It took Al two days to complete the potion. In the meantime, Mahya was playing with the various auto parts we had from Vegas. She had some of them to begin with, and when she asked me for the rest, I was ecstatic. I loved clearing my Storage. Although, when it was full, it looked less threatening and overwhelming. The more I emptied it, the more it made me feel uncomfortable and dizzy. It was just too damn BIG.

Rue and I used the time to investigate the area around the two hills where my house was situated. We ran into two clusters of the ambush green snakes, but they were small—six and eleven—and we cleared them with no issues. When the first group ambushed us, I shouted to Rue, “Don’t kill them! Hold them with Telekinesis!”

We had six snakes suspended in the air, and I ran some experiments. The Wind Blade was effective, slicing them in half, but its flight time was only a tad faster than Mana Dart, so I wasn’t sure it would make much of a difference against the snakes’ speed. Aggressive Clean just made their scales shine. Exude Mana, however, proved to be the winner. The minute I cast it on the first snake, its struggle against the telekinetic hold weakened. I released it, and it flew at about half its usual speed. A second cast made it collapse, and I stomped its head. We had a winner.

Rue was still upset that they were “no yummy, no levels,” but gradually resigned himself to the fact and grumbled less about it.

We saw small, cute creatures that I suspected were the squirrels or bunnies of this world. They had bright orange fur, fluffy, oversized ears, and huge, shining eyes that could melt anyone’s heart. A soft, bushy tail added to their overwhelming cuteness. I couldn’t help but let out an “Ohhh” the first time I saw one. They were just too damn cute. Unfortunately, they were also incredibly skittish. No matter what we did to befriend one, they darted off as fast as their little legs could carry them. At least I managed to snap a picture of one.

image [https://i.imgur.com/UPvEVEG.png]

Rue came running and announced, “Lots mana plant,” wagging his tail.

I scanned the plant with my mana sense, and he was right; the thing was almost pure mana. It looked like the twin brother of poison ivy. I grabbed the stem to yank it out of the ground.

“Son of a bitch!” It stung like poison ivy, too. Leather gloves helped lessen the sting, but not completely. Its attack was partly magical, so the stinging sensation got past the gloves. I stored the one I yanked out as a specimen for Al, but had no intention of collecting more. They were vicious.

After two days without seeing Al except for meals, he finally resurfaced from his lab, all smiles. “I completed the potion,” he announced, sounding and looking proud as he stood tall. “Per the description, it harms the nervous system of all bug monsters. Small amounts render them unable to fight or flee, and an extensive amount kills them. The only issue we need to solve is how to distribute the potion. Paintballs won’t help. It needs to be airborne for them to breathe it.” He glanced at me. “Can the wind help with that?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never asked it to blow a certain way, but I can try.”

“That will be very helpful. From my family’s archive, I know bug monsters come from dungeons with caves or burrows. We need a method to distribute the fume.”

Mahya leaned forward, her brow furrowing. “Do we need protection from it? Should we wear the leather masks?”

Al shook his head confidently. “No. The effect is specific to monsters.”

“Are you sure Rue will be fine?” I asked, glancing at the big dog. “He’s not a monster, but he’s not a human, either.”

“The description says it works only on monsters,” Al replied, his tone reassuring. “There was a second recipe for the same potion that works on living beings. In alchemy books, living beings are everybody who is not a monster—humans and animals included. If you want to be extra sure, Rue can always wear his mask.”

“Yeah, I’d prefer that,” I said, patting Rue. “I don’t want anything to harm him.”

Rue bumped his head against mine and exclaimed, “John love Rue!”

I scratched his chin with a smile. “Of course, buddy. You’re my best boy.”

Outside, I connected to the wind. The connection felt different, more substantial and stable—as if we were one.

Hmm, Mahya had mentioned seeing a wizard talk to the elements.

I pointed at a tree and said, “Blow that way.”

The leaves fluttered, and some fell off from the gust.

Yes!

Back inside, I announced, “I have a solution for the potion.”

“Already?” Mahya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Since the twister dungeon, my connection with the wind got stronger. I just had to ask, and she blew.”

Mahya scrunched her face.

“Hey!” I protested, crossing my arms. “What’s that face for?”

She shook her head and fidgeted. “Nothing. Nothing.”

