the wreckage of the shattered tree.

Devi's mind raced, desperately seeking an escape route. Mars is still trapped under the boar we killed, which now that I think about it, is probably why this monstrosity came after us. For a brief moment, she considered leaving Mar behind, letting them distract the boar for her as she ran away, but toss the idea away. They seem like actual friends and won't turn on me at a drop of a hat. Besides, they risked their life for me, the least I can do is return the favor.

Her mind made up, Devi swiftly retrieved her second magic tool, having charged it before she had gone out this morning. Springing to her feet, she declared her plan to Matt, her voice carrying a resolute tone as she poured mana into the trigger symbol.

"I am going to distract it, get Mars out of here," she called out, her focus unwavering. "Meet me back in the clearing."

A powerful surge of flames erupted from her magic tool, engulfing the boar's snout in a blazing torrent. Without waiting for the fire to dissipate, Devi wasted no time. She bolted, pushing herself to the limit, desperate to put as much distance as possible between her and the enraged creature.

I really wish I worked out more now.

The sound of the boar's furious screeching reached her ears, but she refused to glance back, solely focused on outrunning the beast. Her only hope lay in the dense cover of the forest, trusting that its tangled undergrowth would impede the monster's wild charges. Well, she assumed it would follow the same headlong approach as its smaller counterpart. If not, she was kind of fucked.

The thunder of hooves behind her confirmed her guess as she instinctively flung herself to the side. A blur of fiery red fur streaked past, shaking the ground with its sheer force. Another towering tree succumbed to the beast's unrestrained might, splintering into a mass of shattered wood and leaves.

Scrambling to her feet, she hastily regained her balance and bolted in a different direction. Casting a swift glance over her shoulder, she witnessed the monstrous creature forcefully extracting its tusks from the devastated tree. Its malevolent, beady eyes locked onto her in an instant, and another ear-splitting squeal erupted from its gaping maw.

Devi swiftly maneuvered around a towering tree, her heart pounding with adrenaline, and propelled herself towards another sturdy trunk. Behind her, the forest erupted in chaos as the colossal boar bulldozed its way through, heedless of any obstacles obstructing its path. Its brute strength knew no bounds, obliterating anything that dared to impede its relentless charge.

Why the fuck is it so intent on me?

The frenzied pursuit persisted, with Devi desperately relying on the trees to impede the creature's relentless advance. Despite her efforts, the gap between them gradually closed, the beast gaining ground with every thunderous stride. The harrowing chase had taken its toll, leaving Devi with a collection of cuts and scrapes. Splintered remnants of shattered trees occasionally pierced her body, embedding themselves as painful reminders to not piss off a monstrous boar again.

Devi could feel herself slowing down, each time she rolled out of the way of a charge, it came that much closer to slamming into her. Each time she picked herself up, it took just a bit longer. Her stamina had been steadily dropping as well, sitting at just 32/110.

She struggled to her feet once again, turning to see where the boar was, only for it to slam into her.

Devi was sent hurtling through the air, her body colliding with something hard, coming to an abrupt halt. She lay there limply, trying to blink away the spots that were forming in her vision. Every part of her body hurt, she definitely had a few bruised ribs, if they weren’t outright broken. Her leg was on fire for some reason, and she felt as if everything was covered in one big bruise.

Groaning in pain, Devi fought to regain her footing, using the rugged cliff face she had been thrown into to steady herself. As her hand reached for the next available handhold, it brushed against a cold, metallic object. Devi blinked in surprise at the round doorknob she had just grabbed, not quite sure it was real, or a trauma-induced hallucination. When she looked again, the doorknob was still there, attached to a plain wooden door set into the rocky cliff face.

A thunderous squeal echoed out behind her, and she felt the ground shake as the boar began charging at her once again, presumably to finish the job the first attack failed to do. She twisted the doorknob, figuring she had more of a chance to survive whatever lay beyond the door than the raging boar that was charging her.