“Oh, come on! It’s not nothing. Spit it out.”

She glanced at me sideways. “I just hope that with a stronger connection, you won’t become even more... all over the place.”

“I’m not all over the place,” I shot back.

“No? When was the last time you practiced your mana sense or mind splitting? Or did the stones exercise from Lis? Not to mention all the books you started and dropped halfway.”

I fidgeted and rubbed my neck, feeling like a scolded child. “I dropped the books because all the magic books are convoluted, confusing, and full of strange descriptions, imagery, and similes. I feel like I’m getting stupider and more confused just reading them. I understand why wizards are nuts—they read those horrible books. But yeah, you’re right about the rest. I’ll find time to practice.”

Mahya shrugged. “I’m not your master. You can do whatever you want. You asked why I said ‘all over the place,’ and I answered.”

She’d given me some things to think about. Yeah, I needed to be more serious about my practice and advancement. And maybe it was finally time to figure out that Spell Weaver thingy.

The following day, we put on our armor and headed to the city. On the way, an idea struck me, and I said to the wind, “Please locate all the dungeons in the city and map them for me.”

Mahya and Al glanced at me quizzically. I shrugged. “It’s easier for the wind to search, no?”

I felt a wave of confusion from the wind in response.

“Look for places like where I cleaned the pollution from you,” I clarified. “They should have black portals that pulse with mana and give off a dangerous and ominous feel. You can’t miss it.”

The wind seemed to understand, and suddenly, my mind was bombarded with images. They weren’t the usual mental pictures you see with closed eyes, but impressions of emotions that formed vague, shifting shapes. It was all very confusing, like trying to piece together a puzzle made of feelings.

“Stop, stop, stop,” I said quickly. “Just direct me when we reach the city.”

I sensed her embarrassment and sent a wave of appreciation back to her, a silent gesture of gratitude.

Once in the city, I located another plump, juicy slime and dropped it with the cats. Seven pounced on it this time, and I used one of the blade scrolls—much quicker than bolts. Turning them into crystals, I asked the wind, “Are there more cats like the ones I eliminated?”

She nudged me in a specific direction, and I found another cat stalking something green and small. I didn’t get a good look at it, but it might have been a scraglin. “Are there any more?” I asked.

This time, I got no response. “Okay, show me the direction of the portals, but only in this territory.” I flew higher, encompassing the cats’ territory with a sweeping gesture.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She nudged me again, guiding me to the portal of doom embedded in the wall of a crumbling building.

“Are there any more?” I asked.

Another nudge. This time, it was toward a pile of rubble that we’d have to clear—I couldn’t see the portal.

“Are there any more?” I repeated.

One more direction. Another pile of rubble, but this one formed a passage to the portal. I wasn’t sure how stable it was, but I could see the portal. While hovering above it, a cat exited the dungeon. One bolt, and we were richer by one crystal.

“Are there any more?” I asked once more.

This time, there was no response. I sent my heartfelt appreciation to the wind and went to get the gang.

The first dungeon we approached was the most accessible one, embedded in a building’s wall. Al went in first, shield drawn, and Mahya followed him. She was almost through the portal when she suddenly stumbled back. I caught her halfway down, and Al tumbled out and fell on her, soaking wet and coughing.

“What happened?” I asked, alarmed.

Al coughed a few more times, his voice coming out in a croak. “The other side is water. I don’t know if there is any land or not. The portal leads underwater.”

I waited for him to catch his breath. “I have Water Breathing potions,” I offered.

Mahya scrunched her face in distaste and shuddered while Al shook his head vehemently, a look of horror on his face. Their reactions made no sense.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, frowning.

“Those potions are horrible,” Mahya said heatedly. “Until the potion’s duration runs out, you can’t breathe anything else, so you choke on air. And when the duration ends, you have to cough up lungfuls of water. No way I’m drinking that horror.”

I glanced at the potions with distaste, then took out all the vials I had and handed them to Al. “Here. See if you can make something else with them.”

“Keep them,” Mahya interjected. “We might not have a choice but to use them. It’s better to have them for emergencies.”

“We have scuba gear,” I pointed out.

“Yes,” Al said, nodding. “But drinking a potion takes less time than putting on the gear. Keep them for emergencies.”