Rank G dungeon

Maximum level: 9

Grouping: Party

Attempts: Single

Would you like to enter?

no yes

Not seeing any other choice, Devi mentally slammed the yes button. It was either this dungeon or to be squashed into a human pancake. She much preferred the first option.

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The door creaked open, and she stumbled through, her body trembling with adrenaline. The boar crashed into the deceptively sturdy wooden doorframe just as she cleared its threshold, sending a cascade of dust and rocks down upon the beast. Undeterred, the ferocious creature backed up, its beady eyes fixated unwaveringly on Devi.

She looked on in terror as the boar thundered towards her, only for the doorframe to stop it in its tracks once again, not even cracking under the relentless assault. After the fourth charge, Devi managed to swing the door closed, plunging herself into consuming darkness. The cacophony of the boar's relentless onslaught was abruptly silenced, replaced only by the soft thump of the door settling into place.

Devi stood there, her breath ragged with fear, her heart pounding in her chest. She expected the door to give way at any moment, despite its apparent resilience. To her surprise, the once thunderous crashes of the boar had stopped. All that echoed in the eerie stillness was her own anxious breathing.

Maybe it got bored and went away? Devi could only hope because she was for sure not going to peek out to check.

Surveying her surroundings, she found herself enveloped in pitch-black darkness, devoid of even the faintest glimmer of light seeping through the door. All she had to go on was the brief glimpse of a rocky cave she had seen when she stumbled through the door.

Devi rummaged through her pack, her fingers fumbling until they found the trusty fire starter she had acquired only a day ago. With a gentle push of her mind, she channeled her mana through the tool, a delighted grin spreading across her face as a small flame flickered to life.

The feeble yet comforting glow cast by the magical tool bathed the narrow cave in a dim radiance. As Devi's gaze swept across the surroundings, she noticed the gradual slope of the cave floor, descending further into its mysterious depths. Stalagmites scattered haphazardly on the ground while stalactites mirrored their arrangement along the ceiling, lending an air of constricted enclosure that made the entire cave appear less inviting.

Devi took a few tentative steps forward, her heart pounding in her chest. The cave seemed to stretch on endlessly, with no end in sight. An uneasy feeling settled into her as the darkness ahead felt imbued with malevolence as if it concealed a myriad of lurking monsters ready to pounce and sink their teeth into her.

The excruciating pain shooting through her bruised ribs with every painstaking step forced Devi to reconsider her decision to explore the depths of the cave. Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly lowered herself to the ground, the wince on her face mirroring the throbbing ache coursing through her body.

Now that she was safe, or at least, safer, Devi decided to look at the notifications she had floating in her vision. With a weary sigh, she focused on the first one, which was the expected message telling her she had defeated her opponent and received XP. She had been expecting that one, having it show up after both times she had killed a monster out in the forest.

XP threshold reached

Novice Support (inferior) lvl 1 -> lvl 2

+3 Free

She had been hoping this fight would push her to the next level but had no idea if it would. She didn’t even have an XP counter. Devi grumbled to herself as the familiar energy washed over her, soothing her a little bit.

XP threshold reached

[Enhance Ability] (inferior) lvl 0 -> lvl 1

The next notification surprised her a bit. Exactly how her Skills leveled up was still a mystery, though just as much as her Race, Class, and Vocation. Nothing really made any sense at all. She had only seen her Skills level up after a notification saying she had received XP, so Devi assumed it has something to do with that.

Deciding now was a good time as any to check her Status page, she pulled it up with a thought. It reflected the notifications, her Class was now showing it was at level 2, and her Skill also indicated its new level.

What concerned her greatly, however, was the alarmingly low levels of her Health, Stamina, and Mana. All of them were sitting below 20, with her Stamina only at 5.

No wonder I am so exhausted, she thought to herself as she lay against the cool cave wall. Note to self, do not let my stamina reach zero, that does not seem like a good idea.

She could feel her eyes drooping, threatening to close at any moment. Her calming stroll through the forest had taken a lot of out her, and now that she was relatively safe, her body was rebelling. It wanted a nap, and Devi had half a mind to allow it one.

The choice was slowly robbed of her as she nodded off to sleep, exhaustion claiming her.

~ᵥ----ᵥ~

Devi's eyes snapped open, only to be met with a veil of inky darkness. As she reached out, her fingers brushed against a coarse, unforgiving surface, rough and jagged in places. It sent a shiver down her spine, reminding her of the hostile environment she found herself in—a place the blue boxes had called a dungeon. It was definitely not somewhere she wanted to take a nap.

In the darkness, she sat for a while, catching her breath and allowing her mind to wander. Memories long buried resurfaced, as if summoned by the echoes of her surroundings.

The rugged walls of the dungeon dissolved, giving way to the plain white walls of her childhood room. A single poster sat above her bed from a space camp she had attended long ago. On the floor, she found herself in a familiar position, knees drawn close to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Darkness lay heavy throughout the room, the blinds blocking out the faint light of the street lamps outside, and the small sliver of a moon. The dark suited her just fine; she wanted to just be consumed by it, to fade away from existence.

She had been struggling to find out who she really was lately. How she had been raised just, didn’t fit right with her. It didn’t feel like her. Each time she confronted her reflection in the mirror, she saw a stranger staring back at her. These unsettling realizations had started dawning on her a few years ago, but she initially dismissed them as common teenage experiences.

Puberty or something.

It took her a long while to figure out that no one else was experiencing the same thing, or to the same degree.

While the boys around her eagerly pointed out every new hair on their faces, Devi was desperately plucking hers out, hating even the concept of growing a beard.

When she delved into gender-bender stories, she often found herself perplexed by the characters' struggles in adapting to their newfound femininity. For her, it would have been a dream come true.

Gradually, she began to piece together the possibility that she might actually be a girl. She had no context to put it in, just a feeling of who she was supposed to be. She wrestled with this realization for an extended period, oscillating between embracing and suppressing her truth, keeping it hidden from everyone until the day she finally found the courage to confide in her best friend at the time.

It had taken a considerable amount of time for Devi to gather the courage to talk to Emily, but when she did, all her fears became a harsh reality. Emily's reaction was far from supportive, as she expressed her disapproval, deeming it wrong and disgusting for Devi to even consider herself a girl. Devi was left stunned as Emily walked out on her, leaving her alone with the echoes of the hurtful words reverberating around in her brain.

Devi had hoped that the situation would eventually fade away, that Emily would forget about it. However, that choice was taken away from her. Emily, who had been Devi's best friend since both of them were little kids, had decided to spread rumors about her, portraying her as a disgusting person who believed she was a girl.

The whole school seemed to join in the mockery, with friends she once trusted distancing themselves from her, and unfamiliar faces in the hallways hurling snide remarks. Devi found solace in seclusion, isolating herself even more than before, shutting out everyone, including the few who tried to extend a helping hand. In her mind, there was no one left whom she could trust. The one person who had always been there for her had unexpectedly turned against her when she was at her most vulnerable.

The lowest point of the entire ordeal was when her parents found out. It remained unclear how they had been notified, whether the school had contacted them or if the small-town gossip had reached their ears. Nevertheless, their reaction was far from supportive.

Her dad unleashed hours of yelling, expressing his deep disappointment and proclaiming that no child of his would ever dare to say such things, while her mother stood there, silently watching. Devi had finally escaped to her room, retreating into the darkness, immobile and attempting to suppress her thoughts.

In the present, within the confines of the cave, Devi wiped away a few stray tears that had silently streamed down her cheeks, tears she had been unable to shed during that time. She shook her head, allowing the memory to dissolve and fade back into the depths of her mind, knowing it would resurface when she least expected it.

Summoning her strength, she rose to her feet. Determined not to dwell on the past, she forced a smirk on her face.

I have a dungeon to explore.