“So...” I said, glancing between them. “Are we putting on scuba gear and checking out the dungeon, or...?”

“Let’s skip this one,” Mahya said firmly. “If our core haul is too low, we can tackle it in the future. For now, let’s stick to the easy ones.”

We headed to the cat dungeon and inspected the rubble. It didn’t look stable enough, so we spent three hours clearing it. None of us wanted a pile of debris collapsing on our heads when we exited the dungeon. While we were working on the cleanup, one cat emerged, and Rue took care of it swiftly.

We stepped out between two massive boulders that looked way too much like Gate markers. Their rough, moss-covered surfaces loomed over us like a couple of silent guards. On the other side, the place opened up into a whole different world—towering trees with trunks thick enough to hide a car and branches that stretched out far above.

The air was so thick with humidity that it felt like I could drink it, clinging to my skin in a sticky, uncomfortable way. Sweat covered me, and my clothes stuck to me like a second skin. The smell of wet dirt and decaying leaves hit me immediately—deep and earthy, with an undertone of musk and rotting flesh. Vines dangled from the branches like long, natural ropes, and massive ferns spread everywhere, their leaves glistening with moisture.

Light barely made it through the canopy, just narrow beams breaking through here and there, leaving scattered patches across the ground. The forest floor was soft underfoot, covered in fallen leaves, twigs, and twisted roots snaking across the path. The whole place was utterly silent—no birds, bugs, or rustling leaves—a complete absence of sound.

Mahya took out a small knife and cut a thin groove into the bark of a nearby tree. “These are great. Finally, some good wood.”

“Yes. But we need to clear it fir—” Al started to say, but Rue’s growl cut him off.

Rue lunged forward, tackling a creeping cat and killing it quickly. Another cat sprang at him, and then another. Mahya rushed over, sword drawn, but Rue shouted, “Rue do cats! Mahya not fight!”

She skidded to a stop, and we watched as he took on the cats. As more and more of them tried to pounce on him, I got worried, but he looked completely unconcerned. Through our connection, I could feel his elation. He was having fun—a lot of fun!

Well, he does hate cats.

The cats were the size of tigers, but compared to Rue, they looked like regular street cats trying to take down a Great Dane. They didn’t stand a chance. It took him about five to seven minutes to finish off twelve of them. Whenever he killed one, I cast Harvest Mana Crystal on it, but otherwise, we stayed out of his way.

It was interesting that the cats ignored us completely. We were standing there in plain view, but they had eyes only for Rue—cats versus dogs at its finest.

When the first wave of cats was down, Mahya said, “This place is enormous. We should cut down the trees and harvest the vegetation as we go. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck here for days.”

“Rue do cat patrol!” Rue announced in a tone that left no room for argument, stomping his foot for emphasis.

“Sure, buddy. But don’t go too far. Patrol around us and take care of the cats while we collect the trees for Mahya. Let us know every time you kill a cat so we can turn it into a crystal, okay?”

“Yes boss!” He sounded so elated it was almost worrying.

Those trees were no joke. They were as tough as the ones I’d cut down in Tuonela. We tried using axes, but they barely made a dent. The only thing that worked was a two-man crosscut saw, that I covered its edge in mana to give it an extra bite. Mahya and I cut down the trees while Al collected the other plants, exclaiming in delight every few minutes.

It took us about ten hours to cut down forty-two trees, and once again, I silently thanked my Heal Muscle spell. I was much stronger now—I could feel it with every pull of the saw—but those trees were worthy opponents.

Finally, Mahya said, “That’s enough. I have no more storage space and don’t want to enlarge it. We’ll feed the rest to the cores.”

I dropped onto my butt and silently thanked the Spirits for saving me.

Rue bounded over to us, a limp cat still dangling from his mouth. His tail wagged furiously as he skidded to a halt, practically vibrating with excitement. “Do Identify to Rue!” he shouted, his voice booming with pride.

We winced at the volume, exchanging amused glances, but there was no ignoring him. “Alright, alright,” I muttered, activating the spell.

Rue

Bonded Familiar

Level 14

Rue pranced around us, his head held high as if he were royalty, a dead cat still in his jaws. He turned this way and that, ensuring we got a good look at him from every angle, clearly reveling in his newfound level. Despite the mess, he looked so proud and cute that I couldn’t help but feel the urge to squish him. But there was no way—he was just too damn big for that.

Turns out my torture wasn’t over yet. We still had to cut down a few more trees for the cores. We ended up cutting five more and feeding them to the four cores through the magic circle, since they still weren’t at the stage where they could absorb stuff directly. I couldn’t wait for the day they’d reach that point—it would make life so much easier.

We finished with the trees, but Al still wasn’t done with the plants. We helped him harvest the rest, and I handed him the vicious poison ivy, which, of course, he adored and exclaimed over.

Al finally nodded, satisfied with the last of the plants he’d gathered. We exchanged glances and wordlessly set off to find the floor guardian—or maybe the final one. Rue trotted ahead, nose to the ground, but after patrolling the entire dungeon, he hadn’t sniffed out any more cats.

Suddenly, a blur of fur and muscle crashed down from the canopy. An enormous cat, even bigger than Rue, slammed into Al and Mahya, sending them sprawling. I barely had time to react as the beast snarled, its claws raking through the air. Without thinking, I threw my hand out and unleashed a lightning bolt. The flash struck the cat, and it let out a piercing yowl, muscles seizing from the shock.

Al pushed the cat off and sent it tumbling, scrambled to his feet, his armor clinking but intact, and slashed at it with his sword. Mahya, however, lay crumpled, blood soaking through her clothes where the cat’s claws had torn into her back and legs. I rushed to heal her while Al and Rue launched themselves at the still-twitching creature.

“Stay down,” I muttered, focusing on knitting Mahya’s wounds together. She winced, but her breathing steadied as the deep gashes slowly closed. I glanced up just in time to see Rue snap at the cat’s hind leg, twisting it awkwardly, while Al slammed his shield into its side, knocking it back and slashing at it again. The cat, now limping and bleeding from multiple wounds, staggered but still tried to fight back.

I hit it again, another surge of lightning crackling from my fingers. The beast let out one final, pitiful yowl before Mahya, now back on her feet and pissed, lunged forward. With a swift, angry slash of her sword, she decapitated the cat, cursing the whole time. Some words were in languages I didn’t recognize, but the heat behind them made it clear they were colorful.

She wiped her blade on the grass, still grumbling under her breath, and glared at the lifeless beast. She kicked it one last time for good measure, and I turned it into a crystal. The crystal from this cat was the size of a pomelo, and finally, my interface categorized it as a Medium Mana Crystal. All the others had been marked as small.

We couldn’t find the core anywhere around the trees, so we all looked up. Mahya jumped a few times and eventually spotted it in the tree canopy where the cat had ambushed us. It was relatively small—only about five centimeters in diameter.

“Why are the cores so small?” I asked. “The one from Tuonela was six months old and already three and a half centimeters. Shouldn’t they be bigger?”

“You can’t compare mana 38 to mana 61,” Mahya said.

“I thought there were high mana areas during integration,” I replied.

“Yes, I read the same,” she said, frowning. “I’m not very knowledgeable about the subject, but maybe this area wasn’t a high mana zone.”

We all got boots from the core—Rue included.

Paw of Nimbleness

Type: Boots

Effect: This item grants the wearer increased agility and stealth for a short duration. When activated, the wearer becomes light on their feet, reducing noise and increasing jump height.

Cost: 50 mana

Duration: 3 minutes

Cooldown: 30 minutes

I tried mine on, and they were surprisingly comfortable, but I didn’t think I’d use the magical effect. The mana price was just too high for what it offered.

“Want to try yours?” I asked Rue.

I got a powerful wave of disgust from him. He shook his head vehemently. “Rue no wear no bad cat boots!”

The three of us had a hard time keeping straight faces at his indignant and disgusted tone, but somehow, we managed not to laugh.

It took my core nearly six hours to absorb everything in the dungeon until only the hazy border remained. I measured it—still 37 cm—no progress size-wise. While the core devoured the dungeon, we settled down for a pastry dinner, and Rue enjoyed a smoked meat feast. Mahya took out the RV, and we took some time to rest.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, my core was done, and we could exit. We had been in this dungeon for over thirty hours and were well and truly sick of it by that point.

Dungeon no. 2—DONE.